Crimson

Five sighed as he made his way down to the barracks, a migraine ready to erupt in his skull as he thought over the massing shitstorm that would ensue when he got back to UNSC space.

'Non-Human civilians on a military vessel without constant security, assaulting foreign leadership and divulging classified information to several hundred unregistered refugees. ONI are gonna have a field day with this. Maybe I can call self-defense on the assault charge if they bring it up, but I doubt they'd pardon me for anything else,' he thought grimly.

"You're worried about something?" Chrysalis asked.

Five looked down to see the Queen limping alongside him (the Spartan decided to keep a slow pace to allow her to keep up), eying his visor with a cautious gaze.

"It's fine," he answered. "Just thinking about how many laws I'm breaking by doing... well, everything that's happened thus far. Letting your kind onboard without express permission from a superior officer, permitting medical facilities to you, hell, even telling you this is gonna land me in a shit-creek."

"Oh... I..." she mumbled.

"Lighten up," Five said, "they might go easy on me for a few things. Saving an intelligent race from extinction, contact with non-hostile intelligent life and getting a Frigate back to UNSC space. Besides, I need to do this."

"Why, though?" Chrysalis asked. "Why risk so much to save us?"

"Like I said earlier, your kind is in a similar position to what we went through, and I refuse to sit back and let your kind bite the dust when I can do something about it."

Chrysalis shivered at the feeling of compassion and a sense of sheer empathy from the soldier. As she absorbed the positive emotions, she could feel parts of her chitin sealing up as the pain in her leg lessened.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Just doing my job," Five replied.

\\\//////

Twilight blanched as she processed everything her friends told her while reflecting on how Celestia had acted. The pieces fell into place in Twilight's mind, and her world broke apart.

"No," she muttered. "No, no, no no no! There's no way he could have come back!"

She paced about the large cafeteria as her friends kept weary gazes on the Royal Guards across from them.

"I... no, I refuse to believe it," one of the Guards said. "There is no way Princess Celestia would have done any of that! It's the Changelings! It has to be!"

"And besides," another one started, "we're completely fine! We're not tinted a different color, nor do we hear any voices."

"I know what I saw and I know that's what they said!" Pinkie defended. "Applejack, look me in the eye right now and tell them I'm not lying."

Applejack looked into Pinkie's eyes as the normally exuberant mare deflated and pleaded about the Guards turning into Sombra's minions. She wanted to say that it was a prank gone too far, that Pinkie should know what boundaries that one shouldn't cross for a joke. She didn't want to believe it, but...

"She ain't lyin'," Applejack said. "She'd never lie 'bout this."

"No! There is no way that any of that would happen!" the unicorn Guard shouted. "I refuse to believe any of this, and I demand that you all drop this act! The Royal Guards would never give in to some tyrant!"

"They didn't give in," Rarity said, "they were taken by surprise. They all started roaring in pain before passing out and waking up like..." Rarity shivered, "that."

"I'm not buying any of this," the second Guard dismissed. "There's no way that Princess Celestia would allow any of that."

"Because that wasn't really her," Twilight said.

Everypony turned to curiously eye Twilight.

"Your majesty?" the first Guard said.

"Princess Celestia was being manipulated by Sombra, just like the Guards," she pieced together. "She was... so much angrier than I've ever seen before, and even when she showed me Dark Magic, she was careful to not let it consume her, and even then it was barely a few sparks on her horn. But back there... she was just gone. She was overflowing with Dark Magic, and she didn't bother listening to anypony. And from what we read about Sombra before, he's a master manipulator. For all we know, this could have very well been his plan."

The Guards exchanged looks of disbelief.

"Princess, I doubt that Celestia would fall victim to Sombra so easily."

"We don't know how powerful Sombra really is. When we beat him in the Crystal Empire, we-" Twilight froze. "The Crystal Empire..."

"Twilight?" Fluttershy said.

"My brother and Cadance," she whispered. "They don't... they can't be..."

The door slid open to reveal Five and Chrysalis. The mares all turned to see Five while the Guards glared at the Queen.

"Nobody try anything and no one gets hurt," Five started. "Now, would anyone care to explain why Little Miss Sunshine was so dead-set on glassing the Frigate?"

"King Sombra," Twilight answered.

Chrysalis froze as her mind went abuzz as the name resonated deep within the Hive.

"That answers nothing, thank you," Five deadpanned.

"I'm sorry. King Sombra was a powerful Dark Magic magus that rose to power over a thousand years ago in the Crystal Empire. He used mind control and manipulation to take over and-"

"What does any of this have to do with your leader wanting my head on a silver platter?"

Twilight grimaced at the imagery, but continued anyways.

"We think he may have been waiting for Celestia to snap, and now he's likely got her under his control, along with all of Equestria's Royal Guards."

This made Five pause.

"So let me get this straight. You're telling me that some ancient magic king came back from the dead and is now controlling your country's military and leader?"

Twilight nodded sadly.

"Jesus, this shitshow just keeps getting worse and worse," Five sighed.

"That may be true, but I think I've come up with a solution," Twilight added. "This ship seems to negate all magic being used in or around it, hence why these three Guards are still the same," she motioned to the three sneering Guards. "We can use this ship to get to the Crystal Empire, and if your suit works on the same principle as the ship, you might be immune to Sombra's magic. We have a chance to stop him if we can just find where he's hiding."

The former bearers of the Elements gave Five a pleading look.

"No."

Twilight's world shattered.

"But... but-"

"Let me explain," Five stated. "I've already interfered enough with this planet. UNSC has strict codes on interaction with a species or coalition that operates on a lower technological tier, and right now, I'm on the brink of the point of no return. Acting as a dedicated military force alongside a faction of such a world is prohibited on the grounds that it makes it look like we're playing favorites with who we ally with. Not only that, but we would be exposing an underdeveloped species to warfare advancements that would lead to a massive schism in that society. I'm sorry, but I can't get involved more than I already have."

Twilight didn't bother fighting back the tears as she fell to her knees.

Her home. Her country. Her mentor... all of them would fall to Sombra, and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

"But," Five said, "you can make an appeal to the UNSC Board of Admirals as well as the Office of Naval Intelligence as a potential ally seeking assistance. We wouldn't be able to fight your war for you, but we could offer haven for refugees and help you coordinate with any allies you have on this planet."

"But... a-are you sure you can't help? Please?"

Five shook his head.

"The rules are clear. I'm to stay out of your war unless either your enemy makes a large-scale offensive against this ship, or-"

The alarms began to blare overhead, the room darkening as a red light rotated about.

"Alert! Alert! Alert!" Sid announced over the speakers.

"Sid, what's going on?"

The red and flashing lights ceased as a nearby wall lit up with a holo-screen. The ponies in the room stared at the screen agape while Five went rigid. Chrysalis could barely sense the ponies in the room as she felt Five's fear practically drown her.

The projection showed Canterlot being overshadowed by a massive purple ship, a beam of blue light connecting it to the city.

"What is that?" Twilight asked.

"Forget everything I just said," Five said. "This makes it my war."

"But what is that?"

"The Covenant."