"Blurrrg!" gurgled the Hunter as it fell to the deck, dead.
With Pinkie playing distraction on her stripped Ghost, the bazooka wielding Blossomforth had wasted both of the behemoths with two quick rockets.
Pinkie parked the Ghost by Blossomforth's side so she could grab a case of rockets and reload, Flitter helping her.
The room was clear, and Pinkie hollered down the radio, "You can bring her through now!"
Steadily bringing up the rear, Bulk and Caramel paced into the octagonal chamber, carrying the half dead Trixie between them on a scrap of Covenant metal. Fleur and Vinyl walked behind, using their magic to keep Trixie stable on the Ghost's hood. And alongside, Fluttershy offered moral support, whispering meaningfully into Trixie's ear.
"It's ok, Trixie. We're almost done, aren't we, Twilight?"
"Almost," the AI in her armour responded. "The control centre should be through the next corridor."
"Great." At last, the end of the mission was in sight, and home time would be coming real soon. Tired, Fluttershy yawned, then spoke to Trixie. "Once we're done, you'll be taken to the Truth and Reconciliation, where you'll get all the treatment you need. You'll be up and well in no time." The yellow Pegasus wasn't sure if she believed herself, and if she didn't believe her, who would?
"Nnnng," groaned the bandaged up Trixie in return.
"How is she, doc?" Lightning pondered.
Doc?
LD and Trixie had been quarrelling almost constantly throughout the endeavour, as had Vinyl, but none of that mattered to them now. All everypony wanted was to keep their leader safe and alive, and all their leader wanted to do was rest.
Answering Lightning, Fluttershy told, "She's not good."
Thinking to herself, she thought, She might not make it, and had to stop herself from crying.
Lightning sighed and continued on, catching the eye of Vinyl and sharing a frown with her.
Taking out her flask, Fluttershy took a sip of water, wiped the top, and offered some to Trixie. The Unicorn's head was sideways, and Fluttershy lightly poured a trickle of water as best as she could into her mouth.
With her eyes closed, Trixie lapped up the water and swallowed. "Th... thanks..."
"Don't mention it."
Crossing the Forerunner chamber, the squad passed through a tall door and made their way through a metal-glass corridor. Pinkie's Ghost went first. Fluttershy and Octavia escorted the great and powerful Trixie, as well as her carriers, at the back of the line, and everypony else marched or winged in between.
Arriving at another high door at the end of the corridor, Pinkie hit the controls with her mane and parted it, revealing the great outdoors and its marvellous snow.
Outside, the assault force were about to enter a valley full of Covenant. The door deposited them on a divine arc of frosty, snow covered rock. The natural arc bridged the entire valley and lead to an identical door on the other side. Icicles hung down from the underside of the bridge like hearths warming decorations. The top side of the arc featured a scattering of boulders that would provide decent cover for the Ponies, and the Covies that patrolled up and down.
To the squad's right, a monumental, frozen waterfall left a reflective streak carving down the cliff from somewhere so high, it couldn't be seen. It came to end in an iced up lake that made up a quarter of the valley floor, bracketed by trees and boulders. A solidified river lead from the lake and down a spooky dark hole in the ground.
Also disappearing down that hole, was a gigantic arm of Forerunner metal, running straight and true down the front of a picturesque pyramid structure. The magnificent building looked like an Aztec pyramid, but from the future, crafted out of the same old silvery metal.
Upon the pyramid's summit, a high tower stood tall and firm, and metal frames trailed all the way up the cliff and out of sight like some sort of exterior elevator.
The entire valley was owned by the Covenant. They had a Banshee fighter in the air, a Wraith tank and two Ghosts on the ground, personnel decorating the face of the pyramid, and a huge platoon stationed on top with two Shade turrets at their disposal.
"Analysing," chirped the AI. "... The control centre is at the top of that pyramid structure," she informed. "Subtle."
One thing the Covenant weren't using, for whatever reason, was a second Banshee fighter that sat idle ahead, guarded by Covies.
The Covies didn't register with Pinkie though as she kicked the rocket cases off her Ghost and onto the floor.
"Oh-my-gosh-a-Banshee!" she shrieked. The only thing matching the speed of her words was the speed of her Ghost as she blasted away.
Annoyed at Pinkie for carelessly kicking the high explosives onto the floor, Blossomforth yelled, "Be careful!"
"What is she even doing?" Flitter wondered out loud.
What she was doing was genius.
Upon boosting the hoodless Ghost straight out over the natural bridge, Pinkie caught the Covies' attention, and splattered two Jackals and a rookie Elite. She wasn't aiming for them; they just happened to be in her way. What she really cared about was the Banshee.
Over the coms, Twilight shouted, "Pinkie! What are you doing?! You can't fly a Banshee!"
How can she even drive the Ghost? wondered Fluttershy, dismissing it as Pinkie's usual, unexplainable antics.
Pinkie didn't listen however, just snorted with laughter as she scored a strike on a team of Grunts.
Alerted to the pink menace, the Covenant countered, directing all their fire at the pink and purple blur. Pinkie was too fast for them, and avoided almost every plasma bolt and needle that came flashing her way.
Just as she approached the empty Banshee, a crimson armoured Elite jumped into the aircraft and immediately took off. She refused to give up though.
"Oh no you don't!" she bellowed at the pilot from behind her Ghost's controls.
What happened next left the audience lost for words.
As if wanting to commit suicide, Pinkie sped her Ghost straight off the edge of the frosted arc. The Ghost was a rocket loosing power as it tore through the snow filled air and plummeted. Pinkie however, wasn't on it. Not anymore. Now, she was latched onto the airborne Banshee's starboard wing, waving enthusiastically to her friends that gawped at her from the doorway.
"Holy cow!" gawked Vinyl in disbelief.
Fluttershy watched on in concern as her pink friend beat at the aircraft's fuselage.
Without a driver, Pinkie's Ghost came to a landing on the valley floor and broke apart. An Elite Zealot stationed down there had to dive out of the way as a particularly large piece of Ghost threatened to knock him down.
Inside the Banshee, the veteran pilot felt the thudding on the outside of his craft, and noticed an increase in weight. Knowing what was responsible and shocked at it, he sent his fighter into a barrel role.
"Woahoahoahoahoah!" sounded Pinkie as she spun around and around, clinging on to the Banshee, stubborn not to let go.
With the frozen waterfall coming up fast, the Elite ceased his barrel roles and sent the Banshee into a vertical climb. Incredulously, the Elite watched as the tip of a pink crowbar pierced its way into the cockpit, creasing the purple metal.
Growling with strength, Pinkie used her poufy pink mane to pry open the Banshee's carapace and present herself to the pilot with a mischievous grin.
Reaching into the cockpit, she pulled at a control yoke and pitched the Banshee until it was upside-down. With the carapace wide open, gravity took its toll on the Elite, and he slipped right out like a greasy fish and screamed all the way down.
Pinkie didn't have time for gravity, but she did have time to wave and bid, "See ya!" to the decommissioned pilot.
Laying on her belly on the floor of the aircraft, she pulled the long, smooth carapace down over her until it clicked, offering her comfortable back support.
Having just ditched her Ghost for a Banshee, Pinkie rolled the alien aircraft around and kept it steady. The first test included being in a dog fight with the other Banshee, and Pinkie worked hard to guess the controls and put up a fight.
"She... she's done it!" Lightning exclaimed, jaw dropped. "I can't believe it!" Snapping herself out of it, the turquoise Mare stated, "Well, of course I would be able to do that too."
"Oh please," Vinyl rolled her eyes. "You can't even fly a Pelican."
"Hey! I ca-"
"-Ssshhh!" interrupted Fluttershy, stroking Trixie's pale blue mane. "Please, be quiet."
"Oh, sorry," Vinyl apologised.
Some of the soldiers gathered up the rocket cases that were scattered on the floor. Suddenly, the crispy fried wreckage of a Banshee thumped down onto the bridge, right beside them. Lazily, it teetered over the edge and dropped down to the ground.
Another Banshee was still in the air, and the Covenant screamed in the distance as it laid siege to them. It was obvious who'd won the dog fight.
To the left, a rumbling noise echoed around the snowy valley. Fluttershy spun her head to witness a gigantic Forerunner door on top of the pyramid slide shut, the Covenant platoon behind.
"Oh no! The Covenant are inside!" fretted Twilight. "There's no way we can make it in time!"
Everypony except Trixie gasped with fear. If the Covenant were inside Halo's control room, they had the power to erase all Ponies from the galaxy.
"Oh no!" panicked Fluttershy, shivering and bringing her hooves to her mouth.
Dramatically, Derpy wailed, "It's all over!"
Pinkie chose that moment to perform an air strike on the Wraith below, bombarding it with plasma and fuel rod projectiles. Explosion after explosion quaked the ground beneath the Ponies' hooves, and icicles began to drop from under the graceful arc of rock.
"It's not over yet!" Twilight stomped her digital hoof. "I have an idea."
Rolling her head on the uncomfortable alien bonnet, Trixie groaned, "Uuhh, Trixie has a better idea."
Giving the squad a fly by, Pinkie almost clipped the head off Bulk Biceps as she piloted her stolen Banshee at great speed over them, the engines whistling loudly and resonating in their ears.
Twilight addressed the critically injured Mare, "Trixie, sweetheart, whatever your idea is, it - waa!" The AI yelped as an invisible hook wrapped around her carrier and lifted her off the ground.
"Woah!" Fluttershy squealed in surprise, her stomach floundering.
All the other equine troops, minus Pinkie and the Pegasi, were wrapped in a faint purple aura and hoisted into the air as well.
Caramel pronounced, "What the..."
Pointing at Trixie, Octavia exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Trixie, you're doing it!"
Trixie was indeed doing it. Even when she was lying wheezing and broken on death's doorstep, she had abandoned her makeshift stretcher and was emitting intense light from her horn, performing another incredible feat of magic. She gnashed her teeth and groaned with the effort, purple sparks sputtering from her horn like a wild fire.
Flying amongst the wingless troops, the Pegasi whistled in celebration and escorted them across the valley, towards the control centre.
"Way'da go, Trixie!" Lightning hollered, a smile on her face to cover up her shame.
"Wowzers!" Pinkie cheered as she swooped the Banshee over them, annihilating a group of Covies on the face of the pyramid.
Shuffling in the air, Vinyl chanted, "Go Trixie! Go Trixie! Go Trixie!"
"Just a little further!" commented Octavia, in awe.
"You're almost there!" Derpy contributed.
Eventually, everypony joined in with Vinyl's chant. "Go Trixie! Go Trixie! Go Trixie!" Even the ghostly silent Fleur de Lis was moving her lips.
"Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!" Pinkie sang, beholding a spectacular view of the pyramid and the magical floating Ponies.
On the pyramid, a Grunt shuffled and copied, "Go Trixie! Go Trixie!" with a little too much enthusiasm.
A Jackal trudged up behind and snarled, slapping him over the head and firing his plasma pistol upwards. The gas sucker took the hint and joined him with his needler. Pinkie dived her Banshee to take care of them with a fuel rod projectile, the green explosion providing an epic backdrop for Trixie and her precious cargo.
Having mopped up the entirety of the Covenant, she slowed down the Banshee fighter's speed and flew elegantly alongside her floating team.
"Almost..." Twilight strained as they drew closer and closer to the top of the pyramid.
Going way past her limit, Trixie's horn began to discharge steam and arrow straight rays of light. The sparkling noise of her magic increased and began to fragment, and the purple aura of her horn built up to a dangerous level. It was really taking a lot out of the little Mare. Normally, the spell would be easy, but the energy sword to the torso had taken its toll, and sweat came bucketing down her forehead.
Now hovering over the flat summit of the pyramid, Trixie cut off the spell, and each soldier landed on the engraved floor with a clunk.
With the spell finally broken, Trixie reared up and let out an all mighty gasp like a fish out of water, with enough volume to rival the engines of Pinkie's Banshee. Fainting, she flopped over on her tummy with a thud and lay heaving on the cold metal surface.
The assault force were overjoyed, and they all applauded by stomping their hooves on the floor, creating a tremor. They cheered, whooped, hurrahed, and just plain celebrated.
"That was stupendous!" acclaimed Derpy, spreading her hooves out with delight.
Loop de looping, Pinkie stated, "I had a great view!"
Vinyl beamed and commented to Octavia, "I just don't know how she does it."
"Truly amazing," Octy nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeeaah!" came a rowdy and passionate cheer from Bulk Biceps.
Caramel simply hollered, "Woohoo!" and laughed with glee.
Blown away, Twilight questioned rhetorically, "Is there anying she can't do?"
"Oh, well done, Trixie," expressed Fluttershy, turning to behold who was, at this moment, the most fantastic Pony in the universe. "That was..."
... Trixie wasn't breathing.
Motionless on the floor, Trixie laid on her side with her head resting nice and snug on her forelegs, like she was sleeping. The Mare was ever so tranquil as the pretty snowflakes ballet danced over her body and tenderly touched down on her blue coat, melting away.
Fluttershy's praises trailed off, and she stared at the silent Trixie, shakily bringing a hoof to her mouth.
"Oh no," Twilight spoke with a tone of dread.
As the rest of the unaware squad cheered on, Fluttershy approached her peaceful friend and knelt down by her side.
"Trixie?" she checked, praying with all her heart for a response... When it never came, she gave Trixie a gentle nudge and squeaked, "Trixie?"
... Still nothing.
Placing her ear against Trixie's bandaged chest, she listened carefully over the ruckus for a heart beat, felt for rising lungs, desperately sought any sign of life... But there was nothing. Trixie was completely silent.
Trembling and sounding tearful, Twilight announced, "She... she's gone."
Fluttershy's teeth came down on her lower lip as she tried hard to stifle her cries... to no avail. The tears rose under her shimmering blue eyes and cut cracks down her face.
"Oh no... No," she whimpered miserably, cuddling Trixie's cold body.
Wrapping up their celebrations, the other squaddies' cheers faded, and Fluttershy's distant whimpers echoed in their place.
"Oh my gosh," Octavia said, realising.
Everypony else soon discovered the tragedy that had befallen their herd, and drew in breaths with the shock of it.
At once, the herd hurried over and gathered around Fluttershy, gazing emptily at their one and only Trixie. Respectfully, everypony fell silent...
... It was a long thirty seconds before a noise other than whimpering or breeze interrupted the funeral. Everypony flicked their heads to the sound of knocking coming from the door, only to witness Fleur de Lis leaning over the control console, tapping it with her hoof. Her eyes darted around, unsure, knowing she was interrupting. Knowing she had to.
"Alright," Twilight started with a sniff as Fluttershy rose up. "... Alright... let's do Trixie proud... Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy's only response was a sniffle and a wipe of the tears.
"Open the door. Everypony else-"
Before Twilight could finish, Fleur hit the controls and galloped for the tower that topped the pyramid, pounding up the ramps.
"What the... Fleur! How do you... We're not even ready yet!"
Popping her head over a balcony situated halfway up the tower, Fleur gritted her teeth and growled like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Her eyes were serious, and they glowered upon the entirety of her teammates.
Since Fleur was refusing to talk, she required something to speak for her, and funnily enough, something did. The massive blast door scraped open, and the distinctive grumblings of various Covenant species originated from beyond.
"Up the tower!" Twilight bellowed, prompting everypony to hurry and join Fleur up there.
Pinkie continued to circle the installation in her Banshee. She had been quiet for too long.
Halfway up the tower, the troops peeped over a low wall and spied the large platoon of Covies come pouring out, ready for action. Amongst them, Fluttershy picked out a golden armoured Field Master Elite. Twilight had named him before, but she couldn't quite remember his name.
Speaking of Twilight, the AI broadcasted, "No plan here; we have the advantage. Everypony just fire everything you've got."
No plan? This was a new strategy for Twilight. Well, a new non-strategy. Had she thought it through? Or had Trixie's passing caused her to slacken?
The AI did make a valid point though; they were up high, so they could rain down hell on the nasty Covies with a variety of weapons: Bulk's plasma pistol, Vinyl's plasma rifle, Flitter's needler, Fleur's sniper rifle, Blossomforth's rocket launcher, Pinkie's Banshee and everypony else's MA5Bs.
There was little to no cover at the mouth of the control centre, and the Ponies were armed to the teeth. Grunts and Jackal's were blown apart by a combination of Blossomforth's rockets and Pinkie's Banshee.
Pinkie actually flew the aircraft inside the gaping corridor, banking around and clipping the Covies with the vehicle's wings.
The Field Master skilfully dived out of the blast radius of one of Blossomforth's shaped charges, then dove again to narrowly avoid being splattered by crazy Pinkie.
Defiantly, the Field Master stood and drew out his energy sword, ready to make a dash to the tower and slaughter those that had taken up resistance upon it.
He set off running, and - bam! He was caught in the stomach by a lethal sniper round. On his knees, he clenched his bleeding gut and craned his neck to behold his enemies on the balcony. Time slowed down for him as the surrounding ruckus became muffled, and he locked eyes with Fleur de Lis.
The professional sniper peered down her scope at the Field Master, and was surprised to see him toss away his sword. The Elite looked longingly into her eye; he was ready.
Cold bloodedly, Fleur kept the crosshair over the Zealot's head, and pulled the trigger. The piercing crack of the sniper rifle converted the Field Master's head into a purple fountain, and his body flopped over to the deck with the rest of the aliens.
It didn't take long to decimate every last Covie on top of the pyramid, and once the coast was clear, the fire team descended the tower and re-grouped around Trixie.
"Everypony stay here and guard the entrance," ordered Twilight, still with a touch of sorrow in her voice.
Fluttershy nuzzled Trixie's soft blue mane for a while, and Derpy gave her a pat on the back.
"Me and Fluttershy are going in."
Lifting her head, Fluttershy's shimmering eyes inspected the gaping corridor. It was huge. It was daunting. It was full of Covenant bodies.
"Ok," she croaked as she rose to her hooves. "Here we go."
Inside, the enormous cave of a corridor featured the usual glass and metal stripes. Her hooves clopped solidly on the silver metal and hollowly over the glass.
Droning over her speaker, the AI informed, "The Covenant have set up another terminal by the second door."
Fluttershy had noticed the Covenant terminal from a mile off, and as she approached it, she veered right towards a Forerunner control panel, just next to it. She was tired, and she yawned as she placed her hooves over the ancient alien light display. Filing through her fuzzy memory for how she'd opened the door to the cartographer, she hesitantly pushed the blue square of light in the centre of the display.
"If you can upload me into the Covena - woah!" Twilight's directions were cut short by the sound of noisy scraping.
That massive Forerunner door deliberately parted, revealing a longer stretch of cavernous, metal-glass striped corridor.
"What did you do?!" asked the AI, alerted.
Stuttering, Fluttershy explained, "I... I don't know. I just touched it."
Whatever Fluttershy had done, it had done the trick, and the whole door was soon scraped out of the way.
The Covenant had spent hour after hour trying to hack their way through, and then Fluttershy shows up and just taps it open, easy as pie. How? Neither Fluttershy nor Twilight had an answer.
"Huh, that's odd," muttered the AI. "Almost as if it prefers Ponies..."
Fluttershy thought about that for a second, not sure if it was a joke or a speculation. She had noticed Fleur de Lis open the first door with a simple tap of the controls. It was puzzling. Very puzzling.
Pacing forth, the yellow Mare directed her gaze all around the fabulous corridor, admiring the design.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" quizzed Twilight, relishing in the Forerunner architecture more than the sentient one.
Staring up at the striped ceiling, Fluttershy yawned with fatigue and replied, "Kinda."
"I can't believe we're actually gonna enter Halo's control room," elated Twilight, full of exuberance. "This is so exciting!"
Fluttershy and Twilight definitely had different ideas of what was exciting.
Traversing the length of the corridor, the lone Pony approached another huge door with the same old control panel at its side. Like before, she pressed the big blue square in the centre of the panel and watched as the goliath blast door grated open, ringing in her ears.
"Perfect," Twilight congratulated, ready to get down to business. "Well done, Fluttershy. We're finally here."
On the other side of the door, a vast, circular chamber stretched out before them. Blue and purple lights provided excellent illumination in the oversized quarters.
The entire room had no floor; just a howling funnel, and Fluttershy shivered at the thought of falling down it. It didn't help that the platform extending far out over the abyss was made entirely of glass, or that there were no railings, or supports. The daunted Mare just kept as perfectly in the centre of the see-through path as she could and walked on, heedful not to look down.
The end of the platform was the eye of a giant glass needle, and within the loop, a holographic representation of the gas giant, Threshold, and its moon, floated motionlessly in the air. Between the two, a tiny ring represented Halo.
Expanding far out beyond the platform, almost touching the walls of the cavern, was a monumental, holographic image of Halo, a great view of its inside surface.
In awe, Twilight justified, "This is it... Halo's control centre."
"Wow!" Fluttershy swooned.
"I know."
Nearing a widened array of shifting lights and semi-transparent controls, Twilight guided, "That terminal, try there."
Fluttershy had no idea what Twilight was referring to as "that terminal."
Helpfully, the AI added, "Inside that orange tube."
Identifying said tube, Fluttershy ejected Twilight's chip and grabbed it with her teeth. Her long pink mane cascaded on the glass floor as she lowered her head to insert Twilight into the Forerunner systems.
As soon as the chip was sucked into the orange light tube, Twilight's Alicorn avatar materialised over the console, and continued to grow until she was life sized.
"Woah!" exclaimed the surprised hologram.
Fluttershy was just as taken aback by the life sized Twilight Sparkle floating before her, the Forerunner console providing a sort of stage for the Princess.
"Oh goodness!" she gasped. "Are you alright?"
With a grin emerging on her digital face, Twilight announced, "Never been better, Fluttershy. It's amazing in here. It's like a gold mine of data! So much information!"
With her eyes half shut, Fluttershy let out another tired yawn and spoke softly, "It's good to know you're enjoying it in there."
Twilight's enlarged avatar was so life like, Fluttershy felt like she was talking to the real thing. Almost reached out to hug her.
Since they were at the control room, they could focus on saving the entire Pony race from extinction. The yellow Mare scratched her head as to how they were going to do that. Was there some way Twilight could render Halo unusable from within its network?
"Give me a second to access," the Alicorn uttered, placing a hoof on her straight fringe and assessing the data in front of her.
Standing silent, the worn out Mare took a swig of water from her canteen and stared wonderingly at her artificial buddy.
Purple eyes reading back and forth, Twilight opened her mouth ever so slightly. Gradually, her open mouth grew into a gawp, and she cringed as she processed whatever she was processing.
Worried, Fluttershy asked, "Twilight? Is something wrong?"
Twilight looked up and gazed out over the control room. Her eyes were fixated on something behind Fluttershy, but when the yellow Mare turned around, there was nothing there.
"... Oh no," she eventually murmured.
Dying to know, Fluttershy quizzed, "What is it?"
Sussing things out, Twilight frowned and shook her head. "No, no, no, no... We... we've got it all wrong." She peered down to read something, then looked back up at Fluttershy through narrow eyes. "We're not the Covenant's greatest foe." There was a dramatic pause before she revealed, "Something else is."
"But what?" asked Fluttershy, leaning forwards. "Who?"
"I don't know. All the information on them is in a different file. I'm having trouble accessing it."
Fluttershy was growing weary. Ever since the Covenant had boarded the Filly of Autumn, she'd been struggling for survival, and was just plain desperate to go back home and leave this dreaded ring world behind.
In an attempt to wrap things up, Fluttershy questioned, "Do we still need to stop Halo from being fired?"
Looking closely at the data that was invisible to Fluttershy, the translucent one taught, "According to the record; Halo was built to exterminate a different, specific target. Not Ponies."
"Oh, so we were safe all along?" Fluttershy started to get the impression that they'd fought and died to get to the control centre for nothing. "Does this mean we can go home now?"
Does this mean we could've gone home before now?
"Hold on," Twilight barked, taking a thoughtful pause and resting a hoof next to her elongated horn.
After a while, the AI muttered, "Oh my gosh."
It caught Fluttershy's attention, and the Mare brought her tired blue eyes up to watch Twilight's panicking avatar.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"
"What is it?"
Fluttershy had never heard AI Twilight scream the words "oh my gosh" over and over again. It disturbed her.
Answering Fluttershy, Twilight bawled, "The Covenant!"
The Covenant had always been a problem. Fluttershy wasn't sure what Twilight was getting at.
However, whatever she was getting at, she was getting at it very angrily. "Ugh! Those fools! Didn't they think?! Didn't they see the signs?!"
Fluttershy raised a hoof lightly. "Um, Twilight?"
"Locked doors are locked for a reason! To say you worship the Forerunners, you don't have much respect for their privacy! Ugh!"
AI Twilight had never been so livid, and Fluttershy was nonplussed by the sudden outburst.
Finally getting her word in, the yellow Pegasus informed, "Twilight, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, sorry, Fluttershy," Twilight apologised, straightening herself. Clearing her throat, she gave Fluttershy a more clear low down. "Ahem... The Forerunners buried something in this ring, something horrible, and now the Covenant have very cleverly dug it up. Whatever it is, it was the Forerunners' greatest foe, and they had to build this super weapon in order to take it down."
This whole place just for their enemy? Fluttershy was dumbstruck.
Either the Forerunners had one powerful enemy, or they really liked overkill.
Rambling on, Twilight lessoned, "It is also the Covenant's greatest foe, and now that it's on the loose, they're scared."
Fluttershy gasped, "The Covenant are scared?"
The Covenant were the nastiest, mightiest force in all the known universe. They laughed in the face of danger, showed no mercy, burned planets to molten slag, and they were never, ever scared.
But according to Twilight, they were. "Yep. And now there's no..." she trailed off, distracted. "... Wait a minute..."
Gazing up at the life sized projection of her friend, Fluttershy saw Twilight's lips moving, like she was mouthing something. The pink maned Pony wasn't a good lip reader however, so she stood looking around the incredible control room until Twilight finally projected her voice. What she said caught her off guard.
"Fluttershy, you have to stop Applejack and Rarity!" The purple Alicorn of light lunged forward, reaching a hoof out, as if Applejack and Rarity were right there.
"What?! Why?!" shrieked Fluttershy, mind boggled.
"The treasure they're looking for, it's not really... We can't let them find it!" Twilight stomped her hoof, putting extra emphasis behind her words.
"I-I don't understand."
"They're walking right into a trap! You have to stop them! Right now!"
Panicking, Fluttershy shot her head around, trying to come up with something to say. "Oh, um, er-"
"-Leave me here," Twilight dictated sternly. "If anyone tries to activate Halo, I'll need to be here to stop them."
"Oh, but, I... I thought-"
"-Just go!"
"B-b-but, I can't-"
"-Goooo!" Twilight yawped at the top of her artificial lungs.
In an instant, Fluttershy spun and galloped as fast as she could out of the control centre, whimpering with worry all the way.