Crimson

"Five!" Chrysalis cried as the world burst before her.

She could sense the hatred and fear behind the magic that Celestia put out, and was glad she wasn't crushed under it's sheer presence. However, she couldn't say the same for the Spartan.

The Changelings behind her cowered and panicked, having witnessed what they thought was an invincible ally be reduced to ash with one attack. Their only hope of surviving Celestia's wrath had succumbed to her dark fury.

Celestia turned her gaze to Chrysalis as the smoke began to clear.

"What did I tell you, bug?" Celestia said as she stalked towards the Queen. "There's only one way this can end."

Celestia's Halberd floated up to her side and spun in a circle, becoming a whirling streak of death. Chrysalis felt the echoes of her children's cries and closed her eyes.

"Please... just make it quick," she begged.

Celestia smirked.

"No."

Three cracks of sound burst from the smoke as Celestia screamed in agony, her Halberd slamming into the hull as her horn burst into pieces. More bursts erupted from the smoke as Five marched forth from it, his armor not showing a hint of damage from Celestia's attack, while he unloaded the Battle Rifle's magazine on Celestia. Two bursts cut through her left foreleg's knee and another two cut through her hind legs.

Celestia screamed in pain as she collapsed onto the ship as more purple mist began to filter through her wounds, patching her fragmented bones and nerves together hastily.

When the rifle's counter read zero, Five tossed the rifle aside and pulled out his Magnum and fired at the Princess as he pushed closer to her.

Hope began to resound through the Hive as Chrysalis watched Five's retaliation.

'He took the brunt of that massive attack and got back up like it was nothing,' she thought. 'He's still fighting for us.' Chrysalis let her guard down momentarily enough at the thought to produce a genuine smile.

When the last round was fired, Five threw the Magnum behind him and drew out the Energy Sword that the Zealot had tossed him earlier, igniting the suspended field of plasma as he approached Celestia's prone form.

Much to Five's shock, the Princess managed to recover from the onslaught sooner than he thought physically possible and got up to deliver a solid buck right into his abdomen.

The impact broke Five's shields entirely and landed the Spartan on his back a good few meters away.

With the cracked stump that was left of her horn, Celestia pooled enough strength to magically lift her Halberd and stared down Five.

"Why!?" she demanded. "Why do you persist!? It's hopeless! Accept your death!"

Five got up and depolarized his visor to look Celestia right in the eye.

"You can try to kill me all you want, but Spartans don't die," he said, casting a glance to Chrysalis and the Changelings, "we're just Missing In Action."

Celestia roared as she galloped towards Five, who charged at her as he drew a serrated combat knife in his other hand, screaming the whole way as they prepared to end the fight.

\\\//////

Fluttershy panted heavily as she and Rarity fought to catch their breath in the clearing of the Ghastly Gorge, an alien ship clear as day before them. Along with them, Pinkie had dragged the Cake family and the CMC along for the ride, despite the couple's insistence that they were alright.

"Pinkie, we're fine!" Mrs. Cake stated, cradling Pumpkin. "I don't know why you're being so paranoid lately!"

"I'm more concerned about what that is," Mr. Cake said as he gestured to the Pale Horse, Pound giggling atop his head.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I'm sorry about dragging you here for no reason, but now that we're... mostly safe," Pinkie said, looking around, "I think it's time you know why. I know that I can act quite irrationally without warning, and I'm sorry about that, but I need you to trust me. Ponyville isn't safe at all for any of us. The Guards have been cursed with Dark Magic and are looking not just for us, but for anypony close to us they can use to harm us in any way. I know that doesn't sound like anything that they would do, but I've seen them. They were going to capture you and Writers know what they'd do to the twins or the CMC. I need you to trust me when I say that I can't, in good conscience, let you stay there and risk getting hurt, or worse. Please."

The Cakes looked on in shock as Pinkie's mane deflated almost halfway as she pleaded to them with tears in her eyes. They exchanged a look and nodded.

"Alright Pinkie," Mrs. Cake responded, "we trust you. Just promise me that the twins will be safe."

"Wait, what about Rainbow Dash? Why can't we go to get her?" Scootaloo asked.

"Scootaloo, if you know Rainbow as well as I do," Fluttershy said, "then you know they don't have anything that can keep her down for very long."

The filly smiled at the pegasus while the two other Crusaders gaped in awe at the sight of the Frigate.

"Ah can't believe how big it is!" Applebloom said.

"Think of the what kind of Cutie Marks we could get from alien stuff!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Scootaloo gasped.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN HUNTERS! YAY!"

Rarity shook her head and groaned.

"I hope that thing is child-proofed in some way, or we're all doomed."