Disclaimer: I do not own anything. MLP is property of Hasbro and Destiny is property of Bungie and Activision

Prologue

The Light works in mysterious ways. There is no greater example of this than Humanity and its relationship with the Light's pure physical form, the Traveler. It was first discovered on Mars when Humanity first stepped foot on the red planet. After unknown events, the Traveler began to help the Humans step into the path of the Light, thus the Golden Age was born, a century of incredible scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs. That included but not limited to the tripling of the human life span, the colonization of nearly every terrestrial body in Humanity's home solar system, Sol, the construction of the Exos, and the formation of the Vanguard, a fighting force composed of beings that could harness the Light, Guardians, with their sole purpose being to protect the Light. It truly was the most prosperous time in recorded history.

But, all good things end eventually.

One century after the Traveler was discovered, the Darkness, the Light's mortal (well, immortal, in this case) enemy, tracked down the Traveler and discovered the Human race. After realizing that the Humans were aligned with the Light, the Darkness used the Cabal, the Fallen, the Hive and the Vex – species that were aligned with it – and attacked all of Humanity, decimating them and causing the Great Collapse. The Cabal gained a stronghold on Mars that they hold to this day, the Fallen claimed Earth to themselves, the Hive turned the inside of the moon into catacombs holding the most vile creatures ever imagined and worse, and the Vex turned Mercury into a giant machine. To make matters worse, the Traveler sacrificed itself above Earth to save Humanity, and stood dormant over it for over 700 years.

In that moment, the Great Collapse was over, and it put Humanity in an unbearable position. It was pushed all the way from Pluto to Earth in under a day, it only had one true settlement left, which was ironically under the Traveler's body, and had a splinter group of mutated humans known as the Awoken living in a graveyard of jumpships in the Asteroid Belt, known as the Reef. The Guardians, which only had one tower left, known as The Tower, had to reclaim everything Humanity lost on that day from countless foes.

But, like all things, it came to an end.

A group of the three youngest Guardians in the Vanguard, known as Fireteam Excalibur, had found and destroyed the Black Garden on Mars. What had made this achievement so significant was the fact that it was the biggest concentration of Dark Energy in the Orion Arm. Even better, the Cabal and the Fallen –the only species that weren't born out of the Darkness –lost their connection to it. Most of the Cabal military forces stationed in Sol withdrew to their territories, some Fallen Houses made prosperous alliances with Humanity, and the Traveler awakened for the first time in over seven centuries.

But now a new factor as come into play. Something that will tip the balance of the Light and the Darkness in the Orion arm, and it is rested on the youngest and most accomplished Fireteam in history.

Such is the way of the Guardian.

The Last City

First

Three years after the Black Garden's Destruction

The Tower Plaza. One of the busiest places in Humanity's procession. Guardians, Fallen warriors, and the occasional Cabal mercenary going from place to place to complete missions or start new ones.

It was also a good place to relax, as shown by a young Hunter, clad in black Fear Eater armor, sitting on the ground with his back against the left wall. He was listening to very old but catchy music, which dated back over 800 years.

"But the Ranger's aim was deadbeat

With the big iron on his hip

(Big iron on his hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip)"

The Hunter patted Hawkmoon, his unique Hand Cannon, every time 'Big Iron' was said, brushing back his Cloud Walkers' Tribute Cloak to do so. He was enjoying himself and relaxing; until his Ghost, his mechanical assistant and companion, started to bump into his head.

"Scott," it said, "We've been summoned by the Speaker to meet with him in the Hall of Guardians with the rest of Excalibur. Best not keep them waiting."

"Yeah yeah, I'm going." Scott said in a New York accent, brushing off the fabric of his armor, turning off the music flowing in his helmet, and setting off towards the hall.

Scott walked past the bounty board, nodding towards the Frame that was handling it. The robot attempted to get Scott's attention, but was asked for a bounty by a nearby Titan. Its programming forced the Frame to divert all attention to him. Scott payed to no mind and walked down the stairs into the Tower, waved to the Crucible merchants he passed, and stepped into The Hall of Guardians.

Once he was inside the room, the doors closed behind him. Scott immediately noticed that only himself, the Vanguard Mentors, the Speaker, and the rest of his fireteam, a Warlock and a Titan, were in the room. He pulled down his hood and took off his helmet, revealing a male Human in his early twenties with black hair and hazel eyes. He bowed to his superiors.

"Speaker, Mentor," He said to the Voice of the Traveler and Cayde- 6, the Hunter Mentor, respectively. He heard snickering to the left of the planning table where everyone was at and made his way to the rest of his team, a black Human male and a pale blue Awoken male Warlock.

"Late again, Scott," the Awoken said.

"You should be glad you aren't a Titan," the other Human said, "You'd be at 20 push-ups right now if you were."

"Assholes," he muttered to his teammates, causing Cayde to smirk. He was a spitting image (minus the organic part) of him when his fireteam was still on active duty. He glanced at the other Vanguard Mentors, and saw that they were having the same thoughts as he was.

Ah, memories.

"This is no time for humor, Fireteam Excalibur," the Voice of the Traveler said in an irritated voice , shutting the boys up, "I have summoned you three here for a task of upmost importance, but if you wish to opt out, do it now."

All three of them took a step forward, showing that they wanted to handle the mission.

"Excellent," the Speaker said, "Now that I have your undivided attention, allow me to elaborate what your new assignment is and why it's so important."

He walked over to the front of the window at the back of the room, and observed the scenery on the other side of the glass.

"The Traveler has given me an eye opening revelation," the Speaker proclaimed with his hands behind his back. He turned to face the Guardians. "Four centuries before The Traveler came to Mars, It resided on a habitable planet 5 light years away… which had a sentient race that could harness the Light."

Everyone was speechless. Why didn't this race follow the Traveler when It made Its pilgrimage to Mars?

"According to the Traveler, these beings were equines that identified themselves as 'ponies', and are made up of three mane (ah, horse puns) sub species." The light dimmed in the room and his Ghost dematerialized and made a holographic projection with its eye.

"Earth ponies," the Speaker said, pointing to the hologram of a regular looking horse, but with significantly smaller legs. "Pegasi," referring to the same pony but with wings. "and Unicorns." He was gesturing to a third hologram with yet again the same pony but with a horn on its forehead.

"There is also a fourth sub species," the Speaker continued, "The Alicorns." The holograms faded and were replaced with two larger holograms. They depicted two Alicorn mares, one larger than the other, that had both horns and wings. They were wearing what appeared to be royal clothing that was complete with tiaras, and they were both at least two times larger than the ponies originally displayed.

"These ponies are Princess Celestia," he said, pointing towards the larger mare, "and Princess Luna," he pointed to the smaller of the two. "Your job is to establish an alliance with their country, Equestria, and destroy any Darkness that has resided there. Any questions?" He asked as the lights returned to normal, revealing every Fireteam Excalibur member with their hands raised.

"Hunter Scott," the Speaker said, motioning for the Hunter to speak.

"Sir, are there going to be any language barriers?" Scott asked.

"By some miracle, we speak the same language, but the lingo is different, but we don't know how." the Speaker replied. "Titan Lanius."

"Speaker," Lanius began, "Are there any other creatures worthy of note on…-"

"Equis," the Voice of the Traveler finished, "and yes, there are a few more." He made a hand motion, and the lights dimmed again along with his Ghost making creatures of several different animals. "As you can see, most of them could have jumped out of history books relating to ancient Mythology," he said, referring to the creatures that resembled Griffons, Minotaurs, and Chimeras. "Warlock Nike."

"Sir," Nike asked in an offworldly voice that all Awoken possess, "What are those pictures on their flanks?" He pointed to the sun emblazoned on the larger alicorn mare's buttcheeks.

Those are their 'Cutie Marks'," the Speaker answered, "they represent a pony's natural talent once they find them." He had to speak through laughs as Scott and Cayde laughed until they cried (in Scott's case).

"Speaker," Scott said through laughter, "why the hell do they have such girly names?"

"It is a traditional name, other than that I am unsure," He answered with a deadpan expression. Not that anyone could see it under his mask.

"If there are no further questions…," he continued. Nobody said a word. "…Then you are dismissed. The journey there should take no more than 2 hours and your Ghosts have the coordinates. May the Light guide your way to victory."

As Fireteam Excalibur were about to make their way the hangars, they were stopped by Commander Zavala.

"Wait!" He called out to the retreating Guardians. They immediately stopped and turned to him.

"There is one more thing you Guardians need." He looked toward the Speaker and he nodded.

"Kneel, Guardians," he called out. The Fireteam of young Guardians took places in front of the Traveler and got down on one knee with their faces facing the floor.

"You are among the most accomplished Guardians in history, and for that you have been granted powers and titles by the Traveler itself, that have been saved your Guardians worthy enough to bear them." His arms were outstretched and his hands and the holes in his mask emitted a white aura, slowly lifting the clueless Guardians into the air.

"Hunter Scott, I hereby grant thee the power to manipulate flames and flight and the ability to wear the title of Guardian of the Air!" Scott was immediately surrounded by a tornado of flames.

"Titan Lanius, I hereby grant thee the power to emit lightning bolts of Arc energy and flight and the ability to wear the title of Guardian of the Earth!" Lanius was swallowed up in a column of electricity.

"Warlock Nike, I hereby grant thee the power of creating minor black holes and flight and the ability to wear the title of Guardian of the Final Frontier!" Nike was wrapped up in a cocoon of Void.

"You mark the first of a new class of Guardian, and I couldn't be prouder," he said as the shaken Guardians were released from their prisons of Light. "You three have also earned the right to wield these." The Speaker then created a portal of pure Light, and three weapons dropped down from it.

One was a Hand Cannon that looked exactly like the Solar Gun that Hunters conjure when they use their Gunslinger Super Ability. Another was a blue Shotgun that had tubes built into the barrel that had Arc Energy coursing through them. The last one was a purple Rocket Launcher that pulsed with Void through every opening in the stock.

"Use them well," the Speaker instructed them. After exchanging a look with each of the other Vanguard Mentors, he said, "Now you are dismissed."

As the three Guardians that composed Fireteam Excalibur exited the Hall of Guardians and headed towards their jumpships, they couldn't help not containing their excitement.

"I can't wait to test this puppy out," Lanius said as he cradled his new shotgun, which he dubbed 'Mjolnir'.

"I can't to test this flying stuff," Scott proclaimed as he hovered a few inches off the ground while inspecting his new 'Big Iron', which he named 'Sol Extinguisher'. He then realized he had two Hand Cannons in his procession. He pulled Hawkmoon out of his holster and held it out towards Lanius. He's seen the looks he threw toward the Exotic gun. "Take it," Scott said. "I got a replacement."

Lanius was speechless. Scott was a greedy bastard when it came to weapons and apparel. He demonstrated his when he tackled CROATA himself to the ground and proceeded to beat the snot out of him when he destroyed his first scout rifle. Now he was offering him one of the most powerful side arms in history? This was WAY too good to pass up.

"Thanks," was all Lanius said as he slid the work of art the holster on his left hip, which was covered by his Titan Mark, The Mandate. Nike watched all of this with his new Rocket Launcher, which he had started calling 'Void Giver', on his right shoulder. He also had his left hand on his own Exotic Hand Cannon, Thorn.

As the trio boarded their jumpships, broke Earth's atmosphere, and jumped to the coordinates they were given, they couldn't help but wonder about their new mission. What form of Darkness will be waiting for them on Equis? Will they be able to convince Equestria's government to join the growing Alliance of Light? Will they finally get girls of their own? With all these questions floating in their heads, they all did what any twenty something person would do for the two hour trip.

Sleep on it.

Canterlot Castle, Equestria, Equis

It had been an uneventful day in Equestria so far. Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna, were sitting down to a normal lunch of salad, hay, vegetables, fruit, and… cake. Princess Celestia had actually received a letter from her student, Twilight Sparkle- who was currently residing in Ponyville, about a lesson on friendship. Needless to say she and her sister were in a very happy mood.

"Princesses!"

That could easily be deflated by a panicking guard.

But after seeing by guard's helmet missing, and chest plate scorched, they knew this was a serious problem.

"What has happened, Flash Sentry?" Luna asked in a serious tone.

"We're attacked in Ponyville and Canterlot, Your Highnesses!" He said frantically.

"By whom, Flash?" Celestia asked in an angry voice.

"The Changelings!" He said before he lost consciousness. "They're back!"

And that's a wrap on the prologue of my very first story. Be sure to review and tell me what you thought I did good or bad, and what needs improvement.

Have a good Night/Day, and may eternal flames illuminate your path to destiny.