//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19: Mares Like Superior Firepower 
// Story: Once Upon a Time, on an Alien Ring World 
// by Hi World 
//------------------------------//

Atop a ridiculously high Forerunner structure, the Covenant had set up an air base. Only two Banshees and one Spirit were present on the rooftop however. This was because the majority of aircraft had been assigned to different spots in the arctic wilderness with the objective of stopping the UPSC from gaining access to Halo's control room, which was proving to be a devil to open.

Snow swirled around the Spirit drop ship as it rose up from its landing pad, carrying two Ghost RAVs between its twin bows. Those bows also housed a batch of soldiers who weren't too enthusiastic about journeying to the foot of the tower.

There was access to the tunnels from down there, via a yawning, rocky cave, and the Covenant knew the UPSC had taken a tank into those tunnels. It was only a matter of time before the monster resurfaced and laid waste to everything.

In the valley below, two more Ghosts had already been placed, and they patrolled around the incredible skyscraper. There was also a Wraith tank; that'd give the Ponies something to worry about, right?

Just in case, the Zealot in charge ordered the two Banshees into the air to provide support. The Ponies were coming, and they were coming strong.

Just as the Spirit drop ship came levitating down to the ground with its doors open, a tremendous explosion reverberated out from the giant, natural cave. One of their own Ghosts zoomed around the cave floor, laying siege to a team of Covenant that were stationed there. It wasn't friendly fire. It was a pink coated UPSC soldier that had stolen the vehicle, and she drove it in all directions, shooting and splattering and generally causing chaos.

Along with the captured Ghost, came a Warthog LRV, skidding around the bend and weaving between rocks and Covenant while the gunner fired the turret on full automatic.

And of course, backing them up, was the giant, armour plated beast. Shell after shell thundered against the cave floor, totally dominating the Covenant.

Afraid by the tank's very presence, the drop ship pilot sped away into a hasty climb, spilling his load of soldiers and Ghosts.

Witnessing the clumsiness, Vinyl Scratch pointed from behind the LRV's wheel and announced, "Hey look! He did a Lightning Dust!"
The turquoise Pegasus on the back snarled through gritted teeth, "Shut up!"

Trixie caught sight of the fleeing drop ship in her periscope.
"Oohh, what have we here?" She smiled demonically and pulled the duel triggers.
BOOM! A direct hit on the Spirit's stern, and the horseshoe shaped aircraft split in half. The two purple bows came crashing down to the ground, creating wide splashes of snow.
"Wapow!" bellowed Trixie, deafening Fluttershy more than the explosion itself. "Hahahahahaaa! That's what you get! Look at you now!"
The blue Unicorn gnashed her teeth as she spun the main gun to fire at Covie after Covie, and Fluttershy was starting to worry about her.

"Hey look!" Vinyl squawked, pointing at the downed drop ship. "He did a Lightning Dust again! Haha!"
"Shut up!"

Emerging from the cave, Fluttershy parked the tank right on top of the two Ghosts that had been dropped by the Spirit, and let Trixie have her fun. She took care of an active Ghost, then lifted the cannon up to fire at a diving Banshee. She missed, the Banshee didn't, and its fuel rod projectile detonated harmlessly against Trixie's force field.

"Ha! Try again, looser!"
She lead ahead of the airborne target and let off another powerful tank shell, hitting the Banshee with an all mighty BOOM, and sending its debris sprinkling to the ground with the rest of the snowflakes.
"Ha! I hit it!" Trixie gasped with elation. "I can't believe I hit it!"
Fluttershy glanced back and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh, I mean, um... Trixie totally called that," she corrected herself, not too convincingly, and got back to work.

The Scorpion took the right side of the immense tower, and the Ghost and the Warthog teamed up to tackle the left.

The two smaller vehicles had a Shade turret and a group of aliens on foot to deal with. That Shade was mounted way up on a tall mesa, and it was extremely difficult for Pinkie to raise the Ghost's plasma cannons that high. Instead, she just evaded all the sizzling plasma that streaked at her and concentrated on the ground troops, running them over and giving them a taste of their own medicine.

While she did that, the three Mares in the Warthog took it upon themselves to take out the strategically placed Shade.
"Aim high!" advised Octavia as Lightning pulled back on the LAAG, elevating its line of bullets.

Like a snake, bullet holes curved up the mesa towards the Shade stationed on top, and proceeded to puncture the purple alien weapon. Eventually, one round found the Grunt operator's skull and sent him tumbling out of his seat.

"Well done, Lightning," Octavia commended in her ever so posh accent.
"Wow, thanks!" The rowdy Pegasus seemed new to praise.

Mopping up the remaining Covies, the Ghost and the Warthog passed the mesa and came to the other side of the building, where a huge frozen lake dominated the snow covered field, and a Covenant Wraith tank hovered over the solidified water.

And if that wasn't bad enough, a Banshee fighter came screeching in and stitched the snow with plasma bolts.
"Y'think ya can take that down, Lightning?" pondered Vinyl as she spun the wheel and drove the Warthog away from the Wraith's mortar.
Nobly, Lightning placed a hoof on her chest and stated, "Of course I can," before aiming the gun as high as she could and spewing armour piercing rounds all over the aircraft.

That Banshee pilot was smart though, and he sent the fighter into a half loop, following it up with a half barrel role, and speeding back the other way, dodging most of Lightning's bullets.

What the Banshee pilot didn't anticipate however, was the wrath of Trixie, who blew the Banshee fighter to Timbucktu with an earth shattering tank shell.
"Ha! That's two Banshees down!" laughed Trixie, her face glued to the periscope. "This is easy peasy Trixie squeezy!"

Fluttershy positioned the tank on top of a small mesa, crushing the swiss cheesed wreckage of a Shade turret that Derpy had nailed. From the vantage point, the tank crew had an incredible view of the Wraith ahead, that was currently posted on Pinkie's super fast Ghost.

Pinkie purposefully sped around the back of the frozen lake, turning the Wraith so its back plating would be presented to the Scorpion. Once the Scorpion completed its reload sequence, Trixie pulled the triggers, and blasted the Covenant tank into purple scrap and pretty blue flames.

The explosion had taken its toll on the ice too. Luckily, the ice was thick enough to support the dead Wraith, but the shock wave had cracked the surface, and the longer the Wraith burned, the quicker the ice melted.

From the far side of the lake, Pinkie yelled, "Uh oh! Porcupines!" and disappeared into a narrow ravine, fuel rod projectiles being shot out of it.

Going as the crow flew, the Scorpion drove down the mesa and cut tracks in the snow as it approached the frozen body of water.

As a fight continued to rage on in the ravine, Twilight got on the radio and suggested, "We should cross this lake one at a time."
Pulling up next to the tank, the Warthog crew braced themselves.
"Vinyl Scratch, you take the Warthog across first," ordered the AI, prompting a nervous gulp from Octavia.

Steadily, the blue maned Unicorn dawdled the three tonne truck onto the iced up water. Loosing traction, the Hog's wheels slipped and skidded, but Vinyl expertly brought it under control, giving the destroyed Wraith a wide berth and safely making it to the other side.

Immediately, Vinyl hit the gas and joined Pinkie and the Covenant in the ravine, Lightning going wild with the turret.

... Then it was the tank's turn.
"Ok, Fluttershy, just keep the tank moving steadily and steer clear of the Wraith," instructed Twilight. "Whatever you do, don't stop."
"Ok," trembled Fluttershy as she pushed the two levers forward and gradually brought the sixty six tonne tank onto the ice.

Its caterpillar tracks, combined with its sheer weight, were able to keep the Scorpion on track. However, the treads were dealing a frightening amount of damage to the icy surface, leaving impressions and making it crack. Fluttershy panted in the intensity as she heard the sound of the tortured ice creaking under the massive vehicle. How deep was the water? If they broke through, would they be paddling or drowning?

On the outside, Fleur, Derpy and Caramel watched nervously as the groaning ice passed by beneath them.

Luckily, Fluttershy was able to bring the Scorpion, as well as those aboard it, to the snowy bank at the other side. After a big sigh of relief, she followed the other vehicles into the ravine.

The ravine was confining and littered with the corpses of Covies, including two Hunters, or porcupines as Pinkie had called them. The vehicles were parked just beyond on what appeared to be a wide ledge. Having cleared out all the Covies, the occupants drank and nibbled at snacks whilst waiting for the tank.

"Well it's about time!" exclaimed Lightning with her mouth full, pointing to an invisible watch on her right hoof.
Sticking up for Fluttershy, Pinkie yapped, "Hey! Tanks are slow! Deal with it!"
"Whatever."

"Hellooo!" a distant voice echoed in the wind.
The squad became alert and fell silent, waiting to hear it again... except Pinkie.
"Hellooo! Who are yoouu?!"

A couple of hooves held on to the side of the ledge, and a head slowly popped up like a slow motion whack-a-mole. It was a Mare, and Fluttershy recognised her. She had a pink and green mane and blue eyes, along with a few freckles on her white coated face. Blossomforth.

Upon noticing the convoy, Blossomforth let go of the ledge and kept herself airborne with her wings.
To somepony below her, she yelled, "Hey guys! The tank's here!"

Excitable murmurings originated from somewhere below the ledge, and two more Pegasi flew up to join Blossomforth.

Another recognisable Mare called Flitter. Fluttershy remembered her from the meadows and the Truth and Reconciliation. She also remembered what happened to her sister, and found it hard to put on a welcoming smile. Fortunately, she was in a tank, so no pony could see her anyway.

The other Pegasus in Blossomforth's company was a huge white Stallion. He looked particularly muscly, like a true Spartan, and had ghastly red eyes. His trimmed mane and tail were a dark blonde, and he featured a gold earing on each ear.

"What?!" squawked Trixie as she got out of her seat. "This can't be!"
She wasn't the only Pony to be surprised; Fleur, Caramel, Vinyl, Octavia and Lightning were all gobsmacked to see these three Pegasi.

"What happened to you guys?" Vinyl quizzed, amazed.
"Where'd ya go?" Lightning demanded to know.
Trixie squeezed half way through the Scorpion's hatch and repeated, "Where'd you go?"
"I just asked that!" spat Lightning.
Trixie ignored her.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Derpy were new here, and therefore had no idea what was going on. Neither did Twilight.

Telling the story, Blossomforth explained, "Well, remember when our Pelicans were separated? Our Pelican touched down in the next valley. We found some of those mysterious structures, but were hesitant to explore them. After a while, the Covenant arrived, and they just killed everypony." She began to croak, saddened by the loss. "Flitter, Bulk and myself were the only ones who managed to escape." Quietly, she added, "Wings, y'know."

"Aha! I'm not the only pilot who crashed!" exclaimed Lightning, not caring for Blossomforth or her survivors. To Vinyl, she challenged, "Mock me now."

"Crashed? We didn't crash," revealed Blossomforth. "We sprung a fuel leak and our pilot had to make an emergency landing."
With her moment stomped out, Lightning stared at the white Mare through wide orange eyes and responded, "... Oh."

"You crashed," Vinyl whispered to Lightning, smirking.
Grumpily, Lightning folded her forelegs and turned away, her bottom lip sticking out.
"Vinyl," Octavia whinged, keeping the Unicorn in check. "Stop it. We all make mistakes."
That had to be the only slice of comfort the arrogant Pegasus had received, and she tilted her head slightly.

New to the situation, Pinkie announced, "Well, it's good to see that you've made it."

"Didn't you try contacting them?" Twilight interrogated Trixie.
The blue Unicorn told, "We tried, but we couldn't get through to them. Trixie just assumed the worst."
"We tried once," Caramel stated bluntly.

"We've been trying to contact you every second, nearly," Blossomforth informed, Bulk and Flitter nodding their heads in agreement. "You only tried once?"

Stuttering, Trixie replied, "Yes, well, ahem. We, er... we... had a lot to deal with. What with the Covenant and having to pick up Twilight and what have you. Trixie's been very busy..."
Suspiciously, Blossomforth eyed the Mare in the tank and shook her head. Bulk and Flitter glowered at Trixie; they could smell it too.

Moving on, the white Pegasus spoke, "Whatever. Let's just get to the control room," and sat herself down on one of the Scorpion's two rear track pods. Bulk did likewise, his captured plasma pistol at the ready.

Looking around awkwardly, Flitter found herself with nowhere to sit.

Still sprouted out of the tank like a big blue weed, Staff Sergeant Trixie ordered, "Lightning, get off the Warthog. You can wing it."
Outraged, Lightning yelled, "What?! No way! This is my seat!"
Talking down to the Pegasus, Trixie sang, "Lightning, who's in charge?"
"Ugh! Why?!"
"Because..." Trixie thought hard, trying to avoid saying anything too complimentary. Eventually, she ended up saying something not complimentary at all. "Because; you're terrible. Let Flitter man the gun."

Lightning threw her hooves up, offended. "What?! I'm not terrible!"
"She's actually done ok so far," Octavia joined in. "But I understand; Lightning would be much better in the air."
Out the side of her mouth, Vinyl whispered, "Octavia. Why do you keep cutting her so much slack?"
"Do you want her off the Warthog or not?"
The two Mares in the front of the Hog peered thoughtfully up at Lightning, who stared at them, confused.

Finally, Lightning sighed and took off into the snow filled air, leaving the Warthog gun available for Flitter. Wordlessly, the greyish blue Pegasus fluttered down and took her position on the LAAG, wiping sweat off the handle bars.

"Oh, I get it now!" Lightning realised, smiling. "You think I'm a good flyer! That's why you want me to fly!"
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that must be it." She vanished into the tank, slamming the hatch shut after her.
The hatch then reopened for a sec as her hoof returned to snatch up her daft pointy hat that had scraped off yet again.

Vinyl snickered away in the Warthog's driver's seat.
Irritably, Lightning barked at her, "She wasn't being sarcastic!"
"No pony said she was," chuckled Octavia.
Lightning folded her arms whilst hovering, turning her nose up at the Warthog crew and embarking on her journey through the gentle snow.

Just before the vehicles followed her, Twilight alarmed, "Covenant drop ship, inbound!"
"Hahaha! Why the alert tone, Twilight?" the great and powerful Trixie cackled.
Fluttershy twisted her neck to look at the purple eyed Unicorn.
"We have a tank, remember?"

The Covenant drop ship wasn't the only thing the Ponies had to worry about. There were two Hunters marching up the valley, below the ledge. From there, they could advance up a beautiful, natural, winding slope topped with glittering snow, and attack them... if they were stupid enough to mess with a Scorpion tank.

As soon as the Spirit came howling into view, Trixie blasted it apart with a single, high velocity shell, and roared with malicious laughter as the troop transport burned and crunched into the side of the ledge, making a mighty tremor in the ground.

With the Spirit out of the equation in a second, the vehicles advanced down the slope.

Those Hunters could be seen, stepping slowly back from the approaching reign of UPSC terror.

Fluttershy was extremely heedful of the drop to either side of the spiral slope, and took great care in manoeuvring the oversized death machine down and around. The tank was almost as wide as the snowy decline itself, and Twilight was constantly alerting her to the treads overlapping on each side.

Eventually, the Scorpion reached the bottom and crushed the burning wreckage of the Spirit. Fluttershy pulled the left lever towards her and pushed the right one forwards, pivoting the tank. Trixie fired just the one round from the main gun, blowing the two Hunters out of existence, but not before one of them let off its fuel rod gun. The fiery green explosion would've vaporized Caramel, if it weren't for Trixie's force field.

"Hold on," ordered the blue Mare as she left her seat to stick herself out of the hatch.
Effortlessly, she sent a purple flash of magic from her horn and reinforced the invisible dome of protectiveness.
"There."

Before she could duck back inside, a horrible clunk reverberated from underneath, and the whole vehicle sunk a little. Inside, Fluttershy screamed the canyon down.
"What was that?" Trixie demanded to know, eying the troops, feeling that anypony but herself was at fault.
From Fluttershy's armour, the AI informed, "Shoot! We've gone through the ice."
"We're on ice?!" wailed Fluttershy hysterically.
Trixie sighed before dismounting all together.

"Should I get out too?"
"Not just yet," Twilight replied, her attention elsewhere. "I think Trixie's going to fix it."

Back outside, the hat wearing Unicorn stood by the rear of her tank, where its hind, port caterpillar track had broken through the frozen lagoon and left the heavy assault vehicle stuck. The Hog and the Ghost held position behind the tank, Vinyl reversing the LRV off the ice and onto the foot of the spiral incline.
"I aint sticking around on there."

Like Fluttershy, Trixie hadn't noticed that the surface beneath them was ice until now. This particular canyon was deep and narrow, and the light was a lot dimmer, and most of the ice was concealed beneath lush white snow.

As she inspected the damage, Lightning hovered down to her level.
"Aw, look what you've done," she "helped."
"Trixie did not do this!" the Unicorn shot back. "She isn't even driving!"
"I never said you were driving. You're just so fat you broke the ice!" The harsh Pegasus proceeded to chortle, rolling around in the air.
Offended, Trixie gasped, "Trixie isn't fat! ... Is she?" Consciously, she checked her torso. "... No, she isn't!"
Lightning just snickered.

Disregarding the silly Pegasus, Trixie beamed up her horn and gritted her teeth. The tingly purple aura surrounding her horn faded into view around the Scorpion's sunken track pod. Blossomforth was sat upon it, and to make things easier, she hopped off and slipped ungracefully on the ice.

Trixie didn't engage her maximum effort, but the sixty six tonne tank took a lot of strength to lift, and after some intense groaning, she was able to hoist it out of the hole and push it away, allowing Blossomforth to take her position on the track pod again.

Once the tank was unstuck, Trixie let out an exhausted breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Phew! ... Piece o' cake."
That would've been the perfect time for Lightning to make another fat remark, but after witnessing her rescue a whole tank with nothing more than her own, unenhanced, telekinetic abilities, she felt enough was enough, and simply stated, "Wow," before flying away.

"Trixie, you never cease to amaze me," Twilight commented, impressed.
The great and powerful Trixie lowered herself into the tank, snatched up her hat that came off again, and screwed the hatch shut.
"Trixie knows," she grinned smugly, slouching back down at the main gun controls.

With the Sergeant safely on board, Fluttershy got the Scorpion in gear once more and drove for a mere fifty metres before stopping in front of a confining cave featuring rocks and Forerunner support columns. There was no way the tank could fit through.

"Well, I guess we leave the tank now," stated Twilight, prompting Fluttershy to turn the key and switch off the beast's engine.
With the engine turned off, the Scorpion stopped growling.
"Oh good," Fluttershy sighed, relieved. "This seat is really uncomfortable."

As she rose up, clutching her aching tummy, Trixie exclaimed, "What?! We can't leave the tank here! We have to press on!"
Apologetically, Twilight told, "Sorry, Trixie, but we have no choice. There's no way we can fit through this cave."
Thank Celestia Lightning couldn't hear that.

Contemplating, Trixie rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes. "Hmmm... Trixie thinks we can."
"Trixie, we are not blasting our way through," Twilight declared. "We could cause an avalanche, or a cave in, or both!"
"Ugh! Who said anything about blasting our way through?! Trixie isn't reckless like Lightning Dust, Twilight. She has a big brain." The Unicorn tapped her head.
Confused, Twilight started, "Wait... what are you..." and drifted off.
"Fluttershy, be a dear and start the tank, would you."

Annoyed to be sitting upright in that uncomfortable driver's seat for a while longer, Fluttershy obeyed and fired up the tank, it's fearsome engine roaring and rattling the titanium body work.

Outside, the Ghost and the Warthog convened around the huge tank. The occupants, as well as Lightning and the five Ponies riding on top of the tank, watched as the hatch flipped open yet again and that hat wearing Mare squeezed herself half way out.

"What are we doing?" questioned Derpy from the Scorpion's secondary gun.
From behind the Warthog's wheel, Vinyl chirped, "Uh, Trixie? The Scorpion won't fit through there."
Trixie just laughed. "Ha! You're going to look so silly in a minute."
Raising an eyebrow, the white Unicorn stared at the blue one.

Inside the tank, Twilight spoke to Fluttershy. "Oh my gosh. I think I know what she's gonna do!"
"What is she gonna do?"
"Drive the tank into the cave and see for yourself."
Noticing the tiny opening in the frosty rock face, Fluttershy reminded, "But... we can't fit in the cave."
"Oh, we will."

As the Scorpion made its sedate way forwards, Trixie took out her canteen and gulped a whole lot of water. She let out an invigorated sigh as she put the flask away and got down to business.

Her horn lit up again, and she squinted her eyes with the exertion.
"Nnnnnnngg!" her groan increased through her gnashed teeth as she made a large patch of purple light appear on the cave's entrance.

"Woah boy!" Derpy sounded, looking a little intimidated by the slowly approaching light.
Blossomforth wondered aloud, "What is she doing?"
Pinkie was just dazzled by the display. "Ooh, pretty!"
Trixie however, was working too hard to appreciate her own talent.

"Full steam ahead, Fluttershy!"
Pushing the two levers as far forwards as possible, Fluttershy sped the Scorpion tank into the portal, if that's what it was.

The luminosity emitting from Trixie's horn built up to a critical level, and sparks spat out onto the tank's armour. Rays of light cut the air into shapes as they shot out from the Unicorn's over worked horn.

The Scorpion fazed through the light and entered the minute cave. The whole inside of the cave glowed purple as it was bathed in Trixie's magical aura, and stars twinkled prettily through the icy tunnel. Fluttershy realised that the Scorpion was literally passing through the rock and Forerunner columns like a ghost. The vehicle just fazed through the cave at a decent speed and soon emerged into an open pit at the other side.

Once out of the cave, the spell died, and so did Trixie. Well, she didn't really die, but boy was she knackered. Panting heavily, she rested the side of her head on her hooves. Her hind legs dangled limp inside the Scorpion. She closed her eyes and strained herself to bring up her canteen and refresh herself with a lovely drink of ice cold water.

The Ghost and the Hog scraped their way through the cave afterwards, and the soldiers riding them cheered.
"Wow! That was amazing!" commended Blossomforth, beaming at the worn out Unicorn.

Lightning Dust just hovered in the air, her face impassive.

Caramel boggled, "How did you do that?!"
Frailly, Trixie wheezed, "Uuhh... I'm a Unicorn."
"Well so am I, but I don't think I could do that!" praised Vinyl joyfully.
Trixie didn't care for Vinyl's praise. "Uuhh... I'm a better Unicorn."
"Hey!"

Like a dead snake, Trixie slid down the hole and inside the tank. Fluttershy took the liberty of retrieving her pointless, pointy hat and sealing the hatch.
"Wow. That was really good, Trixie," she mentioned, conquering her shyness and placing the starry hat gently atop the blue one's head.
Trixie didn't answer, just trudged over to the main gun controls and reclined in her seat.

"I know I shouldn't say this, but... that was the finest magic spell I've ever seen!" Twilight giggled. "Well done, Trixie!"
Heaving, the Unicorn squeaked, "Fazing magic... I learnt that before I even... made it to kindergarten."
Was that true? Fluttershy had no idea.

Trixie then uttered, "Trixie's magic is gonna be the death of her..."

After a lengthy breather, the blue Mare was straightened in her seat and ready to go.

The three vehicles were all huddled together in the snow filled pit, and as the equines looked around, they saw no obvious way out.

Crackling over the coms, Lightning queried, "Hey, Trixie! Ya gonna do another magic trick to get outa that pit?"
Trixie answered, "Hmmm... nah," and pulled the triggers to set a tank shell loose.

No pony was ready for the sudden explosion. The ones riding the Scorpion shielded themselves from debris, and Fluttershy squealed with the resonating blast.
Trixie had blown a crater into the earth, and she ordered, "Drive," to the timid yellow driver.

"Trixie! What did you do that for?!" Twilight demanded an explanation.
The explanation came in the form of Fluttershy moving the tank up the carnage and out of the pit, into a vast, snowy valley.
"Oh..."

In the valley, a huge Forerunner structure dominated the area, and more of their architecture could be seen blended into a cliff to the right. The covenant had set up position here, and they defended a door with two Shade turrets, two Ghosts, one Banshee, and a team of troops.

As for the Forerunner structure in the centre of the valley, it appeared to be some sort of shelter over a trench that dipped down low and re-emerged at the other end. It couldn't have been too dry in there though; the shelter consisted of six metal beams spaced evenly apart, and nothing else. It kinda looked like a tent frame with no canvas.

At the very back of the valley, a Pelican drop ship had landed and been subsequently destroyed. No doubt it was the Pelican Blossomforth and her survivors had been aboard.

Way up high, Fluttershy noticed two Forerunner bridges spanning the gorge, side by side. She wondered if she would ever cross them.

No time to wonder about stuff though; the Covenant had been alerted by Trixie's pit solution, and they were spurred into action upon sight of the three vehicle convoy. Plasma splashed against Trixie's invisible protection bubble, and bullets shot across the valley in return.

A single tank shell took care of a Shade turret, as well as an Elite and a couple of Jackals. A second shell took care of the other, plus a group of Grunts.

Pinkie became engaged in a one on one Ghost battle. The second enemy Ghost was chased around by the rowdy Warthog crew. The two Ghosts strafed each other and began to disintegrate under the force of the blue plasma. Funnily enough, Pinkie was a better Ghost pilot than the Covenant Elite, and she pulled off manoeuvres that left the alien scratching his helmet.
"Oh no you don't!" she yelled as she pulled whatever the hovercraft equivalent of a wheelie is, and clipped the Elite's head with the underside of her vehicle.
Suffering a concussion, the rookie Elite fell out of his vehicle and laid limp in the snow.

Without a pilot, the Elite's Ghost lost power and came to a gentle rest on the ground, looking like a purple dalmatian with all the black spots of plasma burns. Pinkie's Ghost was in a similar condition, and she giggled at the idea of riding around on a big spotty doggy.

As for the other enemy Ghost, it continued to evade the deadly rounds that Flitter sent after it from the Warthog's LAAG. Flitter was an ok gunner, although Lightning was probably a teensy tiny bit better. Still, Vinyl and Octavia would take anypony over the insufferably vain Lightning Dust. Well, maybe not Trixie.

Trixie was mind blowingly powerful, and one of the biggest assets to the UPSC, but damn she was full of herself.

Lightning and Trixie had a lot in common, and that was why they didn't get along. It was also why no pony cared much for either of them.

A Banshee fighter whirled through the cold air, snowflakes hitting its purple sheen and melting away into water that streaked along the aircraft's fuselage. It was abruptly brought down by a very well aimed shell from Trixie; just more accomplishments for her to brag about.

Plummeting to the earth, the burning wreckage almost hit the airborne Lightning.
The turquoise Pegasus narrowly avoided it with a, "Woah!" and watched as it came to the most convenient landing ever; directly on top of the remaining Ghost.

"Bwahahahahaha!" Trixie laughed meanly. "What do they call that? Two birds with one high velocity tank shell? Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm-hm! Trixie totally called it."
The thought of two innocent little birdies being blown out of existence by a tank was enough to make Fluttershy bite her lip.
It's ok, it's just a metaphor, she told herself.

With Trixie, Pinkie howled with laughter at the Ghost and Banshee crash, only she was a little less mean.

"The valley is clear!" the AI broadcasted, full of glee. "We should proceed through this door."
Fluttershy eyed the tall, hexagonal door that had been built into the side of the cliff. She wondered if it was necessary for Trixie to perform her fazing spell once again.
According to Twilight, it wasn't an option. "This is an ancient complex of chambers and corridors. We can't take the tank with us this time."
Sulking, Trixie sighed, "Well, it was only a matter of time. Trixie's earned enough points in this thing anyway."
Accepting, she abandoned her seat and popped out of the tank.

Fluttershy's tummy ache had worsened thanks to the Scorpion's driver's seat, and after switching off the engine and placing the key in her saddle bag, she flopped onto the cold metal deck. Subdued light entered the tank via the compact, square hatch, and the chilly weather felt refreshing on her face.

Twilight worried, "Fluttershy? Are you alright?"
Curled in a feeble, yellow ball, Fluttershy responded over her grumbling stomach, "Hrrr... ugh... I'm fine, just, nng... give me a minute."
Fluttershy had experienced these stomach pains many times before, and after her Spartan training, they had been more worse, and more frequent. This was proving to be one of the longest tummy aches she'd ever had, but she was still adamant it would fade away soon.

Slowly, her eyelids closed.