Crimson

Five held the Magnum up to the source of the flash, and found something that continued to both confuse and agitate the Spartan. It was another pony, of course, but was between the size of Twilight and the white one he shot. In contrast to the one he shot, however, this one was dark blue, shorter, has hair that looked like the night sky, and had a moon on its rear end. It stared up at him, wide-eyed and waited.

"You try anything, and you won't live long enough to regret it," Five warned, anger clear in his voice.

"Oh... I, apologize for arriving on such short notice," she said with a slight nod.

"Are you going to try anything?" Five asked impatiently.

"No, I just wanted to ask you something before my sister wakes up."

'Because of course they are,' Five thought to himself.

"Fine."

The Spartan holstered the Magnum and continued to open the MRE container. He pulled out a silver-wrapped Protein bar and pulled it open, ignoring the stares. When the dull green bar met light, an unsettling odor spread across the room, causing most of the occupants to gag at the scent, while Five ignored it and shoved the substance into his mouth and bit off half of it before chewing.

"What... was that?" Spike asked between gags.

"MRE, 'Meal Ready to Eat'," Five answered while chewing the doughy brick.

"Ugh... how can you eat that?" Rainbow asked.

"Compare it to starving to death, then wish you chose the other option," Five said jokingly.

Someone cleared their throat loudly, and Five turned to see that it was none other than the sister to the large white one.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I am Princess Luna, ruler of the Night, bearer of the Moon, and Co-ruler of Equestria. I think you've already met my sister, Princess Celestia, judging by the mark on her face."

"I acted in defense after being assaulted," Five deadpanned before swallowing the horrid 'food' before forcing himself to consume the rest.

"And I don't doubt that, from what Twilight told me. However, I will need to make sure that you stay put while she recovers, so that you two can sort out this miscommunication."

"Good. Now we're getting somewhere," Five stated before swallowing the last of the dreaded ration bar and reaching for his helmet.

He grabbed the red piece of titanium and raised it above his head before bringing it down with an audible click. The visor powered back to life to show his shields recharging and motion tracker powering back up before he zipped up the duffel bag.

"I hope that Twilight was helpful when she first met you," Luna started, "I'd hate to tarnish Equestria's history of cooperation by starting off poorly with such an advanced species."

"She did fine, given the conditions, I suppose. Looking to get on my good side again?" Five asked.

"Well, considering that no species on Equestria has technology like... that, I assume that this may very well be our first contact with Extra-Equestrial life. Am I right?"

Five smirked under his helmet.

'Guess I'm an ambassador now,' Five thought.

"I guess so."

"Before anything, I'd like to ask a few quick questions."

"Shoot."

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know, I came here by mistake."

"Could you explain?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was in a planet called-"

"Inside a planet?" Twilight interrupted. "Don't you mean on?"

"No. It was a Shield World, built by a hyper-advanced alien race, with multiple layers of surfaces beneath massive teleporters. When the planet began to collapse, I flew into the teleporter before it could entirely shut down, and here I am."

The room went silent as Luna mulled this over, while everyone else looked as though they were more confused than before. Except for-

"YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Twilight shouted as she flew up to Five's visor.

He stood still as he gave a sigh.

"I don't know anything about the planet beyond that, nor do I know anything about the people that built it. All I know is that I was supposed to die, and now I'm trying to figure out where I am, and how I'm supposed to get back to UNSC space."

"Well, until Celestia wakes up, you should probably stay the night here. Twilight? Would you mind?" Luna responded.

"Not at all, princess. Five, would you like to come upstairs to find a bed?" she offered.

Five looked out among their faces.

'I'll be damned, they're really trying, aren't they?'

"I think I'd be better somewhere more hidden. Do you have any lower levels?"

"Yes, actually," Twilight nodded. "The basement's through that door there," she pointed towards the back.

"Alright then. I'll be down there. Thanks for your help, knock if you need anything."

Five walked straight towards the door, unaware of the weary gaze a certain Princess was giving him...

... and even less aware of the yellow eyes that followed him as well.

\\\//////

Chrysalis examined the white rooms carefully, detailing every turn in her mind, and into the Hive. The walls were a clean white, almost blinding at first, and the air was clean of any scent. Several chambers were separated by thicker windows and frames than others, and contained several glass beds and unknown equipment. Behind one certain glass pane, however, rested several severely wounded Changelings, their carapaces torn with massive, infected cuts and limbs barely attached at some parts. She could feel their minds in the Hive, deep down, unaware of the amount of pain they had gone through when they were blasted from Canterlot. These were the first to undergo what Sid had called "intensive care".

Above them, several metal arms stretched down towards the limp forms, and began to part at the ends to reveal several needles, pads, and other medical equipment.

"X-rays complete, beginning procedures," Sid's voice spoke.

The Queen turned her head as the needles began to pierce the infected cuts, swollen bruises, and veins of her subjects. She could hear the machinery buzz and whine as the same process repeated with Changelings in other rooms, all waiting for the saving grace of alien technology.

"Please... please, work," she prayed as tears flowed in a light trail from her eyes.