Edited by Loyal2Luna
Final Preparations
Commander Shepard walked out of the war room with Tali walking beside him to find the rest of the of the crew waiting expectantly in the adjacent conference room.
Shepard looked around, his eyebrows raised in surprise at finding them there. Liara, with Glyph hovering next to her sat in one of the chairs at the table while Garrus and Kaidan leaned against the transparent wall of the room. Major Kirrahe also sat at the table, sitting directly across from Liara. Tanlan stood stiffly several feet behind Kirrahe, continuously scanning the room for threats.
“Okay, I leave to take a call and it turns into a party. What are you guys doing here?” Shepard asked in surprise.
“What? You think we would miss out on storytime, Shepard?” Garrus replied with a casual shrug.
“I was under the impression that we were getting ready to ship off” the commander said with a slightly raised eyebrow. After his ‘conversation’ with the Council, he was certainly beginning to feel a need to expedite this mission. If for no other reason than to get it over with.
“Well, Kirrahe says that we shouldn’t go down yet, so we figured that we’d give him time to finish his debrief” Garrus replied with a nod to the Major.
“Why can’t we go down yet?” Shepard asked. “The kodiak can fly through pretty much any atmosphere, and seeing as how this is one of the few times nobody will be shooting at us...” he trailed off as second before a thought came to him “Wait what do you mean give him time to finish his story, you wouldn’t get to hear the first half of it!”
“To answer your first question, Commander, they’re not ready for us yet.” Kaidan informed him. “As you can imagine, this is a historic day for their civilization, so we’re going to wait for their signal. I have already requested that your Yeoman keep a watch on the designated landing zone.”
“As for the story, we are all up to speed,” Liara told him with a small smirk. “The Major and his friend extended an invitation to join him after they found my surveillance devices in order to return them, the expensive ones anyways.”
“I see...” Shepard shook his head, his expression a bit cross. “We’ll talk about ‘that’ later, Liara.”
Kirrahe chuckled lightly and gave the asari a smile.
Shepard then turned to the quarian, a questioning look in his eye.
“What? Bringing you out here was better than leaving you brooding all alone in the war room,” Tali told him, wrapping an arm around Shepard’s waist and pulling him closer to her.
“I guess...” Shepard said with a small frown. “Alright, so what is this signal.”
“We’re waiting for the weather to clear. Canterlot is best viewed on a sunny day in any case.” Kirrahe told him. “Trust me, It will be worth the wait, Commander.”
“Alright then, I’ll take your word for it. So... where were we?”
“Well you see I had just awoken...” The salarian started again, his tone clearly one of a practiced public speaker as his audience stayed quiet, eager to learn what had happened next.
Kirrahe’s eyes fluttered open, reality flooding in instantly as he snapped immediately to a fully alert state of consciousness and realized, one very important fact.
His everything hurt.
Hurting was good.
Pain meant he was still alive.
He was alive... but... where was he?
Much to his surprise, he wasn’t in a grassy forest clearing or (as he considered the worse case scenario) laying strapped into a cold slab prepped and ready for a living vivisection.
Instead he was in a comfortable bed, something that was far too plush and soft to be a prison-cot. There was a natural, organic light filling his immediate surroundings as he stared up at a blue ceiling. Tilting his head slightly, he took note of the enormous windows from which a soft yellow sunlight shimmered in and sterile white walls.
There was a device holding a pouch that was hooked into his arm, a fact that horrified him for a moment before he identified it as a primitive looking medical intravenous setup. He sincerely hoped that the fluid in the pouch was a saline solution of some sort, and the fact that he wasn’t dead yet from whatever they were giving him indicated that whoever had found him at least had some medical knowledge and a basic grasp of his biology. Either that, or he had just been immensely lucky that whatever they had him hooked up to hadn’t killed him yet.
As he quelled his initial panic at seeing the medical device, his eyes continued to wander over the side of his bed where he discovered what he guessed to be a heart monitor and several other pieces of industrial-age medical equipment next to him, although to his great relief, none of them seemed to be attached to his body in any way.
It was at this point that he came to the not-all-that-shocking realization that he had been stripped, his damaged and bloodied armor removed to expose his greenish tinted, smooth skin underneath. While he felt he shouldn’t have been surprised at this, it did give him a critical piece of information.
Whatever had done this was intelligent enough to treat his injuries, and yet foolish enough not to restrain him.
He started to lean up, fully intending to pull himself out of the bed and seek out answers.
However, a stabbing pain in his chest, which elicited a sudden grunt of pain through clenched teeth sent him back to the bed.
‘Ah,’ He considered as he tried not to curl, knowing quite well that the trauma must have been quite severe to limit him like that. ‘Apparently I’m in no shape to leave on my own accord. Explains why they didn’t bother with the restraints.’
“Oh my stars! It’s awake!” The Major heard an excited, high pitched voice to his left and turned his head to find himself looking at a white furred, quadrupedal creature with a of a pair of large, frightened blue eyes as it seemed to be looking towards something that was just out of Kirrahe’s line of sight. “Nurse Manner, fetch the Princess...Now!”
The creature was only vaguely similar to the one that he briefly saw before losing consciousness. It was far smaller to be certain for a start, standing only about a meter tall, perhaps a bit higher than the average volus. It’s silhouette was closer to the elcor, but far more streamlined, more symmetrical, and it had a single, spiraling horn jutting from the center of it’s head at an angle. As his eyes scanned over the creature he also noticed that there was some sort of symbol stamped on its backside as it turned, one that he immediately identified as similar to the galactic symbol for Medigel, the human Red Cross.
“Okay, okay, I can do this... just calm down, Joy. It doesn’t seem to be hostile, just confused. Just treat it like any other patient.” The alien creature was speaking, a sure sign of intelligence, although clearly Kirrahe’s translator was not functioning properly as he couldn't make out a word of what it said. After a moment, it turned towards him and it’s lips parted into what he interpreted for a smile, bearing a set of perfectly white teeth.
“Uhh, well, Hello there dear, I don’t know if you can understand me but you need to stay calm and don’t move while we fetch Princess Celestia. Can you do that for me? Please?” The alien creature babbled.
Kirrahe opened his mouth to talk but realized that his throat was dry as sandpaper. He coughed once and brought up his free hand and mimed drinking water. The creature’s eyes widened in slight surprise, and then, its face blushed. This was mildly confusing Kirrahe because he was sure that in a rational galaxy, something covered in fur should not be capable of visibly blushing.
“Oh, of course, you must be incredibly thirsty! I’ll get you one. Just...give me one moment... and I’ll be right back.” the equine told the uncomprehending salarian, backstepping with a nervousness that was clear even across the species line as she tried to give the major a kind smile.
This was... unexpected to say the least.
The STG made it a point to train their operatives to expect anything, but this was a first even for the experienced salarian major. As he sat in silence for a few moments, he considered his position.
He was apparently stranded on an uncharted world, at the mercy of an unknown alien civilization, and to his shock, said civilization actually seemed to be compassionate and trusting enough to not only treat the wounds of an alien completely unknown to their species, but also to trust him not to attempt to escape, physical improbability of that escape aside.
Honestly he would have almost been more comfortable if he had woken up chained to a wall in some grim dungeon with an interrogator. At least that he had been prepared for.
This... he was wasn’t sure what to do with this situation.
His train of thought was interrupted when the doorway opened again, swinging inward and blocking his view out of the room as the creature he had seen before stepped in. Easily twice the size of the alien who had spoken to him moments ago, this one was clearly some sort of leader if Kirrahe had to guess based on ornamentation.
Far more important at that very moment was a clear glass of water held aloft in what the salarian first assumed was a biotic field, until he took note of the light golden color of the cast off energy.
The divine fluid was levitated over to him with ease, and with a slight effort, Kirrahe leaned up and was able to take the glass in a hand, the glow dissipating instantly. The first trickle of liquid was in his mouth and on its way down his throat before he had a chance to let the more paranoid part of his brain (which took up a good majority of his thought processes) could wonder if the water was somehow drugged or poisoned.
The large, white alien quadruped chuckled to itself, but not in a sinister fashion, as the expression seemed to convey was more delight with the fact that he was conscious and awake than anything else.
Kirrahe brought the glass up to his lips again, slower this time and took a sip. It was... delicious! He could taste the natural minerals in it, indicating it was from a natural spring rather than being purified artificially.
“Thank you,” he stated aloud, perfectly aware that it couldn’t understand him and more or less trying to gage it’s reaction.
“You know that I do not understand a word that you’re saying, don’t you?” The alien asked him in a surprisingly soft, even voice.
The major shrugged his shoulders, hoping the expression translated. He assumed it did as the creature let out another small chuckle.
“I see, well, you may not be able to understand me, but I am Princess Celestia.” it stated. During the last word it gestured to itself with its hooves. The Major deduced that must be its name.
“And I am Major Kirrahe,” he told it, mimicking its gesture before he paused to take another drink of his water. “And you have exceedingly good water here,” he added holding up his glass and smiling.
“And I’m assuming that’s a compliment of some sort. I’m glad to hear it. I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to drink it or that it would be poisonous to you.” the alien babbled.
Kirrahe was about to say something, but instead his head suddenly felt heavy and the world around him spun slightly, forcing him to rest his head against the pillow.
The tall alien creature watched, a clear mix of concern and curiosity in it’s expression before it shook it’s head.
“I should leave and let you sleep, get some rest Mador Kirrahme,” She, because at this point he was certain that it was a female, told him with a surprisingly close approximation of his name.
The creature backed out the door slowly, keeping herself facing the salarian as she did so as if uncertain as if it was proper to turn her backside towards it. As the door closed, Kirrahe simply stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to consider his next course of action.
Of course, that did not take long as his salarian mind reached a single, absolutely vital conclusion.
If he was going to have any chance of surviving this and getting back to Sur’kesh, he had to facilitate communication with these aliens.
And seeing as how they clearly lacked the tools to do such a thing, that meant it was up to him... and everything he remembered from his STG technical training.
As he lifted his arm, he was relieved to see the orange holographic panels light up.
He had work to do.
“Tia, do you remember what mother used to tell us about bringing home strays?” Luna asked Celestia as her elder sister backed out of the creature’s room.
“That we should always have a place for them in our heart?” Celestia answered, her tone frustratingly innocent.
“No. That we should make sure that our cats are not genocidal creatures from space!” Luna retorted, clearly less than thrilled about their unexpected guest.
“Oh yes, Lulu, I see what you mean. Clearly it is a threat to every life in this castle. Did you not witness the fearsome way in which it wallowed in pain upon the mattress, or the malice with which it complimented our water.”
Luna glared at her sister with a concerned scowl.
“Tia, you said that it killed a manticore in a matter of seconds without a shred of remorse for its actions!”
“Well sister, I imagine that it felt threatened by the manticore for obvious reasons and acted appropriately in self defense,” Celestia told her sister simply.
“What if it still carries some form of weapon?!” Luna exclaimed.
“Well, it’s naked, so unless it has a concealed weapon hidden up its a-”
“Tia! Language!” Luna scolded. Celestia looked at Luna dryly for a moment.
“Really?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh hush Tia, much may have changed while I was gone, but a proper princesses still should not swear. Apparently I’m forced to be the more responsible of us, which is ironic because I’m a thousand years younger then you!” Luna exclaimed.
“Lulu, just think of the possible benefits.” Celestia attempted to waylay her sister’s fears with a soothing tone as they moved away from the alien’s impromptu ‘guest-room’. “If the Doctors and the Magisters are right, if this really is an alien being from beyond Equis; then it must come from an exceedingly advanced culture! Just think of what we could learn.. the new doors this could open for everypony!”
“Need I remind you that the risks include inviting the ruin of Equestria, invasion, and GENOCIDE!” Luna responded angrily. “Do you want to see Equestria burn? Should I get the marshmallows ready? We could have smores.”
“When did you become such a pessimist, Luna?” Celestia tsked, shaking her head at her sister’s concerns. “What makes you think that his species would come all this way just to bring trouble and strife?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Because the the other aliens in that... vehicle that it arrived in were clearly some sort of warrirors,” Luna stated firmly. “They were all armed with these bizarre weapons not unlike the one we took from this creature.”
“Yes, and the fact that the vehicle is a smouldering wreck means they ‘clearly’ crashed here, which leads me to suspect that they hadn’t planned on setting hoof on Equis at all.” Celestia replied. “Unless you truly believe that all of Equis could be conquered and subjugated by nine of these bipedal creatures.”
“Nine that we know of, what of the other nations. For all we know, there could be dozens... hundreds.... of these sorts of pods all over the planet by now. What if...!”
“We cannot let fear of what we do not understand lead us to take rash action! As it is, this ‘Mador Kirrahme’ is here now and still alive.” Celestia responded, her tone indicating that she was growing tired of debating in circles with her sister. “Was I to ignore the injured, clearly intelligent creature in front of me and leave it be crushed under the weight of a manticore?” Celestia asked, arching an eyebrow at Luna.
“If it presents a danger to our little ponies then yes!” Luna responded.
Celestia snorted.
“I believe that I would know more about what is and is not a danger to them then you would, Nightmare.” She informed her sister acidly.
Luna actually flinched as if she’d been struck.
“Ti-Tia! How could you?!” She asked, angry tears beginning to from around her eyes. Celestia realized what she’d done a second later and quickly moved forwards to comfort her sister.
“I apologize sister... it just...” she said quietly as she brought her neck up against Luna’s. “Do not believe that your concerns are being dismissed. I simply think that this is an opportunity we cannot in good conscious allow to pass us by.”
Luna for her part let out a frustrated sigh and leaned away from Celestia.
“I forgive you sister, this time, but I do not agree with you on the matter of what is to be done about the creature.” She stated with narrowed eyes.
“We don’t know enough to make any sort of informed decision yet. Can you at least trust me until we have managed to piece together some facts?” Celestia asked quietly.
Luna snorted. “Fine. But if it threatens any of our subjects then we will destroy it where it stands!”
“Royal We, sister,” Celestia told her causing Luna to let out a small huff from her nose.
“I am being serious Tia.”
“Suggesting that I am not?”
“Suggesting that you are too blinded by your compassion and idealism to see the extent of how much this could change our world. And not all of those changes will be for the better,” Luna said, narrowing her eyes. “And it is not just the actions of our... guest that we need be concerned about, but of our subjects as well. As much as I adore them, they are a rather skittish lot.”
“I understand this, Lulu.” Celestia answered simply. “And I am taking steps to deal with it.”
“I mean, could you just imagine the panic if word were to get out? It was difficult enough to transport the creatures’ craft to the tower for study. And the...” Luna’s lip curled back in disgust as she had to keep herself from shuttering at the images that were drawn back to the front of her mind. “... procedures you had Dr. Anatomy perform on the bodies. Such practices would not go over well with the general public.”
“We can’t just go casting spells and funneling potions into him recklessly, there is simply no telling how it could effect his injuries. The autopsies were a unfortunate necessity. We had to understand his biology before we could begin treating him and there was no other way to gain that insight. Grey is quite capable and mercifully has a strong enough stomach to perform the examinations we required of him.” Celestia answered. If she was as troubled as Luna had been by what she had seen of the bizarre alien autopsy report, then she did not show it.
“As for the matter of suppressing his presence here, I had everypony from Doctor Anatomy to the nurses to the guards involved with his protection volunteered to be subjected to a memory charm. That way, they will be unable to speak of him when anypony not already aware of our guest’s existence are present.” Celestia informed her sister.
“Neuromancy? Tia, that’s straying into dark magic... not only amoral, but highly illegal! ” Luna told Celestia with a slightly raised eyebrow. “I would know, seeing as how I was the one forced to read-up on over a thousand years of laws in order to hold Night Court once again after all. How could you in good conscience use such a charm on our own?”
“That law only operates on the assumption that the afflicted are unwilling or that the spell was cast with evil intent,” Celestia replied, shaking her head. “As I said, this was completely voluntary on their part before they were even involved. And you know I would never hurt my little ponies.”
Luna rolled her eyes but said nothing. Clearly, she was not keen on the idea that her sister could ‘bend’ the rules where it suited her.
“In any event, little sister.” Celestia continued. “I need you to organize the Magisters and Scientists as best you can, a small group willing to work under the same conditions must be prepared to examine the alien’s craft and equipment to make sure they are not a threat. Among other things, we must determine...”
Celestia continued to speak, but Luna only half listened, her concerns turned inward as she considered the still unquantified danger that was laying in a bed down the hall.
As much as she wanted to take action, she had to trust that Celestia’s optimistic faith in the creature’s intent was well founded.
In the end, only time would tell.
As near as Kirrae could measure it had been a month since he’d been brought to the hospital room, and his wounds were finally on the mend.
And although he had been fairly well confined to this single room, he had oddly never felt like a prisoner in this place. It was clear to him now that he was a ‘patient’, not a subject in a laboratory. The aliens who cared for him, though a bit skittish at first, had never treated him badly and normally smiled as they worked. Casually speaking to the Major in their own language despite the fact that they knew he wouldn’t understand a word of it.
However, even without his translator online, he was able to deduce a great deal from simple observations and basic charades.
And the things he had observed were certainly enough to catch the interest of any intelligent sentient. His first remarkable discovery had caught him by surprise was when he regained consciousness on the second day to the same white furred being that had been in the room when he had first awoken.
This was not a shock, after all it was likely they intended to expose the fewest number of their own kind to him as possible (a reasonable precaution in a clearly pre-spaceflight species). But what was astounding was the fact that the alien nurse was somehow levitating several objects at the same time with an unbelievable amount of precision. Managing to simultaneously refill his IV while holding a medical clipboard in front of her face and prepping a needle to draw some of his blood.
Kirrahe had never seen anything quite like it.
He’d seen biotics, of course. But no being he had ever encountered could claim this level of... precision. Add to that that the color was off, the objects were being held in a light green aura as opposed to the standard blue, whirling motes of dark energy produced by biotics.
And by far the most surprising thing about the performance was that the alien didn’t seem to be straining at all under the amount of tasks. The multitasking seemed casual, almost routine to the creature. The salarian knew that there was no biotic in existence who could possibly perform such a feat without quickly being exhausted, if they could even perform it at all.
That lead him to his first real insight about the inhabitants of this uncharted, backwater planet. They seemed to have an inherent ability altogether different and simultaneously much more dynamic than biotics.
Spurred on by this initial realization, he began to observe closely whenever one of the alien beings would come to tend to or visit him. There were only four who did, which made it easier for him to identify their roles. There was the doctor with the white coat, red cross emblem, and the horn. A larger, armored being with a white coat that bore a pair of wings that would occasionally step into the room and stare him down whom he assumed was some sort of guard or soldier. Then there was the tan colored alien lacking both wing and horn, who he assumed was the nurse, or at the least the doctor’s associate.
Then, on at least a daily basis, there was Celestia, who had both wings and horn in addition to her towering physique in comparison to the other, more volus sized beings. A detail that Kirrahe had missed on their first meeting, although he wasn’t sure how (he attributed it to the fact that it had been his first time awakening after almost dying), was the fact that Celestia’s mane seemed to... flow constantly in a hidden breeze. Not only that, but... it seemed to be made of an incandescent rainbow.
Given the reactions of the previous three whenever Celestia was in the room with them, he came to realize that Celestia seemed to be more than a simple authority over the smaller aliens, who regarded her with what could only be a sense of religious awe.
Whenever Celestia or the Doctor were present. he would watch them, quietly gathering intelligence and formulating his own deductions. And while his observations did give him a distinct impression of the culture of this new species, it would take direct communication to verify any of the hypothesis that he had come up with.
Now that it was time to finally do just that.
“Hello there Major Kirrahe-” Celestia asked as she approached his bedside, having learned how to perfectly pronounce his name after far less coaching then could be reasonably expected for a non-salarian. “-how are you today?”
“Much better, Celestia, thank you for asking,” Kirrahe told her, a small smile on his face to show the meaning behind his words as he internally celebrated the success of his labors.
“Well that’s always good to ‘hear’.” Celestia replied, amusement easily detectable in her voice and not realizing that the salarian had actually understood her for the first time.
Kirrahe nodded to her, a smile of his own on his face as he pulled up his arm and it was suddenly coated in an orange glow.
Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise and she began to back away, but Kirrahe held up his free hand to make her pause. She did so, warily eying his glowing arm. Kirrahe brought his free hand over to the omni-tool and pressed a small holographic tile, now confident that the VI he had reconstructed from scratch to translate the syntax of their language had been successful.
“Can you understand me now, Celestia?” he spoke slowly but the words were clear as ice. Celestia stared at him silently, her mouth opening and closing slightly in shock. “I think I’ll take that for a yes,” Kirrahe said with a grin.
“Bu-but how? How are you doing that?” Celestia asked, quickly pulling her mind back together from the shock it had just been given.
“I’m not doing it, well I’m talking, but it’s my omni-tool and the built in VI who is doing the actual translating,” Kirrahe answered.
“Omni-tool? Vee-aye? What are those?” Celestia asked, her eyebrows scrunched up as she searched her memory for a mention of either things.
“Ah, yes. My apologies, please, allow me to explain.” Kirrahe said, mostly to himself as the vital piece of equipment came back to life on his forearm. “This is an omni-tool. As it’s name implies, it is a versatile piece of equipment with many functions and features, including housing limited artificial intelligence. And the VI is a multi-linguistics software that is capable of analysing syntax and generating a nearly seamless translation. ” The salarian explained.
“I’m afraid that I still have no idea what you’re talking about, Major, I know what the words ‘artificial’ and ‘intelligence’ mean by themselves but not when they are combined in such a manner.” Celestia told him truthfully, a confused frown on her face. “Nor do I know of this ‘software’ that you speak of. However I am certainly intrigued by the idea of finding out, “ she stated, her confusion clearing into a smile.
“Of course, foolish of me. I suppose the human saying about assumptions holds true anywhere.” he said with a small chuckle. “Regardless, your questions can wait until I have had time to properly think of answers.”
“Then what will we discuss in the meantime?” Celestia asked.Her eyes were alight at the possibility of finally having the questions that she’d been storing away in her head while they’d been treating him answered.
“My questions,” Kirrahe supplied with a small smirk.
“And what makes you think that it will be any easier for me to answer your questions compared to you answering mine?” Celestia asked him with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, you are a Queen if my translation is working correctly, so I would assume that you could be able to at least tell me where I am.” Kirrahe told her, his smile growing warmer as he felt more confident in the haphazardly cobbled VI he had managed to piece together.
“I can do that for you,” Celestia replied with a kind smile. “Although the word Queen is inaccurate. A ‘Queen’ holds absolute authority. I share authority with other members of the Royal Alicorn Family.”
“Hmm, ‘Princess’ then I suppose would be a more suitable term?” the Major inquired.
“That is much better,” Celestia replied. “You my little fr-er Hmm that wouldn’t be appropriate. I suppose I will just have to call you Major or Kirrahe until I can find the proper term.” she shook her head, clearly musing to herself. “Anyways, to answer your question, you are currently in the Royal Palace of Canterlot, which is the Capital of the Country of Equestria and the world of Equis.” She responded quickly, having obviously been expecting the question and had the answer thought out ahead of time.
Kirrahe looked at her for a few moments before he spoke.
“Canter-lot... Equis-tria...” Kirrahe repeated. It was strange, his VI seems to be drawing associations with various similar words in the Human English language, attaching the translations as plays on various human words in order to be as ‘accurate’ as possible.
That might become a cultural issue later if humans became involved. Although it wasn’t something he could worry about right that moment.
“Now that I’ve answered one of your questions, will you answer one of mine?” Celestia asked with a nod.
“I suppose that that’s only fair,” Kirrahe replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“What are you, for starters?” Celestia inquired, clearly having been wanting to ask this simple question for weeks. “Are you some sort of alien...”
“Well yes, I suppose in your terms. Although in ‘my’ terms, ‘you’ would be the alien. From quite a few people’s terms actually. But seeing as how this is your planet, I suppose it applies more to myself.”
“But from what species?” Celestia inquired, not elated that her magisters had been correct in their belief that the Major was in fact a being from another world. “It’s not everyday I get to ask somepony.... er.. someone that.”
“I am what is known as a salarian.” Kirrahe nodded, amazed at how well this exchange was going and shifting on the bed, trying to make himself comfortable for what was sure to be the first of many long, foundation building conversations.
“Major...” Liara started, shaking her head in amazement. “That has to be... the most amicable first-contact story I have ever heard.”
“Certainly better than ours.” Kaiden nodded.
“Yeah, you humans are never going to let us live down Shanxi are you?” Garrus shook his head.
“I have spent the great majority of my time during and after my recovery learning what I could about the planet and its civilizations. In return, I gave them insight into the galactic government, the various species, and the Reaper War. As time went on, I constructed my report and persuaded Celestia to allow me access to the damaged lifepod they had recovered.” Kirrahe continued, summarizing the remainder of his tale.
“It took some work, but I managed to cannibalize enough components to build a crude transmission module and send my initial report. That was four months ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any traces of the other lifepods. Based on the evidence, I concluded they were completely destroyed on re-entry without the Navigation VI’s to correct for angle of descent.” He sighed and shook his head.
“They just gave you access to the lifepod again?” Shepard asked, surprised at the move which would have never occurred under similar circumstances with Pre-first contact humanity.
“Indeed... as I said, they are a very... kind species. Earning their trust was not difficult.” Kirrahe said with a nod. “At first, I was concerned about exposing them to the wider galaxy, but now I believe they will not only persevere, but thrive.”
“Hey Commander. The cloud cover and weather systems at the coordinates Kirrahe gave us just cleared up, as in all of it, at once, real freaky like.” Joker said via the intercom, a note of surprise easily evident in his voice. “Um... would that be the signal?”
“Yes, that sounds like her,” Kirrahe nodded with a small, confirming smirk. “I suppose that Celestia finished whatever preparations she needed done. We should not keep her waiting.”
“Thanks for the heads up, Joker.” Shepard told Joker.
“Yeah... damn creepy if you ask me,” Joker said before turning off the intercom.
“Alright people, meet in the shuttle bay in ten minutes. Dress blues. Remember, we’re ambassadors here,” Shepard stated. “We need to look the part.”
Shepard exited the elevator, tugging at his blue dress uniform in a failed attempt to make it feel more comfortable. This was the first time he’d had to wear the outfit since the War Summit, and even though he knew he was imagining it, he still felt like it was too small.
Surprisingly, he was the last one to arrive and as he looked down at his crew, he nodded in satisfaction. Each of them wearing the closest thing they had to formal-wear, even Grunt and Garrus who, while both wearing their armor, had managed to add some buff and polish. This gave them the distinct impression of being guards for the group, but considering who it was they were ‘guarding’ it was mostly a formality.
They all knew that Shepard was perfectly capable of defending himself in almost any situation. A destroyed sushi restaurant and several dozen dead mercs were evidence enough of that. But even so, Shepard had learned that it was always better to be safe than sorry. And since then he had made it his policy to be armed at all times.
As he approached the weapon’s locker, Shepard took note of Grunt in his buffed and polished armor. Unfortunately, in spite of his formal attire, it was clear that the Ambassador of Tuchanka was not in such a formal mood.
“What the hell do you mean no big guns?!” Grunt snarled, clearly disliking the concept as Kirrahe stood between the krogan and the Normandy weapon’s locker.
“Aside from them being completely unnecessary for diplomatic contact?” Kirrahe countered, his tone cool, but firm. “The Equestrians are completely unfamiliar with our mass accelerator weapons. Going in before of the rulers of ponykind armed with a Claymore or a Phaeston would be the equivalent of threatening to use a M-920 Cain to open a locked door.”
Actually, as Shepard considered, he was fairly certain he had done that before.
“So you’re telling us that we’re going down there unarmed?” Garrus gestured to Kirrahe, clearly as disgruntled as the tank-bred krogan by this piece of information.
“I didn’t say that.” The salarian shook his head, turning and opening the locker for himself as he looked for something suitable.. “But you must be more subtle with your selection. They are curious creatures and won’t recognize the dangers of the more advanced weaponry. That could lead to a terrible tragedy.”
“I am guessing that is why your ‘bodyguard’ is packing knives.” Garrus jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to the still helmed Tanlan before Kirrahe offered them each a heavy pistol.
“Indeed. Now, these are similar in shape to my Scorpion, and as long as you keep them on you they shouldn’t cause any trouble.” The Major explained as krogan and turian took the guns, neither looking impressed with the major’s selection. “Just be discreet and try not to shoot at anything.”
“Well, better than nothing I suppose.” Garrus pulled back the clip-jacket on the Phalanx and holding it out at arm’s length to judge it’s balance.
“I feel like I’m going to break this damn thing.” Grunt complained, holding the M-3 Predator in his hands as if it were made of glass
“I don’t know why you’re bothering, Grunt.” Shepard shook his head, moving up to Kirrahe’s side and reaching in, drawing out his M-77 Paladin. “I would think you’re tough enough to handle a few ponies if they got out of hand, am I right?”
“Except if I actually hit them, it’ll do more damage than the gun and then Wrex will chew my tail out about why his was chewed out by the Council.” Grunt stated with a roll of his eyes as he placed it at his hip receptacle. “Fine I’ll use the spitball shooter.”
“Anything else we should know?” Shepard turned his attention to Kirrahe now that the immediate issue of the upset krogan had been dealt with, checking the Paladin in his hands.
“I can fill you in on the rest in route.”
“Alright then, everyone into the Kodiak,” Shepard said, walking up to the shuttle and claiming one of the edge seats. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
The rest filed in after him, with the exception of Tali and Kaidan who had taken the pilot’s seats and were prepping for launch. Garrus, and Liara joined Shepard next, with Grunt taking up the last available bit of room on the seat. Kirrahe and Tanlan took the seat opposite of them, the Major sitting right in front of Shepard.
“Alright, Breaking Atmosphere in five. ETA to planetside coordinates, fifteen minutes. Am I landing anywhere in particular, Major?”
“Approach the coordinates from magnetic west, Celestia should have the skies clear for us. I’ll guide you by landmarks once we are on approach. Just in case, be sure to watch out for pedestrians in the clouds.”
“Uhh... right?” Tali replied, her voice perplexed.
“No...seriously. Watch for pedestrians. Scan the clouds for heat signatures before you move through them as a precaution.”
“Will do, Major.” Kaiden nodded, waving off Tali before she could reply.
There was a slight sense of vertigo as the mass effect compensators of the kodiak kicked in, the shuttle pulsing forward and out of the Normandy’s hangar bay to begin its descent towards Equis.
The silence in the cockpit lasted for perhaps three seconds before Liara spoke up.
“Major, from what you’ve told us so far, it’s apparent that these Equestrians are intelligent, and that their leader, this Celestia was kind enough to rescue you. But I still don’t understand why it is that you’re so... taken with them,” Liara stated carefully, not wanting to insult the salarian soldier.
“Like I have said many times before: they are so much more than they appear to be!” Kirrahe told him. “It is not something that can be described in a written report. You have to understand that during my stay I was treated quite well. Of course that merely aroused my suspicions that something must be wrong with this idyllic setting my hosts were paining for me, so once I had recovered, I pushed the boundaries of what I was allowed more than a few times. It was mostly during those outings that I gathered what intelligence I could on life outside of the palace and surrounding areas.”
“I doubt Celestia and her military forces cared for that.” Shepard reasoned. After all, having an alien give you the slip and then go running around unsupervised was the stuff B-Grade horror vids were made of.
“Actually, I have come to the conclusion that Celestia was well aware of my ‘excursions’. I’ve learned the hard way it’s rather hard to hide anything from her. Normally this would be a concern, but what I found during my recons was certainly enlightening. To gauge the mentality of the population i set up a series of social experiments. On more than one occasion I revealed my presence to some of the citizenry.”
“That sounds dangerous.” Garrus shook his head.
“Indeed, but it was a calculated risk. However the result was always the same. Shock and confusion at first, followed by curiosity, then acceptance.”
“Alright. So they treated you kindly. But that-”
“Kindly? No, you don’t understand. They treated me like family.” Kirrahe said, interrupting him. “Celestia usually showed up shortly afterwards, indulging the ponies I had encountered with an explanation and swore them to secrecy before giving me the option to return to the castle with her. I refused her once just to see what she would do.”
Kirrahe smirked. “She stayed with me that night. A princess, practically a goddess in the eyes of her people, resting in the hay in a barn, debating philosophies with a career soldier. It was... she showed me things the likes of which I had not imagined could exist outside of the realm of fiction.” The salarian stopped for a moment and shook his head. “I know how I must sound right now, Shepard. But trust me when I say that this world contains wonders the likes of which our galaxy has never before seen.”
Silence followed his pronouncement
Shepard decided that now was a good time to change the topic of discussion to something slightly less... sensitive.
“So, Major how good is your translation program?” Shepard asked the salarian. Kirrahe looked at him with a smile and nodded.
“It is fully functional. I had more than long enough to perfect it” he said before frowning slightly. “However there are some words that simply don’t translate.”
“Am I going to have to worry about accidentally calling one of the Princesses fat?” Shepard asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. Kirrahe waved a hand in front of him to dash the thought.
“No, no need to worry about that,” he said. “The translation should work with most casual and even formal conversation. The problems like in technical terms and mechanical jargon. Mostly things that they don’t have words for, like advanced physics involving the mass effect... or things that our languages don’t have a firm lexicon for, like the mechanics of their magic.” The salarian frowned.
“How bad of an issue is it, would Glyph be able to help?” Liara asked.
“Like I said, not terrible, it simply makes it difficult to discuss the nature of science and sorcery.” Kirrahe replied.
“That makes sense, they’re each things that the other group lacks,” Garrus commented.
“Indeed, and I truly believe they are both things that the other group needs. Particularly after the Reaper war.” the Major nodded. “If the galaxy needs one thing right now, it needs a reassurance that there is still something untarnished and pure in the universe.”
Shepard felt himself shift uncomfortably in his seat at this surprisingly philosophical concept, having to fight down a sudden feeling of internal repulsion as he remembered what the Council seemed to think the galaxy really needed right now.
“How do you think introductions will go between us and these Princesses?” Shepard asked Kirrahe, eager to keep the track of the conversation directed in a manner constructive for their mission.
“They should go smoothly,” Kirrahe explained. “The reception will be small. A delegation of the Equestrian leadership and a few select VIP’s will greet us in the Canterlot Gardens when we land.”
“Bodyguards?” Garrus asked, clearly more concerned with the security angle rather than the celebrities. He had been around long enough to know that these sort of ‘historic’ meetings were usually far more boring than the vids made them out to be... unless there was something unexpected like a terrorist attack or something of that nature.
“No, they won’t be needed.” Kirrahe shook his head. “While Celestia and Luna do maintain a personal contingent of guard in public, they are apparently ceremonial. My understanding is that the Alicorns are all quite capable of protecting themselves should they feel threatened.”
“So who can we expect?” Shepard leaned forward, folding his hands together as he tried to squeeze the last bits of information he could get from the salarian.
It was only now that he realized how woefully unprepared he was for this mission. They knew next to nothing about the society or the intricacies of this culture. All information they had to go on at this point came from Kirrahe himself, and while Shepard maintained a high degree of respect for the STG commander, he had been uncharacteristically cryptic and vague in his descriptions of the situation.”
“Of course, first and foremost will be Celestia herself. By far the most powerful and influential of the alicorn rulers. Aside from her will be Luna, the ‘Princess of the Night’. Very formal, a great deal of pomp and circumstance. That being said, we are not on the best of terms.”
“What do you mean?” Liara pushed the subject, noticing the salarian’s split second of hesitation.
“Luna rather dislikes me... well not exactly dislikes, perhaps mistrusts?” Kirrahe sighed. “She is more suspicious than her sister and recognizes the potential threat we pose. I can respect her caution however. She will not be outwardly hostile, but she will require more proof of our peaceful intentions. ”
“I see.” Shepard nodded. He was genuinely hoping that this Luna’s concern was misplaced. “So that is the two leaders. Who else?”
“The third alicorn is a mare known as The Crystal Princess: Mi Amore Cadenza, who is Celestia’s niece.”
“So she’s Luna’s daughter?” Shepard asked.
“No.”
“Oh, so they had another sister.”
“No, apparently Celestia and Luna are not directly related to Princess Mi Amore at all.”
“Wait...then how....”
“I have no idea...” Kirrahe shook his head. “When I pressed Celestia on the subject, she became very evasive.”
“Heh, maybe a wizard did it.” Grunt huffed, looking quite bored and antsy, which wasn’t surprising in the enclosed space.
“In any case, Mi Amore rules Equestria’s most intimate ally; a small nation to their north known as the Crystal Empire. I don’t know the details, but there was recently some sort of political struggle which ended with her being crowned the Crystal Princess. Also in attendance will be her husband: Prince Shining Armor. Celestia told me he was an accomplished soldier and formerly the Captain of her own Royal Guard.”
“That’s four...” Liara nodded.
“The last group in attendance will be the fourth and last alicorn in existence and her personal entourage.” Kirrahe nodded as the shuttle rattled, a sure sign of turbulence as they started to level out in re-entry and get down into the atmosphere. “Princess Twilight Sparkle was recently crowned as the third ruler of Equestria. I have not met her myself, but I am told she is the youngest among them and something of an academic prodigy. I was also informed to warn you she will be bristling with questions.”
“Oh look Liara, we found you a pony friend before we even landed.” Garrus clicked his mandibles, a sure sign of amusement as the asari turned with a glare directed towards him.
“Princess Twilight will be accompanied by a group referred to collectively as the ‘Elements of Harmony’.”
“They brought a band but no guards? That’s like having lakes with no fish.” Grunt ...well, grunted. “I don’t understand aliens at all.”
“The nature of these ‘elements’ is not something I was privy to.” Kirrahe shook his head. “Based on the descriptions I received, they would appear to be some sort of cultural celebrities. They are spoken of with a remarkable level of reverence by the Princesses but I have yet to discover why.”
“We will be arriving at coordinates in five.” Tali called back from the pilots chair, “Major, We may need you soon.”
“Can you think of anything that we should know before we land?” Liara asked quickly as Kirrahe stood. “In regards to formalities or etiquette. I wouldn’t want this to end before it started because we accidentally insulted one of these Princesses.”
“Ah, yes, there is one thing I must mention.,” Kirrahe said.
“Being?” Liara asked, raising her eyebrow.
“The ponies do not wear clothing outside of formal events,” The Major began. “In fact, to do so is considered offensive by their society. Thus, in order to avoid insulting their culture or inciting panic we will be expected to be in the nude for the rest of our visit. I believe you humans use the phrase, when in Rome.” He finished while looking at Shepard for confirmation.
The silence in the cabin was deafening.
“Re-really?” Liara gasped, obviously shocked by his assertion.
“No,” Kirrahe replied with a grin. “That was a joke.”
Liara sputtered like a teapot for a moment, her face a mixture of outrage and embarrassment. The the rest of the crew let her stew for a moment, and then began to chuckle.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to help Miss Vas Normandy set us down in the right place and make sure that she doesn’t hit any pegasi,” Kirrahe told them before he got to his feet and walked into the cabin. Predictably, Tanlan followed him wordlessly, clearly going out of his way to keep a watch over the Major.
“Well that was... interesting,” Garrus said slowly.
“Yes, very.” Shepard agreed. “You alright Liara?”
“I am fine, the joke simply caught me off guard,” Liara replied simply while turning to the window, away from her snickering friends. “I was not aware that the Major had such a sense of humor.”
“Something tells me it was a recent development.” The commander folded his hands together as he leaned forward, lowering his tone. “What do you think?”
“Something definitely happened to him down there.” The asari shook her head, crossing her arms as she leaned back. “He doesn’t seem entirely like the Kirrahe I remember. The differences are subtle, but they are certainly there.”
“I don’t know, I think I like the new Kirrahe.” Garrus joined the conversation with a chuckle. “He’s lightened up a little bit.”
“It is no laughing matter. The Salarian Union wouldn’t have that guard on him if they were not concerned, Shepard.” Liara pointed out. “I think it would be prudent for us to stay together down there until we have a better handle on the situation.”
“Agreed. I don’t get the feeling that he’s lying to us, but...”
“Keelah... ” Tali called from the front seat. “Shawn! You might want to see this.”
Shepard tensed for a moment before he recognized the emotion in the quarian’s voice.
She wasn’t concerned, she was awed.
Standing and moving to a side panel, Shepard activated a vid screen that was designed to facilitate real-time communications with the Kodiak Passengers and a Command Ship, but was now linked to the forward visual sensors.
Shepard watched the image for a moment in silence.
“Liara... come take a look at this.”
The Asari obeyed, coming over quickly followed by Garrus and even Grunt, who was not to be left out.
“That-that’s impossible!” Liara exclaimed.
“Is that your professional opinion, Doctor T’Soni?” Garrus asked, although he couldn’t help but be amazed as well.
On the vid was an image of a stone spire mountain, a majestic peak of purplish blue stone capped with pristine snow. But this was hardly the remarkable thing... as hanging from the side of the mountain, supported only by thin looking struts of an ivory metal was a massive city, dominated by a series of gold, purple, and white spires. Although much of the mountainside city was reasonably set and supported, a large portion of the Castle simply hung off the side of the mountain over the open air, precariously perched as if the architect had not considered gravity to be a major concern when constructing this marvel of engineering.
“Welcome to Canterlot, Commander.” Kirrahe stated as he moved back towards the cabin, a small smile on his face as he took in the expressions on the faces of each of the gathered ambassadors. “You think this is something? Just wait till you see Cloudsdale.”
“So these aliens fly through space on ships made out of metal using engines that control physics and changes the mass of an object in order to send them careening through space at faster than light speeds?” Pinkie asked Twilight as the six awaited the arrival their guests in the courtyard along with Celestia, Luna, Empress Cadence and Shining Armor. Although it had been strongly urged by the Solar and Lunar courts to have a contingent of guards at the ready, Celestia had dismissed the suggestion as being ‘a poor way to make an impression.’
Thankfully, Twilight had her friends to distract her from just how vulnerable she felt now standing in a lovely new dress made just for this occasion.
“Um in laymare’s terms yes.” Twilight confirmed, her eyebrow slightly raised. She didn’t know why she was even surprised anymore. “No offense Pinkie, but I didn’t think you’d follow that.”
“Well duh, of course I followed it, think of the pranks I could pull!” Pinkie said with a massive, and extremely worrying, grin. “Just imagine if I could adapt this technology to my party cannon!”
“Wo’nelly, Twilight, that grin right there’s a bad sign!” Applejack chuckled.
“Yeah, although... she’s right!” Rainbow Dash said, a smile that almost matched Pinkie’s except in terms of sheer implausibility spreading across her face. “Hold on, what if we spruced up the party cannon with this, then I get in and we launch ME at that sort of speed. I bet I could set a few new pegasi speed records AND finally reach the velocity to perform the mythical Double Rainboom!”
“Darlings, really? First contact with an entire galaxy’s worth of species, and you’re thinking about the pranks you could play using their technology?” Rarity asked the two.
“Um, yeah? What else would we be thinking about?” Dash asked.
“Oh, I don’t know darling,” Rarity began with a roll of her eyes. “What about all of the new species that are out there, and all of the dashing young stallions out there?” Rarity asked, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Ah don’t know Rares, not many of them sound all that ‘dashing’ to me,” Applejack said, shaking her head.
“Oh nonsense,” Rarity retorted. “I’m sure that there must be some gallant young starship captains out there. Facing the Unknown! Seeking out new life and new friendships... Boldly going... ”
Applejack took a quick step to the side and away from the dreamy eyed unicorn, although she did get the attention of another pony who was standing a short distance away in the same dress uniform he had been wearing for his wedding just over a year and a half earlier.
“You mean like Captain Dirk?” Shining Armor asked her with a raised eyebrow.
“Why yes! Prince Armor, I am amazed you know the works of Rod N. Berry!” Rarity replied with a shocked grin. “I mean, I had assumed that a military pony like you would never have read that type of literature,”
Shining snorted. “I haven’t touched the new stuff. Rod N. Berry Sr. knew how to write an adventure story, but ever since his son took over writing and rebooted the series, it’s been nothing but Dirk flying around space picking up alien mares. I mean, sure, in the old series he got a mare by the end of the book, but he had other things going on too!” he protested with a roll of his eyes.
“Oh look, is that their craft over there?” Pinkie asked, pointing off into the distance. All of her friends turned to look in the direction that she’d pointed before turning back to her in confusion.
“Pinkie Darling, that was a duck!” Rarity explained calmly.
“Awww... OH! Wait that’s even better, do you think it could’ve been the majestic space duck?” She inquired, her head cocking to the side slightly as she thought about it.
“Pinkie, there’s ain’t no such thing as space ducks.” AJ put in.
“Aww, I wanted to see the space ducks!” Pinkie said with a pout.
“I have some ducks... if you’d like to see them,” Fluttershy offered.
“Wait, how do we know that they don’t have ducks in space?” Rarity tapped her chin with one hoof, her expression contemplative. “I mean, it could happen?”
“Yeah you’re right! And don’t forget the space hamsters!” Pinkie said with a grin.
“In any case, I think we’ll know an space-ship when we see it.” Twilight told them all, trying to get the subject away from space ducks and hamsters.
“Hey, Twi, wait a minute, if these ponies are coming down from the sky, then won’t somepony in the city see their fancy space-ship?” Applejack asked suddenly as though the thought had only just occurred to her.
“They might.” Celestia spoke up suddenly, her tone pleasant as she stood stock still looking up to the beautiful sunny sky. “If I didn’t have the Royal Guard actively maintaining a cordon along the approach vector.”
“Approach whattzits?” AJ tilted her head.
“Aeronautics term.” Rainbow came to her friends rescue, “It means we are planning on them coming towards us from that direction.”
“Oh, right... uhh, I knew that.” Applejack offered with a small chuckle and blush.
“It’s quite alright Applejack,” Celestia said before she turned her attention to Rarity, giving the mare a knowing smile. “And as to your earlier queries Rarity, I believe that you should try and find an asari captain. From what I understand, they are very friendly with nearly every species, considered exceedingly beautiful and very graceful as well.”
“Oh really?” Rarity perked, clearly intrigued.
“Although as I understand, they are all mares.” Celestia said with a small smile with a glint in her eyes. “Still, I don’t suppose that should matter, now should it?”
Rarity blushed scarlet. “I-um...thank you for that suggestion, Princess. I’ll be sure to look into it,” she stammered.
“It’s what I do,” Celestia said with another wink.
“Auntie Tia stop doing my job!” Cadence scolded the elder alicorn who simply cocked her head to the side.
“What job Cadence? I was just giving The Element of Generosity some advice on who she should travel with if she wishes to leave Equestria,” Celestia inquired with a sly grin. “Certainly you are not suggesting I was trying to encourage anything more than that.”
Cadence shook her head, clearly annoyed at the elder Alicorn’s antics, but unwilling to press the subject.
Twilight, who had known Celestia most of her life, had a very specific name for that grin. It was a what Twilight termed the ‘Trollestia’ grin. She reserved it for nobles who annoyed her, ponies who she had recently pranked, and last but not least, her own family members when she knew she’d gotten the better of them.
Twilight took stock of the situation.
They had been standing out here for over half an hour now since Celestia had parted the cloud cover, standing around in their fineries and each wearing their best. And that time was beginning to wear thin on some ponies nerves. In particular Twilight noted how her brother had been growing steadily more anxious while her friends seemed to have dropped formality and were just acting like themselves.
Cadence, meanwhile, was looking uncharacteristically worried and Twilight was actually finding herself avoiding eye contact with Princess Luna, as the Nocturnal Princess looked both irritated and exhausted, having clearly been up all through the night before.
“So, when are they going to get here?” Shining Armor asked, filling in for his wife who was still glaring silently with impotent fury at her aunt.
“Well, they’re currently flying over Canterlot as we speak, so they should be touching down in about a minute,” Celestia answered with certainty, her eyes closed as the alicorn grinned.
At this announcement, everypony started to straightened up and stood tall.
“Sister, is everything as prepared as it possibly can be?” Luna asked Celestia, speaking for the first time since they had gathered out here in the Canterlot Gardens, a concerned frown on her face.
“Nothing can ever be perfectly prepared, Luna. But I believe we have come close,” Celestia answered easily. “Let us wait until our guests arrive before we begin to panic.”
“So you are perfectly at ease about this then, Tia?”
“Of course I am.” Celestia nodded.
“Then why are Twilight and her friends wearing the Elements?” Luna asked, her tone neutral, yet demanding an answer.
“Oh, just in case...” Celestia smirked playfully as she subtly bumped Luna with her hips, almost causing the blue alicorn to stumble. Luna snorted in annoyance once she’d regained her balance.
“How you can be so immature about this, Tia? By your own account, this is the biggest most important event in our planet’s history and you’re just standing here as if we’re out here waiting for a picnic!” Luna whispered furtively to Celestia at a volume that not even Cadence or Twilight could hear.
“Oh, I’m a nervous wreck right now, Lulu. To be honest, I want nothing more than to run back inside and grab a slice of cake to calm my nerves. But I doubt that that would make a good first impression.”
“A slice of cake?” Luna asked flatly.
“Half is a slice.” Celestia defended herself. Luna let out a surprised snicker, and a bit of the tension drained out of her.
An odd, almost explosive sound suddenly filled the air, accompanied by a high, shrill noise that caused each of the gathered ponies to look up in surprise.
In the distance, a slight shimmer against the deep blue sky could be seen, growing larger within the space of a breath until details could be made out. A blue and white metal box that was curved along the front, four leg like extensions emitting a glowing white flame that seemed to shift and move as if it were swimming through the air.
Then a brief few seconds later, the fast moving box was upon the gathered ponies, inexplicably slowing before it came to hover over them. The gust of wind thrown off from under the alien craft blew back the manes of the ponies below them.
Fluttershy jumped behind her friends in fearful surprise at the sudden appearance of the craft while Rarity scrambled to use her forelegs to try and protect her perfectly coifed mane from the gust. Everypony else stared in awe and shock, save for Celestia and Luna who had already experienced the arrival and departure of one such craft several days previous simply watched patiently as the shuttle lowered itself downwards gently before the lights from the end of each leg were suddenly extinguished, causing the craft to drop the last few inches heavily upon the grass.
There was utter silence for a moment before a hissing pop acted as a warning before the side of the vessel rose up and then slid back along the side.
It was all that Rarity could do to keep from swooning while everypony else watched the lanky creature that emerged first.
Twilight found herself having to fight to keep from shaking as her eyes took in the thin form of the frog-like alien, his chest concave with those enormous amphibian eyes and two cranial horns from his head. She had studied the description of the ‘Salarian’ astutely, committing them to memory as she did so many facts about the world, but all the same, she could not help but be overwhelmed as she found the simple weight of the alien being’s presence hitting her all at once.
Until just now, it had just been stories and something expected to happen ‘later’.
Now... there was an alien, right in front of her... and she had no idea what she was going to say.
Major Kirrahe, on the other hoof, seemed to be perfectly calm as he stepped out and back onto Equestrian soil. He grinned as he looked around, quickly taking in the scene before him, before he took a deep breath.
“Princess Celestia... Princess Luna... Your Majesty Mi Amore and Your Highness Twilight Sparkle. On behalf of the Citadel Council, this ambassadorial party hereby requests permission to disembark.”
“Permission granted, Major Kirrahe.” Celestia nodded pleasantly. “Welcome back.”
“Good to be back,” he stated, leaving the Princess of Friendship shocked at the perfect Equestrian the creature spoke even while it kept grinning and then gave each of the ponies present a bow.
“Your majesties... It is my great honor to Introduce the Council’s Representative and perhaps the finest sentient I have ever know... my friend....”
Then he stepped aside to allow a new alien to emerge. It was similarly shaped, standing on two legs, but unlike Kirrahe, was solidly built, reminding Twilight immediately of a flat-faced, hornless minotaur. It was wearing a clean blue suit with a multitude of medals on it shaped like stars, hearts, and other icons. It’s blonde hair reflected slightly in the sunlight and it’s blue eyes rapidly took in the scene before it. Then, it opened it’s mouth and in a surprisingly clear and calm voice stated.
“Hello, I’m Commander Shepard and... we come in peace.”
There was a moment of silence...and then Twilight facehoofed.
As it turned out, some cliches really were universal.