“Alert Chef Cloudwing at once,” Celestia nodded to the guard, who was clearly waiting for orders following his announcement.
“I… your majesty?” the stallion tilted his head to the side, clearly surprised by the directive.
“Well, I am sure that the Ambassador will be famished by the time she arrives. To be this far ahead of schedule, they must have been flying for the last day or so straight,” Celestia reasoned with a small smile before adding, “Alert the treasury that the Chef will require a new supply of gemstones for the pantry.”
With this simple explanation, the guard saluted. “As you command Princess. Our scout reported that the Ambassador should be arriving with her charge shortly.”
“Her charge?” Celestia inquired with a raised eyebrow. “That is unusual, unless it is migration season, dragons tend to travel alone.”
“The Scout reported that she has a companion with her, your highness,” the guard answered. “A young drake the Guard is quite familiar with.”
A look of dawning realization crossed Celestia’s face after a moment before nodding, her soft smile returning. “I see, in that case, please inform Princess Twilight of the impending homecoming. I will send another pony along to alert the treasury.”
“At once, Princess,” the guard lowered his head into a bow before turning to trot briskly down the hallways.
“Dragons?” Shepard inquired as he stepped towards the door. “As in flying, reptilian, fire breathing dragons?”
“Oh yes, quite so,” Celestia answered with a small smile. “I suppose it is not surprising that they would arrive first. When they can be roused, dragons tend to be quite quick to action. And your arrival has certainly been ‘rousing’ if nothing else. Now then, would you care to join me? I assume you’ll want to meet the new diplomat as much as I do.”
“That would be an understatement.” Shepard moved forward, surprised that Philomena kept her perch and moved along with him as he walked, although he could barely register her weight. The opportunity to actually ‘meet’ a living, breathing dragon was not something he was about to miss. “I am curious though, why would the kitchens need funding from the treasury?”
“Oh, dragons are crystavores.” Celestia explained as the two exited her study and began down the long hallway.
“Meaning?” Shepard asked.
“Meaning that they derive nutrition from condensed mineral sources, gemstones to use the laypony term,” Celestia stated plainly.
The Commander processed this for a moment before the implications hit home.
“They ‘eat’ gems? Like diamonds and rubies?”
“Those would be considered ‘fine dining’ to most dragons. More commonly they tend to eat more plentiful stones, like quartz, amethyst, or agates. In the absence of suitable stones, they can sate their hunger with more ‘pony-like’ faire.” Celestia explained. “The Ambassador is a Dragon Lord however, and her preferences are more highbrow than most of her kin.”
“You know the ambassador then?”
“Intimately.” Celestia nodded. “Although it has been decades since I saw her last.”
“Is she a friend of yours?”
“Yes, and no,” Celestia answered with a slight sigh. “Straza and I are friends in the way that a pair of old... comrades are friends. She supported me several times in conflicts when I was far younger; we remain amicable, although we have many differing viewpoints. If you asked her, she would likely not call me a ‘friend’.”
“That’s odd,” Shepard mused. “I’ve always found that my closest friends are the ones I’ve made on the battlefield.”
“That is true,” Celestia agreed. “However Straza is not just a dragon, she is a Dragonlord. The dominant class of a race that considers itself a superior species. They do not exactly have ‘friends’ in the way that you and I do, even among themselves.”
Shepard raised an eyebrow. “Really? Why not?”
“I do not truly know to be honest... something in their psychology prevents it I suppose,” Celestia answered with a slight shrug. “They are inherently self-serving and can not usually bond with their compatriots the way you or I would... it is difficult to explain.”
“So what should I expect?”
“That will depend greatly on how she perceives you. Arrogance is an unfortunate byproduct of dragon culture and they tend to make snap judgements of creatures outside their own species. If she deems you as ‘unimportant’ or ‘unworthy of her time’, then chances are she will ignore you entirely. If she deems you an annoyance, she will likely be aloof and crude. Make her angry or offend her sense of superiority, and she will not hesitate to end you.” Celestia explained. “And if she sees you as a threat… well… then she will be quite friendly. Dragons of her caliber respect power, and little else.”
Shepard nodded slowly as he walked beside her as he thought about it, this ‘Ambassador’ actually sounded like a Krogan. Their greatest insult was to say something was ‘not worth killing’, and in spite of their brutish nature, could become very loyal to those who proved their capabilities, usually in combat.
“I see... I’ll strive to make a good impression,” Shepard stated.
“I think that would be wise,” Celestia agreed. “I doubt that the Dragonlords would cause trouble for you in any event. Particularly not in my seat of power.” the Princess assured him, her voice confident. “You are on a mission of peace, and regardless of their delusions of grandeur, the dragons know better than to desecrate such a thing with violence.”
Shepard frowned again, and filed away the information for later use.
“I see, and the guard mentioned that there was someone else with her? A ‘charge’ of some sort?” Shepard asked her.
Celestia’s small smile turned into a grin. “Oh yes. Now he is a sight that will be most welcome. I’m sure Twilight will be eager to see her little brother again.”
Twilight stood in the courtyard, trying to contain her bouncing as her hooves clicked up and down in excitement.
Spike is coming home! her brain was practically shouting and it was all she could do to keep herself from hopping around in a circle chanting ‘yes yes yes’. Thankfully, her friends were there to keep her in check.
“I can’t believe it has already been six months.” Rarity said, her voice melancholy. “Oh I hope those dragons have at least tried to be nice to our little Spikey-wikey. After that nasty business with the migrational dragons...” she trailed off, having to suppress a shudder as she remembered the three adolescent drakes that had been bullying their young friend.
“Oh, but these dragons are supposed to be the mature and noble ones,” Pinkie put in. “I betcha he made a lot of friends!”
Twilight frowned, if everything she’d been told about the Dragonlords was correct, she doubted that would be the case. Still, Spike had been growing more and more restless as Twilight’s own time was taken up with royal duties. And while he considered himself more a pony than a dragon, it did not keep him from being curious about his own kind. When he had learned about the more refined nature of the Dragon Lords as opposed to his migrational ‘common’ kindred, a quick favor from Celestia had put him into the protected charge of the rulers of dragon-kind on a sort of cultural exchange.
Still, having grown to miss him more and more as she realized how much she had taken Spike’s presence for granted, Twilight could only hope that now that he was coming home, he was coming home for good.
“I’m sure he was fine,” Applejack agreed with Pinkie Pie, nudging Rarity’s shoulder. “Little guy knew how to take care of himself.”
“But... all the other dragons were so much bigger at the Migration,” Fluttershy said meekly. “What if they ganged up on him? Or if he got stepped on!”
“Or sat on…”
“Girls, I’m sure that Spike is fine,” Twilight said firmly, her voice taking on a small bit of sharpness. She didn’t particularly like being reminded of all the worries that she’d been harboring for past few months.
“Indeed he is,” Celestia’s voice said unexpectedly from behind them.
The group of friends turned to see the white alicorn approaching, Commander Shepard at her side. Twilight’s eyes instantly widened as she saw Philomena, the Princess’s pet phoenix, on his shoulder. Experience had taught her that the mischievous bird rarely displayed such docile behavior, tending instead to ‘have fun’ with the staff and guard of the castle.
Twilight also had to steady herself at the sight of the human, well aware that her initial ‘flight’ instinct was a natural (if somewhat annoying) response to what she had learned about him. The soldier had destroyed an entire star system! He had, on his own, snuffed out all life across multiple planets. Over three hundred thousand souls lost in an instant. And that was just ONE incident.
Glyph suggested that there had been many, MANY more.
Luckily, before she could stammer or say anything unfortunate, Celestia continued speaking.
“I have kept a very close watch on events and maintained correspondence with his gracious hosts.” Celestia continued. “I assure you, Twilight, there is nothing to worry about.”
Twilight responded with a grateful look and an invisible sigh of relief. “Thank you Celestia.”
“No trouble at all.” The elder alicorn replied before her head turned to the west. “Ah, there she is.” she said. Everypony and the human in the courtyard turned to follow her gaze.
Shepard saw a small golden shape on the horizon. As the shape got nearer, Shepard discovered that the Ambassador was not... exactly what he was expecting. She was a dragon, surely, just not nearly as big as he’d imagined. As she came in for a smooth landing the dragon settled her clawed legs down softly on the lawn, no more than a foot in front of Celestia, Shepard, and Twilight.
The first thing that he noticed were her eyes, which were a piercing ruby red, slitted like an earth feline’s and possessing a level of intelligence and age that rivaled Celestia’s own as they looked down at the two crown-wearing mares and Shepard from maybe two heads higher. While not the ‘gargantuan’ creature he had been expecting, the dragon was easily the largest thing in the courtyard, towering even higher than he recalled the old Shadow Broker stood. His eyes fell a bit lower as a small puff of smoke leaked out from her nostrils and muzzle and a chuckle left the dragon’s throat, revealing a set of curved fangs and a back-jaw lined with flat, crushing teeth.
She stood, not unlike the ponies, as she surveyed the group. Although judging by the shape of her ‘fore-claws’ and the fact that she had what looked like a fully opposable ‘thumb’, he supposed the dragon was far more capable of ‘fine manipulation’ than his hosts. Her scales were a brilliant gold though that golden color was accented by black swirls and patterns that were quite intricate. The dragon’s form was graceful, streamlined, and refined, all smooth lines without even a hint of blemish, fat, or scar tissue as she stood upon four shapely legs. A set of delicate looking membranous wings were tucked easily across her back and a line of smooth spines ran down from the top of her head, curled back in a manner that almost resembled a styled gold mohawk.
Shepard for his part, was doing his best to contain his inner ‘nerd squee’ at the sight of an actual, LIVING dragon standing in front of him!
Finally! The hundreds of human fantasy authors throughout the centuries of Earth Literature had been proved right. And it was about time too; the science fiction authors of old had been laughing it up for decades now. Fortunately, he kept in mind what Celestia had told him and kept his face meticulously blank, though he did raise an eyebrow at the dragon, as if unimpressed or perhaps challenging.
“AhhhhHHHHh Little ‘Tia... you haven’t changed a bit,” the dragon said with a slim smile, further displaying her sharp frontal teeth, which were pearly and white. Her voice was... silky and smooth, almost indulgent. Like a great golden goddess allowing the ‘lesser’ creatures around her the chance to bask in her glory.
“Welcome back to Canterlot, Golda’straza,” Celestia replied, a slim smile of her own on her lips. “It’s been too long.”
“I suppose it has,” the dragon mused as she glanced around the courtyard. “I see you’ve hired a better gardener.”
“In the old one’s defense, gardening was the last thing on our mind at the time,” Celestia said, her voice calm... not casual. There was nothing tense in the way she stood, but Shepard could easily see that the mare held the dragon at ‘arm’s’ length, so to speak.
The dragon however, did not bother to elaborate or reply on the subject, instead turning her attention to looking Shepard dead in the eyes. For a moment the man fought the urge to look away.
There was something terrible about those eyes, intelligence mixed equally with a primal force that seemed to have the power to shake mountains to their foundations or send armies scurrying in fear.
Many men would have been cowed, but to the man who had defied the mass murders of life hundreds of times over, it was an impulse quickly mastered as he stared right back at her unblinkingly and without the slightest hint of fear.
They held this silent staring contest for several seconds before the dragon’s grin widened, displaying her teeth even more than before.
“OOoohhhhh~~” Straza almost purred, blinking and pulling back, her scales almost looking flushed for a moment. “And you must be what all the fuss is about hmm? Impressive… ‘very’ impressive. You wouldn’t happen to be… ‘Major Kirrahe’?”
“No, Shepard, Commander Shepard. Council Spectre and Lead Ambassador for the Citadel Council First Contact Team. It’s a pleasure.”
“Oh, I assure you, Commander, the pleasure is all mine.” Straza’s grin turned less intentionally intimidating and more genuine. “No flinch whatsoever, not a trace of fear...and yet you lack the time on this world to have been properly prepared for my presence.” The dragoness commented before stalking forwards a single calculated step and holding out a large scaly clawed ‘hand’ towards Shepard. “I am Golda’straza of the Dragon Lords, acting as the voice of the Flights. I ask you address me as simply Straza unless you are speaking in a formal capacity.”
“And it’s an honor to meet you Ambassador Straza…” Shepard replied, extending his hand to accept the dragon’s, taking care with her claws as he was certain she could ‘accidently’ cut his hand open if he let her. “This is a day to mark in my people’s history. Many of my kind have long had a fascination with dragons, myself included. And you certainly do not disappoint,” he added, a small bit of his inner nerd coloring his voice.
There were many things that you could tell about a person from the handshake, from the kind of person they were, to the way they carried themselves. As the scaley fingers closed around his own Shepard felt an overwhelming feeling of casual strength flow through the dragon’s fingers. They stood that way for what felt like a century, but was probably only a few seconds before Straza released his hand and shot him an intrigued look.
“You’re certainly something special aren’t you?” Straza speculated before she noticed that Philomena was still on his shoulder, preening her feathers from the small wind kicked up on the dragon’s arrival. “And hello to you as well Lady Philomena, it seems you’ve found a new perch.” The phoenix trilled musically at the title and then leaned over to gently nip the Commander’s ear.
The dragon let out a chuckle and turned to Celestia. “You should be careful Tia or you might lose your old bird.”
“I very much doubt it,” the alicorn replied, unable to keep a slight grin off of her face.
The dragoness returned the small smile and then turned to Twilight.
“Ah, and of course, you must be the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’ve heard endless tales about you,” she said, a slight smirk on her face. “Many of them rather boring, but I must admit, very well done with that compulsion spell. Getting an entire town to riot over a little rag doll, brilliant little work of magic.”
While Twilight cringed visibly at the memory, Shepard looked to her with a raised eyebrow, concern coloring his expression, but Celestia shook her head while mouthing the words ‘I’ll explain later’ to him.
Twilight’s purple fur turned red with embarrassment at the reminder of the ‘want it need it’ spell catastrophe. Then a thought struck her.
“Wait, if you’re here, and Spike’s not with you, where is he?” she asked insistently.
“Hmm? Oh yes, the hatchling. I’m afraid he fell behind.” Straza answered with a less than attentive shrug before turning back to Celestia. “So, did you prepare us any food Tia? I do declare, I’m hungry enough to eat a horse,” she added, a slight smile on her face at the phrase, which caused the other ponies in the courtyard, who had remained silent, to cringe and draw themselves down towards the ground.
“Wh-What do you mean he fell behind? He doesn’t have wings!” Twilight protested before Celestia could respond. “Are you telling me you made him walk all the way here?!”
Straza shot Twilight an annoyed look, a bit of steam escaping her lips as she spoke.
“Respect your elders, foal,” she stated flatly. “You may be an alicorn now, but compared to me you’re barely past your infancy. As I said, he’ll be along shortly. It was hardly my fault the fledgling couldn’t keep up.”
By this time, the other Elements had recovered from their initial fear and were now regrouping next to Twilight.
“Madam Ambassador,” Rarity began diplomatically. “Would you be so kind as to tell us how it was that Spike fell behind?”
“Ah, you must be ‘Rarity’ the Element of Generosity,” Straza said as she turned to Rarity, recognition clear in her eyes. “I have heard many tales of you as well. All of them boring.”
“Yes, I am,” Rarity stated, ignoring the slight. “And I must insist that you tell us where Spike is!”
Straza shrugged. “He’ll be here shortly, just give it a min-”
The elder dragon was cut off as a loud roar split the air and everyone looked up to see a swirling green fireball rushing towards them from the sky. The fireball hit the courtyard before anyone, even Shepard had a chance to react, and exploded outwards into harmless wisps.
As it did so it revealed a purple quadrupedal dragon who came up to about Shepard’s height with a pair of large wings which then folded gracefully over his back standing in the center, a smile on his face. The green fire passed over the inhabitants of the courtyard harmlessly and the new dragon let out a laugh as he charged towards one mare in particular.
“Twilight!” the dragon shouted in a surprisingly deep voice before he reached her, snatching the stunned alicorn off of her hooves and sweeping one armed hug.
Twilight froze for a moment before she stuttered. “Sp-Spike? Is- is that you?”
“Yep,” the dragon answered with a chuckle. “It’s really me Twi, Number One Assistant Spike returning for duty.”
That was all the encouragement Twilight needed in order to tighten her grip on the dragon’s neck with her foreleg.
From her spot beside Celestia, Straza rolled her eyes at the young drake’s theatrics. “Hatchlings… grow a few feet and a pair of wings and they think they’re Equus herself,” the dragoness whispered in Celestia’s ear as they watched the reunion.
“But... how?” Twilight gasped out from beneath the strength of his hug.
“I’ll tell you later,” Spike replied, smirking at her as he released the mare.
“Spikey Wikey?” Rarity asked, her mouth finally managing to pick itself back up from its place on the ground.
“Hey Rarity,” Spike said with a smile. “So, how do you feel about taking me out on a date now?”
Instead of responding, Rarity fainted.
“Oh, wow. I... didn’t think she'd actually faint...” Spike said, rubbing the back of his neck, a scarlet blush working its way across his purple scales.
“I did warn you that would happen, not quite as I expected, but still.” Straza huffed in annoyance at the younger dragon with another roll of her eyes before turning back to Celestia and Shepard, the latter of whom had watched the whole exchange with varying degrees of confusion. “Now about dinner...”
Dr. Liara T’soni.
Daughter of the renowned Matriarch Benezia.
Graduate with Honors of the University of Serrice at the unbelievable age of sixty.
Acclaimed archaeologist.
Galaxy-saving champion.
She was all of these things before she turned a hundred and eight, when she took on the title of Shadow Broker, becoming one of the most respected, influential, and feared beings in the galaxy.
And now, far more terrifying than anything she had experienced before.
She was an expecting mother.
The asari placed a hand over her face and let out a long drawn out sigh, she’d been attempting to troll through some of the newest updates on the ‘Shadow Net’ in order to distract her mind from the issue that was currently consuming it. She had forgotten how much she depended on Glyph to coordinate the data-streams however, she was unfocused, without the much needed ‘wide-angle’ lens that the VI provided.
It allowed her time to think on her situation.
The ‘shock and denial’ phase was beginning to wear off and that meant Liara was faced with a choice.
‘Should she tell him?’ the asari thought to herself before she leaned away from the terminal and rose to her feet.
COULD she tell him? He was with Tali now and the Quarian was certainly not about to let the remarkable human go for anything. They might not have been able to have children together, but already Liara knew (being the busybody information broker she was) that they had discussed adopting human, turian, and quarian war-orphans once the Rannoch Relay had been re-opened.
Did he have to know?
It would not be difficult to hide. In her panic, she had only told one other being her child’s parentage and she trusted that Dr. Chakwas would take that secret to her grave. In the wider galaxy, asari pregnancies were not a well understood thing and while three standard galactic years was certainly the standard, baby asari could easily be ‘born’ prematurely or late by a matter of months. There would be no danger of DNA testing as her kind didn’t ‘take’ the DNA of their partner, merely randomized their own genetic patterns to create something new.
Unfortunately, seven months would be pushing any credibility, and she had certainly not been with Feron or anyone else since that day, there simply hadn’t been time.
She COULD simply raise the child on her own, like her mother did, but that brought along a whole new list of problems. And then there was the impact that a child would have on her still developing relationship with Feron.
It was true that she cared for him, and she did not doubt he believed himself to be in love with her. But the question was: ‘was it real’? Was she taking advantage of his fragile state after two years of intermittent torture and the still lingering scars from the Reaper War?
And worse of all, she was on this damn mission and couldn’t return to her new headquarters to speak with him in person. This wasn’t the sort of thing that you send a vid across light years or sent a simple text message for.
The only other person she could turn to for advice would be her father and the Head of the New Martriarch’s Council which ruled Thessia in the absence of the former E-democracy infrastructure, Matriarch Aethyta.
And that would also be a waste of time, she could already hear that deep, wisened voice.
‘Ya gotta quit crying and buck up.’ She would say. ‘Either you tell him or you don’t, but don’t wallow in it. An asari’s life is too long and everybody else’s life is too short to live like that.’
Taking a deep breath as she mentally imagined the look of annoyance on her father’s face as she berated her, Liara let it out more slowly.
She would be right too.
The mission was too important, but as soon as it was over…
With her mind made up and refusing to allow herself to remain locked in this state of indecisiveness, Liara picked up her datapad once more and opened up another dozen or so applications.
She may have been pregnant, but that didn’t mean that the galaxy had stopped spinning.
She had a job to do.
She was Liara T’soni.
She was the Shadow Broker.
What was one more secret to keep?
“And that concludes the tour,” Shining announced as he and Cadence came to a stop outside of the dining hall where they had began some hours ago. “I hope you enjoyed it,” he finished with a smile.
“I did, it was very... illuminating,” Kaidan replied, nodding.
The two royals had just finished showing them the castle’s main attractions including a library, a throne room (which had amusingly included a strangely out of place wooden chair in lieu of a third throne), and several other important areas around the castle. In particular, Kaidan had been very interested in the stained glass windows which portrayed important events in Equestrian History.
While Cadence had boasted about the fact that some of the windows were as old as Canterlot Castle itself, pointing out the ‘founding’ of Equestria, Kaidan had found himself far more interested in the ‘recent’ windows, almost all of which shared a familiar purple colored theme.
“So, what next?” Garrus inquired, looking around the hallway.
“Well, according to the schedule that Twilight constructed, it’s almost time for dinner,” Cadence answered with a benign smile, her horn aglow as she opened up the large door that led to the hall they had dined in earlier that afternoon.
Garrus and Kaidan exchanged a glance.
“Guess it’s a good thing we ended the tour here then,” the human observed with a small chuckle.
“Yeah, my sister is really good about keeping things organized. Now if you’ll follow me, I’m sure that the Princesses will join us any moment for--”
“Actually, General, Lt. Commander, if you would be so kind as to excuse us for a moment. I need to borrow my husband.” Cadence spoke up before Shining could lead the aliens into the dining hall. Shining’s eyebrows rose slightly, that was his wife’s ‘you’re in for a pointed lecture’ tone. “We’ll be in with you in just a moment.”
“Of course dear,” Shining said, a hint of nervousness leaking into his voice. Garrus and Kaidan looked back at the unicorn and gave him a silent nod of ‘respect’ before they continued forward and Cadence closed the door with a soft magical clack.
“Shine. Darling, would you mind explaining to me what the Terra Elites and the Battle-Mages were doing out there instead of the normal guards?” Cadence asked him sharply.
“Well Cadence there’s a very-”
“And about those boulders, how many of those were actually solid?” Cadence continued, her eyes boring into Shining’s.
“About halfish...”
“Uh huh,” Cadence nodded. “And Captain Spitfire and the Wonderbolts were there in the wrong armor… ‘why’?”
“Now Cadence, hold on--”
“You were trying to show off with our best and make it out like that was standard, Shine. That is not good. Was it absolutely necessary to make that terra trooper break his leg in order to showcase our magic?” she asked him, her eyebrow raising.
“Look, Cadence, firstly, that injury was not planned,” Shining said firmly, mustering his resolve. “I’m not the kind of stallion who ‘instigates’ actual pain, which you should know. Secondly, in this type kind of situation, a show of strength is a good thing... even if its a little... fudged,” the stallion said, a slight blush on his face.
“So essentially you were just trying to show the ambassadors how ‘big and strong’ we are,” Cadence summarized.
“Yes,” Shining agreed with a swift nod.
“Stallions,” Cadence said with a roll of her eyes and a sigh. “Shine darling, they’re not our enemies. They are here to help us get our hooves wet in the galactic community and to make sure that we’re safe. There was no need to exaggerate like that,” the mare told him.
“I know... but it makes me feel a bit better to know that they know we could defend ourselves. You know,” Shining replied.
“No, Shining Armor.” Cadence pointed out. “I honestly don’t believe that we could.”
“Don’t worry, Cadence, I’ll protect you. I have my shields,” Shining stated, trying to inject some confidence into his tone while Cadence gave him a flat look.
“You’ve read far more science fiction then I have darling, how well do you belive that would work?” Cadence asked him.
Shining sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“Fine,” he said flatly. “Look Cadence, I’m worried about what could happen if this whole situation goes belly up alright? I just want the assurance that they’ll think twice about fighting us on the ground. I don’t like feeling like a foal swinging a practice sword around,” he explained to his wife. “Is it wrong that I’m trying to impress?”
Cadence’s expression softened a bit. “I know that this situation is stressful, Shining Armor. But I have a good feeling about these ambassadors. I honestly believe they are here to help us. Just try to be yourself and show them the ‘Real’ Equestria, not something we ‘want’ them to see. Can you do that for me, Shine?” the mare asked him.
“Okay,” Shining said, his voice softening a little before he leaned into give her a soft kiss. “I promise Cady.”
Cadence smiled at her husband.
“Thanks Shine,” she said before nodding at the door. “Now; let’s go keep our guests company until Auntie Luna arrives to commit the next interplanetary faux-pas.”
Kaidan and Garrus entered the dining hall after giving their fellow male a nod of good luck and to their surprise found Tali sitting at one of the tables by herself, her fingers flicking over a datapad. The quarian looked up as they entered and set the datapad down.
“Tali? What are you doing down here? Weren't you supposed to be back on the Normandy?” Garrus asked her as he walked up and took the chair beside his friend.
“Things changed,” Tali answered with a slight shrug.
“And they just stuck you in the dining room?” Kaidan asked, a slightly disbelieving tone in his voice.
“At my own request.” Tali replied. “They offered to have one of the guards give me a tour of some sort... but there was something I wanted to look over before dinner.” she added, gesturing to the datapad.
“Research?" Kaiden inquired.
“Of a sort, I kept a transcript of the conversations we had over lunch,” Tali replied. “There are a few things that could use some clarification.”
“Such as?” Garrus asked, his mandibles twitching as he bent down to look over Tali’s shoulder.
“Mostly things about the arriving ambassadors, although I'm also trying to brush up on some galactic diplomatic standards,” Tali replied before letting out a small sigh. “We know so little about them that I don't know how much help that's even going to be. There are just so many unknowns.”
Tali glanced up at him and sighed before she changed the topic. “So... how was your tour?”
“It was... enlightening,” Garrus answered. “We got to see a demonstration of the Equestrian Military in ‘action’ and I’ve got to say, I’m actually impressed.”
“Really?” Tali asked, frowning beneath her mask. “A turian, impressed by a pre-gunpowder age military?”
“Honestly Tali, so am I.” Kaidan stated.
Garrus nodded in agreement. “What they lack in technology, I’d say they make it up for with discipline. And part of me wonders if maybe we've actually lost something becoming so reliant on technology. Of course, I wouldn't want to put them up against a legion of husks, banshees, and brutes. But I get a feeling they would fair better than most of our forces did when they first faced reaper troops.” the turian stated.
Tali’s eyes widened slightly.
“Well, that’s is impressive, no mistake,” she said before nodding. “Though... I suppose it doesn’t surprise me too much that they’re capable of more than they appear.”
“Why’s that?” Kaidan asked, frowning.
“Turns out that our hosts aren’t... quite what they seem,” Tali said, lowering her voice a little. “Doctor Chakwas believes that the Equestrians are genetically engineered.”
A silence fell over the three for a long moment as the other two digested what Tali had said, then Garrus spoke up.
“Genetic engineering, how sophisticated?” the turian asked.
"Significantly according to Chakwas,” Tali replied before shrugging. “It’s not exactly my field of expertise. Now if they somehow had a mini eezo core powering them, then I could help.”
“Well... at least they’re friendly,” Kaidan said after another moment of silence. Any further discussion was stopped right in its tracks by the opening of the door to the hall, revealing Cadence and Shining Armor.
“Sorry about that,” Cadence apologized as she and her husband walked in. “I just wanted to check on something with Shining.”
“It’s fine, your Majesty,” Kaidan replied. “We were just catching up with Tali about what we missed aboard the Normandy,” he added, nodding towards the quarian sitting beside him.
“Were you stuck in here all by yourself Ambassador?” Cadence asked, a look of concern on her face. “I had no idea. If you’d told one of our staff, I’m sure they could have directed you to our tour group.”
“Oh no; no need to worry about it,” Tali said, waving away the concern. “I actually requested to be brought here, I wanted to go over a few things before we met with the other ambassadors.”
“Ah, I see,” Cadence nodded. “Is there anything I might be able to help you with?”
“Yes actually,” Tali replied. “I remember earlier today that Princess Luna mentioned the multitude of races who would be attending. Among the list she mentioned the ‘Griffin High Houses’ and mused as to whether or not they could stop fighting each other would determine whether or not they’d send an ambassador. Would you mind explaining what she meant by that?”
“Actually dear, I can do that,” Shining said with a small smile as he stepped a bit in front of Cadence. “You see Ambassador Vas Normandy, the Griffin Kingdom fractured with the death of their last high king... when was that... about two and a half centuries ago?" Shining turned to Cadence, who merely nodded. "Since then, the houses with the highest wealth and influence have been fighting over the title of ‘king’.”
“A civil war?” Garrus asked, a slight note of dreading familiarity in his voice.
“Sort of.” Cadence shook her head, clearly finding the whole thing reprehensible. “You see, it started off bloody and brutal, but over the years it has slowly shifted into more of a... game.”
“A game?” Kaidan inquired, curious.
“Yeah, somewhere along the line it stopped being a real war and turned into more of a rivalry between the houses. I think there are nine of them now.” Shining answered. “They still field armies who fight each other, but it’s more akin to an elaborate game of chess than anything else nowadays. They keep trying to take the same mountain peaks back and forth like foals playing 'king of the hill'.” the unicorn continued with a bit of disgust in his voice.
“Actual deaths on the battlefield are incredibly rare though, so there’s that,” he continued. “More often, 'defeated' griffins are captured and traded back to their houses for some form of ransom. Though if you ask me it’s a senseless waste of time, energy, and resources for the sake of 'bragging rights'. Houses fall apart when they run out of resources to field the troops and their lands are usually absorbed by their neighbors, who have more territory to defend.”
“And... they’ve kept this going for two hundred and fifty years?” Garrus asked, a bit of shock in his voice. “Why haven't they given it up by now?”
“Well, they are griffins,” Shining answered. “When they set their minds on something, it’s hard to get them off of it. Especially when it comes to fighting. Hay, it took Princess Luna calling down a shooting star to obliterate one of their armies all those years ago bringing a stop to their invasion attempts after the Fall of Chaos.”
“I... see,” Tali said, rather unsettled by the sound of that, as were Garrus and Kaidan... though they looked more intrigued.
Cadence shot her husband a slightly annoyed look, noticing the expressions on both Kaidan and Garrus’s faces.
“There is no need to worry though. My aunt doesn’t do that these days,” the pink alicorn assured Tali.
“I like to think I have grown perhaps a bit more subtle over the last several thousand years,” Luna agreed as she walked into the room through a side doorway, earning her a half bow from both Kaidan and Garrus.
“In any case, I was speaking in jest before, Ambassador Vas Normandy. My sister and I anticipate the Griffin Ambassador by tomorrow morning if not before. The High Houses are not so divided as to ignore a happening of this nature and have more than likely put their ‘differences’ aside by this point. It is remarkable how quickly their kind can come together when they deem it necessary.”
“I see, thank you, your Majesty,” Tali said, looking over the Princess with a guarded expression. She was aware of the alicorn’s dislike of Shepard and was naturally suspicious of her. "That explains alot."
“Of course.” Luna said with a slight shrug of her royal shoulders. “Now perhaps you could provide me with an answer to an inquiry of my own.”
Tali frowned at the Princess’s tone which was rather sharp. “I'll do my best, but I can’t promise you that I’ll be able to fully answer any questions you have,” Tali replied.
“Fair enough,” Luna said. “Though I believe you are the foremost expert on this particular subject. You and the Commander are closely bonded, are you not?” Luna asked her, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Tali froze where she was for a moment and her face ran through a complex gauntlet of emotion, starting at surprise and finishing at worried. There were few times that she was grateful for her suit’s added concealment, but this was one of those cases. Garrus and Kaidan for their part exchanged anxious glances. Then, Tali let out a breath and nodded her head.
"Is it that obvious?" Tali asked, somewhat sheepishly.
"Yes." Came the unified human and turian response.
"You were not exactly being subtle, Ambassador," Princess Cadance offered.
"Hay, even 'I' picked up on that, and I'm a stallion." Was Shining Armor's quip.
“Great, well, at least it's an 'open' secret.” she shook her head before turning back to Luna.
"What would you like to know, Princess?"
“Is it true that the Commander has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of thinking creatures?" The Lunar Princess asked, her tone carefully neutral.
She did not miss the way that the human and turian looked to one another, clearly recognizing what she was talking about.
"Aratoht," Tali sighed, shaking her head as she brought a three fingered hand to her faceplate. "Glyph told you about the Bahak System."
"The Bay-hawk what?" Cadance now looked between the two of them curiously.
Luna's gaze, however, remained on Tali.
"Is it true?"
Taking a breath and steeling herself, Tali found her resolve and nodded.
"Yes."
At this confirmation, Luna's expression, if anything, turned more grim. Shining Armor and Cadance on the other hoof, turned with some confusion to their new human and turian friends.
"The Arrival. It was about six months before the Reaper War began." Kaiden started, recognizing that some clarification was required now that the cat was out of the proverbial bag. "At the time, nobody else believed that the Reaper threat was real. Shepard discovered that they were going to arrive in Batarian Space along the edge of the Milky Way."
"The Bahak System was home to the Alpha Relay." Garrus picked up in a way of explaining. "A mass relay that could send them anywhere in the galaxy almost instantly. From there, the Reapers would have launched a surprise attack, wiped out all resistance and cut off all communication. It wouldn't have been a war then, it would have been a one sided slaughter."
"It was already too much of a one sided slaughter if you ask me." Kaidain shook his head.
"What happened?" Shining asked, his eyes never leaving the Lunar Diarch.
"The Alliance, my people, had found evidence that the Reapers were coming and took steps to try and slow them down. They called it 'the Project'. A plan to destroy the Alpha Relay by ramming a small moon into the damn thing. But by the time Shepard met up with them, it was too late. They had all been indoctrinated by a Reaper Artifact, coming to believe the Reapers were some sort of 'gods'. They captured the Commander and held him prisoner for two days before he escaped and activated the Project."
"And as a result..." Luna spoke up. "Nearly three hundred thousand innocent bystanders on a nearby planet were utterly destroyed. The Commander was arrested by his own people and placed on trial for war crimes."
"Of which he was exonerated. Shawn tried to warn them," Tali defended. "He never stopped trying to warn them... but he ran out of time. We literally had 'minutes' to spare before the Reapers arrived and the people on Aratoht were already as good as dead. The Reapers would have destroyed them just as surely as the explosion of the Alpha Relay. That sacrifice saved billions of lives and gave us precious time. There was no other choice."
"So the ends justify the means?" Luna asked her, the mare’s voice cold and icy. “If that is his philosophy, and when his accidents can cause the deaths of entire star systems, why should I willingly allow him to even step foot on my planet, let alone dictate our path to the stars?”
Tali blinked twice, not having expected that loaded of a question, then her jaw hardened within her helmet.
“First off, Shawn doesn’t want to ‘dictate’ the path of your people,” Tali said, a note of irritation leaking into her voice. “Not because he’s trying to ‘control’ you. He’s here because he’s too good a man not to be,” she stated firmly.
Tali paused for a moment, making sure that the alicorn was still paying attention to her. Luna was, though she still appeared rather skeptical.
“As for why you should trust your people’s future to him, it should be because no matter what he’ll put your interests ahead of his own, even if it kills him, even when it DID kill him." Tali answered fiercely before her gaze intensified and Luna could feel the palpable intensity from behind the mask. “From the moment I met him, that is all he's done, set his life down to try and help others. Whether it was holding a breech in a colony’s defenses until help arrived, bringing criminals to justice, saving a race from extinction or even something so simple and petty as helping an asari and a krogan realize that they were meant for one another!”
Tali’s hands tightened into balled fists and she finished in a voice of unbridled faith. “Shawn turned what had been an endless war between my people and the Geth into a peaceful co-existence! The rest of the galaxy, the Citadel, even the Reapers were so sure that it could only end with the destruction of either Geth or Quarian. He stopped that. Why should you trust him with the fate of your world? It's because he’s held the fate of the entire galaxy on his hands and when all was said and done, he did a damn good job of keeping it together!” The quarian finished her answer and sat back down in her chair. “Why should you trust him? Because he’s the only reason that there’s a galaxy left for you to see.”
Luna stared at her for a long moment before she moved to sit across from Tali.
“I think, Ambassador, that you and I have much to discuss.”
Discord was happy.
Now that was not an odd occurrence by any stretch of his admittedly fluid imagination. He was normally enthused in some way or another. Reveling in the ridiculous or merrily mocking the mishaps that befell the other little lives on this world. His world, no matter what Celestia said. He’d been here the longest after all.
But this time was a bit... different.
Over the ages he’d picked up many, many titles and monikers. He was the Bringer of Change, the King of Chaos, the Grand Poobah of Potential, the Big Cat of Catastrophe. To the gentlemen he was Miss Fortune, to the ladies, Sir Prize. And out of all of those and many others, there was one that he enjoyed the most.
He was the Shifter of Fate.
As the draconequus walked upside down under a cotton candy cloud, he smirked to himself.
It was going quite well all things considered. By the next morning the palace would be swarming with reporter ponies and countless pegasi with flash-bulb cameras. Questions flying with accusations and the general chaos that would come from the discovery that alien creatures were now in residence and discussion with Equestria's leadership, along with heads of state from the rest of the world.
There would be angry ponies, one big headed mare in particular who would demand to know why or how her ‘big secret’ got out so early?
“Because it was more fun that way, obviously,” Discord answered his own rhetorical thought. “Oh I just can’t wait to see the looks on little Tia and Lulu’s faces when they realize that things are moving out of their control.”
And then of course there was the big surprise. The one that he regretfully had NOTHING to do with. Ohhhhh heads were going to roll when all those stuffy nobles and leaders from the various nations of equis got THAT doozy thrown right in front of them.
It was going to be hilarious.
A scepter appeared in his hand, it was capped by what appeared to be the head of Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh, and you my dear little Twily are going to be quite a treat to watch when your precious little schedule collapses under the weight of the sheer absurdity of it all,” he continued, poking the obscenely grinning head of the scepter with his talon.
“Oh don’t look at me like that,” Discord continued with a chuckle. “If you're not careful, your face will get stuck that way.”
The Shifter of Fate chuckled again at his own joke, and then flapped his wings to propel himself upwards, or downwards in this case, falling up into the streets of Canterlot Proper. He shifted in mid air, and as he landed in an alley, the draconequus was replaced by a nondescript brown pegasus, armed with only a camera and an infectious smile.
Who ever would have guessed that a single pegasus with a camera could cause so much more strife than a virtual god of chaos?
“Now then, I believe Sir Ironheart is attending a rather lewd show; what a pity that his wife and all of Canterlot will be reading about it tomorrow,” the pegasus said with a small chuckle. “Lucky for him, I doubt anyone will actually notice, after all, there are aliens to gawk at,” he added before he set off into the night, whistling a tune of his own devising. Unsurprisingly, it featured his name.
“Tarnation ya got big, Spike,” Applejack commented on the obvious at last while the newly reunited friends walked behind the delegation, heading towards the Dining Hall.
Twilight walked directly beside Spike on his right, still marveling about how she just came up to his neckline now while Pinkie occupied his left, grinning maniacally. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were spread out around the dragon. Rarity for her part was still unconscious and draped across Spike’s back, settled comfortably between two of his softly rounded spines.
It was either that, or have Applejack drag her down the hallway by the tail like she’d once done with Fluttershy up a mountain, but it had been universally agreed that they did NOT need to hear about the scuffed coat and indignity from the mare when she awakened.
“Heh, yeah I guess I did,” Spike said as he looked down at himself appreciatively. “I’m still getting used to it; I only really grew out like this a few weeks ago... before that I lost a few pounds every day and I was starting to get really worried, but then one day I woke up and my bed wasn’t big enough...”
“And now you’re rollin’ like a pony… What’s with the whole four legs thing?” Rainbow Dash asked interestedly. “When did that happen?”
“Err... a couple of months ago,” Spike replied with a small shrug. “It started getting harder and harder to keep myself upright, and before I knew it I was walking more like a pony than a diamond dog. Guess my body was just adjusting for the new muscle and bone.”
“And the wings?” Twilight asked curiously.
Spike’s expression dropped for a moment as he suppressed a shudder.
“Uh, how about we not talk about that right now Twi? It’s something that happens to everydrake and that’s all anypony really needs to know,” he told her, his voice wasn’t exactly standoffish... but there was a note of something else hiding beneath the surface.
“Umm... okay,” Twilight said with a frown.
“Did it hurt?” Fluttershy inquired softly, she’d been keeping her distance from Spike. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him... it was just that he was so much bigger than she was used to.
“Yes... yes it did. Like I said, I’d prefer not to talk about it please.” he requested before adding. “Though apparently I’m lucky they came in at all.”
“Why?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Because of my diet, or rather my lack of one.” Spike replied before flapping his wings once. “Dragons are omnivorous, we can eat anything, but these were supposed to come in at least two years ago. All the grains and grasses; not to mention the ice cream and cake, was messing up my metabolism. Straza says a couple more years of that and I would have been stuck small and pudgy forever.”
“Oh… Ooooohhhhh.” Twilight managed before trailing off, her ears folding back as her head lowered out of a bit of guilt. She had been the one who’d always rewarded the dragon with sweets as a hatchling and certainly had not discouraged it as he grew older. “I’m so sorry Spike, I had no idea. Aside from the fact that drakes eat gems, I didn’t know there were ‘Special’ dietary requirements.”
Spike just shrugged. “Hey, it’s cool Twi. It’s not like I blame you or anything, I mean there’s no way you could have known. I’ve come to find out, my people don't really like to 'share' knowledge. Or anything at all for that matter,” the dragon told her, pausing for a moment to rest a claw on her shoulder reassuringly.
“Thanks,” Twilight said, still feeling guilty as they started forwards once more.
“Well, look at the bright side. Ain’t nopony that can call ya a ‘baby’ now… I think it’s time you took Rarity up on that date eh?” Applejack asked, trying to return an upbeat mood to the reunion. “I mean, it’s ‘bout time.”
To the surprise of everypony, Spike just chuckled. “Nah, I actually don’t think I’ll be doing that, I was joking when I first got here,” he told Applejack with a smile.
“Wha? Hey, Spike… Equestria to Spike… that’s like ALL you’ve wanted to do for like… the last five years. ” Rainbow snarked, rolling over in the air and tapping the top of the dragon’s head. “I mean come on, you’ve been totally head over hooves...tail...claws… whatever, you totally dig Rarity and everypony knows it.”
“I grew up.” Spike replied nonchalantly “It was a puppy dog crush, I realize that now… I was in love with Rarity in the same way that Rumble foal was in love with Ms. Cheerilee.”
“Oh,” Twilight said, a small smile appearing on her face as Spike admitted something that she’d suspected for quite a long time.
“Yep, besides... I found someone who is more... appropriate for me to love while I was up in the Spine. Someone who thinks of me as more than a ‘baby dragon’ to humor,” Spike continued with a large smile on his face. “A scalie named Fire Sapphire.”
“Scalie?” Pinkie Pie asked with a frown. “Does that mean that she’s covered in scales or something?”
“It’s the term for dragon fillies actually,” Spike answered, chuckling slightly. “Though yes, she is covered in scales, beautiful blue ones… that glimmer in moonlight.” He added dreamily.
“Ooooh, that makes sense,” Pinkie said with a rapid nod of her head while the other ponies stared at Spike in surprise.
“Ya met a dragon to fall in love with?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, is there something weird about that?” Spike inquired. “I am a dragon after all.”
“But dragons are all big and scaley!” Rainbow protested. “How can you be in love with one?”
“In case you didn’t notice Rainbow, I’m big and scaley too now,” Spike replied with an amused smile. “Though in this case, she’s a bit smaller then I am.”
Twilight blinked several times through all of this, it seemed that her little brother had gotten a lot older than she’d expected in the last few months... and a lot more confident too.
“Tell us about her,” the alicorn requested.
“Okay; well she’s got these really deep blue scales and has got an amazing mind once it got a little more open...”
While the five Elements caught up with the long lost little brother of their group, enjoying his recounting of his adventures on the Spine of the World, Celestia, Shepard and Ambassador Straza ignored the chatter and talked among themselves.
“So, ‘Commander’.” The dragon put an unusual emphasis on his ranking, as if trying to determine its merit. “You mentioned that you’ve always been a ‘fan’ of dragons,” the golden dragon said, eying Shepard with a slightly raised eye ridge. “Why, and how?”
Shepard cleared his throat. “I suppose I should explain the how first,” he said with a slight frown. “You see... dragons have existed on Earth in our mythology for generations in some shape or form. There are thousands of stories about them recorded in books and vids,” the man explained.
“Really?” Straza asked him, her voice... uncertain. She was likely unclear as to what a ‘vid’ was, but a more prudent question came first. “And how are we portrayed?”
“That depends on the telling.” Shepard explained. “There are as many interpretations of dragons as there are stories of them. Sometimes they are villainized as the ultimate monsters...other times they are the heroes of the tale. More than a few cultures describe them as almost godlike. The different versions of dragons in earth literature is almost as diverse as the human race itself.”
“And now you have found us here.” Straza went into a three legged walk as she tapped her chin with one claw. “I find this coincidence to be very strange.”
“The feeling is mutual, believe me,” Shepard replied, a small chuckle escaping from his lips. “I never thought I’d see an actual dragon, let alone talk to one.”
“Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t have,” Straza agreed while giving Shepard a small contemplative glance. “So... Shepard. Where are the rest of the ambassadors who will be representing the other species of your ‘Citadel’?”
Shepard turned to Celestia, clearly thinking that she would actually know better than he.
“Well, at the moment they’re all in the main dining room making conversation with my sister...” Celestia trailed off, her face suddenly troubled.
Straza gave Celestia a look that conveyed both skepticism and to Shepard’s eyes, a drop or two of venom.
“You’re allowing her to speak to them?” the dragon asked Celestia. “Are you sure that is wise given her past?”
Celestia shot the the dragon a sideways glance. “While I know that Luna has had difficulties in the past and though she was originally not exactly jubilant at the idea of us hosting Shepard and his friends... I’m sure that she is perfectly capable of not causing any international incidents.”
“Four wars and a rebellion speak to the contrary,” Straza stated coldly. “But I suppose that it is none of my concern, Celestia.”
Shepard looked between the two as his mind pondered what had been said. Four wars and a... rebellion? he thought to himself in confusion. I knew she was hostile... but that’s... extreme.
“Straza,” Celestia said warningly.
“I am merely pointing out that perhaps you should have considered someone else to manage the diplomatic team,” the dragon replied, her voice still icy. “Now perhaps we should increase our pace and prevent her from doing something we will all regret.” The gold scaled dragon increased her pace, moving much swifter than her large form would suggest possible.
The Commander looked at Celestia who gave him a small helpless shrug before taking a slightly wing propelled jump in order to catch up with the scaly form of Straza who’d already managed to put several meters between them. Shepard put aside his thoughts for the moment and did his best to keep up with the dragon.
The party arrived in the Dining hall to find that Garrus, Kaidan, Tali, Cadence, Shining, and Luna were already seated in their respective spots, though this time the arrangement was different from the first meal they’d shared. The ‘Royal’ members were once more sitting at the ‘head’ of table with Tali there as well, however Kaidan and Garrus were sitting beside Tali instead of farther down the table.
“And that is how we pushed back the minotaur invasion force,” Shining said with a flourish, apparently coming to the end of a tale of some kind.
“Interesting use of terrain,” Garrus commented with a slight frown. “I can see how your earth ponies’ connection to the ground can be very useful.”
“Indeed, ‘tis a most desirable ability,” Luna agreed with a short nod and a rare smile on her lips. Then she glanced up to see Straza, Celestia, and Shepard stride into the room. The dark alicorn locked eyes with the golden dragon who merely looked back at her with a neutral expression.
“Princess Luna,” the dragon said, her voice chilled. “It has been... too long.”
“Golda'straza,” Luna replied, doing her best, and failing to keep her tone neutral and instead allowing a drop of poison to enter into her voice. “I see that the Lords have sent their... most experienced diplomat.”
Oh for Mother’s sake; not now you two... Celestia thought. It’s always the same whenever you’re both in the same room...
“Indeed,” Strasza stated. “How long has it been since you and I last... saw each other?”
“A thousand years, as you should well remember,” Luna replied pointedly.
“Oh yes, that’s right,” the dragon said with a small dark chuckle. “What a beautiful night it was; made even better by the dawn that followed.”
Luna, enough of this! Celestia snapped over the mental link before the two’s bickering could escalate.
But Tia she’s-
I don’t care, Celestia replied flatly.
“Perhaps you two can ‘reminisce’ about the past later. For now, we should eat before Chef Cloud Wing’s work goes to waste,” Celestia said as she stepped between the feuding females.
When she’d spotted that Shepard entered the room, Tali had gotten up from her seat and walked over to the man, casually slipping her gloved hand into his. Shepard looked at her for a moment before shrugging slightly, simply taking comfort in the quarian’s presence.
“So, what have you been up to?” Shepard asked her quietly as they walked over to the table.
“Not much, just a bit of research,” Tali answered with a slight shrug. “It looks like you’ve made a new friend,” she added, glancing towards Philomena who cocked her head at the suited alien, seemingly puzzled by something about Tali.
“Oh right,” Shepard said, he’d almost forgotten about the phoenix on his shoulder, for which he got a slight nip from the bird for his ‘error’. He gave Philomena a glance and then turned back to Tali who he could tell was smirking beneath her mask. “Tali, this is Philomena.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Philomena, you’re a very beautiful bird,” Tali said, her voice filled with amusement. The phoenix puffed out her chest and preened at the compliment causing Tali to let out a slight giggle. “It’s like she understands me,” the commented.
“Ermm... she probably can,” Shepard said, looking at the phoenix speculatively. Tali blinked, and then looked at the bird again.
“This place is just full of surprises...” she murmured as they arrived back at the table.
“You’re telling me,” Shepard agreed with a tired sigh as he settled in for what was likely to be a very long meal.