Agreement
In which Shepard's clone makes a deal
Just as I was about to ride out of the lavish throne room, something spoke into my mind. "And what do you think you're doing? Are you...riding him? You are forcing Shining Armor to carry you out of the palace! How despicable." A dark, brooding, horned AND winged horse walked out of a side passage and into my path. "Hmm, interesting. A natural resistance to the mind melding. Could another project have survived? Perhaps a-"
"Cut the crap and let me out of here, you freak." I rallied under the strange being's power "Your mind tricks don't work on me!" I brought all the power my mind could muster to bear against this new foe. I felt the easing of a migraine that I never knew that I had, as the pressure from the dark horse abated.
"Oh, it can actually resist my will? Wonderful, a new challenge. Maybe I'll get a chance to play with you before I kill you I always loved the ones that-"
"Luna! What are you...Oh, is that the new test subject?" A new wing/horn horse, this one with white fur and a rainbow mane. How many colours of these are there?
The dark horse, Luna replied "Don't worry, Tia. I've got it under control-"
"Oh the poor thing! You've nearly smothered it with your will! There, there little one. Celestia has you now." A warm, almost motherly presence registered in my mind, a sharp contrast to the previous cold and alien one. "Oh, is it..?"
"Riding poor Shining Armor? Yes. Yes it is, dear sister. Judging by the commotion in the labs, this...this thing put up a fight." My new friend Luna looked disgusted with the very thought of me. "One of the Apple family, erm, the one with a bow in her mane, she contacted me through that student of yours that there was a strange creature she had killed in the Everfree Forest. Evidently, it had gone romping around the zebra immigrant's house. She then fashioned a trap out of some vines and a fallen tree to ambush the creature when it left. According to her, the creature was dead when she came back to it hours later. Judging by this, it wasn't dead."
"That's quite the story. Now, I have never seen something like this lost soul before on this world, so it's obviously extraterrestrial. Did you think to search for a crash site? Or maybe a landing site?" Tia asked.
Luna answered without hesitation "I dispatched a platoon of my personal guard to comb the Everfree Forest right after I received the message. The Apple was hesitant to hand over the creature to the force sent to retrieve it, but she was persuaded otherwise."
"This is all very touching, but I'm right here you know. I've got places to be, and things to do." I deadpanned.
"Don't be so sure of that. Why are you on this planet? Why did you choose to land in the Everfree Forest? Are there more of your kind with you? Do you intend harm towards this planet or its denizens? What is your-"
"I think that's quite enough Luna. Let it speak rather than interrogate it." Tia interrupted.
"I don't know if I can really trust either of you, but I'll tell you something. I am a human, a member of a marsupial species that is native to the Sol system. Humans are adaptive, can conform to nearly any situation, are a recent addition to the galactic community, but have quickly risen to a position of power. The Council, a governmental body whose central embodiment is the massive space station known as the Citadel, has recently allowed a human to join their ranks. The other Council species are as follows: Turian, an avian species famed for their military prowess; Salarian, an amphibious species at the forefront of scientific know-how; and Asari, a monogendered species that are the most influential and respected sentient species in the galaxy. I have come here seeking refuge from the Reaper War. A race of gigantic, sentient machines has descended upon the galaxy in an attempt to wipe out all life. I was hoping to be able to stay here for the duration of it."
"Do you remember the Reapers, Celestia?" The dark horse asked.
Celestia frowned, and intoned "You should not have mentioned them. The Reapers are a serious threat to the well-being of all space-faring life. Fortunately, Atlas is populated by the species that will not be culled in this cycle."
"I can stay, right?" I questioned.
"The technology you bring will ensure our rise to power, so therefore, you must also stay," Luna nodded. "Allow me to touch minds and grant you a boon." Begrudgingly, I obliged. "We grant you mastery of this planet's language. Use this gift well, alien, and do not scruple it like so many others have." With that, the two contrasts left my awareness, allowing my mind to recover.
"CELESTIA! Get this monster off of me! It's going to crush me!" The aforementioned Shining Armor whined. Evidently, he had been struggling to escape the weight of my body.
"Be glad I didn't crush you, little horse." I growled.
"THE MONSTER SPEAKS!"
I eased off of the pony and let it run away. I addressed the two 'alicorns' "So no more negotiations? That's it, that's all folks?"
Celestia spoke to me using her real voice. "Yes. What is your name, human?"
A large object crashed through the doors of the throne room. The shuttle that I had stolen whirled and bashed into the narrow room. A large contingent of guard horses chased after it, shooting their horns and wielding their spears menacingly. The shuttle rolled, and avoided the horn blasts. The shuttle took a long pass and CRASH! It streaked across the floor and knocked over the throne. The shuttle bounced and flipped upside down, then one of the side doors opened.
"SHEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRD!"