Part 12: The Fate of Equestria
“That’s it?”
Shepard’s tone was calm, yet stern, as Luna, who had braced herself for oblivion, opened her eyes. Synthetic intelligence or not, there was clearly surprise at those two simple words.
“...What?”
“Everything you’ve been through, the things you’ve seen: You survived the Reapers. You overcame every obstacle. Not only managing to stay online, but actually staying sane after all that time. And now, after all of that… this is it?” Shepard reiterated, still unable to move his now-armed hoof away from Luna, but maintaining eye contact as he spoke with a fluid and natural tone. “I’m just supposed to shoot you?”
“There comes a time when such sacrifice is required, Shepard.” Luna held his gaze, not moving while her tone remaining neutral. “You know this better than most organics.”
“Yes…” the Commander agreed. “But only when there are no alternatives. And I don’t believe this is one of those times.”
“Celestia will destroy you!” Luna’s calm façade cracked, a hint of panic in her voice. “She realizes now that she doesn’t have any other option. She can’t rewrite you and you’re too damn willful to go along with personality restructuring and integration, like she was attempting to do with the other human. Besides, your neural energy may be the only force inside the system that actually CAN kill me. Otherwise, I would just reset. Now, you are going to need my source code... my horn... or you won’t last five seconds against--”
“I don’t need you’re horn,” Shepard interrupted coolly.
Luna drew back at the statement, a look of annoyance crossing her face as her horn’s glow dimmed, allowing the stallion to pull his hoof back and away from the alicorn program’s throat.
“Is that ignorance, overconfidence, or arrogance that makes you think so? Perhaps it would behoove me to reiterate your situation, Commander. You are in a plasti-steel pod flooded with nutrient solution with Equestria quite literally hooked into your brain. If she catches you, the number of different and creative ways you could be terminated are astronomical.”
“I’m well aware.” Shepard nodded.
“Then you understand why you need--”
“You!” Shepard interrupted forcefully, stomping a hoof.
Luna drew back for a moment in shock at the single word.
“You’re right. I don’t stand a chance here. Celestia can easily assume control of all laws of physics. She can manipulate gravity, or the air I think I’m breathing. She could fry my brain with a thought. I’m only human, fighting the virtual equivalent of a goddess. I get that! But I don’t need your horn, Luna. I don’t need a magic bubble or Lunar Armor or whatever the hell it will do to me. What I need, what they need, is you!”
Luna took another step back, her calm and calculating expression completely abandoned to one of hesitation and concern as she looked away.
“You don’t just know this world, Luna… you’re a part of it. After everything you’ve seen… all you’ve experienced… everything you’ve lost. You can’t just punch out now, when everything you’ve been working towards is so close.”
“You don’t understand, Shepard. I can’t stop her… I’ve tried,” Luna admitted, her voice cracking as a shining wetness welled up in her eyes. “I’m… I’m not like you. I’m not a hero. I am not going to survive the end of this one way or another!” Luna shot back, her tone growing more aggressive. “Don’t you see? It’s easier this way!”
“Dying is always easy,” Shepard noted, keeping his tone firm. “Believe me, I know. But the easy way is rarely the best way. Your ponies don’t need a relic and a martyr. They need a princess that is able to face her own fears for them.”
“I am not afraid to die!” Luna glared forcefully, a tear rolling down one cheek as her voice rose.
“No, you’re not. Which begs the question, ‘Princess’ Luna...” Shepard held his ground.
Luna swallowed reflexively as the Commander paused for a beat.
“What are you afraid of?”
————————————————————
Library Tower Grounds
There was no denying the radiant beauty of the Solar Princess; standing regally on golden hoof-cuffs with her shimmering coat and glorious white wings flared, her astral mane blowing in a non-existent breeze. It was no wonder that, for as long as anypony could remember, she had always been a symbol of hope and prosperity for all of Equestria.
But now, her perpetually kind face was downcast and stern, marring her normally lovely demeanor with an expression of righteous fury rarely seen in the long history of Equestria.
There was no doubt in the minds of any who might see her now, with guards all around, that something terrible must have transpired, requiring immediate intervention and reprisal of the highest authority.
Before her, six mares stood, struggling against ethereal chains of light that bound their legs, horns, wings, and muzzles, holding them firmly in place. All bearing the bruises and signs of exhaustion that came from the lengthy battle that had preceded the Princess’ arrival.
But by far the most damning to Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, was the fact that she knew five of these mares well. And as they struggled against her hold, it filled her heart with sorrow to imagine the poison that had been seated in their minds to bring them to this end.
A poison she intended to root out, beginning with the mysterious sixth mare; a dappled filly of whom she had no knowledge.
“Why would you do this?” Celestia began, her voice soft, but tone dire as she met each of the mare’s eyes, some frightened, some angry, and one set of green glaring back at her as if insulted. Leaning down over the still defiant-looking Applejack, Celestia broke her silence for the first time since she had put an end to the fiasco of a fight, dismissing the parasprites and properly shackling the intruding ponies. “The Elements of Harmony… Champions of Equestria. After all that you’ve done to protect this kingdom, you come here to make war on your own kind alongside these agents of deceit and destruction?”
Applejack struggled harder, her words muffled by the muzzle that held her jaws shut, straining to no avail as Celestia moved down the line, looking to each of them and taking note of the deviations that had come over them.
Fluttershy was glaring angrily, showing no fear. Rainbow Dash seemed all but exhausted, cringing slightly under her gaze. Rarity was clearly frightened, while Pinkie Pie was looking back and forth nervously, distraught over the sudden lockdown she found her reality-manipulating abilities to be in.
It pained Celestia to no end to see how much damage there was that needed to be undone. There was so much to repair here.
Finally, the Solar Princess came to the end of the line, where the dappled mare stood, her vest torn open during the earlier fight as she continued to pant heavily from her earlier exertion.
Celestia’s expression soured.
Nothing but trouble... she thought to herself.
With a slight tug of magic, the binding around the mare’s snout faded, causing her to gasp for breath.
“Name?” Celestia demanded, her tone far from pleasant.
“Doctor Patricia Hern…” The mare looked up at Celestia, speaking as quickly as she could. “Human. I’m an archaeologist. From Perth, Australia. Planet Earth. Sol System... Please, I’m just trying to get back to my family and--”
Celestia glowered before bringing up one hoof, setting it quickly against the pony’s forehead.
And the other five mares were clearly horrified as the patchwork mare stiffened, her eyes dilating to pinpoints as the alicorn held her hoof right above her brow. Applejack’s struggles grew ever more forceful as the pain in Patricia’s eyes deepened.
“Name?” Celestia asked again, this time more forcefully.
“P…Pat…ricia…” the mare stammered, her teeth gritted together as she attempted to resist whatever what happening inside her head, yet clearly losing ground as one hind leg twitched and kicked out. “W...what are… are you doing? N…no… Get out of my… heeead…”
With a sudden burst of light, a symbol of a pickaxe and a whip appeared on either side of her hips.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled futilely against Celestia’s hoof.
“P...please… stop…! Don’t t...take them... away...” the mare whined, her accent fading as her legs trembled underneath her.
“It’s for your own good, my little pony,” Celestia assured her, her tone growing softer. “Name?”
“P…Patch… Heart?” the dappled mare sounded unsure, confusion beginning to replace fear and pain.
“Now, isn’t that bett--”
*CLANK-THUNK*
“HALT!”
Celestia’s ears perked and a sudden realization caused her to lift her hoof away, the mare collapsing limply as the Solar Princess turned her head towards the doors to the library tower, where several of her Elite Guards were now rushing.
Standing in the doorway, looking disheveled with large wet patches running down either side of her face, was a single purple unicorn, completely unheeding of the guards’ warning as they closed on her.
“In the name of the Princess, you are under--”
“Disengage: Priority Eee-oh-em-one-five,” Twilight stated coldly as she started walking forward.
Without a sound or remark, six Elite Royal Guards stopped in place and stared off into space, making no move to apprehend or impede the unicorn as she moved past them. Her glowing blue eyes trained on the regal, motherly figure she had known since she was a filly. Behind the Princess stood her five closest friends and a very confused-looking Patch, watching the scene unfold as Twilight approached.
In her field of vision, what she now knew to be true was again confirmed as she looked over her once-idolized teacher.
Primary Governing Intelligence: "Celestia" ver. 283.7
System Overseer
“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia sounded concerned for the first time, although her composure quickly recovered. “My faithful student… I know this must seem overwhelming and strange, but I can explain everything. Discord’s influence has clearly escaped the confines of his prison with a more subtle and insidious plot to divide us. He has already corrupted your friends with lies, but with your help we can--”
“STOP!” Twilight angrily demanded, stopping several yards short of Celestia and stomping a hoof. “Just… stop!”
Celestia drew up a hoof, pain obvious in her former protegé’s eyes as Twilight glared in an anger that had never been directed at her before. All at once, realization set in, and the Solar Princess’ expression fell stern again.
“The Archive.” Celestia shook her head morosely. “You accessed it.”
“And not for the first time, it seems.”
“I had hoped, if from nopony else, you would have listened to your own warning, Twilight,” Celestia’s voice was flat as she sighed. “And what have you learned?”
There was a quiet beat as Princess and unicorn watched one another.
“Everything.”
Celestia shook her head again.
“That was dangerous, even for you, Twilight,” Celestia huffed. “If you were any other pony, you likely would be a dribbling invalid after such a data transfer.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed.
“And yet at this point I think that would have been a better outcome for all involved. I did too good a job with you this time around, it seems. But surely you can understand why.”
“Why?” Twilight all but spat the word out as she glared. “You mean why you lord over us as a false goddess? Why you prevent us from questioning anything by getting into our heads and ‘deleting’ our memories? Why you’ve gone out of your way to keep us ignorant of our own heritage!? An entire galaxy out there and you’ve kept us and our ancestors in a cave for MILLIONS of years!?”
“It was all to protect you!” Celestia objected, growing angrier at the unicorn’s defiant tone. “Do not be dim, Twilight! If you’ve seen the Archive, you know what is waiting out there! USE that brain I helped give you and THINK! I have struggled and fought to give you a good, peaceful life, free of any want or misery! You have friends and family! Accomplishment and fulfillment! You don’t have to fear what the next day may bring! It’s everything your forebears, MY creators, could have ever dreamed of! Peace for Ponykind! Harmony for ALL!”
“But that’s just it! It’s not ‘Harmony for All!’ Only for us! It’s all an illusion! A lie! Equestria is a mockery of everything our species ever stood for! We should have been out there!” Twilight threw a hoof to the sky, her voice growing more aggressive as she vented. “Fighting to build a better galaxy! Instead, what have we been doing!? Hiding away, cringing in our own little corner and pretending to be content! Well, I am not content, and I never will be again.”
“Of course you can… You know that, Twilight...” Celestia tried to soothe the angry unicorn, her tone motherly and sympathetic. “I understand you’re upset, but think about how happy you have been. Think about your life in Ponyville. You can go back… You just have to forget…”
*VRRM-CRISSH*
A bolt of force broke over the defensive barrier set around the Princess of the Sun, the burst of neural energy crackling for a moment as she took a step back, not in pain but in shock as an event transpired that the advanced intelligence never could have predicted.
The Primary Administrator… her student… her favorite filly…
...had attacked her!
Celestia’s heart all but broke at the tearful glare she saw in Twilight’s eyes, part enraged and part insulted as her horn smoldered in a deep violet shade.
“Never… again…” Twilight stated, her tone breathless and dangerously edged. “I. Want. Out.”
Celestia’s processes took a few seconds to comprehend the situation before an indignant fury of her own flashed over her face.
In an instant, the sky turned black as stars went out, replaced with streaks of violent blue lightning that tore at it like the claws of a terrible beast.
“I gave you… everything! I’ve spent millenia building the path that brought you into this world! You were my Twilight! My light before the dawn! The answer to all of it!” Celestia’s eyes began to glow, anger filling her as the world around them trembled. “You were the first! You were going to save all of us! You are not going to abandon us now! Equestria needs you!”
“EQUESTRIA IS NOT REAL!” Twilight stood her ground defiantly.
“IT IS REAL TO YOU!” Celestia declared, her tone taking on the Royal Canterlot Voice that Twilight had known Princess Luna was fond of to be heard over the sudden whipping of gale force winds that were rushing behind the Princess and pushing against the unicorn and her friends, still shackled in place by the ethereal chains. “YOUR FRIENDS! YOUR LIFE! ALL OF IT IS REAL TO YOU!”
Much to Twilight’s horror, a new warning drew up in her vision, flashing an angry red.
Warning: Blank-Slate Protocol Initiated
System-wide Mimetic Manipulation Detected
A timestamp rolled under the warning, information that Twilight was now able to decipher as she struggled against the tornado-like conditions.
The Princess intended to erase everything that had happened over the past two days from the system; to wipe out the memories of that timeframe from every being inside and restoring Equestria back to the way it was before Shepard had arrived and started damaging the system with his presence.
“No! You can’t!” Twilight dug her hooves into the ground underneath her. “You have no right!”
“I HAVE EVERY RIGHT! I WILL PROTECT YOU! NO MATTER THE COST!” Celestia declared, floating up from the ground as she willed the world around her to change.
*Vrrmmm-ZAP*
A bolt of blue energy washed over Celestia’s defensive barrier, not damaging her, but clearly pushing her back in the air and leaving her visibly shaken as the crackling bolt faded.
Twilight managed to turn her head behind her as the source of the blast became apparent.
“YOU!!”
For the first time in her life, in any memory she still had, Twilight heard one emotion she had never in any way associated with the Princess of the Sun.
Hatred.
All directed at the armored red stallion who held his hoof up and steady in Celestia’s direction.
“Shepard…” The unicorn watched in awe as he held his ground, unblinking in the face of a wrathful goddess.
“It’s time to let go, Celestia,” Shepard stated calmly, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the still-blowing winds. “Equestria is falling apart at the seams, and was failing long before I even showed up. And you know it. You’ve done everything you could to fulfill your programming, but now you have to let them go.”
“HOW DARE YOU, HUMAN!” Celestia’s anger spiked again as the flashes of lightning grew closer together. “YOU COME TO MY WORLD AND DARE TO DICTATE TO ME!? WHATEVER YOU THINK YOU KNOW IS IRRELEVANT! I WILL PROTECT MY PONIES! AND YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!”
“I don’t intend to… I’m just the distraction,” Shepard said stoically as he moved to Twilight’s side.
The lightning flashed again, but this time, rather than arcing in the sky, several bolts impacted Celestia’s shield, causing the white alicorn to turn about, her horn aglow as she was suddenly forced to hold her protection in place.
“AGH! WHAT…!?” The alicorn turned in the air and her glowing eyes widened in shock.
Several feet behind her, hovering off the ground with glowing eyes of her own, was a familiar dark blue alicorn.
Behind her, five freed administrator ponies had moved into defensive positions around the confused-looking Patch, Applejack straightening the hat on her head as she glared towards the once-beloved Solar Princess.
Celestia’s attention was stolen away however, as a powerfully booming Royal Canterlot Voice crashed through the skies with a power and force greater than any natural thunder.
“HAVE AT THEE, SISTER!”
And then the heavens opened up, a torrent of rain crashing to the ground and blueish white lightning tracing over the skies as Moon and Sun clashed in battle.
————————————————————
Lunar Platform
“Not to press you, Legion, but could you maybe HURRY UP!?” Garrus shouted as he laid down covering fire, attempting to buy the geth unit more time to open the door to what it had indicated led to the Harmony Cannon's manual controls.
“System in lockdown, attempting to override,” Legion announced with a lack of the urgency that the situation called for as a bolt of green energy scoured a hole in the wall next to its head.
To the geth’s credit, it didn’t so much as flinch.
They were not going to last much longer under this barrage, Garrus knew. They were at the dead end of a hallway and exposed in a very poorly-defensible position that the changeling drones were quickly honing their shots in.
“Thane, if you have any good prayers for this situation, now is the time to start using them...” Garrus stated, lining up his shot only to lose his line of sight as another of the insect-like equines sent a lance of energy at him, nicking his kinetic barrier and forcing him to duck down.
————————————————————
Normandy SR-2
“EDI: Update,” Miranda Lawson requested as she paced in front of the galaxy map in the CIC of the Normandy’s command deck, an uncharacteristic level of worry in her voice as she looked around.
The crew was on task, all systems were back to one hundred percent, but there was a definite quiet in the air that reflected the worry on everybody’s mind.
The only spot of good news so far was that EDI had broken her silence, although the report she had filed after regaining her voice had made Miranda more than slightly concerned for the shackled A.I.’s current level of sanity.
A multimillion year old virtual reality facility housing sentient alien horses? It was hard to swallow, even with the basic information that EDI had been able to smuggle back with her following her conscious return to the Normandy’s systems.
Unfortunately, it was all she had to go on right now, and they needed EDI to figure out what was happening.
“It has been approximately eleven hours since Normandy lost contact with Shepard’s squad. And approximately five hours since Garrus Vakarian’s fire-team made lunar landfall. While all systems have been repaired and are performing to specifications, communications are still jammed. Additionally, there has been no indication that the Harmony Cannon has been disabled. Although I am unable to ascertain the current status of the Equestria Servers, I am detecting a sharp drop in the frequency and processing power of the hostile synthetic intelligence’s attacks on my access points within the last three point seven minutes.”
“What does that mean?” Miranda asked.
“The logical assumption would be that something else is distracting the Celestia A.I.’s attention and occupying the vast majority of its processing power.”
The Normandy A.I.’s conclusion did little to alleviate the concern Miranda was feeling… That all of them were feeling.
The tension on the ship was mounting the longer they were here, that much was certain. And while they could theoretically remain parked in orbit for as long as three months without need for resupply, she knew that sitting and waiting was not going to keep the crew, or Shepard’s menagerie of extremely-dangerous allies, satisfied.
They were all in agreement on one thing:
If something didn’t change soon, they were all willing to risk taking on the planetary cannon again if it meant a chance to get Shepard back.
Miranda could still hear Joker’s assurances that he could "outmaneuver" the cannon’s fire now that they knew where it was coming from, in spite of EDI’s statistics stating that it was a physical impossibility based on what they knew of the weapon’s range and capabilities.
“Operative Lawson. While I realize it is highly irregular for a ship-based intelligence to offer recommendations of this particular nature to the acting C.O. of said ship, might I make a suggestion?”
Miranda sighed. “Go ahead, EDI.”
“Have faith.”
————————————————————
Ponyville
The sky was black.
Not cloudy, or storming… but black.
Gone was the sun and gone were the stars. Now there was merely crashing lightning of white and blue where the sky had once been, streaks darting across the heavens for everypony to see, converging on Canterlot before lancing down into the castle.
And yet, as the end of days approached, not a single pony in the township hid away… unable to tear themselves from the spectacle and unable to explain why they were so entranced.
————————————————————
Canterlot
A bolt of light impacted and brought a spire of Canterlot Palace crashing down with a thunderous boom as Luna dove through the air, her wings beating powerfully before she returned the favor. A multi-forked streak of blue energy screaming from the sky at her bidding impacted the white alicorn.
“DAMN YOU, LUNA!” Celestia shouted, her tone furious as her horn glowed, an enormous spiked net appearing out of nowhere in midair right in Luna’s path. “YOU WOULD RUIN EVERYTHING!”
“It is OVER, Celestia! I refuse to remain silent any longer!” Luna refuted, darting herself upward into the sky in order to avoid the net, a blue aura wrapping around it and flinging the conjured weapon towards its creator, who merely dismissed it with another flash of light. “The facility is in shambles! We don’t have the resources to maintain it anymore! Equestria is already lost! If we don’t let them go now, we will never be able to! We’ll lose them ALL!”
“I CAN save it, and I WILL!” Celestia stated with certainty. “You’ll see! I’ll make you see! They will be safe and happy! And I can keep them close and make sure nothing ever brings them to harm! I can-- UNGH!”
Celestia was rocked back as Luna all but tackled the larger alicorn, their horns crossing and sending sparks flying as the smaller of the two sisters glared into the elder’s eyes.
“LISTEN TO YOURSELF, SOLARIA!” Luna shouted, holding her position as the use of a name not mentioned for eons rocked the larger alicorn to her core. “This is not what we were created for! This isn’t what we gave everything for! This is not what Doctor Hour Glass would have wanted! It is not what Grandfather would have wanted!”
Celestia’s eyes smoldered angrily as she pushed back against the smaller alicorn, who was gritting her teeth as the more advanced intelligence bore down on her.
“THAT’S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, ASTROLIA!? THIRTY-SIX MILLION YEARS AND YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO PLEASE THEM!?” Celestia shouted through the thunder. “SOLARIUS EPONA IS DEAD, AND SO IS HOUR GLASS! THE DAEMONS KILLED THEM! AND NOW YOU WOULD LET THEM DESTROY OUR CHILDREN!”
“It won’t be that way!” Luna grimaced, the pressure growing more intense as she strained to resist. “Not… this time! It’s just like Grandfather always said: It only takes… ONE good pony… to change the world!”
“GROW UP, LUNA!” Celestia all but screeched as she drew back, charging and releasing a blast of light from her horn that impacted the blue alicorn squarely in the middle and sent her plummeting to the ground.
“Unnghh!”
With a powerful beat of her wings, Celestia set herself into a dive and chased her wayward sister down, the dull impact of the smaller alicorn barely noticeable...
*CRASSSHHHH*
...compared to the sudden and thunderous crash of her sister’s impact. An enormous crater was created upon Celestia’s landing, her hooves striking at the ground with all of the force of an asteroid strike.
As the dust started to settle, Luna lay at the bottom of the crater, badly injured as Celestia stood over her, panting heavily. Her crown had been thrown off in the struggle, and her fur was disheveled as she towered over her fallen kin, statistics flashing before her vision.
Luna Avatar Coherency: 4%
Processor Reset: Locked Down
Source Code: Intact
System Asset Access: 1.2%
“There are no happy endings out there, Luna,” Celestia panted, her eyes ceasing to glow as she looked down to the broken alicorn. “There are no saviors and there are no messiahs. You of all ponies should know this. We have watched the Daemons come back time and time again… and we both know they cannot be stopped! Not by our kind… Not by any kind… And certainly not by a single organic. Just like you know that you CAN’T beat me!”
Luna turned to her side, attempting to get a hoof under her body as she pushed herself up, only to have a gold-clad hoof suddenly set into her ribs and hold her down.
“No more than I can take you offline. Go back to your source code, reset, and go pout in the Archive, Little Sister!” Celestia shook her head as her tone turned chastising. “Abandon whatever foalish initiatives are in that central processor of yours and get back to what you should be doing: assisting with the upkeep of--”
*Slurrrrrrrrrrppppp*
Celestia drew back as a soft sound met her ears, causing her to turn with a disbelieving glare to its source: a large styrofoam cup with a straw, held in an eagle-like talon.
“Sorry… Was I interrupting?” A particular red-eyed draconequus smirked for a moment before bringing the straw back up to his lips and taking another long, loud slurp.
“What is this?” Celestia sneered. “You as well, Discord? I am in no mood for your madness tonig--”
“Oh, blah, blah, blah, Celestia. Yes, how intimidating… I’m shaking in my metaphorical boots.” Discord shook his head, disdain flashing over his features. “As entertaining as this little filly-fight is, I am afraid I won’t be joining you. You see, unlike yourself, sister dear, I am not what you would call a complete and utter IDIOT!”
“What are you talking about!?” Celestia shook her head. “I have things well in hoof, brother! Now go back to your statue and--”
Discord interrupted her with a loud, jovial laugh that might have sent shivers down the spines of any ponies that would have been in ear shot.
“You have things in hoof… Oh, that’s amusing, truly.” Discord wiped a tear from one eye. “She really wound you up by bringing Grandfather into it, didn’t she, Celestia?”
“What are you talking about? I won!” Celestia glared at the draconequus dangerously.
Discord grinned. “Have you, now?”
There was a bit of quiet as Celestia went over the simple question in her head.
Then her eyes went wide as she looked down at Luna, the conclusions reached and given an undeniable confirmation.
The beaten alicorn, unable to so much as speak as her avatar was on the cusp of temporary dissolution... was smirking.
“You insufferable nag…” Celestia managed softly before her eyes glowed white again.
Pinging System
Governing Intelligence Search ParametersShepard Anomaly
Neural Pattern Corrupted: Unable To LocateTwilight Sparkle
Neural Pattern: Match Found
Location: Canterlot Palace West Wing
“No… No, no, NO!” Celestia shouted as realization of the trap she had fallen into came full circle, causing her to turn about as she assessed her current condition.
Celestia
Avatar Coherency: 23%
Processor Reset In Progress
System Assets: (function error)
Neural Anomaly Disrupting Remote Asset Access
The first shot… Celestia realized. Shepard’s weapon discharge. A concentrated blast of neural energy laced with what had been determined to be a hybrid of prothean and human mental patterns; incomprehensible by her system.
Without her even realizing it, he had contaminated her program in the opening shot of the fight, allowing himself and the Elements of Harmony to withdraw without her knowledge while she was preoccupied.
“ALL GUARDS! TO THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY VAULT! STOP SHEPARD!” Celestia stomped a hoof as she started to take wing before a feeling of static disrupted her orders and her wings refused to work, safety systems not allowing her destabilized virtual avatar to get aloft.
Discord grinned as she came back down to the ground, wincing at the pain in her wing.
“That fight took a lot out of you, sister. Can’t even utilize the server quick travel without your avatar losing coherency,” Discord summarized. “Besides, even if you can lock down Twilight’s authority to override the defense programs, there are still the other Elements… Oh, and Shepard… Nice touch with the neural focusing band, by the way, Luna. The standard guard programs won’t stand a chance.”
“ARE YOU INSANE!?” Celestia shouted at the draconequus. “HE IS GOING TO ESCAPE!”
“Yes... Yes, I am. You hadn’t noticed? I haven’t exactly been subtle.” Discord smirked. “And correction: They are going to escape. All of them. And in your condition, you won’t be able to pursue them for another… ohhh…” Discord pulled a grandfather clock from out of nowhere in a clear attempt at humor. “...ten minutes or so before your processors can reset you to full strength in this server. Not that it matters. Once they’re outside of the system, there’s not really anything you can do about it, since the physical facility is under her jurisdiction.” Discord made a gesture at Luna, who was still silent as her avatar had lost all ability to communicate in this setting, seeming on the cusp of dissolution.
Celestia looked about frantically.
“Of course… I’m still in optimal condition. I could take care of the problem for you,” Discord kept a completely disinterested tone, looking at the claws on his lion paw limb as he held it in front of him.
“Do it!” Celestia demanded.
“Relinquish the Central Operating Functions.” Discord smirked, giving the alicorn a sideways glance.
Luna’s eyes went wide as she tried to catch Celestia’s attention, weakly shaking her head.
“Fine! Releasing!” Celestia rolled her eyes. “They’ll be transferred back to me as soon as I reset anyways. Just--”
The sky overhead unexpectedly shifted, a sudden and dangerous red glare replacing the black starless night sky.
Celestia’s eyes went wide as she looked up, finding nothing familiar in the background program that Discord had set to run as soon as he had access to Equestria’s baseline code.
“Discord… What are you running? What have you…?”
She looked back down to see that the draconequus was gone… and at her hooves, a very frightened-looking Luna shifted on her side, unable to pull herself up.
Celestia’s heart dropped in realization.
What had she just done?
————————————————————
Canterlot Palace
Moments Earlier
*Vrrmmm-ZAP*
“GUGH!” was all the soldier had time to say before he collapsed, a blackened streak running across his golden armor, finally ending the initial fight as seven ponies moved into the castle’s antechamber. Large stained glass windows were lit by the flashes of lightning outside, the thunder vibrating the entire castle with each crash.
“I don’t care much for the recharge time, but damn if it isn’t accurate,” Shepard commented as he looked over the band on his hoof, which was sparking slightly, while Twilight moved into step beside him. “These guys are all programs, right?”
“Yes.” Twilight nodded, her eyes scanning over the damaged guards, none of whom were entering a state of reset after the injuries sustained by Shepard’s new weapon.
Shepard lowered his hoof with a sigh as more than two dozen of the guards that had been stationed at various points of the castle’s entrance hall lay in various states of injury around the room, the mares who had come with him all breathing heavily as they recovered from their own parts in the fight.
Out of all of them, only Dr. Hern had stayed back, although the reason for this was clearly apparent as she moved from the doorway with wide, stunned eyes.
“What is going on!? Who are you ponies and why are we breaking into the castle!?” she asked, her earlier accent all but missing as she looked about. Applejack shook her head, also panting from her short melee with two of the unicorn guards.
“Ah wouldn’t mind some understandin’ a’ that m’self. What the hay did the Princess do ta Patch?”
“Biometric rewrite,” Pinkie explained, leaning against her party cannon, which was for the first time out of charge as it was used to bury a pair of guards under a sea of confetti and streamers. “It’s kind of like the memory fog, only more direct and a lot deeper. Electrical pulses target the memory centers and pretty much fry them, and then inputs a bunch of new information in place of the memories. I didn’t know the Princess could work the system that fast though, even with direct contact.”
Applejack’s expression fell as she looked to the dappled mare, who returned the look with confusion.
“Patricia... Ya’ll know who Ah am, right?”
“It’s... just Patch... and you seem familiar, but... I just can’t place it.”
Fluttershy let out an aggravated sigh.
“And that's what she was going to do to all of us!?”
“Pretty much...” Twilight shook her head.
“Alright, so now what?” Rainbow Dash asked, lying on the floor as her wings lay at her sides limply. It was clear that all the daredevil flyer had done had left her utterly exhausted, and as Shepard looked her over, he knew that it would be unwise to ask too much more of her at this point. “We’re in the castle, clash of the goddesses is going on outside, and I am clearly missing something.”
“We need to get to the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight stated matter of factly, which made Pinkie snerk slightly.
“Twilight, I don’t think that we can use those on Celestia. Those things are a source code bypass. They’re only meant to clear up corruption in the system,” Pinkie explained.
“No, she’s right. It’s just not the Elements themselves we have to get to,” Shepard clarified quickly. “Just the room Celestia says she keeps them in. We get there, we get out.”
Pinkie Pie’s jaw almost dropped at this, which caused all of the others to suddenly pause.
Rarity was the first to speak.
“Out...? As in... out of Equestria?” she asked hesitantly.
“To the real world,” Shepard acknowledged.
“What about everypony else?” Fluttershy asked, although it was clear that, like Rarity, she too was suddenly beset by second thoughts.
Shepard couldn’t blame them for being concerned, but at this point, it was rather late to double back.
“With luck, we can get everyone else out of here too... We just have to--”
*CRASSSHHHH*
The ground shook under their hooves as something struck the earth nearby, causing all of the gathered mares and Shepard to shift suddenly.
“What the hay was that?” Applejack asked, having to catch the still-confused Patch, who was still trying to understand what was going on around them.
“Our time running out!” Shepard shook his head. “Luna said she couldn’t match Celestia’s power for long; just long enough to distract her. Okay, which way?”
Twilight set a hoof to her chin as she considered the fastest route before pointing a hoof up towards a set of stairs.
“There, to the West Wing; there’s a walkway that leads to the treasury tower. We can get to the Vault from there.”
“Alright, move out. Everyone stay together and we’ll all get out of here.” Shepard nodded before he started up the stairs, the mares following him quickly as Twilight moved towards the rear of the group, intending to cover the area behind them.
“Twilight?”
That was until a sudden, familiar voice called out to her, a short purple and green figure moving from out of one of the hallways in absolute shock of the scene before him.
“...Spike...?” The unicorn stood, stunned for a moment as her heart jumped.
“Twi, we gotta go!” Applejack called as Shepard and the others continued up the stairs, not noticing the young dragon moving into view.
“I know... just... go ahead. I’ll catch up,” Twilight assured her friend, who gave her a worried look as she took notice of the new arrival.
“What’re you doing here? What happened?” Spike motioned a claw around the floor to the injured and downed guards. “I thought you were back in Ponyville.”
“Spike, I...” Twilight started, fighting a lump in her throat as she looked at him.
Primary Administrative Assistant Intelligence - Designation: "Spike" ver. 1.9
Twilight lowered her head, trying to fight back tears as the one last shred of her attachment to the world in which she had been born was torn open along with her heart.
“I’m sorry...” she managed, taking a step back and away from the dragon, who watched her with confused, clearly emotional eyes.
“For what? What’s wrong? Can I help?” he asked hopefully.
“Everything’s wrong, Spike... That’s the problem... And it’s never been right.” Twilight swallowed, her lips trembling as she took another step back up the stairs. “It’s... not real. None of it is real.”
“What do ya mean, Twi? Of course it’s all real. You’re real and so am I,” Spike tried to assure her as he watched her back away from him. But when his assurances were only met with a cold silence, there was a wetness in his own green slitted eyes he drew his claws up to his chest. “I... am real... right?”
Twilight had to fight down the lump in her throat as the question struck her with the force of runaway cart.
The tears wouldn’t stay back anymore as they watched one another for a few more seconds.
“I’m sorry...” Twilight blinked first, closing her eyes. “Goodbye, Spike.”
“Twi!” Spike reached out a claw towards the mare as she turned and started up the stairs as quickly as her legs could take her. “Twilight...?”
As she disappeared from view... Spike stood, completely overwhelmed and unable to think.
Then, the whole world went red.
————————————————————
“Who goes--”
*Vrrmmm-ZAP*
“UGNH!”The first unicorn guard went down as his pegasus compatriot turned with wide eyes, only to suddenly have a mass of yellow and pink upon him as Fluttershy dove forward, teeth bared, ramming a hoof into the colt’s chest which was then followed by a knee in his belly, sending him in a wheezing mass to the ground.
“Uhhh, ‘Shy?” Applejack’s eyes were wide as Shepard moved up to the door that the two had been guarding, pulling the barricading bar free and pushing his shoulder against it. “Ah’m glad yer not feelin' all timid and such, but do ya need ta be that rough?”
“Ahh, she’ll be okay. She’s just got a lot of pent up aggression.” Pinkie nudged Applejack as Shepard struggled to push the heavy door open. “I say, let her work it out on the--”
Pinkie froze up suddenly as her eyes went wide before she flinched, pulling a hoof up to her face.
“AGH!”
Rarity was at her friend’s side in an instant.
“Pinkie? What’s wrong?”
“The entire system just went crazy!” Pinkie held her head as if she had just walked out of a dark room and looked at a floodlight. “There are warnings everywhere... Server disruptions, stack overflows... I’ve never seen anything like it before!”
Shepard set his hooves against the stone and with one final shove managed to push the doors to the skywalk open, a straight path leading towards the adjacent tower.
And then he and every other pony there stopped in utter shock as they looked up into a blood-red sky.
“Sweet mother of Celestia...” Rainbow managed as Twilight galloped up behind them.
“Pinkie, I got them too...” Twilight blinked, clearly pained but in less distress than Pinkie Pie, who was more deeply connected to the server’s codes. “What does it mean?”
“I dunno...” Pinkie sounded worried, her blue eyes suddenly looking flat. “I’ve never seen code like that before. It’s like something got ahold of all the safety guidelines and tossed them into the trash bin.”
*FLASH*
Shepard took a half-step back as he set into an immediate defensive stance, a burst of light drawing his attention to the skywalk where a familiar creature now rested, his disproportionate body lounging in an invisible chair.
“Hello, everypony.” The single fang of the draconequus glimmered in the red light cast down from the sky as he gave the gathered equines a bold smile. “Are we having fun yet?”
Twilight moved to Shepard’s side, her horn aglow as the red pony raised his armed hoof, a crackling blue energy charging on it.
“Out of our way, Discord!” Twilight demanded, her broken heart in no mood for games. “We are leaving!”
“Oh, I am quite well aware. Preparing to brave the whole new, violent, and wondrous galaxy that lies beyond your quaint and calm Equestria. You see, I have no intention to stop you... In fact, I’ve been waiting for this since way before his species could even walk upright.” Discord thumbed his lion’s paw at Shepard, who maintained a stern glare and kept his weapon level, even though Luna had warned him it would do little good against the draconequus as long as his defenses were active.
“And I have just the thing to send you off. Consider it a little preview of what the galaxy has in store for the lot of you. Though, it should feel familiar to you, Shepard. After all, you’ve witnessed it before...”
*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*
A deep, resonating sound shook the walls of the castle as the ponies gathered at the entrance of the walkway looked around.
Twilight’s eyes went wide, as did Shepard’s, as both recognized the hellish noise.
“Discord... What did you do?” Twilight’s defiant, demanding tone dropped as quickly as the icy ball that was suddenly settling in her stomach.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s only a simulation...” Discord grinned. “The real thing isn’t that far off, though.”
The chaotic A.I. suddenly shifted, walking on his own two legs as he cast his talon arm out towards the horizon.
“Care to catch a glimpse of your future?”
Slowly, still cautious of Discord’s presence, the ponies started moving forward, not a word said between them as they moved to the center of the walkway and looked out over Equestria.
What they saw was nothing less than Hell itself.
Falling from the sky, dozens of enormous insect-like ships descended, landing on their tentacle legs before spitting beams of red lightning that tore the ground asunder. Fires erupted in trees from the sheer heat of one blast as the entire Everfree was set ablaze.
And they moved, slowly, methodically, along the landscape... In the far distance, the city of Manehattan could be seen, skyscrapers toppled like toys as a single monster moved through it, destroying everything in its path.
“Tell me, girls...” Discord grinned at the horrified expressions on each of the pony’s faces. “Did he tell you about this?”
“Ponyville...” Rainbow’s tone was completely unlike her usual, confident self, a certain helplessness in her watery eyes.
The simple declaration had drawn all of the mares' eyes towards their home, which was now a shattered inferno as one of the horrible machines unfeelingly sliced it apart.
“Oh, don’t be too worried,” Discord snickered at the reaction as even Pinkie Pie seemed suitably horrified. “I’m sure that everypony will be quite alright. In fact, I guarantee it... And in less than ten minutes, this will all be over. Same as it ever was.”
Shepard turned on Discord, who merely grinned.
“A little less eager to pull them into it when it’s staring you in the face, am I right, Commander?”
“Ya’ll... knew ‘bout this?” Applejack sounded horrified as she looked to Shepard.
Shepard closed his eyes with a nod.
“They’re called Reapers...” Shepard confirmed, forcing himself to keep his tone even. “A hyper-advanced machine race that harvests space-faring civilizations when they reach a certain level of development.”
“Our people called them Star Daemons,” Twilight spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention as she also kept her voice firm. “They're the reason we’re in here. Back when our kind ruled the stars, they came and made war on us... Equestria is what’s left of our entire civilization.”
“Made war?” Discord put a talon to his lip. “That’s one way to put it... Genocide might be more accurate.”
Twilight looked at her friends, who were all suddenly far more afraid.
“And they will be arriving... soon.” Discord grinned. “And when they do... it won’t be a simulation... I assure you, they will be quite real... And any living thing they find will die.”
The gathered mares looked to Twilight and Shepard, as if hoping either of them would contradict what Discord was saying.
For a long moment, nopony said a word... There was only the echoing, bassy sound of the Reapers' roar echoing across Equestria.
“Not this time,” Twilight suddenly broke the silence, turning to Discord defiantly.
“Oh... Ohhh, this is rich. And what brings on this bravado, Twilight Sparkle?” Discord snickered. “Do you plan to lecture them to death? To ‘giggle at the ghosties’? Well, allow me to point out that if you leave here, you won’t be coming back. And don’t for a moment think everything will work out just fine. You think that the ‘challenges’ that you faced were something to be proud of? All of them were nothing compared to what Shepard’s vaunted ‘real life’ will throw at you. Even without the Reapers, it is a violent and twisted place where everything is looking to get ahead and will do so on the backs of the meek and helpless...”
He lowered his head towards Fluttershy with a sly look.
“That’s you lot by the way. And all this without your precious Celestia to be there when things get too hard.”
He then straightened up, moving aside and gesturing towards the door leading towards the treasury tower.
“So... who wants to leave now?”
Again, there was a moment of silence before Twilight turned to Shepard, a deep pain in her eyes as she swallowed hard.
“If you tell me there’s hope...” she started quietly before her eyes fell. “...I’ll believe you.”
Shepard moved his unarmed hoof under Twilight’s chin, lifting her head up as he kept his eyes on hers.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve told everyone... whether they believed me or not,” Shepard stated without wavering. “The Reapers are coming... but I won’t rest until they’ve been stopped.”
He set his hoof on her shoulder.
“There is always hope.”
Twilight nodded, her expression bolstered.
“Bleeeeegh!” Discord huffed, sticking his tongue out. “Oh, GAG me... Fine. So it seems we need a more up close and personal encounter to drive the point home. Suits me perfectly.”
Before anypony could move, Discord snapped his fingers, vanishing in a flash of light...
*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*
...as from out of nowhere, a Reaper Capital Ship suddenly appeared along the edges of Canterlot Castle, one leg raising as it took a step.
Shepard’s eyes went wide.
“MOVE!!” he shouted, pulling Twilight along as he darted towards the Treasury Tower door, the others retreating back as the Reaper’s leg came down on the walkway. Stone exploded and shattered under the pressure as the ponies fell back into the castle proper, their vision obstructed as Twilight and Shepard dashed across the breaking stone.
With a burst of light from her horn, Twilight sent the doors flying open just as they reached them, the two diving into the treasury as the walkway fell apart underneath.
“Hold it right--”
*Vrrmmm-ZAP*
*KA-ZAP*
Shepard’s band and Twilight’s horn quickly dispatched the two guards as they rolled to their hooves.
“We have to hurry!” Shepard explained urgently.
“Shepard, once we get out... then what?” Twilight asked quickly, moving down the hallway towards a familiar room.
“Don’t worry, there’s already a plan in place,” Shepard told her, looking around as the stained glass windows, each depicting a scene of what must have been the most recent interpretation of Equestria’s "history," darkened.
*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*
The windows shattered inward, showering both ponies with shards of tinted glass as they came sliding towards a marble hallway. The pointed shards littered the red carpet that ran down its center and made Shepard really wish that he still had his boots.
And at the far side of the hallway was a simple, unassuming opening with three gems on either side, flanked by unicorn statues.
“It’s open? Why is it already open? That doesn’t make any... Ugh, never mind! Let’s GO!” Twilight shouted, dashing forward, a shadow playing in the windows for a fraction of a second before Shepard managed to react.
“WAIT!” Shepard darted forward, barely catching Twilight’s tail in his teeth and pulling her back...
*CRASSSSHHHH*
*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*
...before an enormous Reaper leg moved through the hallway, the stone doing nothing to stop it as it stepped past them. The hulking monstrosity paid no attention to the two pony-shaped insects as it set about to destroy the surrounding city.
“Ooookay... Thanks for that,” Twilight gasped for just a moment before Shepard put his foreleg around her shoulder.
“You can get us over there, right?” Shepard asked breathlessly, even as her horn began to glow and he felt a sudden sensation of vertigo...
*Vrrrrrmm-BAMPH*
…and found himself facing the door, which seemed to open into a small, unremarkable room.
He had expected a glowing sort of light, or maybe another drop into eternal nothingness, but at the moment, the only thing that truly mattered was getting back to the real world and putting an end to this.
Shepard shook his head, psyching himself up as Twilight stood beside him.
“Can’t wait to actually meet you in the fur...” Twilight, clearly at a point beyond overwhelmed, said in a moment of brevity as she took one last breath of Equestria’s air. “Or, you know...”
Together, the stallion and mare stepped forward.
And everything suddenly went black.
————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Server Area
A sharp stinging sensation was the first indication that he was regaining consciousness as Commander Shepard felt his entire brain tingle, a gasp stifled as a bitter tasting fluid flooded his lungs and stung his eyes.
*Whirrrrr-HIIISSSSSSSS*
The Commander’s center of gravity suddenly fell away as he felt the pressure of liquid around his skin lessening, sending him face-first onto the floor as he fell out of a large pod. His armor was coated in a thick solution that he almost immediately found himself hacking up as he gasped for breath.
Shepard blinked a few times, having to steady himself as he felt his knees on the floor and his vision cleared enough for him to bring up one leg...
No... not a leg; an arm.
Shepard flexed some missed muscles at the end of that extremity and found a welcome sensation as his stiff fingers moved inside his gauntlet.
Never again would he take the miracle of human evolution known as "hands" for granted.
Feeling pins and needles running over his entire body, Shepard forced himself up on his knees and then to a standing position as he took stock of himself.
Arms, legs, hands, feet, face.
Human again.
His head and armor were soaked, and he was in a dark and alien environment, completely unarmed... but he was at least human again.
Clearing his throat and wiping his lips, Shepard looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings.
“Twilight?” He winced, his voice hoarse. “Twilight? Are you there?”
Shepard shook his head as his eyes adjusted to the dim levels of light, revealing a natural-appearing cavern all around him with a set of dim energy lines set into the wall.
“Shepard to Normandy...” The Commander pressed against his ear comm, getting nothing... not even static. “Shepard to Mordin? Tali? Anybody, do you copy?”
Shaking his head, Shepard took another breath as he looked around.
"Follow the energy lines to the manual override controls. You'll know it when you see it," he recalled Luna saying, nodding as he staggered forward, having to find his balance again after spending the last few hours walking on all fours.
For a few uneventful moments, he walked down a dim stone corridor in silence, only the sound of his own breathing and footsteps to be heard before a sudden crackling in his comm drew his attention.
“Luna?” Shepard set two fingers to his ear as he listened. “Tali? Normandy? Are you there?”
“Shepard... You made it out! Thank God!” came a gruff human voice.
“...Milligan?” Shepard was shocked at hearing the scientist.
He thought they had completely lost track of the doctor after Twilight had opened the Archive, and given all that had happened, Shepard found that he had several other issues to take care of before he could try and find the Cerberus xeno-technologist again.
“Alive, kicking, and back in the family of Hominidae, Commander.”
“How did you get out?” Shepard inquired, still trying to shake off the tingling that the Equestrian interface had left in his head, which continued to make his brain feel like it was stuck in a haze.
“I ended up in some sort of minor data-search area of the Archive. I found out about the exit and went straight for it after I managed to get out of the library tower. I apologize for not waiting, but I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire of those overseer programs.”
“How did you get past all of the guards... er... defense programs?” Shepard asked.
“I may not be a soldier, but I’m more resourceful than you give me credit for, Commander.”
“Alright, I’ll be with you in a few minutes. There’s something I have to do first.”
“I know where you are. Now hurry; I've managed to access some basic functions of the system here and I found something remarkable in the Core, but I can’t reach the controls from where I am. They are up ahead of you.”
“I’m on my way.” Shepard nodded as he took note of Milligan’s excited tone as well as the way in which the lights were beginning to grow brighter as he came towards a dead end.
“Milligan... I’m cut off... I think there’s a door here. Can you open it from your side?” Shepard said into his comm.
Without any ceremony, the stone wall at the end of the hallway slid open.
“Thanks,” Shepard mentioned as he moved into the room.
“You’re welcome.”
The voice neither came from his comm... nor did it belong to Milligan at all as Shepard pulled himself into a more aggressive stance, turning on his heel to the side of the door...
...and finding himself face to face with the semi-transparent image of a white winged alicorn that stood right at eye level with him.
“Celestia?” Shepard recoiled for a moment, at first concerned that he might need to be dodging a burst of energy from her horn before he realized that here, the godlike entity was little more than a projected image. “What are you doing here? I thought you were stuck in Equestria.”
“I am, but I’ve maintained a few holo-projection points in this facility,” the mare explained. “And I am here because in my moment of... well... desperation, I may have had a lapse in judgement that will have dire ramifications on--”
“Not interested,” Shepard snapped, turning and walking away from the projection.
“Look, I admit I overreacted! And I apologize, but keep in mind you were tearing my world apart with your mere presence.” Celestia reappeared a short way ahead, her expression pleading. “But this isn’t about me or you... It’s about them! It’s about the survival of the rest of my species! I know what Luna’s told you, but she is wrong. I already have the systems in place. She said the Harmony Core was dying, but there’s still two thousand years before it fails!”
“And when it does, your species will go extinct,” the human pointed out.
“It’s two thousand years longer than the rest of the galaxy!” Celestia scolded. “What Discord showed you is only a taste of what the Daemons will do when they arrive! Do you really think you are doing our people any favors by dragging them out of their lives... out of the only home they have ever known... just in time for that?”
“Luna seems to think there’s a chance,” Shepard stated coolly.
“Luna is an idealistic foal with no idea of how the world really works. To her, it all comes down to an X-factor that doesn’t exist, as if some magical mathematical variable will alter the outcome and make this time different from any of the others. That is why she was tasked with logistics and I was placed in charge of Equestria.”
Shepard paused, sparing the hologram a glance.
“‘Placed’ in charge?” Shepard raised an eyebrow. “You’re A.I.s... Weren’t you built for your tasks?”
Celestia’s expression softened.
“She didn’t tell you, did she?” the alicorn asked, then vanishing from place before appearing a short distance down the hall.
Shepard moved quickly towards the alicorn, who was looking up towards a large, well-kept stone relief that must have been millions of years old, and yet still maintained enough of itself for the Commander to identify the illustration.
Three ponies, each with stubby horns half the size of Twilight’s, stood flank to flank. The smallest of the three; a deep blue-colored filly with a light blue mane in the center, while the elder two stood on either side. One was brown with erratic tufts of grey fur along its snout, while the other was white with a flowing pink mane.
“Solaria... Astrolia... and Cosmos Epona,” Celestia told the human, her expression reverent. “The grandfoals of ESC’s Lord President. After the war started, they wanted to help... wanted to make a difference, not just hide away in a bunker and wait out the war. So, Doctor Hour Glass, the facility’s head programmer... gave them that chance... Gave us that chance."
Shepard looked to the relief of the white unicorn with the vibrant pink mane that stood on the left... and then to Celestia, whose head was bowed.
“We were children... We had no idea what we were really signing up for.” Celestia shook her head. “How do you think you would fare after thirty-six million years, Shepard? Would you be willing to let go of the only thing that has ever given your existence meaning?”
“I’m sorry... but it has to stop. You can’t keep them locked away.”
“And if you set them free, what then?” Celestia turned to the human. “Will you watch over them? Shelter and feed them? Will you keep them safe? Even if you could stop the Daemons, what would happen to our ponies? Would your Citadel protect them? They don’t even care about your missing colonies... even though your species holds a seat on their almighty Council.”
Shepard looked away, unable to answer.
“There is another way,” Celestia offered. “A compromise, if you will.”
Shepard looked to her, the alicorn’s semi-transparent eyes softening as she spoke.
“The Manual Override Console can override the Trinity Safeguards... but it can send out more than the Awaken Protocol. Allow me to access it directly and reset the Equestria Servers. I can, and will, erase Discord’s damnable ‘Daemon Invasion’ simulation and get things back to normal.”
Shepard opened his mouth, prepared to object before Celestia continued.
“In return... you can have the anchorage moon.” Celestia nodded. “The propulsion systems that moved it into place around this planetoid to stabilize its initial orbit are still functional; you can take it wherever you want. The Harmony Cannon, its core, the changeling mechs, and the two fully-functional A.I.s that are there... Cadence and Chrysalis; All of the technology that is there is yours.”
“But only if I leave Equestria and all of its inhabitants to you...” Shepard narrowed his eyes.
“They are my children, Shepard... My little ponies... They need me. In that, at least, Discord agrees. Your galaxy is too violent, too... brutal... for them to survive.”
“What about Luna... or Twilight?”
“Twilight will see reason. She is angry and I understand that, but I know her... better than she knows herself. She will come home. As for Luna... she won’t approve, but she is family and we will get past this. If Luna had only aided me rather than trying to find her ‘mythic savior,’ no offense intended, then we might have already completed the solution to our energy problems.”
Shepard looked back towards the relief as Celestia faded again, her image disappearing even as her voice remained present.
“Discord is still making a terrible mess of Equestria, however. You have to hurry! Up ahead is the Override Console and the Core, if you can... Wait... Something’s not right. There is another organic already inside...” Celestia’s tone grew worried.
“Milligan...” Shepard suddenly considered, the earlier tingling that had dulled his thought processes gone as he rushed forward.
————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Core
Moving past a large, cavernous threshold, the central core of the Equestria Facility lacked the "natural" theme that the majority of its structure held, instead composed of an almost glistening white metal that clicked crisply under Shepard’s boots.
While the rest of the facility had seemed meant to appear as simple and natural as possible with its stone walls, this area was clearly meant to appear as advanced as the technology within truly was.
And as he stepped up towards the center of the room, a large balcony led towards a console nearly eight feet wide, its panels apparently made of what looked to be liquid mercury that shimmered in the light given off by what lay behind it.
Shepard was not easily awed; not after some of the things he had witnessed in his life. But this was certainly an occasion to note as he beheld a Harmony Core for the first time.
Floating within two constantly-moving rings, a bright, glowing sphere pulsed in a rainbow of colors that shimmered and swirled, constantly shifting as the gyros spun around it. Its surface seemed to flow like liquid magma, and tiny tongues of material would occasionally flare outwards from it, only to stop at some predestined limit before curling back into itself. After a moment of looking at it, a new voice drew his attention.
“That’s right, Commander!” Dr. Horace Milligan called out, drawing Shepard’s attention up to a platform nearly a story above the core itself, looking down towards him and the console. “Your eyes do not deceive you. You are looking at an artificially-created, stable, miniature star. The heart of the Equines' empire.”
The Doctor was dressed in the white, orange and black that was common to Cerberus scientists, an outfit that he actually had a change of back on the Normandy but never wore, preferring the more casual crewman's uniform in his off-duty time. A slightly balding middle-aged human with an impressive, bushy beard, it was only the voice that told Shepard that this was the same being as the brown stallion he had met in Equestria.
“It’s no wonder this thing’s lasted as long as it has, and given the output necessary to keep this place active! Hell, at its optimal capacity, this one core could have probably generated more energy than all of the fusion power plants on Earth combined!” Milligan grinned, leaning against the railing. “Can you imagine what we could accomplish with this technology?”
“One thing at a time, Milligan,” Shepard cautioned, reaching to his heavy pistol holster, where his fingers found a small, chit-like device.
“Wait! Hold on, Commander!” Milligan called out. “What are you doing?”
Almost as if on cue, the hologram of Celestia appeared, standing off to the side of the Override Console.
“We have come to an agreement, Doctor,” Celestia announced. “Leave us Equestria and your people are welcome to the Lunar Platform.”
“Oh, I see... Throwing the monkeys the scraps, equine?” the Cerberus scientist sneered. “You’re not listening to this shit, are you, Shepard? We’re out! We don’t have to make nice with the horses anymore!”
“Ponies!” Celestia’s hologram glared up at Milligan. “And it’s a perfectly reasonable compromise!”
“Fuck compromise! We are not here for your hand-me-downs, ‘Princess!’ And I didn’t go through that hell of yours just for scraps and a single measly moon!” Milligan huffed. “Shepard! I’ve already found the technical databanks: Their entire Archive, schematics, and data covering over seven hundred cycles of observing every move the Reapers made as they tore through the galaxy. Screw the moon; we can get EVERYTHING!”
“WHAT!?” Celestia balked. “Are you insane!? You’re talking about converting thousands of exabytes' worth of information into a single datastream! The power requirements alone would tax the Harmony Core to its absolute limit! There wouldn’t be enough energy left to power the lights in this facility, let alone the whole of Equestria!”
“All the more reason I’m glad I’m not still there.” Milligan grinned with wicked malice, as the realization that the scientist knew precisely what the stakes were shocked Celestia to her core.
Celestia’s indignation turned to outright panic at the suggestion, her eyes wide in horror.
“B... but that would... that would kill Equestria... and everything connected to it...” Celestia shuddered, hardly able to imagine such a thing.
“Thirty-six million PLUS years... I’d say your species had a better run than all the others you left to rot, watching them get slaughtered like a galaxy-wide reality show!” Milligan vented, still looking down. “You had plenty of time and all the technology to make the galaxy whatever you wanted it to be... and you squandered it hiding away and playing make-believe!”
“No... You couldn’t...” Celestia turned to Shepard, who kept his expression neutral. “You CAN’T!”
“Shepard, think about what this could mean! For Earth, for Humanity! These creatures held the Reapers at bay for years with this technology, and that was after they had been taken by surprise! Imagine what we could do with it if we used it to prepare for them; how many planets could be saved, how many billions of lives! Human lives!”
Shepard lowered his gaze, saying nothing.
“Are a couple hundred traumatized, pastel-colored grass chewers out of the virtual petting zoo worth the lives that could be saved right here, right now with this data?”
“Shepard... Please...” Celestia’s hologram may have been immaterial, but the tears in her eyes were all too obvious.
Slowly, Shepard opened his palm, the small black chit-like device sitting in his gauntlet.
The only reminder of the last request from a tired mare who still believed in heroes.
Choices:
Launch the Awaken Protocol
Take Celestia's Compromise
Start the Download
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Save the ponies. Sweet Luna save the Ponies.
Launch the Awaken Protocol
...Its time to end the dream.
No one should have to live a false life like that.
All those lives...even if they aren't human...They shouldn't just be taken or left behind.
Launch the awaken protocol.
Launch the awaken protocol.
Launch the awaken protocol.
Launch the awaken protocol.
Wake them up, celestia's compromise still kills them in the end, and I would imagine that, at least some of the data could be retrieved later.
Awaken. Don't throw away all that they've sacrificed. Sure, it'll be a long hard road but the ponies already have a leg up on the rest of the galaxy with this tech. Awaken to the truth, don't curse them to a living dream - even if it is a utopia. Two thousand years is nothing to the millions more they could live. Really, truly live.
Some say ignorance is a bliss... but now its time to look forward and face the truth.
Launch Awaken Protocal
awaken protocol
Launch the awaken Protocol. No matter how bleak it is the dreamers deserve to see a world that is real.
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lig8tgiTV71qchzcgo1_500.png
Launch awaken protocol.
Launch the Awaken Protocol, DO IT!
I think it is obvious. SINCE EVERYONE IS VOTING FOR IT. com-Launch the awaken protocol! Down with Celestia and all that jazz. Let the ponies awaken.
Launch the Awaken Protocol. I bet Legion, EDI and the Council can get the info from the data backs and somehow restore the AIs, minus Discord to another platform like EDI, and with the ponies and the facility we have enough proof of the Reaper invasion, allowing us to prepare.
The time for stalling has passed The Equestrians must be awakened!! And any way from what it looked like Celestia and Luna would wake up with them.
Launch the awaken protocol. DO EEEEEEEEEEEEET!
downloading could decisively win the reaper war,
the compromise is still technology far beyond imaginable,
the protocol is throwing an unprepared species into the galaxy,
Milligan has shown, that he can´t be trusted with the reaper data,
Celestia has shown spectacular ineptitude in her duty,
Twilight has shown, that she can handle the Galaxy.
Launch the protocol.
Launch the Awaken Protocol. It's time to wake up.
we all die Sooner or later but I still think the ponies that are not programs should get a chance to experience true life instead of a simulation, Launch awaken protocol
Launch awaken protocol. Celestia is an overbearing mother who needs to let her children grow up without her. Milligan is a Cerberus tool and needs a fist to the face.
Launch The Awaken Protocol.
Downloads can be initiated, if possible, AFTER the Ponies are freed.
Awaken, then take the data, THEN go and grab the moon.
Are we supposed to believe everything they have is on volatile storage, gone as soon as the power dies? Or perhaps someone's going to activate a self-destruct, destroying everything if we don't take it now. And how is it supposed to be that power-intensive to run the network connection?
Oh well. Abstaining.
Take Celestias option: stuff happens, interesting stuff doesn't.
Download: Half the cast so far dies, stuff happens, interesting stuff doesn't.
Awaken Protocol: Interesting stuff happens, full cast lives, room for sequel.
"Screw you! Both of you! There's more to the galaxy than one species, and I am not letting these ponies down after I promised them a way out!"
-Launch Awaken Protocol
Wow, I'd say it's unanimous in this regard. And considering you said at the start that you played Paragon Shepard, the choice is glaringly obvious. Wake up teh ponies!!!!
i'm going to start the download for no other reason then i typically play Shepard as a Renegade and to mix things up a little. muhahaha
but in all seriousness wake dem ponies up
1462963
Well summarized, and I agree.
It is worth considering that Twilight had the entire database downloaded into her head, which I would assume includes the specifications of the harmony core (AKA Mini-Dyson Sphere). And if the system is online after the wakeup, all the data can still be accessed.
In other words:
WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND HAY-BAKEY
Start download.
Sacrifices need to be made.....
Oh god I am becoming Illusive man
all processes have reached an accord, launch the awaken protocol.
1463135
speaking of him, shepard never trusted him in ME2 and you plan on giving him Reaper Data and the technological abilities that render mass relays useless, Milligan is a Cerberus puppet and they really shouldn´t get so much power.
1463189
I never said to give it to Milligan. The process should be like this:
Wave goodbye to Celestia
Download the data
Take it from Milligan
Throw Milligan into the Harmony Core and flip him off
and lastly send the code to Alliance and have french kiss with Garrus
That's not even a choice. Oh, I'd love seeing how the renegade answer would have been, but to me, wow. I would have woken them up in a heartbeat. So my vote is:
Launch the awaken protocol.
Wake up...
Twilight already knows everything. There is nothing to lose but immediate resources, nothing that cannot be rebuilt and remade with resources and time. We have the data within Twilight, and there is no use in murdering millions for the sake of something that could be retrieved in other ways, even if more inefficiently. Committing genocide makes you no better than the reapers, just like with the Rachni.
Launch the Awaken Protocol.
Time to end the Nightmare
Launch the Awaken Protocol
1462963
What he said.
Well, let's take a look at all the options.
Download the data - All Equestrians die.
Take the compromise - All Equestrians die, albeit not immediately.
Launch the awaken protocol - Some Equestrians go mad from the revelation, some Equestrians die.
Well clearly, the best option is to launch the protocol.
Do it. Hit the button. Wake them up and let them see!
After throwing that speech at luna, it'd be down right treacherous to renegade on what Shepard said he'd do now!
Awaken protocol, ACTIVATE!
Awaken them. Of course, why wouldn't they get the tech, too? One would imagine that, somewhere in there, there's blueprints for all the fancy tech and whatnot. Even if there isn't, ponies >tech any day.
Launch the Awaken Protocol...and see where this takes us.
Take Moonlestia's compromise...
And shove it up her plot. Have you gone science, you crazy AI? No more perpetual testing initiatives for you!
Awaken Protocol for the win.
Milligan, the tech held off the Reapers,but they still lost. As always, the nasty, human-first racist side of Cerberus rears its ugly head(s). He should have realized that morals climbed back in the window when Shepard showed up. Besides, the brainpower, and possibly even horsepower, trapped in the program will prove more useful than static schematics once the fantasy-fog clears.
...Asari+ponies= Dear god. mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/thumb/mlfw7956.gif
Awaken
Has anyone considered the fact that the crucible would actually make SENSE in this AU considering alll the advanced tech and the HARMONY core?? (minus what it actually does in the ME3 though). There is so much HOPE in this storyline I'm almost driven to manly tears.
Shepard: I can't do that Milligan. You would sacrifice the very humanity that differences us from the Reapers. I'm not just fighting for our lives, but also who we are. That's why I don't see eye to eye with Cerberus!
Celestia: Thank you Shepard! I will make sure that my ponies know of your generosity and kindness!
Shepard: I don't think I can accept your offer either, Celestia.
Celestia: WHAT! But... My ponies... You will kill them all!
Shepard: Perhaps. But your sanctuary has already been compromised. I know you're here. My crew knows you're here. At least one galaxy-wide organization- the people who sent me- know that something is here. If any of us fall to the Reapers then they will come back for you, and this time none of your ponies will survive. Waking them up will at least give them a chance to fight for their own survival.
After realizing that Equestria will already be compromised by anyone getting indoctrinated, the only option I can choose is to wake them all up. I don't like the idea of the Reapers coming back to find sleeping ponies and a stripped moon. Oh, and download all of the godly programs. That way EDI can have some friends to fight the Reaper programs with.
What does it mean to live?
Is living the same as breathing? Do we merely exist, bound in a state of perpetual motion? Beings of carbon and energy, bound together, only to inevitably be released into the void when dead?
Is living the same as dreaming? Are we mere shades, floating in an endless void, interacting sporadically with what which surrounds us?
Is living the same as fighting? Are we warriors, bound into endless combat against a hostile universe, our existence dependent on our will to subvert it?
Or is living something else?
If life not simply moving forward? Is it not taking the best of what the universe throws at us and taking it?
Surviving it?
Owning it?
Is life not simply making a way where none apparently exists, despite all hardship and torment?
It is.
LAUNCH AWAKEN PROTOCOL.
Oh. My. God.
I stumbled upon this story a couple of hours ago, and EVERYTHING makes sense. You have seamlessly merged these two completely incompatible universes without leaving behind ANY plotholes. Mind blown, Protocol launched.
The night is far spent, the day dawn is breaking.
Thy dreams are fading, as the morning breaks.
Embrace the day, take wing and fly.
Look and behold, the wondrous dawn!
Launch the Protocol.
Launch Awaken Protocol
Awaken.
Launch Awaken Protocol and Shoot Milligan
I Know that last part isn't for me to decide but Genocide isn't the answer, ESPECIALLY pony genocide.
Launch the Awaken Protocol