//------------------------------// // Ch.4.1- A Turian among Ponies // Story: Peace and Isolation // by McKnight93 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Twilight the Ambassador (Part 1) "First impressions are always important. Especially when it involves giant aliens with big guns and swords."- Attributed to Pinkie Pie, during the First Contacts "No, I wasn't intimidated by the ponies at first. I demonstrated my biotics by pulling a supersonic equine out of the sky, and they levitated a few documents. I thought they were relatively weak creatures, honestly. It was only after we spent some time with them that I realized… We biotics have nothing on them."- Miranda Lawson Outskirts of Ponyville 11:20 A.M. Ponyville was always known for bringing in strange individuals, but today was definitely a keeper for the history books. Rainbow Dash, two humans and a Turian; This was new, even by recent standards. While the town was usually busy this time of day, it was unnaturally still and quiet. Most of the townsfolk were either staring at the alien visitors, or hiding inside their houses in fear. "Seems like we're causing quite the stir around here," Lawson observed, as the ponies cleared way around them. "Nah," Rainbow said, guiding them to the library, "This is standard procedure for them. Crazy stuff happens so often around here, they have some kind of panic drill every other week." "What kind of crazy stuff?" Shepard asked. "Oh, you know. Rampaging monsters, spells gone haywire, town getting destroyed. Things like that." "And this is normal?" "Normal for me and my friends, yeah." Matt and Miranda gave each other worried, concerned looks, while Garrus merely nodded his head in assent. Watching the show, he knew that rampaging dragons, parasprite infestations and Chaos-induced madness were common occurrences in this town. Still, the last thing any of them wanted to do was demonstrate their weapons on some pissed-off creature raising hell on the locals. In the middle of the town, they came to a library built into a tree. Even though the heroes have seen many an amazing sight in their galaxy, seeing something like a literal tree-house was still enough to raise eyebrows. It actually looked a lot like it did on the show, although it held more depth and detail than most of the other buildings they had seen. "Hey, Twilight!" The Pegasus called out, "I know you're in there! I've got some aliens who want to talk to you!" The front door opened, and a purple unicorn stuck her head out, looking flustered and uncertain. Holy crap, Garrus thought, Its Twilight Sparkle, the ringleader! I bet the rest of the Mane Six are inside, too .... Wait, shouldn't I record this for everyone back home? He discreetly tapped a few buttons on his Omni-tool, and his recorder silently activating and operating. Just as he did, a brown-white blur rushed past Twilight, tackling Dash in a mid-air bear hug. "Dash," The griffon chirped, "Thank Celestia your okay!" "Of course I'm okay, Gilda." Dash protested, breaking off the hug with a blush, "I'm not some blockhead who can't handle herself. These guys aren't that dangerous once you talk to them." The griffon looked at the team, and they looked back. To the humans, this was an interesting development. These ponies have demonstrated the ability to fly, to build impossible structures out of clouds, and now had demonstrated integration of other species into their society. For a culture that still didn't have electricity or space flight, they had a lot going for them. Should other races decide to uplift them, they could become quite a formidable force. To the Turian, however, the griffon raised a whole bunch of different questions. This was obviously Gilda, but it wasn't the same Gilda he knew. The Gilda from the show was an arrogant bully in Season 1, and a part of the Elements of Disharmony in Season 3. She never got back with Rainbow Dash, never came back to Ponyville, and certainly never sounded that happy to see someone. To see her now, friends with everyone, in this town, acting like a clingy schoolgirl was vexing, to say the least. Gilda and Garrus locked eyes. "Who are you guys?" She blurted out. "I was about to ask you the same thing, lady." The Turian retorted. "Easy, Garrus," Shepard ordered, "Let's not start a fight here." He looked at the purple pony still by the door, and asked, "Now, are you Twilight?" "Y-yes," She stammered, but quickly regained her composure. She remembered the speech she had prepared beforehand, and continued, "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle. And on behalf of the ponies of Ponyville, the Royal Princesses, and all of Equestria, I welcome you to our world." Some of the nearby locals stood by and watched this, only slightly aware that this was history in the making. In a nearby café, a green unicorn named Lyra was eating a sandwich when she spotted the humans. She did an actual double-take when she saw them, dumbfounded that these "mythical creatures" were here before her very eyes. "They are real." She whispered in stunned amazement, and she ran off to her house to get a camera. But by the time she came back, they would have already left. Shepard, realizing this was a formal diplomatic meeting between two civilizations, put on his game face and became all professional. "I am Commander Matt Shepard," He replied, "These are my associates Miranda Lawson and Garrus Vakarian." His compatriots nodded when they were mentioned. "And on behalf of the Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council, I thank you for your warm hospitality." He held out his hand, and when Twilight extended her forehoof, he shook it, the first exchange of trust between the two species. Noticing the growing crowds around them, Twilight asked, "Would you mind talking inside? I feel like we're causing a public scene." "Of course," Matt gestured, "Lead the way, Twilight." As they entered the treehouse, the first thing that hit them was the sheer amount of books and scrolls this place had. Granted, it was a library, but most reading and informational material in their galaxy had already been fully transcribed to electronic media, so that most of them hadn't even seen a book since they were kids. Twilight, not noticing their awe, went straight to the point. "So," She asked, sitting by a table covered in parchments and ink, "Why don't we just start with basic information? Would you mind telling us why you are here?" Gilda and Dash had settled on the upper level to observe, while Spike sat next to the unicorn and took notes. Shepard took a moment to think about it. Why were they here? Although this world had plenty of rare minerals to power the ship and get upgrades, the Normandy still had plenty onboard. Since this world looked to be in one piece, it clearly never had to deal with the Collectors or the Reapers. However, this planet apparently had abundant sentient life, which could learn so much from the galaxy at large. And, if possible, give just the necessary edge he needed to stop the Reapers. But that would have to wait for later, after he earned their trust. Collecting himself, he answered, "My crew and I have traveled a long distance after facing a great enemy. Our ship was pretty banged up, and we're looking for a place to land, repair and resupply. We had just landed here to see if there was any intelligent life around." He gestured to the equines before him. "Clearly, there's plenty." "You were in a battle?" Twilight questioned, concerned. "Who were you fighting? Are they dangerous?" "They were a race called the Collectors. We had fought them because they were abducting human colonies and experimenting on them. We followed them to their home base, got our people back, and defeated them. Unfortunately, it turned out there was more than one base there, and we had to escape through a nearby Mass Relay. Which, of course, led us to your world, and to you." Garrus and Miranda noticed that Shepard left out the part about the Reapers, and possibly leading the Collectors to Equestria. They still kept their mouths shut, though. No need to interrupt the Commander during negotiations, after all. Spike spoke up at this point. "Um, what's a 'mass relay'?" Miranda came in to answer. "You know that thing in the sky that's not the sun or the moon?" "You mean the Object?" "If that's what you call it, yes. That is a Mass Relay. In our galaxy, we use them to travel vast distances in a matter of days. Much of galactic civilization was made from technology based off them." "Oh, okay. That definitely helps." "Anyway," Shepard broke back in, "We are looking for a place to possibly set the ship down to do some repairs. Is there anywhere nearby we could land, somewhere a little ways off from town perhaps?" Immediately, all the locals thought of Applejack's farm, as it had those requirements. However, they all knew the people of the Normandy couldn't be allowed to go there while there was another group of aliens to deal with. There was no way to know how each group would react to each other, and things could quickly go out of control. However, these visitors still needed a place to land, and they needed to make an effort to help them. "I'm not sure," Twilight answered, "Let me consult the local map. Trixie!" Garrus perked up at that name. Wait a minute, He thought, There is NO way that SHE is here. That thieving, lying, manipulative little- "Hold on, I'm coming Twilight!" A familiar voice called from a back room. A bluish unicorn with a white mane and tail came in, levitating some papers in a magical aura. Shepard and Lawson were surprised, seeing something akin to biotics not used in a combative form. It took all of Vakarian's combat training and restraint not to pull out his pistol. In Season 1, Trixie Lulamoon was just a magician with ego issues, who then became very popular with the fanboys. However, in Season 3 she became the leader of the Elements of Disharmony, succeeding in taking down both the Crystal Empire and Equestria. In a move that angered many in the fandom, she had even beaten Twilight and Cadence, and tossed them into a bottomless pit (they both survived, but it was a rather dark turn for the show). Out of all the villains from the show, from the minor to the world-threatening, Trixie was the only one that Garrus genuinely didn't like. What is this, some lame shipping world? Garrus thought. Gilda and Rainbow Dash, Trixie living with Twilight; What next, Celestia and Discord are couple, too? The ex-showmare laid out a map of Ponyville on the table. The town was actually fairly sized, easily the size of a small human colony. 10'000 ponies, spread over about 10 miles loosely. Besides a local railroad and a few dirt roads, the town itself appeared to be fairly isolated, surrounded by either the Everfree or the Whitetail forests. "First of all," Trixie started, "We need to know how large your ship is, and see if there is available space anywhere nearby." After a quick discussion of measurements, the ship was declared to be 375 body-lengths, or meters, long. The only areas large enough to contain the Normandy were AJ's farm, the clearing by Fluttershy's house, and the trail inside the Whitetail Forest. Both Trixie and Twilight convinced Shepard that the forest was the best option ("Oh, you don't want to land on the farm, Applejack is in the middle of harvesting all the apple trees." "No, you don't want to land by Fluttershy, you'll give her a heart attack.") At noon, Joker finally radioed in, "How are things down there, Commander?" "Good news, Joker." Shepard responded, as the away team began leaving the library, "We've found a place where we can land. Sending you the coordinates now." Shepard tapped away at his Omni-tool, sending all the data he had recorded during the meeting up to the ship. EDI, having read through and analyzed all of it within half a second, was quick to point out, "Congratulations, Commander. You have successfully negotiated with sentient pastel equines." "Wait, what?" Joker asked, "Sentient equines… you mean-" "Yes, Mr. Moreau, the Commander was talking to actual talking ponies." There was a silence on the ship's end of the radio. For once in his life, Joker didn't have a snappy comeback. "Yeah, that's what we've been feeling. Anyway, send the shuttle over to pick us up. We'll give you the full story then. Shepard out." While they walked out, Rainbow Dash flew over and tapped the Turian's shoulder. "Hey, where are you guys heading?" Garrus turned, and saw that she seemed genuinely interested. "Well," Garrus started, "Uh, Ms. Dash, We're-" "Don't call me 'Ms. Dash'," The Pegasus interrupted, "That's what they call my mother. You can call me Rainbow, or Dash, or RD, I guess." "Right, Dash. We're heading back to our ship, so we can lead them to that clearing. We'll probably be back in a couple hours." "Awesome. Maybe when you get back, you can show me some of your cool technology and stuff." "I wouldn't mind that at all. And maybe you can show me what you can do with those little wings." "'Little wings'! Ha! I'll have you know that I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat!" "Oh, that's something I gotta see." "You're on, uh…" "The name's Garrus. Garrus Vakarian." "Garrus, you are so on!" She spat on her hoof and extended it. The Turian thought for a moment, then opted to spit on his fist and tap the hoof in response. I just brohoofed Rainbow Dash, He thought, Huh. That's something to knock off the bucket list. The shuttle landed in the town square, gathering a small crowd of observers. The aliens entered the vessel, and with a parting wave, the first arrivals departed for their ship. The ponies watched it go, until it became just a speck in the sky, and then became no more. Twilight, RD, Gilda and Trixie looked from the shuttle to each other, and Gilda asked, "Okay, what's the plan now?" It was at this time that Fluttershy finally arrived, huffing and puffing from running the whole way. "Twilight!" She cried, "Twilight, come quick! I really need you right now!" She skidded to a stop in front of the group, looking down at the ground. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting," She apologized. "I could come back… No, I'm sorry, but this really can't wait. Twilight, I really need you to come with me." "Its ok, Fluttershy," Twilight soothed, putting her hoof on her shoulder, "We know that there are aliens here, and that you've talked to them." "Oh, okay." Fluttershy stammered, unsure how to continue now that everypony knew the important stuff. "Well, they're really big and tall and scary, and they asked for you." "For me? How do you know?" "Because, they asked for you by name. 'Twilight Sparkle'." This, by far, was the most disturbing bit of information given so far. Having aliens was one thing. Having warlike aliens in your hometown was another. Having warlike aliens in your hometown who know who you are, that straight up takes the cake. Fortunately, the ponies and griffon had come up with plans. Sighing with worried resignation, Twilight laid out what to do next. "Right, here's what we'll do. Fluttershy, Rainbow and I will go with you to talk with your 'friends'. Trixie, you, Gilda and Spike will go to Applejack with Applebloom, and explain what's going on to her. And when you talk to these other aliens, make sure to take plenty of notes. We've got to know what we're up against." "Got it." Trixie answered, "And we should meet back here by, say, 4, 4:30?" "Around then, yes. And when we get back, we relay our findings to the Princess, and wait for her response. Any questions?" Everyone was quiet, but Twilight continued. "This is big, girls. Bigger than Nightmare Moon, bigger than Discord, bigger than anything we've ever gone up against. Our friends, the Princesses, our very world, it all depends on us doing this thing right. Are we ready for this?" She was answered by a chorus of "Yeah!" and "You bet!" "Alright, let's do this, girls!" With that, the group broke up, gathering up their members, and heading off to an uncertain future… ________________________________________ Back on the Normandy "Garrus?" "Yes, Shepard?" "How is it that you know those ponies?" The Turian sighed, knowing the time had come to come clean. But at least now everyone would take it seriously, and not laugh at his face. The shuttle had already landed in the ship, and the away team was heading up to the debriefing room. Lawson had already sent a message to the rest of the team to assemble, and word had already spread around the ship about the world's natives. The general response was half "D'awww!", and half "You've got to be kidding me!" "Commander, I…" Garrus wondered how exactly to explain the situation beyond "Those little aliens down there are actually characters on an old TV show I watch." Frankly, he was still trying to wrap his mind around it himself. "Shepard, I don't think I can tell you," He started, "But-" "What do you mean 'you can't tell me'?" Shepard interrupted as they entered the debriefing room, between Jacob's armory and Mordin's research lab. "We have just discovered a new world, an entirely new species which is completely unknown, and yet somehow you're only a little bit surprised. You even seemed to know that blue one, Rainy Crash." "Rainbow Dash." "Exactly. How do you explain that?" "Shepard, like I said, I can't tell you. But I can show you. When everyone is here, I'll show you." Shepard nodded, and took his spot at the front of the table. As the team filtered in, Garrus fiddled around on his Omni-tool, making something of a presentation. By the time the last member entered, he was ready. "Okay," Jack started, sounding pissed off (as she usually was), "Can someone explain to me what this bullshit about 'alien ponies' is about?" "Yeah," Jacobs put in, "When Joker told me about it, I thought he was just yanking my chain." "Would you care to explain this, Commander?" Samara asked, maintaining a mask of calm. "Actually," Shepard answered, "I think Garrus will be the one to answer this. He seems to know all about these people." "Why?" Tali asked, "Did he meet some back on the Citadel?" "Not possible." Legion stated, "There are no indications of any kind that this world is capable of space travel." "Mass relays were both closed." Mordin continued, "Impossible for Collectors or other races to abduct or enslave them." "So, that would raise the question," Thane concluded, "How would he know?" Everyone in the room looked at the Turian expectantly. He sighed, and tapped away at the controls. The holo-table in the center of the room came to life, and two different video feeds turned on, divided in a side-by-side. The one on the left was all shaky and blurred, while the right one was crisp and clear and perfect. Both, however, had what appeared to be a bright blue Pegasus, talking to a purple unicorn and a small lavender dragon. Shepard and Lawson recognized them as the aliens they talked to back on the surface. Everyone else in the room (except Legion and EDI, who were incapable of emotion) raised an eyebrow. "The footage on the right," Garrus explained, "Is from an old cartoon show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This in particular is from Season 2 Episode 23, "It's about Time". The footage on the left, however, is a recording of who I believe are the same ponies, whom we just met on the planet's surface." They all watched and listened to both videos. They both appeared very similar; same cartoonish looking ponies, same voices, same backgrounds. Many were starting to think this was some really stupid joke… until a very real-looking Shepard came in on the left, and shook the purple mare's hoof. "Dafuq?" Jack exclaimed. That was a pretty good description on how everyone felt. "Yeah." Garrus sighed, "Somehow, by going through that mass relay, we ended up in Equestria, the magical land of talking cartoon ponies. These creatures are something I am fortunate enough to know a little about, so I-" "Hang on a second," Grunt interrupted, "How is it you know about them?" The Turian was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke, "EDI, define a 'Brony'." "A Brony is a 21st century term for an adult fan, typically male, of the children's show My Little Pony. It is a combination of the words 'Bro' and 'Pony'. A small but devoted fan base has been in existence for over 150 years." "Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate." "So, are you a Brony?" Jacobs asked. Garrus took a breath, and stood proudly. "Yes. Yes I am." The room was silent for a moment. Then Jack began to snicker. Grunt started to chuckle. Tali tried to hold back a giggle. "Go ahead and let it out. It's fine." Most of the team started laughing. To think that Garrus Vakarian, the Archangel of Omega and comrade of Commander Shepard, liked to watch a girl's show about talking horses? Even Thane and Samara were smiling. "Oh my god, guys," Jack gasped for breath, "You, you like to watch little ponies?! Hahaha, Jesus Christ, guys!" "Let me guess," Grunt sneered, "Do you have a little toy pony that you play with in your room?" "HEY!" Shepard slammed his hand on the table, getting everyone's attention. The laughing stopped as suddenly as it began, bringing themselves back to business. "Now I know that this little secret of his is a bit strange- In fact I would find it hard to believe myself if it weren't for today. But as unexpected as this was, this is actually a golden opportunity for us." He looked into the eyes of everyone in the room. "I have been down to the surface, and I've talked to these 'ponies'. I am fully convinced that these are indeed the same characters as from this show. Which means that we have an expert on this world and everything about it, right here." "But Commander," Jack complained, "Doesn't it bother you that he watches a fucking little girl's show?" "Only as much as when you say 'shit' and 'fuck' every other word." He countered. Jack merely scowled, not giving his response the dignity of a rebuttal. Continuing on, Shepard told his comrade, "Yes, this is a rather... interesting development. But it doesn't change anything about him. He's still Garrus, still the Archangel, still the best damn shot I've ever seen. And he's still part of this team." He looked back at Garrus, his face set in stone. "So, Garrus, if we are to succeed in this venture, you need to to tell us everything you know about 'My Little Pony'. And I do mean Everything." Garrus nodded, and smiled. "Well," He started, leaning over the table, "If that's what you want, then let's start with the basics..."