• Published 21st Oct 2013
  • 3,991 Views, 119 Comments

Clash of Worlds - Gunner59524



Lets just say a certain mare meets an interesting military pony from a secluded Equestrian Military force, the UNSC Infinity arrives. All hell breaks loose in this new and WILD adventure.

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Shrowded in Darkness

Joint Operations Fortress, Ponyville, Equestria; Operations Center

Twilight cantered up and took her place next to her mentor, Celestia, before the viewscreens and holotable. For now, the holotable and screens were blank, but it had been several hours since the Pelicans left. By now they were approaching their objective. The displays would come online soon. Behind her, her friends cantered up to take positions around the displays. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were to her left, and to her right, on the other side of Celestia, were Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Spike had elected to stay home and watch the library at Twilight's request. The mare now waited, nervously, restlessly, for the displays to come online, and it showed.

"Something troubles you my student?" Celestia asked her.

"I...," Twilight was trying to find the words, having stopped shifting uncomfortably to look at her mentor. She looked down at the floor and sighed, "I...I miss Gunnar.... I find myself hoping he'll be okay. Something about this op worries me...."

"I understand.... pain of a similar sort plagued me for a time long ago...."

"I won't ask you to go into detail... I'm sure its a hard topic."

"Thank you." Celestia turned back to the displays for a moment, then sighed. "I won't lie, I too feel a strong sense of unease. This operation could mean the difference between life and death for millions."

"I know...." the young student sighed sadly, seeing the truth in those words. She had heard the details of the op. It wasn't a black op, it was simple intel gathering at one of the most dangerous places on the planet right now.

"Alright people, op is live!" a tech nearby called out.

The screens flickered to life, one by one, each showing the visuals of each member of the team, and the holodisplay giving a mostly-accurate map of the area of operations.

"This is Pelican Manta two-two-seven, Eagle Actual, on approach to drop zone. Cloaking systems are up and holding steady."

The two Pelican's for this op had been given a stealth suite to use for avoiding detection, allowing for radar jamming, invisibility to most sensors, and virtually silent running engines. However, the craft still lacked actual active camouflage. As for the designation of 'Eagle' for the base, it had held steady for the base's entire existence, even after it was converted to a fortress. The fort was dubbed 'Eagle Fortress' as a result.

"Roger Manta two-two-seven, mission is a go, I repeat, mission is a go."

"Ten four Eagle Actual. Making my approach."

The camera feeds of the squad members in the Pelican's troop bay shifted as the Pelican changed course, heading for the dropzone.

======================================================================

Equinia Northern Magnetic Pole, Operation Sly Serpent

Gunnar waited for what felt like an eternity for those last few seconds to end and the hatch to open. He looked to each and every member of the team, first the Spartans of Fireteam Majestic, than the ODSTs of Buck's squad. First there was Buck himself, leader and hardcore fighter. There was Romeo, the sniper expert. Mickey, the explosives specialist and pilot, was next to him. Then there was Dutch, a supposed close combat specialist and another hardcore fighter. Finally, the ODST that had nodded to him, Rookie, remained. This particular ODST appeared to be the strong silent type who knew his way around according to his squad. He had no clear specialization, which led Gunnar to believe that this one could be a Spartan if he wanted to be. Gunnar was pretty sure that he was only going to be getting callsigns out of them for now, so he just focused on the op.

The thoughts were interrupted. The Pelican lurched as it landed and the hatch opened to reveal a secluded ice canyon, very narrow and out of sight from the Covies and shines. They had landed on an outcropping that jutted out into a deeper canyon.

"Alright people and pony, we're here. Disembark quickly. I was lucky to get you this close but it looks like you'll be hiking for the next three klicks," the pilot called back, "Watch each other's backs in there, and good luck."

The team disembarked quick like they were told and the Pelican left. The stealth insertion worked. Now all that was left was getting to the objective, and soon.

"This is Paul DeMarco. Come in Eagle Actual," the Spartan said into his comms.

"We read you DeMarco, what's your status?"

"Boots on the ground, we're green to go."

"Roger that Paul, watch your backs in there, Eagle Actual out."

Paul turned off the helmet radio and turned to the team. "Alright everyone, time to get moving. Safety's off. Follow my lead. Try not to alert any Covie or shiny patrols eh?"

"No promises," Dutch joked in a low voice.

"Very funny," Paul mused, "Let's move out."

The team entered the narrow canyon without another word. Moving with absolute silence, minus the slight shifting sounds of their armor, which were drowned out by the sound of the harsh arctic winds.

Gunnar's thoughts raced for a while, realizing they wouldn't hit any enemy contacts soon. His thoughts always drifted back to one mare: Twilight. He had made a promise, one he intended to keep.

"I'll be home soon Twilight," he muttered beneath his helmet before his confidence returned. He drew his weapon and took point. Unbeknownst to him... his mic was still transmitting back to HQ.

======================================================
Eagle Fortress, Ponyville, Equestria; Operations Center

The Ops Center fell silent as they watched the stallion take the lead on the screens. He obviously hadn't realized his mic was still on... but that wasn't the actual cause of the curious silence.

"I'll be home soon Twilight," they heard him say only a moment before.

Twilight was blushing intensely, but the sincerity and determination in his voice removed all doubt. He would try his hardest to come home to her. He was determined to return home. She felt eyes on her. She looked around but there were no looks of contempt, only smiles and curious expressions from every pony and human in the room, even a few Elites from Thel Vadam's forces. She relaxed when she saw her teacher smiling down at her. One Elite stepped forward, wearing strange, silver colored armor that none of the other Elites she had seen had been wearing. His four-mandibled face prevented him from giving a smile, but his eyes fixed that for him. Curiosity and interest were obvious behind those smiling alien eyes. She never thought she'd see that in the eyes of an Elite that was looking upon her. Up until now, the only looks she saw on the faces of the elites that looked at her were looks of contempt and hate. The ones in this room showed no such negativity, especially not the one before her.

"Greetings young one," the Sangheili said with a calm smile as he crouched down in a more squat position to be more level with her, arms resting on the uppermost joints of his legs. "I am led to assume based on previous briefings that you are the one known as Twilight Sparkle. Is this correct?"

Twilight looked up to her mentor, curious, but cautious. She smiled and let her guard down when Celestia gave her a smile and nodded, then turned back to the Elite.

"Y-yes.... that's my name."

"I am Thel Vadamee," the Sangheili said, holding out a hand.

Twilight was shocked for a moment, but then lifted a hoof to shake his hand after it passed. She was talking to the leader of the House Vadam, the UNSC's Elite allies. What was he doing here? The answer came pretty quick, as if the Elite knew some would wonder why he was here to observe an op like this.

"I am here to observe the operation, plain and simple. I am curious as to how the humans work to complete such objectives. They have yet to disappoint, and are proving themselves more and more to be very worthy allies through their military and diplomatic skill. Naturally, I wanted to see more of how they work, and see if I could incorporate some of their tactics and techniques into the training of the Sangheili under my command, so I left my trusted second-in-command, Shipmaster R'tas Vadamee, to lead my forces in the battle above. I am more diplomat than he, and we both know it, so he was happy to oblige. Now I find myself intrigued by the behavior of the Equestrian working with the Humans on this mission."

Twilight was impressed with the detailed explanation and the initiative the Arbiter took, and now intrigued by the Elite's piqued curiosity, albeit a little embarrassed as to the reason for said curiosity. Her face showed her flustered state so the Elite backed up a bit and gave her time to get her thoughts together.

"The reason for that is... he's apparently determined to come home... He and I are... in a relationship..." she finally explained.

"So the 'Twilight' he is referring too is you?" Thel asked.

She nodded, still blushing intensely, but smiling at how that was the truth.

"Well then, if things get difficult out there, I'll be putting in more effort to get support to them," Arbiter stated, coming to a conclusion. Any ally of House Vadam and the UNSC is more than worthy of his help. His recently reestablished honor demanded that he put forth the maximum possible effort to protect the leaders, soldiers, and citizens of Vadam and their allies, especially if it involved protecting a powerful bond. He looked up to see Celestia smiling at him and nodding in thanks. Thel returned the gesture, pride in his choice welling up within him. His words an actions had strengthened the bonds of friendship between his people and theirs, therefore adding to the strength of House Vadam and the UNSC. He was following in the footsteps of his old comrade, Master Chief, in a way by acting to protect the innocent and protect the peace, no matter the risk. He smiled inwardly at the thought before turning his attention back to Twilight, who happened to be smiling up at him.

"Thank you," she said simply and gratefully, "It means alot."

"Thanks is not necessary. My honor demands that I provide aid to those House Vadam can consider friends and allies at this point. I intend to uphold that honor, and in doing so, follow in the footsteps of an old human friend."

Twilight smiled at this and nodded respectfully. His words gave her a new found respect for House Vadam. Their original self-seclusion that Lasky had spoken of was obviously diminishing, and they were slowly but surely becoming more open to honorable alliances and friendships with other races and factions.

There was a sense of peace and relief in the air radiating from each and every occupant in the ops center. Soon everyone and everypony were back to it. They watched the op as it happened, hoping and praying for the best.

==================================================================
North magnetic pole of Equinia, two klicks from grav lift objective.

The team moved forward rapidly. Having so far encountered no resistance, and picked up the pace, they were making great time. But, soon they started hearing the familiar electronic chattering of Promethean Crawlers, and had to slow down.

"Shit... we aren't halfway there yet..." Dutch whispered.

"Calm down. They haven't spotted us yet," Thorne responded quietly.

"We need to keep moving," Gunnar reminded them, "Paul, need orders."

"Keep on point Gunnar. If you see anything, hold up your hoof and let us know and we'll take cover. We can try to avoid patrols this way," Paul explained in response.

"Alright, let's keep moving then, and keep weapons up guys," Gunnar stated.

"Ten four on that," Romeo muttered.

For about half an hour and half a kilometer, the team moved cautiously. Every once in a while, Gunnar would hold up a hoof and the team would hide themselves the best they could against the walls of the slim canyon they were in. They moved through a web of canyons, avoiding grunt and drone patrols easily. But soon they got to a more wide open area where the only cover were huge chunks of ice scattered everywhere, few of them providing cover from aircraft. They pressed on despite that. Another quarter klick without incident... but then... after reaching another web of slim canyons and having to take cover. Dutch's weapon clattered against the ice wall. To their great misfortune, there was a Promethean Crawler approaching them now.

They muted their helmet speakers, confining them to comms.

Gunnar waited for orders until....

"Gunnar, you need to stay out of sight as it passes you. Don't make any sudden moves until it's passed you, once it does, you jump it and silence it before the shiny can sound the alarm," DeMarco explained quietly.

Gunnar clicked a green acknowledgement light in silent confirmation. He waited. It felt like an eternity. But then, it entered his peripheral vision, stalking forward and sniffing around like a canine. It didn't look up at him though, and continued to slowly move forward until.

Gunnar pounced on it, trying to bring the butt of his DMR down on its head to silence it immediately. Much to his dismay, the AI controlled unit moved its head out of the way and dodged, then let out a loud screech.

"FUCK!!!" Hoya yelled out.

Gunnar reached down, wrapped his hooves around the creatures head, and twisted its neck HARD!!. The electronic crack of breaking metal and circuitry signaled the Crawler's demise. He stood up and could hear the canyon waking up. He was shaking with fear now.

"Don't beat yourself up Gunnar, this shit happens," DeMarco said suddenly, "Right now we need to get moving. If we can get away from here fast enough, we won't have to worry about pursuers, just an alert enemy force. Then we can get to the grav lift."

"Alright..." Gunnar said with a shaky breath, "Let's go."

He picked up his weapon, not wanting to be chased by swarms of Prometheans, and the team moved out quick. They got out of sight just in time it seems, cause soon they heard the electronic roar of a Promethean Knight somewhere behind them and then heard it barking orders in an alien language.

"Don't worry, they didn't see us," Thorne said through the comms, "We're good to keep going."

Gunnar kept moving, letting DeMarco take point this time. He was shaken now, mind racing as he ran. He knew he would be hard pressed to take down just one Promethean Knight. He wasn't sure he could handle more than that. He pressed on though. His team taking cover each time a patrol came through. As luck would have it, their ordeal focused more hostiles on the area where they tripped the alarm. As they got further away, patrols became less frequent for a while.

Then they were half a klick from the grav lift, and hell's gate opened up before them.

"Damnit.... how are we supposed to get passed that undetected?" Buck whispered frantically.

Thorne was more calm than the others as he looked around. Then he saw their window and put his hand on his favored cloaking device. There, standing above the ice walls of the canyons far off on the right side, he could make out the top of a methane refinery. "A distraction."

DeMarco followed his gaze and smirked at what he was looking at. "Do it Thorne. We'll know when to go."

"Wish me luck guys," Thorne said before vanishing.

============================================================
Eagle Fortress, Ponyville. Equestria; Operations Center.

Twilight and the others watched intently as the group moved. When they had set off an alarm, Twilight's heart started beating mile a second. When they got clear of the more alert danger zone, she was calm again... somewhat. Anxiety still gnawed away at her, constantly worrying that the stallion she loved was way in over his head. He had orders though, and neither she nor him could circumvent them, much to her chagrin.

Half the people and ponies in the room couldn't help smirking though when Thorne had his bright idea, even Twilight. Several of the ops center's occupants watched Thorne's camera feed intently, but despite this, Twilight's gaze was locked on Gunnar's camera feed. She was horrified at his strength and at the cold brutality he had used against the Crawler, but she was also horrified that it almost cost him the element of surprise, and maybe even his life, with that unponylike screech it had unleashed. However, relief had overwhelmed her when he had shown that creature no mercy, shook himself of all doubt, and moved on with the team just in time to avoid investigators. The snowstorm quickly covered their tracks too, even in the narrow network of canyons. It was more than enough to keep them out of trouble. The fog helped ease her worries a bit too, but also gave her an uneasy feeling that something would pop out of that thick soupy fog to attack and kill a member of the team, maybe even Gunnar.... the thought sent shivers down her spine.

The whole room watched intently, waiting for the explosions. Waiting for hell itself to break loose. It was the most terrifying wait of Twilight's life thus far.

======================================================================
Equinia north magnetic pole, half a klick from grav lift objective

The team had been waiting for Thorne to get back for about ten, maybe fifteen, minutes now. Gunnar watched intently, not wanting any more surprises in the thickening fog and falling arctic night. The weather had intensified in the ten minutes they had been waiting, blotting out the sun even as half of it lay buried beneath the horizon. Arctic night had fallen early this year. Soon, his ears perked up at the sound of crunching snow, his keen pony hearing picking up the disturbance. He looked around frantically before....

"You guys miss me?" Thorne said, making the team jump as he reappeared.

"Don't... DO that Thorne," Hoya whispered loudly into the mic, "I almost shot ya."

"Figured I should come back and watch the fireworks with you guys," the stealthy Spartan said as he produced a detonator, causing the members of the team to smirk.

DeMarco nodded. "Do it."

Thorne depressed the button, and all hell broke loose out there. The refinery went up in blue and orange fire as C-12 sent it sky high, causing most of the occupants in the area in front of them to jump up and head out to investigate the explosion.

"That's our window. Come on guys. I estimate five minutes before they start returning. Stealth eliminate the few remaining hostiles along the way but keep moving as fast as you can," DeMarco explained to them.

Green acknowledgement lights lit up all the way down the edge of his HUD. He smirked.

"GO!"

The team bounded out. Gunnar made sure to knife the two grunts he passed as they went to sleep, silencing them forever. DeMarco and Buck knocked a hostile Elite in the head with the butts of their guns at the same time, causing it to grunt in pain, but become unable to make a sound due to one impact hitting its throat. It's shields had broken, so Buck finished it off with his silenced M6S Magnum giving one shot to the Elites head. It fell dead silently.

============================================================
Eagle Fortress, Ponyville, Equestria; Operations Center

The room watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as the team moved quick and quiet across the vast expanse between them and the gravity lift, quietly silencing any hostile they see along the way with extreme efficiency. Twilight was horrified by the sudden brutal display put out by the team, her friends too. Celestia bowed her head solemnly, forcing herself to accept this necessary evil. Twilight felt her heart enter internal conflict as she watched Gunnar dispatch hostile after hostile, with a silent and brutal efficiency that he hadn't displayed during Operation Back Breaker.

This is the stallion you fell in love with?

Of course! He's got a noble heart and he cares about me and my friends. He loves me too.

He's a killing machine, a brutally efficient killing machine. He was trained since he was a colt to kill.

It's a necessary evil. One that has to be performed to protect ponykind.

It's monstrous.

It's needed.

But look at him.... he's tearing them apart without so much as a sound and not a single show of emotion. It's like it doesn't hurt him at all.

It hurts him that he has to do this. He made that clear to me on a number of occasions. And he has to refrain from showing emotion on the field, lest it cause him to make a fatal misstep. He showed emotion after landing, he showed emotion after narrowly avoiding detection. Brief moments where it wouldn't be fatal. I know he cares about me, I know he wants this conflict to end, and I know he wants to stop killing.

You think so?

I KNOW SO!

But what if.....

Her thoughts were cut off suddenly when the screens turned to static and the room went dark. The lights went out, leaving only the sunlight shining through the windows.

"We're offline!"

"Get emergency generators back up! We need to...."

They were cut off when a hologram of a menacing looking Elite appeared on the holotable.

"YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU, VERMIN!" he yelled, "Do you truly believe that your mindless pet warriors can overcome us? I expected better. You are all heretics, for your very existence threatens the will of the GODS!!"

"You have much gall coming out and saying such words," Celestia spoke up, "You are the heretic. You follow false gods and use your religion as justification for homicide and genocide."

"Brother you must look inside yourself to see that the gods are not real," Arbiter yelled, "The true heretics follow those false beliefs. Do you not remember the San'Shyuum betrayal!?"

The other Elite chuckled evilly, causing Fluttershy to curl up in a ball behind her mane and tail and shudder in fear. "I am Tanar R'aagamee. Have you forgotten Arbiter? The betrayal of a leader does not mark the falsehood of the gods. It simply means we had leaders that became corrupt in the end. I am the instrument of a new prophet, one of Sangheili blood, one you know as Jul Mdama. He is the hand of the Didact himself! You may believe the gods are false now, but that does not change the meaning of your mark. IT IS STILL A MARK OF SHAME THEL, one you can only redeem by joining our cause."

"I see it as a mark of honor and leadership now. I will not betray my allies. I will not follow those lies, NEVER AGAIN! We will defeat you, House Vadam, the Humans, and the Equestrians. WE WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL TANAR! You have become a fountain of lies and deceit. WE WILL END YOU!"

"Empty threats from an old heratic. I will see you burn for your blasphemies, you and all who follow you. And as for you!" He pointed at Twilight.

"ME!?" Twilight cried, fear starting to seep into her veins

"I will see you suffer a thousand hells for your transgressions! YOUR MURDER OF MY SON RAGAS WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!!! You and your friends will all be tortured before this is over including that one blasphemer unicorn soldier. What was his name, GUNNAR?"

"I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH HIM!!!!" Twilight roared at the hostile Elite leader. Celestia and the others in the room couldn't help but stare at her in absolute shock at her words and sudden rage.

Tanar did little more than laugh. "I would like to see you try little heretic. THE GREAT JOURNEY IS AT HAND!!!! And you are all hopeless to stop it!"

Tanar vanished from the holotable at that. Thel's now overflowing rage caused him to react by slamming his fist on the edge of the holotable, denting the metal, and roar in rage at the empty space that had held Tanar's hologram.

"Thel, calm yourself. It is no good letting rage blind you and drive you," Celestia warned.

Hearing her powerful and regal voice give that warning gave him pause. For a moment, he looked down and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He was heeding the truth in her words. After a moment, he looked up at her and nodded his appreciation. "Thank you Princess, the wisdom is appreciated."

"No thanks is required," she said, much to the surprise of the other ponies in the room, "I am more than willing to assist a friend and ally. This is one of those times."

"It is appreciated all the same," Thel said with a respectful bow to the alicorn before turning to the rest of the room, "Brothers of House Vadam and the UNSC, we must reestablish our connection to our soldiers in the field. Technicians, make your way to the generators and transmitters. Cut through the jamming so we can continue our fight against Tanar's lies."

Multiple personnel, Human, Sangheili, and Pony, all dispersed to carry out these orders. Thel turned to the group of VIP's but felt his heart sink at the sight of Twilight on the ground, sobbing. He let his head hang, staring at the ground in contemplation of what to say. Celestia too, was at a loss. Her student's sudden outburst when Tanar had threatened Gunnar was uncharacteristic of her.... but it was warranted. Her friends were the first to realize it and were the first at her side, trying to comfort her. Thel then found the words he needed to say.

"Tanar is little more than lies and deceit. He may be a dangerous foe. But, to strike out at well protected members of our leaderships would be an act of desperation. I intend to lead a group of Spec Ops units, both of UNSC and of House Vadam, to eliminate this foe once and for all. His threats are empty, but he will pay for his actions thus far, and for his venomous words." With his words said, Thel marched from the room, intent on completing this new mission, whether it was suicidal or not. He stopped when Celestia spoke up.

"Thel, I'll send some of my most adept guards and spellcasters with you. Make sure to give them armor and train them how to use it, and weapons that match their current training should they need them. They can add to your stealth and firepower in the field. I wish you luck," she said all in the matter of a few seconds.

It was enough to allow Arbiter to give a small, Sangheili version of a smile. He nodded his thanks, and left the room.

Twilight felt some comfort from the Arbiter's words... but it wasn't enough to alleviate her fears or stop her crying. Her friends continued trying to support her. Celestia placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. It wasn't enough. Despite all the support she was getting, Twilight felt more distressed than ever before, wishing she could get out there to fight at Gunnar's side once more... but at the moment... no one knew where he and his team were... nor did they know if he and the team were still alive.... She felt devastated, helpless, and tiny in the harsh grasp of the unforgiving universe... and all she could do... was cry.

============================================================
Equinia north magnetic pole, inside the Covenant Destroyer.

Thorne looked around the large chamber now. It seemed empty and devoid of life, save for his fellow soldiers. He was confused more than anything. He had gone up the lift ready for a fight, but none was apparently needed. Still, he stayed on alert.

"Where is everyone?" Dutch asked, confused.

"You think they all ran away and hid from our badass strength?" Hoya chuckled.

"Not likely," Buck replied.

"Well it looks like nobody's home," Madsen commented.

"No Covenant, well I guess there really is no one home," Mickey whined, "Here I was hopin' to shoot something."

They all swung their weapons around towards the beeping that followed the smooth sound of Covenant starship hatches sliding open. There, on the other side of the threshold, was a Promethean knight flanked by three hulking Zealots on each side.

"NO COVENANT, YOU HAD TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH!" Buck snapped at Mickey.

Gunnar recoiled in fear, the memories of those few nights trapped with Twilight and surrounded by the demon machines known as Prometheans all flooding back to him at the sight of the Promethean Knight.

"Shit... I think Gunnar's incapacitated guys!" Thorne called as he kept his weapon on the enemy, tension growing quickly.

"That crash gettin' to him?" Grant asked, also keeping her weapon trained on the enemy.

"I think so," Thorne replied. He heard an elite chuckle deviously when the creature noticed the cowering pony, and his gaze fell on that elite, his weapon trained on that specific hostile as he slowly stepped to the side to put him directly between Gunnar and the enemy. It was a stalemate at the moment as each side waited for the other to make a move. "Squad lead?"

"Yeah Thorne?" Paul answered.

"Think you can cover me while I get Gunnar back in fighting shape?"

"Consider it done," the Spartan leader chuckled before turning a serious expression towards the enemy, "MAJESTIC, ENGAGE!!!" Chaos ensued.

Thorne ran over to Gunnar as the other Spartans and the ODST's rushed between them and the enemy and began engaging in close quarters combat. He heard two shotgun blasts already drop one of the Elites and smirked.

"Gunnar, come on buddy stay with me. Snap out of it. You gotta keep fighting if we're gonna get through this."

Gunnar looked at him, seeming not to hear his words. Then he saw the Promethean Knight teleport behind Thorne and went wide eyed. He barely managed to yell "LOOK OUT!!!" just in time. Thorne was quick, very quick, he roundhouse kicked the robotic hostile in the face, dropping its shields to about half strength. Thorne then grabbed the Promethean Knight, hopped on its back. ripped of its weapon: a Scattershot, and plunged the end into the creatures back before pulling the trigger of the weapon. The Promethean Knight went down in seconds. Gunnar watched, half terrified, half amazed at how the experienced Spartan handled that. Thorne then approached him.

"Gunnar, if I can do that, you can damn well pick up your gun and start shooting some squatters. GET TO IT!!!"

Gunnar felt his confidence start to return after that display and those words. After a brief moment, he nodded to Thorne and drew his plasma DMR. He took aim, saw Buck down an Elite's shield as it was about to deliver a downswing on the ODST with it's Energy Sword, and he took the shot, getting a headshot on the Elite and scoring the kill before it could get Buck.

"Nice shot kid!" Buck called before going to help his comrades.

"Glad you're back in the game," Thorne laughed.

Gunnar let out a sheepish chuckle. "Heh, so am I. Thanks Thorne. Now come on, let's finish these bastards off."

"Right behind ya," Thorne said with a smirk as he drew his MA37 Assault Rifle.

The two dove into the fray.

Author's Note:

If there is one human that can change an Elite's view of humans and their allies, its the Master Chief. He sure did that in Halo 3 when he was working with the Arbiter. They were one hell of a team. But what is this about Tanar finally revealing himself so openly to his foes? Can this bode well for the UNSC, Equestria, or House Vadam? What does it mean for Twilight, Gunnar, and friends? Time will tell in the end. Things get worse before they get better, as always. But maybe they will start getting better with Arbiter on his way to teach Tanar a lesson.... though.... do these things ever go according to plan? Stay tuned to see what happens next

Tucker: DAMNIT, I hate cliff hangars.

Get over it. It makes it interesting.

Tucker: *sigh* yeah... i guess it does. Fine I'll go with it.

Smart move. *mutters* for once.

Tucker: what was that?

Nothing *hides a laugh*