[Authors note - Be sure to read Doctor Halsey's Notes and Haylo: A New World before reading this. Also, if you have already read Doctor Halsey's Notes, I added a new section to it recently. I will add new stuff to it every so often, so it's a good idea to check it every so often. If you have any questions about the Spartan-IV program, ask me and I'll answer it through Doctor Halsey's Notes. Also, I haven't had the time to run this chapter through my pre-readers. If you spot any errors, please tell me, so I can fix it.]

"Lock and load, team!" Sweetie Belle ordered, as she loaded a magazine into each of her SMG's, before clipping them to her sides and picking up a shotgun. Firefly picked up her sniper rifle, loading a magazine into it and working the bolt. Surprise tossed Firefly a LWC, before picking up her own firearm, a modified battle rifle with a holographic sight and a suppressor. Sweetie Belle motioned them to follow her, as they walked out of their barracks and up to their falcon, where Scootaloo and Applebloom were waiting, both carrying LWC's.

"Come on guys, hurry up!" Scootaloo shouted over the sound of the falcons rotary blades. Sweetie Belle placed her helmet on her head and jumped on board the falcon, strapping herself in. Scootaloo and Applebloom sat in the seats across from her, while Firefly and Surprise manned the turrets. The falcon lifted off the ground and flew off, soon joining up with a group of other falcons and pelicans. On board these pelicans and falcons was two entire battalions of O.D.S.T.'s, who the Spartans would be supporting in their mission. Surprise looked down at the ground below, where multiple convoys of armor were rolling towards their objective. The objective was to take a Covenant stronghold, who's AA batteries was a serious threat to allied air support.

"Five minutes, get ready!" A males voice screamed over everyponies radios.

"We've got banshee interceptors!" Another voice called out over the radio.

"I'm hit, going down! I repeat, Bravo Eight-Two going!" A pilot exclaimed. A few banshees screeched past the Spartans falcons. Surprise and Firefly quickly rotated their turrets and opened fire on them. The banshees fell out of the ground, crashing into the ground and exploding a ball of purple flame.

"Good kill!" Applebloom called out.

Several hornets passed by the falcon, engaging the attacking banshees with missiles and machine gun fire. The falcon then slowed and hovered over the ground below. The Spartans jumped out, as the falcon started to rise back up into the air, until to be shot down by an anti-air wraith.

"Take out that wraith!" Scootaloo shouted. An O.D.S.T. charged forward, shouldering his spartan laser, charging and firing it. The red laser tore through the wraith, as it exploded violently in a hellish fireball. A ghost raced past the remains over the wraith and fired on the O.D.S.T., who was shot in half by the plasma. Surprise galloped forward, jumping on top of ghost and aiming her battle rifle at the head of the startled grunt piloting it.

"Surprise!" She called out as she shot a single round into its head. She then threw the grunts body out of the ghost and climbed inside of it, taking a hold of the controls. The ghost rotated quickly and fired a storm of blue plasma at a charging lance, quickly mowing down the grunts and brutes. A banshee screeched overhead, firing its fuel rod cannon at the ghost. Surprise rolled out the ghost, her energy shield flaring as the green plasma round hit the ghost, exploding violently.

"You okay?" Firefly asked, galloping up to Surprise and helping her off the ground. Surprise nodded as her shields recharged. Firefly gave her a pat on the back, before galloping away and climbing up a nearby hill. She dove behind a large rock, setting up her sniper rifle on its bipod and aimed the scope. She squeezed the trigger, as a round rocketed out of the barrel and tore through a distant grunts head.

"Firefly, cover us while we move up!" Sweetie Belle shouted over the radio.

"Yes ma'am!" Sweetie Belle heard Firefly respond.

"Spartans, move up!" Sweetie Belle ordered as the team galloped forward, weapons raised in the air. Scootaloo loaded a grenade into her under barrel grenade launcher, before aiming down her LWC's red dot sight and firing off a long burst into, ripping apart a lance of grunts. She raised her LWC slightly before firing a grenade into a brute, blowing a large whole in its stomach. She then clipped her LWC to her back and punched a brute in the face with all her strength. The face collapsed under the force of the blow, as the brute went limp and fell to the ground. She heard a blood curdling roar as she looked to her left to see a brute chieftain charging forward. Sweetie Belle charged past Scootaloo, firing a blast from her shotgun into the chieftains stomach. It stumbled backwards as Sweetie Belle clipped the shotgun to her back and bucked it in the stomach, a sickening crack filling the air as she broke the cheiftains rib cage. It dropped its gravity hammer and grabbed its stomach, cringing in pain. Sweetie Belle tackled the injured chieftain, pulling a combat knife with a 14.5 inch blade out of its sheath and running it across the chieftains neck. It released a low moan of agony, before it started gurgling as it drowned in its own blood.

"Duck!" Applebloom shouted as the Spartans dove to the ground. A flaming pelican passed over just feet overhead and crashed into a nearby hill. Two banshees screeched overhead and fired their fuel rod cannons at the crashed pelican, blowing it apart. The Spartans charged forward, taking cover behind a hill where several squads of O.D.S.T.'s were taking cover.

"Who's in charge here?!" Sweetie Belle demanded.

"The Lieutenant was hit on the way in. Buck should be in charge." An O.D.S.T. answered, pointing to another O.D.S.T., who was scanning the battlefield with his binoculars. Sweetie Belle quickly trotted up to Buck, who quickly turned around and saluted the Spartan. Sweetie Belle returned the salute and shook his hand.

"At ease, trooper. I owe you and your squad my life. What's the situation?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The Covenant were waiting for us, and they took out the majority of our two battalions. We have only a few platoons left, and we have our reserve forces under attack from the air. If it wasn't for you Spartans, I would say we are royally screwed. Got any ideas, Spartan?"

"I do. Firefly, get down here." Sweetie Belle said.

"Roger that. On my way." Firefly replied. After a few short moments, Firefly landed next to the two. "What do you need boss?"

"Go and see if there is any possible weak points in their defenses." Sweetie Belle ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Firefly replied, saluting and pulling out her sniper rifle. She lowered herself to the ground and slowly climbed to the top of the hill. She peered through the scope, overlooking the stronghold they were assaulting.

"Alright... I see multiple turret emplacements and several enemy wraiths." Firefly said into her helmet radio. "There is a few banshees overhead... wait... I think I do see a hole in the defense... in their western flank."

"Roger that, western flank. What do you see?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"A few lances of infantry, two turret emplacements, and two ghosts." Firefly replied.

"And that's where we are heading." Sweetie Belle said, before turning to Buck. "Me and my squad are going to go in through that hole. When the enemy is distracted, move in."

"You got it." Buck said, saluting.

"Team, form up." Sweetie Belle ordered over the COM. The rest of Aqua Team quickly galloped up to Sweetie Belle and stood at attention.

"What is it, Commander?" Scootaloo asked, an eye brow raised.

"We've got a plan, that's what. We're going to use the hole in the defense that Firefly discovered to distract the Covenant. The O.D.S.T.'s will attack once they are distracted." Sweetie Belle stated.

"Sounds like fun!" Surprise exclaimed, a large grin spreading across her face.

"Sir... what are the Spartans doing?" Mickey asked.

"Are they... are they actually just casually walking up to the base?!" Romeo exclaimed.

"It appears so, men. But it will do the purpose. They are distracting the enemy, remember?" Buck reminded.

"They are still fucking crazy." Dutch said, watching the Spartans through his binoculars.

As the team of Spartans walked up towards the menacing stronghold, weapons in hoof, all Sweetie Belle could think of is how fubar the current situation was.

"What exactly should we do, boss?" Scootaloo asked.

"Remember your training..." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Welcome to Earth! Dismount!" A tall, black human male shouted at the assorted children. The CMC jumped out of the pelican, looking at their new surroundings, their eyes widening with both awe and fear. Several humans, dressed in battle armor and clutching assault rifles, looked over the children. Sweetie Belle looked around at the small ponies and humans surrounding her. Some were crying, others were asking for their parents, all of them were afraid. Save for one, freaky looking pony, who looked like she went through hell and back. Sweetie Belle then remembered her name was Artemis, who was an outcast at her school because of her appearance. Applebloom tried to get them to talk to her, but everypony was too afraid of her. Judging by the manic smile on her face, she probably lost her mind.

The human soldiers led the procession of children into a large room, where the older woman from before was standing on a stage, looking over the children. She was smiling and had her arms folded behind her back.

"Hello," she began, "as some as you may know, my name is Doctor Halsey. I am sure a great many of you has heard of the Spartans and their feats, how a single Spartan could take out a Covenant CSS class Cruiser all by himself, how a single Spartan has saved the human race two times over, and how the Spartans practically won the war against the Covenant. How Spartans never die..."

"I am sad to say... that Spartans can, will, and do die. You all have been chosen to be the next generation of Spartans, and over the next few years, you will be trained both mentally and physically so you won't die on the battlefield. Some of you will not make it, some of you might die in training, and the best of you will be heading for the battlefield. But as of now, you are all Spartans. Sleep soundly, for tomorrow, we begin our training.Troopers! Take them to their quarters."

The Army Troopers and Marines surrounding the children nodded in acknowledgement and signaled the children to follow them, splitting them up into twenty groups, with five to six children per group, before leading them out of the room.