Foreword: despite any implications you may draw from this chapter there will be NO shipping and NO sex in this story. There are probably going to be confessions of love, but no legitimate shipping will occur. Keep it clean, bitches.
Chapter Two
The first arrivals
February 10th, 2531
Uncharted star system
Covenant Sangheili CSO-class supercarrier Divine Wind.
Shipmaster Thar 'Saramee
Mission: find new species to absorb into the Covenant
"This system is home to several planets, Excellency, but only one is inhabited. The continent closest to us is occupied by quadrupedal aliens, the majority of which capping out at three feet tall" the Divine Wind's operations officer announced.
"Bah! They're even shorter than the Unggoy! Pitiful!" Shipmaster 'Saramee exclaimed, dissatisfied with their findings. "They are useless."
"If I may, Excellency, the Unggoy turned out to be tenacious fighters when commanded properly. Perhaps these quadrupeds will prove the same. In fact, they may even serve as excellent allies to the Unggoy" Rav 'Taramai stated.
Thar tapped his fingers against the handle of his sword in thought, knowing full well that what Rav said was true.
They were worth a look, at least.
"Prepare to enter the atmosphere, and bring us to the nearest settlement, I'm going down there by myself. And be sure to scan the rest of the planet for any other intelligent species!" Thar ordered, leaving the bridge in the direction of the gravity lift.
Twilight Sparkle smiled happily as she left her library on the edges of Ponyville, breathing in the warm afternoon air with an involuntary shudder; it was a little cold in the library, and the warmth was most welcome. The distant hustle and bustle of afternoon Ponyville caught the Unicorn's attention and she set out for Carousel Boutique to pick up a dress from her friend Rarity.
I also have to grab those apple fritters from Applejack and hurry back to the library to continue studying. Maybe I'll give Spike the day off, too Twilight thought, feeling in a great mood, like nothing could ever ruin her day.
Trotting through Ponyville central Twilight saw Fluttershy on the side, successfully negotiating a cheaper price for some radishes from a vendor.
Those lessons from Iron Will paid off for her, after some help from Rarity and Pinkie anyway the Unicorn mused, remembering the troubles those two went through to get Fluttershy back to normal when she went too far with the Minotaur's teachings.
Reaching Carousel Boutique Twilight knocked on the door and stepped back, patiently waiting for Rarity to open up. While she waited Twilight could hear a commotion down the street about something in the sky.
Probably Rainbow Dash pulling off a new trick.
The door finally opened, and Rarity stood in the doorway.
"Ah, Twilight, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, dear?" the fashionista Unicorn inquired, a friendly smile on her face.
"I'm just here to pick up that dress I ordered" Twilight replied curtly, earning a nod from Rarity as she galloped back into her store to grab the article in question.
"Just a minute!"
Twilight went back to waiting and could hear the commotion picking up in intensity, several ponies galloping past her away from the town center. Somewhere nearby the Unicorn could hear Lily yelling "the horror, the horror!" which made Twilight nervous.
Lily only does that when something truly bad is going down Twilight thought, remembering all those times Lily had yelled those words when Cerberus was rampaging through town or a greed-grown Spike or something else along those lines.
"Look there, in the sky! Is that-"*
"Stay focused, we got a job to do!"*
Twilight turned around and saw Royal Guards marching down the street and coming to a stop in an intersection, watching the sky with an intensity only they could hold.
Finally, her curiosity getting the best of her, Twilight looked up and gasped, seeing a massive shape hovering in the sky above Ponyville. It was long and bulbous, sporting a hook-like appearance at the front. The creation steadily inched forward until it was directly above Ponyville, a cylinder of purple light coming down from the middle until it came to a stop on the ground.
Twilight was utterly confused and a little terrified of this thing and where it might've come from.
Rarity walked out of the shop carrying Twilight's dress in her magic and saw what everpony in Equestria was staring at, losing concentration long enough to drop the dress on the ground.
"What in Celestia's name is that?" Rarity wondered aloud, mentally admiring it's sleek beauty.
"I have no idea" was all Twilight had to offer in response before some kind of creature slowly descended from the gravity lift, a mixture of horror and anticipation as the monster reached the ground and walked out of the light cylinder towards the ponies.
"Ik mar ell reve laimaew" the creature said in his language as he looked around at the ponies, the royal guards never taking their eyes off him.
Twilight stepped forward, hoping he wasn't violent.
"Where in the name of the Gods am I?" Thar said in wonder, eyeing the varying quadrupeds that stood before him with looks of fear and fascination on their faces.
Suddenly one stepped forward, a purple one with a horn of some type sticking out of its head. Judging by body shape and style Thar deduced it was a female.
"Escus mo, bal hoo al yoo" the female spoke to him, not a single word understood by Shipmaster 'Saramee, who made this apparent by looking around at the other quadrupeds and clenching his fists.
Sensing this possibly hostile action the purple female donned a look of worry and the horn on her head began to glow before she spoke again.
"Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle, what is your name?" the female asked in perfect Sangheili, surprising Thar. It would appear the horn lent her some special properties.
Before the Sangheili could answer there was a bright flash that temporarily blinded all in the immediate vicinity, including the purple female.
When the light died out Thar 'Saramee was back a number of feet in a defensive pose, and standing where the bright flash had occurred was a large white quadruped sporting a horn and wings.
"Pikutia Celeste!" the purple female yelled in her language, irritating the Shipmaster; their language was grating and they would probably be forced to adopt Sangheili upon joining the Covenant.
The white quadruped raised her wings and the others stilled themselves as she approached Thar, her horn taking on an olive glow.
"Greetings, I am Princess Celestia; I trust you have made verbal contact with my student?" the white quadruped asked, also in perfect Sangheili.
"The Twilight Sparkle? Indeed, she had been brave enough to approach us" Thar answered, dropping his defensive pose and easing up; they were not going to hurt him.
"I apologize for the behavior of my subjects; the last thing they were expecting on this fine afternoon was an alien vessel to descend from the sky. You are a member of the Covenant that were spoken of in the message sent to me?" the quadruped inquired.
"Indeed, I am Shipmaster Thar 'Saramee of the Covenant CSO-class supercarrier Divine Wind, and seventh** generation warrior of the 'Saram family" the Sangheili proudly explained, finding it simpler to ease into conversation when talking about his heritage and ship.
"Intriguing. Well, if you would be so kind I would like to take you to Canterlot, get to know you better before we discuss how we're going to integrate our two species into each other's society. I am Princess Celestia by the way" the white quadruped explained.
Thar frowned in anger, knowing that the Princess believed the two would be mutual allies. Thar was about to tell her that her kind and any others on the planet would be forcefully assimilated into the Covenant Empire when he caught notice of glyphs on her chest piece.
Taking a closer look the Shipmaster's eyes went wide; she was Forerunner!
Immediately dropping to one knee Thar bowed and said "thy holy Goddess, I submit thyself to your will."
Celestia looked down in mild surprise and said "you may rise now, 'Saramee."
The Sangheili stood and Celestia noticed a change in demeanor; gone was the vaguely hostile and menacing look and stance, replaced by subservience and neutrality.
"Your demeanor changed when you took a closer look at me; do you know of me?" the Princess asked, wondering why Thar had acted the way he did.
"The glyphs on your chest piece, they are of the Gods" the Sangheili answered.
"Well...given your change in demeanor I could theoretically leave you here with Twilight" the Goddess stated, turning to face the purple female and speaking to her in their language.
To pass the time Thar looked around the town, the majority of which was shaded by the Divine Wind; it was colorful and clean, and besides the commotion of his appearance the whole town seemed rather peaceful.
I'll take the Wind over the forest outside the town so it's not hanging over these quadrupeds all day the Shipmaster thought.
"I do believe my student will be able to handle you, so if you would like to stay in this town you may do so" the Goddess finally said, forcing the Shipmaster to return his attention to her.
"As you wish, holy one, but I contend I will stay within my ship for the majority of my duration here" Thar replied, earning a nod from the Princess.
"So be it, Shipmaster" Celestia said, disappearing in the same flash of white that had signalled her appearance.
These beings are strange, and I need to quickly evaluate their military might before submitting my report to the Hierarchs Shipmaster 'Saramee thought.
"Um, excuse me" a meek but friendly voice said, Thar recognizing it as that of the purple female, Twilight Sparkle. "Your name is Thar 'Saramee, correct? What a strange name... I mean no offense!"
"Your name is just as strange to me, Sparkle. In fact, this whole land is strange" Thar commented, once again perusing the town.
"You are the servant of the holy Goddess, yes?" Thar inquired, looking down into the eyes of Twilight Sparkle.
"I'm her student, not her servant, but I am directly connected with her on a personal level" Twilight answered, not angry at his 'servant' remark but still stern.
"If you are the personal protege of the Goddess then your wish is my command" 'Saramee told her.
"Very well then, if you'll follow me to my home I've got quite a lot of questions to ask you" the female responded, barely concealing her excitement.
Several hours into the night Twilight Sparkle had finished her questions and had allowed Thar 'Saramee to return to the Divine Wind, where he was told by Rav 'Taramai that the Hierarchs wished to speak with him.
"Put them up" the Shipmaster commanded, the communications officer putting in the necessary commands and the holo-screen displaying the face of the Prophet of Truth.
"Shipmaster 'Saramee, I trust you have good news to share with us?" the Hierarch asked.
"Indeed, Holy One, this planet is populated by quadrupedal aliens that appear to be on the 6th or 7th Technological Advancement Tier; they are a primitive group, but one of the natives offered me an alarming abundance of information about their society, culture, government, and military. They are incredibly trustworthy and as a result I do not contend they will be difficult to assimilate into the Covenant. They may even voluntarily join us, Hierarch" Thar explained, a satisfied smile on Truth's face by the end.
"This is most satisfactory, Shipmaster. Begin integrating these quadrupeds into the Covenant. Does their species have a name?" the Prophet inquired.
"They call themselves ponies, Holy One."
"Excellent work, Shipmaster" Truth stated before ending the communication link, leaving the control room of the Divine Wind quiet once again.
*These lines are a reference to the same lines spoken by Marines at the start of the Halo 3 level The Ark.
**Seven reference
This remake is so boss; I'm going to have SO much fun re-writing the death scenes of the ponies!
Legal note: Shipmaster Thar 'Saramee, Rav 'Taramai, and all related characters belong to me. The Prophet of Truth and all related characters belong to 343 Industries. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. Halo belongs to 343i.