Shepard's Sunset

by BrowncoatBrony11

Chapter One: First Meeting

It was quiet as Shepard walked down the street. Quieter than it had been for her in a long time. No fans hoping to get an autograph. No reporters begging for the next big story. No worshippers trying to be blessed. That last one creeped her out. She wasn’t a god to be worshiped. She was a human. A skilled and very lucky human, who just happened to be at the right place at the right time

Shepard shook her head at that last thought. She looked at the buildings around her. In contrast to the shiny new skyscrapers that loomed above, this part of the city looked old and worn down. Most areas had to be rebuilt after the Reapers tried to burn Earth, but this section somehow escaped most of that.

Granted, no one had ever really used these buildings. The fact that they hadn’t been torn down a long time ago was a miracle in and of itself. Plenty of vagrants and runaways used the building as a shelter, though. They had for as long a Shepard remembered. Some of these people were out and about just trying to live their daily lives. Shepard ignored them. She was on a mission.

She stopped in front of a large warehouse structure at the end of the block. She smiled as she touched the door frame, memories rushing through her. She opened the door, which squeaked loudly, and walked inside. The large storage area of the warehouse greeted her. Rows of old decaying boxes sat there, forgotten and abandoned. Metal shelves lined the walls carrying various odds and ends.

The door at the opposite end of the room that lead to the offices stood slightly ajar. She moved towards the door, occasionally looking into the boxes along the way. When she reached the door and opened it, she was so lost in her memories that she almost didn’t notice the fist flying towards her face in time to dodge.

The owner of said fist was a girl in her teens. She was slightly shorter than Shepard with a leather biker jacket that covered a dark purple shirt and a pair of jeans. Her red and yellow hair spun around her head as she tried to throw another punch at Shepard. Shepard deftly caught the fist and held it in place. The girl struggled against Shepard for a moment before stopping to glare at her with cyan eyes. “You done there Rocky or do you want to go for another round,” Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girl continued to glare at Shepard for a few second before sighing and slumping her shoulders. "Yeah I'm done," she said.

“Good,” Shepard said releasing her. The girl backed away and rubbed her wrist where she had been grabbed.

“What are you doing here?” the girl asked, again glaring at Shepard as she waited for an answer.

Shepard moved around her to look into the old office space. A makeshift bed laid in a corner. A small pile of books laid beside it, “I could ask you the same question.”

“I asked first,” the girl said, hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.

“True, you did,” Shepard turned to face the girl. “I actually used to live here a long time ago.” She turned back to the bed,”I’m going to take a wild guess and say that's what you’re doing now.”

The girl looked like she was going to deny it for a moment, but quickly gave in. “Yeah, I have been for a couple years now,” she admitted.

Shepard gave an appreciative nod,”Impressive, how’d you keep the others from trying to take it from you?”

The girl grimaced just slightly before crossing an arm across her midsection,”It’s a long story.”

Shepard stared at her for a moment before responding,”You want some food? You look hungry.”

“I don’t even know your name and you’re offering me food?” The glare was back along with the crossed arms. ”How stupid do you think I am?" she snapped

“Good point,” said Shepard with a smile. She stuck her hand out to the girl. “Name's Shepard, Allana Shepard.” The girl stood stunned for a moment as she stared at Shepard. She shakily extended her own hand to grasp Shepards. “Do you have a name,” Shepard asked.

“S-Sunset, Sunset Shimmer," she stammered.

Shepard released Sunset’s hand after a quick shake. “That’s a nice name,” Shepard said. She gestured towards the door and asked, “Now do you want some food?” Sunset nodded and followed Shepard out.

The cafe they found was small and quaint. Wooden chairs and tables filled the space not taken by a large windowed counter towards the back. Bread and pastries lined the shelves inside the counter and behind it. Shepard opened the door and allowed Sunset to walk in first. She smiled graciously at the older women though the rest of her body was tense like she expected to burst into flames at any moment.

A woman appeared behind the counter through a door that lead further back. “Hello, and welcome to Old Town Cafe. How can I help you?” she asked.

Shepard and Sunset walked to the counter,”Well, we’ve never been here before so what do you suggest,” Shepard asked.

“Our cinnamon twists are very popular and I’ve been told we have excellent coffee,” the woman said.

“Alright We’ll have two twists and I’ll have some of your coffee,”Shepard turned to Sunset. “You want anything to drink?”

“Coffee is fine,”Sunset said.

Shepard paid and the woman handed them two pastries wrapped in waxed paper,”Ok dearies, I’ll have the coffees out in a moment.” Shepard and Sunset found a table and sat down.

They ate in silence for a while before Shepard spoke up. “So you mentioned you had been at the warehouse for a couple years. Where did you stay before that?”

“Foster home,” Sunset said after a pause. “I ran away a few years ago and ended up here.”

“Ah, bad home I’m guessing?” Shepard probed.
Sunset looked down into her plate shame etched into her face,”No, she was great actually. I just… I don't know.”

They were interrupted when the coffee arrived and the woman that served them spoke up,”Excuse me, I'm sorry, but, are you, Commander Shepard?”

Shepard leaned back and smiled,”Yes I am, though it’s Admiral Shepard now.”

The woman smiled as well and stuck out her hand, “I’m Molly Evans and I just want to thank you for everything you did.”

Shepard shook her hand,”Just did what had to be done, ma’am.”

“I know, but still, thank you,” Molly turned and left leaving Shepard and Sunset alone again.

“Does that happen often?” Sunset asked.

Shepard shrugged her shoulders,”Yeah, depends on where I go. Closer to the middle of the city it feels like I can’t escape sometimes.” Shepard smirked,”Although no one goes near my house anymore. Not after Wrex threatened to shoot them with his shotgun… multiple times.”

Sunset smiled and laughed a bit at that, ”So you said you lived in the warehouse before, but I don’t remember reading anything about that?”

Shepard laughed,”Yeah the Alliance brass didn’t think it would be a good idea for the ‘Savior of the Galaxy’ to be homeless at sixteen. The only thing they put through was the fact that I was an orphan born on Earth.”

Sunset’s brow furrowed,”I guess that makes sense.”

“Yeah,” Shepard took a sip of her coffee. “So where do you go to school?”

“Canterlot High,” Sunset offered.

“You have any friends there?” Shepard asked.

A look of hurt flashed across Sunsets face for a second before she answered,”Yeah they’re... great.”

Shepard raised an eyebrow,”I sense a 'but' in there.”

Sunset grimaced and sighed. She took a drink of her coffee,”Well, I uh, I used to be really mean to them. I’ve changed since then and we are all really great friends now. But recently a person got on the school's social media site and started spreading some secrets around and my friends quickly blamed me. We eventually found the culprits, but it still hurts.”

“That's rough, but at least you all are still friends right?” Shepard said taking another sip of her coffee.

Sunset nodded,”Yeah it just...”

“Takes time to heal,” Shepard offered.

Sunset nodded again. She looked down at her watch and suddenly gasped, ”Oh no I’m going to be late. I even pinkie promised.”

“What?” Shepard asked confused by Sunsets panic.

“I’m supposed to meet my friends in a few minutes to finish a project and I left my stuff at the warehouse,” She stood up quickly, spinning in place for a moment as she made sure she had everything she brought before she tried to bolt for the door.

Shepard stood up as well before stopping Sunset,”Woah, hold on there, my aircar isn’t far from here. I can take you to the warehouse then drop you off with your friends. Ok.”

Sunset stared at Shepard bewildered. Slowly she calmed down before saying,”Yeah, that’d be great.”

Shepard smiled,”Great let's go then.”

With Shepard's aircar, it didn’t take long to swing by the warehouse then head to Sunset's friends. She directed Shepard to a large orchard a few miles out of town. Shepard landed the aircar in front of a large farmhouse in the middle of the orchard. “Thanks,” Sunset said as she moved to get out of the car. Shepard put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

“Wait a minute,” Shepard said. “You got a place to stay tonight?”

Sunset gave Shepard a questioning look before responding,”Uh, yeah, we’re finishing up the project tonight and staying over so we can all help bring it in tomorrow.”

“Good,” Shepard smiled before continuing. “Just wanted to make sure.”

“O...K?” Sunset said still giving Shepard a questioning look. She got out of the car and walked to the house. Shepard stayed out long enough to see a pink blur shoot out of the house and nearly tackle Sunset to the ground. Shepard chuckled to herself as she brought the car into the air and headed home.

Author's Note:

Hello, this is my first-time post here. Any comments or criticisms or both are welcome and appreciated. I am looking to improve my writing. I have no proofreader as of now so expect some mistakes. I'll try and fix them as I see them but I can't catch everything.

Comments

[Scout Charger]

I'll admit I was a bit cautious with this one. Usually first attempts aren't that great and it seems like a pretty far stretch for a crossover.
Yet you managed to positively surprise me. Your writing is good and small errors didn't break my emerson. You seemed to handle the characters well and I'm curious were this thing goes.
Anyway, definitely worth a comment, a thumbs up and keeping track of. I'm going to read the second chapter later but so far it's quite good.

[Pony_Person_123]

What show/movie is Allan Shepard from?

[pinkfloydpig]

8358321
She's from the game Mass Effect

mmgaming.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mass-Effect-3-Female-Shepard-Wallpaper.jpg

[TheGamingLedgend]

Pretty good 😊

[Vaguely Demented]

I forgot you can actually set up Shepard’s backstory. I think I went spaceborn who stopped a Batarian attack.

[Sylica telca]

This was really good for a first attempt

[RDDash]

What Shepard has to do with any of this?