Pip rose from his cover, shouldering his assault rifle, and unloading a burst into the faceplate of one of the ODST's. He fell over and went limp, his blood covering the snow around him. His energy shield flared as another ODST moved out from behind his cover, firing at the Spartan. Zephyr charged up behind Pip, shouldering his battle rifle and firing a burst into the ODST's chest, then a burst into his faceplate.

"Welcome to the party!" Emily shouted.

Zephyr dove behind cover and fired a few blind bursts in the enemies direction. "Always a pleasure. What do we got?"

"Five ODST's ambushed and pinned us. We managed to take out one and you got one." Emily stated.

"Well, let's finish them off." Zephyr suggested, before rising from his cover and firing a burst into one of the ODST's chests. Pip charged past him, kicking one of the ODST's in the fact, the helmet caving in from the force of the blow. The last ODST charged at Pip, firing his assault rifle non-stop at him. Pip rolled out of the way, as Emily aimed her DMR at the ODST and firing two rounds into his chest. The ODST fell forward and went limp, blood flooding out of his body and covering the ground surrounding his body.

One by one, the Spartans took up positions around the door, their active camouflage now deactivated and the suppressors taken off their firearms.

"Contacts have been neutralized." Emily announced. "Pip is now working on taking out the generators."

Right as she said that, the lights inside the manor all shut off in unison.

"Good work, head on back. Scootaloo, get the door." Sweetie Belle ordered, but instead, AJ walked up.

"Ah got this." She said. She cautiously walked up to the doors and ran her hoof down it. "A breachin charge won't do da job."

"What will?" Scootaloo asked.

"Observe." She said calmly, before turning her back to the door and bucking it with all her strength. The doors flew down the hall, crashing into a squad of bodyguards that were waiting for them.

"Go go go!" AJ shouted, cocking her tactical shotgun and running in. The other Spartans trailed behind her, before ducking behind cover as a machine gun set up on the other side of the room opened fire. Several more bodyguards, dressed in old ODST armor like the others, entered the room and dived behind a few hastily set up sandbag barriers, firing their MA5's blindly in the Spartans direction.

"Throw a flashbang." Sweetie Belle ordered, rising from her cover and firing two bursts into an advancing Innies chest.

"Flashbang out!" Scootaloo shouted, pulling a flashbang out of its pouch and checking it behind the enemies cover, with fragmentation grenade from Oscar right behind it.

"Flashbang!" One of the former ODST's shouted right before it detonated. A split second later, Oscar's frag detonated right in the middle of the group of ODST's.

As the smoke cleared, the Spartans peaked up from their cover. "AJ, Applebloom, get my six. The rest of you, cover us." Sweetie Belle ordered, loading a fresh magazine into each of her SMG's before advancing, two shotgun wielding Spartans right behind her.

"Gross." Applebloom said, picking up a severed arm that belonged to one of the ODST's.

"Ah've seen worse." AJ stated, marching past the two other Spartans. She stopped as she heard a moan eminate from one of the bodyguards. She trotted up to him, cocked her shotgun, and pressed its barrel against the former ODST's faceplate. The lower half of his body was missing, obviously having lost it in the explosion. Looking closely, she could see his eyes through the visor. Instead of being filled with hate like usual, they were filled with fear and pain.

"Do it..." He managed to whisper hoarsely. AJ nodded and pulled the trigger, the shotguns blast reducing the ODST's head to a bloodied pulp.

"Clear!" AJ shouted, before reaching inside the Innie's armor and ripping out his dog tags.

"What are you doing?" Oscar demanded.

AJ stood up and looked down at Oscar. "From is' eyes, Ah could tell he changed. For the few remaining seconds of is' life, he was an ODST again, not an Innie." She stated, placing the dog tags in an empty pouch.

"Enough chit chat! We need to move!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Pip, there is a turret in here. Run in here and set it up outside!"

"Aye aye!" Pip responded.

"Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at a nearby flight of stairs. "Scootaloo, toss a flash in there."

"Yes ma'am." Scootaloo responded, pulling a flashbang out of one of the pouches and tossing it inside the doorway leading to the stairway. As the flashbang detonated, the Spartans charged in. There was one bodyguard waiting, this time wearing a suit and some body armor and armed with a shotgun, still suffering from the side effects of the flashbangs detonation. Scootaloo turned towards him and shouldered her LWC, firing a burst into his chest.

"Applebloom, take point!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

Applebloom nodded, charging up the stairwell. She ducked as several bullets whizzed past her head. She raised her shotgun to her shoulder and fired a blast into the stomach of the rebel firing on her.

"Man down!" Another rebel shouted. According to her VISR, there was another five rebels hiding in the stairwell. A grenade rolled down the stairwell and stopped at Appleblooms hooves.

"Shit, grenade!" Applebloom shouted, punting the grenade up the stairs.

"Oh fu-" One of the rebels began, before getting cut off as the grenades explosion consumed him.

"Clear!" Applebloom shouted.

"Okay! Team, move up!" Sweetie Belle ordered, as the rest of the Spartans charged up to the stairwell, scanning for additional ambushes. Thankfully, they reached the top floor without anymore trouble.

"He should be in here." Oscar said.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Oscar, get the door."

Oscar nodded, slinging his SAW over his back and pulling out his sidearm.

"Breaching!" Oscar called out as he kicked in the door, which shattered under the strength of the Spartans legs.

"Claymores! Shit!" Oscar shouted, before the claymores set up outside the door detonated. Oscars shields flared and died out, before his blood covered the wall behind him.

"Oscar!" Scootaloo shouted as he crashed into the wall behind him, going limp and slumping over. Sweetie Belle pulled up his vitals on her HUD. He had no pulse.

"Sierra down!" Sweetie Belle shouted over the COM. "Move in!"

The five other Spartans charged into the room, to be met with a wall of bullets. The Spartans ducked behind cover.

"Anyone hit?!" Sweetie Belle shouted, barely audible over the gunfire.

"We're fine!" Scootaloo responded, firing a few blind bursts over her cover.

"Protect the Colonel!" One of the bodyguards shouted. Sweetie Belle peaked over her cover to see two bodyguards in modern ODST armor covering Robert Watts as he made his escape. There were eight other bodyguards, either dressed in old ODST armor or a suit. All were armed with MA5's and SMG's.

The window behind the ODST's shattered as a Spartan in active camouflage rolled into the middle of the group. Her active camo deactivated as she activated her energy sword, slicing off the head of the nearest bodyguard. The majority of the bodyguards turned their attention to Artemis, allowing the other Spartans to sneak past the bodyguards.

"AJ, Applebloom, go help Artemis. We'll take out the HVT." Sweetie Belle stated. AJ and Applebloom both nodded and charged into the fray, shotguns blazing. The remaining trio of Spartans, made up of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and RD, charged down the hall. Two fireteams of rebel infantry rounded the corner, armed with shotguns and assault rifles. RD pulled a frag out of its pouch and tossed it in the middle of them, the resulting explosion killing the majority of them. The survivors were mowed down by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They rounded the corner, to see Robert Watts running down the hallway. RD raised her LWC and pulled the trigger, but nothing came out.

"Jammed!" She shouted, before tossing it aside and pulling up her two plasma rifles.

"Scootaloo, take the shot!" Sweetie Belle ordered. Scootaloo nodded, shouldering her LWC and firing a short burst at Watts. Three small clouds of blood sprayed out of his back as the rounds made contact. He fell down and screamed in agony. RD ran up to him, stomping on his head, his head caving in under the strength of the Spartans armored hoof.

"HVT has been eliminated." RD announced over the COM.

"Excellent work, team. Get out of there and head to the evac point." Their adviser said.

"Sir, we cannot comply. Oscar Four Eight Five is down. We will not leave him behind." Sweetie Belle stated.

"We will send someone to get his body. Get out of there!" Their adviser shouted.

An explosion outside shook the manor, as four scorpion tanks rolled up towards the manor, followed by a flood of Innie infantry.

"Shit!" RD shouted.

"Innie reinforcements have arrived!" Emily's voice shouted over the COM.

"Well no shit!" Artemis's voice called out.

"Everyone head downstairs! We need to hold them off!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Command, we're going to need some air support!"