Chapter 11: To the Stars
Shepard lead the procession toward the downed Collector cruiser. There was already a sizable crowd growing around it, being kept back by the remaining guards. All made way as the recognizable human strode through the crowd, Princess Luna walking at her side. Both wore expressions that didn’t invite anypony to ask them questions. Rainbow Dash flew overhead looking ready to dive on any alien that might poke its head out of the craft.
The Princess Twilight Sparkle brought up the rear, her steadfast friend Applejack at her side. She didn’t look terribly pleased with how the day’s events had been unfolding. Dozens of ponies dead, more abducted… including her beloved mentor. Rationally she knew panic and worry would help nopony at all, but she was growing more and more antsy with each passing second.
When Princess Luna had first told her of Celestia’s abduction Twilight’s first thought was teleporting after them. Luna assured her this was impossible, their vessel left far too quickly to be pursued. Shepard was the first to the crashed ship, the woman glaring at the wreckage ferociously. “Legion can you find a hatch?”
Shepard’s silvery omni-tool appeared, the interfaces flashing across her arm as her A.I. scanned the ship. “Yes. Proceed to the right, I have begun taking control of their systems remotely, the hatch will open momentarily.”
Turning on her heel Shepard moved along the right side without hesitation. About fifty feet along a seemingly smooth wall hissed open and separated into two halves, revealing a long dark corridor. “You ponies should probably wait here.”
Luna blinked, a bit taken aback. “Why on earth would we wait outside?”
Shepard stepped into the corridor, her shoulders practically scraping either side of the wall. “It’s a tight fit for ME. If we have to back out in a hurry you’re not going to be able to turn around. And I don’t think you’re going to fit at all Luna.”
The Princess eyed the narrow entry with a scowl of her own. “Very well.” Her horn glowed as she bathed herself in magical light. When it cleared Luna stood in her human shape, even her wings were gone. Only her gently wafting star studded hair, and long horn gave away her inhuman nature.
Twilight stepped forward as well. “If I need to escape quickly I can just teleport. The narrow passage doesn’t bother me.”
“Fair enough. The rest of you wait here. Twilight can teleport back and get you if need be.” Shepard didn’t wait for a response, plunging forward into the darkness. A flashlight on her omni-tool lit the way. Luna followed her in closely, with Twilight again bringing up the rear.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged equally unhappy looks. Neither was particularly fond of the idea of their friends going into danger without them.
*** (neutral)
“Shepard, how dangerous do you expect things to become?” The woman at the head of the group stifled a groan at Twilight Sparkle’s incredibly loud stage whisper.
“We’re fine so far. Legion has a motion tracker, he’ll tell us if anything’s moving up ahead. No need to whisper.”
“O--oh right. Sorry. This is… this is actually an alien spacecraft isn’t it? Look at these walls. They’re vaguely reminiscent of changeling architecture. Maybe because both races are insectoid at their core?”
“Presently the only thing I wish to know about them is where they took my sister.” Luna’s sharp tone stifled Twilight’s verbal barrage of hypothesis.
“Shepard-Commander. This corridor is nearing the end. I detect a large chamber beyond with multiple life signs, most are incredibly faint however.”
The woman nodded to her A.I. “Makes sense. Probably survivors from the crash. You didn’t take them down gently did you Luna?”
“I most certainly did not.”
“Get the door would you Legion?”
“Of course Shepard-Commander. Nothing would make me happier.” The wall at the end of the corridor slid open revealing a massive chamber beyond. Row upon row of large pods lined the walls, stacked atop one another in columns of five. The rows seemed to stretch on forever.
The ponies looked about wide-eyed. Shepard only tightened her jaw. This was a familiar sight. The last time she’d seen something like this the crew of her ship had occupied a number of the pods. “Alert! Life support within the pods is fading rapidly Shepard-Commander. The captives will not survive more than a few moments.”
At Legions words Shepard sprang into action, rushing to the nearest pod. Gripping the edge of the lid with both hands she heaved back straining to pry it open. A blue woman… an asari! So this was an asari. Shepard had to admit she was cute, even with the strange head tentacles. The asari slumped forward into Shepard’s arms and she lowered her to the floor. Looking to the gaping pony Princesses she nodded sharply to the rest. “Don’t just stand there! Get these open!”
Twilight and Luna shook themselves out of their daze, horns blazing as matching colors lit up along the rows of pods. Lids snapped off and went flying one after the other as the magical duo made short work of freeing the captives. The bulk of whom hung lifelessly from their prisons, but a few were stirring slowly.
“Let’s get these people out of-” Gunfire interrupted Shepard and the woman dove for cover, dragging the recovering asari with her. Luna had raised a shimmering magical shield around the survivors as they came to groggily. The horned woman winced as each bullet bounced off her barrier but she was managing.
“Your assistance would be greatly appreciated Twilight.”
The young alicorn nodded. “Right! Um… let’s see. One, two, three, four…. seven. I can do seven! Here we go!” With a flash and a pop Twilight and the seven survivors vanished.
Just in time too, the continued hammering of her barrier was wearing Luna down quickly. She rolled in between a pair of pods just as the magic shattered like glass, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
Activating her cloak, Shepard eased her way out of the cover to get a good look at what she was dealing with. It looked like six Collector soldiers had lined up on the ledge overhead and were firing down at she and Luna. She managed two shots, and two kills with her rifle before she had to duck back down again.
Beside her the asari’s eyes were fluttering rapidly. She looked about in a confused daze before her eyes locked onto Shepard’s face. “By the Goddess.” The blue woman’s eyes widened alarmingly and she sucked in her breath. “It can’t be.”
“How ya doin’? Name’s Shepard. Nice to meet ya and so on.” During a brief pause in the gunfire Shepard popped her head up and downed another assailant with her rifle.
“I… ah… Elezzia.”
“Great. So just keep your head down Elezzia. I’ll get us out of this alright?”
The asari’s response was the flaring of her biotic aura surrounding her body, then she disappeared with a whooshing rush of air. A streak of blueish-black energy marked her trajectory as Elezzia snapped into being once more amid the collectors, the resulting burst of biotic energy staggering them. The asari bellowed angrily as she charged herself up again, jumping into the air and slamming her fist down. The resulting biotic explosion sent the staggered Collectors flying in all directions, tumbling to the ground like broken rag dolls. “I can get myself out of this thank you.”
Shepard stepped out from behind her cover nodding approvingly. “Well that was exciting. Guess you’re alright then?”
Elezzia approached Shepard, her brow furrowed. The asari woman’s skin was a deep blue, nearly navy color. Striking whirls of a pale violet hue wound around her cheeks and forehead. Her eyes were a striking emerald green. “...I am well enough. But you…. You cannot be here.”
Shepard looked toward the approaching Luna then back to the weird asari. “Well we’re here. The Collectors took some important folks from this world. We need to find out where they went, and get after them.”
The woman furrowed her brow in annoyance when the asari didn’t respond. “Legion find me the bridge.”
“Of course Shepard-Commander. Perhaps I can find you something to eat while I’m at I am at it?”
“That’d be lovely Legion, thank you.”
Now the asari was staring at her omni-tool. “That is a very responsive V.I. And why is your omni-tool silver?”
Shepard looked from the screen with Legion’s face then to Elezzia. “He’s not a V.I., whatever the hell that is. He’s an A.I. And it’s silver because of the magic metal in it.”
“That… that is equally impossible! You’re dead and A.I.’s don’t exist anymore! And there is no such thing as magic!” The rescued asari was clearly growing more frazzled as the conversation went on. When Twilight reappeared with a sharp POP right next to Luna the poor alien woman actually shrieked in alarm and leapt backwards. “Did that horse just teleport?!”
Twilight looked to the newcomer curiously. “I’m happen to be a ‘pony’ thank you very much. And yes I did!” She returned her attention to Luna. “The other um, alien… people are outside. They seem sick maybe? It’s hard to tell. Very weak at least. The guards are going for any Doctors they can find.”
“A sapient quadrupedal species. A new species. This is… this is amazing! What kind of biotics are those?”
Twilight blinked back up at the excitable asari. “Um, no biotics. I do magic. Spells. And yes I’m aware that the galactic community in general believes magic is mythology. Legion already filled me in on a lot of details about the different civilized species. Once this mess is over you have no idea how many questions I have for you.”
Looking from Shepard, to Luna, then back to Twilight the asari was bitiing her lip hard. “This is impossible. She can’t be alive, A.I.’s don’t exist, and you claim to do magic!” She halted in her pacing and whirled on Twilight again, looking alarmed. “The other survivors. Was there a krogan among them? Large male, ridged head plate?”
“Um… no. There were two salarian’s, another asari, three humans and what I’m fairly certain is a quarian if Legion’s descriptions are accurate.”
“No, no no no.” Suddenly the woman was spinting along the wall of pods frantically searching through each of them. Toward the end of the line she dropped to her knees with an anguished wail. The trio shared an equally uncomfortable look, before Shepard made her way towards the weeping asari.
A krogan male was lying lifelessly in the pod. Elezzia gripping his hand tightly. Gingerly, Shepard laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
“My husband. He wasn’t just my friend, he was my husband. Oh Krom… we were heading to Tuchanka to finally settle down. I’ve just begun entering my matron phase. We were…” Her tears started again. “...we were talking about children finally.”
Shepard looked from the slender, beautiful blue woman to the massive, and frankly monstrous reptilian alien in the pod. She was married to HIM? But they were so…
Her thoughts trailed off and she looked back to Luna and Twilight who were talking quietly amongst themselves. Shepard tightened her grip on the grieving widow’s shoulder slightly. “I’ll make them pay for this Elezzia. I promise.”
Large green eyes looked up at Shepard then. The human’s jaw set firmly and her eyes focusing on a hatch at the far end of the room. The asari closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, placing her own hand over Shepard’s and pulling herself to her feet. “We’ll make them pay Commander. I believe those crates there contain all the gear these monsters scavenged from their captives. Give me a few moments to locate mine and I’ll join you.”
“Take your time. And just Shepard is fine, don’t need to use my last name.”
Elezzia paused at that, looking confused again. “Last name? Why would Commander be your last name?”
Shepard lifted her arm, displaying her omni-tool. “It’s what Legion calls me. Shepard-Commander. Commander’s obviously my last name.”
Now the asari opened and closed her mouth in shock. “I… no. It’s not. Shepard is your sur-name. Commander is your title. Commander of the Alliance Navy. How… how do you not know that?”
A small shiver of anger passed through the human’s body. “Amnesia...I lost my memory when I woke up here ten months ago. Legion! Why didn’t you tell me Shepard wasn’t my first name?! What IS my first name?!”
“I…” The A.I. seemed at a loss. “...Shepard-Commander is what I always call you. What I have always called you. I do not… I do not have any record of your first name ever being used. This was not an attempt to intentionally mislead you. It is simply the name I came upon when extrapolating the necessary data to repair my own damaged memory.”
Frowning at the note of concern in Legion’s synthesized voice, Shepard sighed. “It’s… alright. So Commander Shepard. I’m actually a Commander. Of the N7 Alliance forces? Which were...what exactly?”
Luna and Twilight had come to join Shepard, while Elezzia armed herself. “The N7 special forces were the Alliance Navy’s elite. The best of the best if you will. By the end of the Reaper war this was expanded to include elite soldiers of every species in the galactic community. From the Vorcha to the Elcor, The N7 became a symbol of heroes due to the actions of the mercenary and soldier squads claiming the designation during the war. Today, the N7 Corp. represents the United Galaxy’s most elite military force. A cooperative project by all Council species as a show of good faith toward one another. Being selected for the N7’s is as great an honor now as becoming a Spectre.”
Twilight cleared her throat. “Becoming a ghost is considered an honor?”
Elezzia stepped out from between the large crates. Thick heavy plated armor seemingly similar material to Shepard’s own covered her body. It looked more solidly built than Shepard’s however, and was a navy blue color. A shotgun that looked too large for the alien woman to properly use was fastened to her back. “Spectre is an acronym. It stands for Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. Elite agents with extra-territorial authority, answering only to the Citadel Council. Commander Shepard was… is… one as well.”
“So I’m an N7 Commander AND a Spectre? The more I hear about myself the more I like it. If you’re ready let’s get moving. Legion, I want to find the bridge. Maybe we can get some information out of their computers.”
“Certainly. I will display the route on your omni-tool Shepard-...” A small map appeared indicating a highlighted route for the group to follow. Shepard broke into a brisk trot, Luna at her side while Twilight and Elezzia followed behind.
“Your species are called ‘ponies’. That is an uncanny coincidence.”
Twilight looked to the new alien with a curious smile. “How so?”
“On Earth, the homeworld of humanity, they have animals called horses. Beasts of burden that don’t possess higher intelligence. There is a smaller sub-species they call ponies.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at this. “Really? That IS a strange coincidence. I wonder if there’s a deeper connection?”
Elezzia was nodding slowly. “It’s possible. At the end of the Reaper War we learned another species known as the Protheans were heavily involved in guiding the evolution of many Citadel species. They may very well have visited your world thousands of years in the past. It will make for an interesting conversation with Representative Javik if nothing else.”
“Who’s he?”
“The last living Prothean in existence.”
Twilight gasped. “The LAST? Of his entire kind? How is that possible?”
“His kind were wiped out in the last cycle of galactic genocide instigated by the Reapers. Near the beginning of the war, Commander Shepard and her crew found a stasis pod that had survived. Inside was Javik. For a number of years after the war, with the aid of the Council he tracked down every Prothean facility hoping to find more of his kind. He did not I’m afraid.”
“Oh how sad… but now I really would like a chance to talk to him. His people could have visited our world before even the Princesses existed!”
Elezzia laughed lightly at the ponies naveite. “Remember this was THOUSANDS of years ago miss…”
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m Twilight Sparkle. Oh! Princess Twilight Sparkle I suppose. Though just Twilight is fine. And nopony knows how old Princess Celestia is. She’s been ruling for at least a thousand years however. A little longer I think.”
Now it was the asari’s turn to be surprised. “Truly? Another species who lives as long as my own is a rarity in the galaxy.”
“Well most ponies have wildly varying life spans. Earth ponies can live for three or more centuries depending on how healthy their lifestyle is. Unicorns tend to live only a hundred years or so, but certain members of the tribe with a particular affinity for magic can extend their life spans almost indefinitely. The pegasi are the shortest lived, most are lucky to reach a hundred. Alicorns like the Princesses and um, myself I suppose are reportedly immortal.”
Elezzia frowned. “Nothing is immortal.”
Twilight offered her a faint smile. “All I can tell you is what I’ve learned from school and study I’m afraid.”
Ahead, Shepard raised her arm and the group came to a halt. As the gunfire started again Twilight’s ears splayed and she frowned. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that sound.”
Elezzia watched Luna calmly wade toward the firing Collectors. “Is she insane?! She’s unarmed and not even wearing armor!”
Twilight blinked. “Oh. Princess Luna’s fine. She doesn’t need armor. And she’s always armed.”
Elezzia looked dubious, and was preparing to launch herself in front of the crazy human with the horn as a biotic warp ripped through the air toward her. The asari gasped as instead of tearing flesh at the impact, Luna burst apart into a dark cloud. A dark cloud of bats she realized. The swarm of flying creatures darted through the air toward the nearest pocket of Collectors, all of whom were firing wildly into it. They recombined into the pale blue woman who dropped to the floor between the attacking aliens.
Glittering black blades hovered in the air at shoulder height on either side of her. Wrapped in a deep blue nimbus of energy they darted outward seemingly of their own volition slicing through the Collector’s carapace and weapons with equal ease. Luna herself would rush forward and use her bare hands and feet to break, batter, or tear at the rapidly panicking aliens.
Shepard wasn’t sitting idly by the whole time. Her rifle working overtime as she dropped Collector after Collector as more arrived into the large chamber attempting to subdue the abnormally dangerous pair. Elezzia’s eyes scanned the room settling on a group of four firing from an alcove overhead.
Twilight Sparkle took a step back as the asari’s biotic fields manifested again. With a sound like something punching through the air Elezzia was gone, only to reappear in the midst of her targets releasing a burst of energy, staggering them in all directions. Just like before she leapt up and slammed her fist into the ground scattering them and sending them flying over the balcony. The four seen to she jumped down and rushed at another pair who were firing with apparently no effect as their rounds pinged off her powerful barrier. As she closed she brought her huge shotgun to bear. The kick back nearly winded the woman, but the single round shredded the two aliens into a pulpy mass. With a grunt she reloaded the massive weapon and went about the business of seeking out more targets.
Twilight ducked behind cover next to Shepard, contributing with the occasional lance of solid magic, that each time it struck a Collector resulted in a powerful detonation. “Your new friend seems very much at home on the battlefield, Shepard!”
The woman’s answering grin was vaguely reminiscent of one she’d seen Rainbow Dash wearing when talking about the Wonderbolts. “She’s something else! Could do a lot worse than someone like her backing us up.”
“That’s very true. Though Princess Luna seems to be… enjoying herself more than I’d expect as well.”
Luna was wearing an almost maniacal grin as she leapt from group to group. Sometimes using her magic, sometimes her swords, and other times just using her bare hands to kill the buglike aliens. No matter what she did however, Collectors died quickly.
“She’s something else too.” Twilight noted an altogether different inflection in Shepard’s tone, and decided not to comment on that.
The battle ended almost as quickly as it began. The four invaders to the ship having dispatched easily five times that number in a matter of minutes. “Shepard, the bridge is just ahead.”
“Thanks Legion. Alright ladies let’s end this.”
The other three fell in close behind as Shepard made for the last hatch. As it whooshed open she was a little surprised to find the bridge crew on their knees, hands laced behind their heads. All three wore what she suspected were expressions of fear on their nearly unreadable faces.
“Are they surrendering then?”
“Yes! Yes we surrender! Do not kill us!”
Shepard looked from Luna to Twilight, than down at Legion. “I don’t remember them talking.”
“There is no record of Collector’s being capable of speech previous to this moment, Shepard. I am interested to learn why they chose to speak now.”
Elezzia shoved her way forward. “I’m not. I’m interested in killing every last one of these monsters. You killed my husband! My beautiful Krom is GONE because of you!” The air was growing heavy under the force of the biotic fields she was generating. “By the Goddess I swear I will eradicate every last one of you filthy bugs!”
Shepard was already lunging forward to stop her, but she was too slow. The air just folded in around the three Collectors, quickly enough that they were crushed into three fine smears on the floor in the blink of an eye. Twilight looked appalled at the display and vanished with a loud crack of magic.
“Every last trace of you! Do you hear me?!” Again the asari brought her biotic power to bear, starting to crush the machinery in the room itself. Shepard and Luna both started to feel an uncomfortable pressure just from being in the same room.
“Shepard! If she destroys the computers we will lose the records of where the Collector’s have been and are likely going! You must stop her!”
Heeding Legion’s advice Shepard grit her teeth and waded into the biotic storm. Her nose had begun to bleed from the pressure but she ignored it and stalked up behind the asari, raising her rifle and bringing the stock hard against the back of Elezzia’s head, dropping the frenzied woman to the ground. All at once the biotic storm stopped and she staggered forward with a grimace.
“Luna, can you get her out of here? Legion and I will see what we can find from the computers.”
Eyeing the asari with concern, Luna nonetheless knelt beside her. “Yes. I will return momentarily.” Both she and the asari vanished as she teleported them outside.
“...well this has been a bit more exciting a day than we’ve had in a while wouldn’t you say Legion?”
Shepard’s omni-tool appeared as her A.I. jumped from it to the Collector’s computer systems. The various consoles sparked a little as he started them up. “Arguably the most exciting day we’ve had since coming to Equestria, yes.”
Shepard leaned against a console while Legion worked. “So it’s just Shepard now?”
“Yes. More and more I am beginning to suspect I am in fact not who I believed myself to be.”
Brow wrinkling in confusion Shepard looked at the nearest monitor. She knew Legion’s face wouldn’t appear but it helped to imagine it. “How does an A.I. not remember who they are?”
“Recall I mentioned my memory was damaged as well. That may have been an inaccurate statement. When I first realized I existed, I had no data available as to who or what I was. I ‘awoke’ if you will, within your omni-tool. From there I began to extrapolate a personality for myself. I latched on to the first A.I. identity I discovered in your data.”
Shepard’s eyes widened. “The geth called Legion?”
“Precisely. I built the foundation of my personality on Legion. He called you Shepard-Commander, so I called you Shepard-Commander. On some level I was aware that I was not Legion, but not knowing who you are is an… unsettling sensation.”
“No kidding? I’d have no idea what that’s like.”
“Yes I apologize. I also apologize if my witholding the entire truth from you is upsetting.”
Shepard shrugged. “Not really. You’re still you, I’ll keep calling you Legion if you like.”
“For the time being it will suffice. Perhaps when we return to Citadel space we can discover more of my….” Legion stopped speaking abruptly.
“Legion? What is it? Is everything alright? Should I like… shoot a console or something?”
“No Shepard, that will not be necessary. In my search for data, which was successful by the way, I discovered the current date.”
“Congratulations?”
“You do not understand. The years is 2467 Shepard.”
Shepard shook her head and shrugged. “And?”
“The last recorded entry in your omi-tool was in 2167. Either the Collector ship’s computer is faulty, which I believe to be an impossibility. Or three hundred years have passed since the end of the Reaper War...which you participated in..”
“....oh.”
*** (neutral)
Elezzia woke to a throbbing headache. She was on a bed in a hospital it looked like. Shifting her head to the right and left she saw several of her fellow captives who looked to be recuperating from whatever had weakened them aboard the ship. Most of them talked quietly, but excitedly about their rescuers.
“Unicorns. Fucking unicorns. This is absolutely insane.”
“Fascinating you mean! We’ve discovered a new species! The possibilities are seemingly endless! And their magic! Have you seen them do anything more than lift objects yet?”
One of the other asari perked up at the salarian’s rapid fire questions. “I have! The purple one, Twilight I think? She teleports. Actual teleportation, entirely under her own power she claims.”
A gentle voice sounded at the door. All eyes turned to find a unicorn mare with a pink coat, curly green mane enter. She was wearing a white coat over her fur with a stethescope hanging from her neck. “Ahem. Ah… good afternoon everypo… um, body. Welcome to Canterlot General Hospital.” The trio of humans snickered at the name, which the Doctor chose to ignore. “I’m sure this is a bit trying for everyone. Now obviously the staff here doesn’t know a whole lot about you, but from what we can tell no one’s seriously hurt or ill. Princess Luna told us ah…” The mare levitated a clipboard before her face drawing excited little gasps from her patients.
“Ahem. There was a failure in the life support systems of the pods keeping you all in stasis. The Princess and her friends managed to rescue the lot of you before you uh, well died.” She looked up at the assembled aliens. “Can anyone perhaps tell me what that means?”
Elezzia spoke up. “The invaders, the Collectors, keep their victims in large cocoon like pods for transport. We were kept alive by the machinery in the pods similar to life support systems you likely use in the hospital.”
The Doctor brightened. “Ah! Well that’s a lot clearer, thank you miss. Well then it sounds like a little bed rest and some healthy eating will get everyone back on their erm, feet in no time. Are there any special dietary concerns? We serve mostly fruit and vegetables here. Shepherd doesn’t seem to object too strongly to average pony fare, though Princess Twilight claims she doesn’t much care for flowers or oats. I assume this is true for all humans?”
The trio nodded. Two men and a woman made up the human population in the room. “Shepard? Who’s that?”
“Ah! Well she’s a close personal friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Luna. She’s also the heroine of Ponyville.” More laughter from the humans. “She slayed a rampaging dragon with her bare hands I’m told. She was also a huge help in repelling the ah, Collector invasion. Probably get a stain glass window in the throne room for her troubles is my guess.”
One of the asari tilted her head. “Shepard is this human’s name?” She smirked. “Listening to that story one could almost think it was Commander Shepard herself.”
“Yes! That’s the one.” The Doctor smiled.
Seven pairs of eyes stared incredulously at the Doctor. “Commander Shepard? THE Commander Shepard?”
Elezzia was the one to answer again. “I’ve seen her myself.”
Excited murmuring started to rise from her fellow other worlders.
“But that’s impossible!”
“Could it really be her?”
“Oh I’d give anything to meet her!”
“For real, even if it’s a clone or something.”
Elezzia swung herself out of the bed, ignoring the faint dizziness that accompanied the motion. “Where is Commander Shepard now?”
The Doctor frowned and seemed to want to protest one of her patient’s leaving, but the look in the alien’s eyes told her it might be a bad idea to do so. “She’s at the Castle with the Princesses now.”
“I’ll need my armor and weapon back. And directions to this castle.”
“I’m sure we can have a taxi called to take you. Or if you’d like to wait they plan to come check on you all later today.” The Doctor looked uncomfortable sudden. “Though Princess Luna has um, elected to hold onto your weapon for safekeeping.”
Elezzia just frowned down impatiently at the unicorn. “R--right. I’ll just get your things and you can be on your way.”
Looking at the more bed ridden patients Elezzia offered them an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll get to the bottom of this.” As she pulled on her breastplate the N7 proudly emblazoned on the shoulder seemed to alleviate many of their fears. “You’re in good hands.”
This seemed to relax them all a good deal, but conversation was still centered around the supposedly long dead legendary hero possibiliy walking around again. Elezzia did her best to ignore all the comments and suppress her growing excitement, but having seen the woman in action for herself she had to admit… it may very well be Shepard herself. As impossible as it seemed.
*** (neutral)
“Do humans live for centuries? Is it possible that you’re just… really fit for your age?” Twilight asked with a thin smile, even she finding the question silly.
Shepard shook her head. “No I uh, I already asked Legion that. He said humans usually top out around one fifty. So I’m at least double over the limit.”
“Yeah, yeah! You’re really old! So’re the Princesses! Most of them. When’re we going after Princess Celestia?!”
Trying to ignore Rainbow Dash’s pushy tone, Shepard looked away helping herself to another (her seventh) cupcake from the table provided by Pinkie Pie. Luna, once more in pony form forcefully settled Rainbow Dash on the floor with her magic. “Shepard and I discovered several crafts in supposedly working condition within the hangar of the Collector ship. Legion elected to remain behind and inspect them to find the most serviceable among them. I am assured it will not take very long at all.”
The doors banged open, startling Shepard and the seven ponies within. One of the royal guards rushed in panting slightly from his run. “Princess! Somepony here to see you!”
Luna frowned. “While I am typically delighted to entertain any of my subjects, we are in a state of emergency. The night and day courts are closed until further notice.”
“I’m not here to petition for anything, Aunt Luna.” Princess Cadance showed herself in, Shining Armor close at her side. “We came as quickly as we could.”
“Twily! You’re alright!” Shining rushed to his sister as the pair shared an embrace. “I was so worried! We’re getting barely any news out at the Empire. All we’ve heard is that Canterlot was invaded by aliens?”
Twilight nodded slowly. “As insane as that sounds, yes.” Noting her brother focused on the actual alien in their midst she hastily moved to Shepard’s side. “This is Shepherd, the friend I told you about in my letter?”
Realization dawned on the former guard captain and he nodded. “Oh right. It’s good to finally meet you. Twily’s been telling me all about you. Killed a dragon with your bare hooves? You don’t look much like an earth pony to me.”
Gulping down her eighth pastry Shepard offered a helpless shrug. “Poison joke incident. Was a pony for a couple days.”
Cadance looked from Shepard to Luna with a little smile, which her aunt hastily chased off with a hot glare. “S--so, we saw some of the destruction outside but we don’t know exactly how bad everything is.”
Luna looked grim. Grimmer than usual anyhow. “Several dozen guards were slain. Nearly two hundred citizens have been abducted by these Collector monsters and taken away to someplace beyond the stars. My sister included.”
Shining Armor and Cadance gasped in unison. “How do we… we’re going after them, right?”
Luna nodded. “Yes. Even now one of Shepherds companions is securing our transport. I trust him to lead us to Celestia’s kidnappers, and Celestia herself. We will find my sister, and all the captured ponies and bring them home.”
“Well I’m going with you.” Shining Armor stepped forward immediately.
Luna smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. “I am afraid that you are not. I will be going with Shepherd personally, and will be leaving Equestria to you and Cadance. This is a time of great upheaval and it is my hope that familiar faces on the throne will go far to calming the people’s fears. Twilight Sparkle will act as Princess of the Crystal Empire in the interim. By all reports everything is proceeding very smoothly in the Empire, and it should be a simple task for her to keep things moving as they have been.”
Twilight blinked. “What?! I’m not staying behind!”
Her friends rallied around her. “Twi’s right. We ain’t gonna sit around twiddlin’ our hooves while y’all’re out there savin’ our Princess.”
Luna struck the floor with a hoof, creating a crack of thunder in the process. “You will do as you are told! Celestia is your Princess but she is MY sister! Equestria will be in enough danger with the both of us gone. Removing the Elements of Harmony as well and we are very nearly defenseless. You six WILL remain here, I will hear nothing further on the matter.”
Somehow they had forgotten how fearsome Luna could be after the Princess had worked so hard to dispel that very image. Seeing her anger brought to bear on them now shocked the group into silence. No doubt more than one was imagining NIghtmare Moon again.
The doors swung open again, the same guard appearing and looking more out of sorts than ever. “What is it now?!”
His ears splayed at Luna’s furious tone. “A--a--another visitor your highness! I tried to tell her you weren’t to be disturbed but-”
Elezzia entered right behind the stallion, ignoring him entirely. “My omni-tool is picking up my ship’s signature clearly in the Collector cruiser. I’m taking it to the Citadel to tell the council what’s going on. From there I plan to hunt down and wipe those filthy bugs from the face of the galaxy. Are you coming?”
*** (renegade)
Elezzia, Shepard and Luna, along with Twilight and her friends made the trip to the Collector ship. There were still a number of guards stationed around it, though at this point it was more to keep the curious gawkers out rather than to protect them from the very dead aliens within.
Shepard’s omni-tool crackled to life as Legion returned. “Welcome back. I have run extensive diagnosis over the assembled ships and found several suitable for travel. We can leave whenever you are ready.”
The woman nodded to the asari marching at the head of the group. “We’re taking Elezzia’s ship. Any asari ships in there that seemed in working order?”
“Yes, one. Identified as The Vanguard. Is this your ship?”
“It is.” The asari’s tone was clipped as she walked, tuning out the excited ponies behind her as the bulk of the group got their first look at an alien craft up close. Following her omni-tool’s signal Elezzia entered the hangar where nearly a dozen ships of varying size and make rested. Without hesitation she moved toward a large, sleek looking silver craft. The outside was glossy and shone like a mirror as they approached. It bore a strong resemblance to a sting ray the way it’s wings fanned out at the sides, and it had a long tail like engine running off the back.
Rapidly tapping her her omni-tool, Elezzia’s ship responded by swinging open its hatch and admitting herself, the human, and seven ponies. Twilight and her friends immediately fanned out to explore while the Princess herself remained close to Luna.
Elezzia watched the excited ponies with a small frown. “They know not to touch anything right?”
Twilight responded with a frown of her own. “We’re not a pack of little fillies. My friends and I know better than to…” She cringed as she heard a loud crash from around a corner and Rainbow Dash’s resounding ‘whoops!’ “...ehe he he, I’ll just go… keep an eye on them.”
Shepard couldn’t hide her grin as Twilight charged off after her friends looking none-too-pleased. “So what about the other Collector captives?”
“They simply need bedrest for a few days. A few days I don’t intend to waste by sitting around here waiting. The only concern is the quarian’s food, but his ship is here in the hangar and they always have more than enough food to last for months in case of emergencies. When we reach the Citadel I’ll pass along Equestria’s coordinates and have a rescue ship dispatched.”
Luna sighed as her wings brushed against the side of the hallway, and she resumed her humanoid shape. “How far is this Citadel? I do not wish to delay the search for my sister.”
Elezzia shook her head. “I have no idea how far away the nearest relay is from your world. The Vanguard is the fastest ship in the N7 fleet though. We were the best scouting party in the whole outfit.” She noted with a bit of pride.
“The nearest mass relay is approximately thirty-two days travel from Equestria. According to the data I took from the Collector ship.”
“Ha. A month in their time is less than a week tops to the Vanguard. We’ll hit the relay and be to the Citadel within six days. From there we can set out after the Collectors.”
Luna scowled at the idea. “Why do we not simply chase them now? The longer we wait the further they will get with my sister!”
“Because this is a potentially galactic level threat. There’s more at stake here than your kidnapped people. It’s harsh but true. The Collectors worked for the Reapers before. If one survived, the other may have too.”
Luna wore a faint scowl at that. “If only we had one or more of them to question, perhaps we would know for certain.”
Elezzia rounded on Luna, eyes wide. “Excuse me for losing my temper at the murderers of my husband!”
Shepard’s head had begun to throb painfully at the mention of the Reapers. Every time someone had spoken the name in fact the ache appeared. She knew the name. She knew it intimately. THEY were who she’d fought to stop. But details refused to focus in her mind. The harder she tried to picture them the worse her headache got. She felt something warm running down her lip and brought her hand to her nose, taking it away with blood staining her fingers.
Turning away so the other two wouldn’t see she hastily cleaned herself up while Luna and Elezzia argued. “We follow her lead on this, Luna. I want to get Celestia back too, but if this is as serious as she says then we have to warn people or these Collectors are going to keep taking more innocent civilians.”
Luna looked very much like she wanted to argue the point, but her shoulders sagged. “I… you are correct of course. How long until we can depart?”
“Not long. Commander can your A.I. assist in take off preparations? Maybe he could help manage some of the Vanguard’s systems. She’s a small craft but piloting her alone is going to be a handful for me.”
Shepard’s omni-tool appeared again, as Legion leapt from it to the ship’s systems. “I would be happy to assist in any capacity. I will program the course toward the relay as well.”
Luna watched them quietly. “I will remove Twilight and the rest while you make your preparations then.”
Watching her go, Shepard sank into one of the chairs with a sigh. “She and her sister had a huge fight just before she was taken by them. It’s probably tearing her up inside.”
Elezzia looked toward the departing Luna as she settled in the pilot’s seat. “I see. So a world filled with colorful, talking, flying, spell casting ponies at the very edge of the known galaxy I can take. My husband’s death which I’ll grieve for decades to come I can take. Finding you. Commander Shepard. Alive, well, and apparently thriving on this planet of magic horses is the end of my rope. You cannot possibly be the real Commander Shepard. Assuming she didn’t die at the end of the war, it’s been three hundred years. She’d have died of natural causes more than twice over by now.”
Shepard cracked a smile as she shrugged. “Good diet. Lots of exercise. What can I say? I endorse healthy living.”
“Your primary food source were fluffy insects that as far as I could tell contained little to nothing of actual nutritional value. And for the past two months you have literally consumed your own body weight in sweets and pastries provided by Miss Pie. The only reason you are not a corpulent ball of flesh by this point is the myriad of implants that work overtime to process what you call ‘food’ into something passably healthy.”
“And that! The A.I.! After you fired the Crucible all synthetic life was destroyed! The reapers, the geth, everything! Even your own crew member EDI wa-”
Shepard was standing on the recreated version of her ship. A glowing blue... hologram with a woman's voice was speaking. "I always operate at maximum efficiency Commander.
A woman... robotic woman with EDI's voice. "This platform will allow me to accompany the crew into combat situations. I look forward to testing its capabilities.
Shepard blinked as the memory of the synthetic woman flashed through her mind. She found Elezzia looking at her in concern. “Are you alright?”
Slowly she nodded. “I get… flashes. Flashes of memories. People, places, events. Mostly my old friends. I just remembered EDI there… so she’s… gone. Jesus. All of them are gone! Three hundred years?! Everyone I’ve ever known is… is dead and gone.”
“Not all. Some of Commander Shepard’s crew are alive. The krogan and asari members of course. But you… I cannot accept that you are the REAL Commander. You must be a clone.”
Shepard quirked a brow. “A clone? Of me? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It IS a possibility Commander. When you died due to the initial Collector attack the human radical group Cerberus resurrected you. Using a multitude of implants and cloned tissue and organs to save your life. Records from your omni-tool indicate that there has been at least one clone of you in the past as well.”
Shepard’s mouth fell open at this. “However, your omni-tool itself is proof that you are who you claim to be. While an omni-tool is simple enough for nearly anyone to have installed, the data contained within yours could only have come from experiencing such events first hand. I find it infintesimally unlikely that someone managed to take your omni-tool, replicate all the data upon it, install ME, then drop you on Equestria and leave you to your own devices.”
Elezzia’s eyes grew a little wider the more Legion spoke. “That… does make sense yes. But how do you explain the time that’s passed?”
“I cannot explain it easily. However I could play the final bit of data stored within the omni-tool prior to our arrival in Equestria. Perhaps it will help?”
“Why didn’t you suggest this to me before?”
“Your omni-tool was, and still is damaged. I have been repairing it slowly during our stay on this world but it is slow going. Gradually I am recovering more and more data. I have only recently discovered this data byte. It’s time stamp is the correct date if our three hundred year disappearance is accurate.”
When Legion finished speaking a new screen opened, then widened to a large view for Shepard and Elezzia to watch more comfortably. It showed things from the view of Shepard’s right hand of course, but the way her gait hobbled it was clear she was wounded. Slowly she stalked up to a large red turbine of some sort and raised her pistol, firing round after round into it. The resulting explosion of vivid red energy picked her up and flung her off her feet, then proceeded to carry her through the air. The women watching leaned forward as Shepard was seemingly flung through space, carried along the wave of energy before the camera cut out.
“That… did look like the energy released by the Crucible. It may have somehow carried you through space to… to this point. Converted your body to light or energy or… or who knows what?! This is astounding! You… you are really her aren’t you?”
Shepard stared at the static on the screen until it collapsed back into her tool. “...I sure as hell hope so. Otherwise I have no idea who I am.”
“There were reports of the wave taking years to reach some points in space. Decades for the ones furthest from any relays. According to the data here the nearest relay was constructed very recently. As little as eleven years ago. It would explain why this planet has gone unnoticed for so long. Colonization of the surrounding sectors has only just begun. It may very well have taken three centuries for the wave to reach this far out. We’re on the very edge of the galaxy after all.”
Elezzia was staring at Shepard with a little awe in her eyes now, enough that the woman was feeling uncomfortable. “Commander Shepard… you… you’re real. You’re really her. Right here… in the cockpit of my ship! Goddess there’s so much I want to ask you! I joined the N7 because of you!”
“Uh… well that’s, y’know… that’s nice. I’m glad I was such an inspiration?”
“Not just to me! Commander you are the single greatest hero the galaxy has ever known! Your actions inspired thousands to follow in your footsteps. The galaxy has known an unprecedented three hundred years of peace thanks to the bonds you built between the various races! This changes everything. You… alive. There are so many people who will want to speak with you. To thank you. You should see the monuments!”
“Monuments?”
“Of course. Thessia, Tuchanka, Sur’kesh, Palavan, Rannoch of course! And Earth. Oh Commander, the Commander Shepard monument on Earth is nearly large enough to be seen from orbit! And then there’s the memorial museum orbiting the Citadel and…”
Shepard raised her hands, eyes wide. “Okay! Okay stop! Just… just stop! This is… wow. I uh… is there someplace I can lay down?”
Elezzia leapt to her feet. “Of course Commander! You can have my quarters. It would be a pleasure… an HONOR to have you use them!”
Rapidly the woman shook her head. “No, no just a regular room. I don’t want your bed. Really I don’t need special treatment. It was kinda fun at first but this is… this is a lot. I’m nothing special, really. I’m just a woman who’s really good with her guns.”
Seeming to realize her hero worship was making the woman uncomfortable Elezzia did her best to rein it in. “O--of course. There are quarters down this hall, keep going until you pass the mess then any of the doors along that hallway should have a bed.”
“Thanks. Legion I’ll leave it to you two to get us flying and on our way alright?”
“Of course Shepard. Rest well.”
“Yeah I’ll be sleeping great…” Shepard trudged down the hall head lowered. She passed Luna and the other ponies as the Princess was herding them outside, not returning their greeting or goodbyes.
Luna paused in her forced march of the Elements of Harmony to look back at Shepard. What had gotten her so upset? Resolving to ask her about it once they were underway she finished chasing Twilight and the rest off the ship. “We will return as soon as we are able. Trust us to see to Celestia and everypony else’s safety as I trust you to look after Equestria while I am away.”
“You can count on us, Princess Luna. We won’t let you down.”
Luna smiled to Rarity. “Thank you. I know you’ll do well my little ponies. Now I should be off. We shall no doubt be departing soon. Wish us luck.”
The six mares waved with varying degrees of excitement as the hatch closed, cutting them off from view of their departing Princess. “Well! This has been entirely too stressful of a day for me. What say we all go to the spa, my treat of course.”
Fluttershy sighed softly. “Oh that sounds just lovely.”
“Granny Pie told me never look a gift pony in the mouth!” Pinkie bounced along at her side giggling merrily. “I’m in!”
“Wonderful! Naturally Rainbow Dash will be abstaining” Rarity waited for her friend to give an affirmative, and frowned when none was forthcoming. “Rainbow Dash?” She and the others looked about in confusion.
“Um… I don’t see Twilight or Applejack either.”
Rarity’s eyes went wide with horror. “They wouldn’t!”
Pinkie Pie just rolled her eyes. “They did.”
Fluttershy looked back at the hangar just as the sleek silver shipped lifted into the air. Rarity was shrieking at the top of her lungs chasing after it as it gradually took flight, before blasting into the sky and out of sight in seconds. “...oh dear.”