//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: A New Friendship; A New Enemy; The Same War 
// Story: My Little Pony: Genesis of the Forerunners 
// by Bullet Soul 
//------------------------------//

	Linda screamed out in pain and doubled over. She'd never felt anything that gave her such pain before; not even the plasma bolt from the over charged plasma pistol which brought her on the edge of death was anywhere near as painful as being rammed by this unicorn.

"Stop!" She heard the Warrant Officer yell as she fell to one knee.

The unicorn reeled up on his back legs and began to bring his hooves down on Linda.

"Stop!" Hand screamed at the top of his lungs. He had read the reports of this spartan and knew they needed her. "She's here to help us!" Was the only thing Hand could think of on the spot.

The unicorn brought his hooves down as hard as he could at Linda's helmet, but his hooves landed with a thud on the ground, tossing up dirt and dust in exchange for energy.

The other Pony creatures slowly and cautiously walked towards their leader while the other SSEALs did the same behind their leader.

All was quiet and all stood still, the dead bodies of the Covenant laying on the ground behind everyone with wind whistling around them creating music, like death came to collect more victims with his song.





Applejack, Big MacIntosh, and Braeburn were absolutely baffled. Standing at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres they had seen the entire quick, but brutal, battle. They never knew anypony could be so dangerous or hectic in a combat situation, but they supposed that was why the Crusaders got the rank they achieved.

Applejack looked at the cowering green creature. She couldn't tell if the thing was wearing some sort of armor or if that was its skin. It looked odd either way, standing on its two hind legs and using its forelegs as some odd supportive extensions.

"What in tarnation? What are those... things?" Applejack muttered.

"Those bipedal things?" Braeburn spoke up.

"Yeah." AJ replied.

"You reckon we should go check it out? Go join those Royal Guard fellas?" Braeburn inquired looking at his cousins.

"Naw, I reckon we should wait."

So the trio waited.





"Whoa," Rainbow Dash said under her breath. "Forget the Wonderbolts! I'm going to joing them!" She said with gleaming eyes at the battle.

"Look at that gore!" Pinkie Pie spoke up. "I bet I could make some good cupcakes..." Her voice trailed off when she realized all her friends turned to look at her. "When I get home with how hyper I am!" She recovered.

Twilight looked back at the scene and looked at the odd bipedal creatures. "What are those things standing on two hooves?"

She looked at Fluttershy, who was trying to hold back tears from watching such a slaughter. Fluttershy realized Twilight was looking at her and just shook her head, wimpering a bit.

"That was the single most disgusting thing I have EVER seen." Rarity said with quite a bit of volume, enough to alert one of the bipedal creatures of their presence.





Heisler tapped Stevens on the shoulder. "Hey, look to our five. There are some more of those Pony creatures looking at us."

Stevens turned around and saw them looking at him. "That's just because they think I'm hot."

Heisler looked at him with a blank expression. "Really? For one that's sick. Two: You really gonna crack jokes in this situation?"

Stevens thought about it. "Yeah."

Heisler nodded. "Can't deny that logic."

They turned their heads back towards the scene and watched as the unicorn stood there, motionless, either mulling things over in his head or just because he isn't coherent on the situation he is in.

"Why should I?" The unicorn spoke up.

Hand stood there for a moment and realized he was about to hold a conversation with a mythical being, or a previously believed mythical creature.

"Because," Hand began, but he couldn't think of the right words to say. He knew there were right words, but also wrong ones. One slip of the tongue with a word that shouldn't be said and another fight would take place.

"Because she and those men clad in black armor are on our side." Hand said calmly, not to make himself look threatening.

The unicorn looked at the five super soldiers then back at Hand. "Okay, that still doesn't give me a reason not to kill them, or you for that matter."

"Well," the Warrant Officer began again, glancing over at Sierra 058 kneeling on the ground. "Those aliens you just fought are our enemies. And they are clearly your enemies now too. We have been at war with them for two years short of a century. Ultimately we have won that war."

"So, why keep fighting it?" The unicorn said. "Why keep fighting a war you've already won? Let alone bring it to another, innocent planet? Since you won that war do you need another war to fight? Like a sick form of entertainment?"

Hand stood there a bit speechless. Obviously these beings weren't primitive and had at least some intellectual property to them.

"No," he said, shifting the weight of his body onto his right foot, letting the heel of his boot dig itself into the gravel and dirt. "We followed them here. We followed them to destroy them and..."

"So they fled!" The unicorn spoke loudly. "And you chased them down like a swarm of parasprites chasing a small apple. They've already given up so why..."

"No! Alright? You listen to me and let me explain, then we can talk about it and whatever a 'parasprite' is." Hand took one step forward as he said this and furrowed his eye brows in a rage. He hated being cut off, especially when it's incredibly important.

"We chased them down to prevent them from destroying another planet or civilization, like they did ours. They came here for a weapon that would save them, but destroy all other sentient beings in this galaxy and we had to stop them."

The unicorn licked the inside of his lips picked up and dropped his right hoof. "Maybe they just want to survive and..."

"Listen to yourself! You just slaughtered a small army of them and now your defending them? Think that through for a moment."

The unicorn seemed to ponder that thought, then he dropped his head.





The bipedal alien was right, but Mercy Soul just couldn't believe that a war could have been brought to Equestria, an innocent planet. Why must evil corrupt the pure?

Mercy Soul wanted to agree with these creatures, but he thought about his squad and what was best for them to not put them in harm's way.

He looked up at the alien, "You still need to give me reason to trust you."





Hand glanced at the unicorn, "I suppose I can't really give you a reason to trust any of us, but let us show you can trust us. As long as we fight against the Covenant, whatever the reason may be, to get them off this planet or anything I don't care, we can trust each other."

"The 'Covenant.' Is that what they're called?" the unicorn inquired.

Hand thought about the best way to explain it to them. "That small army of eclectics you just crushed was the Covenant."






Mercy Soul thought it over in his head. He decided to ask why they were here, what the history was behind this conflict, and if there was a way to avoid another conflict, but then Celestia crossed his mind. He was to meet her in Equestrian Fields with every other guard.

So he decided to bring these aliens to Celestia, escorted by him and the crusaders.

Mercy looked around and saw a few members of the Apple family standing at a distance and Twilight Sparkle and her friends at the opposite side of the fields.

"Hey, Silver Heart, come here." The commander said to his second in command.

The glistening silver Alicorn trotted up to Mercy Soul. "Yes, sir?"

Mercy glanced at the Apple family. "Go to Applejack and her kin and tell them to meet us in Equestrian Fields."

Silver Heart grew a disgusting look on his face. "What? That group of rednecks? Why do I have to..."

Mercy Soul stared down his friend. "I know you've had bad experiences with them, but do as I say, Crusader."

Silver Heart bit his lips a little in frustration. "Okay." He mumbled as he trotted towards the Apple family.

Mercy turned towards the aliens. "I'm going to bring you to Princess Celestia. I'd like to ask you your history and many other questions, but I figure it would be better to bring you to her." He lifted up a hoof and began to turn around towards Twilight Sparkle when the alien spoke up again.





. "Wait!" Hand quickly said as Rigs finished snickering at the name "Princess Celestia."

The unicorn halted his about face and glanced at him. "For one: I thank you for letting us explain ourselves before jumping to a harsh conclusion. Secondly, what may we call you and the others, if you don't mind me asking?"

The unicorn raised a hoof and glanced at Hand with squinted eyes. "I am Mercy Soul: leader of Celestial Crusaders. The silver Alicorn is Silver Heart, second in command." And after that each pony raised their head as their name was being called. The unicorn, Mercy Soul, then held his head up high. "We are the Celestial Crusaders, at the very head of Equestria's military." Mercy Soul turned his head as the trees in the background began to sway with the wind. 

He glanced back at Hand. "And what may we call you?"

Hand bounced his rifle in his hands. He wondered where to start: with names or with his species.

After a minute Hand responded. "We are Humans; as in our race is called Human." His eyes drifted as he noticed an odd, yet beautiful insect like creature hover over a flower. "My name is Davis Hand. I am a Chief Warrant Officer, Grade Five, and squadron leader of the SSEALs team Vector Squadron."

Hand turned towards his squad, the grass beneath his pivoting foot being grounded into the dirt, and introduced the rest of his squad. He hoped the... Celestial Crusaders, or whatever they called themselves, would be able to recall all of their names, but he doubted it because he couldn't remember most of the Ponies' names.





An akward silence sat in the fields. Mercy Soul glanced over at his crew, then at the Humans, then at the five Mares off to the side of the field. He saw the beautiful lavender Mare holding what looked like a heated conversation. He glanced at Memento Mori and told him he was in charge for a second. The two squads of differing soldiers stood there, while the Humans talked amongst themselves and Davis Hand lifted his hand to his ear and seemed to talk to himself.





Twilight started to get a bit livid from the argument of what should be a simple debate, but was, as always, turned into a stormy verbal fight from the simple task of asking: what to do in their situation...

She looked up and saw Mercy Soul trotting towards them. "Shut up." She told her friends, not wanting to be found in such a negative and awkward situation.

They didn't listen.

"Shut up!" She said louder, Mercy Soul was getting closer and closer.

Again, they didn't listen, but seemed to get louder.

Twilight slammed a hoof on the ground. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut uuuuuuppp!" She yelled with angry eyes and with steam seeming to flow out of her nostrils.

The other four Mares did quiet down, and when they turned around and saw Twilight, and who was standing directly behind her they understood why.

Twilight stood there in the angry stance she makes, regained her composure, smiled at her friends with a "Thank you", and turned around to end in an even more embarassed postition than she had thought of. She turned around to come face to face with Mercy Soul: who clearly heard her explosion at her friends.

Rainbow Dash coughed.

"Okay," Mercy Soul said as he lifted a hoof. "We are going to lead these, what are called Humans and Seals..."

Pinkie Pie jumped up, confused. "Seals? They're not Seals. They don't even have flippers unless..." She lit up and gasped. "Maybe they can shape shift! Twilight! Can things do that?"

"Well, umm..." Twilight began, but Mercy Soul cut her off sharply.

"I don't know, but that's what they call themselves and..." He continued to talk, but whatever he said, Twilight didn't hear. Her heart dropped and she closed her eyes.

She shoudln't have tried to end the argument, or at leas not the way she did. She held one of the Elements of Harmony, and so did all of them. She always wondered why they held the Elements. She knew they were all good friends, but they always fought, fought like crazy, and brought Discord among themselves, both metaphorically and physically.

She looked up and decided to listen. It was the best thing to do after what Mercy Soul had seen her do.

"... And after we lead them to Equestrian Fields they will mett with Celestia and a council will most likely be held..."

And on he went with the idea. And on did Twilights sadness drop down an abyss.





"Oh, look! That silver guard's comin' this way. What'd'ya think he wants?" Braeburn said, a bit excited to come face to face with such a Stallion.

"I don't know, but..." Applejack blushed quickly and looked around. "Oh quick Big Mac! How do'ah look? Okay"

Macintosh glanced his sister up and down. "Ahhhh guess." He said awkwardly.

"Oh, Ah hope you're right big brother."

Silver Heart stopped about five meters from the group of the Apple family. "Uhh, okay. So, I was told to tell you, that we are going to be meeting in Equestrian Fields, with Celestia, so yeah. Meet us there." He started to turn around, but looked back at them. "And Applejack, leave the other two of you out of this." He trotted back to his squad, muttering something under his breath.

"Well," Macintosh slowly said. "He didn't sound too enthused, now did he?."

Applejack looked down and kicked a rock. "Ah don't think so either."

Big Mac looked up. "Well, Ah suppose you just go ahead now."

AJ closed her eyes, "Ah suppose." And she headed off to join them.





"Okay, no. No, you're... Yes, sir... I... Yes, sir... I haven't been lieing I've been telling the truth sir. We have made contact with the Covenant army and they have all been killed. No, sir. Not a single survivor. I... Sir, I just told you. The group of... Yes, sir. Aye aye, sir." Hand lowered his hand from his ear and sighed.

Rigs walked up to him, leaving a conversation between Wayne and Howard. "Did the Admiral believe you?"

Hand shook his head. "Did he believe me? Really? I just told him a small army with heavy tanks and multiple scout vehicles and infantry just got obliterated by a group of mystical creatures that flew around and used magic the eminated from their horns..."

Rigs raised an eye brow, subtly. "So, that's a no than?"

Hand pursed his lips. "No, he believes me, but he doesn't want to. Not only is it hard to believe, but it also means there is another group of life forms we have to look after. To keep safe from this war. And that adds a lot to our already full plate. Destroy the remaining Covenant before they reach the Garden of Eden and now we have to protect another set of life forms, but at least they are intelligent life forms."

Rigs nodded his head. "Yeah, I can see that." 

Hand glanced to his left, where the Mercy Soul character had gone to talk to the other Ponies. 

"This is unbelievable", he said to himself. He couldn't think straight with all that has been going on, everything he had to do. He looked at Linda: Spartan 058. She was wobbling on her feet, humbly accepting help from her ODST squad to balance her. The marksman looked back at Hand.





Linda was having trouble processing everything. Help the SSEALs. Kill the Covenant. Scout the area. Report what you find. None of this has happened yet.

Her armor was still locked up on her in some places, but only in minute joints like fingers and her ankles, but it was loosening up.

"What happened?" Anderson, the ODST with a green striped helmet to her left asked her as he positioned her under his shoulder.

"I'm not sure. The suit lost power for a couple seconds." Linda said with a shaky breath.

"But isn't your suit powered by a nuclear battery or something?" Dawn, a kind yet one of the most powerful ODSTs aksed in her soft voice, following the same motions as her commanding Shock Trooper.

"Yeah." Linda said under her breath. "That's what I don't understand... I... I just don't know." Her armor finally unlocked and she shrugged the ODSTs away from her now that she no longer required their assistance. "But it's all done and over with so it doesn't matter."





Dawn's helmet glanced from the alienized super soldier, to the lead SSEAL. She wondered what it would be like if the SSEALs were Spartans too, or even ODSTs for that matter. Would they be any better? Or the same? She then glanced at the Unicorn who had walked towards the group of other Ponies off to the side.

"Look," she said. "They're coming back."





Twilight Sparkle followed Mercy Soul at quite a distance. She didn't dare look up at him. She just looked at his hoof prints.

Rarity trotted up next to Twilight. "Oh, cheer up Twilight. It was just one thing. I'm sure it wasn't anything to rash that'll make him change his mind. Well, unless it WAS in his mind. Many Ponies have different views. And to be quite honest if I were him what you did would completely turned me off and..."

Rainbow Dash kicked Rarity in the ankle.

"But of course, that's me. And I'm a Mare, not a Stallion. I'm sure we are MUCH different." Rarity stopped and smiled with a "Did I redeem myself?" smile.

Fluttershy trotted by Rarity with a saddened look and caught up to Rainbow Dash. "So, what are we doing, again, exactly?"

Rainbow Dash sighed with frustration. "Don't you ever listen Fluttershy?"

Fluutershy frowned a bit.

"Basically," Rainbow Dash continued. "We are going to bring these guys to Celestia, fight these other aliens, and save Equestria, again. Because we are that awesome. And everypony will know us as the Mares who saved the world, and I will get to finally join the Wonderbolts!" And with that Rainbow Dash entered her "head in the clouds" dream world.

Fluttershy blinked a couple of times. "Umm, okay, then. I... Okay..."





Everyone had gathered at the center of the field and Mercy Soul turned towards Hand. "Okay, now follow me..." Mercy Soul looked around at everypony around, everybody whom he was familiar with. "Follow us. We will get things straightened out and squared away.

As they started to move towards Equestrian Fields a bright light shot out through the acres of Sweet Apple Acres, from Equestrian Fields. Dust rose from the ground and birds flew off in all directions.

"What in Celestia's mane was that?" Senitel blurted out.

Mercy Soul quickly turned to face the crowd of sentient beings. "Okay, change of plans! Crusaders, get there as fast as you can. Silver Heart report back to me. Everypony... everybody else follow me. We are going to be moving fast."

And with that, Mercy Soul took off at a gallop, the Crusaders took to the skies, and everybody else followed after the midnight blue Stallion.

Sweetie Belle then crossed Rarity's mine and her safety worried the older sister.





The young Unicorn and Pegasus Filly couldn't believe their eyes. What had Celestia done.

Shied away in some shrubbery the two Cutiemark Crusaders hidden, afraid for their lives.

Celestia and Luna stood there in the fields, Luna cowering from what Celestia had done.

"Sister!" Luna shouted. "You swore we'd never do that! No matter how dire the circumstance!"

Celestia turned towards her sister. "And you'd learn to hold your tongue if you didn't wish for the same my kin."

Luna stood up. "You dare threaten me with our own spell? I laugh at your ignorance! You know I can counter it. I created it, and I can end it. We used it once, but after seeing the effects it had we decided to..."

"I don't care, sister!" Celestia shouted with her royal Equestrian voice. "They are here to fight, here for war and I don't want that here, do you?"

"No, I..." 

"Silence than! It must me done! So, I did." Celestia turned back around to the screaming, burning, suffering bodies, still with a soul alive inside, melting into a frozen state close to death, but they will never reach it. To forever suffer, and to listen to Death's symphony faintly for eternity, until someone ends it.

Luna looked at her sister in disbelief, she was now the monster Luna was. Luna then looked down at the screaming bodies of the aliens, whatever they are. She's never seen them before, but had sympathy for them. More sympathy for them than anything before.

Celestia than raised her head, her mane flowing in the breeze. "The Covenant must die. They must suffer."