ERROR% - Tied
Comment consensus: Shining Armor
I’m not leaving Rainbow alone out there like Fluttershy. She needs somepony with her.
Twilight looked at the three captains, trying to make an estimation of who would be best knowing full well that sending another pony could kill them both. She briefly considered Spitfire, but without the final preparations in place she would have a hard time operating the equipment needed to return back to Equis, which meant only one of the three captains qualified…
“Shining, go after her!” the purple unicorn shouted as she jumped for cover, everypony else except her brother following Twilight's lead.
“Goshdarnit, Rainbow!” Applejack shouted at Rainbow from her covered position. The rings of the relay increasing their rate of spin as Shining too jumped into the device's field of influence.
“We'll be ba-”
CRACK!
The sound not unlike the cracking of glass echoed through the air as the relay deactivated itself again. So loud, in fact, that the ground shook from the noise.
“NO!” Celestia looked at the sky through the opening in the roof above the relay. Where it previously had just been a clear blue sky, it now was covered in a myriad of cracks. Without a word the two princesses teleported out of the room, both of them clearly looking distressed.
More cracking sounds could be heard as the guards rushed out of the structure again to set up a perimeter around it and look for their princesses. Twilight, who's curiosity was now also piqued, teleported up to the roof of the ancient ruin to see the extent of the damage.
What she saw caused her to be filled with dread. A spiderweb of cracks crossed the sky, centered directly above the ruin, reaching all the way to the horizon and slowly continued to shatter further until two beams of magical light shot into the air.
Both princesses of the moon and sun were seemingly pouring their full strength into keeping the cracks from growing, slowly reversing the damage, but even in the places where the two royal sisters 'fixed' the damage a scar of sorts remained on the sky.
But all of that went completely unnoticed by Twilight who was looking directly up. A full on hole had appeared where Dash and Shining had presumably shot through. Where the surrounding sky was blue as day, the sight through the hole was completely different. Through the small hole the unicorn could see a large amount of stars among what seemed to be a large nebula, and even this small glimpse completely mesmerized her.
“It's amazing…” she whispered to herself, but this also caused her to realise something.
The Princess is going to shut us down! But what about Shining and Rainbow?! They'll be stuck out there as well!
Twilight almost started to panic but stopped before it could get out of hoof.
Not now Sparkle, your brother and two of your friends need you. You need to make sure they have a receiving relay to make their return possible, even if the Princess won't allow it.
Twilight stopped in her tracks as she realised what she'd just thought…
…Did she just think about disobeying her mentor, the Princess of the Sun, possibly committing high treason in the process?
Yes.
Magenta light flowed from her horn as she teleported back down to the field laboratory where she rapidly started to pack all the valuable paperwork containing the calculations they had been working on for over a year.
“Miss Sparkle! What's going on?!” Particle Bit the unicorn stallion, who had made most of those equations and designed the theories behind them, asked with a panicked voice.
“Something broke. The Princesses told me about it and warned that if it were to happen, they'd completely shut down this project, and I don't think they're going to allow any of this to ever see the public's eyes.” The stallion's pale brown face completely lost color as he heard what Twilight had said.
“T-They can't! This is my life's work! I've been ridiculed for pursuing it all my life, and now that I've proven it they're shutting me down before I can publish it in any paper?!” he exclaimed as he started hyperventilating.
“I'm sorry, Particle. I know it's not fair, but know that I'm not going to give up.” Twilight finished her sentence just at the same time as two guards approached her.
“Miss Sparkle, I'm going to need you to drop that saddle bag and come with us.” Neither guard looked as if they were going to tolerate delays but Twilight had no intentions of going with them. Particle bit stepped next to the purple unicorn.
“I know what you're thinking. You've moved heaven and earth to get your friend back, and now another friend and your brother are lost among the stars,” he whispered while eyeing the two stoic guards. “I want to come with you.”
“You know that's probably committing treason, right?” Twilight asked but got no indication that the stallion cared.
“Miss Sparkle, I will not ask-” The guard who was speaking was interrupted by a bright purple flash as Twilight teleported herself and the other unicorn as far away from the ruin as she could. She regretted not being able to say goodbye to Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack, but they were safe right now and Twilight would need all of the headstart she'd get if she intended to outplay the royal guard.
But no-one was going to stop her from helping her friends.
Thud
Dash slid across a smooth surface, all the air pushed out of her lungs due to the impact. Behind her she could hear the device slowly spinning down to a stop.
Did it work?
Forcing herself back on her hooves Dash opened her eyes, her breath getting caught in her throat as she saw her surroundings. She was in the middle of a plaza of sorts, filled with large basins of water spanned by white metal bridges, boxy metal carts flying through the sky seemingly without anypony pulling them, and most notable of all were all the various creatures surrounding her.
“Miss Dash, are you okay?” a voice came from behind the rainbow maned mare, making her spin around to see Shining collecting the few bits of equipment Twilight had already set up to be sent along with the pony that would have been going through.
“Yeah. Also, just call me Rainbow or Dash” Rainbow responded as she continued watching all the various new creatures, some keeping their distance from the pair while certain blue clad individuals stopped the more adventurous from approaching. “Look, Shining, I’m-”
“Zip it, Rainbow. I’m fuming at you, but I’ve got better things to do right now,” Shining practically growled. Dash flinched back at his harsh words.
“Hey! I just want to help my best friend!” Dash shot back feeling her anger flare up.
“And what do you think we wanted to do?!” Shining shouted back only for his demeanor to change radically as he noticed something behind Rainbow, wrapping his magic around Dash and pulling her close before casting a shield around them both.
“Hey! What… are… oh.” A group of blue armored individuals were slowly approaching.
"Don't do something stupid,” Shining warned, as the leader of the group stepped forward.
“Do you understand me?” He asked something but neither pony was able to understand the language, both of them looking confused. “Shit, they don't. Make a corridor for them to walk through, maybe they'll come along.”
The creatures in front of them seemed to part to the sides, making a corridor of sorts to allow the two of them to pass through. The leader seemingly making a motion for them to follow him.
Dash looked suspiciously at them, but Shining didn't seem to care. “Rainbow, we're going to follow them. My mission was to track down Fluttershy and make first contact with the locals if any were present.” After finishing his sentence Shining dropped his shield, unclasped his saddle bag and drew his sword with his mouth, placing it to the side before cautiously stepping forward.
Looking at the strange creatures Rainbow shuffled nervously. She didn't like to surrender to them, but maybe she didn't have to…
1. [Follow Shining. He's Twilight's brother. He'll know what to do.]
2. Run off. I'm faster than them anyway and splitting up might help us cover more ground.
3. [Let's see if those flying boxes can outfly a sonic rainboom!]
.....I sense I was one of the few if not only one who wanted Spitfire to go with Rainbow.
9837100
Oh no, in fact: Spitfire, no-one, and Shining stayed within 2 votes of each other and were constantly changing position. I just couldn't determine who won the vote so I deferred to the comments.
I voted early on and yeah, Spit and Armor were close then too. Personally wanted to send Spit and voted for her, but I am not displeased about Shining being chosen.
9837108
That's a good way to handle something this close (Though I still would have loved to see Celestia go, but I'm biased).
I also get the feeling that Dash is going to be far more Renegade then Fluttershy or Shining Armor.
This is just a if you think about it comment.
Hmmm ... I know its required to a relay without it their wouldn't be a story but if their ancestors really did leave a relay around that could poke holes in the .... shield/cloak?.... their morons. If theyd destroyed it even if the reapers found equis through the cloak they pretty much leave a species incapable of space travel alone. They left the citadel and relays as a trap to help gauge when to cleanse a species. The ponies technology level is abysmal their biotics are up there but judging by the fact the asari and hanar?(floating orbs) weren't wiped out being slaves of the protheans the ponies are fine as tong as they stay low tech enough. They'd have to destroy the relay and maybe the shield/cloak but it is planet specific it could be considered of no importance.
Getting to vote on rainbow may make her seem a tad ooc because we already know how stupid she can be so we're all going to obviously pick the not stupid option.
It’ll be interesting to see their reaction to how Fluttershy has changed since she arrived on the Citadel. Especially Rainbow Dash as she has known Fluttershy the longest.
9837108
I got that. I meant that I might've been in the minority of commentors who voiced their Spitfire vote.
9837108
I know I'm biased, but I am not surprised it was so close, because this was definitely a pivotal moment In the Story/Game.
It was in that moment everyone other than Rainbow knew, she bucked up.
SIlly Author, did you REALLY think we wouldnt take the chance at getting a 3rd pony going out there?
.....damn do I just want to SLAP Dash right now
Comments are good so have more energy. Good to see another chapter. Loving this story so far. I so want to see how Twilight will react to all the stuff her friends have been through when they get back in contact.
No bad Dash no sonic rainbooms. Play nice and follow the one who knows about being diplomatic.
I am happy shinning got picked in the end. Combat ability, super strong shields and having been close enough to the Princesses to represent Equestria.
Also Shining armour being Twilight brother is yet another reason that she can not and will not give up.
Hmm. I have a question to CAJ and/or ME lore gurus: was the mini-relay left in its place after 1st game end? I can't remember seeing it on the Citadel in ME2 or 3 but it may be either because it wasn't there or because I didn't think to look for it specifically. Common sense says leaving an obvious(after it was used in ME1) backdoor to the Citadel would be, to put it lightly, inconsiderate. But then again, we're talking about C-Sec, so...
9837765
It was left there, but people knew what it does after. The backdoor was closed, I believe.
Error % Tied.
That makes no sense.
What fun is there in making sense?
Chaos Control.
If we had savee points to try alternate lines out before going back and continuing a path that doesnt lead to total devastation, Id say let Dash try a biotic breaking EMP in the middle of the most complex alien tech spacestation in known space, just to see how much destruction she can cause with the catastrophe cascades. Especially given the gate next to her.
Given Shining there though, trained at All levels of diplomacy, Id say she is going to go with him. Might need an opaque shield and a personal comunications link spell, but she shouldnt be screwing things up any further as long as he is there to prevent it.
Shining applying a shield spell to his sword, would give Monofilament, Disrupter blade class. Only stronger biotics and neutronium will even slow it down.
As he learns more, he will get a Lot better.
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9837818
Yes it was left there and a research party was sent to Ilos. There are two versions of a radio broadcast on ME2's Citadel that inform the player about that.
The first is if you didn't save the council, then the presence of a human dreadnought at Ilos is seen as a threat.
The second is if you did save the council, then the message is that the scientist are happy that the human warship is protecting them.
So, who are you gonna ship Shining and Rainbow with?
ShiningxSumara?
JackxRanbow?
Have them herd with VacariShy??
Or, better yet... each other?
Huh... almost a solid tie eh?
I’m kinda excited about how things are progressing, because I have a little theory about exactly Who they are going to bump into. If I’m right, then our two little vagabonds are about to encounter our favorite Cerberus resurrected space marine: Commander Shepard! Assuming he had taken the optional route of heading to the Citadel to talk with Anderson, he would have been in plain sight of the relay when it lit up. And since he’s Commander Shepard, he should almost have no problems eventually convincing them to come along to Omega with him (I say almost because Dash may not be so easy to convince).
If my guess turns out to be right... BRAGGING RIGHTS!!!
9838096
Cadance may or may not be okay with that, and I'm not sure Shinning would risk her wrath even if he was interested.
I hoping that dash goes with shining.
9839879
Don't get shot is rule two, not bringing a gun is how you guarantee getting shot. :)
http://sightm1911.com/lib/ccw/gunfight_rules.htm
Love mass effect, love this kind of story. Wish I'd started reading it sooner, but glad I started before it ended. Thought it was the other kind of choose your own adventure at first.
I personally don’t believe that she would follow Shining, mainly because she is still on the mindset of finding Shy, and splitting up does make sense, but the votes say otherwise.
9844852
Whew! Someone’s really been at it, all at once! If nothing else, I admire your dedication!
In all seriousness though, valid points.
I just caught up. Is this story still active? I'm loving it so far.
9845979
Yeah, though I won't have any updates this week. Got a week on base, no phone or pc there.
9846076
Aw, bummer. Oh well, it’ll give me some time to catch-up on other things.
Looking forward to the next one when you get back!
9846076
Awesome.
9837192
I think with Dash, most of the time it shouldn't be a case of voting for her to not do the stupid thing, but just how stupid the stupid thing she is going to do will be.
9847854
That too. Honestly we know what she would freaken do and that pisses me off because we all know exactly what she shouldn't do but we know she'd probably do it anyways and I feel like we'll have to babysit her so she doesn't go screw everything up.
9848012
In the end, it comes down to the choices we're given. As long as those stay in character for RD it should work out fine.
The choices for this last chapter aren't to bad (I can't see her just following Shining without getting mouthy about it), and this seems to be about half way through the series, so she has some idea of responsibility... not a lot yet, but it's getting there. Personally, I voted for the Renegade option because that seems like a good default for her.
Rainbowdash suicide squad by nature.
1.
9837147
More like going far more retarded than anyone...
9837192
Yep, realisticly i see Rainbowdash as first character to die because her 'i am the best, im a hero' what could possible go wrong mindset. I rather have seen RD suffer the fste Harkin did to Fluttershy. Rainbowdash need a extream reality check before she can go from 'absolutly to retarded to survive' down to 'she is highly suicidel'.
9837217
Hope RD get her reality check from Fluttershy...
1. For anyone somehow sane.
3. Rainbowdash always had a deathwish for most Fimfiction stories.