Crimson

Five turned around to look at the crippled Queen, who occupied her time by staring slack-jawed at him.

“And why exactly are you up here?” he asked.

“E-excuse me?” she asked.

“As a matter of fact, no. Your actions aren’t excusable. What the Hell were you thinking?”

“Don’t you dare try to put down my actions! I was trying to-“

“Sacrifice yourself for the sake of your kind, I get it. But that doesn’t excuse you literally limping up to the guillotine in hopes of finding mercy. I told you to stay put while I handled that,” he motioned to Celestia’s shakily breathing form.

\\\//////

Celestia inhaled raggedly as she laid on the cold metal surface of the alien craft, feeling its sadistic design draining her of all magic. Her vision began to fade away as she thought of her past. Luna... Discord... Twilight... they had all betrayed her, and now here she lay, broken and bleeding out on an alien ship, cut down before she could act. The Changelings were going to close in on her absence, and with Twilight acting as putty in their hooves, alongside the alien soldier, she doubted that Equestria stood a chance against the monsters.

She had lost.

And fear consumed her heart as the darkness smothered her.

\\\//////

A dark chuckle escaped the device as it floated in the center of the Corvette's bridge. Purple tendrils extended out and flowed towards the warriors clad in whites and blues.

"The moment is upon us," the King spoke. "Bring me the Moon-marked one. My winged Knights will focus on the city. Follow the path I have gifted you with, and do not stray."

"By your word, Holy One," the Sangheili stated as they went for the Phantoms.

"Ah, Celestia, you've been so helpful for my endeavor thus far. By all means, take five," the voice cackled.

\\\//////

"Because I know what if feels like to be in your position!" Five answered the Queen. "Now get back inside!"

"You could never know how I feel right now! Between my race's inevitable extinction and now an alien on top of that-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"

Five turned on his heel in time to see something bolting straight at him. Thankfully, his shields were charged in anticipation of Celestia's arrival and took the brunt of the surge of magic. The blast sent the Spartan sliding back a good ten feet before he braced himself against the hull and examined Celestia.

She was practically a different person than before, her golden armor oozing a sickly purple light through every plate while a purple mist flowed out from her eyes. The hair that once flowed on an ethereal breeze hung down the sides of her head, burning with a black flame. She looked up at Five with green eyes that screamed pure hatred.

"I've had enough of you," she stated, her voice echoing as though she were in a cave. "Of all the creatures that dared to stand in the path of Harmony, none have been so-"

fweeeeeee-THOM

Five charged the Railgun for a half-second before firing a Tungsten round at the center of Celestia's armor.

Celestia burst back from the impact, her armor caving in under the force of the magnetic weapon as it reverberated through her body, shattering her ribs and crushing vertebrae. The alicorn landed on her broken wings as she wheezed and hacked.

"Just stay dead you mother fucker!" Five shouted as he loaded in another shot.

The purple light began to shine brighter through the mare's armor, trailing along Celestia's barrel as it worked. After only a few seconds, Celestia's wheezing turned to gasps, and her hacking had been replaced by panting. She rolled over until her hooves were beneath her and slowly stood. She glared at Five as her horn bubbled with Dark Magic.

"It's rude to interrupt a lady when she is addressing you,", she said bitterly.

"Too bad," Five dismissed as he charged up the Railgun.

Celestia acted immediately, her form being propelled by the dark power that had overcome her senses. With her body acting purely on reflex, Celestia had unknowingly leveled the playing field.

Her halberd reappeared at her side before slashing downward to intercept the Tungsten projectile, slicing through it as it launched. She split it down the middle vertically as to press forward, though the halves did shear through the sides of her barrel.

Five reacted quickly, intercepting the arcing weapon by twisting the Railgun so that the blade caught between the magnetic prongs. The halberd, however, proved its effectiveness by cutting through and melting a few centimeters into the rifle, rendering it useless. The two struggled for dominance over the interlocked weapons, Celestia's magic proving itself as she twisted them in an attempt to break Five's grip.

Five let go of the rifle and jumped back, igniting his suit's thrusters in time to avoid the blade as it embedded itself into the hull of the Pale Horse. Reaching towards his back, Five pulled out a SAW LMG and opened fire on the Princess. Celestia threw up a shield in retaliation, but her magic was slow to stop the assault, and a score of lead tore through her forelegs. As she gave a shout of pain, Five turned his head to Chrysalis.

"Get out of here, now!"

Chrysalis wasted no time to argue, and limped back to the entrance.

"No you don't!"

Celestia cast a sideways glance at the Changeling queen before releasing a bolt of Dark Magic towards her. Chrysalis turned her head in time to see the projectile incoming and closed her eyes as she braced for the end.

"Protect the Queen!"

The unmistakable sound of the wings of Phalanxes buzzed past Chrysalis and intercepted the bolt with a twin-casted shield. Upon impact, the Dark Magic burst apart, barely able to budge the two heavy Changelings.

The queen turned her gaze to the door to see her Captains, Phalanxes and Sensorlings backing her as they watched the Spartan fight the Goddess of the Sun.

"Damn you, you sinfu-"

thunk

Celestia looked down in time to catch a powerful burst of light and sound that both blinded and deafened her. Her hooves shot up to her face in response as Five loaded a fresh drum into the SAW. Upon securing the drum, Five charged towards the alicorn, his thrusters pushing him to a red blur before he launched himself into the air.

"Straight from orbit!" he called out before shooting towards the ground.

The corrupted Princess cracked her eyes wide enough to see the Spartan slam into her, and cried in pain as she felt her rib cage and shoulders collapse. She slammed into the deck before Five shot backwards before charging once more, this time kicking the Princess across the hull.

Celestia slid for a good dozen meters, her scarred armor sending sparks across the metal from the friction. She shakily rose to her hooves, coughing up a sizeable pool of blood. The Princess glared death at the Spartan, her horn charging with such an intense volume of Dark Magic that her horn began to quake and fracture.

"DIE!"

A beam of purple and green energy the size of a Warthog erupted before her and flew straight at the Spartan. Five's eyes widened in shock as he focused his suit's power reserves into the Overshields and Titanium Fibers.

"Sid, activate Lockdown!" he managed to shout before bracing himself.

The magic slammed into Five and detonated.

\\\//////

Rarity watched in shocked awe at the horror at the sight.

Royal Guards across town (and unbeknownst to them, across Equestria) had began suddenly screaming in agony and collapsing to the ground, clutching their heads as though their lives depended on it. For only a few seconds, they screamed, before suddenly stopping and going limp. Before anypony could act, they righted themselves and stood tall.

When they stood back up, however, they were drastically different.

Their white coats and blue manes were replaced magically with black fur and blood-red manes. Their armor turned to an ashen grey color, seeping a sickly purple mist that trailed at least a hoof out in every direction. And their eyes...

"What in Celestia's name is happening?" Rarity gasped in horror.

The Guards turned their glowing, hateful green eyes upon the unicorn and sneered.

"By order of the King, you two are under arrest for acts of high treason, punishable only by death," he stated.

Around her, other Guards were stalking closer, cuffs and batons out and ready.

"What King?" Rarity asked. "There's no-"

"SILENCE!" a converted pegasus shouted. "You will not speak such Heresy about Lord Sombra!"