Author's Notes:

Theme for this chapter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FWvqCa98Mk

Shining Armor slogged through the mud of the irrigation duct, eleven bodies at his back: three unicorns, two pegasi, one earth pony and five Elites, one alabaster and four black as night, and danger undoubtedly somewhere to his front. He couldn't see much beyond the thick damp of the trench he'd been crawling through for the better part of the last ten minutes, and he could guess where they were in the trench's winding downhill path. But, he didn't know exactly where they were; there was currently a shortage of any landmarks to identify his location with. The trench was a bland setting; bland, but an irreplaceable asset when it came to the infiltration. From all perspectives except those in or above the trench, all twelve warriors, pony and Sangheili alike, were completely concealed.

The stallion paused in his trek briefly, turning back to the Shipmaster, directly behind him. Shining had led the group thus far; he'd charted their course from the precipice above to this ditch's humble beginnings, and had been on point ever since. That being said, the white-clad Sangheili had been second in their procession the whole way. And now, the two of them stood side by side, their hooves and boots stained in the same mud, as they remained concealed from the Covenant Remnant, the duct making perfect cover for their operation thus far.

"Have we reached a suitable position to fire on our foes?" asked the Shipmaster quietly once the coalition came to a halt, not panting in the slightest despite the excursion the group had just undergone.

Shining shook his head and removed his crimson crested helmet so as to minimize his profile, and reared up to peer over the lip of the trench. His ears laid flat against his head, only his eyes protruding from the ditch's safety, and he scoured the valley with probing blue eyes. Very little had changed; the Remnant's craft was still grounded on the near side of their landing zone, and the individual warriors still toiled away.

"Not yet," answered the stallion as he was joined in his gander by the Shipmaster, his slender hands parting the stalks of grass above the trench as he too crept above its promise of safety, "But if we keep going about two hundred more yards, we'll be right where we need to be."

The Remnant was completely oblivious to their presence as they ambled about the landing zone. Shining recounted and reevaluated them, just to be sure. Six Elites, identified as Minors in rank by the Shipmaster earlier, directed the labor of the other creatures around them as they continued setting up their improvised beachhead. There were ten of the avian creatures, the Kig-Yar he'd heard them called, three of them with yellow shields and the rest with blue. And of the smallest creatures, the Unggoy, there were twenty-four; they performed the arduous tasks of organizing the cylindrical blue and grey box shaped containers into stacks and piles, and establishing the weapons turrets between each of the three floating synthetic watchtowers.

The watchtowers. Shining, his head and shoulders low as he cautiously watched the aliens in the valley, wondered why such a viable vantage point would go unused, and as he looked to the hovering lavender platforms, he realized they weren't entirely vacant after all. His armor shifted with a subtle clatter on his body as he nudged the Shipmaster and pointed to the two extra Kig-Yar in their nests before sliding back down the wall of the trench, and once at the bottom, he replaced his crested helmet.

"Brothers, take heed," he heard the Shipmaster whisper steadily above him, "The Remnant has positioned two snipers in the two foremost watchtowers. These are now priority targets for our Type-50 operators. Over watch unit, can you acquire them in your sights?"

There was silence following 'Vadum's comment, the Elite not moving from the trench's edge, his vigilance persisting as he waited for an answer from the snipers upslope. Shining looked upwards from the muck of the trench, back to the precipice, and the chute of shale shards and boulders directly below it. Though when he looked, the precipice, the trees around it, and the chute seemed devoid of any movement, he knew all three were occupied. The bare outcropping dropping away to a cliff, from which he and the others had first observed the valley, was home to the two concealed Sangheili marksmen, whose response was still being awaited. Directly below the cliffs of the precipice, in a copse of evergreens, he knew the two Hunters lingered, the tall, verdant trees being the perfect concealment for the tall, verdant creatures. And in the gravelly sand chute of the slope, he knew the Arbiter, the royal sisters, and two more of the Swords of Sanghelios were stalking ever closer to the valley amidst the boulders. He saw nothing, just as the Remnant was undoubtedly blind to their presence, but he knew without a doubt they were there.

As his uphill gaze came to a completion, Shining Armor heard the headset of the Shipmaster hum to life.

"We have spotted the Jackals in the watchtowers, Commander. We shall engage them first when you give the word."

The ivory Elite nodded, and once again ducked down into the safe embrace of the duct, sliding into the mud adjacent Shining.

"The approach is simple from here," the alien explained, his voice low and quiet, "I will take point for now, Captain, so as to coordinate with the Arbiter and the others on the mountain with greater degrees of both speed and efficiency."

Shining nodded.

"Lead the way," the stallion answered, "I'll be right behind you."

Just then, the Elites' communicators came alive again.

"All units," buzzed the voice of the Arbiter quietly, "if possible, refrain from using active camouflage on the approach. Such an act will drain the potency of our harness' shields. This mistake could prove fatal. Adhere to cover and move only when the risk of detection is minimal."

The Arbiter's words went unanswered; there was no need to reply, and the Shipmaster once again assumed the low posture of a crouch, and continued farther into the valley along the trench's bottom. Shining followed him, stepping in the Shipmaster's boot prints, much larger than his own, to replicate the Elite's silent advance. The Equestrians made sure their sole spear-bearing earth pony kept his lance low, and the others, especially those without horns, made sure to cling to their blades to prevent them from rattling. They made good time with the Shipmaster on point, his long strides forcing the equines to trot to keep up. Shining Armor felt his already adrenaline fueled pulse quicken with the exertion of clinging to 'Vadum's heels with the burden of heavy armor on his bones, the mud sucking his hooves down with each heavy step. But, after a length of time, the advance to their goal was interrupted.

"Get down," hissed the Shipmaster suddenly, the procession along the bottom of the irrigation duct halting suddenly, and following the white-clad Elite's lead as he threw himself down against the wall of the ditch.

Eleven bodies followed 'Vadum into the mud, four of them Sangheili and seven of them equine, the small wet splashes of the nearly dry duct quiet enough to refrain from escaping the depression. None in the coalition dared to move without the Shipmaster's word, as none of them yet knew the cause for his delay, and they lay still as his scarred face ever so slightly came up over the lip of the earthen aqueduct.

Immediately, he ducked back down, and slowly, so as not to make any noise, leaned to Captain Shining Armor, his armor dirty and his white fur dirtier, at his side.

"There is a solitary Kig-Yar," the alien whispered, pointing over his shoulder to the air beyond the ditch, "relieving himself outside the perimeter."

Shining Armor nodded understanding, and after removing his crimson crested helmet again, peeked over the top of the ditch to where the Shipmaster had gestured. Sure enough, there was a solitary avian creature not more than three meters away. He thought to himself, realizing it must have strayed from the other members of the Remnant sometime between now and the last time he'd dared look over the trench's edge. Shining saw only its back, its blue shield hanging at its side, and its weapon, a small device with pink crystals protruding from its contoured surface, was attached to its hip. It appeared to be urinating.

Shining came back down from the edge, and slowly, careful not to bump the metal of his helmet, replaced his headgear. He looked to the Shipmaster, and as he struggled to keep his breathing quiet instead of frantic, he shrugged.

"We are not yet close enough to engage the Remnant effectively. Let him be," the Shipmaster murmured, holding his downturned palm out steadily, "He will soon return to his comrades, and we will be free to move once again."

Sure enough, as they listened, the group heard the creature begin to leave, the claws on its feet tapping the dirt as its steps carried it away from the ditch, and the congregation, especially the equines, let out a contained sigh of relief.

But, just before they were free to move once again, a voice came over the Elites' headsets, and in the otherwise silent duct, the subtle sound seemed like thunder.

"Shipmaster 'Vadum. We are in position, and ready to engage. What is your status?" came the voice of the Arbiter over the communicator, and the receding steps of the Jackal froze.

Unanimously, every body in the irrigation ditch sank lower into the mud, and the wind was held ransom by their lungs as they collectively held their air, refusing to betray their stealth any farther.

"Shut it off," hissed Shining when another breeze picked up, his voice lost in the breath of the mountains, and the Elites' hands found their way to the insides of their helmets.

As the footsteps of the Jackal, just beyond their plane of view, prowled closer, another transmission came over the communicators, only to be cut short as they were switched off.

"Shipmaster, sta..."

The silence resumed, only the faint vocalizations and clicking claws of the Kig-Yar just beyond the ditch disturbing the fragile peace of the valley, its eyes undoubtedly probing for the source of the sound it must have heard. And, below its line of sight, not a single Equestrian or Sangheili flinched. None of them moved. None of them breathed. Not even the water trickled.

And for a moment, the valley was silent as a crypt.

The Jackal's steps had stopped, and heartbeats nearly became audible as, upon looking a bit to the side, Shining Armor saw the creature's shadow stretching across the far wall of the ditch. Slowly, he looked to the emerald eyes of the Shipmaster adjacent him, and in a moment of unspoken thought, the very present danger of the situation was mutually conveyed, and understood.

As Shining watched, something in 'Vadum's eyes visibly moved. His irises seemed to grow brighter, luminous almost, a fire lit within him. From then on, every ounce of the Shipmaster's focus was directed to the Jackal's shadow, and his hand found its way again to the handle of his Plasma Rifle.

The Kig-Yar scratched its claws in the dirt above the ditch, and its shadow drew its weapon. The impasse held fast, nothing moving, both patience and oblivious eyes delaying death as the shade of the day stretched across the valley.

Then, the shadow turned as if to go, but the initial relief of the coalition was terminated when its head craned back, and a loud squawk emitted from the creature, and its arms waved in the direction of the landing zone. Shining Armor closed his eyes and bared his teeth, focusing hard on his own contribution to the group's stealth, but their detection seemed imminent, unavoidable. When the sound of more footsteps in the grass came nearer, it became obvious that, while not officially, their cover had been blown.

In an instant, the Shipmaster's balled fist snapped up, and eleven pairs of eyes locked onto his hand. Shining knew what would happen when the tension in the Elite's fist was released. He didn't want it to happen this way, as the risk was far greater than it should have been if all had gone according to plan, but he knew it had to be so. He just wished he had longer to swallow the bad taste in his mouth; he didn't have any spit to do so. The Captain closed his eyes once more, steeled his trembling nerves, and tried to bring everything he'd ever learned in his countless hours of training back from memory. He could only recall one thought, a simple phrase he'd learned during basic training.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

He mouthed the words as he refocused on the Shipmaster's erect fist, and tried to apply them, first to his racing heart, then to his rambling mind, then to his quaking body. He tried to push his fear away, to delay it for a few moments longer before it got the better of him, but time was short. The space between seconds seemed to freeze for a moment before it happened, as if everything in the valley had given him time to comprehend the implications of what a simple fist's descending could set in motion. Regardless, the stallion understood well enough, and when the Shipmaster's fist broke from its hold, he, and every other warrior in the trench, rose up with weapons drawn.

The Shipmaster fired the first shots, two searing azure bolts of plasma launching from his weapon to catch the stunned Jackal on either sides of the chest as it stood with its shield at its side less than two meters from the trench's edge. But, the creature still stood, and as its stance faltered, it drew its weapon in a last combative effort, and swung it to bear in the direction of the trench.

Shining came up adjacent 'Vadum, and upon seeing the creature's weapon leveled at his face, instinct and training took over. His blood became hot, and a red ray of destructive magic leapt from his horn to the Jackal's throat.

The weapon fell from the Kig-Yar's hand, and it toppled to the ground, convulsing as blood began to hemorrhage from the gaping wounds in its torso and windpipe, and the green grass around its body turned purple in an expanding pool. Shining Armor blinked, his breath stolen as the sight met his eyes, and as the creature died, he became entranced.

He didn't see the Shipmaster duck back down behind the trench's edge and reactivate his communicator, and he didn't hear him yell into his headset, "Arbiter, engage! Engage!"

He didn't see the Remnant Elites, the ones the Jackal had called to, caught in the open as they sprayed suppressive fire in his direction and furiously backpedaled to the shelter of their perimeter, being chased by arcing balls of plasma and focused red beams of combative magic from the unicorns behind him in the trench the whole way. He didn't see the blue beams of the snipers cut through the air of the valley, tracing lines from the precipice above to the watchtowers, and he didn't see the lifeless bodies of two more Jackals plummet from the watchtowers with steaming holes through their helmets.

The valley was erupting all around him, green and blue and red flashing this way and that as both factions ferociously engaged one another from respective emplacements, but Shining Armor saw none of it. The noise was deafening, but the Captain was already deafened. He remained fixated on that singular Jackal as it struggled to clutch onto its fleeting moments life, and everything else seemed less profound than the sight of this creature, which he had never even known existed a day ago, as it died.

He watched as it kicked and thrashed, as if trying to fight away the crippling pain it undoubtedly was feeling. He saw it clutch at its neck and its breast, its legs' flailing growing weaker and weaker. He heard its agonizing, frantic breaths, coming forth like wheezing, choking, sputtering coughs, its windpipe filling with thick, strangling blood.

He watched as the creature rolled towards him, panic in its slit yellow eyes and thick, dark blood on its lips, and their gazes met. He stared into the Jackal's raptor-like gaze as its body began to relax, and its clawed hands fell away from its wounds. The blood still poured from its body, but it seemed not to notice anymore. All it seemed to notice now was the unicorn stallion peering over the edge of the trench while searing shots whistled by.

Shining could tell exactly when it died. There was a precise moment where the life left its wide eyes, their light fading like the beginning of dusk, and its body went completely limp. Its head fell to the grass, but its lifeless eyes remained locked forward on the stallion, and Shining's trance remained unbroken.

It was dead. He'd killed it. He'd punched a hole through its neck and watched as its life drained out and it drowned in its own blood. He'd ended a life, stolen it away, and though he was unharmed, he felt a very odd pain begin to tear at his heart, and his stomach turned over. This wasn't like any other death he'd experienced, even recently; he hadn't stood idly by a bedside as nature reclaimed an elderly life, or come across a body that had already crossed the threshold from warm life to numb, cold death, or buried his head in his forelimbs and his body behind cover as the actions of others saw to enemies' deaths. This was his first spilling of blood, despite years of being labeled a warrior, and he was utterly forsaken by his preparation for combat in how he was supposed to react. This creature had been another sentient soul, and he had killed it. He had denied it the rest of its natural life, by his own choice and by his own actions, and that simple reality had snared him, and froze his heart as well as his mind, and he was hypnotized. But then, out of somewhere near the perimeter, a bright light broke his trance.

Shining's eyes blinked response, and before he could readjust his focus, he felt firm fingers grip the back of his neck, and push him down. He landed with a meager splash, and heard a hissing sound above him, and then, like awakening from a dream, his senses returned. He felt the cool air, he heard the thundering weapons and the screams and shouts of the combatants all around him, and he looked up to see the Shipmaster crouched over him, a steaming Plasma Rifle in his hand and a feral ferocity in his eyes.

"Keep your wits about you, Captain!" he bellowed, his composure not faltering in the slightest, "You mustn't rely on me to keep your skull intact!"

The Captain's eyes peered through the sockets of his helmet to a pair of smoking, blackened divots in the opposite wall of the trench, directly behind where his head had been. He looked back to the Shipmaster, who had already risen to continue firing at the Remnant. He then looked back to the others as they too ducked and rose again and again, firing back at the Remnant beyond the trench. As Shining watched, one of the Elites took a burst of fire to the chin, the exterior of his armor beginning to glow in a very voltaic shade of cobalt, and he ducked back down blow the lip of the trench as one of the Equestrians wore a bolt of plasma on the shoulder plate, and fell, his armor smoldering but his flesh unbroken, into the mud. Though Shining could tell the unicorn guard was not wounded, he could not, and his panicked scream ensued as another of the guards checked him for blood only to find singed metal. Another outbreak of suppressive fire impacted the edge of the trench directly above, showering the Captain in fragments of earth, and once again the white-clad Elite was forced down, and upon seeing Shining still on his back, he hauled him to his hooves.

"Fight back!" he roared as he pulled him up, "Our lives depend on their deaths! Fight back!"

Shining did as he was told, and tried to focus through the eye slots of his helmet on the nearest target, but he was shaking too wildly. As he tried to single out a foe to direct his aggression towards, all three races of the Covenant flitting from cover to cover within their perimeter as they returned fire all the while, some of them shooting for the trench, others firing uphill to the mountain, he realized that he could physically feel his racing pulse. As Shining observed his enemies, he realized the turrets had become operational, two of them spraying withering fire in his direction, the other firing in an oscillating fashion upslope. While the Captain watched, one of the turrets once again forced him down with a line of shots in the dirt before his face, and a small panic began to fall into place. But, as he gathered the courage to come back above the safety of the ditch again with the full intent of returning fire this time, he was seized once again by the Shipmaster's hand.

"They have us suppressed here!" the Sangheili yelled as the black-armored Elites too ducked down and looked to him for leadership, "I will move farther up, and draw their fire! Once clear, heavy weapons operators will destroy the turrets!"

With that, the Shipmaster bounded off, his back slouched so his torso remained below the trench's edge, leaving the Captain and the others behind. Shining Armor took one look to his warriors, their gold plated armor tarnished with mud and scorch marks from glancing bolts of plasma that had met their mark. Their wide eyes implored him for an order, not only one that would ensure victory but survival as well. And as the stallion's mind raced, he could think of only one order to give them.

"Follow me!" he yelled over the battle, and then raced off after 'Vadum with six ponies in tow.

When he caught up to the Shipmaster, the Elite was already up and firing again, a hail storm of enemy fire flashing through the air all around him. Without hesitation, Shining reared up against the wall of the trench alongside 'Vadum, and with a deep breath, was somehow able to calm his mind enough for his training to take over. He acquired the first target, an Unggoy darting between two transparent stationary energy shields, and he sent another beam of destructive magic in its direction. He missed wide, but it didn't matter. He found another member of the Covenant to engage, and refocused. Before he knew it, thought had given way to instinct once again, and the other members of his race were at his side as well, fighting alongside him, while he in turn fought alongside Shipmaster 'Vadum.

A rising ball of fire suddenly gripped his attention, and he witnessed as the last of a trio of green rockets impacted the nearest of the Covenant's turrets, rending the metal and leaving a warped heap of scrap in the emplacement's stead, little to nothing left of the operator. The incoming fire was reduced drastically, and the bodies of the Covenant began to pile up within the perimeter.

And still, Shining Armor fought on.

"They have destroyed the first of the turrets!" yelled the Arbiter to the others as he saw the rising ball of blue fire, and he once again ducked behind the massive slab of stone separating his flesh from incoming plasma, several shots' impact of the granite encouraging him to take cover.

The Arbiter looked upslope slightly to another boulder, flanked by conifers growing through the hard ground. The Royal Sisters, their weapons drawn and their bodies contorted into awkward positions as they strained to stay behind the stone, looked back at him. The monolith they were pinned down behind was far too small to shelter the both of them, yet somehow they made due.

"How grand!" Celestia yelled in sarcastic response, her spear hovering very near her breastplate as another influx of hostile fire sprayed the ground around her, and she tucked her legs in closer to her chest to keep them out of harms' way; for being blinded by the sun, the random shots of the turret operators below were coming frighteningly close, "If only this changed our predicament!"

Princess Luna went to stand, and tried to leap from behind cover, but as she did a bolt struck the tree adjacent her head, and she once again ducked back into the rocks, her midnight blue eyes fierce and frustrated as she turned back to the Arbiter.

"We are completely pinned down!" the Princess of the Night screamed as the Arbiter whipped around the side of the boulder once again, sending a quick volley of shots from his Carbine downhill before dodging another incoming barrage.

"Give them only a moment longer!" responded the Sangheili as another duo of blue beams snapped overhead, leaving a vapor trail from the precipice to the most recent of the snipers' kills, lying motionless between spots of cover on the valley floor, "The Shipmaster will not fail us!"

"We do not have time!" responded Celestia, "Sooner or later, they will find their targets!"

A sudden grunt of surprise met the Arbiter's ears, and he turned to his side, opposite the alicorns, to the two other members of his race in the chute, sharing cover behind a different monolith a stone's throw away. One of them had just taken a shot to the chest as he exposed himself to return fire, and while his shields were still functioning, his comrade struggled to pull him back behind cover and back to his feet as the dirt all around them kicked up. As he watched the SpecOps Elites check each other for wounds when they were once again behind a barrier of stone, he realized just how correct the princesses were. The plan had been foiled by an unfortunate turn of events; that much was certain, but if they didn't do something soon, this slope would become a graveyard. His mind began calculating the best course of action as he took the terrain, his allies and his enemies into account, and after stealing a glance at the slope between himself and the valley, he spotted a massive felled log a few dozen meters away, a suitable firing position that had the potential of offering more cover than his current emplacement.

"I will move up briefly!" he yelled out, looking assuredly to the princesses, "If you wish to relocate, do so while I am in the open and their weaponry is focused on me!"

The alicorns nodded affirmation, and with that, the Arbiter braced his hand on the boulder that had protected him, vaulted over the top of it, and sprinted downhill. The air around him was hot with plasma, and as he raced downhill on fleet feet towards the downed tree's trunk, he ever so briefly looked over his shoulder to the alicorns behind. He'd expected them to be dashing through the open, seeking new positions, but instead, he saw them standing where there was nothing to take shelter behind, their wings flared, their eyes glowing, and their weapons seeming to irradiate the same intense white light that surrounded their horns.

The Arbiter reoriented his eyes forward, and covered the remaining distance to the log in less than a second, leaning back and sliding through the dirt on a hamstring to pop back up with his back against the trunk's hard exterior. He looked uphill again, just in time to see the alicorn's spectacle completed.

The Arbiter watched with wide eyes as, to his awe, an awesome beam of white energy shot forth from Celestia's spear, burning a path of unquantifiable heat to the center of the Remnant's landing zone. The alabaster alicorn manipulated the tip of her scalding hot blade, guiding the beam deliberately and efficiently towards the turret that had been harassing them, but an incoming shot met her breastplate, and she fell back behind the nearest rock, the beam straying ever so slightly from her desired target to meet the watchtower adjacent the Type-26. The hovering platform exploded in a massive blue fireball, pieces of the structure thrown clear across the valley as a burning metal rain showered the landing zone, causing several members of the Remnant to dive out of the way.

Before the Remnant could recover, Princess Luna likewise swung her sword as her sister dashed to cover, and an arm of lightning followed her blade's descending like a massive electrical whip. The voltaic bolt reached down to the perimeter, and branched off to strike not only the Covenant that had forsaken their cover, but also the nearest Shade's operator, and as her attack culminated, a omnipresent clap of thunder boomed through the valley.

Together, the princesses' attacks had eliminated dozens of the Remnant, and the Arbiter gawked in awestruck silence. The once green valley floor was now charred and blackened, a very obvious line of scorched earth bearing testament to the might of Celestia's spear, and the smoldering bodies of the Remnant within dark craters, like pockmarks in the grassy plain below, alluded to the no lesser power commanded by Luna. It took a moment, but eventually, the Remnant regrouped, and the chute once again became their favorite target. The Arbiter stole one last look before he resumed cover; the final turret had come to bear on the Shipmaster's and Shining Armor's position, the irrigation duct running along the flank of the landing zone, but each of the remaining members of the Covenant were firing uphill. The Arbiter rose up to fire a few more shots from his Type-51, catching a Kig-Yar in the open, but as the creature collapsed, he was once again forced down.

But, as the Arbiter threw himself onto the ground, he felt the mountain begin to shake. His initial presumption of an earthquake was quickly debunked when he heard a bass toned roar, and he glanced uphill to see two green titans rushing in his direction, the Covenant's munitions bouncing off the Hunter's armor like stones off of a fortress wall. The Mgalekgolo lumbered around the felled log, and came together on the opposite side of the Arbiter's shelter, planting their massive shields in the ground as they assumed a unified combative stance.

Bolts of plasma ricocheted off the Hunter's hulls to no effect as the cannons on their arms whirred to life, and before long, an array of verdant fuel rods were rocketing towards the perimeter. The initial explosions saw to the final Type-26's destruction, as well as that of another of the watchtowers, but when one of the Hunter's shots found its way to one of the stockpiles of fusion coils, the entire landing zone was consumed in cobalt fire.

The shockwave was visible as it raced outwards from the landing zone in a rapidly expanding radius, the sight of the explosion coming before the sound, and the dust was blown from the Arbiter's armor as the vaporous shockwave's force reached him. And, as the deafening noise of the explosion echoed down the valley and over the mountains, a complete and utter silence followed; at least, until it was broken by the satisfied, rhythmic hum of a verse of mumbled battle poetry from one of the Mgalekgolo.

The Arbiter peered over the wood of his shelter to see the smoke over the Remnant's fortification, and he immediately knew there was no longer any danger posed by the Remnant from this distance. The noise finally dissipating, the Arbiter looked back up to the princesses' position, their bodies concealed by the boulder, and remembered Celestia had been hit.

"Princess!" he called out, "Have you been bled?"

"She's wounded!" came the very worried response from Luna, still concealed behind the monolith.

"I will be fine!" came the reprimanding voice of the Princess of the Sun, and before long, her tall figure came into view once again as she stepped out from cover, her spear leveled, her brow set and unfazed, and contrasted crimson blood running down the front of her white chest, a small hole in her breastplate.

"Very well!" he called out into the disturbingly calm air, "Let us advance!"

With that, he once again vaulted over the log, and sprinted down the chute as he put his Carbine back into place on his back and drew his Plasma Rifle, his long legs pounding the earth and his lungs heaving with powerful breaths, the atmosphere a blend of clean mountain air and thick smoke. He reached the valley's base in seconds, stopping briefly to look back to see the two Elites coming down behind him with equal haste, and the princesses swooping down to his side on expansive wings.

The Arbiter led the four who had fought down the chute with him deeper into the valley, and when they neared what was left of the Remnant's perimeter, they saw the second team emerging from the irrigation duct, all of them battered but very much alive. They lingered on the edge of the wall of smoke, like a grey fog, that was hanging over the Remnant's landing zone, and listened to the crackling of the myriad blue and purple flames visible through the haze.

Both halves of the conglomeration met at the smoke's edge, the Shipmaster trotting to the Arbiter's side, dirt smearing his previously unstained armor with Shining Armor close behind in much the same condition. The Hunters hung back, slow to come off the slope of the mountain.

"Shall I signal the others?" Shining asked slowly, his breath still heavy and his eyes very wide.

"Search for survivors," the Arbiter ordered grimly, ignoring the Captain's question as well as the Elements and security detail farther down the valley in Trottingham for the moment, "Spread out. Shoulder to shoulder. Do not lose one another in the low visibility. Have caution. Unable to run, any living Covenant we find will fight like cornered beasts."

The Elites began to fan out, lining up abreast as they faced into the fog, but the equines were hesitant.

"Would it not be safer to surround the perimeter, and wait for the smoke to clear?" asked Luna, not straying from her sister's side; Celestia was bleeding heavily now from the wound in her chest near her shoulder, but from her stance to her aggression beset eyes, she seemed more an unshakable warrior than a dainty royal.

"Let these swords light our way," retorted the Shipmaster, more from trying to sway the Arbiter away from the Princess of the Night's proposition, "We must claim victory swiftly, and ensure this threat has been vanquished. If they reported our attack, reinforcements will be here in due time. We will kill them cleanly, as our forefathers' honor would have it."

"We will finish them now," the Arbiter decreed as he took a strong step into the smoke, the blade of his sword jumping from the hilt of one hand to cast a glacier blue glow through the grey haze as he gripped his Type-25 in the other hand, "Move in."

The other Elites drew their swords and Plasma Rifles as well, all except 'Vadum who kept his Type-25 on his hip, lighting the group through the dark smoke in an incandescent radiance, the hiss of the energy swords and the crackling of the flames the only sounds to accompany the ashen footfalls of the coalition as they formed up, Sangheili and Equestrian alike, and walked seventeen abreast into the Remnant's crippled landing zone, like a wall of metal, muscle and bone. The Equestrians bared their weapons also, the princesses gripping their immensely powerful arsenal in magic, Shining drawing Abraxas' red tinted steel blade for the purpose of war for the first time, and the six other armored equines leveling their spears and swords, the unicorns' horns humming with energy and the pegasi's wings fluttering as they hovered in formation, the blades set into their gauntlets free to be wielded.

Slowly, cautiously, the phalanx advanced.

The Arbiter walked a short distance ahead of the others, like the tip of the spear, 'Vadum and the princesses at his sides with Shining Armor trekking through the haze on the far side of the Shipmaster. Blue eyes and nodes on the Elites' combat harnesses floated through the smoke, as did the signatures of the intense gleam of their double pronged blades, the eerie blue light of their malicious intent cutting through the dim, smoldering air of the valley. As they neared the Covenant perimeter's heart, they began to encounter bodies. The first they came across was an Unggoy lying on its stomach, and the Elite that traversed its body kicked it over so as to look into its lifeless eyes; upon seeing the cauterized hole blown through its midsection, the SpecOps Sangheili didn't bother to investigate the possibility of its continued life further.

They pushed further into the smoke, carefully checking each of the corpses they came across for a pulse or any other indicator of life, or simply pushing the tip of a sword or lance into the sides of the dead Remnant to minimize the risk should one of them being playing possum. Only when they reached the wreckage of the Shade turrets and watchtowers did they realize what was lacking.

"Arbiter," the Shipmaster said quietly from the sterling warrior's side as they both eyed a Kig-Yar lying motionless beneath a warped chunk of lavender metal, its chest cavity undoubtedly crushed, "we have yet to encounter another dead Sangheili."

The Arbiter's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized what they were walking towards.

"Close ranks!" the Arbiter bellowed, and just as the warriors around him pressed in closer together, the sound of a Storm Rifle screed through the smoke, and a trio of azure rounds came racing through the smoke in his direction.

Two of the shots met their mark, one striking the Arbiter in the midsection and the other in the forehead. His combat harness' energy shield absorbed the bolts, but their force was passed onto him, and as his armor glowed an electric blue, he staggered and his head whipped back. As he looked back up, the blades of six swords cast their light through the haze before the conglomeration.

A unified feral howl came from the Remnant Sangheili, and as the Arbiter reassumed a combat stance with hulking gaskins and arms flexed, the voice of one of his brothers tore through the smoke.

"Sword charge!"

More plasma bolts erupted through the smoke towards the surviving Remnant Elites, their battle cries echoing out through the valley and their armor systems glowing through the haze as shots hit home, but in a matter of seconds, the distance between the two factions was closed and the Plasma Rifles went silent.

All six of the Covenant Sangheili Minors came barreling into the center of the unified races' coalition, straight for both factions' leaders in a last ditch attempt to inflict the most damage as possible before they themselves died. The most eager of the Remnant Elites made a target of princess Celestia, who planted her spear in its chest as it raised its sword at her, slightly wincing as its momentum coupled with her upwards thrust lifted it up and over her shoulder, and it landed heavily behind her. As she turned to pull her spear free from the sputtering Sangheili, the second Remnant Elite raised its sword as well, and lined up a slash with the back of the golden armored alicorn's neck.

But, as its blade descended, it was deflected by the silver blade of Princess Luna, the alien's sword missing her sister's head by mere inches. Luna stepped between the Elite and her sibling, its orange eyes piercing the ashen air, and with a reach much greater than her own, brought its sword down towards her skull. Luna brought her own blade up to meet her opponent's, but when the weapons met, it became obvious that her foe was much stronger. Its sword blew through her attempt at a block, and she was barely able to lean back out of the scalding prongs' path, the tip of the sword leaving a molten scar in her silver armor, but not in her flesh.

She recovered quickly, faster than her now off-balance opponent, hovered briefly and landed a kick on the alien's left leg, buckling its upper knee outwards. It grunted in pain, staggering back briefly, and Luna set down as Celestia finally managed to pull her spear free of the first Elite's now motionless corpse. Luna's opponent was quick to reenter the fray, limping ever so slightly as it stabbed at the dark alicorn's chest. Luna parried, knowing better now than to try to muscle her foe, redirecting the sword off to the side with an expertly manipulated blade as her own sword hovered in her magic's grip, and she darted within her foe's superior reach. She spun quickly, slashing the Elite's blue clad thighs before once again dashing out of reach to avoid a rushed slash as the alien fell to its knees. As her quarry once again raised its arm, Luna thrust forward, the metal of her sword finding an unarmored section of the Elite's neck. It fell backwards, instantly dead, and panting, the two sisters once again readied their weapons for the next assailants to come their way, though none did.

While the Royal Sisters' duel played out, at their side the Arbiter, 'Vadum and Shining Armor tangled with the remaining four Remnant Elites. They clashed at the same time; Celestia had thrown her opponent over her shoulder, her pike embedded in its chest, when the first of the other Elites crossed swords with the Shipmaster, the first of the Swords of Sanghelios to enter the fray.

The white armored Elite met the downwards slash of the Remnant Minor with an upward slash of his own, bringing both blades to a stop at eye level. Frozen in an impasse, mutual strength locking both swords into place, 'Vadum put a quick end to the duel when he drew an Energy Dagger from the gauntlet on his free hand's wrist, and pushed it through the Minor's eye socket and out the back of its skull.

As the body of 'Vadum's lifeless opponent folded over its center of gravity and crumpled to the ground, he looked over to see the Arbiter finishing up his two foes with a circular blossom of his blade, ducking the incoming slash of one opponent and sweeping the legs of the other in a fluid motion before passing his sword's prongs diagonally through the chest of his standing foe, only to turn and pierce the hearts of the grounded Elite before it could once again stand. They both died quickly and without hardly a sound.

As the first five Remnant assailants hit the ground mere seconds apart, the final surviving member of the Covenant's landing party came sprinting towards Shining Armor. And as the Elite's incandescent blade came nearer the Captain, he found himself trying to take a step back; he didn't allow himself to retreat, and instinct and training took over as the outlander rushed him.

Time seemed to slow once again as he gripped Abraxas ever tighter in his magic's influence, the fire imbued sabre hovering tensely at his hip. He'd been in this situation before, in training that is. Fencing was a mandatory skill for members of the Royal Guard, and he had practiced one on one combat ever since he was a recruit. That being said, he had never undergone a real combat situation with his sword at his side, a duel where death was at stake, and he had never practiced with an opponent quite like the bipedal tower of armored flesh charging his way now.

Regardless he steeled himself, and grit his teeth as the Elite advanced closer through the smoke, the glow of its electric blue sword highlighting the falling ash like snow. Shining's opponent's blade was pulled back, the hand holding the hilt adjacent to the shoulder with the two prongs extended outwards towards the Captain like a lance being aimed during a jousting match. As it came closer, Shining realized it was already wounded, the left half of its face burned free of skin, and the arm of the same side hanging somewhat limply. He knew the Elite had to be running on adrenaline, but he could still use its apparent weaknesses to his advantage. As the Sangheili bore down on him, the Captain shifted ever so slightly to his foe's left, to where its arm was mangled and its eye was blind, and readied his sabre.

When the Elite stabbed for his throat, Shining swung Abraxas perpendicular to the strike, parrying the thrust and leaving his quarry's midsection defenseless in perfect form. He twirled the sabre, and exactly as he had rehearsed it countless times before in training, pushed the fiery steel tip forward and into the Elite's sparsely armored abdomen. When he felt the blade strike home, the Captain found himself overcome with a wave of relief, but when he realized his opponent was not dead his relief turned to panic.

The alien took no heed of the sword of his belly, nor the hissing of singed flesh as smoke rose from the wound, and brought down a slash at Shining Armor's head. He was hardly able to duck out of the way, the incandescent blade relieving his crest of a few crimson phoenix feathers. Shining fell onto his back, the alien rearing back as it again prepared a thrust, stepping downwards as it aimed for Shining's throat with Abraxas' handle sticking out of its body just above the navel.

The Captain rolled to the left, the alien's blade missing him and piercing the earth instead. Shining found himself on his back, though he'd laterally displaced, and looked up once again as the Elite pulled its blade from the dirt and reacquired him through its one good eye. But before it could raise the blade, Shining struck its mangled arm with a combat spell. The limb was thrown back, hardly anything of substance left to hold it in place, and it yelled out in pain and once again raised the sword in its good hand, but as the extraterrestrial's sword descended, a white flash interrupted the struggle.

In between blinks, the Shipmaster materialized between Shining on the ground and the Elite standing over him, his left hand braced around the wrist of the hostile's sword wielding arm, stopping the searing blade mid-hack. As the Remnant Elite pushed against 'Vadum, the ivory Sangheili lurched forward, the brow of his helmet striking his enemy in the mandibles in a vicious head-butt, knocking it back. It staggered, and as it stood again to continue fighting, its torso was left open for a fraction of a second, but it was enough time for the Shipmaster to strike a killing blow. He stabbed forward, burying his own blade up to the hilt in the Minor's torso a few inches higher than where Abraxas was embedded in its flesh. The alien collapsed onto its side, a sickening moan emitting from its throat as it coughed out a mouthful of blood, and its last breath escaped on a mumbled curse.

There was a moment where none of them did anything, save breathe and stare at the corpses in the ash. Not one of them moved: not Shining from the ground, not the other ponies gathered around him, frozen where they were when their attempt to aide their officer was cut short by the Shipmaster's intervention, and not the other Elites as they watched with emotionless eyes as blood gathered around the dead members of their race. 'Vadum stood over his felled opponent, what was left of it, and in the quiet murmured something to himself. The Shipmaster then pulled his blade free of the motionless corpse at his feet, the wound steaming as he did so. He deactivated his weapon, the blade retracting into the hilt with the press of a button, and he replaced the handle on his hip. He then turned, his breath heavy like that of a bear, and with a blood-stained hand, reached down to help Shining Armor to his hooves.

"Your life is owed to me twice over, now," he said slowly, his voice a glum growl in the suddenly calm air.

"I had it sorted," the Captain breathed, loud enough for those under his command to hear, but he made sure to face away from them to keep his wide eyed, obviously shaken eyes out of their view.

The Shipmaster turned again, and ripped Abraxas from the belly of the dead Elite, handing the wet, indigo stained blade to the Captain. He took it in his magic's grip, and wiped it free of blood on his gauntlet while all the wounds of the motionless Sangheili Minor emitted smoke and the pungent smell of burnt meat.

"Aim higher next time," 'Vadum said grimly as Shining took possession of Abraxas again, the Elite slowly turning to point to the two parallel deep wounds he'd inflicted in their mutual quarry's chest, and said, "The hearts and lungs are there."

"Hearts?" Shining asked as he sheathed his sabre.

"Two of them," came the simple explanation as the Shipmaster took the first step away from the Captain, still standing in relative shock, "Less of a chance to miss, evening the odds for swordsmen like yourself."

The Shipmaster stalked back the way the coalition had come, giving a mutual nod to the Arbiter as he passed.

"Signal the others," he said flatly without looking over his shoulder, "We are done here."

The rest of the Elites followed him, all seven of them fading away silently into the smoldering fog like apparitions. The Royal Sisters were quick to follow, the dissolution of adrenaline enough to cause Celestia's gate to falter in the slightest; she leaned on Luna ever so slightly as their silhouettes disappeared deeper into the cloud of ash they occupied. Next were the other Guard members, few of them taking their time as they eagerly vacated the battlefield, the unicorns' swords sheathed and their horns calm, the pegasi's wings relaxed, and the only earth pony's lance held over his shoulder as they too disappeared.

Shining Armor was left alone, standing in the slowly drifting white ash. He waited until he was sure the others were gone, even daring a glance over his shoulder with watering eyes to confirm his solitude, and he fell. There was no longer any need to hold himself with an air of leadership, no longer a necessity to set an example of strength for his subordinates, or upkeep a manner of professionalism for his newfound extraterrestrial allies. The masks were off; he was alone, and the strength he'd forced his legs to keep left him all at once.

His breaths came in exasperated heaves as the ash rose up to meet him, his armor losing what little was left of its luster as the cinders covered his gilded shell, and his mind kept replaying what he was trying to forget. All the deaths, the blood, the screaming. He whimpered as he thought of all the times he could have died, should have died, if not for the quick hand of the Shipmaster and no small amount of luck. He pulled his helmet off and ran a dirty hoof through his mane, and tried to calm his galloping heart to no avail. The images of death and near-death kept coursing through his mind; the Jackals, Grunts and Elites he'd seen killed that day, the ponies beneath his command that had been hit and wounded to narrowly miss joining the Remnant all around him. And it had all gone awry because one of the Kig-Yar decided to take a piss.

It struck him how fragile it all was; his life, the lives of others, battle plans and intentions for survival. Had everything gone according to plan, the raid would have gone cleaner, quicker, and with less risk. Yet, one factor fell out of place.

The worst part was he knew how he should be reacting to his first taste of combat, and he wasn't in accord with the standards of officers, of leaders. Training had taught him to act in battle, but there was a lack of preparation for dealing with the actions of war once the fighting stopped. He'd trained his whole life for this moment, and now that it had happened, he was merely the first tear drop away from having a complete breakdown. He felt weak, ashamed, and no matter how hard he tried to shake himself back into the world around him, he couldn't.

At least, not until he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

The Captain whirled around with damp eyes and captured breath to see the tall, grey outline of the Arbiter a few short meters behind him, his piercing amber gaze cutting through the haze as he simply watched him. Shining held the stare, knowing full well that the Sangheili had caught him at a moment of sheer weakness, and while he expected some form of response, whether in disgust or in disapproval, there was neither malice nor contempt in the Arbiter's eyes, only empathy. He simply bowed his head slightly, and like a ghost, turned to go without a sound.

In an instant, Shining was somehow calmed, and his pulse began to stabilize. He focused on his breathing, sucking in contaminated air, holding it for a moment, then slowly coughing it back out. It took a few moments before he was able to find his strength to stand once again. It took less time for him to dry his eyes before he turned back to the direction the others had gone to. He sighed, hid his face behind the mask of his helm, and trotted back into the clear air, leaving what had transpired in the dust and ash behind.

The sunlight was a godsend as he stepped out of the smoke once again, able to breathe and see as if he'd been reborn. However, the aftermath of the battle was still far from a memory, and lingered in those around him. Luna was focusing a spell onto Celestia's bleeding chest, the wound beginning to seal beneath the recent hole added to her armor, all the while his own warriors tended to each other, tying bandages around wounds and burns and using healing magic to try and ease one another's pain. The Elites, oddly enough, seemed to take no heed of their sparse wounds, not even acknowledging their presence.

Regardless, the Captain knew he had one more task to do before they could leave this valley of death, and eager to return home, he looked skyward, and fired a green flare from his horn into the sky above before turning expectant eyes down the valley in the direction of Trottingham. He waited while the ball of green light above reached its peak and began a subsequent descent, and then waited until it reached the ground, then waited some more, but the sky remained devoid of a return signal.

"No response," he said aloud to his many comrades.

"Try again," bid Princess Celestia dryly as she tried to scrape some of the dried blood and dirt from her fur.

Shining did as he was told, firing another green orb into the sky, and looked eagerly for a response, but none came.

"They're not responding," Shining grimaced quietly as he sent up a third flare, "They were supposed to use a blue flare to signal that they understood the results of the raid."

A small congregation of ponies, the alicorns included, surrounded the Captain, and mirrored his eyes as they looked eagerly farther down the valley where the irrigation ditch lead, to where Trottingham was, just beyond a bend in the valley on the other side of a topographical bowl's ridgeline. As the first two, the third flare went unreciprocated.

"Is it possible that they cannot see that flare?" Princess Luna asked slowly, diverting her eyes from the distance to look to Shining, "Is the smoke blocking it?"

"That signal is over a hundred meters high," the stallion responded, shaking his head, "There's no way they wouldn't be able to see it."

"Communication difficulties, Captain?" came the voice of the Shipmaster as he stepped away from the congregation of Elites, who had come together away from the equines to join the Hunters.

"Gale Force and Chevron are beyond capable," Shining answered the Shipmaster as he came up behind him, "If they were able to see the flare, they would know to respond with a blue one, according to the plan we established after you ambushed the first scouting patrol earlier."

The Shipmaster clicked his mandibles, his green eyes directed skywards to confirm that the sky was indeed devoid of another flare.

"So, they did not see the flare," one of the armored guards proposed unconfidently, and Shining grew frustrated, more at the situation than the soldier who'd spoken.

"They should have though. Everypony in Trottingham should be able to see that signal."

The Arbiter joined them suddenly, a calm sense in his tone.

"They must not be in the settlement, then," the sterling warrior rumbled.

"They wouldn't abandon their post," the Captain retorted, his voice climbing, "That would be disobeying a direct order."

Shipmaster 'Vadum crossed his arms and leaned on one leg, while the Arbiter balled his fists tensely and glared farther down the valley, following the winding path of the irrigation duct to where the settlement lay, so he'd been told, around the next bend in the trough between the steep peaks of the Unicorn Range on either side.

"If they are as competent as you insist," the Arbiter reasoned, "and the conditions are as favorable as you claim, we would have seen their signal by now. Something must be preventing them from answering."

Shining considered his counterpart's words, and after a moment's thought, a realization hit him.

"Oh no."

The prince whirled around with frantic urgency in his voice.

"Arbiter, what did you say earlier?" he implored, "Something about Commanders."

"I noted their absence. A company is always led by no less than a pair of Sangheili Commanders," came the response.

"Of which there are none?" the Captain confirmed, the Shipmaster and the Arbiter nodding agreement in unison.

"At least, not here," 'Vadum responded, his head tilting a bit as he said the words.

As they spoke, one of the SpecOps Elites joined the discussion, and spoke directly to his white-clad superior.

"Shipmaster, kill count confirmed. Between the scouting party in the mountains and the Remnant in this valley, fifty-six Covenant have been killed in action."

'Vadum nodded, and looked concernedly to the Arbiter.

"One squad short of a full company," he observed aloud, and the implications struck the entirety of the coalition at the same time.

"We need to get to Trottingham, now!" ordered Princess Celestia, her authority unquestioned as she took the first step towards Trottingham, the answer to the riddle concealed behind the mountains in the settlement, "Simple haste will not be fast enough!"

The Arbiter looked to the Shipmaster as the pegasi took to the air once again, and together, the Sangheili eyed the practically undamaged Phantom on the outskirts of the landing zone, four Ghosts still latched onto its belly. 'Vadum looked back to the Arbiter, and a devious smile adorned his scarred maw.

"Brothers!" he roared to the others, "Mount up!"