Foreword: So I thought I'd try my hand at a Halo/MLP crossover, since there are very few crossovers of the type and the ones that are out there are actually RedVsBlue/MLP crossovers or really weird ones with outrageous OC ponies that would be better suited as humans. So, here's my own story and I promise there will be no OC ponies! The only OCs are on the Halo side of things. So sit back and enjoy, I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.
Ever wonder what's up there?
February 9th, 2531
Procyon system
UNSC destroyer Marathon
Ship-master: Commander Michael Preston
Mission: Classified
Destination: Unspecified
Chapter one
Messages from the stars
"…And so every night and day we raise the celestial bodies that grant life upon our planet. Join us, and we will live in harmony everlasting"
Commander Preston replayed the message several times, his ship having intercepted it while on patrol in the Procyon system. "That's all we received and the message just repeats, Sir. Doesn't say who recorded it, who sent it, or where it's from" the communications officer, Lieutenant Jeff Chambers said as he sat at his station, studying the strange message that they mysteriously received.
"Well we know who ever recorded it is female" Commander Preston stated, listening once again as the message played. The voice was regal but silky, smooth but firm. It reminded the Commander of his mother's voice.
"And so every night and day we raise the celestial bodies…" the message started, Preston tuned it out as he went over the possible meaning of the message.
What the fuck does that mean? Is she trying to tell us that she raises the sun and moon? Preposterous the Commander mused, tapping a pen against his chin.
"Can we trace the message? See where it originated from?" Preston asked his comms officer, who briefly looked his console over before turning to face the Commander.
"Sir, it appears the message has no known origin. That or it's being disguised" Lieutenant Chambers answered, turning back to his station.
"So we received a message from a mysterious and unknown source, telling us to come to them, without so much as a dotted line to follow? That's fantastic" Commander Preston sarcastically exclaimed, sighing as he sat down in his captain's chair.
"Plot a slip space jump, random heading. Maybe we'll stumble across the source of this message" Commander Preston ordered his navigation officer, Lieutenant Anthony West.
"Aye, aye, Sir" West replied, typing in the necessary commands.
"I hope you know what you're doing" the ship's Artificial Intelligence, Everlasting Fall, said with a tone of mischief in his voice.
"Me too" Commander Preston responded, turning to stare out of the view port of his ship, the UNSC Marathon. The Marathon by design was outfitted with special equipment for this particular mission; find other life in the universe.
We all know how well that went the first time Preston thought bitterly as he looked over at Arcadia colony as the Covenant ships descended upon it, several UNSC ships moved to intercept, including the Pillar of Autumn.
The enemy paid no mind to the UNSC as they rocketed towards the surface of the planet, intent on getting troops on the ground. "Commander, if I may, I would like to express my concerns regarding this mission" the weapons officer, Lieutenant Tiffany Gates, said.
"Continue, Lieutenant" Preston replied, curious to see what one of his most trusted officers had to say about their assignment.
"We're flying blind into uncharted territory with no escorts and no knowledge of what we find; what if we find more Covenant? Or an equally hostile species? What if we discover some kind of parasitic life-form intent on galactic extinction?" Lieutenant Gates ranted.
"What if we don't find anything at all?" Commander Preston asked, suggesting that they may end this mission empty handed.
"Get us out of here" Preston ordered, Lieutenant West complied and soon they were rocketing through the realm of slip space, no knowledge of where they'd end up.
"My name is Princess Celestia of Equestria; we are here waiting for visitors from beyond the stars. If you are listening then we would greatly enjoy meeting you. If you want to learn more about me then you would do well to know that I am an Alicorn; a mix of a Unicorn and a Pegasus. I have a sister named Princess Luna; together we benevolently rule a land of peace and happiness. But perhaps the most important detail about is that we are immortal goddesses with the power to move entire stars, and so every night and day we raise the celestial bodies that grant life upon our planet. Join us, and we will live in harmony everlasting" the regal ruler of Equestria said as she recorded a message using the magic her horn provided. Then, using the same magic, she broadcasted the message to the far reaches of space.
"Think anyone will get it?" Princess Luna asked as she stood next to the sun goddess, her sister. The two were standing on a balcony on the palace that was their home in the royal city of Canterlot, built on to the side of a mountain.
"I don't know; all we can do is hope that someone is listening" Celestia replied as she turned away to step back into her room, situated in a tower high above the streets of the city.
"I'm not entirely convinced there's anything out there, a thousand years on the moon and I didn't see anything but stars and other planets" Princess Luna said, she was quite the pessimist when it came to the existence of sentient life-forms from other planets.
"We have sat alone amongst the stars for as long as anypony can remember, and while there is no scientific evidence it would be foolish to assume we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy" Celestia retorted.
"Aren't you worried that hostile species will receive that message?" Luna inquired; she was clearly worried about this whole plan.
"My dear sister who could possibly want to be hostile with us? All in this country are friendly and peaceful, if I was worried about hostile aliens descending upon us then I would not have sent an open invitation to come to our planet" Celestia explained.
"Bad aliens do exist out there, it would be foolish to assume that all will be friendly" Luna countered, mocking what her sister had said moments prior.
"You've been reading to many Horsen Wells novels; trust me when I say I'm confident a friendly species will find us. Perhaps they'll have interesting goods to trade with us, doesn't that sound exciting; the prospect of being able to study alien technology?" Celestia inquired, trying to get her sister to lighten up.
"That does sound like fun" Luna admitted, a bright smile coming to her face. "See? You should always think positively no matter what situation you're in" Princess Celestia declared, lying down on her bed while her sister perused the selection of books on Celestia's shelves.
"Has Equestria ever been visited from aliens before?" Luna asked, searching for any non-fiction tomes about extra-terrestrial life. She kept coming up empty-hoofed.
"We've been around since the formation of Equestria and neither of us have found any evidence to support the possibility that aliens once resided here. No, I do not believe we have ever had contact with other species" Celestia answered, ending their discussion.
"If you will excuse me, Luna, I have royal duties to attend to" Celestia said as she stood from her bed, heading for the door.
"Yes, of course. Whatever you say, 'Tia" Luna absent-mindedly replying, Celestia decided to have some fun with her.
"Luna, I think the sun is far cooler than the moon" Celestia said, teasing her younger sibling who was still searching for books on aliens that weren't fantastical tales of intergalactic war.
"Yeah, that's great 'Tia" the night princess replied.
"Luna, would you like to join me this weekend when I go pole-dancing for the Diamond Dogs?" Celestia asked, barely stifling her laughter.
"Uh-huh, yeah, that's nice" Luna answered as she pulled down several books that looked as if they would help her, setting them aside she began to look for more.
"Luna, I got a message from a stallion named Big Macintosh and he said that he'd like to stick his apples in your mouth, doesn't that sound fun?" at this point Celestia was making up all sorts of things to mess with her sister.
"Yeah, that sounds excell-wait, what?" Luna asked in dismay, turning to face the sun goddess as she rolled on the floor, laughing.
A pillow took to the air as Princess Luna raised it up with her magic and threw it at her older sister, feathers flying out as the pillow struck her mischievous sister.
"Very funny, 'Tia."
July 21st, 2531
Procyon system
Covenant CSO-class supercarrier Divine Wind
Ship-master: Thar 'Saramee
Mission: find new species to absorb into the Covenant
"…Qid ti crey ard nim ay ouse veh revatloe giccq jan vaint vil aaum zor qeont. Maur li, qid ouse uyl lar vaupalty zertauisin" the message boomed from the bridge loudspeakers.
Strange language Ship-master Thar 'Saramee mused, looking over the message. Thar couldn't understand a word that had been said but it did sound like the language the humans spoke.
Even thinking about the humans made Thar cringe in disgust, for the last six years the Covenant had waged war against the vile beings. They had been declared by the Prophets a direct affront to the beings the Covenant worshipped; the Forerunners.
If it is humans then we'll just glass their planet, if it's another species then we'll offer them a chance to join us 'Saramee decided, though it was hard to think of it as another species when they use the same language as the humans.
"Clearly this message is a sign from the gods; they want us to find whoever sent this. Whether to destroy them or absorb them I do not know, but it is not my place to question the Forerunners" Thar's second in command, an aristocrat named Rav 'Taramai, spoke up.
Aristocrats are rare members of Sangheili society in that they are individuals, whose skills are well enough to be given the title of swordsman and their own personal energy sword, having rightfully obtained the Aristocrat title by displaying exceptional combat prowess.
Of course Thar was also an Aristocrat, as most Ship-masters of the Covenant navy, though he had a very special blade that had been passed down through the generations of his family. Aristocrats are not allowed to marry for ceremonial reasons but Thar had his sword long before he acquired the title.
A family heirloom, given to me by my uncle. This blade has taken the blood of many enemies, and is bestowed with great personal honor Thar mused, looking down at the handle of his sword attached to the side of his leg.
"You are most correct, 'Taramai. Prepare for slip space jump, let us do the gods' bidding and find the sender of this mysterious message" Thar declared, earning dedicated roars from his subordinates.
"Communications, record the following message and send it to the same place we received the original message from" Thar ordered, preparing to recite an age old response.
"Luna! Luna, come quick! I received a message from space! Someone was listening!" Celestia cried out as she charged into her chambers, excited to let her sister listen to the message.
Luna stood from the bed and approached her giddy sister, smiling. "Well it seems you were right, 'Tia. There is intelligent life out there" the night Princess said.
"I'm always right, Lu. Here, take a listen" Celestia declared, preparing to play the message.
"We are the Covenant. We seek salvation amongst the stars, ever searching for the Sacred Rings. If you are there, we will come. Thou who believe will be saved by the gods."
"Isn't this exciting?" Celestia asked, Luna was worried however.
"Is that the original message?" she inquired.
"No, I had to translate it. Why?" Celestia said, her smile faded until it was replaced with her usual calm demeanor.
"When the aliens do arrive we'll have to greet them, and we'll have to translate what they're saying. What if they're hostile?" Luna asked, expressing her original concern.
"Luna, did you even listen to the message? The aliens that heard our message our clearly religious. What kind of religious species would be hostile?" the sun goddess replied, getting mildly frustrated with her sister's doubt.
"What if other species heard this message? These religious aliens may be friendly but the others who tuned in might not be" Luna declared, putting a new worry out on the table.
"Stop worrying, Luna. Everything will be fine" Celestia assured her, placing a hoof on her sister's shoulder.
"I hope so, for the sake of our species I sure hope you're right" Princess Luna shook her head.
"You have nothing to fear, Lu. And look on the bright side; they speak in the same way you do!" Celestia joked, referring to the alien's usage of the word 'thou'.
Luna merely rolled her eyes.
Author's note: so the premise has been set, and two factions currently at war with one-another have received open invitation to the most peaceful place in the galaxy. Sounds like a winner to me.
I would like to thank Mr. Michael Blackburn for beta-reading this chapter.
Legal note: Commander Michael Preston, Thar 'Saramee, Rav 'Taramai, and all other related characters are copyright to me. Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the ponies belong to Hasbro. Halo belongs to 343 Industries.