Chapter 4: Twilight Sparkle
The woods were peaceful, serene, perfect. All around him, children played. They were happy and without care in the world. There was an indescribable noise, that shook him to his very core. At its sounding, all of the children turned to look to the sky, which was painted red. There was something enormous coming towards them. It was a monster and it was coming closer. Shepard reached out, trying to save them, trying to shield them, trying to do something, anything. But he couldn't move, and the monster kept wailing out it's terrible sound. And it kept coming closer, and closer, and closer.
No matter what Shepard did, he couldn't save them all. He couldn't save any of them. He ran as fast as he could, somehow, breaking loose of the invisible grip that held him. There was a barrier in his way, it was a window. He pushed it open, and ran out onto a wooden balcony, slowly the light came to his eyes, and he realized where he was. It was just a dream. He was breathing heavily, and his limbs ached from the exhausting, rapid movements. He leaned over the edge of the balcony, putting his face into his hands as he tried to relax. Eventually he sighed, looking upwards at the beautiful star-lit night. The sight of it, along with chirping crickets relaxed him.
He moved his sore body back inside with the intent of slipping himself back into bed. But a dim lit candle caught his eye. He took a few steps over to the stairs, leaning over the railing. He observed the unicorn, paging through books, looking as bright eyed as ever.
Shepard smirked,“Do ponies usually get up before dawn?” he asked.
Twilight turned around to look at him with a bit of a jump, “Oh, well no. I'm the exception... I usually go on just a few hours of sleep. Far too much studying or work to do for me I guess,” she said with a giggle, “What about you, is everything alright?” she said looking to him with concern.
Shepard thought back to his nightmare but brushed it off, “It's nothing, just... having a little trouble adjusting is all.”
“Is the bed too soft? Or too firm?” she asked.
Shepard chuckled, shaking his head, “The bed's fine Twilight. What are you reading there?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
Twilight looked back down to her book, then another stack of books next to it on her desk, “Well, I've actually been trying to find something... about you Shepard. Or, where you come from, or even how you got here...” she said as she used her horn to page through a few more books.
Shepard grabbed the railing and carefully made his way down the stairs, “Any luck?” he asked.
Twilight looked at him with a puzzled look, “No actually... I haven't been able to find anything. Which is really rather odd... I'd think that if the Princess knew anything, or even knew where to look she'd point me in the right direction... I don't think we know anything about where you came from though... other than that weird looking craft you came out of...” she said as she kept frantically looking through books.
Shepard crossed his arms, leaning on a wall, “Craft?” he asked, this was the first time he heard of it. She couldn't possibly mean... the Normandy, could she?
“What can you tell me about this craft Twilight?” he pressed her.
She turned to look at him, “Well it was pretty big... about the size of a train car, except... shorter. It had a bunch of words on it, I don't know what they meant though, I think one of them was 'Kodiak', and 'Alliance',” she looked a little sadly towards him, “It looked pretty banged up Shepard...”
Twilight looked back at her books again, “But that still didn't give me any clues as to where you're from...”
Shepard stepped forward. Now he actually had some kind of lead on how to get home. If he could get that Kodiak working, maybe he could get himself out of here, or even if he couldn't, if he could at least get it powered up, he could access the map, and pinpoint his location.
“Twilight, you have to get me to that ship, that may be the key to me getting out of here...” he spoke to her, perhaps a bit harshly.
She was about to ask him if it was because he didn't like it here. But she knew better. Whether he liked it here or not, he would want to get back home, “Shepard, you're still pretty banged up. We have the ship safely in a barn at Sweet Apple Acres, it isn't going anywhere. Why don't you at least take another day or so to rest up here?” she said
He looked sternly to her, “I need to get to that ship Twilight Sparkle...” he said firmly. He turned to make his way to the door.
Twilight Sparkle jumped beside him, “Do you really need to go right now though? It isn't even morning yet,” she exclaimed.
Shepard shot her a cold stare. It was a frustrated look, and he needed a moment to get his bearings. He thought that he might shout, might scream at her at this. Of course he needed to go right now, he needed to leave here before he even arrived. He didn't belong here, he had a home. There were people there who needed him. What would happen to them if he wasn't there? What if it didn't work and the reapers were still attacking? What if it was already all over? He couldn't stick around in this place, in this fantasy land, pretending that nothing was going on back on earth.
Twilight could see the pain and frustration on his face and she wanted to help him, “Shepard, what's wrong? I know you'd want to get back home as soon as you could but... is this place really so bad?” she asked him
He turned his head to her, letting out a deep breath as he contained himself. He shook his head, “No Twilight... that's not it...” he turned around and sat on the stairs, setting his face in his hands.
Twilight walked up to him, setting a hoof on his arm, “Tell me what's wrong, Shepard,” she asked him, looking into his eyes with concern.
“My home... where I'm from is in danger. Or at least, it was, I don't know. People back where I'm from are counting on me. They need me, and I'm not there for them,” he sighed, trying to contain his emotions, “I don't know if everything's ok there, Twilight. There were these...” his memory brought him back to the reapers, “I don't want to talk about it... I just know I need to get home, I have to...”
Twilight sat there for a moment, trying hard to work through his words, trying to think of something to say, before something came to mind, “You were trying to help weren’t you, back on earth? Did you try your best?” she asked with concern.
Shepard turned to her, he was surprised at this for a moment before he understood, no one had ever asked him if had had “done his best before.”
“I’ve never thought about doing my best Twilight. My best isn’t good enough, not where I’m from. Where I’m from, and in my time, I have to succeed. I have to come out victorious. If I don’t, I’ll have all the ghosts of the people I let down to answer to,” he clenched his eyes shut for a moment before looking into the piercing dawn, “Everyone is counting on it, always… everyone…”
Twilight stood there jaw agape, “Everyone… everyone… on your whole planet?” not only making her mind reel, wondering just who this person was, but all of the anxiety, and emotional torment that must have gone with being responsible with who knows how many citizens. And here little Twilight would lose her mind if she was late for a paper.
“Shepard… what about your friends? You do have friends right? I know that a lot of people are counting on you, but you can’t succeed alone, no one can! No one should ever have to bear that amount of weight on their shoulders, not all by themselves…” she said, standing up on her hind legs, resting her forehooves against him, trying to comfort the soldier.
Garrus, Tali, Anderson, Samara, Wrex, Jacob, Miranda, Grunt, Joker. All his friends had his back, ever since he started. They had all helped him out, how could he have been so selfish? Even if he’s gone, they won’t go down without a fight, they won’t let the reapers win. Even if he is gone for good, he knows the galaxy is in good hands, hands that he’d fought next to, bled next to, and saved lives next to.
Shepard sighed, and he looked down at the small pony next to him. She looked quite concerned for him. So he gave her a little smile, and moved away from the balcony, taking a seat on one of the wooden benches, “You’re right Twilight…” he said nodding to her, “I can count on my friends to help earth, I know they’ll succeed,” he looked to the side, “But I still don’t like not knowing what happened, I don’t like not being able to help them, when they’ve given so much for me.”
Twilight trotted next to him, “And you will be able to help them. Right now though, you can help them by getting well,” she chuckled, “Even if you could get back immediately, you wouldn’t be much help to your friends, and earth if you’re all banged up!”
He chuckled at this, working his torn muscles to stand back up, “Guess I’d better try to get a few more hours of sleep. Maybe you oughta try some yourself Twilight,” he said, stretching out before he started to make his way up the stairs.
She nodded to him, “Oh don’t you worry about me, I’m not the one that left a crater in the ground, and crashed head first… Go ahead and get some more sleep John, I’ll have breakfast ready for you when you get up,” She said motioning him away.
As shepard slowly got himself back into the small beds, he laid there. Reminiscing about all of the times he’s had with his crew members, his teammates, his friends. He probably wouldn’t be alive himself if it wasn’t for all of their efforts and sacrifices. They won’t stop, not until they’ve beaten the reapers, that much he could be sure of. Still, the thought of the reapers haunted him. He knew his friends would never quit, but just as they’d never abandon him, he would never want to abandon them. If there was something, anything he could do to save just one of them, he would jump on it in a heartbeat, he hated the idea of being away from them, leaving them to fight that monster on their own. That monster.
The reapers seemed to be attracted to Shepard, and follow him wherever he went. Or maybe it was the other way around. The memories began to come back to him. It was his last shot, it was all of their last shots. He tried to stop the reapers… there was a bright flash and then. What happened? What happened to the Normandy, and what happened to Earth? The worst part was not knowing, not knowing whether the reapers were defeated, or whether they had survived, and were still tearing up the Alliance. The galaxy could be in trouble, and here he was, laying down, in some mysterious, strangely vibrant, non space faring world. They had to have made it, it must have worked, it must have! The reapers can’t win, they can’t.
A few hours later, John awoke. The sun peered in a deep, crisp golden color that lit up the air. It was beautiful. He had never seen a sun like this before, not even on earth. As he stood up and brought himself to the window, he felt the freshness of the new day. He was strong, and he was soldier. He would find a way, and everything would be ok, he just knew it. Everything was going to be fine.