Liara had no idea as to what was going on.
She had just come back from informing the others about the mission and sending a message to the council to let them know that they had accepted. Now, though, not even an hour later, they somehow had all the fuel the ship could carry and, according to thier nav systems, were now just outside the Chathulu system. The only thing she did know is that this caused the ship to shake violently enough to snap the weakest of thier packing ropes and cause what they were holding, mostly armor and ammo, to somehow snap. Fortunately, no one was injured.
She had just called all of them to the conference room so they could decide what to do next.
"Wait a goddamn minute," Zaeed said. "So you're saying that we are already, somehow, half way to the system the council wanted us to go to, we have a full tank of fuel, and that there is an acknowledgement message from the council saying that they have already transferred the upfront payment to our collective account?"
Liara was getting tired of answering the question, which somehow kept coming up an hour after the meeting started. "For the tenth time, Zaeed, yes. I don't know how, but that seems to be the case, except that we are now inside the system. How many times do I have to say that?"
Zaeed, unsurprisingly, looked pissed. "Well, 'ow 'bout until you give us a fuckin' explanation? You're the resident scientist, last I checked, or did you step down and put Garrus in charge of it," He nearly yelled, gesturing to Garrus.
"Hey, leave me out of this, Zaeed. I don't know what's going on, and neither does Liara, for that matter," Garrus said, shortly before a new voice spoke.
"Oh, it's so surprising that you haven't even taken a guess. I knew I should have left a note." At this, Discord then appeared in a flash of light, his arms spread in a "ta-da" manner.
Everyone jumped back. The Krogan, Zaeed, and Garrus, being the ships security detail, reached for their weapons only to find they had been replaced with cotton candy.
"Looking for these?" Discord asked, holding up their weapons, surprise appearing on all their faces, while he had a devilish grin that would have made a Reaper think something bad was about to happen.
"What the hell?" Wrex asked.
Just after he said this, Grunt yelled, "Does it really matter? I say we kill him." Grunt then charged at Discord, only for Discord to disappear in a flash of light, causing Grunt to hit the wall, and reappear just behind Miranda Lawson, the second in command, who jumped in surprise
"My, my, you Krogan are almost as bad as the Jiralhanae, though now I'm curious as to who would win in a fist fight between your two species," Discord said, eliciting confused expressions from everyone.
"What the hell are those?" Garrus asked.
"You'll find out in due time. Right now though," Discord said, pausing for dramatic effect. "The time-space anomaly you are heading towards is actually a wormhole. Your navigation systems have a bug in them that will cause you to enter the wormhole, and you can't fix it in time. Normally, you would die from the radiation in it, but," Discord then snapped his fingers. "Now you should be able to survive, though you may have some symptoms of that plague that hit Omega three years ago, but they won't kill you."
All this got was looks of confusion from everyone. "Ta-ta," Discord said in sing-song, disappearing in yet another flash of light.
It was a minute before everyone brains had removed the logic jam from their minds, and Kasumi was the first to speak.
"Well. That was strange.
...
It had been six months since Lone had found what he was looking for in the secret library. Six months since Discord had told him about the coming allies. Lone was currently disguised as a Lunar guard. He had used an illusion spell that he learned from one of the first magic books he ever read to appear that way, and now he was simply waiting for when he could officially guard Luna. In the past six months, there had been a total of twenty assassination attempts on Luna's life. He had stopped ten of them, without anypony even knowing about these ten, and the others were stopped by Celestia's counter measures.
Right now, he was preparing a message to one of his allies. "... and you need to make sure everyone is ready to be evacuated. According to Prankster, the king is supposed to be returning, and we need everypony ready. I'll let you know about any other developments, Scarab. Yours truly, Single Shadow."
He sent the message, making sure it had no ones actual names and only their codenames.
A knock on his door alerted him to a visitor, and he immediately activated the illusion spell. He was currently staying in the castle, thanks to some favors he had called in so he could close to Luna's room, so he could be at Luna's room to stop any potential assassins, and to get there as quickly as possible once he knew the healing spell would work.
"Sir, the princess wishes to see you in the throne room, as soon as possible."
"Thank you. Let her know I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Actually, sir, she requested that I escort you there. And truth be told I was hoping to learn a little more about your theories about secret wars."
Normally, this would cause Lone to panic, as what the other guard just said meant that he knew who he was, if not for Lone recognizing the voice of the guard.
"Of course. Just let me get my armor on."
It was only a minute later when Lone walked out of his room to see the guard. The guards name was Nightengale. His coat was a standard shade of black, and his mane and tail were starlight silver. In terms of build, he was pretty average. His eyes were olive green, something that should have clashed with his coat, but it didn't. Nightengale's cutie mark was strange, and not many were creative enough to even guess at what it meant. What it showed was a swirling vortex. Many assumed that it was a whirlpool, but, if one looked closely, they would see stars in it, which would make those who saw them think it was a galaxy. Both were technically right, but only partly. Nightengale was a unicorn who specialized in a special kind of magic he had learned from Lone, who was pretty terrible at the magic himself, but that was what libraries were for. The magic was the same kind that had naturally created objects like the mirror pond, or even the crystal mirror in Twilight's castle. It allowed for portals to be opened, which made the whirlpool part true as whirlpools are technically portals to the bottom of the sea, and they led to other universes, which led to the galaxy part being true.
"So, Lone, what's your alias this time?" Nightengale asked.
"Darkness Strider. Nightengale, how did you know I was here?" Lone asked, a little angry at Nightengale, but he knew if anypony would discover him before he revealed himself, it would be Nightengale, so it was a pleased kind of anger, if such a thing existed.
"Simple. There was small evidence of ten 'incidents' over the past six months, and all anypony had to do was look." Nightengale then shrugged. "Plus, I'm one of the guards for Luna, and I knew you were keeping an eye on her and Celestia since Sombra, so I took a random guess that you would be here. Plus, you're the only Lunar guard with a room inside the castle. I just put two, two, and two together.
Lone couldn't help but smile at this. He knew Nightengale was a good detective, if Nightengales stories of his past were to be believed. He had, in all honesty though, expected to be discovered sooner. "Impressive, but I had figured you would discover me sooner.
"I actually thought it about a month ago, but haven't been able to confront you about it though," Nightengale said, a smirk on his face.
Lone knew that Nightengale was good at what he did, so he knew he was telling the truth. "Right. Now come on. Don't want to keep the Princess waiting, now do we.
"No, sir," Nightengale said, his tone a joking one, filled with a silent laugh, that caused Lone to smile, as it made him remember his life before he was dragged into this, even though he wouldn't change his standing in the world for anything. He recalled one of the last happy memories he had with his family before his life changed forever.
...
It was forty years ago. Lone had just turned six, though he didn't look it. For some reason that no one could explain, he matured, physically and mentally, faster than anypony else, and he looked like he was ten. It was a happy day in his families' house hold, as his little brother, who was named Unity, had just been brought home from the hospital for the first time, and he, his mother, a white earth pony with an electric blue mane and electric red eyes with a flame as her cutie mark and named Joy, his father, who was a Pegasus (the doctors said that Lone was a unicorn due to genetics and luck) and had a dark teal coat, mane,tail, and eyes with a full moon with clouds over the lower half as his cutie mark and was named Darkness Strider. Lone often took his fathers name for his alter egos, as it was a reminder of happier times. The four were in the living room of their home, playing a board game that left more to luck than skill or wits, as Lone won at those, even when he was trying to lose, while Unity, a small, forest green Pegasus with a brown mane and tail, slept in his crib nearby. Even though Lone had lost the game, even now, though, he couldn't remember the rules or even how badly he lost, he smiled, as he was spending time with his family.
This would be the last happy memory Lone would have for a while, as his brother had been foalnapped not a week later. No ransom was given, and no body found. His mother had performed suicide nearly a month later, a note scribbled on found next to her body. It read "For the only two men important to me: I am sorry, Lone. Darkness. I only hope you can forgive me and that Unity is found sometime after this. To any police who now think I foalnapped my youngest son: GO. TO. BUCKING. TARTURUS!" Lone and Darkness shared a chuckle at the last part, as it proved that, even in death, Joy still had fangs that would make a vampony stare in awe. It would be nearly a year later when he learned the truth of his family. His father had called him down to the basement of their new house, a two story excluding the basement, a place that Lone was never allowed to go to.
He was reading the same book that contained the spell he was using in the present to appear as a Lunar guard that his mentor had given to him shortly before they had moved. He set it down and went to the basement, only to see that the basement looked more like a command room that the military would use. He asked his father what all of this was for, and he responded "A war is coming, Lone. And I can only plan for so many outcomes." The response only puzzled Lone, but his father then began to explain their family history, on both sides of Lone's bloodline. He said that he was descended from the original Lone Shadow, who was only a legend in this day and age, the one who had started a rebellion that had eventually led to the creation of Equestria. This meant that Lone was not only named for a legend, but a descendant of him. His father then told him, with sorrow in his voice as he began to talk about Joy, and how she was a descendant of the original Lone Shadow's enemy, Plasma, and that Lone was the first pony to be born that combined the two bloodlines, which led to extraordinary magical prowess just from instinct. After his father had told him this, which Lone didn't want to believe, but knew it was true for some reason, his father told him to pack.
When he began to protest that he wouldn't leave, a loud thud could be heard from upstairs. The two rushed upstairs to see what had happened, and Darkness was captured by a griffon as soon as he had gotten out of the stairwell. Darkness instantly elbow jabbed the griffon in the gut, which caused him to let go. Darkness than went around behind the griffon and snapped his neck, shocking Lone. His father told him to run and not look back. He said that the griffons, as there were multiple in the house, wouldn't kill him, and told Lone to go to the frozen north and find the crystal caves. He said that his teacher will be there, waiting for him. Lone, for some reason that only now he knew was knowing that his father was telling the truth, ran out the backdoor, which wasn't being guarded, and ran for as long as he could, glancing back only once to see smoke rising from where his home had been.
...
He came out of those memories when Nightengale pulled on his tail, preventing him from hitting the doors to the throne room. "You okay, sir? You spaced out there for a while," Nightengale asked, concern for his friend and teacher in his voice.
"Yes, private," Lone said, slipping into his current role as an officer of the guard. "Just remembering the good times I had with my family."
As the two entered the throne room, they saw Celestia sitting upon her throne, as regal as ever, but to those who knew what to look for, and the two "guards" knew exactly what to look for, there would also have been a tiredness hidden behind her eyes, which told all those who noticed is she had gone through many sleepless night recently. When they reached the bottom step of the throne, They bowed to the princess
"Your Highness," they both said as they bowed.
"Rise," she said to the two of them. When they were both standing at attention, she asked Lone, "Lieutenant Strider, do you know about what is afflicting my dear sister?" Concern was in her voice as she said this.
"I have only heard rumors, your Highness, and I assumed they were nothing more, though, as you are asking me about it, I assume that there is truth to them," Lone said, lying to keep the act up.
Celestia nodded. "Indeed there is. A year ago, my sister began to have terrible visions, and I had to put her to sleep using a spell that puts those affected by it into a dreamless sleep. My dear sister awakens once a month, and through the conversations I have had with her, I have discovered that it hasn't helped, and many nobles wish to kill her to ease her suffering. I want you and Private Nightengale to guard her for the next week, as this is the week she is supposed to awaken, and I wish for her to see two of her own guards when she awakens to calm her."
"Of course, Princess," Lone said.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. You and Private Nightengale are dismissed and you are to report to your post within the hour," Celestia said.
"Of course, your Highness," Lone said as both he and Nightengale bowed to her before exiting the throne room, with Lone knowing that this week would be the first chance he had to help Luna.
...
Back aboard the Shepard, Liara was currently trying to wrap her head around what just happened when the ship's automated systems alerted everyone that they were being drawn into the wormhole.
"Guys," Jacob said. "I think we can at least get our brains working long enough to get everything we can stowed away."
Just as he finished saying this, the systems alerted the crew that the gravity of the wormhole was no longer affecting them. At this, Garrus, Tali, Miranda, Jacob, and Zaeed, who were all the bridge crew, headed toward the bridge, with the others heading towards their usual spots. When the bridge crew got to the bridge, they were instantly notified that an unknown ship was in the same system. The trajectories of both ships had them moving towards a garden world that, much to all of their surprise, had the systems sun orbiting it.
...
On the Tip of the Spear, Ken was currently looking over all of the monitors to make sure he wasn't crazy. At this point, he wasn't sure. He was looking over the navigation data, when Artemis came over his radio and said, "Ken, sensors just picked up a ship of unknown configuration coming into the system. Their trajectory says that their heading towards the planet in the center of the solar system." Ordinarily, Ken would just have thought that Artemis was going rampant, but he, along with the others had seen her diagram of this system, and he knew that Artemis never joked when it came to astrology.
"Right. Artemis, best speed to reach the atmosphere of the planet. Have you tried communications with them yet?" Ken asked.
"Yes, but I can't connect to their communication network," Artemis replied.
"Well, that's. Just Great," Ken said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
...
In Canterlot, Celestia was in the throne room, reading one of her favorite books, The Lone Rebellion, when Stargazer, head of the observatory, came rushing in. He was one of the few citizens who could talk to her when they needed to with out having to wait to be cleared. It had been an hour since she had assigned the two Lunar guards their assignment for the week. When Stargazer reached the throne, he still had enough rationality to bow to her.
Stargazer was an average earth pony noble, except he didn't have the uptight attitude so many other nobles had, with a blue coat and gray mane and tail, whose eyes were silver, a rare color for earth ponies, and his cutie mark was that off a star burst, much like Twilights, except his was pure white and had only one starburst pattern.
"Your Highness," he said, breathing heavily, which meant that he had ran straight here. "We have a problem. One hour ago, me and one of my assistants spotted two meteoroids heading this way, and they are projected to land just out side Canterlot!!!"
Celestia instantly went into protector mode.
"Get Twilight Sparkle and her friends," she said to one of the guards in the room, who then galloped out of the throne room to fetch the elements of Harmony. As he ran, he passed by the room of the princess of the night who had a single Lunar guard in front of it.
...
Lone knew he would only have a limited window to get into Luna's room, heal her, then get out to make it look like nothing had happened.
Nightengale was currently on watch outside, to make sure Celestia wasn't coming. I sure hope this works he thought to himself. He slowly crept over to Luna's bed, his horn already aglow with the magic that would heal Luna. As he reached her, he put his horn over her fore head. As soon as he did this, he felt dark magic inside Luna, and he knew that it was what was causing this. The spell activated on its own once Lone's horn made contact with Luna's forehead. It was a minute before anything happened. Luna's mouth opened, and a dark cloud came out of it. Lone figured this might happen, so he cast s spell that would bind the magic and snuff it out before Luna could awake. Lone then made his way to the door. Before he was even there, the dark magic cloud was already gone. He opened the door and took his position next to Nightengale. They both then simply waited for Luna to awaken and step out of her room.