Pony Effect

by Grif


Chapter 3

[ESV Normaredy, Medical Bay]

Twilight awoke with a start, her mind buried in a haze of fog. She was immediately assaulted by the thousands of tiny needles, each burrowing into her brain. Twilight laid her head back with a groan. She tried to open her eyes, but could only manage a sliver.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re awake, commander.” The melodic voice of Fluttershy filtered through her abused mind as she struggled to stay conscious.

“Commander, please relax. I’m going to give something to ease the pain,” the gentle voice of Nurse Cheerilee echoed faintly to her left. Twilight caught the sound of a trolley creaking, and then felt a dull pain on her left flank. The pain in her head receded somewhat, and she suddenly found opening her eyes less an effort than before.

The head of the shy yellow pegasus from Appleloosa slowly came into focus, a look of concern etched on her face. The pink head of Nurse Cheerilee bobbed behind the pegasi.

“Ugh, I felt like there are ten thousand buffaloes stampeding through my head.” Twilight sat up shakily and rubbed her temple with a hoof. As her mind slowly cleared, she began to recall her last coherent memories on Appleloosa. “Nurse, how long have I been out?”

“About one whole day, commander. You had us worried there,” the nurse replied primly.

“One day? How could I been knocked out for one whole day?!” Twilight all but shouted, sending Fluttershy hiding behind the another bed in the infirmary. The nurse seemed unperturbed and stood there tapping her hooves impatiently.

Suddenly aware that she had been yelling at the top of her voice, the lavender unicorn covered her mouth with her hooves. Her expression softened as she noticed the pegasus cowering in the corner. “Uh, sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled like that—”

The sounds of galloping hooves interrupted Twilight’s apologies and the medibay was suddenly crowded by half a dozen ponies. “What in name of Red Delicious is happening—” Applejack stopped mid-sentence as she saw Twilight sitting up. “Commander! Y’all look all better now. How’re ya doin’?”

“Like the morning after too much wine.” She shook her head to emphasise the point. “Gunnery Chief, report,” Twilight said in the most formal voice she could manage, taking refuge in routine.

“Well, after you were hit by that laser thingamajig, Rarity and I began arguin’ about what to do,” Applejack began. “Rarity here wanted to wait for backup. I would have knocked ya clean off if that mare didn’t tackle me. Luckily for us, darn thing blew up like them fireworks on Summer Sun Celebration after a minute or so. Y’all fell to the floor all clumsy-like and got knocked out cold. So we got ya back to the ship as soon as we could.”

“Great…” Twilight was already regretting ever waking up. “Any harm done?” she directed the question at the nurse.

“Physically you’re fine. Though I’ve detected some abnormal brain waves.” Cherilee frowned. “And you were raving about... quite disturbing things during your sleep.”

“I saw… something. Not sure what I saw, but it was quite horrible,” Twilight said uncertainly, not sure whether it had been all a dream or something more sinister. She decided not to mention it to the crew for now, reasoning it would probably just be dismissed.

“Why wasn’t Trixie informed that the commander was awake?” a familiar voice drifted through the door. The medibay door slid open, revealing the irate figure of Captain Trixie. “I’m going to have to speak to the commander… in private,” she said, her tone making it clear it wasn’t a request.

The other ponies murmured but complied without objections. One by one, they filtered out the door, Applejack being the last one out. Twilight thought she saw a sympathetic look on her face before the doors slid shut.

“Commander, you have got some explaining to do.” Her voice dripped ice. Twilight groaned, her headache redoubling at the captain’s words. She already had a bad feeling about this.

Trixie began without preamble. “You’ve got us into a very bad situation. Nihilus was killed. The geth attacking one of our colonies. A priceless Prothean artifact destroyed. All thanks to your incompetence.” Trixie whirled and pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight’s face.

Twilight’s jaw dropped at the captain’s words. Surely she isn’t going to push all the blame to her?

“Even worse, this Saren… appears to be leading the geth,” Trixie continued, her voice uncharacteristically serious. The floor rang with the clatter of her hooves as she paced the room.

“What can be so bad about a turian leading the geth?” Twilight asked innocently, not comprehending.

“My dear Twilight, it’s time you learn something about the wild galaxy that isn’t in your books. It is fortunate the Great & Powerful Trixie is leading this expedition, not you,” the Trixie snapped, her pointed hat trembling slightly. Twilight flinched at the thinly veiled insult. “This turian, Saren Arterius, is a Spectre. One of the best. If he’s leading the geth… that means he gone rogue.”

“A Spectre, rogue?” Twilight had trouble grasping the concept. A rogue Spectre with all that power in his hands… Twilight shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

“Yes. Even the Great & Powerful Trixie cannot hope to stop an enemy like this. Not with an army of geth backing him. We must go to the Council for help.” Trixie’s next words chilled Twilight to the bone. “And you are going to make yourself useful this time. Or else.”

***

[ESV Normaredy, Serpent Nebulae]

The ESV Normaredy snapped back into real space as they reached the Citadel Mass Relay Alpha-3. The sleek black and white ship cruised on its anti-photon thrusters towards the massive deep-space station. All around the station, ships of the Citadel Defense Fleet could be seen patrolling the perimeter. At the centre of it all, was the Destiny Ascension. The pride of the Citadel Fleet. The biggest dreadnought ever built, measuring thrice the size of the next biggest turian dreadnought.

“Citadel Control, this is the ESV Normaredy, requesting permission to dock.”

The frigate drew close and gracefully weaved past one of the dreadnoughts of the Citadel Defense Fleet. Compared to the massive warship, the Normaredy was akin to a fly. A well armed stealthy fly, but a fly nonetheless.

“Stand by for clearance, Normaredy.”
“Clearance granted, you may begin your approach. Transferring you to the Equestrian operator.”

On cue, the ship banked sharply and began approaching one of the arms of the station. Various skyscrapers and buildings can be seen rising from the habitable areas, with small cutters and shuttles flitting back and forth between the buildings.

“Normaredy, this is Equestrian tower, please proceed to Docking Bay 337.”

The Normaredy eased into the docking bay assigned to it, passing through the invisible barrier keeping the atmosphere inside the bay. As the frigate settled into position, docking clamps at the side of the platform reached out and attached themselves securely to the hull of the ship.

“Welcome to the Citadel, commander.”

***

[Equestrian Ambassador Office, Citadel]

“This is an outrage! The geth attacks our colonies, and the Council opts to do nothing about it?” the mint green unicorn fumed. She scowled at the holograms of the Council at the console.

As has been tradition for millennia, the Council consisted of three members, one from each of the three major species that populated the council space: the asari, turians and salarians. Together, the three wielded enormous power and influence throughout Citadel space.

“The Traverse is not part of Council space, ambassador. We cannot interfere with the situation there,” the salarian councilor answered. His wide amphibian eyes stared ahead at the ambassador unflinchingly. The ambassador did not reply immediately, and instead took to massaging her temples with a hoof.

While the exchange was taking place, the rest of the Normaredy crew were listening in silently on the exchange. The captain herself was standing just behind the ambassador with Twilight taking her place behind Trixie with Applejack. Fluttershy sat in a corner with her pet rabbit, watching the proceeding from afar. Rarity stood at the balcony, admiring the view of the wide open plazas that made up the Presidium below.

As they waited for the ambassador to reply, Applejack whispered to Twilight. “Ya know, I reckon I’ll never git used to seeing them salarians. They look like walking frogs.” The orange mare shrugged. "That blue one just looks plain wrong. I mean, they ain't even got coats, for Celestia's sake."

“Applejack! They’re aliens, of course they look off to us. Besides, the salarians and asari are not to be made fun of,” Twilight hissed back.

“Sorry ma’am, tellin’ it just as how I see it.” Applejack was quickly silenced by a purple hoof to the mouth, as the ambassador spoke again.

Ambassador Lyra raised a placating hoof. “Fine. I will not dispute that. But what about Saren? You can’t ignore a rogue Spectre.”

“Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings in the hearing. Not before,” the asari councilor said firmly. The holograms of the three council members faded away, the audience apparently over.

Ambassador Lyra shook her head at the now-silent console and turned to face Captain Trixie and the group behind her. “Captain, I see you brought your crew with you,” she commented.

Trixie’s reply was professional and polite. Most unlike her usual boisterous voice. “Yes, ambassador. I brought the ground team here in case you had any questions.” She waved a hoof vaguely towards Twilight. “This is the commander, feel free to grill her on her failure.”

Twilight scowled openly at the captain. Even in front of the ambassador, she can’t resist a jab. That’s just low. The ambassador glanced at Twilight, but otherwise said nothing.

“Hey, none of that was the commander’s fault,” Applejack interjected.

“Is that so, Gunnery Chief? The mission reports I read seem to indicate otherwise.” Lyra raised an eyebrow at Applejack, her full attention now on the soldierpony.

Applejack’s cheeks reddened under the scrutiny of the green unicorn, but she bravely persisted. “Nihilus was dead when we got there. Ain’t no way we could’ve stopped that. And the commander here didn’t destroy the beacon. Whole thing just lit up like a bonfire.”

“The beacon exploded after the commander fiddled with it,” Trixie said with narrowed eyes. “The Great & Powerful Trixie is not a fool. She knows all that transpired on the ground. Your commander was foolish enough to tamper with the device and cost us the beacon.”

“The commander didn’t even touch the darn thing. Anyhow, I reckon it coulda exploded anyway. No one knows fer sure. For all we know, the geth bobby-trapped the whole goshdurned thing.” Applejack argued, her freckled face shining with sincerity. “It could’ve been one of us who taken the hit instead of her.” Twilight had to admire the honesty of her newly gained comrade. Not many ponies would be brave enough to contradict both the ambassador and captain of a ship.

The ambassador herself looked thoughtful. “Odd, this does not match the mission reports I have read. In fact, these reports paint a very different picture. I will review them again later, personally.” Lyra shot an interrogating glance at Trixie, who strenuously avoided the the ambassador’s yellow eyes.

“In any case, this incident has most likely jeopardised your chances of Spectre candidacy. The mission on Appleloosa was meant to show you could get the job done. Instead, we have a dead Spectre and a destroyed beacon. The council might use this as an excuse to reject your candidacy.” Twilight’s blood froze at the ambassador’s words. Rejected? But that… that means I failed the princess. No. This cannot be. Twilight suddenly felt herself sliding into a black hole of depression.

Apparently noticing the shocked look on Twilight’s face, the ambassador softened her voice. “I’m sure the C-Sec investigation will come up with something to implicate Saren in this atrocity.”

“Yeah…” Twilight said, looking up at the ambassador with hope.

“Don’t worry, darling. We’ll be right there for you,” Rarity said, putting a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Come with me, captain. There’s a few things we need to discuss... in private, before the hearing.” Lyra gestured to Trixie to follow her, levitating a couple of PDAs from her desk. “Commander, meet with us at the Citadel Tower. I’ll arrange for your clearance.”

With that, the green unicorn trotted out of the room, with Trixie in tow. Twilight stuck her tongue out at the departing captain as she turned her back.

“Come on girls, let’s get to the Citadel Tower.” Twilight sighed. This was going to be a long day.

***

 [Council Tower, Citadel]

“Now Angel, remember, you’re not supposed to hurt anyone here. They’re all good guys,” Fluttershy said softly. The rabbit scowled at the warning, and folded his arms in protest.

“Yeah, we’re lucky that C-Sec didn’t just arrest us when he dumped that Hanar into the lake,” Twilight rolled her eyes. Not one hour in the Citadel and they had already almost managed to cause an inter-species relation disaster. “Lucky for us, the C-Sec constable seemed just as relived that the Hanar stopped preaching after that. And the Hanar seemed reluctant to press the issue.”

“I do believe the hanar mentioned something about ‘not worthy enough to challenge this furry creature’s might’,” Rarity added in an amused tone.

The lift chimed melodically, and the doors slid open.

A wondrous sight greeted them. The council chamber was as large as a hangar bay, with the ceiling stretching at least 5 storey tall. The walls were opulently decorated, with cunningly placed foliage to give a sense of natural beauty to the room. Fountains placed along the middle of the room shot jets of water high into the air. The whole place reeked of grandeur, which Twilight suspected was precisely the point. Nothing like impressing a newcomer to the Citadel with their wealth and power.

Ahead, they saw two turians and, curiously, a sky-blue pony with rainbow coloured mane and tail in C-Sec uniforms standing about, apparently arguing.

“Saren’s hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them,” one of the turian spoke.

“Yeah!” the rainbow pony added unnecessarily.

“Stall the Council? Don’t be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus,” the other turian replied, making it clear the issue is closed. It was evident to Twilight that this one was in charge. Dismissing the other turian with a wave of his hand, he turned and walked away just as Twilight and her friends approached.

The turian who was referred to as Garrus seemed to sense their approach and turned to face Twilight. He gave her a friendly nod. “Ah, you must be Commander Sparkle. Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren.” He waved a hand to the rainbow-coloured companion standing next to him. “And this is Rainbow Dash, my assistant. She was the pony liaison for this case.” Dash gave a slight bow, but otherwise did not speak. Her magenta eyes studied the commander intently.

“Who was that turian anyway?” Twilight asked, curious.

“Oh, him? That was Executor Pallin, my superior. Very... by-the-book kind of guy, if you know what I mean,” Garrus said.

“From the looks of things, you didn’t find anything,” Twilight said glumly, feeling her depression setting in again.

“Most of Saren’s activities was classified. We couldn’t find anything solid,” Garrus said, shrugging. “And the Executor won’t let us dig any further.”

“I know he’s up to something. I can feel it,” Rainbow Dash said, rearing up and punching the air with her forehooves. “I bet he already covered up his tracks.”

“Yes, Dash, I know. But our hands are tied,” the turian said resignedly. “Good luck commander, maybe you can convince the Council.” He gestured to his assistant. “Come on Dash, let’s finish the paperwork for this one.”

“Ugh, paperwork.” The pegasus scowled briefly, before turning to face Twilight. “Nice meeting you, Commander. I heard you were quite the show on Appleloosa. Maybe you can show me some of your moves later.”

“I doubt it,” Twilight said softly, as the pair turned and strolled off.

***

The hearing was a formal affair. The three councilors stood on an elevated platform, facing Ambassador Lyra and Captain Trixie on the floor of the chambers. Next to the councilors, a hologram of Saren Arterius hung in the air. Meanwhile, Twilight and her group stood respectfully behind the ambassador and captain.

“The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way,” the asari councilor said.

“The investigation by Citadel security turned up no evidence to support your charges of treason,” the turian councilor continued.

“An eyewitness saw him kill Nihilus in cold blood!” Ambassador Lyra countered.

“We’ve read the Appleloosa reports, ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized pegasus pony is hardly compelling proof,” the salarian councilor replied.

Fluttershy seemed taken aback by the salarian’s words. “B-b-but… I saw him…” she said softly. Unfortunately, no one else in the chamber paid any attention to her words.

“I resent these accusations. Nihilus was a fellow Spectre and a friend,” Saren said, with a calculated trace of regret. His voice was persuasive enough. Twilight could almost believe him, if not for Fluttershy’s testimony on Appleloosa.

“The Great & Powerful Trixie condemns this sham of a hearing. Saren is clearly guilty and Trixie demands he be stripped of his Spectre status.”

“Ah, Captain Trixie. Still the same blowhard as last time. I wonder, have any other magical bears run you out of town lately?” Trixie’s face reddened at the mention of that humiliating incident. Twilight had to stifle a laugh at the turian’s admittedly low jab. Apparently even the Spectres knew about that incident.

Saren turned his cold gaze on the lavender unicorn. “And you, Commander Sparkle. A personal student of Princess Celestia I hear. The one who got the beacon destroyed.”

Twilight felt a chill run down her spine as she sensed the turian’s eyes drilling into her. She narrowed her eyes in response. “We don’t know how the beacon got destroyed. But you cannot deny that you were working with the geth.”

“Typical of ponies. Shifting the blame to—”

“WAIT!” a familiar voice shouted from across the chambers, followed by the sound of pattering footsteps that rang across the hall. Twilight frowned for a moment as she tried to place the voice in her memory. Then, it struck her.

“Spike?!”

The small purple dragon huffed and puffed as he reached the ponies assembled on the floor. Stopping a moment to catch his breath, the dragon produced a triangular device from his pockets. Placing it on the floor beside the ambassador, he activated the device. The hologram of the familiar white alicorn with flowing multi-coloured mane appeared beside the ambassador.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA?!” the ponies exclaimed in unison.  

Centuries of tradition reasserted themselves quickly, the ponies began kneeling before the regal visage. The three councilors looked bemused at the new development, and glanced at each other. Saren openly showed his irritation at the latest development.

“My apologies for being late. My messenger was stuck in traffic,” the regal voice of the sun princess spoke through the device, addressing the Council directly. The ponies discreetly got back to their feet as they watched the new exchange. Twilight idly wondered at the strength of the magical device used to project the princess’s image. It must have been a very powerful spell to able to transmit her image all the way from Canterlot direct to the Citadel itself in real-time.

“Princess Celestia, you honour us with your presence,” the asari councilor greeted. “But I’m afraid not even your presence can change our minds. There is simply no hard evidence tying Saren with the geth.”

The princess flashed a smile. “Actually, I was hoping to request for Equestria’s own to look into Saren’s activities instead. After all, the geth attack on one of my subject’s colony world is a matter of national concern,” the princess said diplomatically, her royal image betraying no hint of her actual feelings.

“C-Sec has already done a thorough investigation. I don’t see a need to reopen the case,” Saren said, obviously intent on wrapping up the matter.

“I respectfully disagree councilors. I’m not convinced that C-Sec was allowed to probe deep enough. I’m sure many of my subjects would agree. A second investigation from our side would go a long way to allay those suspicions. With oversight from C-Sec, of course.” Princess Celestia was at her most charming, offering both carrot and stick.

“Councilors, I have already been investigated once. Do we really have the time and resources to throw away reopening dead-end cases while the threat of geth attacks loom?” Saren said.

“You no-good foalnapping tramp, you led the geth attack yerself!” Applejack shouted. She was quickly silenced by a hoof in the mouth by Twilight, who flashed a guilty smile at the councilors.

“Agreed, we have far more pressing matters to deal with than this,” the turian councilor said, apparently unfazed by the interruption. The asari councilor nodded in assent.

“Princess Celestia, Commander Sparkle, do you have anything to add?” the salarian councilor asked. Twilight shook her head.

“I defer to your judgement then, councilors.” Princess Celestia’s voice sounded a little disappointed.

The three council members glanced at each other briefly, as if seeking confirmation. After a brief nod from both the salarian and the turian councilor, the asari councilor announced formally, “The Council found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied.”

“I’m glad to see justice have been served,” the hologram of Saren said smugly, before vanishing.

“This meeting is adjourned,” the asari councilor announced with finality. Twilight watched as the councillors turned and disappeared from the dais.

Ambassador Lyra was crestfallen as she turned to face the ponies and the hologram of the princess. “My apologies, Your Highness. I wish I could have done more.”

The image of Princess Celestia smiled at the ambassador’s words. “Don’t fret young one. I know a whitewash when I see one.” Lyra bowed at the princess’ words. “Now where’s my dear student Twilight Sparkle?” The princess made a show of looking for her student, even if it was obvious she knew exactly where Twilight hid.

For her part, Twilight was trying her best to hide behind Applejack. On hearing her name, she yelped and jumped in surprise. “Y-y-yes princess?” she stammered. Twilight found herself being nudged forward towards the device. “I’m really sorry it came to this. I know that you had high hopes on me...” She cowered, expecting a rebuke… or something worse.

“Nonsense, Twilight Sparkle. Of all the ponies in the room, I know you better than anyone to know that you give nothing but your best.” The princess’s tone was genial, almost cheerful even.

Twilight could not describe the relief she felt at the princess’s words. “I… Thank you Princess…” Glancing back at the now-empty platform where the Council had stood, she asked, “But what about Saren?”

“I have already alerted our colonies about the possibility of further geth attacks.” The implications of the princess’s words were not lost on Twilight. Putting the colonies on full alert meant that the entire Equestrian Navy was probably being mobilised as they spoke. “Apart from that, it is up to you, Twilight Sparkle, to prove his guilt. Something tells me, the answer can be found just on the station.” The princess gave a cryptic smile.

“I don’t understand, princess.” Twilight’s face was a mass of confusion.

“In time you will, Twilight Sparkle. Now I must go. The magic in this device is wearing off. Do keep in touch with letters. You know what to do with Spike.” With that, the device gave a spluttering sound and the image vanished into thin air. Twilight stared into the empty space where the hologram was for just a moment longer, before turning to the diminutive purple dragon who was waiting patiently at the side of the device. She flashed a heartfelt smile at Spike, and scooped him up with her forehooves.

“Well Spike, I guess it’s just like old times huh?” Twilight said as she hugged her fillyhood friend.

“Yeah, Twilight. Just like old times.” Spike replied, jumping on the lavender’s unicorn back.

“I don’t believe this. A personal audience with Princess Celestia and I don’t even get an honourable mention,” Trixie loudly complained.

As if on cue, Spike suddenly belched a gout of green flame, producing a letter. Catching it with her magic, Twilight unrolled the scroll and skimmed through it. A small smile flitted to her face as she pushed the letter towards Trixie’s impatient hooves.

My dear student Twilight Sparkle,

Before I forget, please tell Captain Trixie I have concerns about her recent behavior and conduct both on Appleloosa and the Citadel. She is to withdraw herself from the investigation of Saren, pending further orders.

Yours loving mentor,
Princess Celestia

Trixie’s haughty look disappeared as she read the letter, her face paling visibly. She quickly excused herself from the group, galloping with unnatural haste towards the lift. Twilight did not feel the least bit sorry about the captain’s turn of luck.

“Huh, I guess the princess knows about Trixie after all,” Twilight said with wonder.

“You really think the princess wouldn’t keep tabs on you,Twi? You are her best student after all. The most powerful unicorn under her study.”

“And you’re still my best assistant I ever had,” Twilight replied playfully, rubbing the spikes on his head. Spike blushed at the compliment. Her expression became serious. “Let’s go find this evidence,” she announced firmly.

“Right behin’ you, commander,” Applejack said.

“Let’s show this turian what we ponies can do,” Rarity declared.

“Um… Okay… Let’s go?” was all Fluttershy whispered.

Angel, unusually, hopped in front of Twilight and gave her a thumbs up. Twilight had to smile at the gesture. With her head held high, she set off with her friends.

***

[The Wards, Citadel]

The 'arms' of the Citadel were known as the Wards. They were the residential centres of the Citadel, each essentially a self-contained city home to millions. It was in one of those cities that the ponies decided to have their meeting, as the bustling crowds should shield their activities from any prying eyes. Or so Twilight hoped.

“Okay, the ambassador gave us a contact… Jelly Punch, C-Sec. Spike, see if you can find out anything about him.”

“Right!” the dragon answered enthusiastically and started combing through the extranet through his PDA. A couple of minute of furious typing later, he exclaimed, “Done!”

“What have you found?” Twilight queried.

“Well, apparently he was fired from C-Sec. Drinking on the job. The file says that he likes to go to Chora’s Den, a gentlemen club, somewhere in the Wards.” Spike scratched his head as he puzzled over the name. “What’s a gentlemen club?”

“Maybe it’s some kind of high-class lounge,” Rarity said, her eyes going round at the prospect of finally visiting the Citadel’s finer establishments. “This pony must have refined taste. Oh, I can already see the place. The glamour. The class. The refined culture...”

Twilight shook her head as Rarity continued, seemingly lost in her own fantasy. “Chora’s Den it is then,” she said.

[Chora’s Den, Citadel]

“Oh my. This is…” Rarity winced as they stood at the entrance of the ‘gentlemen club’, “… disappointing.” She spat the last word out.

“I guess this is not what you hoped for, huh?” Spike asked, oblivious to her tone.

“No, it is not,” Rarity answered flatly.

“Pheewwwwwwww. I seen bad apples in my time, but nothing as bad as this rotten apple,” Applejack remarked as they entered the seedy bar. Loud, provocative music reverberated throughout the club, the smoky atmosphere giving it a distinctly unfriendly look.

“Oh, this smoke is going to make my armour smell for days,” Rarity complained.

Fortunately, finding their target was easy. A grey earth pony sitting in the corner was the only pony patron in the bar. Said pony was also nursing a huge cup of wine. Apparently getting drunk seemed to be high on his list of priority. The group pushed through the crowd as unobtrusively as possible, coming to a halt near his table. “Excuse me, Mr Jelly Punch?” Twilight asked politely.

“Who wants to know?” The grey pony turned a lazy eye on the commander and the group assembled behind her, not moving his muzzle from the cup of wine. He seemed distinctly bored. His ears flicked his sleek black mane apart.

“Hi there, my name is Twilight Sparkles. I’m the commander of the ship ESV Normaredy.” Twilight replied, slightly thrown off balance by the strange pony’s mannerism.

“Oh, so you’re that hotshot commander who got that Spectre killed?” Jelly Punch suddenly looked more interested. Twilight winced slightly. Apparently the news had already begun to spread. The ex-C-Sec pony turned his full attention on the commander. “Look pal, I don’t know how I can help you here.”

“We’re looking for Garrus Vakarian.”

“Oh, Garrus.” The earth pony’s voice hardened, and his jaw tightened. “One of the finest investigator for C-Sec. Also, the same turian who ratted me out and got me fired.” He paused to take a big sip of his wine. “Yeah, I know where he is.”

“Where?” Applejack interjected.

“Now wait just a horseapple minute. Why should I tell you ponies anything? What’s in it for me?” the gray pony said smugly. Twilight noticed a bouncer standing nearby beginning to take a great deal of interest in them.

“Why you no-good son of a—” Applejack started, inching dangerously close to the gray pony. Before she could do more than raise a hoof however, she noticed Twilight was gesturing her to stop. Applejack backed down reluctantly. Twilight glanced at the bouncer and shook her head, indicating to the bouncer they won’t cause any trouble. The bouncer seemed satisfied, and returned to watching the crowd.

Instead, Twilight nodded at the white rabbit riding on Fluttershy’s back. Angel hopped off the pegasus and landed on to the table in a smooth arc. A shotgun magically appeared in his paws.

“Now what do you think you’re...” His confident voice trailed off as he saw the shotgun in the rabbit’s paws. Nopony else in the bar appeared to have noticed. The rabbit shook his head as he saw the grey pony open his mouth to call for help. For added emphasis, Angel nudged his chest with the barrel of the weapon. Jelly Punch quickly took the hint and subsided, fear now evident in his green eyes.

“Tell us where Garrus is, or… we let the rabbit have fun with you.” Twilight flashed an evil grin, though she meant none of it. Angel nodded enthusiastically, mirroring Twilight’s grin.

Fortunately, the grey pony didn’t know any better.  He gulped as his eyes flitted between the shotgun-wielding rabbit and Twilight. “Okay, okay. Just relax. Garrus, you say? He was sniffing around Dr. Sunny Day’s clinic. It’s near the Markets. Last I heard, he and his pony friend were going back there.” He turned a nervous eye on the rabbit. “Can I drink in peace now?”

“Fine. Let her go Angel.” Twilight said reluctantly. The shotgun in Angel’s paws magically vanished, and he hopped back onto Fluttershy’s back in one smooth motion.

“That’s a good bunny,” Fluttershy said softly, nuzzling the white rabbit fondly.

***

[Dr Sunny Day’s Clinic, Citadel]

“I didn’t tell anyone. I swear!” Dr. Sunny Day wailed. The dark blue earth pony was surrounded by four turian thugs. One was grabbing her cream mane and waving his gun threateningly.

“Very smart of you, now if—“ the turian thug stopped mid-sentence as he saw the door to the clinic sliding open. He grabbed the good doctor around the neck and pointed his gun to her face. Dr. Day whimpered in fear.

“Who are you?” the thug shouted at the intruder.

“Name’s Rainbow Dash, C-Sec. Looks like I got here just in the nick of time.” The blue pegasus smiled cockily. And not a moment to spare. Garrus was right, these thugs were serious, Dash thought, as she recognised the military grade rifles they were carrying.

“Don’t come any closer, or your pretty little doctor will lose more than just her pride,” the thug sneered, as his clawed finger applied more pressure on his gun’s trigger. The terror on the doctor’s face intensified.

“Please… no,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Hah, I can disarm all of you in ten seconds flat,” Dash said coolly, flipping her rainbow mane casually. The thugs failed to notice her wings were already flared, ready to fly. She’d have to time this very carefully. The thugs stood in a rough semi-circle around the doctor. If she took out the one holding the doctor first…

“Yeah, right. Prove it.” The thugs laughed at the prospect of the single pegasus pony overpowering four heavily armed thugs by herself.

Dash narrowed her eyes in response, and steeled her wings. She accelerated to a rainbow blur which enveloped the thug holding Dr. Day hostage. The remaining thugs, taken by surprise by the bold move, hesitated at first. Only sheer reflex prompted them to fire wildly at the mini-cyclone surrounding the pair. The bullets all but missed the rainbow pegasus. Their weapons soon disappeared as well as the rainbow blur brushed past them in turn.

A full ten seconds later, Dash was back at the entrance of the clinic, the thugs’ weapons now collected neatly on her back. Dr. Day also somehow managed stumble away from the thugs, and was now standing beside the C-Sec pony. She seemed disorientated but otherwise unharmed.

“Ten. Seconds. Flat,” Rainbow Dash announced matter-of-factly. The thugs just wordlessly gaped as they struggled to comprehend the situation, and their empty hands.

Right on cue, the clinic door opened again. Rainbow Dash turned to see Twilight and her friends staring at the scene in surprise, with Garrus in tow.

***

“Dash, I’m going to take these thugs back for questioning. Why don’t you assist Commander Sparkle here in the meantime?” Garrus suggested, as he handcuffed each thug. The four did not offer much resistance after being disarmed. One was mumbling how embarrassing it was to be outdone by a rainbow coloured pony, of all the things.

“Sure thing, Garrus. Catch you later,” Dash replied.

“Hey, save some for me later,” Garrus called as he led the captive thugs out of the door.

“Only if you aren’t late,” Dash called back cheerfully, before the clinic door slid shut.

“Wow, you actually disarmed four armed beings alone?” Twilight asked, a note of admiration in her voice.

“Yep, I call it the Disarming-Rain-Bow-Smackdown.” Dash announced proudly. The other ponies giggled at the awkward made up name. Rainbow Dash winced at the reaction. “Of course, it’s not final yet. I’m still thinking of a cooler name to go with it,” she hurriedly added, not fooling anypony. The ponies giggled even more.

“Oh, thank you so much for saving me, Rainbow Dash,” Dr. Sunny Day gushed, having finally managed to attract the pegasus’ attention.

“Well, yeah, that’s what I do,” Dash said a little haughtily, flipping her rainbow mane back.

“Why were they after you doctor?” Twilight quickly interjected, before the doctor could start professing her love and admiration of the C-Sec pony.

“They work for Fist. They wanted shut me up. To keep me from telling Garrus and Rainbow Dash here about the quarian,” the doctor explained.

“Quarian?” Twilight asked. Quarians were rarely seen in Citadel space, since the geth war. Most council races considered them something of a nuisance. Not to mention blaming them for creating the geth in the first place.

“A few days ago, a quarian came in here, seeking medical treatment. She’d been shot, but she wouldn’t tell who did it. By the looks of things, someone was after her,” Dr Sunny Day explained.

“What happened then?”

“She said she wanted to sell information. Something about geth. She plans to trade the information to the Shadow Broker in exchange for someplace safe to hide.”

“Shadow who?” Spike asked, confusion on his face evident.

“Shadow Broker. Somepony who deals in information trafficking,” Rainbow Dash helpfully supplied. “You can ask Garrus later if you want to know more.”

“I told her to find Fist. He’s an agent for the Shadow Broker,” the doctor continued.

“Well, not anymore. Garrus told me Fist now works for Saren,” Rainbow Dash said, shrugging. “Personally, I think he’s got a death wish. The Shadow Broker doesn’t like traitors.” Dash made a slicing motion with her right forehoof.

The doctor pony looked incredulous. “Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? Saren must have made quite the offer.”

“Of course,” Twilight exclaimed, clicking her forehooves together. “The quarian must have something Saren wants. I bet it links Saren to the geth’s attack on Appleloosa.”

“In any case, we aren’t the only one after Fist. Remember when I said Fist has a death wish. Well, from what I heard, the Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him down,” Dash added.

“Aren’t krogans supposed to be… you know, big, mean and very bad news?” Spike asked worriedly.

“I ain’t scared of no krogan. Why, there’s five soldier ponies here…” Applejack did a double take as she realised what she said. “Okay, maybe not five soldier ponies. We’ve two soldier ponies, an engineer pony,  a C-Sec pony and erm... a biotic rabbit on a pegasus. That gotta count for somethin’, right?”

“We’ll deal with it as it comes. Come on! We need to get to Fist before Wrex finds and deals with him. Permanently,” Twilight said.

***

[Chora’s Den, Citadel]

The galloping group of ponies came to a screeching halt as they neared the seedy bar they entered earlier. Sounds of trombones, trumpets and drums emanated from the bar. Streamers and various party props could be seen littered around the entrance. The ponies looked at each other uncertainly.

“That sounds like…” Rarity began.

“… a party?” Twilight finished the thought.

Rainbow Dash looked at the bar disbelievingly. “It can’t be her… can it?” she thought out loud.

“Can’t be who now?” Applejack asked, overhearing the exchange.

“Nothing. Just something I imagined. We better get in there and find out what the hay is going on,” Dash replied firmly. Applejack eyed the rainbow pegasus suspicously, but apparently decided to let the matter go for the moment.

“Agreed. Let’s move girls. Be ready for anything,” Twilight said.

They entered cautiously, wary of ambushes. The bar appeared to be curiously deserted now, except for the sound of the party music. Balloons could be seen all over the place, and a whole banquet of party treats was laid out on the bar. Colourful stains which suspiciously resembled blood was splattered on the walls, with dead bodies littering the floor. The contrasting atmosphere was eerie to say the least.

“Hi!” a pink pony with fluffy pink mane suddenly popped up in front of Twilight. To her credit, Twilight merely jumped two feet back when the pony appeared, managing to land on all four hooves. The other ponies fared less well. Applejack ended up behind a table. Dash found herself on the ceiling. Upside down. With Fluttershy. Rarity dead fainted. Only Spike and Angel seemed unperturbed by the pink earth pony’s sudden appearance.

“Are you here for the party too?” she asked enthusiastically, not particularly directing the question at anypony.

“Err…” the ponies stammered.

“AWESOME! All those strange people ran off when the loud noises started. Silly turians, a party isn’t a party without anypony in it. Come on!” she bubbled as she took Twilight by her forehoof and began an impromptu polka dance. As if on cue, the music changed its rhythm to match the dance.

“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing?!” Rainbow Dash yelled over the music.

Twilight shot a questioning glance at Dash. Almost as if she was silently asking, You know this pony? 

Dash just flashed a guilty smile, and quickly looked away. Yes, she did indeed know of this particular pony. Pinkie was a well-known, if somewhat notorious pony for holding the best parties on the station. It was a mystery to C-Sec as to where she managed to find the required supplies every time she held one. Executor Pallin was on record claiming that “that pony is a menace to the station... and somehow manages to have a good time while at it.” Rainbow wasn’t exactly sure why C-Sec considered her to be such a nuisance, though the number of times she had barged into official ambassadorial parties probably had something to do with it.

“Having a party, silly!” Pinkie answered back.

“In here? Are you insane? Why are you holding a party in here of all places in the Citadel?” Dash replied incredulously. Out of the corner of her eye, Dash saw Spike, Fluttershy and the rabbit dancing to the music as well. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Applejack was in the midst of chowing down on a large cream pie. The pegasus winced slightly at the reaction of her compatriots. Do they not know the seriousness of the situation?

“Because that nice krogan said Fist wanted a party here. Being the party-pony around, of course it’s my job to organize the party,” Pinkie Pie said, as if stating the obvious.

“Wait, krogan? What’s his name?” Twilight managed to articulate, while being forced to dance with the hyperactive pink pony. She already had a sinking feeling in her gut that they were too late.

Pinkie Pie stopped dancing and looked uncertain for a moment as she struggled to recall the name. “Um… Vex, Wax…” The pink pony began running through the different combination of names aloud. “Aha! His name was Wrex,” she finally blurted out.

“Wrex?! Pinkie, he’s a known criminal bounty hunter. He’s not a nice person,” Dash cried incredulously.

“Says you. Why, I know beneath all that Krogan bitterness, he’s a nice, kind but grumpy old pony. I just know it,” Pinkie replied confidently. Dash rolled her eyes at the reply.

“Oh look, there he is now.” She pointed to an open door on one side of the bar, where Twilight could make out a krogan standing in the doorway. Around him lay the bodies of the guards and bouncer Twilight noticed on her previous visit.

The krogan was a big creature, like most of his species: almost twice the bulk of an average pony. His reptilian face bore a prominent facial scar just above his right eye. The red suit of heavy armour he was wearing seemed battered and worn.

Upon seeing Pinkie, he sheathed his shotgun and gave the party pony a grin. The krogan sauntered up to the ponies and clapped her on the back. “Good job Pinkie. I love your parties,” the krogan said appreciatively. “Good distraction. Fist didn’t even see me coming.” He casually grabbed a bun and began chewing.

“Anything for you, Mister Wrex,” Pinkie replied happily, apparently oblivious to the true meaning of his words.

Twilight put on a brave face as the krogan turned his attention on Twilight. Up close, the krogan seemed even scarier than what Twilight imagined. His whole body seemed ready to leap into battle in a moment notice. At least he didn’t seemed overtly hostile.

“So, Fist is dead?” Twilight grimaced as she digested the krogan’s words.

“He’s dead. I always fulfill my contracts,” Wrex replied nonchalantly, licking the bits of bun remaining on his lips.

“Ugh, now how do we find out where that quarian went?” Twilight said with frustration. On the other hoof, at least they didin’t need to fight this big scary krogan.

“Don’t know, don’t care. All I care is that my business here is done.” Wrex then eyed Rainbow Dash. “Unless of course C-Sec wants to arrest me now?”

The rainbow pegasus seemed to wilt under Wrex’s menacing stare. “Err… I didn’t see anything,” Dash stammered. She gulped and smiled nervously as the krogan continued to glare at her.

After what seemed like hours, Wrex finally said, “Good. I’m glad we have an understanding.” The krogan cracked his wrists just to emphasise his point. Satisfied that Dash wasn’t going to do anything stupid, he casually walked out of the bar, leaving no hint of his presence behind. Dash stuck a tongue out at the receding figure of the krogan.

“Well, maybe Fist has a record or something that we can find to track down this quarian,” Rarity suggested.

“Of course. He might have stored the data on his personal computer.” Twilight frowned as she considered the potential difficulty of breaking into a modern computer that by all accounts was secured against the prying eyes of outsiders. “Getting the data is going to be—”

“Found it!” Pinkie Pie waved a PDA above her head, somehow managing to get hold of one while the ponies were busy with Wrex.

“What?! How?” Twilight asked disbelievingly.

“It’s under Q for quarian,” she replied patiently, as if it was obvious.

“I mean his personal computer, shouldn’t it be protected or something?” Twilight said.

“Oh, you just need to figure out the algorithm for generating standard Citadel 512-bit password, then figure out ciphers to match the one on his computer, bypass the built-in firewalls, decrypt the data streams and make sure that the security systems don’t lock you out at the same time. Easy peasy,” she counted off rapidly. The other ponies jaws went slack, not expecting such a level of technical expertise in the carefree pony.

“Well… let’s see it.” Twilight levitated the PDA from the earth pony’s mouth. She scanned the text briefly, “Says here he arranged a meeting with the quarian in a back alley in the Wards. His men have orders to kill the quarian and take her data. The meeting is about to start in…” Twilight brought up the current time on her visor, “…twenty minutes. If we hurry, we can still reach the quarian in time.”

“Well, what’re we waiting fer then?” Applejack said, already starting to gallop out of the bar. “Come on!”

“This looks fun. Can I come too?” Pinkie begged Twilight. “Please, please, please!” She knelt in front of Twilight theatrically, blocking Twilight from following the rest of the group, who were already disappearing out of the bar. For good measure, she made puppy eyes. Big round puppy eyes.

Twilight groaned. Those puppy eyes... were irresistible. “Fine, fine. Just don’t get in our way when the fighting starts.” Twilight already feared that the bubbly earth pony was going to get herself killed by some foolish stunt later.

“Okie dokie. I can take care of myself. Pinkie promise!” Pinkie did a complicated gesture, which ended with her sticking some imaginary thing in her eye. Then she galloped off to join the rest of the ponies.

“Twilight, are you sure about this? I mean, look at her,” Spike whispered. Twilight just gave a helpless shrug, and then galloped off to join her friends before they ran too far ahead.

***

[Alleyway, Citadel]

The ponies arrived at the alleyway early. No one was around yet. The alleyway was dark, and quite full of shadows. Plenty of places to hide… and ambush.

 “What does a quarian look like anyhow?” Applejack wondered aloud.

 “No one knows for sure. They usually wear an environmental suit over their entire body whenever they are seen outside of their Migrant Fleet.” Twilight answered absent-mindedly, as she tried to come up with a plan to help this mysterious quarian. Fist’s files indicated there would be six thugs waiting for the quarian. The hitch was, they would only appear once the quarian was in sight.

“Migrant Fleet?” AJ echoed, clearly not comprehending.

“I’ll tell you all about them when we get back to the ship, okay?” Twilight replied in an exasperated voice. The constant stream of interruption wasn’t helping her think.

Twilight noticed the pink earth pony from earlier bouncing with excitement around in a corner. “Pinkie, are you sure you want to follow us? It is kind of dangerous after— ” Her words trailed off as she found herself being fixed with an uncompromising stare, seemingly staring down in her soul. Twilight felt herself shiver, as if the temperature suddenly dropped.

“Oh-kay, so you do want to follow us. Just checking.” Twilight flashed a guilty smile, not willing to risk her soul over that stare. She could hear Dash giggling behind her.

“The Pinkie Stare. Never fails,” Dash commented innocently. Twilight shot a dirty look at the impudent pegasus. Dash just gave a helpless shrug in reply.

Pinkie nodded happily, her mood abruptly swinging back to cheerful. “This is going to be so fun!” she exclaimed with barely contained excitement. Silence greeted her. She cocked her head in puzzlement, before discerning the reason.

The sounds of footsteps could be faintly heard, echoing from the other end of the alleyway.

“Somepony’s coming,” Applejack said, her ears perking up.

“Don’t tell me it’s that alien with that... that horrible suit?” Rarity gasped, pointing a hoof at a figure at the other end of the alleyway. The alien was clearly feminine, with a rather ornate environmental suit. She glanced around warily, apparently debating whether to enter the alleyway or not. “Her suit design is atrocious. It’s a crime against fashionry!”

“Focus, Rarity,” Twilight reminded the white unicorn. Rarity winced at the prospect of letting this fashion disaster go uncorrected, but nodded. Twilight nodded to herself as the last pieces of her makeshift plans fell into place. All those late nights studying military ambushes finally paid off, Twilight thought with hidden relief.

“Okay, here’s the plan.” Twilight began sketching out her plan rapidly. “Rarity, you’ll be…”

***

The quarian was cautious, and kept glancing behind her back. She had one hand on the pistol on her hip, obviously expecting trouble. Reaching a shadowy alcove in the alley, she fiddled with the omni-tool in her right arm. A moment later, six figures materialised from the shadows of the alcove: four turians and two salarians.

“Where’s the Shadow Broker? I thought Fist had arranged for us to meet here,” the quarian said in an impatient voice.

A turian, apparently the leader of the group, chuckled. “They’ll be here. Where’s the evidence?” he replied conversationally, holding his hand out.

“No way, the deal’s off.” The quarian began to walk away. The sound of weapons being drawn made her halt in her steps.

A discrete cough sounded at the end of the alley. “I think that’s close enough, gentlecolts,” Rarity said.

The turian leader seemed startled at the unexpected intrusion and raised his weapon to meet her. Two of his subordinates followed suit, while the remaining three kept their sights aimed at the quarian.

Rarity tut-tuted. “Now now, let’s not be hasty. I’m sure we can work this out peacefully.”

“Lady, I suggest you walk away now and you might just live,” the turian said menacingly, tightening the grip on his rifle.

“Guess again, darling.” Rarity said with a smirk. With a click of her hooves, her glowing horn abruptly flared with impossibly bright light. The thugs flailed helplessly as their eyes were blinded momentarily.

In that exact moment, two of the turian thugs tumbled to the floor, one kicked in the head by powerful hind legs, the other blasted senseless by an energy bolt. A rainbow blur suddenly flew through the other two thugs, leaving them disorientated and stripped of their weapons. One of the salarian thugs managed to raise his weapon, only to be slammed into the wall by a biotic field. The turian leader had just enough time to realise that his squad was down, before noticing a pink shadow in front of him.

“Boo!”

“Gah!” the turian leader stumbled back, dropping his rifle.

“Silly turian! You’re supposed to be scared!”  the pink pony scolded, having the time of her life.

In the middle of it all, the quarian stared at the spectacle, dumbfounded by the sudden help.
The ponies came out of the same shadows the group had been hiding not too long ago. Twilight gathered the fallen weapons with one swoop and floated them out of reach. The turian leader’s expression alternated between surprise and deep shame that his group was taken down so easily.

“Now then, as I was saying, are you very sure we cannot work out a more civilised manner to settle this dispute?”

***

As the last of the thugs were shuffled away by C-Sec constables; the ponies, Garrus and the quarian finally had the privacy to discuss their matter more openly. Garrus, as was rapidly becoming usual, was late to the party and was teased mercilessly by his partner. He seemed to take it in good spirits, however. “At least you didn’t kill anyone. Imagine the paperwork we’ll have to fill for manslaughter,” he joked.

“Thank you for rescuing me. But, who are you?” the quarian asked, in a heavily accented Equestrian. Or rather the translator gave her the accent.

Now that the danger had passed, Twilight studied the quarian more thoroughly. Like most race of the Citadel, she was bipedal, with three fingers on her hands as opposed to normal four of a turian. Her legs were bowed back significantly in contrast to most of the other bipedals of the Citadel. The quarian’s entire body was covered by her environmental suit, which seemed to be made of a sort of synthetic rubber. To top it all off, she wore a cloak on her headpiece. Twilight could not make out any facial features on the inside of the mask, save for two glowing eyes. It unsettled the unicorn a little.

After a moment of awkward silence, Twilight decided to play it safe. “My name is Commander Sparkle. I’m looking for evidence of Saren working with the geth.”

“Then I have the chance to repay you. But we need to go somewhere safe. Fist may have more thugs gunning for me.” The quarian glanced around nervously, evidently expecting another group of thugs to ambush her.

“Well, the ambassador office then. We’ll be quite safe there.  Ambassador Lyra would want to see you anyway,” Rarity suggested.

“Good idea, let’s go before we cause any more trouble,” Twilight said.