"Captain, we are being raised the U.N.S.C. Gettysburg." Serina stated.

"Answer them." Cutter ordered.

"Yes Captain." Serina said as Captain Cole's face appeared on the main screen.

"Captain Cutter? I am Captain Cole, the Captain of the U.N.S.C. Gettysburg. I see you guys are still alive."

"Very much so." Professor Anders said, walking up next to Cutter.

"Captain, the crew has finished thawing," Serina reported, "What are your orders?"

"Have them get to battlestations immediately, and have all Marine forces ready for deployment." Cutter ordered.

"Yes Captain."

"Captain Cutter, we are in desperate need of help." Cole stated.

"What do you need?" Cutter asked.

"We have around 200,000 ponies that need to get evacuated, and-"

"Ponies?" Cutter raised a brow.

"I know... I thought the same thing when I was told too. Yes, they are a race of ponies, with intelligence rivaling our own. The Covenant have almost completed the glassing of this planet, and we need to get our forces and the ponies out of there. Do you have enough room aboard the Spirit of Fire?"

"It will get a bit cramped... but we should have enough." Anders said.

"Right. Our pelicans are heading to the last evac point as we speak. Is the Spirit rated for atmosphere?" Cole asked.

"We're a Pheonix-Class Colony Ship, of course we are." Anders pointed out.

"Good, I would recommend landing the Spirit nearby the last evacuation center so we can pick up our forces and the ponies." Cole stated.

"Understood." Cutter said.

The Chief and the ponies watched silently as the last pelican dropship left, just barely five kilos from their current position.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Cortana asked sarcastically.

The Chief tapped his helmet to get Cortana to shut up. "Cortana, get me Cole."

"On it." She responded.

"Master Chief?" Cole voice asked from his helmet radio. "Why is your transmitter telling me you are still in Ponyville?"

"Sir, we missed the last pelican out."

"We?" Cole asked.

"I have a few civilians with me." The Chief responded.

"Elaborate Chief." Cole ordered.

"Sir, one adult, three children." The Chief stated.

"Very well, I will send in a rescue party. Stand by." Cole said.

"Cutter, do you read me, over?" Cole asked.

"I read you Cole, what do you need?" Cutter responded.

"Spartan-117 is stranded on the planet. My forces are spread thin, I don't have the men to send in a rescue party. Think you can spare some?"

"I can send in some O.D.S.T.s, but it will take about thirty minutes to-"

"Sir," Jerome-092 said quickly, walking aboard the bridge, "permission to take Spartans forty-two and hundred thirty with me on a rescue mission?"

"Granted. Good luck, Spartan." Cutter responded. Jerome saluted the Captain and walked off the bridge. Cutter turned back to the main screen. "I have Spartan Red Team running an op to get the Chief out of there. They won't fail."

"Good, in the mean time, High Command wants me to brief Doctor Halsey on the abilities of these ponies. She seems very interested in them." Cole said.

"Good luck, Captain." Cutter said with a salute before the main screen turned off.

"Hey Douglas, think you can toss me a couple SMG's?" Alice requested.

"No problem." Douglas replied, tossing her two SMG's. She stood up and caught both of them, clipping them to her legs.

"Thanks." She said with a smile, before placing her helmet over her head, it sealing with a hiss. As she did this, Jerome walked in, clutching an assault rifle and a shotgun.

"Spartans, form up." He ordered. Alice walked up to him, Douglas right behind her, hefting a rocket launcher.

"What's the mission, boss?" Douglas asked.

"We're being sent in to save Spartan-117 and some civilians, who were stranded on that planet." Jerome responded

"Covenant presence?" Alice asked.

"Heavy."

"Sounds like a lot of fun." Douglas said, placing his helmet on his head.

"So what's the plan, Jerome?" Alice asked.

"We're going in via H.E.V.'s. We have an extract point about 50 kilos away from the Chief's current position, where a pelican will be waiting. We're going to have to stay low, though. The Covenant would not pass up a chance to kill four Spartans at once." Jerome responded.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Douglas asked, handing Jerome a spartan laser before taking the shotgun from him. "Let's go."

A good thirty minutes later, Cole's voice reappeared over the Chief's helmet radio. "Chief, I have a rescue party entering orbit via H.E.V.'s as we speak. They should be at your position shortly."

"Understood." The Chief said.

"You have three days to get to the extract point, fifty kilometers to the west from your current position."

"I understand, Captain, Spartan-117 ou-" The Chief began, but was interupted by the sound of three H.E.V.'s crashing nearby. The Chief and the ponies ran up to the pods, as the doors launched off. Jerome climbed out of it and took his assault rifle out of its rack. He walked up to the Chief, Alice and Douglas in tow.

"Hell of a day, eh Chief?" Douglas asked. The Chief nodded.

"It's good to see you again, Chief." Jerome said, offering his hand to him.

"Likewise." The Chief replied, shaking it.

"Alice?" Jerome requested.

"Yes sir?"

"You got point."

"Yes sir."

"Come on Chief, let's go. Say, where are the civilians?" Jerome asked.

"Right behind me." The Chief replied, motioning to the ponies behind.

"My God, you can see them too? I thought I was going crazy." Jerome said before turning to Alice and Douglas. "Why didn't you guys say anything?"

"I thought I lost it too." Alice replied.

"I was just ignoring them." Douglas replied.

"They do know we aren't deaf, right?" Scootaloo asked.

"You know what... I'm done." Douglas said, walking off in the direction of the extract point.

"I thought I got point." Alice stated.

"Not anymore." Douglas replied, cocking his shotgun.

Alice shrugged and followed, with the other Spartans and the ponies in tow.

Zephyr and Rainbow Dash looked up at the Spirit of Fire as it descending towards the planets surface and hovered over them. It was so huge, it blocked out the sun.

"I wonder how the humans are able to build this stuff..." Rainbow pondered.

"Beats me, Dash. They certainly know how to build their weapons, though." Zephyr said, clutching his sniper rifle.

"True that. Did the Royal Guard have anything like what the humans have?"

"Not even close. Mostly swords and spears, though we did have some experimental black powder weapons and cannons, similar to the firearms the humans use."

"Ah." Rainbow Dash said, still gazing at the Spirit. Star Streak walked up behind the two Pegasi.

"Rainbow Dash, we have a bit of a... situation." He said.

"What is it, Star Streak?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We have a very large Covenant force heading our way. We also have a cruiser heading this way. We don't have enough time to get everyone on board." Star Streak said.

After a brief moment, Rainbow Dash spoke up. "I'll stay."

"What?!" Both Star Streak and Zephyr demanded in unison.

"Someone needs to buy you guys sometime. I can do that. Does the humans have anything on board to help me with that cruiser?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"They have a missile battery set up." Star Streak stated.

"Good." Rainbow said.

"Rainbow... you do know what this would mean, right? You will die here." Star Streak pointed out.

"I am prepared for that. Good luck, you two." Rainbow stated, as she walked away from the two. Zephyr ran after her.

"I'm going with you, Dash." Zephyr said.

"No, you're n-" She began, before a brown hoof hushed her.

"You don't have much of a say in the matter..." Zephyr said in a low whisper. Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded.

"Let's go show them who's boss." She said with a large smirk on her face.

"That's more like the Rainbow Dash I fell in love with." Zephyr said, patting her back. "Let's go!"