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Description
January 12, 2545 – Abandoned UNSC colony

The Phantom’s rumbling abruptly stopped indicating it had safely entered the atmosphere of the planet. “Now, what were we talkin’ about?” Applejack asked her small Unngoy companion.

“I noticed you were staring at those guys,” the little guy squeaked, pointing at the two hulking giants occupying much of the dropship’s interior space.

“Oh yeah. What are they?” the orange mare asked.

“You mean you’ve never fought alongside Mgalekgolo before?” The pony shook her head. “ Well, that one’s Timoka Mata, and the other is Tomobi Mata Risa.

“That’s a bit of a mouthful,” she noted. “I think I’ll just call ‘em Tim an’ Tom. That all right?” she asked. The two giants gave no indication of having noticed her.

“I don’t think they care either way,” the grunt observed.

-----

Applejack stood in what was once a garden plaza of some sort. From what she had heard, this was once part of a human colony until they were driven out. Good riddance, she figured. Still, she had to admit that from what she could tell, these humans were adept at agriculture. No doubt they’d be helpful back home on the farm if they weren’t so…

A shout from the commanding Sangheili snapped her out of her musings. He turned towards a storage crate and opened it. Several spheres floated out and flew lazily to several spots in the courtyard. Once they had reached their assigned positions, they started projecting holograms of a peculiar creature. They were tall and thin, standing upright on two legs. Their fur was extremely sparse, except for their manes, which were cut extremely short, if not shaved off completely. They all wore green uniforms and held strange dark gray guns.

Humans.

The grunts were up first. They opened fire on the projections, which ducked for cover and returned fire like the real ones would. Indicator lights on the Unggoys’ chests lit up when that particular individual was “seriously wounded”. After a few moments, all the fake humans had been eliminated.

Next, it was her, the Kig-Yar, and the few other ponies that had accompanied them. Applejack took a deep breath as the orbs moved back into position. She slid the control bit for her two plasma rifles into her mouth.

Suddenly, several objects rocketed down from orbit, landing just outside the courtyard. They looked like tiny drop pods of some kind. The commander immediately drew his energy sword, followed quickly by the rest of the group. [i]That’s not good[/i], Applejack thought.

Seconds later, the courtyard erupted in weapons fire. Humans —real humans— stood in the balconies of the adjacent buildings. They were well-armed, too. AJ gasped as the commander was felled by a burst of red light. The rest of her comrades were dropping like flies. Thinking quickly, she ran towards a dead tree near the edge of the courtyard. Winding up, she let loose on the tree with a well-placed buck. Years of farming experience channeled through her legs and into the tree. It groaned and cracked from the force of the strike, before falling over right on top of a balcony of humans. It crashed into the side of the building, bringing it down to the ground. Anything that was inside would be in no shape to fight.

Turning around, she saw the weapons fire had stopped. The humans had all been eliminated. However, so had the rest of her group- all except the two Mgalekgolo, “Tim” and “Tom”.

“I reckon we better-” she started, but the two giants turned to leave without paying her any heed. “…get outta here,” she finished.

-----

The trio ran down a random human-made street. Explosions in the distance indicated that they were not the only ones who had gained a two-legged pest problem. Applejack’s ears twitched as she heard an all-too-familiar whirring sound. She leaped back, and sure enough, out of an alleyway came a four-wheeled human vehicle. The human standing on the back turned his vehicle’s turret towards them and opened fire. Tim and Tom raised their shields to block the bullets. They tried to return fire, but with their faced blocked, the driver could easily dodge their beams.

As the humans drove around them, Applejack leaped at the vehicle, hooking her legs on the side. Before it even had a chance to react, she let loose with a volley from her plasma rifles point-blank into the driver’s face. Turning her head, she fired a few more bolts at the gunner. The vehicle rolled to a stop. She hopped off the vehicle, only to find that her two teammates were already walking away. Muttering a curse under her breath, she chased after them.

They had only gone a short distance when AJ noticed a flash of movement in the window of an overhanging section of a building. She saw a pair of gray tubes sticking out- a human missile launcher. Spotting a discarded wheel on the ground she gave it a buck, sending it through the air. The weapon fired, launching its ordnance towards the two armored companions. It struck the pony’s airborne wheel and exploded, alerting the pair to the enemy’s presence. They whirled and fired, sending the human ducking for cover. Applejack ran under the overhang and bucked the support pillars, jumping away just in time to avoid the collapse. The human crawled out of the rubble, only to be met by the intimidating presence of Tom. The last thing he saw was a three-ton shield heading right towards his face.

-----

As the trio continued their way towards the edge of town, they encountered a nearly-constant stream of resistance. The humans put up a formidable fight, but quickly fell to Applejack’s plasma rifles and her partners’ cannons. Finally, they reached a dead end—the road was blocked by a large mound of rubble from a collapsed building. They turned around, only to see a large human vehicle pull out of an alley to box them in. It looked more like a small building on treads than an actual vehicle.

The back opened up, and out came a stream of human soldiers. Applejack, Tim, and Tom immediately opened fire. The pony cursed under her breath as her left gun’s firing slowed, and then fizzled to a stop. She continued to fire with her right as Tim and Tom took out the humans who tried shooting from the windows of nearby buildings. As the last two humans emerged from the transport, her second gun fizzled to a stop. “I’m out!” she yelled as she pulled the guns off her helmet and tossed them into the air. As they fell, she whirled around and bucked them at the soldiers. The rifles flew dead-on into the humans’ faces, sending them to the ground.

Panting, Applejack perked her ears to listen for more action. Her partners had stopped firing, meaning they had dispatched all the targets. Or so she thought.

A series of rapid whooshing sounds made themselves known. Over the rooftops came a human aircraft. Its rotors spun much like the pedal-powered flying machine she had seen Pinkie Pie fly around in a few times. The pilot and gunners immediately opened fire. Applejack ducked behind her partners, who raised their shields to block the rain of metal.

A gust of wind hit the aircraft, blowing it out of place. As the pilot struggled to regain control, the Mgalekgolo took the opportunity and raised their cannons, firing at the craft. They let out only a small stream, which fell far short of their target. The green glow of their weapons went dark.

As the wind began to die down, Applejack was struck with an idea. It was crazy, maybe even suicidal, and had almost no chance of success. Still, she realized it was their only option. She climbed on Tom’s shield, yelling, “Throw me at ‘em!”

With a great sweep of its arm, the giant sent the pony flying through the air towards the aircraft. She hooked her foreleg around one of the cockpit supports, shattering the glass in the process. She pried the cockpit open, punched out the pilot, and climbed in, grabbing the controls to keep it steady. “Whoa, nelly,” she gasped.

An explosion rang out from below. Peering out from her vantage point, she saw the human transport had moved out of the way to make room for yet another vehicle—a tank. Tim and Tom had taken shelter inside a building, but who knew how long that was going to last?

Well, she had gone this far, so she decided to press her luck. She leaped out of the cockpit towards the tank. She landed on the cannon and grabbed it with her forelegs. With a swift kick of her hind leg, she knocked the gunner unconscious. She let go of the cannon and gave the canopy a few swift bucks, knocking it free and exposing the driver inside, who quickly fell to another buck in the face. The tank’s engine shut down and the cannon moved to point straight ahead.

As she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard the familiar hum of a Phantom approaching. She looked up at the cockpit of the human transport vehicle and chuckled at the driver staring at her incredulously. She stuck her tongue out mockingly at him as the Phantom’s gravity lift pulled her in to safety.

Description
January 12, 2545 – Abandoned UNSC colony

The Phantom’s rumbling abruptly stopped indicating it had safely entered the atmosphere of the planet. “Now, what were we talkin’ about?” Applejack asked her small Unngoy companion.

“I noticed you were staring at those guys,” the little guy squeaked, pointing at the two hulking giants occupying much of the dropship’s interior space.

“Oh yeah. What are they?” the orange mare asked.

“You mean you’ve never fought alongside Mgalekgolo before?” The pony shook her head. “ Well, that one’s Timoka Mata, and the other is Tomobi Mata Risa.

“That’s a bit of a mouthful,” she noted. “I think I’ll just call ‘em Tim an’ Tom. That all right?” she asked. The two giants gave no indication of having noticed her.

“I don’t think they care either way,” the grunt observed.

-----

Applejack stood in what was once a garden plaza of some sort. From what she had heard, this was once part of a human colony until they were driven out. Good riddance, she figured. Still, she had to admit that from what she could tell, these humans were adept at agriculture. No doubt they’d be helpful back home on the farm if they weren’t so…

A shout from the commanding Sangheili snapped her out of her musings. He turned towards a storage crate and opened it. Several spheres floated out and flew lazily to several spots in the courtyard. Once they had reached their assigned positions, they started projecting holograms of a peculiar creature. They were tall and thin, standing upright on two legs. Their fur was extremely sparse, except for their manes, which were cut extremely short, if not shaved off completely. They all wore green uniforms and held strange dark gray guns.

Humans.

The grunts were up first. They opened fire on the projections, which ducked for cover and returned fire like the real ones would. Indicator lights on the Unggoys’ chests lit up when that particular individual was “seriously wounded”. After a few moments, all the fake humans had been eliminated.

Next, it was her, the Kig-Yar, and the few other ponies that had accompanied them. Applejack took a deep breath as the orbs moved back into position. She slid the control bit for her two plasma rifles into her mouth.

Suddenly, several objects rocketed down from orbit, landing just outside the courtyard. They looked like tiny drop pods of some kind. The commander immediately drew his energy sword, followed quickly by the rest of the group. [i]That’s not good[/i], Applejack thought.

Seconds later, the courtyard erupted in weapons fire. Humans —real humans— stood in the balconies of the adjacent buildings. They were well-armed, too. AJ gasped as the commander was felled by a burst of red light. The rest of her comrades were dropping like flies. Thinking quickly, she ran towards a dead tree near the edge of the courtyard. Winding up, she let loose on the tree with a well-placed buck. Years of farming experience channeled through her legs and into the tree. It groaned and cracked from the force of the strike, before falling over right on top of a balcony of humans. It crashed into the side of the building, bringing it down to the ground. Anything that was inside would be in no shape to fight.

Turning around, she saw the weapons fire had stopped. The humans had all been eliminated. However, so had the rest of her group- all except the two Mgalekgolo, “Tim” and “Tom”.

“I reckon we better-” she started, but the two giants turned to leave without paying her any heed. “…get outta here,” she finished.

-----

The trio ran down a random human-made street. Explosions in the distance indicated that they were not the only ones who had gained a two-legged pest problem. Applejack’s ears twitched as she heard an all-too-familiar whirring sound. She leaped back, and sure enough, out of an alleyway came a four-wheeled human vehicle. The human standing on the back turned his vehicle’s turret towards them and opened fire. Tim and Tom raised their shields to block the bullets. They tried to return fire, but with their faced blocked, the driver could easily dodge their beams.

As the humans drove around them, Applejack leaped at the vehicle, hooking her legs on the side. Before it even had a chance to react, she let loose with a volley from her plasma rifles point-blank into the driver’s face. Turning her head, she fired a few more bolts at the gunner. The vehicle rolled to a stop. She hopped off the vehicle, only to find that her two teammates were already walking away. Muttering a curse under her breath, she chased after them.

They had only gone a short distance when AJ noticed a flash of movement in the window of an overhanging section of a building. She saw a pair of gray tubes sticking out- a human missile launcher. Spotting a discarded wheel on the ground she gave it a buck, sending it through the air. The weapon fired, launching its ordnance towards the two armored companions. It struck the pony’s airborne wheel and exploded, alerting the pair to the enemy’s presence. They whirled and fired, sending the human ducking for cover. Applejack ran under the overhang and bucked the support pillars, jumping away just in time to avoid the collapse. The human crawled out of the rubble, only to be met by the intimidating presence of Tom. The last thing he saw was a three-ton shield heading right towards his face.

-----

As the trio continued their way towards the edge of town, they encountered a nearly-constant stream of resistance. The humans put up a formidable fight, but quickly fell to Applejack’s plasma rifles and her partners’ cannons. Finally, they reached a dead end—the road was blocked by a large mound of rubble from a collapsed building. They turned around, only to see a large human vehicle pull out of an alley to box them in. It looked more like a small building on treads than an actual vehicle.

The back opened up, and out came a stream of human soldiers. Applejack, Tim, and Tom immediately opened fire. The pony cursed under her breath as her left gun’s firing slowed, and then fizzled to a stop. She continued to fire with her right as Tim and Tom took out the humans who tried shooting from the windows of nearby buildings. As the last two humans emerged from the transport, her second gun fizzled to a stop. “I’m out!” she yelled as she pulled the guns off her helmet and tossed them into the air. As they fell, she whirled around and bucked them at the soldiers. The rifles flew dead-on into the humans’ faces, sending them to the ground.

Panting, Applejack perked her ears to listen for more action. Her partners had stopped firing, meaning they had dispatched all the targets. Or so she thought.

A series of rapid whooshing sounds made themselves known. Over the rooftops came a human aircraft. Its rotors spun much like the pedal-powered flying machine she had seen Pinkie Pie fly around in a few times. The pilot and gunners immediately opened fire. Applejack ducked behind her partners, who raised their shields to block the rain of metal.

A gust of wind hit the aircraft, blowing it out of place. As the pilot struggled to regain control, the Mgalekgolo took the opportunity and raised their cannons, firing at the craft. They let out only a small stream, which fell far short of their target. The green glow of their weapons went dark.

As the wind began to die down, Applejack was struck with an idea. It was crazy, maybe even suicidal, and had almost no chance of success. Still, she realized it was their only option. She climbed on Tom’s shield, yelling, “Throw me at ‘em!”

With a great sweep of its arm, the giant sent the pony flying through the air towards the aircraft. She hooked her foreleg around one of the cockpit supports, shattering the glass in the process. She pried the cockpit open, punched out the pilot, and climbed in, grabbing the controls to keep it steady. “Whoa, nelly,” she gasped.

An explosion rang out from below. Peering out from her vantage point, she saw the human transport had moved out of the way to make room for yet another vehicle—a tank. Tim and Tom had taken shelter inside a building, but who knew how long that was going to last?

Well, she had gone this far, so she decided to press her luck. She leaped out of the cockpit towards the tank. She landed on the cannon and grabbed it with her forelegs. With a swift kick of her hind leg, she knocked the gunner unconscious. She let go of the cannon and gave the canopy a few swift bucks, knocking it free and exposing the driver inside, who quickly fell to another buck in the face. The tank’s engine shut down and the cannon moved to point straight ahead.

As she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard the familiar hum of a Phantom approaching. She looked up at the cockpit of the human transport vehicle and chuckled at the driver staring at her incredulously. She stuck her tongue out mockingly at him as the Phantom’s gravity lift pulled her in to safety.