Mane Effect

by Quillery

Chapter 11: Guise of Night

Waking up in somepony elses body wasn’t as weird the second time around. It wasn’t as bizarre as last time, although it was still disconcerting. The world around me felt larger like the last time, and I noticed the similar strange feeling at the top of my skull. A quick test trying to move reminded me that whoevers body I was in, it was theirs to control. I think I was in the middle of circling around a dimly lit room, but it was hard to tell exactly what was going on when there was a big clipboard floating in my face.

A purple glow embraced the writing instrument, as well as a small feather quill that scribbled across the paper. A strange warmth envelop the two objects, as well as the top of my head. While I thought magic caused a varying level of strain on its user, the soothing heat was a welcome oversight. It wrote in the Alicorn tongue, so trying to figure out what it was writing was pointless. Every so often, I stopped, as did the scribbling, as my host lifted her head from the clipboard. It was the same room that I had found the relic in, but there was an incredible amount of lab equipment scattered around the room. Huge constructions of metal and wiring filled the small basement, all producing a cacophony of whirring and buzzing.

My host looked at a giant glass tube that rested in the center of the room. It was filled with a strange green liquid, that bubbled and boiled overtop an incandescent flame. The tube, although curved, showed the reflection of my host, revealing it to be once again the same mysterious lavender Unicorn from before. Despite the contoured expression that the glass reflected, I could see the frustrated look in her eyes as she shook her head swiftly, crossing something out on her clipboard.

She moved on after scribbling on her notes, towards a different device. It was a large metal box, covered in wires and blinking lights, as it printed off a series of papers. My hoof reached out to grab the growing sheet, and our eyes darted back and forth across it. I couldn’t read it, but the way my host shook her head and tossed the sheet aside suggested that she didn’t like what was on it anyways.

We moved along to another machine nearby. It looked like a mechanical cauldron, attached to what looked like a blender. Strangely colored liquids were poured into the pot from above, as the device mixed the colors together into a disgusting brown paste. The mixing head lifted from the metal tub, and the gooey mixture oozed and plopped back into the pit that spawned it with a sickening ‘blorp’. I felt a snort escape my nose, as the quill scribbled another line across the notes.

She continued to patrol around the room, examining the many machines that filled lab, taking notes on some, growling in frustration at others. As I looked at each one she passed, something about their simplistic and crude designs reminded me of something, something that South said just before I passed out. “Weren’t the Alicorns more advanced than us?” Where were the holographic projectors, or the power generators? Why did everything in this room look like it was still powered by steam and fossil fuels? Why did this seemingly intelligent being, who may or may not have been the source of that magical barrier not even have something as simple as an omni-tool to take her notes?

What I thought I knew and what I was seeing now of Alicorns was at war in my head. The source of our technological advancement couldn’t have come from something so primitive. We had light speed travel, advanced medicines, fusion power, while this lab looked like it could barely produce electricity.
I heard a door open behind me, and my host turned towards it. As it creaked open, a golden plated stallion stepped through the doorway onto the raised ledge above the lab. He cast his eyes down towards my host, a stern expression aimed towards me through his visored helmet. Once he was inside the room, he stepped aside from the door and snapped quickly to attention. He opened his mouth to speak, but to my dismay, the sound of voices was still damaged, even in this vision.

After his entrance he bowed his head low, inclining towards the door. I heard the sound of hoof steps echoing down the staircase, growing louder with each step. A shadow crept into view along the walls of the stairwell, growing longer as it descended. My host stepped backwards slowly, holding a hoof in mid air. I felt her ears fold back against her head.

A dark shape filled the doorway, as a tall, cloaked figure stepped into the room. A pair of glowing eyes peered down towards my host, but she did not continue her retreat. Instead she advanced, rather quickly towards the stairs with a vibrant spring in her step. She rushed up the stairs, colliding with the creature almost twice her size, her forelegs wrapped around its neck, squeezing tightly into a hug.

My host looked up at the mysterious newcomer, and it seemed her reckless tackle had knocked back the cowl that covered her head. Underneath it was a mare of the darkest blue, like the night sky. She also had a horn, as well as a black jeweled crown sitting on her head. She was smiling impishly, as she returned the hug to my host graciously.

As they separated, the regal mare brushed away at her cloak. As she did, it dissipated into a flock of bats, that shrieked and hissed as they fled up the stairs and out of sight. Without the black garment, I saw that she also had a jeweled torc, as black as her crown, and a pair of dark blue wings, like the other Alicorn from the previous vision. It seemed that these winged and horned ponies were all of nobility, at least from the limited evidence I had so far. Maybe the other pony races were subjugated to them in some way, or merely viewed these beings as deities. Whatever the reason these strange creatures were idolized so, it was easy to see why, and a greater shame that they were no more.

After their warm greeting, my host waved her hooves excitedly at the newest guest to her room, beckoning her to follow as she made her way back down the stairs into the lab.They exchanged a few muffled words, pleasantries probably, as they made their way into the thick of the whirring and bubbling equipment. I watched the dark Alicorn peer at many of the experiments, sometimes with a gaze of awe and wonderment, or confusion and intrigue.

Eventually, we came to a stop in the far corner, where a small table was placed. On top of it was something hidden underneath a white sheet. The alicorn tilted her head at the small blanket, as words continued to spill from my mouth in a buzz. My hooves flailed and flourished in the air, all the while pointing at the hidden object on the table. Without much theatrics, I felt a warmth rise from my head, as a purple glow enveloped the sheet, and lifted it off.

The Alicorn’s eyes widened, as well as mine, in spirit at least. On the table was a relic, much like the one on Equestria Prime or the asteroid, only smaller. The miniscule rock carving sat on the table, its etched grooves glowing a deep purple, much like the glow of this Unicorns magic. The Alicorn lifted a hoof to cover her mouth, as she continued staring at the small rock like object in shock. I felt my mouth twist into a giant smile, as my host waited patiently for the Alicorn to say something.

After a long, drawn out silence, the Alicorn slowly approached the table, and traced a hoof across the stone. It began to glow brighter, casting off a glimmering light upwards. A small shower of lights began to form above the relic, forming into small shapes. As the ancient hologram came to life, it slowly formed itself into what appeared to be a small planet of some kind. Considering its grey color, it was probably a moon, but I was an engineer, not an astrophysicist. My host looked back to the Alicorn, whose mood had dipped suddenly in the brief time I had been looking away. Her eyes were trembling, as the faintest tear streamed slowly down her face.

The Alicorn was crying.

I felt my smiling lips slowly shrivel to nothing, as my host began to speak in a far more worried tone. Her attention returned to the hologram, and I noticed that it had not finished displaying what it was programmed to. I could see, while a bit outdated, a diagram, and a series of blueprints to accompany it, of a spacecraft. More shapes surrounded the small moon, displaying dozens of different styles and models of ships, all unique in scope and size. From what I did know in this science, any number of these plans could serve to build adequate trawlers, colony ships, frigates and other vital vessels for a fledgling interstellar society.

Thats when everything began to come together. This vision, obviously set far before the one from Equestria Prime, had to have been very near to the beginning of the Alicorns foray into the stars. While their rudimentary technology seemed almost childish to me, they at least had a grasp on the nature of spacial travel, and with time, would grow the rest of their science in kind. I was witnessing the dawn of a new age for this ancient race, with front row seats no less.

As my host continued to blather on in her muffled voice, I could see a change in the Alicorn. While her eyes continued to look weakly at the hologram, a small semblance of a smile crept onto her muzzle. It was weak, but thick with a sense of overwhelming fondness and appreciation. The Alicorn turned to my host, and nodded softly, brushing away the tears that had began to stain her pristine coat.

My host bowed deeply to the Alicorn. When she raised her head, I saw that the Alicorn was slowly making her way to the exit. We followed her back through the vibrant machinery, ignoring the clattering noises emerging from some of the larger machines in the room. At the top of the stairs, the dark Alicorn dismissed her guard, before turning back to me and my host. They exchanged a few more words, only interrupted by a loud whistling sound piercing through the room, followed by a small, muffled explosion.

Smoke began to billow from one of the large contraptions, as well as emitting a loud grinding noise. My host stared wide eyed at the scene below, when a soft giggle caught her attention. The Alicorn was laughing, as she shook her head playfully at my host. She rolled her eyes, and smiled warmly, before uttering another word.

The smoke began to take up a large portion of my vision at this point, as it swirled around my face. When it began to blend into my sight, however, I realized that this vision was about to end. I felt the familiar tugging on my mind, as my sight slowly receded into a dark oblivion. As before, the power of the vision focused my mind on that final word. Although this time, it was not one of panic or fear, but one of praise, and gratitude, one I hoped my host took to heart as she continued her work.

“Thank you.”

My consciousness tumbled around my mind, as it did the last time. The storm of thoughts went past, the vision replaying over and over as I slowly slipped away from the darkness of my own head and back to reality. My eyes opened to the dull light of the lamp hovering above my head, as I slowly took note of my surroundings.

The bed was familiar, as well as the uncomfortable feeling it caused in my back. The dull grey sheets were warm, if a little constricting as I tried to worm my way out of them. I wriggled my way out of their death grip on me, when I hear a soft chuckle not too far away. I turned to see Doctor Chalkdust, sitting quietly in a chair beside my bed while she sipped from a steaming cup.

“Are my beds not comfortable enough for you Commander?” she said amusedly. “I’ll have to requisition some new ones next time we are docked.”

I righted myself in the bed, stretching out the kinks in my aching body. “They aren’t that bad, unless you are laying in them for a full day.”

Another demure laugh escaped her lips. “Oh, you haven’t been out that long. I’m happy to say that you were only asleep for twelve hours this time. Your mind must be growing accustomed to the relics effects on you. Perhaps the next one you might actually remain conscious.”

“If there is another one,” I remarked. “So what else happened? What about the asteroid?”

“Now that,” she said pointedly. “Is a good question.”

“What do you mean?”

She activated her omni-tool, producing a small, holographic image of the asteroid. “Its seems around the same time you disabled that barrier that Dexter mentioned, or you activated the relic, the asteroid just...stopped.”

I saw a few calculations flitter around the holographic rock, mostly velocity and momentum equations. “Whichever event caused it, it slowed down and stopped not too far from one of Trawlis’ moons.”

The image of the asteroid stopped moving, as a larger planetoid appeared in the image. Eventually, the massive rock began to slowly circle around the moon, as it fell into orbit around the rocky satellite.

“Heh,” I chuckled, now that I knew the rock was no longer a danger to anypony. “I bet the scientific community will love to get their hooves on what’s in that thing.”

Chalkdust nodded. “I would imagine. I glanced briefly at some of the things you had in your saddle bags. Alicorn litterature, very interesting. Were I still a teacher, I would take you up on that offer in a heartbeat.”

I blinked. “You were a teacher?”

She laughed “Well of course! What else did you think my Cutie Mark meant?”

She regarded the symbol on her flank with a fond glance. “I taught at the Palomino University for nearly twenty years, specialising in medicinal sciences of course. It was all good fun, but one day I was offered a position to help teach emergency care aboard military spacecraft.

“It was such a thrilling change of environment. The excitement of new locales, and ponies to meet. I worked through the later years of the contact wars, but I still worked on through the peace since. I’ve spent so much time studying all of the new races the galaxy was to offer. It was all so much better than sitting in a lab all day. So I stayed out here.” She looked back at me with a nostalgic look on her face. “And I haven’t looked back since.”

Chalkdust certainly led an interesting life. I had a great respect for teachers, especially the ones who I worked with during my technical training. But to work as an professor at one of the most decorated institutes back on Earth, then move into work for the military, certainly was an exciting change of pace.

“Well, I’m glad to have you here on the Normanedy. Considering the trouble we’re getting ourselves into, we’re going to need the best.”

“As mister Piper has been diligent in reminding us,” she remarked sarcastically.

I stretched again, yawning and shaking free of what exhaustion remained. “So what else has happened since I passed out?”

“Not much,” she mused drearily. “We stayed long enough to confirm that the asteroid was no longer a threat to Trawlis, then we left the sector. We stopped at one of Granite Company’s operations in the Bolaris system, resupplied and dropped off the rest of their employees.”

Chalkdust scratched her chin thoughtfully. “I expect them to send proper reinforcements back to Trawlis and continue their work at some point. We’re just on our way back to the Whip Gate now.”

I rubbed my head as I processed that information. “So we’re just drifting along then?”

She placed her mug on the bedside table and got up, trotting around the bed. “More or less. I believe the others were waiting for you two to awake before we made any further plans.”

My brows arched. “Two?”

She pointed at the bed beside me. Wrapped tightly in the bed beside me, was the Unicorn we had encountered in the asteroid. She was still, nearly motionless. The machines next to her beeped an ominous tone. She was still alive, but her heart was racing. Her mane was still a tangled mess, and even asleep her hooves were tightly clutching her blankets.

“The poor dear has been through a lot,” she continued. “She’s barely eaten in days, and my readings indicate she’s been under an awful lot of stress.” She grazed a hoof gently along the mares face, stopping on the crown of her head. She scowled slightly, looking at me. “And this bump on her head certainly didn’t help things. I assume I have Miss Belle to thank for that?”

Seeing no way out of her focused glare, I meekly nodded. She rolled her eyes, breaking her gaze back to the sleeping mare. “I’ll have to have a word about her tactics when dealing with frightened civilians.”

“She was trying to kill us at the time,” I added, though it came out far drier that I intended. Chalkdust gave me a blank look.

“Not all of us can handle the pressures of combat, Shepard. Considering all that was going on, she may have merely been confused, or frightened, and only meant to protect herself.”

I climbed out of my bed, giving the doctor an apologetic look. “Have we at least confirmed who she is?”

Chalkdust shook her head. “I tried, but her omni-tool is surprisingly well protected. It wouldn’t even divulge personal information. Perhaps you could look at it?”

I walked over to the bed, taking on of the Unicorns hooves in my own. Her omni-tool gave a little flash at my touch, as I brought up my own. But before I could do anything, she began to twist in her bed, mumbling and moaning as she began to stir from her sleep. She tugged and jerked, ripping her hoof from mine as she bolted upright in the bed, muttering sounds of panic and fear. Her eyes glanced at the startled looking doctor, then to me. Her eyes widened when her gaze met mine, and she scooted away from me in vain against the wall.

“No!” she shouted. “Not you!”

She clamped her eyes shut tightly, and clenched her teeth as her horn began to glow. The shaping magic tossed and broiled above her head, forming itself into a lethal edge of prismatic energy. Its edge honed into a glinting point, aimed directly at me. I backed up suddenly, just in time to see Chalkdust swiftly dash up the the frightened mare and swat her horn sharply.

The phantom blade withered and sputtered into nothing, as the Unicorn grasped at her horn. “Ow!”

When she turned to face her attacker, I noticed that Chalkdust had produced a small metallic ring in her hoof, and held it in front of the Unicorn’s face.

“I trust you know what this is child?” she asked in a calm, dangerous tone.

The Unicorn nodded slowly while her eyes were affixed on the innocuous looking object.

“I would assume that restricting a Unicorn’s magic is just as tortuous to you as restricting a Pegasi’s wings would be to them, so I say this once; No violence in my medical bay. Do you understand?”

The Unicorn met the Doctors unblinking stare. Her ears folded back, as she nodded again.

Chalkdust smiled at her demand being met, and turned to indicate me. “This is Commander Shepard, one of the ponies responsible for saving you from Artemis.” She turned to me. “And I assume you have questions for this young mare, now don’t you Shepard?”

I was starting to wonder whether I was actually the Commander or not. The assertive Doctor was incredibly intimidating, even to those she was allied to, and especially the one who was supposed to be in charge. But she was right, I had a lot of questions for this mare, if we had any hope of finding her former employer. I stepped slowly towards the mare, in an effort to not spook her any further.

“How long have you been in Artemis’ custody?”

The Unicorn looked at me nervously with her big, green eyes. She fidgeted, tapping her hooves together weakly as her eyes lost themselves in thought.

“A..a few months...” she managed.

“And what exactly has he had you do for him?”

She continued twiddling, as well as glancing nervously around the room as she answered my questions.

“Most...mostly keeping his movements hidden from the Council, a...and looking for any relic sightings thought the Extranet.”

That might have explained why the Council didn’t know of his illicit activities until I had come along. Artemis had a hacker, and an exceptionally good one too, considering the nature of that virus that cripple the security system of that facility.

“Why did you attack that Manticore? Wasn’t he meant to keep you safe?”

Her eyes glinted a trace of anger at me, buried under regret. “Hardly. He was a cruel, bloodthirsty savage. Artemis only had him watch me to keep me in line.”

She looked away guiltily. “I do admit, killing him was not something I regret, but it was not something I wanted to do. I managed to hide from him, hoping maybe I could avoid him shouting at me, or threatening to hurt me. That is, until you came along.”

Her breathing began to quicken, as her head bobbed back and forth with sharp intakes of air.

“I didn’t know what to do! Artemis told me you were trying to capture me for your own purposes, far worse than he was doing to me! When I saw that you were winning, I felt it was only a matter of time until you caught me. So I tried to scare you away with that illusion.”

“But you sent out that call for help. You knew Artemis was lying to you, didn’t you?”

She looked at me in confusion. “I didn’t send any calls for help.”

I gave her a hard glance. “I have a recorded message between you and Artemis discussing his activities and where his targets were. You sent that message to the Corral, Lady Midnight and that’s why we’re here now; To rescue you.”

She blinked. “L...lady Midnight?” she stammered. “You think I’m...” she grabbed her head with her hooves, and began shaking it in worry. “Oh no....no no no. Why did she...what was she...?”

After watching her mumble to herself for a few moments, I grabbed one of her hooves, and turned her attention back to me. Her eyes were deadened, as she looked right through me with a haunted expression.

“What? I snapped. “What’s wrong?”

An angered look quickly overtook her, as she swatted my hoof away. She turned her head away and stared at the blank curtain wall.

“I’m not Lady Midnight,” she admitted bluntly. “My name is Emerald Midnight. Lady Midnight...” she looked at me with saddened eyes. “...is my mother”

Chalkdust and I exchanged a worried glance, as ‘Emerald’ began to berate and punish herself over this unexpected revelation. She swatted at her own head with her hooves while rocking back and forth, terror in her eyes. It was only when the doctor stepped up and restrained her that she stopped freaking out or trying to hurt herself. Chalkdust, being the motherly sort, attempted to calm the worried Unicorn down, stroking her mane and and whispering calming things to her.

I watched as Chalkdusts intervention slowly, but surely, sparked a change in the flustered Unicorn. Emerald, in the span of seconds, went from being mostly docile, before suddenly breaking down into a full blown bawl. She clamped onto Chalkdust in a tight embrace as she tearfully vented weeks of torment and abuse.

“There, there,” Chalkdust cooed. “You’re safe now. Nopony is going to hurt you here.”

I didn’t want to interfere, mostly because I had no experience in dealing with this sort of thing. I could barely deal with the screaming children back when I was on Earth, so full grown ponies were definitely out of my league. I resorted to waiting patiently back on my bed until the distraught mare was ready to speak. She might not have been the mare we thought she was, but she was still forced to work for Artemis. She had to know something to us to use against him.

After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Chalkdust began to slowly break away from Emerald. She wiped her hoof gingerly across the Unicorns face, brushing away the streaks of tears that stained her face. A single, pleasant smile was all it took from the doting doctor to incite the same, albeit weaker, reaction in the fragile mare beside her.

“Now there’s the smile you needed. I know you have been through a lot, Emerald...”

“Emmy...” Emerald interrupted. “P..please call me Emmy. O..only my mother calls me Emerald.”

Chalkdust nodded. “Alright. Emmy. Is there anything you can tell us about what Artemis is doing? Anything at all?”

She shook her head. “He wants the relics, but I don’t know why. He’s mentioned something about the return of the Purifiers, but I don’t know what they are either. He kept me separate from my mother, and threatened to hurt her if I refused to help him.”

More tears trickled down her face. “I haven’t seen or spoken to her in weeks.”

“Your mother,” I added. “What does she have that Artemis needs?”

Emmy rubbed her nose, sniffling loudly as she quelled another bout of tears. “She...she’s an archeologist. A very good one. She has a strong insight to deciphering ancient languages.”

“Is that her special talent? Linguistics?”

She shook her head again. “No...she’s....she’s a....”

A terrified look formed on her face, as she tried to shield herself from us with her hooves. “I...I can’t! I shouldn’t!”

Chalkdust grabbed Emmy’s hooves again, pulling them away from her head. “Calm down, Emmy. We only want to know what she’s capable of, so that we know that she can protect herself.” She looked back at me, with a strange look in her eyes. She stared at me, nodding her head at Emmy. “Isn’t that right, Shepard?”

“Oh! Yes, thats right.” I nodded. “We need to know she’s safe on her own, so we have time to make a plan to rescue her.”

Emmy gave me a cross look. She continued trying to explain herself, muttering between tired, choking sobs. “You...you don’t need to pat...patronize me. I’m not a b...baby. My...m...mother can look after herself. She’s done it all her life. My people look down on those like her.”

“And she would be...” I pressed.

She brought herself up, a weak, but determined furor in her eyes.”She’s a shadowmancer.”

“A what?” Chalkdust mirrored my statement as we stared at Emmy uncertainly, while she just sat and stared at us, gauging our reactions.

“Her magic can manipulate and control shadows and darkness. She can even make them corporeal, harming others or protecting herself. Unicorns idolize the magic of light cast by the sun and even the moon, while she draws power from the darkness produced from them. She is not treated kindly, even in polite company.”

“I can see how that would be....a strange skill.”

Emmy drew herself inward, trying to make herself as small as possible. She began quivering again, speaking in short, staggered breaths. “Everypony thinks she’s a freak!” she shouted, before withdrawing again. “Just like me. Artemis made it seem like he cared about us. That he wanted to help everypony to like us. I can’t believe my mother trusted him.”

“It seems Artemis has a charismatic allure.” Chalkdust remarked. “He’s made a fool of many, not just you.”

“He’s also got a lead on us.” I pointed out. “And we don’t where he is now.”

I fell to my haunches onto my bed, crossing my forelegs. Emmy remarked me with a sideways glance. She broke her gaze from me, looking around the enclosed area of the medical bay. “Where are we?”

“You’re aboard the SSV Normanedy.” Chalkdust answered. “We’re in the Bolaris system at the moment.”

“The Normanedy?” Emmy’s voice gained the hint of excitement and interest. “I’ve heard of it, the Extranet has been filled with interesting things to say about it.”

I leapt forward. “What?” I shouted. “Why would there be anything about the Normanedy on the Extranet? She’s supposed to be top secret.”

Emmy wasn’t paying attention to me. Her eyes were closed, and she had a tranquil look on her face. Her horn glowed faintly, humming in tune with the monitors beside her. A smile made its way to her mouth, and her eyes fluttered open.

“She’s very polite,” she said dreamily.

“She? She who? The Normanedy?”

She nodded. “Yes, she is very polite, but she is a little sad that nopony knows much about her. You should do something about that, Commander.”

I tried to point accusingly at her, but I had nothing to accuse her with. The way she was talking, what she was telling me, it was almost like she was...

“Are you... talking... to the Normanedy?”

“Yes...is that strange?”

My jaw nearly hit the floor, and my outstretched hoof went limp to the ground as the full force of her simple, but bluntly honest statement washed over me. I looked at Chalkdust, who did not share my sentiments.

“That would explain the significance of your Cutie Mark, then.” She smiled.

Emmy’s face tinged red, as she curled the loose blankets around herself.

The doctor laughed. “It was difficult to miss when they carried you in here, dear. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“What is your Cutie Mark?” I asked.

Emmy started shuffling her forehooves together awkwardly, her blush deepening. I’m not sure why she was so flustered by such a simple request, but I suppose Unicorns are stranger in more ways than most pony races. She squirmed in the bed, tossing the bed sheets aside. She was still wearing the white doctors uniform, which really did look a lot like the one Chalkdust had on. It was The coattails added an interesting frill to the design, but it did not completely cover up the series of ones and zeros that covered her flank.

“Is that...binary code?”

Emmy gave me an affirming nod.

“I’ve heard of Unicorns developing powers of empathy, telepathy, and other similar metasciences, but technopathy...very rare indeed.”

“You are very well studied in our biology, miss...” Emmy trailed off suddenly, her eyes going wide. “Oh! I didn't even ask your name.”

“Chalkdust, Doctor Chalkdust is fine, and the fault is mine.”

Emmy looked away in shame. “No, its just that...I’m terrible at speaking to anypony. I always get so nervous around others. I sometimes just freeze up, or just..b...break down...and then I run away.”

She glanced down at her Cutie Mark. “Sometimes I like to blame this. I’m just so comfortable talking to computers. They don’t judge, then don’t tease or talk about you behind your back. They just...accept you, so long as you are polite, no matter who you are.”

She broke her eyes away, looking back to Chalkdust and I. Tears began to well up in her eyes again, and Chalkdust walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “No more of that here, we will find your mother, and save her from Artemis.”

Emmy seemed to take solace in the doctors constant mothering. She let out a long yawn, and blinked her eyes sleepily.

“But for now,” Chalkdust continued, smiling. “I believe it’s time you got some rest. You have been through alot.”

The suggestion of sleep hit Emmy immediately, as she slowly reclined back into the bed, draping the blankets back over herself with a tug of her magic. If I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect that Chalkdust knew a little magic of her own, at least of the sleeping variety. Chalkdust was quick to hurry me out of the room as she rested her head on the pillow. She drew back the curtain, poking her head through to ensure everything was as it should be.

We trotted together to the door, taking care to not make much noise. The door slid open with a gentle swish, as Chalkdust looked at me expectantly. “I’ll keep a good eye on her Shepard, but for now, I believe you have a ship to command. Dexter said he wished to speak to you as soon as you woke up, so I suggest you look for him first.”

I nodded, still wondering who was really in charge here. There were plenty of lessons I had grown accustomed to, where on the streets or in the military, and one of them was not to mess with a doctor and her patients. So regardless of what rank I had, I knew to listen intently. I doubt even Captain Quartermane would do anything to overtly upset the strong willed doctor.

I turned to leave, casting a quick glance at the veiled section of the room. I could almost make out the sleeping shape of Emmy, resting peacefully on the other side. Her mind was fragile, but I couldn’t call her weak. The kind of endurance you need to survive anything like what she went through...I shuddered at the thought.

“Yeah, I know she’ll be alright. She’s got the best doctor this side of the galaxy.”

Chalkdust smiled at my comment, and bowed softly, before stepping from the threshold and allowing the door to shut. With that obstacle dealt with, I had a Lieutenant to find.

“Hey, Shepard! There you are!”

Dexter was waving at me, as I spotted him across the crew deck talking to some of the crew. I trotted towards him as he bade goodbye to the soldiers and turned to me. It was nice to see him in high spirits, considering the last time I ran into him after a mission. The weak, drug addled state he was in last time was not something I wanted to get used to.

“You’re awake much sooner this time,” he beamed cheerfully. “Looks like you’re getting used to those relics.”

“I guess so,” I replied., rubbing my still aching head.

“See anything interesting?”

“Honestly?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. The visions are weird, and without hearing what anypony in them are saying, I can’t exactly be sure what they mean to tell me.”

He rubbed his chin. “Well, what did you see?”

I briefly explained the vision to, going into the details of the strange library, and its basement laboratory. He seemed as confused as I was as I described the nature of the experiments I saw, and the quality of the technology used. The sighting of the dark coated Alicorn, also stirred interest in him, as I finished with her strange reaction at the sight of the holographic moon, and the designs of their future spacecraft.

“...and thats about it,” I finished.

His expression was weak, filled with interest and confusion. He was quiet, as he stared through me, his eyes twisting in thought. “Huh...” he finally began. “Somehow, it’s kind of hard to miss that the Alicorn weren’t all they were cracked up as we were led to believe.”

He rambled on, taking the opportunity to lead me in a stroll through the deck. “I mean, yeah, what you say does sound like the beginning of their extra-terrestrial sciences, but the way you describe their machinery.” He frowned slightly before he went on. “It sounds like they skipped a vital step in their development.”

Dexter had a point, one that I shared. It was strange to imagine how the Alicorn went from...that...level of technology, and suddenly jumped into spacial travel. Even when the Earth Ponies started uncovering Alicorn data caches, it was decades before we could fully implement the sciences it unlocked. Even still, we were on the cusp of intergalactic travel on our own merit, the discovering of the relics merely...helped it along.

“So what do you think this means?” Dexter continued.

I shrugged. “Unless I find a relic that lets me hear what is being said, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’ll even understand it when I do. Who knows how different their spoken language is from their written one.”

Another fact came to mind, one that bothered me greatly. “I don’t even understand what Artemis is looking for.”

Dexter shrugged. “Maybe he’s looking for a particular one. If he has some kind of insider information on how to find them, maybe he has an idea what he’s looking for.”

“Of course everything is easier for the bad guy. All we got were a bunch of books.”

“Yeah, books we can’t read. I imagine they would take months to translate and even still be full of useless information.”

Dexter face suddenly lit up. “Oh! Maybe Lady Midnight could translate them? Isn’t she an Alicorn specialist?”

“Oh,” I blurted. “Right...I forgot to tell you.”

His brows arched. “Tell me what?”

I went on again, this time explaining the conversation Chalkdust and I had with the timid Emerald Midnight. Dexter was a little disappointed that we had not gotten the mare we thought, but I pointed out that she would still be an invaluable asset to us. Her knowledge was limited, but it was the best we could hope for. all we could do now is wait, and hope that she could help us find what we needed.

“A technopath, eh? That sounds weird.”

“It was weirder when she actually talked to the Normanedy. Apparently, she’s very polite.”

He broke out laughing. “Far be it from me to doubt a Unicorn and her magic, but talking to computers? Even you can’t possibly believe that, Shepard.”

“Talk to her yourself when she wakes up, I doubt she’ll have trouble proving it to you.”

“I bet she will. But for now, we do have other things on our hooves. The others will want to know what’s happened, and what you learned. That, and we need a new plan of where to go to next.”

I nodded affirmingly.”Right.” I looked around the deck. There was a number of ponies milling around the small chamber, but none of them were those of my team. “Where is everypony, anyways?” I asked, turning back to Dexter.

“South is in the cargo bay I think, and Firestorm is in the weapon battery over there.” He pointed down a long hallway down the center of the ship. Past a corridor of pod like objects, was a wide framed doorway on the far side.

“How about I go get Firestorm, and you get South? We can meet in the comm room and try and figure out our next move.”

“Sounds good, Shepard.” He nodded, and gave me a quick salute, before excusing himself towards the elevators.

I headed to the hallway, obvercing the strange pods along the way. The glass lidded chambers were small, but big enough for a single pony. A soft looking material lined the insides. The pod was connected to the ship by a series of cables and tubes, some of which were leaking a faint white mist. I reached out to touch them, only to pull back at the intense feeling of cold washing over me. It didn’t take much reminding after that for me to realise what these were. But, with more pressing things to get to, I left the sleeper capsules behind, and continued to the weapon battery.

When the door slid open, I immediately heard laughter from within. I looked around, seeing Firestorm standing in front of one of the consoles, giggling. On the monitor in front of her, I saw the face of a Pegasus stallion, laughing as well. He was a bright blue, with a lightning yellow mane. He was trying very hard to muffle the sound of his giggling with his hoof, but was failing miserably.

“...so she says,” he said, continuing the conversation I had walked into. “If you don’t clean up this mess, I’ll have you cleaning the injectors until you moult your last feather!”

Firestorm burst out in another fit of boisterous laughter, stomping her hooves and bobbing her head.

“I’ve never seen her so angry in my life, you should have seen it, Storm!”

“Aheh,” Firestorm managed through her laughter. “If I was there, she would have found a way to blame me for it.”

She slowly controlled her mirth, breathing rapidly. “I still can’t believe you can stand being anywhere near her, Sparky.”

“She’s not that bad, Storm.”

“To you,” she grunted. “To me? I was just another grunt.”

The stallion sighed, the seriousness of Firestorms tone deflating his mood as well. “You’re never going to get over that, are you?”

She shook her head sharply. “Are you sure she doesn’t know?”

“If she did, I’m pretty sure half the fleet would be on fire right now. Dad was pretty insistent that I don’t tell her. Hell, I’m surprised he told me.”

“Because I wanted him to. I know you can keep a secret, even from her.”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “But it won’t stay that way for long. She’ll find out eventually, you know that.”

“Hopefully, I’ll be on the other side of the galaxy when she does.”

“I hope so too.” His eyes glanced past Firestorm, and fell on me. His eyes scrunched a little, and Firestorm must have noticed, turning to me.

“Oh, hey Shepard, you're awake.”

My eavesdropping blown, I begrudgingly approached her, hoping that I hadn’t offended her by listening in. She pointed a hoof at the screen to the stallion who was looking at me critically.

“Shepard, this is my little brother, Thunderhead.” She turned to the stallion, moving her hoof to me. “Sparky, this is Commander Shepard, the first Earth Pony Sleipnir.”

He nodded at me. “Nice to meet you, Shepard. I have to say, never thought I’d see an Earth Pony Sleipnir in my lifetime.”

“You and me both,” I replied.

He smiled brightly, turning back to Firestorm, snickering. “You didn’t have to introduce me with that silly nickname, Firebutt.”

Firestorm’s white face turned red, as she fumed at her brother. “Spar...Thunderhead! At least your nickname isn’t as embarrassing!”

It was hard not to laugh at the sibling quarrel unfolding in front of me, but considering Firestorm’s martial prowess, keeping my mouth shut was probably the best idea.

“It’s kind of hard to be taken seriously when ponies call you Wing-Sergeant Sparky.”

He smiled mischievously as he glanced past her at me. “But then again, at least my butt doesn't look like its on fire all the time.”

Firestorm looked at me with an embarrassed expression, the red in her face still plain as ever. She placed a hoof on the console. “Ok! Family meet time is over! Nice talking to you Sparky call me if mom finds out bye!” she blurted, before terminating the connection.

She wheeled back to me, staring at me weakly. “So, what’s new, Shepard?” she asked, almost squeaking.

“He seems...nice,” I commented wryly.

She sighed. “Kid gets a few promotions, and he thinks he’s on top of the galaxy.” She glared angrily at the blank screen. “Even to the point where he pokes fun at his big sister in front of her commanding officer.”

“You consider me your commanding officer?”

“Well yeah,” she affirmed with a nod. “I’m serving on your ship. I’m not technically part of your military, but Pegasi respect ships and their Captains. You might not be a Captain by your military’s standards, but you are in charge, that makes you the Captain in my eyes.”

“I guess it does.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Firestorm’s stance of command was certainly interesting, but viewing me as an actual Captain? Like I needed more responsibility.

“And Sparky’s a good little brother, and apparently he's got a future in the military. More than I ever did anyways.”
“Well, its nice to see that you have a family member you actually get along with.”

“Its easy to get along with someone when you have half a galaxy between you.”

She walked over to the main cannon and to the console connected to it. “When we were together, it was the standard sibling stuff I guess. It was pretty normal until we got older, and mom started getting ideas about what to do with us. Sometimes I feel like she hated having a daughter born first. Pegasi mares are given a choice of joining the military. I wasn’t.”

Firestorm’s mane began to shimmer slightly, as her mood began to smolder. She prodded at the console, making adjustments to the weapon systems. Watching her work, I immediately took back what I said about her not seeming like a tech type. What she lacked in computer savvy, she made up for in weapon optimization. I watched the diagnostics over her shoulder, and knowing the math, estimated she had improved the weapons efficiency by at least twenty percent, while still raving on about her mother.

“I didn’t want to be a soldier. I wanted to help others, those unable to help themselves. Considering the peace we’ve been in since the Contact wars, there wasn't really much to do. Thats why I joined C-Sec after I quit the military.”

“But you quit C-Sec too.”

She stopped her work to look at me. Her temper had slowly waned, but the fiery look in her eyes warned me that she was still very volatile.

“Well, it turns out that even your dream job can suck. I didn’t hate it at first, but when I started to see the flaws in the system, it was hard to feel much passion for it anymore. Having to answer to your father didn’t make it any easier.”

“I imagine your dad was an authoritarian as well.”

She shook her head with a smile, dismissing my statement with a wave of her hoof. “Oh no, don’t get me wrong. I love my dad. He was the good parent. He stood up for me and Sparky when mom went on her tirades. He always tried to take our side, but being the head of C-Sec can only afford you so much power over the Storm-General of the entire Pegasus Military.”

“Oh,” I added meekly. “I guess that would be ha-WHAT?!”

My brain started to crash again, my mind reeling at that little tidbit of information.

“Your mother is...is...” No matter how I tried to get the name out of my mouth, I just kept tripping over it.

“Yep.” She nodded, bringing more worry to my head with such a small affirming gesture. “My mother is Storm-General Solar Flare, the biggest, nastiest, meanest, and probably only mare to head the Pegasus Military in over a millenium.”

The way Firestorm briefly mentioned her mother before, I thought she was just a high ranking officer. But the leader of the entire Pegasus Fleet? Now I really hoped she never found out that Firestorm had left C-Sec, because I really didn’t want an armada of Pegasus warships chasing me around the galaxy.

“Yeah...” she added bleakly. “That’s the standard reaction I get when I tell ponies. I normally just keep it to myself, just to avoid either the fear of her wrath at my disapproval, or the flank kissing to get in her good graces.”

“I can...I can see the merit of that, yeah.”

Firestorm was silent for a while, idly prodding at the console, her previous fervor having faded away. Eventually, she glanced my way. “But enough about me, was there something you needed? Or are you just checking up on me and my crazy family?”

Oh right, there was something I came for here wasn’t there?

“I wanted to call a team debriefing, so I can tell everypony what the relic vision showed me, among other things so we can make a plan on where to go next.”

She tilted her head. “The relic...showed you something?”

“Oh right, you weren’t there when I activated the one on Equestria Prime. The relics Artemis are after are some kind of memory units, but I’m not sure what he’s looking for. So far it’s been a bunch of useless information.”

“Right...” She looked like she was understanding, at least most of it. “Dexter mentioned something about that after I was the only one wondering what happened to you back in that library.”

She stepped away from the main terminal, giving it a final glance before walking over to me. “I guess my calibrations can wait until later. Let’s go.”

“You mean you aren’t done? The work you did in seconds would have taken me an hour at least.”

She walked past me out the door, but still replied to the shocked look I gave her with a little smirk. “Well, the Normanedy’s weapons are based on Pegasi designs. They aren’t known for being simple, especially to Earth Ponies. If not, anypony could use the designs the against us.”

I trotted alongside her down the long corridor back into the main area of the crew deck. It appeared to be lunch time, as several of the ships staff were seated around the tables eating. Some of them were grouped together enjoying loud conversations, while some enjoyed being alone. Firestorm and I walked past them towards the stairs to the next floor.

“So,” she continued. “What else is there that you need to bring up?”

“Well, that Unicorn was awake for a bit. I got some information out of her before she fell back to sleep.”

“Oh, so did you get anything out of the infamous Lady Midnight?”

Not wanting to have to repeat the whole story again multiple times, I merely offered her a simple deferral. “I’ll get to that once everypony is together. Dexter is getting South now, so we’ll meet them in the Comm room.”

“Do you have any idea where Artemis is going to next?”

I didn’t want to give her nothing as an answer, but it was all I had. “No, not yet. Maybe after we think together on what we have so far, we might get something. What about you?”

She had a distant look in her eyes. “Well, now that you mention it, there might be something. I’m not too sure about it though, it can wait until we get together.”

“Well, thats better than what I got.”

“Heh, like I said, we’ll see.”

We made our way into the command center. Westward was sitting with some of his assistants, but without a course laid in, I doubt he was doing anything vitally important. He glanced my way, giving me a polite nod. I saw his eyes trace over Firestorm, who was focused on the Comm room door. I glared at him, prompting another, hurried nod before he returned to his work. Showing disapproval of Firestorm in private was one thing, but doing right in front of me when she was right there was something I hoped he was better than.

“Looks like they are already here, Shepard.”

I turned back to Firestorm, who had stepped into the Communications room. Dexter and South were both there, looking our way as we entered the room and let the door shut behind us. South was staring at me the entire time, looking me up and down as I walked in.

“So, whut’s this about?” she drawled.

“I’m just fine, South. Thanks for asking.” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“Shoot,’ she guffawed. “Iffin’t ya wern’t alright, Ah wouldn’t be talkin’ tuh ya know would Ah? No sense wastin’ our time.”

“Fine, fine.” I waved my hoof dismissively. A set of chairs had been placed in the room sometime since I was last here, and everypony took a seat quietly.

“South is right for us to make this quick. I suppose I’ll start with what the relic showed me this time.”

I recounted the vision again, Dexter adding anything that I may have forgotten from what I told him. The results between the others was mixed. Firestorm stared at me with wide eyed wonder, and didn’t speak once out of turn as I explained what I knew. South, on the other hoof, sat cross legged, an increasing frown developing on her face as I told the story.

“So, “she interrupted for like the fifth time. “Ya still can’t hear whut the relics are sayin?”

“No,” I continued, shaking my head. “The words are muffled. I’m not much of a lip reader, but I have a feeling that they are speaking a similar language to us.”

“Or,” Firestorm added. “Maybe the relic is trying to self translate, but it isn’t working properly. That might explain the muffled noise.”

“That makes sense,” Dexter agreed. “The Alicorn’s technology might be equipped to at least attempt to decipher its knowledge to anypony who might try to use it.”

“Well, unless somepony’s got an Alicorn tuh Galactic Common dictionary layin’ about, Ah don’t rightly think we’re gunna git far.”

Dexter pondered a moment, rubbing his chin. “Maybe repeated exposures to the relics would help. Have you at least noticed increased clarity between the two visions?”

I considered the idea, replaying the visions in my head and comparing the two. There were certain parts that seemed...different, maybe clearer, but there was hardly enough to prove that theory.

“Not really. The quality of what I see seems to be wholly dependent on what the pony that programmed the relics want’s me to see.” I paused, recalling one thing fact that seemed to be consistent between the visions. “Except at the end. When the vision reaches its end, its like my perspective is being torn away from the hosts. Everything kind of...blurs together at that point, except what the host is focusing on.”

Focusing on the memories was starting to make my head hurt. I rubbed my head slowly, letting out a few grunts of discomfort as I winced in pain.

“Maybe we should move on to the other thing...”

I looked up at Dexter, who had a worried, but understanding look on his face as he considered my stress. Considering what he had to go through for his own powers, I took it as a sign that he genuinely knew and understood what I was going through.

“Whut other thing?” South looked stared at me blankly, before her eyes lit up. “Are ya talkin’ about that Unicorn?”

The headache slowly petered off, and I replied to South with a little nod. “Yea, she was awake for a while. She shed some light on a few things, but I’m still not too sure about her.”

Explaining Emerald Midnight and her involvement took longer than expected, mostly because both Firestorm and South kept asking questions. They weren't completely off topic, but many of them came down to the same subject.

“Can we trust her?”

A glance towards Dexter revealed that he felt the same way. His eyes matched the others, and they all looked at me expectantly.

“Chalkdust seems to have an idea of her nature. To me, she just seems like a lost, frightened mare who’s been on the wrong side of this whole thing. She’s scared, nervous, and the last thing we need is to make it worse.” I glanced silently at South. She grunted and looked away, knowing full well what I meant.

“She knows some things, and she might be able to help us. I’m not saying I’m giving her full access to the ship or anything, but I don't see any reason to antagonize her until we know more about her. Chalkdust will keep an eye on her, and she’ll let me know if anything important happens.”

Firestorm crossed her hooves, frowning with dissatisfaction.“I’m just not too sure about having a Unicorn that can toss that many boulders at once on this ship.”

I smirked. “I’m pretty sure Chalkdust has a handle on that too. She was pretty quick to stop her from casting her magic the second she woke up and looked at me. One swat at the horn and poof! No magic.”

“Shoot, is it really that simple?” South looked genuinely amazed.

“Stronger Unicorns tend to train themselves out of that little weakness,” Dexter explained. “But yes, it will work on some of them. If you can get that close to one that is.”

He shuddered a bit. “My magic training was done by Unicorns. They were...intimidating. They rarely spoke, only when they were teaching. When they didn’t, they just...watched us.” There was a distant look in his eyes as he recounted his past. He exhaled deeply, adding an air of finality to his past. “It was creepy.”

“Well I ain’t about tuh let no hocus pocus Unicorn slow this mare down!” South bellowed, accompanying her defiant shout with a stomp.

Dexter smiled at South’s lack of fear, bringing him from his melancholy past. “The question is then; where do we go next?”

Silence wafted in, as we sat quietly, pondering on our next move. I could have claimed that Artemis had a clearly defined plan, but I’d be lying. Emerald had told us nothing important, neither what Artemis was planning, or where he was going next. There was no denying the obvious; I had nothing. We had nothing.

“I might have something.”

We all stared at Firestorm. She poked her head into her saddle bag, producing a small object from within. She tossed it unceremoniously to the ground, and the metal object clanked against the floor. I stared at the strange emblem, that bore an uncanny resemblance to a crimson claw mark.

“I took this from that Manticore. It’s the insignia of the Blood Claws.”

There was a look of knowing in Firestorms eye. “You mentioned them back on the asteroid, what are they?”

“A gang,” she added bluntly. “A big one. They have some of the meanest, nastiest, blood-thirstiest mercenaries this side of the Everfree Systems. You name it, they got it. Manticores, Mutts, even Gryphons.”

“Gryphons?” I exclaimed.

She nodded solemnly. “Yep. You eat meat, you got a potential place in the Blood Claws. They value strength above a lot of things, only below getting paid. And they get paid well. They freelance themselves out all over the Galaxy, like the one who carried this.”

She gestures to the blood colored medal emblem. “I spent the first half of my career in C-Sec working to kick their ‘recruiters’ out of the Corral. This guy was a high ranking member, from the shape of the emblem, so he didn’t come cheap. I have a feeling that if we go have a chat with his employer, we might get an idea who contracted him out here in the first place.”

I exchanged a glance with Dexter, who nodded as well as I. It was a good idea, and probably the best one we had.

“Where do the Blood Claws usually hang out?”

“Sigma.”

“Sigma?!”

South nearly fell out of her seat. Her eyes were wide open as she stared straight at Firestorm. I wondered what had prompted her to shout so, when it hit me.

“Didn’t you say you had a sister working on Sigma, South?”

Firestorm raised an eyebrow, directing it at the excited soldier. “Is that so? Well it will be good to know that we might have somepony who knows the planet, I can’t say I’ve ever been to Sigma.”

“It ain’t the happiest place from what my lil’ sis tells me, but she says it has its charms. Some of the stuff she finds in the salvage yards is incredible.”

A rarity in itself, South was smiling, rather happily at the prospect of paying her sibling a visit. She was beaming, despite Firestorm having suggested it in the first place. Dexter, as well as the Pegasus both shared a positive outlook at the potential behind the idea.

“Well, unless anypony has any better ideas, I’d say we set course for Sigma. Pipsqueak!”

The radio buzzed to life. “Yeah, Shepard?”

“Set a course for Sigma, we have a gang to question.”

He was silent for a while. “Do I want to know what brought this on?”

“Ya ain’t scared are ya, Pip?” South teased.

“Hmph, I’m not scared of Sigma. I’d just rather avoid getting the Normanedy all rusty.”

“Oh can it, flypony. Jus git’ us there lickety split!”

“Yes, Sir.” Pip groaned sarcastically. “Your wish is my command. Oh, and Shepard?”

“Yes?”

“We got a message from the Council, they’d like a report on your progress.”

“We’ve barely been gone two days!” Firestorm exclaimed. “Talk about impatient.”

“They aren’t too thrilled about Artemis being a traitor.” I remarked. “I imagine they’d want him dealt with as soon as possible. Put them through Pip.”

The holographic display on the far side of the room began to glow and glimmer to life. Rays of light cut through the air, tracing out three distinct shapes. As the images constructed themselves, I slowly made out the three Councillors standing together, albeit holographically, in front of us. Knowing nothing else of manners in terms of all of the different races and cultures, I simply bowed my head.

The Unicorn Councillor bowed in kind. “Sleipnir Shepard, so good to see that you are well. I imagine your search through the Meridian Cluster proved fruitful?”

I nodded. “Yes it did, Councillor.”

“That is excellent news,” the Gemini Councillor lauded. “Have you made any progress into locating Artemis then?”

I turned back to the sound of shuffling hooves behind me. The others were quietly leaving the room, giving me some privacy with the Councillors. Dexter was the last to leave, and gave me an assuring nod before the door shut behind him. Part of me wished they had stayed, but the Council might have preferred only I speak directly to them.

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean by that, Shepard?” I turned to the Pegasus Councilor, who did not look at all pleased by my answer. “Did you find Artemis or not?”

Somehow I managed to keep a straight face, if only to prevent myself from lashing out against the rude politician. His contempt of me was obvious, and the fact that the other two allowed it so plainly was just salting the wound.

“We found that Artemis had forced an evacuation of a Granite operation on Trawlis through falsified information. He used the employees fear as leverage to get materials to mine into a nearby asteroid.”

“And the significance of this asteroid?” The Unicorn asked.

“It held an Alicorn library at its center, as well as another relic.”

The Gemini perked up. “A library you say? How fascinating. And another relic, too?”

I waved a hoof dismissively. “I should clarify. The library is primitive by our current standards. Paper books and tomes. They might be translatable, but who knows what good they may be.”

She seemed a little off put by my dissuasion, but still held an expression of intrigue. “Paper or not, those books could prove useful to the scientific community.”

I nodded. “My crew managed to take some books aboard when the relic incapacitated me, but many are still on the asteroid that now orbits one of Trawlis’ moons. I trust you will know how best to use that information.”

“Indeed.” The Gemini’s stance shifted, her eyes no longer sparking with interest, now glowering with a deep concern. “You say the relic, incapacitated you? In what way?”

I only briefly remembered that I had kept quiet about the relic to the Council before at Quartermane’s insistence. Even if the visions were to be believed, there wasn't anything about them to use in the trial. But now, I doubted them knowing would matter much.

“The relics in question are what Artemis seems to be looking for. They don’t appear to be data caches like the one the Earth Pony’s found forty years ago. They hold what appears to be memories from the pony who programmed it, memories that the relic projected within my mind.”

“What kind of memories?” The Unicorn pressed.

“This relic showed a rather primitive iteration of the Alicorn’s past. From what I could tell, it was moment of their history where they began their first steps into extra-spatial travel. The host of the memories seems to be a leading scientist of their empire, and was discussing something with what I assume was a monarch.”

“Discussing ‘something’?” The Pegasus Councilor grunted. “Surely they spoke of something worth detail.”

“I’m afraid not, Councilor. The visions are damaged, or at least not perfect. While I can distinguish most sounds of the memories, the sound of speech is not one of them.”

“Memories?” The Gemini asked. “You mean there was more than one?”

I nodded again. “Yes, the relic on Equestria Prime did the same thing. Fom what I can piece together, I would guess that it showed what was the beginning of the end, of the Alicorn Empire, whereas this one showed its beginning.”

The Council exchanged glances between themselves. Some of them were of worry, or concern, even dread.

“What reason do you think Artemis seeks these relics, Shepard?”

I shrugged. “My guess is that he looking for a specific event, one that details something of value. The development of an ancient Alicorn weapon or spacecraft perhaps. I can't be certain. Or if any of it ties in with the Purifiers that he’s mentioned before.”

The Gemini had a stony expression on her face. “Yes, the Purifiers. We have been looking through what we do know of the Alicorns, and have found nothing about these beings. I cannot say for certain that we should worry of them, however. Artemis is cunning, and would not be above lies and deceit to further his goals, as he has done so far.

“The threat of an all powerful entity, even imaginary, can have powerful effects on those he seeks compliance from. He has done so before to great effect. It is perhaps even the cause of the Geld’s sudden interest in aiding him.”

She gave me a passive glance. “I would warn you not to dwell too much on these Purifiers he portends. It would serve you better to focus on stopping him, and not getting caught in his web of lies.”

“I will, Councilor.”

“Was there anything else worth noting, Shepard?” The Unicorn questioned.

“Actually,” I responded. “There is. We rescued a Unicorn hacker that Artemis had been coercing to work for him. She is a bit traumatized from the ordeal, but I think in time she can give us some valuable information.”

“Was she the one from the recording?”

“No. She claims to be the daughter of the one who is.”

“Do you have her name?” The Pegasus asked bluntly.

I was about to give it to them, when I remembered what Emerald had told be of her mother's reputation, as well as the Countess’ hesitation to giving me her name to begin with. I did not wish to cause Emmy any more stress, nor lose the Countess as an ally. So that left one option.

“No,” I lied. “She has not given her name, and her omni-tool is well protected. Any personal information she has is hers to give. All I can do is wait.”

“You could force it out of her.”

My mouth tried to fall the the floor at what I had just heard, but I fought the urge. A wiser pony would not go against their employer, but I hardly considered myself all that wise. “Are you suggesting I coerce her, Councilor?”

He nodded with a straight face. “You are a Sleipnir, Shepard. You are allowed to take whatever precautions necessary to achieve your goals. So long as they do not violate our mandate.”

“And become like Artemis in the process.” I glared at the Pegasus Councilor. “Perhaps its the lack of rules you place on your operatives that led to this betrayal in the first place. Artemis may have enjoyed the freedoms of being a monster with nopony to answer to, but I won’t walk that path. Regardless if you allow it or not.”

The Pegasus grunted, feigning the conversation back to his fellow Councilors. They both regarded him with a cautionary glance, but hid any need to speak of it, at least while still in conference with me.

“What is your next move, Shepard?” The Unicorn asked.

“One of the mercenaries we encountered within the asteroid was a high ranking member of the Blood Claws, as pointed out by Officer Firestorm. We are heading to Sigma to see if we can get any information about who hired him out here in the first place, and perhaps where to find them. I believe it will be a valid use of our time, at least until the Unicorn is ready to speak.

“Hmm,” The Gemini pondered. “Sigma is a dangerous place, Shepard, and well out of our influence. You will be hard pressed to find any friends of the Corral there.”

“I appreciate your concern, but we’ll be fine. My team has proven more than capable of dealing with these kind of problems.”

The Councilors went quiet, once again glancing between themselves and nodding quietly, before looking back at me.

“If that is all, Shepard, then we will leave you to your tasks. We shall expect a similar report in due time. Good luck.”

The holograms began to shimmer, before flashing brightly and vanishing. Now alone in the darkened room, I only could stand and stare at the place where they once stood, thinking on everything that had been discussed.

“Well, that could have gone better,” a sarcastic voice chimed.

“Pipsqueak!” I exclaimed. “Were you listening the whole time?”

“Well duh. I’m the one who relays the communications to you, of course I can listen in.”

I sighed. Of course Pipsqueak was going to be like that. “Just keep it to yourself.”

“Yeah, Yeah. Next time though, if you want I can hang up on them if the Pegasus Councilor starts acting like a jerk again.”

I stared up at the source of his needling voice, and found it incredibly hard not to smile.

“You know, I might hold you to that one day.”

Codex Entry Added: Emerald Midnight

Codex Entry Added: Doctor Chalkdust

Codex Entry Added: Firestorm

Codex Entry Added :Storm-General Solar Flare

Holier than Thou: Paragon Points Earned.