Once Upon a Time, on an Alien Ring World

by Hi World

Chapter 9: Nightfall

The Truth and Reconciliation.

Upon arrival at the makeshift base set up amongst a fantastic, alien complex, Fluttershy, Applejack and Twilight had told Rainbow Dash of the sad news regarding Pinkie Pie. Rainbow kept telling them she'd be fine, and that they shouldn't fret, but eventually, the worry got a hold of her, and she lamented away in her Pelican's cock-pit. A group hug helped ease the pain, but didn't really fix anything.

After the lengthy tear shed, the four of them reported to Lieutenant Commander Zecora's quarters to piece together a scheme to snatch the Captain from the Covenant's filthy claws.

The rhyming Zebra was wise, and had already come up with pretty much the same plan as Twilight: Board the vessel via its main gravity lift, free Captain Rarity and the rest of the Filly of Autumn's bridge crew, and evacuate the warship.

Rainbow Dash would be responsible for depositing the soldiers, as well as dropping off any necessary reinforcements, and evacuating the team and Rarity back to base.

AI Twilight Sparkle would be responsible for directing the Ponies with her constantly updating scan of the alien ship's layout, and hacking into the Covenant systems to locate Rarity, as well as monitor enemy chatter.

Fluttershy would be responsible for transporting Twilight... nothing else.

And Applejack was in charge of the squad, and would be responsible for keeping her soldiers in check.

As the necessary preparations were made, and as the Ponies waited for nightfall, Fluttershy had an invigorating sleep.

Now, the four of them, plus some others, were heading straight and true towards the three and a bit kilometre long Covenant battle Cruiser. A foe as monstrous as that could easily flick a microscopic little Pelican away with zero effort, however Twilight had identified the ship as one she'd damaged during the ship to ship battle above the ring, prior to her extraction from the Autumn's systems. She was adamant that she'd damaged it in such a convenient way, that its radar and tracking systems were offline. However, if the Covies were able to bring them back online at the right time, everypony in the Pelican would be dead... or at least very sick and jostled: Rainbow Dash was their pilot after all, and she was an artist at flying the thing. There was certainly a chance that she could evade whatever the nine million, six hundred thousand tonne flying war vehicle could throw at her.

It was night time on the alien ring world. The blue-black sky twinkled with stars. Shining full, the moon cast its blue glow upon the land. That huge orange planet shone bright and close as well. Lazily, shadowed clouds shifted across the star filled sky. The night was so beautiful, so pristine, that Princess Luna would be jealous.

In the Pelican, Fluttershy and Applejack were joined by Corporal Big Mac, along with a bunch of other soldiers, one of whom Fluttershy remembered from one of the crashed lifeboats.

Trixie wasn't with them, and there was a reason for that. Twilight decided to reward Trixie for her help in the meadows by giving her a choice, as oppose to just ordering her to do what she wanted her to do. She could either help Fluttershy and Applejack rescue the Captain, or she could stay at base, and of course Trixie, being Trixie, decided to kick back and relax.

Twilight had growled with regret, thinking she should've just rewarded her with something else, or at some other time.

It was a shame; the great and powerful Trixie was a huge asset. An asset that was just chilling at base. The rescue mission would be a heck of a lot more difficult without her.

Lieutenant Commander Zecora, the Zebra in charge until Rarity got freed, was also quite cross at Trixie's decision, but a deal was a deal, and that was the end of it.

"So how are you gonna get inside the ship if it's in the air?" pondered the pilot.
Twilight explained, "The Covenant use a gravity lift to ferry troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in."
"The gravity lift? Isn't that, like, walking in through the front door?"
"Kinda. But it's either that, or you fly us into one of the ship's hangars."
Rainbow didn't seem fazed by that option. "Well... I'm up for that."
"Well I'm not," Twilight revealed sternly. "I know the Covenant. The hangars will be some of the most fortified places on the ship."
"If you say so," RD shrugged. "Just, y'know, be careful n' stuff."
"We will, Rainbow."

Anchored five hundred metres above a desert plateau, that goliath Covenant vessel reflected the moon light off its sleek, purple body. The warship was so intimidatingly huge, even the brave and brash Rainbow Dash gulped at the sight of it. A lot of Covies were inside that thing... and so was Rarity.

Fluttershy's stomach floundered as Rainbow swooped the Pelican in low under the battle Cruiser's four fanged bow and over a flat patch of sand and orangey sandstone.

Rainbow spun the Pelican and lowered the gangplank. Sand wisped up and out from under the aircraft's belly as it hovered just a metre or so off the ground.

"Alright, everypony out!" ordered Staff Sergeant Applejack.
Two by two, the troops jumped down from the back of the Pelican, leaving horseshoe impressions in the gritty sand.

Fluttershy was the last to disembark, and as soon as she was free of the drop ship, Rainbow raised the gangplank and took off.
Into the radio, Twilight spoke, "Thank you, Rainbow. Stand by for reinforcements."
"Sure thing," came the pilot's reply, her Pelican soaring away into the night. "Good luck!"

Nervously, Fluttershy scanned the area. There were plenty of rocks, and a small amount of thin trees and bushes. Taking up most of the sky, was the titanic Covenant Cruiser, swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. Her ears drooped as she gawped at immensity.

Twilight schooled, "Ok, there are Covenant around the bend. They don't know we're hear, so let's take care of them quietly, shall we."
Everypony listened on.

"Fluttershy, you have a silenced sniper rifle. I recommend you take up position by the rocks you see ahead of you. You'll have a great view of the Covenant from there. However, if you feel uncomfortable and would rather hoof the sniper duty to somepony else, that would fine."
Fluttershy felt slightly relieved to have a choice in the matter. "Oh, good. I'm not that good a sniper."
"Ok then," the AI chirped, then checked with the squad, "Who here is good with a sniper rifle?"
No pony answered, just looked around awkwardly, Big Mac rubbing the back of his head.

Impatiently, Twilight asked, "Anypony...?"
"Mah brother's ok with a sniper rifle, aren't ya, Big Mac?" Applejack announced, giving the large red Stallion a nudge.
He began to answer, "Uuhh-"
"-Perfect!" Twilight jumped at the opportunity. "Big Mac, you take Fluttershy's sniper rifle and head on over to the vantage point."
Sighing, Big Mac replied, "Eeyup."

After Big Mac retrieved the elongated fire arm from the meek Pegasus, he crept up to a cluster of rocks atop a ledge that overlooked the Covenant congregation.

Everypony else hid behind the orange rock face, ready to charge around into the open, Covenant filled area should things turn ugly.

A moment of silence passed before there was a muted pop, marking the first shot of the sniper.

Fluttershy was scared; what if the Covenant caught on to the sneak attack, and raised the oversized devil above? Twilight mentioned that the ship's tracking systems were offline, but all the Covies had to do was radio the ship with their coordinates, and they'd all be glassed out of existence, as simple as that.

It was then when she realised that the fate of the squad depended on the sniper being able to snipe the aliens quickly and efficiently. It made her feel both glad and guilty. Glad to no longer have the fate of the squad resting on her shoulders, and guilty to have passed that burden onto somepony else.

There was another high-pitched pop as Big Mac fired another deadly round from the sniper rifle. Two more pops followed before he reloaded and continued his stealthy work.

Silencers never really silenced a weapon. The sniper rifle was still quite loud, just a little high, like it had been sucking on helium. Fluttershy had no idea where the Covies were, but the fact that she never heard them scream or bellow suggested they were out of the noise's range.

Concentrating, Big Mac narrowed his eyes as he peered down the scope. Sweat beaded his head and he held his breath before taking each shot... Pop!
"Wort wort wort!" That was an Elite.
Big Mac took another quick shot.

Gasping with dread, Fluttershy stared up at the Truth, waiting to see if the Elite had reported them, and the Cruiser would wipe them from existence... It never happened.

There was a long, silent pause as the big red Stallion scanned the area around the sandstone with his sniper, until he beckoned for the Ponies to advance.

"Alright, let's move," Applejack ordered in a hushed tone, being the first to creep around the cliff and into the area beyond, Fluttershy after her.

In the sandy bowl, Covenant soldiers laid here and there, hellish bullet wounds marking their carcasses. Some of the alien soldiers were even missing limbs... or heads. It was revolting, and Fluttershy didn't like the scene one bit.

Amongst the dead Covies in the depression, were a few sandy rocks, some light foliage, and two Covenant stationary gun emplacements called Shades. The Shade turrets packed the same heavy plasma weapons as the Spirit drop ships. Crafted out of the usual, gleaming purple metal, the weapons stood on three legs. The operator would've been sitting behind the barrel in a rotatable, levitating dish over the stand, if he hadn't been shot out by Big Mac's devastating sniper assault, that is.

The sniping Stallion walked over to join the rest of the Ponies in the rocky depression.
"Nice work, Big Macintosh," AJ commended, giving her brother a playful nudge.

"Nice work indeed, now get ready," Twilight got down to business. "I'm detecting more Covenant around the ledge."

Advancing along said ledge, the team pressed on, Big Mac stopping half way to take up position behind a boulder and a bush where he had a decent view of the rock dotted ledge ahead, as well as a short mesa with a vacant Shade standing upon it. Below this mesa, the team hid, two Jackals patrolling above them.

Getting to work, Big Mac let loose with his sniper rifle, firing four shots, reloading, and firing three more. The sound of a frightened Grunt could just be heard from around the mesa, but it was soon silenced by an eighth round from the sniper.

Checking the area behind them, Fluttershy noticed the path extend back into a small canyon within the sand stone. It was dark in there, and Fluttershy could have sworn she saw a looming, biped shadow. Squinting her eyes, she inspected closer, seeing a cloud of breath vent from under two, glowing green eyes in time with a faint grunt.

She gasped in horror and tapped AJ urgently on the back. "Applejack!" she whisper-shouted. "Th-there's something right there!"
Applejack followed Fluttershy's shivering hoof and witnessed a crimson armoured Elite come stomping out of the darkness, his plasma rifle aimed at them.

"Enemy contact, in the cliffs!" Twilight outdated.
The veteran Elite hosed Fluttershy with plasma fire, draining her shields rapidly. She screamed shrilly, but was drowned out by the sound of everypony's MA5B's and Applejack's shotgun.

Caught in the shells and bullets, the crimson armoured alien attempted to dive behind a miniscule outcropping of sandstone, but was minced before he could be concealed.

Fluttershy's shields had been completely drained.

"Phew! That was close," remarked Twilight as Big Mac came bounding over, his work done, for now.
Fluttershy didn't comment, just curled up and whimpered on the floor as her shields recharged.
Concerned, Applejack surveyed, "You ok there, sugar cube?"
Trembling, the terrified Mare replied, "No!"
"There there, it's ok. That nasty Elite's gone now." Applejack gave her a pat on the back.
Big Mac; "Eeyup."

Peering up at the soldiers, Fluttershy asked Twilight, "Um, Twilight? ... D-did the Covenant hear any of that?"
As Fluttershy and the others looked up nervously at the purple beast floating above, the AI answered, "Yes, and the Covenant have sent a small team to investigate."

So they had heard the ruckus, but were choosing not to use the star ship's weapons. That was good, but also quite perplexing. After a bit of thinking, Fluttershy figured it was because they were too close to Covenant foot soldiers... Either that or none of the aliens had gotten around to reporting them.

Proceeding, the soldiers moved up to the foot of a hill, while Big Mac shuffled up to the top of it and peered through his sniper's scope.

Shimmying around the next ledge, three Grunts and a rookie Elite came into view, and were instantaneously dropped by Big Mac's precision shots, their bodies flailing down to the jagged rocks below.

Big Mac did have a few misses though. He wasn't as skilled a sniper as that Mare in the meadows, but he was better than Fluttershy by a "long shot."

As Fluttershy had a quick, shaky drink of icy cold water from her canteen, Twilight mapped, "Ok, the ledge ahead will bring us around to another area like this, directly under the Truth and Reconciliation. Expect more Covenant."

To her troops, Applejack drawled, "Y'all heard the Princess. Let's get a move on!"
To the ledge, the Ponies journeyed.

Fluttershy squeezed up to the cliff edge as far as she could. The drop off to her left was dizzyingly high, and jagged rocks waited for her at the bottom.

Applejack was on point, in front of Fluttershy, and she wrestled her way through a blocking shrub. The ledge made a sharp right immediately after the plant.

Once Fluttershy had made her uneasy way through the scratching branches, Big Mac came around, trampling the thing to make it easier for everypony else.

After that sharp right bend, the ledge widened significantly, allowing enough room for two Warthog LRVs to park side by side. Like before, it wrapped around a mesa. The mesa was divided by a slope that lead up to the top of it.

Upon of the rocky platform, a blue armoured Elite paced back and forth, and two Jackals sat talking to each other further down the ledge.

Quietly over Fluttershy's external speaker, Twilight plotted, "Ok, here's the plan: Fluttershy, Big Mac, Blossomforth, and Amethyst; you all make your way along the ledge to the far side of the mesa. Once you're in position, Big Mac will do his wet work. If things get too hot, I'll give Applejack and her squad the signal. They'll come up the central slope, and together, we can flank the Covenant. Everypony ready?"
"Um, no-"
"-Excellent. Away we go."

Big Mac took point, the mentioned Ponies following him. Applejack and the rest of the soldiers waited patiently.

On their way to the far side of the mesa, Big Mac had successfully nailed the Elite and the two Jackals.

The ledge began to incline on its way around the mesa, and once the first squad came to the top of it, they were in position. They could see on the other side of the mesa; a large sandy bowl bridged by a bizarre yet magnificent arc of sandstone. An assortment of trees, bushes and rocks in the corners of the hollow, along with a trio of unmanned Shades.

The Covenant were milling around down there as well. Two Elites chattered to each other, one of them leaning on a tree. A couple of Jackals patrolled up and down the bridge of rock, their luminescent shields glowing bright and beautiful in the night. And a pack of Grunts played around in the centre like little Foals.

Fluttershy had never seen the Covenant so peaceful, so unthreatening, so like everyday life on Equestria.

One of the Grunts, a red armoured one, produced three plasma grenades from his belt and put on a sweet little juggling act for his comrades. The squeaky little creatures cheered for him, and laughed when he dropped them. It was adorable, especially when the rookies offered to - pop!

Big Mac fired his sniper rifle, killing one of the two Elites. A second shot put an end to the other one.

The Grunts were unaware of the assault that was taking place, until Big Mac nailed a Jackal on the bridge. The bird-like alien's corpse fell down amongst them, elicting screams. The rookies ran around aimlessly, their arms flailing in the air while the red armoured veteran tried his darndest to get his troops under control.

And just like that, one pull of the trigger, and Big Mac put down the red Grunt. Fluttershy watched on in horror as her friend picked off the panicking Grunts, one by one, as well as the remaining Jackal.

She couldn't help but see a bit of herself in the Grunts: They were pretty useless soldiers and were frightened easily. A part of her wanted to lower Big Mac's rifle, but she hesitated long enough to allow him to take down each and every Covie in the area. The Stallion blew smoke away from his rifle's barrel.

Twilight had given AJ the signal, prompting her and second squad to come charging up the central slope and regroup on the mesa, overlooking the blood bath.

Surveying the carnage, Applejack commented, "Boy howdy! I'm glad I aint the one cleanin' up that mess! Hehe! Great job, Big Mac."
The rest of the Ponies cheered for him too. All but Fluttershy.

Privately, Twilight wondered, "Why so glum, Fluttershy?"
The lowly Pegasus didn't want to answer; she thought her reason for being glum was silly, and maybe even a little treasonous.
Sighing, she breathed, "... I don't want to talk about it."
"It's ok, Fluttershy, you can tell me anything. Now what's on your mind?"
Twilight was insistent, but still, Fluttershy refused to tell. "I... I... don't wanna talk about it."
"If you don't tell me, I can't help you."
"Oh, i-it's nothing... really."
Twilight sighed, "Well, when you're ready to talk, just talk. I'm here to help you, Fluttershy. We all are."
"I know."

After a short water break, the soldiers were ready to continue.
"Alright everypony, listen up!"
Fluttershy awkwardly stood before the troops as the AI in her armour filled them in.
"The next section of canyon is through the pass behind us."

Everypony craned their necks to get a glimpse of said pass. It was narrow and cluttered with rocks and plants.

"In there, we will find the Truth and Reconciliation's gravity lift, along with another platoon of Covenant."
"Well I'm ready. Are y'all?" asked Applejack, determined to get a move on and rescue Rarity.
Everypony nodded while Big Mac answered, "Eeyup."
"Alright then, let's get to it."

Marching through the confining canyon, Fluttershy looked up and around. The beautiful night sky had been replaced by the shiny purple hull of the vast Covenant ship. Branches protruded out from the surrounding sandstone and twanged back when each Pony pushed them aside. It was dark too; the Truth casting its shadow over them and blocking out the moon. Applejack ordered the Ponies to use their flashlights, however they were soon able to switch them back off as the canyon spat them out into another large hollow.

At the mouth of the canyon, a pack of Grunts slept ever so peacefully amongst some rocks. Two Jackals sat amongst them, whispering to each other. Around the edge of the depression, four Shades stood unmanned. A blue armoured Elite, accompanied by a mixture of Grunts and Jackals, walked by at the far side where the surrounding cliffs gave way to a drop and a patch of starry sky.

In the centre of the depression, was a tingling purple platform. A translucent cylinder of purple light reached up from the pad and into a large circular hole in the middle of the Cruiser's belly. This had to be the grav lift.

"Ok," began Twilight, assessing the situation. "Big Mac, you stay here and use your sniper rifle as soon as these Grunts have been dealt with."
"Eeyup."
"Everypony else, quietly take out the Grunts, and the Jackals."
Fluttershy felt a shiver run up her spine. We're killing them in their sleep?
"Once the Covenant here are taken care of, I'll call for reinforcements to board the Truth and Reconciliation with us. From there, I'll be able to lock on to Captain Rarity's neural interface. The signal will lead us right to her."
Well, anything to get my friend back.

Fluttershy knew Rarity had a neural interface, only hers was fully concealed beneath the skin on the back of her head. Nowhere to plug a set of Spartan armour, unlike Fluttershy's ugly device.

Getting to work, Applejack crept into the rocks, followed by the rest of the squad, save for Big Mac. Popping up behind the two awake Jackals, she banged their heads together, knocking them out cold, letting the squad breathe easier as they scampered from Grunt to Grunt, twisting their heads and rendering them defunct.

What am I doing here? wondered Fluttershy, gazing around at the sandstone, the Covenant battle ship, the sleeping orange armoured Grunt in front of her.
Studying the Grunt, she saw him twitch a little, as if he was dreaming. She wondered what he was dreaming about, and was reluctant to be the one to end it.

Pushing her, Twilight said, "Go on, Fluttershy. It's easy."
This was insane! She wasn't made for this! She was Fluttershy; the kind and cowardly Mare who literally wouldn't hurt a fly, and here she was, being told to snap the necks of sleeping creatures.

Sternly, Fluttershy refused, "No."
"No?" Switching to private chat, Twilight pointed out, "But Fluttershy, he's the enemy."
"He's an innocent creature."
"Innocent creature?!" The AI had never been so flabbergasted. "If he was awake, he'd be shooting at us!"

Fluttershy looked down at the diminutive, peaceful Grunt, and tried to imagine what his life was like before he joined the Covenant. He didn't look particularly evil. Odd; yes. Evil; no.

"Of course he'd shoot us. It's his job in the Covenant. If he weren't in the Covenant, he'd just be another cute little creature that needs taking care of."
Fluttershy then wondered if there was any Covenant soldier out there that thought the exact same thing about Ponies.

"Do you have any evidence to support this?" Twilight pried.
Fluttershy knew Twilight knew the answer. "Um... no."
"Thought so."
Fluttershy sighed.

"Remember when we were on the Filly of Autumn?" reminded Twilight. "And we took a trip through cryo two's observation theatre?"
"Um, yes."
"You saw three Covenant Elites smashing the cryo tubes. They were gonna kill you in your sleep," the AI rubbed in.
"Yes, but... they were Elites."
"Doesn't matter; they were Covenant all the same."
Fluttershy couldn't help but feel a little patronised, but she tried not to take it to heart: Twilight Sparkle was her friend, and would never mean to upset her.

Applejack sprang out from behind a rock and suddenly snapped the sleeping Grunt's neck, as easy as that. She elicted a yelp from the startled Fluttershy.

Glancing at the Grunt, then at Fluttershy, Applejack puzzled, "Something wrong, Fluttershy?"
"Um..."
"It's nothing to concern yourself with, Applejack," interrupted Twilight over the external speaker. "Fluttershy and I were just addressing a few... issues."
"Well... alright then," said the farm Pony, suspicious. "All the Grunts have been taken care of. Now all that's left is for Big Mac to take out the Covenant at the far side o' the hollow."
Pop! Big Mac opened fire.
"He's already on it."

Nodding, Applejack trotted away with her troops and took up position behind an outcropping of sandstone.

Back into private chat, Twilight lectured, "I know this is tough for you. It's tough for all of us. But we need to do this. For Rarity. For Equestria. Surely you understand."
For her friends' sake, Fluttershy sighed regretfully and whispered, "Yeah, I guess so."

After a series of popping sniper shots, Big Mac had successfully wiped out all of the remaining Covenant.

Everypony regrouped on an elevation, just to the side of the lift platform.
"Great job, Big Mac," Twilight spoke. "Now everypony bare with me while I call Rainbow Dash."

Staring vacantly up at the leviathan star ship, Fluttershy noticed the sparkly purple gravity lift tilting with the vehicle's loose buoyancy. She wondered if the turbulence would be an issue once inside.

Two other things she noticed, were a couple of bulky figures descending steadily down the cylinder of purple florescence. Twilight noticed them too.
"Hunters! Everypony take cover!"
Panicking, the Ponies ran here and there, seeking hiding places.

Those blue armoured behemoths came to a gentle landing on the gravity lift's anchor and proceeded to stomp their way into the Ponies' midst.

Hunters were extremely unusual creatures. They were actually made out of orange, alien worms that got together to form the hulking bipeds. A devastating fuel rod cannon, the same armament that Banshees had, was integrated into the armour on their right arms. On their left arms, they were equipped with incredibly durable metal shields that could bare the brunt of even the most powerful explosions. On their backs, they had a set of spines that kinda made them look like giant porcupines. Since Hunters were made from worms, they didn't really have a true head or face, but they still wore flat little helmets atop their forms.

Hunters were easily the most dangerous of all the Covenant species. Their armour rivalled that of a tank. They did have a weak spot though; an exposed patch of the orange worms at their lower backs. Fluttershy had no idea why they didn't just put armour over the weak spot, but figured it might have something to do with the worms' respiration or something.

Fluttershy and one other Pony had run off towards the cliff edge. She hid behind a tree, feeling the ground quake beneath her hooves; the Hunters were advancing. To her left, the other Pony sat in one of the Covenant Shades, and began to fire at the near invincible brutes. No pony else was in sight.

"We need to get behind them!" demanded Twilight.
Fluttershy was stuck behind her tree, and had no idea if the walking tanks had seen her take cover behind it.

Glancing to her left, she saw the Pony on the Shade take fire from one of the Hunters' fuel rod cannons. The vibrant green explosion wrapped around the Covenant stationary gun, melting it and the Pony on its seat.

Horrified, she screamed and panted franticly, eyes darting around, looking for a place to run.

Those super heavy footfalls came thundering her way.
"Fluttershy! The Hunters are closing in! We need to move! Right now!" Even Twilight sounded agitated.

Coming to the only available decision, Fluttershy braced herself for running out into the open, praying she didn't get hit. Just as she was about to do that however, she heard the deep, warbling cry of a Hunter, directly behind, and saw it collapse into the sand right next to her.

The second alien howled in anguish, and she heard its stomping feet charging away from her. Taking a cautious peek out from behind her tree, she watched the Hunter run vengefully towards the rocks and dead Grunts at the other side of the ditch; Big Mac and the rest of the Ponies taking cover by the mouth of the narrow canyon.

Determinedly, Twilight urged, "Go on, Fluttershy! Now's our chance! Aim for its weak spot!"
Did Twilight really think Fluttershy had it in her to kill a Hunter? Evidently she did.

Sure of failure, Fluttershy stepped out from behind the tree and fired short bursts at the alien's flank. It was quite a ways off, and only one bullet found its way into its exposed back, eliciting nothing but a grunt from the massive tyrant.
"Get closer, Fluttershy!"

Obeying, Fluttershy forced herself to gallop after the murdering monster as it fired its fuel rod cannon into the rocks. She heard somepony shriek with the resulting explosion and witnessed a Mare's mutilated body go flying up into the air. With widened eyes, she gawped, and soon found herself within descent range of the Hunter.

Applejack leapt out from the rocks and shouted, "Over here ya no-good sack o' worms!" and fired two shotgun shells into the Hunter's chest armour, making it angry, but nothing else.

In fact, the Hunter seemed dead set on the sniper, Big Mac, who Fluttershy assumed was responsible for the death of its bond brother. Hunters always worked in pairs, and if one of them dropped, the other one would express both anguish and the need for revenge.

With the massive alien not falling for AJ's distraction, it was all down to Fluttershy.

Big Mac and the others peered up over the rocks to see the beast still advancing, charging up its fuel rod gun. In a panic, they each began to run away, screaming. One of them even ran all the way back down the canyon. The Pegasi took to their wings to avoid the immanent green discharge.

Shaking with nerves, Fluttershy pointed her MA5B assault rifle at the Hunter's back and peppered the orange worms with ammunition. Loosing energy, the intensifying green glow on the fuel rod cannon faded, and the armoured monster caterwauled in its deep, thundering voice.

Tumbling down like a demolished sky scraper, the Hunter met its end, quaking the whole ground. Vibrant orange blood leaked out of its many entry wounds and onto the floor as Fluttershy reloaded her gun.

Like a game of whack-a-mole, the surviving Ponies' heads popped up from behind the rocks. They each scanned the area and looked at Fluttershy, surprised.
"... Wow," Big Macintosh finally gasped.

The rest of the team celebrated and came over to congratulate the meek Mare. The Pony who'd retreated down the canyon, as well as the Pegasi, also returned to gratify their timid little heroine.

"Way'da go, Fluttershy!"
"Yeah, that was awesome!"
"You saved our lives!"
Blushing and rubbing her foreleg, she smiled contritely and mumbled, "Hm... you're welcome."

Applejack raced up from the right and gave her a huge hug. "Oh my stars, Fluttershy, you did it! Ya saved my squad and my brother! I owe you big time!"
Uncomfortable with being owed, Fluttershy told, "Oh, there's no need for that, Applejack. It's just what friends do."
Withdrawing from the hug, Applejack enthused, "I know, I know, but what you did was amazin'! We're all so proud of ya, aren't we, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup."
"Well done, Fluttershy," contributed the AI. "You really are a better soldier than you think."

A fair bit of celebrating later, as well as mourning for the two soldiers who didn't make it, Rainbow Dash made her appearance by swooping her Pelican in under the Covenant Cruiser and lowering the gangplank.
"Good evening, everypony! Did ya miss me?"
Applejack laughed, "Actually, we did. Hehehe!"

With an aerial view of the destruction, Rainbow pondered, "Are... are those... Hunters?!"
"Yep," AJ confirmed. "Big Mac killed one of em, n' you'll never guess who killed the other one."
Bluntly, the pilot said, "Fluttershy."
"Oh, I guess Twilight told ya already, huh?"
"Nope. You said I'd never guess, and I'd never guess Fluttershy, so naturally it had to be Fluttershy and - oh my gosh! Fluttershy?! You killed a Hunter?!" Rainbow's explanation quickly devolved into a rave.
Meekly, the young Mare answered, "Yes, I did."
"Oh my gosh, that is so awesome!"

As Rainbow Dash managed to contain her excitement, she lowered her aircraft's altitude and deposited some fresh marines.
"Hi Applejack! Hi Fluttershy! It's me!" came a familiar voice.
The grey Pegasus Mare who's voice it was beamed and waved, her yellow eyes derped.
"Oh, hiya Derpy. Heh, wasn't expectin' to see you on this mission," Applejack greeted half heartedly.
"Me neither!"

As Rainbow Dash flew away into the night, she called over the radio, "See ya later, everypony... with the Captain!" She then added, "So long, Hunter killer!"
Obviously "Hunter killer" referred to Fluttershy, who was embarrassed, but amused by the nickname.

Now it was time to get inside the Truth and Reconciliation.

The rescue team huddled together in the centre of the expansive, purple disc, inside the tube of light, Fluttershy in the middle. For a moment, nothing happened, until one of the Ponies exclaimed, "Woah!" and was pulled up the shimmering light tube.

One by one, the soldiers levitated up into the Covenant Cruiser.
Derpy laughed on her way up. "Weee!"
Applejack seemed to be enjoying the floating sensation too. "Yeehaw!"

Eventually, everypony except Fluttershy was hauled aboard the gargantuan alien vessel. Confused and scared, she gazed up at the sky filling craft, her ears drooping. Soon, she was picked up by an invisible talon and sent on her way up. She closed her eyes in fear as her stomach lurched with the weightlessness. She disliked the feeling. It was like a roller coaster that went straight up, only she wasn't strapped in, and had nothing to hold on to. She also didn't like it because she knew where it was taking her.

Into the belly of the beast.

Author's Note:

USE MEDIUM DARK BACKGROUND.

IMPORTANT!: Next chapter's gonna be a little behind schedule cos I'm gonna be at BUCKcon over the weekend. I'll do the final edit the day before I set off, then I'll publish it on Monday. After that, the rest of the chapters will be published each Sunday again.

3rd May 2014. So it's the start of a new mission. Will we find that all important Berry Punch? What about Pinkie Pie?

I'm proud of the next chapter. It may surprise you.

More reinforcements will be dropped off in the Truth and Reconciliation at some point. Any predictions as to who's gonna be among them?

17th August 2014 publishing day. Some of you didn't like that Fluttershy acquired a sniper rifle. She hasn't used it yet tho, so it's k :) She will give sniping a go later into the campaign tho, and I can tell you; she aint no quick-scoping MLG pro.

PS: New cover art.

"Derpy, what are you doing?"
"Ugh... Can't... lift... Too... heavy... Ugh." Passes out.

Comments

[Phaoray]

Read up to here on a whim, if only due to the thought of Fluttershy in power armor and trying to survive. More pictured here running like hell half the time with Twilight yelling at her to fight, but wasn't expecting all the backup Fluttershy's had so far. But its been amusing, nonetheless. Has got me the desire to ramble about it a little.

I do hope Trixie proves them wrong later on about her staying. But ever if she doesn't, I can't blame her. Twilight is kind of a jerk for giving Trixie a reward, and being upset when Trixie took it. Trixie, and everypony else, in the last 24 hrs, fought there way off of a exploding ship, while watching friends die, survived the crashing escape pods, and fought on throughout the day against enemies with alot more advantages then they had. I can understand not wanting to go back into that when giving the choice.

Plus, Twilight is a bit ... narrow sighted, I'd say. My thoughts would be, as Trixie somehow became a staff Sergeant, is that Trixie knows what everypony else is going through, and is seeing morale get shot to hell, so is staying behind to bolster it. Either with shows, stories about how she almost single handedly fought the Convenant, that kind of stuff. Trixie, despite the situation, has been confident as hell and cocky about it, she acts like the covenant are a joke, and seeing that, I can't help to think that it's a good thing for those around her to witness. Twilight only worries about the morale of her friends in this so far, not the supporting troops. That's one way to take it anyways, Trixie could just be a lazy ass, but lazy asses rarely get decent rank.

I do have to agree with Fluttershy on the wrongness of snapping their necks, especially after she witnessed the scene of the Elite juggling and having fun with the little ones. At least, for her character. Morales and ethics in war have gone along the wayside as time has gone on in our own society, and it sounds like the same has happened with Equestria. Its all about what gives the best chance of survival now, over the right thing to do. Not once did they try to take captives, making them quite possibly as blood thirsty as the convenant. It's hard now to say if either side is right or wrong as opposed to which side you simply like more, but becoming what you are fighting against is a very sad thing to see. I can see FS losing hope and faith in her friends and herself, as they continue to kill without regard or mercy. A complete opposite of just what she herself once represented.

But, perhaps I am looking too far into this story, I do that alot.