• Published 13th Apr 2012
  • 27,018 Views, 1,615 Comments

Mass Effect 2 - DLC: The Equestrian Equation - Loyal2Luna



In this exclusive DLC, what begins as a simple search-and-rescue mission unveils a mystery millions of years in the making. Your choices are Commander Shepard's choices, and all of Equestria is at stake.

  • ...
44
 1,615
 27,018

Part 3: Over a Rainbow

“Commander Shepard, Citadel Spectre and C.O. of the ship Normandy SR-2,” the red-furred pony said with a tone of finality (as if that explained everything) as he turned to face Twilight. He took a disciplined stance as he stood at attention, his shoulders back and head high, immediately giving Twilight an impression of authority. “Now, I want to know what you--”

“OH, OH, OH!! A specter!?” Pinkie bounced on her hooves frantically as she suddenly zipped to the stallion’s side and started to poke his shoulder. “So can you walk through walls? Turn invisible? Fly? Possess living ponies? Make spooooky noises? Oh, that would be so cool! Can you do it now? Huh? Huh? Huh? It’s easy! Like this: Wooooooooooooooouuuuuu...

“Oh, for the love of…” Twilight set her hoof to her face as her hyperactive friend proceeded to jab the new pony relentlessly before waving her forelegs in a mock-creepy manner, drawing a concerned look from the colt’s cold grey eyes.

“Would you mind not doing that?” Shepard asked, clearly growing annoyed as he drew one hoof up and pulled away from the pink earth pony’s prodding.

“You’re awfully heavy for a ghost, you know, and really thick and solid. It’s like poking Big Mac,” Pinkie continued, apparently unaware of the red colt’s growing discomfort.

PINKIE PIE!” Twilight scolded. “Cut it out! He is not a ghost! There are no such things as ghosts.”

“But, what about--”

Or wraiths, or phantoms, or specters!“

“Awwwwwwww…” The pink pony drew back, obviously disappointed.

“There isn’t?” a soft voice came from behind Twilight, drawing the purple unicorn’s attention to Fluttershy, who had apparently dove in fright under the bed Shepard had stumbled off of.

Twilight grunted a bit as she looked to the clearly confused stallion, giving the pink pony a slight glare until she finally got the message and stepped away.

“It’s obviously a military title, girls. I mean, come on.” Twilight shook her head before turning a more apologetic tone to Shepard. “Sorry about that. You were saying?”

“What did you do to me?” Shepard demanded suddenly, his firm tone taking the unicorn off guard.

“I’m not sure I follow…” Twilight raised a brow.

“Why am I a horse?”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, an action that pushed the Commander’s already frayed nerves a bit further as he managed to retain his cool.

“I hope you notice that I’m being very… very calm considering the circumstances, and I hope we can work something out peacefully… But I want to know what is going on, RIGHT now!”

His tone booked no argument, and both Fluttershy and Pinkie seemed to realize this, moving behind the purple unicorn as their concern and wonder turned to a more defensive appraisal of the colt that called himself "Shepard."

“Now, hold on there. We're trying to help you…” Twilight waved a hoof defensively, intending to show that she didn’t want to present any sort of hostility to this stranger. “As I said, my name is Twilight Sparkle. This is Fluttershy…”

She gestured to the yellow pony behind her, who squeaked slightly and drew herself behind Twilight as the stallion’s gaze moved over to her.

“And this is--”

“Pinkamina Diane Pie,” the pink equine stepped forward, interrupting her friend and grinning widely as she extended a hoof, clearing intending to shake Shepard’s.

Shepard did not take it, tilting his head in confusion.

“Diane?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“That’s a human name,” Shepard observed.

“What’s a human?” The pink equine’s grin didn’t falter for a moment.

“Well, me. I’m human,” Shepard answered, then paused as he looked down at his chest and hooves. “Except apparently I’m a horse right now… Okay, back to the question: Why am I a horse?”

“You’re not a horse,” Twilight answered plainly, her tone still careful as she realized that something was clearly off with her guest. “You're a pony… and so are we.”

Ponies?

Shepard had been in some very strange situations in his time, but this certainly took the cake.

Watching him a moment longer, Twilight’s eyes narrowed a bit in puzzlement before she continued.

“This is the town of Ponyville, in the land of Equestria, though that much should be obvious to anypony,” she explained. “Ringing any bells yet?”

“No… I was…” Shepard shook his head, trying to piece together what had happened. "I was with my team… We were under attack in a bunker… What happened to them? Was I taken offworld? What planet is this? What system? Am I still in the Attican Traverse? The Terminus? Citadel Space?”

At an apparent loss for words, Twilight just watched the red-furred colt as Fluttershy stepped forward.

“I found you at the edge of the Everfree Forest…” she explained, her lower lip trembling slightly. “You looked like you were hurt. I just wanted to help…”

If this was some sort of an interrogation, then Shepard couldn’t help but think it was the most effective method he had ever seen. That trembling lip did more to throw him off guard than if he had woken up tied to a table with some brutish torturer standing over him.

In spite of the outrageous situation he found himself in; in spite of not recognizing his own reflection and face to face with three intelligent creatures from a species that shouldn’t have been intelligent, he managed to get a grip on himself.

This was no time for rash and panicked actions against these creatures, especially since at face value, they were showing no signs of hostility.

...Yet.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m just a bit shaken up. Thank you for your help... but this is all very wrong,” Shepard stated, his nerves feeling more relaxed as he started to think through the situation aloud. “As I said, I’m Commander Shepard. I'm a human from the Systems Alliance and commanding officer of the frigate: Normandy SR-2… I was investigating a planet in the Hawking Eta Cluster when I was separated from my crew in an underground bunker looking for some sort of alien power-source.”

There was a few moments of awkward silence as Shepard finished speaking, the three mares looking back and forth to one another before all three gave Shepard a large, and obviously forced, grin.

“Oooookay…” Twilight’s voice was pleasant, but filled with a very concerned tone. “Uhhh, Pinkie? Could you... entertain the ‘Commander’ for a moment? Fluttershy... a word.”

“Look, I just want to know what--” Shepard started before Pinkie interposed herself between him and the unicorn named Twilight, immediately launching into speech.

“OH! I know things, we can talk about all sorts of things. What sort of things you wanna talk about? I mean, outer space pony, wooooah! Do you have moon pies where you come from? Or moon cheese with moon crackers... You like crackers, don’t you? I know I do, kinda like cookies except they're all flat and salty. I like my crackers with hot sauce, but I also like my cupcakes with hot sauce. OH! You know what? We need cupcakes for the party! You see, I throw a party for everypony that comes to town! We’ll have cookies and cupcakes and games and...”

As the pink earth pony moved up to Shepard, her mouth running at full tilt, Twilight tugged the yellow Pegasus a bit to the side. Looking over to make sure the talkative mare was succeeding in blocking the stallion’s attention (which was evident as his ears folded back and an annoyed expression crossed his face) she lowered her own voice.

“Okay, we have a problem.”

“I’ll say...” Fluttershy agreed. “Poor Commander Shepard, losing his friends like that... and then turned into a pony. It’s incredible.”

Twilight gave her naive, timid friend a flat look.

“Yeah... 'incredible' is the word... Come on, Fluttershy... He’s not really a space pony; he’s completely nuts.” Twilight rolled her eyes a bit as she explained. “But apparently he thinks he is... whatever he said... 'hew-man' or whatever... and that’s bad enough. But who knows where he came from? He could really be dangerous. Like an escaped mental ward patient or something. Look, I need you to go to the hospital and see if you can get them to send somepony out here.”

“But, Twilight...” Fluttershy interrupted as the droning tone of Pinkie’s voice continued in the background, the unicorn having learned long ago how to tune herself out from the baker’s constant prattle.

“Pinkie and I will play along and make him stay put until some professionals can get here.”

“But... Twilight... I don’t think that will...”

“I can let him use my telescope. It may stall him long enough if he’s looking for his ‘mothership’ or whatever... Just stay calm and move to the door while I...” Twilight turned around...

Then paused as she took in the scene behind her.

Pinkie Pie had never stopped talking it seemed, and was now several feet away, her hooves against a bookcase and a blindfold over her eyes as she seemed to be deeply focused in a demonstration of how one of her favorite games worked.

“...then you just try to pin the tail on the pony. See? Simple. Well, of course you can’t see... or rather I can’t see, but you won’t be able to see when it’s your turn... That’s kinda the point. I can’t believe you’ve never played this game before! It’s a lot of fun and--”

“Pinkie! Where did he go!?” Twilight demanded, looking around her room in worry as she realized that the colt had vanished.

“Where did who go?” Pinkie looked around, the blindfold still over her eyes as she turned towards Twilight’s voice. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“Oh no... Oh no, oh no... We have to find him,” Twilight said as she shuffled on her hooves worriedly. “He’s delusional... There’s no telling what he might do. Fluttershy! Get to the hospital and get somepony that can help!"

“Uhh... O-okay...” Fluttershy drew back a bit, still unsure why Twilight was so panicked about this colt.

“Pinkie, we have to--” Twilight started.

“AAAAAIIEEEEE!!” the pink earth pony shrieked suddenly, making Twilight’s mane almost stand on end. “I’M BLIIIIND!!!”

Twilight’s look of horror gave away to annoyance as she reached a hoof over and lifted the party mare’s blindfold.

Pinkie Pie blinked several times.

“I CAN SEE! IT’S A MIRACLE!"

“Never mind... I’ll go find him on my own. Just... try not to hurt yourself,” Twilight huffed as she started out the door after the obviously disturbed stallion.

“Anyways, that's how you play Pin the Tail on the...” Pinkie Pie stopped suddenly, looking around. “Oh... Where did he go?”

————————————————————

Shepard huffed in spite of himself, the action feeling quite natural as a frown took place on his muzzle and he made his way down the stairs, able to still hear the talkative pink alien calling herself "Pinkie Pie" jabbering on about a childish game.

On the one hand, he almost felt bad about taking such deliberate advantage of her childlike enthusiasm.

On the other, he felt like he needed to save whatever sanity he had left before his brains melted out of his ears. Seriously, the way this "pony" talked made Mordin’s breakneck speech pattern almost seem normal.

As he moved down the stairs and looked around at the library, which he now was certain was carved out of a still living tree, he took stock of his situation.

He was on an unknown (and to his knowledge, uncatalogued) alien planet, his physiology somehow completely altered to match the natives. He was completely unarmed, and as he checked his armor, he realized, completely lacking in his standard tech. His omni-tool was still in place on his... leg... but completely inactive. His kinetic barriers were also dead and his armor’s V.I. was not responding.

He still had his armor though, and as far as he could tell, it was indeed his armor. He didn’t know how or why, but it seemed to have been altered with the rest of him during whatever had been done to his body before he was dropped into this place.

Unless this was all a very clever and elaborate ruse to lull him into a false sense of security, he got the feeling that he wasn’t exactly a prisoner... As annoying as Pinkie Pie’s yakking was, it was hardly torture. And as bizarre as the situation was, his gut told him that these three ponies were not actively hostile towards him... If anything, they were downright kind. Something that was rare enough in the galaxy.

Except for the fact that they thought he was crazy.

Then again, in retrospect, he really couldn’t blame them for their ignorance. Now that he had a moment to consider it, judging from his surroundings, these "ponies" didn’t seem to be very advanced at all. And if they didn’t recognize his claim of being a Council Spectre, that meant only one thing: This society was completely unaware of the significance that title carried.

If this was indeed a Pre-First Contact society, his interactions so far would have already been considered illegal and immoral by both Citadel Galactic Law and Alliance Military Doctrine. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of adhering to either set of statutes at this point. His first priority, before even trying to figure out how he had been turned into this strange, four-legged creature, was to determine where he was and try to contact either his team or the Normandy.

Moving to the door and pausing for only a moment to hear the voice of Twilight cut through the room above, Shepard set one of his... hooves... against the door and pushed it open, hoping it led somewhere else.

Stepping out into a bright sunlight, the Commander managed half a dozen paces before stopping in stunned awe.

The smell of grass... Actual grass... The sound of birds chirping in the air... The crystal blue sky dotted with white clouds bathed in warm yellow sunlight.

And before him, dozens of candy-colored pastel pony creatures milled about, moving into and out of white brick buildings with thatched roofs and a pleasant overhanging architecture that was of a familiar cultural design.

Commander Shepard had been to hundreds of different planets... Had encountered every sort of habitat imaginable, from garden worlds to barren ice planets to ammonia-filled deathtraps.

But only one planet he had ever set foot on looked and felt like this.

Almost as if to confirm this conclusion, a small hummingbird fluttered down in front of the spacer, apparently looking him over for a moment before its wings, moving faster than the eye could keep up with, carried it aloft.

“Earth...” he found himself saying in shock.

“Not exactly.”

The voice; a soft, calm, female tone, came from his side, causing the Commander to turn quickly as he instinctively drew himself a bit lower in defense.

It had been a very long time since someone had managed to sneak up on him, let alone get that close. And now he remembered just how much he hated the feeling.

Standing there beside him, as if she had been there walking parallel with him the entire time, was a dark blue-colored equine alien; a pony-creature like the three he had left behind, only a bit taller. A horn jutted from her forehead and wings were folded against her back, but unlike Twilight and Fluttershy, who shared these traits, this one had a flowing mane that shimmered like a dark night sky, pinpoints of light sparkling like stars from within.

She did not turn to meet Shepard’s gaze, instead staring out over the township that he had discovered.

“Who are you!?” Shepard demanded, now feeling naked without so much as a sidearm to bring up in his defense.

“The reason you are still alive, Commander Shepard,” the cryptic creature stated plainly, never so much as glancing in his direction. “You will need her.”

“What?” the Commander pulled himself up, looking over the winged unicorn for a moment.

“Show her the truth,” the creature’s tone retained its calm, collected nature.

“I don’t understand what you're talking about.”

“There you are!”

Shepard turned his head to face the purple horned pony as she came out of the door after him at a quick trot, clearly relieved that he hadn’t gone very far.

“I thought you had... Never mind. Look... Mister Shepard. Why don’t you come back inside and we can... Hold on, who were you just talking to?” Twilight raised a brow suspiciously as she looked over the colt.

Shepard turned back and was stunned to see that the space beside him was vacant save for the grass, the winged unicorn having vanished into thin air.

“...I don’t know... But she’s gone now,” Shepard stated in spite of himself, although half a moment later he realized that he wasn’t helping his case.

Shaking his head, the Commander looked back to Twilight, who was approaching him cautiously.

“It’s alright, Shepard. I’m sure that we can help you if you just--”

“Miss Sparkle...” Shepard started, his tone firm. “I know how this must sound to you, but I am not insane. I’m also not some brain-damaged child, so please don’t patronize me.”

“Okay...” Twilight’s tone hardened as well, stopping just short of the Commander as she took a more sturdy stance, her hooves planted on the ground firmly. “Then let’s be rational and reasonable about this. You expect me to believe that you’re some sort of an alien?”

“Yes.”

“And that you’re not a pony at all.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then prove it.” Twilight smirked slightly, believing that she had found a simple method of derailing the disturbed stallion’s delusion.

Shepard was not amused.

“Aside from my armor, which is a nano-steel polymer over hardened ceramic plates that I doubt could be manufactured on this planet, I am currently wearing six different technologically advanced devices, including a kinetic barrier generator, a medi-gel induction system, and a holographic interface computer known as an omni-tool,” he stated plainly.

Twilight drew back a bit at the claim, looking the red colt up and down for a moment.

“O-okay, then... Well... ummm... Let’s see them.”

“...They’re not working right now.”

Twilight smirked again.

“Oh, of course they’re not.”

Shepard huffed again, growing impatient. He didn’t have time for this.

“Look, you don’t have to believe me and I don’t have to prove anything to you,” Shepard stated, stomping a hoof as he turned and started away. “I didn’t ask for your help anyways.”

There was a flash of purple energy that brought the Commander up short as he found himself face to face with the unicorn, who had instantly interposed herself in front of him.

“You didn’t have to ask! You were dragged unconscious to my home, so you’ll forgive me if I feel a little responsible for--”

“How did you do that?” Shepard inquired, seriously impressed.

“It’s magic... Now look... I'm trying to say that--”

“It looked like a spatial fold.”

“You don’t need to be wandering around in your condition with--" Twilight stopped suddenly. “W-wait, what?”

“A spatial fold. A twisting of space-time used to push an object over short distances to an exact point quickly in order to create the illusion of instantaneous teleportation across a space,” Shepard explained in a bit heavier detail, looking the unicorn up and down more appraisingly. “I’ve seen it done before, but how did you manage to dissipate the energy without creating a shockwave?”

“Shockwaves are dangerous. And besides, they only occur if there is a surplus of kinetic energy around the bubble. All you have to do is give it just enough to..." Twilight stopped herself in mid-explanation, wide-eyed as she realized what she was saying. “Wait just a second... You’re an earth pony!”

“Technically, I’m a human.”

“Whatever! That is advanced magical theory... Unicorn technical jargon that's discussed in magical equations and spell mechanics. I spent weeks working on papers to explain that exact concept in my studies! How do you--”

“Where I come from, we call it Mass Effect,” Shepard explained. “We use it for everything from propelling our ships beyond the speed of light to crushing materials into super-dense forms and structures. There are also rare individuals who can use similar abilities that are called biotics. Of course, my own understanding of biotic abilities is limited, but I have several friends who are experts on the subject.”

“Unicorns?” Twilight seemed far less sure of herself now, looking the red colt up and down.

“Asari mostly... and one particularly disturbed human,” Shepard explained.

Twilight seemed at a loss now, taking a step back and looking the stallion up and down as if he had just performed some sort of remarkable feat.

“Still think I’m crazy?” Shepard asked, taking some satisfaction in how the "unicorn" had been caught off guard by what was (to him) an elementary understanding of one of the most important physical effects in the galaxy.

“Yes,” Twilight answered without hesitation.

Shepard didn’t give any reply to this honest response, instead beginning to move again, sidestepping around the purple unicorn as he started away from the library in a bold, even stride.

Twilight stood there for a moment, trying to come to terms with her situation as she considered the implications of what she had just heard.

This really didn’t involve her.

She could easily just let him go. Let him walk away and be somepony else’s problem. She could notify the authorities and let them deal with the stallion. It wouldn’t be like he was hard to find; He stuck out like a sore hoof.

And it was obvious that, whoever he was, he was trouble.

Twilight bit her lip slightly.

“Awwww... Buck it.”

She turned and raced after the red colt.

————————————————————
The Bunker

“Normandy, respond. Commander Shepard, respond.”

Professor Mordin Solus checked the communications for what might have been the dozenth time, his mild readjustments to the long range comms still failing to break through whatever signal was jamming them.

The salarian took a deep breath as he looked about the cavernous foyer that he and his quarian compatriot had been trapped in for the better part of the last half hour, the red crystal-like light source still granting an ambient glow.

“Hmm. Odd sensation. Novel. Believe it is commonly referred to as ‘boredom.’ Do not care for it. Any luck?”

Tali'Zorah’s fingers flew over her omni-tool as she scanned over the rock wall, the small holographic screens offering little in the way of reassurance.

“I think this is a door here, but there are no interfaces. No physical locks, nothing to bypass or decrypt.” The frustrated quarian deactivated her omni-tool and let out a grunt of frustration. “UGH!! I hate this place! Nothing makes sense!”

“Systems clearly under intelligent control. Gave us air, direction. Herded to this point. Wanted Shepard. Once acquired, ignored us. Why?”

“Maybe because it doesn’t see us as a threat?” Tali shrugged, taking a breath before bringing up her omni-tool again.

Mordin considered this a moment, turning to take note of Commander Shepard’s rifle, which had been set aside for the time being.

“Or perhaps because it does.” Mordin reached around to his hip and removed his pistol, looking at it for a moment.

“What?”

“Tali'Zorah... Cease hacking attempt. Remove armaments. Try more polite approach.”

“Are you crazy? We could be killed.”

“Host could terminate in multitude of different ways: Radiation introduced into chamber. Vent airlock and let us suffocate when zero-atmo tanks run out. Continue attack with metallic tendrils until weapons exhausted. Chooses not to.”

“But we’re still trapped.”

“In buffer area. Between airlock and main bunker.” Mordin walked over to where they had laid Shepard’s rifle and set his own gun down next to it.

Although he could not see her expression, Tali’s body language gave an impression of understanding.

“A weapons checkpoint?” she asked, removing her shotgun from its mounting at the small of her back and the pistol at her side, holding one in each hand.

“Distinct possibility. Worst case scenario: killed just as easily unarmed.”

“Worth a shot if we can find out what happened to Shepard,” the quarian agreed, moving to where Mordin was standing and setting her own weapons down alongside his heavy pistol and SMG.

No sooner had Tali stepped away when an invisible panel seem to open up on the other side of the weapons, two of the metal tendrils that had attacked them earlier reaching out.

Tali let out a slight gasp, about to dive forward for the weapons again when Mordin grabbed hold of her.

“Wait!”

Unabated, the tendrils ignored the two lifeforms, reaching for and wrapping around the different weapons in a way that reminded the two immediately of thresher maws dragging down their prey before retreating with their loads safely encoiled.

As the panel in the stone closed behind them, the lighting above lost its red tint and turned to a soft white glow again, and a door that had been seamless on the far side of the chamber from where Tali had been attempting her hack slid open.

Mordin released Tali as the two looked towards the doorway.

“So... Unarmed, cut off from Normandy, in an alien bunker and facing a completely unknown situation?” Tali asked.

“Affirmative.”

“Keelah... I hope Shepard’s doing better than we are,” Tali said, moving towards the doorway and feeling more than a tad vulnerable.

————————————————————
Ponyville

“So let me see if I’ve got this straight...” Twilight followed close in step with Shepard down a surprisingly empty side street of Ponyville, her mind going over what she had heard since she started drilling the colt with questions, hoping to find some exploitable flaw in his delusions. “You’re telling me that you’re a specially-trained soldier... a ‘Spectre'...”

“Recently reinstated, yes. Part of the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance.”

“Which gives you almost unlimited authority as part of this enormous galactic community... What did you call it? The Citadel?”

“Technically, I’m an officer in the Systems Alliance, which is a member species of the Citadel Council. Although that’s also a bit... complicated right now.”

“Right, which has millions--”

Trillions...” Shepard corrected, far more interested in observing his surroundings, amazed at the craftsmanship considering the inhabitants he had seen had no opposable thumbs.

“Okay... Trillions of citizens under its rule. All of which you, on your own, are trying to save from these... ‘Collector’ creatures... that actually work for something called 'Reapers.’”

“You know, this is very strange.”

“Which part? The impending extinction on a galactic scale? Or the fact that you are apparently the only thing standing in its way?” Twilight asked, rolling her eyes slightly as she added "delusions of grandeur" to his growing list of apparent symptoms.

“No, this feels so... natural. The walking on four legs and hooves thing. It’s not nearly as alien as I thought it would be now that I’ve had a chance to move around a little.”

Twilight facehoofed at the comment.

“Maybe it feels natural because, oh, I don’t know... you’ve always been a pony.”

“Now that’s just crazy.” Shepard smirked a bit, continuing his walk at a steady pace.

Twilight got the distinct impression this was a mocking jab directly intended for her.

“So, who is this pony we're going to see?” Shepard asked, looking to his guide.

“Rarity. She’s an expert in fashion and materials used in all sorts of garments, and I think that includes armor. So here’s the deal: She’ll look at your armor, and when she confirms that it’s not alien, you come with me to the hospital.”

“And when she doesn’t?” Shepard asked.

He knew full well that Twilight was only playing along with him, and while this was taking up valuable time, he also knew that it wouldn’t help for him to go stumbling off on his own, unarmed, without any idea of what was waiting for him in this world.

If there was a chance he could convince Twilight to help him, she would likely be the advantage he needed to figure out exactly what had happened.

“I don’t expect that to happen, Mister Shepard,” Twilight stated with certainty.

“Commander...” Shepard corrected. “And take it from me: Life rarely ever goes in the direction you expect.”

HALT!”

The hoarse shout came with an accompanying torrent of sound that came up behind Shepard and the purple unicorn. Pounding hooves kicked up a small cloud of dust as three dull brown ponies of exceptional physique, each wearing cold steel grey armor and Romanesque helms.

They came to a grinding halt, the three of them standing in a menacing fashion about twenty feet away from Shepard and Twilight as the two turned to face these newcomers.

“Red stallion! In the name of the Royal House of Equestria and the Solar Princess... you are under arrest!” the center-most of the three guards demanded in a rough, gravelly tone. “You will stand down and be escorted to Canterlot Palace for judgement.”

“Wha... Wait! Hold on!” Twilight stepped forward, in stunned shock at the sudden demand. “On what charge!?”

“That is of no concern to you, Twilight Sparkle!” the same stallion stated forcefully, his voice harsh. “Stand aside!”

Twilight seemed taken aback, and a moment later, Shepard was sure he heard a tone of confusion in her voice.

“H-how do you know my name?” she asked. “We’ve never met.”

"STAND ASIDE!" the brutish stallion demanded again, stomping a hoof in a manner that even Shepard was able to interpret as an act of intimidation.

“Twilight, it’s alright,” Shepard said calmly. “I’ll handle this.”

“But... you... they're...” Twilight stammered for a moment, confused as the red colt moved past her and stood before the three larger ponies.

“You will come with us and accept royal judgement, stallion.”

The center-most of the three large earth ponies stepped forward, his two mute companions remaining in place as he approached Shepard as he lowered his voice.

“Your lies end here. It’s over.”

Shepard responded with a smirk.

Choices:

"We can discuss this." (Attempt Diplomacy)

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." (Threaten)

"No... Now it's fun." (Resist Arrest)