8. Without a QT-Mark (April 2021)
Chapter 8: Without a QT-Mark.
(…………………………………………………………………………………………)
Commander Shepard tried not to dream. As a pony, her first foray into her subconscious was bizarre and crazy as hell. Temporary, as it was, it had also been a welcomed respite. She’d never told anyone, even her friends, of the terrible nightmares that had been growing more and more frequent as the Reaper war progressed. With each failure and setback, every death of a close friend, the terror had grown in intensity.
At some point the nightmares had become unbearable and had begun to invade her waking hours. The severe paranoia, the constant jumping at shadows, had reached a level that even her own crew had noticed it. All of her fears and failures repeatedly played out before her was torture. The voices of the deceased calling out to her for help; pleading, taunting, and sometimes laughing. They asked her for salvation, for a hope that had long since passed for them and for her.
At the worst of times Shepard forced herself to stay awake for as long as possible. Two, three, sometime as long as five days she operated on nothing but mess hall coffee and stimulant injections; something she’d managed to sneak out of Med-bay under Doctor Chakwas’ nose. Supplementing with work, exercise, games, and alcohol to distract her; she’d almost eliminated the dreams entirely.
But the consequences were almost as horrible, the bout of insomnia might have lasted far longer, even to the point she’d nearly collapsed several times. However, the good Doctor Chakwas had grown wise as to who was responsible for the disappearing inventory of stimulants from the Normandy.
The heated argument that followed was inevitable once Chakwas cornered Shepard in the Commander’s own private quarters. The face-off was short lived and ended amicably when Shepard finally broke down and confessed. The two had talked for hours, trading stories about the various horrors and doubts that they both had experienced during their times of service. In the end the Doctor had deemed that Shepard was unfit for duty and prescribed a mandatory two weeks rest and some tranquilizers to help her relax. Shepard was had been grateful and made a partial recovery. At least, until the disaster at Thessia, the Asari home world.
The birthplace of the most technologically advanced and biotic gifted race in the whole galaxy. It had been her mission to find the final piece to the Catalyst. In the end Shepard had failed to secure the information she needed and millions of Asari paid the price for it as their home burned. Billions more would soon follow as the war had become unwinnable, in any conventional sense.
Upon awakening from explosions and double suns, she felt marginally better than before. Her wounded shoulder still throbbed in time with her heartbeat, but it was more of a dull ache now.
Shepard had hoped that the previous night would dissolve into her awakening onboard the Normandy. Her quarters would be just as before; the lazy greeting of bubbling fish wandering their aquarium accompanied by the chime of an incoming message on her terminal. Alas it was not to be, she found herself waking to a fur covered, and still very naked, pony body.
She felt embarrassment lighting her cheeks having realized that she was on her back, arms and legs spread for all to see. Quickly she bunkered down and tucked her tail in to hide herself away from the prying world. Anderson was still fast asleep and so she spared an exhale of relief knowing that no one was around to catch her reluctant peep show.
It did nothing to help her already plummeting mood. While she was not one to waste time moping about, she’d raised herself up onto all four hooves. Stretching her aching limbs, her efforts were rewarded with several satisfactory pops and cracks from her joints and vertebrae.
Next to her, Anderson let out a low snore showing that he was still asleep. Shepard didn’t want to disturb him and quietly lifted the tent’s front flap to step out into the cool morning air. Taking a deep breath she savored the clean fresh air. Not a single buffalo was awake yet, and it almost felt as if she was the only living thing left in the world. A feeling she hated, but she could cope with for a little while.
Since when the tribe awoke it was going to be ‘Goddess,’ this and ‘grand destiny,’ that.
She quietly laughed at that thought. If destiny had a face then she planned to smack him so hard with a biotic shockwave powerful enough to make the ‘Big Bang’ weep with jealousy.
Slowly, Shepard had begun to walk away from the camp; the further she got the faster her steps became. There was no aim or goal in doing so, she just, for a moment, needed to be elsewhere. During the trek she had time to formulate several contingency plans concerning the observation and assimilation of…
(…………………………………………………………………………………………)
Shepard blinked, before releasing a throaty gasp, finding herself alone while the camp had retreated to a barely visible blemish on the horizon. Double checking her surroundings, she realized that she’d forgotten why she was out here in the first place.
Under normal circumstances she would begin the day with exercises; normally heading down to the Normandy’s cool and spacious shuttle bay to fulfill such needs. Out in this limitless expanse she found that she preferred the confined interior of the Normandy. Shepard desired to take advantage of the exercise equipment that was provided there; such as a pull-up bar, weights, and even a treadmill.
After exercising she would follow it up with a quick shower, basic hygiene, and then breakfast. Then the day would truly start, with paperwork. If the Alliance had actually still used paper she would’ve drowned in it years ago. Thankfully, everything was digital and easily filed over a terminal or omni-tool.
That didn’t even take into account the tons of other little duties required of her as Captain of a military vessel and an N7 operative. Very few people on the outside were cognizant on just how boring and tedious it could all be. It was a major reason as to why she would frequently wander around the Normandy and chat up the crew and her friends.
Seeing as how she was currently lacking a ship, crew; Shepard couldn’t help but grumble at the unfairness of it all, but at least she didn’t have to worry about the daily reports here.
“Thank someone for small favors.” Shepard tossed her worry aside, flicking a couple strands of hair from her eyes, and gave a final backwards glance at the buffalo camp.
Not everything concerning the use of four legs was easy, especially sit-ups which was its own brand of a futile nightmare, proving again that this flexible pony body was inferior to her Terran counterpart.
“This will be a problem if I ever see combat.” she ruminated. Reflection on how she’d handled herself back at the bar when she’d beaten the stuffing out of that lecherous old stallion, or when she’d subdued Doctor Snake. Sure enough her reservations proved substantial when she tried to test how quickly she could turn to the right and left, to face threats from her flanks. Attempt after attempt proved that while a human could spin like a top, she now had to get used to turning like a tank.
Working through the body mass and leg coordination, she found a level of control that would, hopefully, allow her to dominate the battlefield once more. A half-hour of experimentation was rewarded with multiple scrapes and bruises, but eventually had led to a somewhat surprising development. She could ‘jump’ with her hind legs, turning in the direction she wanted and while using one of her hindlegs as a pivot. It was a clumsy and inefficient method, but worked well enough for what she needed. Still not as quick and effortless as it had been when she was human.
Next she made an attempt at tumbling and rolling. She could not recall how many times she’d managed to avoid a bullet, or rocket, using this technique. Compared to quick turning, tumbling was a lot easier and she was able to grasp its pony equivalent in a few minutes as she only had to tuck her legs in when she rolled.
The real stumbling point was when it came to diving backwards and forwards. She discovered that going backwards required her to push off with her forelegs, while raising her back legs in a bucking motion, and using the momentum to tumble on her side and ending with all four hooves firmly planted again. The first couple of experimental leaps had left her with a sore jaw and a bloody muzzle after tripping and tangling herself on her own tail.
“This thing is coming right off as soon as I get a pair of scissors.’ She grimly promised herself, while biting down on the mass of hair.
The subject of her tail was equal parts frustration and curiosity, in a sense she could feel it like it was a fifth appendage; painless too as she attempted to pull it off with her teeth. She hated the hairy extension as it was continuously getting caught under hoof, in cactuses, or tangled up in bushes if she wasn't paying attention.
Minutes later Shepard was laid out on her back, spitting and fishing out strands of hair from her mouth. The infernal tail, as if having a mind of its own, was restless and almost seemed to mock her. After a few minutes she was aware of another presence nearby. Tilting her head back she spotted Little Strong Heart gazing down at her. The young bison’s face seemed confused as she examined Shepard’s collection of recent self-sustained injuries.
“Strong Heart.” Shepard said almost casually despite her breathless panting.
“Shepard,” the tribal returned with a weak smile, “are you alright?”
“Yup, just getting some exercise.” She flexed before cleaning the sweat from her brow.
“Um, that’s good, staying in shape is good, very healthy.” Strong Heart rambled, too embarrassed to maintain eye contact and she looked away. She could feel her blood pressure skyrocketing just by being in the presence of 'The Shepard.'
“Ugh,” Shepard groaned as she rolled onto her stomach and then stood up. “Is there a particular reason you're here? I don’t think you’d come all this way just for a friendly chat.” She brushed some of the dirt and tumbleweeds from her coat and mane. "Or maybe you think you can convince me of all this religious ‘Shepard’ talk. Well my advice is," Shepard leaned in with a scowl, "don't waste my time."
“I know you don’t believe, and maybe that’s for the best, but I know you are the Shepard, and you are destined to do great and terrible things.” She traced a hoof through the dirt wondering just who she was trying to convince more. “But you’re right," Heart met the Commander's scowl with one of her own, "there is another reason I’m here. I have something important to tell you.”
“And that would be...”
“I-I…want to come with you,” Strongheart felt her heart jump up her throat, “let me accompany you, not just to A-Appleloosa, but I want to go with you all the way to Canterlot to meet the twin Goddesses. I already talked to my fa...the Chief and he supports my decision.”
“No,” Shepard immediately brushed her off and started to walk away, “no chance in hell.”
“You don't get it Shepard!” The buffalo shouted her rebuttal, desperation twisted her face. Yet, her outburst was only met with silence. “I really, really, do want to help you. And I have my reasons, maybe I’ll tell you one day.”
“Alright,” Shepard closed the distance between the two of them, to the point they were nearly muzzle to muzzle. “I'm listening. But!,” She raised a hoof for emphasis, “I do not accept anyone into my crew unless they have something useful to contribute and can hold their own in combat. “ Shepard spoke with no kindness in her voice. “So what can you offer me?”
“You need me!” Strong Heart slapped down Shepard’s accusing hoof, though her aggressive attitude quickly faded when she remembered just who she was speaking to. “I k-know you have high standards for both ponies and h-h-humans. I don't know if I’ll be able to meet your expectations, but I will give it my all. Because I-I want to help you and to be your friend too.” She explained very softly, while trembling like a leaf.
“Face it Shepard, you need a guide.” Heart suddenly felt a renewed sense of confidence. “You need someone who knows Equestria and I’ve learned a lot from ponies over the past years. I can advise you, like an advisor, advising about things like…advice?” Strong Heart just wanted to slap herself across the face for that pathetic last line; acting like a young girl confessing to her first crush.
“Also, I may have a few bits that I can spare to help your journey to Canterlot.” She added in as an embarrassed afterthought. To her relief the Commander did not appear to be offended.
“I thought your kind had no use for modern currency and comforts.” Shepard said, seemingly unconvinced.
“Normally no, but,” Heart felt her enthusiasm quickly dying, “I sometimes find lost bits or do odd jobs around town so I can treat my special somepony to dinner.”
“Special somepony?” the mare asked with an undertone of nostalgia.
“Yes, um, I think that’s what ponies call their loved ones.” She shifted her weight from side to side, “Do you have anyone like that?”
“I did,…once.” Shepard stared off into the distance, at something she could only see. After a prolonged silence, “Fine, welcome aboard.”
“Really?” Hope and relief washed over Strongheart.
“Yup; really, really. Your knowledge could prove useful in the long run. Still, I don’t completely approve of getting you involved, but I will give you a chance to prove me otherwise, but on three conditions.”
“Name them.” Heart was filled with renewed conviction.
“One, any talk about this Goddess prophecy business is right out,” Shepard punctuated with a stomp of her hoof, “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Sure, I can do that”
“Two, under no circumstance will you reveal that I am a biotic to anyone; a magic user without a horn, whatever. Subtlety is now the new rule of this game.”
"I agree, I think there would be a lot of angry unicorns if they knew even one Earth-pony surpassed them in magical power. And the last condition is?"
“I expect you to follow orders. I tell you to retreat, you do it without question.” Shepard stared daggers as the two of them locked eyes. “Furthermore, Anderson is my commanding officer and his orders supersede mine. You will show him the proper respect. Do you understand?!”
“Yes, Ma-am!” Heart followed up with a respectful salute.
(…………………………………………………………………………………………)
The pony and buffalo duo had quickly retreated to the camp. They only stayed long enough to inform Admiral Anderson and Chief Thunder that they intended to head back into Appleloosa. The trek was mostly unremarkable except that there had been times that the small wildlife would sometimes come up to Heart and try to pull her away. Their chattering and squeaking were more of a plea, while giving Shepard a wide berth, even throwing stones at her from time to time. At first the Commander was intrigued by this weird behavior, but it had quickly become irritating.
If there had been anything amiss, Heart made no indication of it. She appeared to simply be content with her present company; although she had made several attempts at conversation starters. All her efforts started with her opening her mouth before aborting with a loud crack of teeth and a disappointed frown.
“Shepard, you look troubled.” The young tribal eventually summoned the courage as they entered the pony town.
“Hm,” The pony’s expression didn’t move much, “I look troubled? I’m not the one who has been gaping like a fish for the past hour.” Heart only felt her cheeks warming up in embarrassment.
“I wanted to thank you for coming with me. I-I wanted to invite you to Braeburn’s family reunion party. It’s this afternoon.” Heart pleaded.
“Is he your special sompony?” the mare tripped over the last word, but Heart didn’t pay it any mind.
“Yes he is,” She stopped and could not help but hid her face, “I wanted to introduce you to him and his family.”
“Why?.” Shepard asked simply.
“Well,” Heart dragged a hoof in the dirt, “I know my father told you to speak with the princesses in Canterlot. Before that I wanted you to know that Applejack and Rainbow Dash will be at the party.” Heart added in with baited breath.
“I don’t recognize those names,” Shepard sounded impatient, “Are they people I should care about?”
“Applejack and Rainbow Dash are both Elements of Harmony. They’re very important ponies in Equestria and know the Goddesses of the sun and moon personally.” The buffalo pleaded before an idea struck her. “I’m sure if you made friends with them, the Princesses would be more open to helping you.”
“So I should appeal to their better nature and play the political angle,” Shepard shook her head, “I hate politics and politicians.”
“That…t-that’s not correct,” Heart stuttered, lost trying to find a reasonable way to explain.
“They are like you.”
“Oh?” Shepard’s ears perked, her interest fully captured.
“They obey Princess Celestia in the same way you follow Anderson.” The buffalo jabbed a hoof into the Commander’s chest. “I know you’ll like them, though a word of warning,”
“Yes?”
“Try to avoid the one called Pinkie Pie.” Heart whispered, as if she was afraid of being overheard. “I know she means well, but she creeps me out.”
“So, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie are three of six people who have strong ties with the monarchy?”
“Yes, though the one you really should meet is Twilight Sparkle, she became a princess a few weeks ago.”
Shepard nearly failed to suppress a groan of exasperation. Less than two days into a new world and she was already planning on meeting the heads of state. Meanwhile she had already committed several crimes, and was already considered a force beyond the princesses’ means. That left her in a stuck position, and she didn’t want to outright refuse Little Strong Heart’s offer since the girl had been nothing but open and honest so far.
“I’ll think about it.” Shepard managed, despite her misgivings. Her companion’s face fell, resigned to the reality that this was the best she could have expected.
A loud whistle struck through the air, one that they both had recognized belonging to a train engine, the clacking of wheels and squeal of brakes proved that the locomotive had just pulled into the Appleloosian station.
(…………………………………………………………………………………………)
It was a short jaunt to the unloading by of the train depot. Strong Heart had departed to await the arrival of her friends, leaving Shepard to explore the area on her own. Thankfully, she had spotted a large map hanging between the ticket booths. The map was hand drawn, but showed a master’s attention to detail, highlighting an intricate system of railroad lines and geological features.
The former human studied the map for a few moments. Canterlot was displayed proudly in the middle of the map; the route was simple enough to follow. Starting from Appleloosa, she would only have to pass through Dodge Junction and temporary stop in Ponyville.
Her studious observations were unexpectedly interrupted by a shrill, high-pitched, gasp erupting from behind her. Like the crack of a whip, Shepard turned with the expectation of facing horrible monstrosities. What she hadn’t expected was a young Earth-pony filly. The little foal’s ambient yellow fur and red mane framed the tears swimming in her young eyes. The red ribbon tied into her mane seemed to droop, mirroring her despairing mood.
“Ya…ya’ll don’t have a c-cutie mark?” Her southern accent sunk under the weight of a question that held the fate of the entire world upon it. The context was lost upon Shepard, as she had no idea what a qt-mark was, or why it was so important. There was no time to consider the situation as heard insulting remarks from a crowd that despised her for the crime of making a child cry.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shepard desperately looked towards Strongheart for assistance, but her companion was just too far away to be of any assistance.
“Applebloom!” An accented twang called out from the crowd. “Where tha heck did ya go girl?”
The foal didn’t notice as she’d fallen in to crying her eyes out. Shepard, however, spotted a pair of ponies, orange and red, coming her way and accompanied by a cyan Pegasus too.
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Nice to see this updated, and heh, poor poor applebloom, and doubly so poor poor shephard..
Yes she should go but shell prob be grumpy about it
Nice. I like the idea of Shepard going to the reunion. But if you've planned otherwise, you won't see me complaining.
I think paragon: accept buuuut she doesn't have to entirely like it.
Considering Shepard history, she would probably accept the invitation. It is the surest way to meet with Celestia after all, and I think we can all agree that Rainbow Dash would find her rather awesome
forget the reunion she is a solider and knows she has to get the job done fast so straight to canterlot
story of the shepared
Yes she should go, I can only hope Murphy doesn't show up!
Why the Cliffhangerrr!!!
she should go
like it or not she needs political allies, and she may be the only one to beat applejack in a hoofwrestle
she should go to the reunion, but not dance. dancing Shepard is bad.
Accept that shit! Be the awkward pony that no one knows anything about! You know that is the Shepard way.
How come this always takes forever to update?
Under what could be called "normal circumstances" I would vote yes on the reunion. But... the Pink Demon... bad things could happen.
\go. Allies on an unknown planet are a necessity. Doesn't mean she has to like it, but go all the same
Accept it because the more on her side the better, besides Shepard is the Queen of being very charismatic...when she isn't all cranky or going mental
Paragon: Accept
You have a lot less spelling errors than older chapters, but you still should get a proofreader and editor, like me.
why not go paragade? accept, then when she arrives AJ recognises her from this meeting happening here and starts a fight
2688279Pink Demon indeed.
Yes, I too shall vote for her to attend the reunion. Can't wait to see how you pull this one off. Also, why must it take so long for each new chapter? This story is awesome.
MOAR!
Haven't read this yet but I'm just wondering.
Will this contain lots of spoilers?
Because I've played the first and second, but I haven't got the third and I don't want it to be ruined (even through what I've heard about its ending).
Should I play/watch someone play the game first, or can I read it right away without fear of spoiling everything?
2688131 Cant be worse then dancing Twilight... even I gotta say.
I vote yes go, need the influence and knowledge. "Baby steps Carver baby steps."
There seem to be a lot of errors in this chapter (missing spaces/letters/words, misused words, repetition, etc). There's also the lacklustre dialogue, the weird obsession with Shepard's ass, and her overall poor characterisation. I'm not sure if this story was always so slapdash in its execution, or if it's just this chapter dropping in quality
I remember enjoying this story when I read it before, so maybe it is just a rushed chapter or something. I dunno. I'll go back and look through the rest of it to find out.
2688475
It's set in an AU thing where the ending of ME3 transported Femshep to Equestria. While that itself isn't that spoilerific, there's a bunch of small things so far that you either won't notice or won't understand without the third game. Nothing major, but a lot of minor things.
If you're after a good Mass Effect story that doesn't spoil #3, I'd go with Loyal2Luna's story, The Equestrian Equation and it's sequel Shades of Twilight. The first takes place just before the attack on the collector stronghold, and the second in the time between ME2 and ME3
2688488
But since she's now in a pony body, so it makes everything more difficult.
Maybe there should be a "who's the worst dancer" competition sometime in the near future?
She should go after being pestered for an hour by Applebloom.
Accept of course. Also while i like this story could yo please stop draping stuff about her anatomy its getting distracting
*Gasp*
2.bp.blogspot.com/-4k-hrmZOX9s/UOyreUUtPCI/AAAAAAAACwM/wpNIepOcSu0/s1600/It+Lives.jpg
I think that Shepherd should initially reject the invitation but suddenly change her mind for one of two reasons:
1) Applebloom lets slip that Applejack is the Element of Honesty and Shepherd decides that she should take the delay as an acceptable price to make immediate contact with one of the elements;
2) She rejects the invitation but ends up there anyway due to some misadventure that she bitterly tells Strongheart that she doesn't believe actually happened, even though she was there for all of it.
I think that Applebloom will be very useful as the 'innocent' end of Shepherd's crowd of informants. She doesn't understand the significance of much she casually tells her new friend. Of course, this will occur only after she gets over her hysteria about an adult pony without a cutie mark. What will make this funny will be that Shepherd will be trying to convince AB that her pony body is less than a week old so, in the strictest temporal sense of the word, she isn't an 'adult', she just didn't come into existence as a filly.
"For ya assistance in mah quest, I induct ya'll as the newest Cutie Mark Crusader!"
"Another cross-command commission, Commander Shepherd?"
"Admiral, with all due respect to one of your rank and position: Kiss my flank. Sir."
Suggested cutie mark for Shepherd: A vertical longsword behind a knight's shield with the N7 logo.
Well, now with Applebloom on her way, RD and AJ on sight Shepard don't have much choice as accept invitation from Strongheart and roll with the party. Besides it's good to make some allies on foreign world. May come in handy in future.
Course she would accept, free food.
2688064 Murphy: You called?
terrible nightmares that had been growing more and more frequent as the as the Reaper war progressed
got a repeat
especially sit-ups which was its own bran of a nightmare
brand
Upon arrival Shepard was set upon a conveniently located map of Equestria
get rid of the was, as that makes it the map that is doing the setting upon.
I hope you update more quickly. It's to good to wait for!
I think she should accept, she's going to need to know how mainstream pony society works.
Plus, like Strongheart said, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are there.
First things first.
You just updated....
img.pandawhale.com/32244-YES-5iKQ.gif
Now about Shepard going to the party I would go with these guys ideas
iliketowastemytime.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog_preview/best-gifs-7-micael-reynaud-the-journey.gif
2687976>>2688704
They were worth searching for.
2689134
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R4HvrrEwCGE/UFu3VGk6AmI/AAAAAAAB3qU/hmwmtiome6M/w500/iT97Z9jcRpnN2.gif
Murphy's law comes to town.
for the love of all that is good in this world, please update faster. one of the better fanfics on this site and kills me when i have to wait such a long time >.<
Accept the invitation Shepard.
>_>
Abduct Applebloom. She will be an excellent guide AND hostage, all rolled into one. :P
2688393 Renegade: Accept then beat up and belittle the family in question, somehow still accomplishing the mission...
2690741 agreed
yes, accept the invite, coming into contact with two of the element bearers? That'll get you a fast track to meeting Celestia. also, I really want to see RD and Shepard butt heads over whose the best. oh god and then Applebloom and babs(maybe? not sure if your going to include her) reaction to a fully grown mare with no cutie mark, hell maybe Shepard can help the crusaders get cutie marks in Military-Esq things, CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS DEMOLITION EXPERTS! (I'll let your imagination do the rest on that one). as for a suggestion for Sheps cutie mark (I've seen a few so far, disregard if you already got it planned) would be just a straight up N7 or Spectre logo. Straight forward, everyone will ask what it means but she can just say something vague like if she got the spectre logo "I'm a ghost" or something like that. don't know final decisions up to you.
and remember, you saw nothing
2689202
Thanks for pointing those out. They have now been fixed.
Cutie Mark Crusader N7 Operatives!
2688637
You're right, I did go a little overboard with that. I have reworked that part to be less perverse and hopefully flow a little better. I will try and deemphasize the focus on anatomy.
2688417
Are you suggesting, hinting perhaps, that you'd be up for the job of proofreader and editor. *Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.*
2692445 And i thank you in advance i really like this story and hope to see more soon.
2692486
Wh..what are you talking about, I'm not saying that at all!
gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-UserFiles/00-00-55-19-52-Attached+Files/4572.tumblr_5F00_lrocgkLILx1qfgjtno1_5F00_500.gif
yay you fixed it up, feels better now