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Rough Landing -13,668 words
The Plan3,254 words

Rough Landing -1

"Shepard, are you ready for this? No goin' back." Joker, the pilot of the Normandy SR2, was incredibly nervous. With this suicide mission, he could lose his ship, and his friend. Shepard put his strong and calloused hand on Joker's shoulder, nodding to him with a smile. Shepard’s eyes glowed lightly and cheerfully, emitting a glow of reassurance. Joker smiled meekly back, preparing himself for whatever the Omega 4 Relay, the only thing between the crew and saving the galaxy, had in stock.

"We're gonna give those Collectors hell!" Shepard ducked with ninja reaction time, barely missing the airborne cork whizzing by and nearly cracking the windshield. It ricocheted back into Joker’s right eye, forcing an angry mutter from his lips. He flipped the crew the bird, and turned his chair to face EDI. Her blue hologram appeared in the terminal at the cockpit’s front, asking in a friendly tone, “What do you need, Mr. Moreau?” Shepard remembered when Joker and EDI weren’t on such good terms.

“Run diagnostics on the ship.”

Red light poured in from the cockpit windows, encasing every crew member within range in blinding crimson. Shepard’s squad averted their eyes, but Shepard remained and stared into the light, not batting an eye. His pupils shrunk, and the light dimmed to a point where he was able to easily survey the area. The red sun shot fire from its surface and brushed the Normandy lightly. A blue glow surrounded the ship, and dematerialized as the ship passed the heat.

The Normandy had a bit of an upgrade since it last saw service. When the original was taken down by the Collectors, nothing salvageable remained. Cerberus, the wealthy company that it was, built the new replica, the SSV Normandy SR-2. Shepard took days to get all the necessary materials for upgrades, but now it was ready to take on the Collectors head-on.

"Shepard, come over here. That look a little... ominous to you?" Garrus, Shepard's old Turian friend from C-Sec, motioned for the Commander to come over and take a quick look. The Omega 4 Relay was shooting red sparks from its core, and the massive spikes shooting to the side were broken, seemingly cut in half by heat. This looked intentional.
"It does. EDI, scan that thing before we go launching into it." Shepard spoke into the ceiling of the ship, arms crossed and foot tapping the grate floor. Blue light, although dim, shone out of a terminal jetting from the wall.
"Shepard, scans show a dangerous amount of radiation. The ship's shields can protect against that, but the crew may become sick. Also, it appears that the warp path may be altered slightly. Nothing too drastic, according to the radar.”
Zaeed stepped in to add his five credits, “Come on Commander, you don’t have to worry. Anything shows up, I’ll shoot it in it’s bloody face!” He pulled out his pistol and showed it off, the thermal clip upgraded to explode on contact. He made jerking motions with his gun, chuckling at Shepard’s exaggerated facepalm.
"Well, Commander? You wanna take the risk and let me fly this baby in there?"
Shepard stood there a long while, stroking his healing scars with a hand. He paced the floor and glanced at the damaged Relay. Then, he came over to Joker. One quick nod was enough to hint to Joker to begin. He tipped his hat, and slowly brought the throttle down.

---

“Shepard! Run!!”

The explosions made Shepard’s ears ring loudly. Electricity shot through his system and his eyes glowed red the exact shade of the Omega 4 Relay’s core. Then, he dropped. Stagnant quiet filled the ship when the hull was breached, and every crew member was sucked into the endless void of space. Few survived it, but those that did were destined to save a world they’ve never seen nor heard of.

---Shepard

"I think he's waking up! Come on, we need to throw a welcome party!”

"No, sugarcube, let 'im rest. He took a real hit out there."

Everything was cloudy, exactly like the days after his surgery. Exactly like when he woke up and Cerberus was ambushed. Instead of the loud shots of thermal pistols, however, there was a tranquil humming of a honey-sweet voice. Though faint, Shepard was able to make out the yellow color of the creature. His head fell hard on the metal again, though, and he soon found himself dreaming.

Fire surrounded his body as the screams of millions enveloped his mind in a torrent of suffering. The thousands of people he once knew residing on the Citadel were running from an unseen figure. Then, without warning, before him stood the Harbinger, staring down at him with robotic eyes. "I know this hurts you."

Another Reaper landed behind the Harbinger with a clash of rock and bodies which flew onto Shepard’s paralyzed figure. Deafened by the wail of the enormous machine, Shepard covered his ears and prepared to die. The flame burned through his flesh and bone, leaving only the charred corpse of the Commander. Now there was absolutely nobody powerful and influential enough to save the galaxy, and Harbinger knew it. He laughed loudly in triumph.

Shepard gasped loudly and frightened the yellow pony sitting beside him. She cowered in her chair as he struggled against the restraints on the bed. His screams further frightened the little pony, to the point where she cowered under the chair and burst into tears. One of the nurses heard the screams and dashed into the room to attempt to calm him down.

“Where am I!? Who are you!? What are you!?”

Shepard kept resisting the belts to no avail, creating deep bruises in the flesh. Then, the soft voice of the nurse interrupted his struggles, and he was somewhat calmed.

“Dear, you need to settle down! You’re scaring Fluttershy!”

“Sorry, ma’am. I’m just a little confused. And I can’t see anyone.”

Nurse Redheart looked down to the floor, tapping both hooves on the floor left and right in a rhythmic pattern. Shepard, although now in this strange new world, remained human. In Equestria, humans were not a natural occurence. Even less so his crew members that survived.

“Get some rest, N7.”

“Wait, ma’am, what do you mean ‘N7’?”

“Isn’t that your name on your uniform?”

“No, miss. My name is Commander Shepard.”

Silently, the nurse and Fluttershy trotted away, making their best efforts to not make a single clop. Fluttershy still sobbed quietly, and sniffled once or twice. Her legs shook vigorously while the nurse had her arm on Fluttershy.

Shepard laid in silence on the white bed whilst watching the white sun setting in the hills in front of him. The white turned to orange, pouring into the room and reflecting from Shepard’s visor, sitting neatly on a table adjacent to his bed. Normally, that would be on him outside of the Normandy, but instead they put him in casual clothing. Clothing he assumed they wore regularly. A red robe, mostly, with satin underclothing.

There he lay, ticking off the seconds as the sun drew nearer and nearer into total obstruction. How he missed the sunsets of Earth, before his parents died.

Sometime during the wait, Shepard fell asleep. He didn’t feel anyone moving him in his sleep, but when he awoke sometime during the middle of the night, his restraints were unlatched. Shepard sat up, if not too quickly, and slapped his hand to his forehead. A few minutes passed, and Shepard removed his hand, groaning as the pain subsided. He directed his attention out the window again, able to get a better look. Never before had he seen such...innocence and purity in an uncharted world. Or, at least, he thought it was uncharted.

“New mission: Find out where the hell I am.”

Shepard clicked the button on his omni-tool, and the log was saved. His feet hit the marble floor hard. Unfortunately for Shepard, it was recently mopped. Using his stealth training, he put his back to the side of his bed and sat there.

. . . Not a sound.

Still, he had to remain behind the bed, in the event of another unexpected arrival. His brow began to drip with sweat and he panted frantically when he heard a familiar sound coming from behind the door.

No, there can’t be geth here! God damnit, I don’t have a weapon!

“Commander Shepard? Are you alright?” The sweet voice of the nurse broke the silence. And so did the sound of a dropping metal tray, along with shattered glass. Shepard could feel the cold liquid soaking into his robes. “Commander Shepard!? Doctor, he’s escaped!”

While he remained hidden, Shepard could hear the deep and gruff voice of a male.

“Well, find him! It is of paramount importance that you do not let him get out to Ponyville!”

“Yes, sir!”

He heard the nurse’s footsteps nearing him, so he jumped from his hiding place and slid into the nearest wall, on account of the spilled drink. His brain fogged by something, Shepard was only able to make a meek attempt at headlocking the nurse. What attributed more to his inability to grab her was her height. Nobody, not even a Volus, was this short. The nurse screamed shrilly, alerting the doctor in the other room. He came in yelling at the top of his lungs, and Shepard found himself doubling over in pain.

“What do you suppose we do with him?”

“We need to report this to Celestia. He’s a danger to the ponies.”

Ponies? Why would an alien race care about ponies?

There was no time to ponder further. In no time at all, the two creatures slumped onto the ground in a sloshing mess. In the corner of his teary eye, he saw the silhouette of...something. Though it was faint, he was able to hear two words in a cheerful, yet robotic, tone.

“Shepard-Commander.”

---Garrus

“Gahah! One less to worry about!” Garrus gleefully shouted as the large bear fell onto the forest floor. “Ah, shit. That...is my cue to leave.”

The loudest roar Garrus had ever heard bellowed from the recesses of the deep cave he’d just escaped. Footsteps shook the very ground he stood on, and boulders perched atop the hill came crumbling down. His mandibles flared wildly. “Dah, hell...”

Garrus grunted in pain after being hit square in the leg with a rock. Sure, it was going to hurt in the morning, but at least he survived. Shooting behind him, Garrus ran to the nearest source of artificial light he could find. A large log lay in his path, obstructed by a shroud of darkness. Of course, Garrus tripped over it and landed in a thick and wet pile of leaves. His scaly skin made a perfect frictionless surface to slide in unnoticed.

The large purple bear sniffed the air once, moving his head from left to right, surveying the forest. It growled furiously. Garrus froze in place, twitching his mandibles on account of the ants crawling on him. In a steamy huff, the purple bear stomped its way to the cave once more.

“Ungh. That was a close one.” Garrus stood up from his leafy cloak. Cracking his back, he turned toward the lights in the distance. To get a better look, he pulled out his Sniper Rifle and looked through the scope. A small cot, he thought to himself, there’s got to be someone there who can explain this.

His backpack hissed when it attached the Rifle back in place, scaring away the animals following their strange new friend. Garrus sighed happily with each step in the grass.

“Been forever since I last felt grass on my feet.” He had the urge to pinch the grass in his feet with each step, and so he did. After an hour or so of walking, however, his toes grew tired of the trivial, and rather monotonous, task of grasping the plants.

In his walk to the cot, there was a little white, furry creature holding a carrot. Its ears were tall and stood erect from the top of its head. Reacting unexpectedly, the creature threw its carrot straight at Garrus’ face. Luckily, he still had his helmet on, so the carrot made a little plastic clunk, and fell to the ground. The little white creature hopped away swiftly, making little pitter patters on the soil with each landing.

“Finally.”

Garrus arrived at the quaint cot. It was still billowing smoke from its chimney; smoke was clouding in the air and reflecting the blue light of the moon.

The primitive door of the cot confused Garrus completely. Never before had he been forced to find this kind of thing out on his own. There was no opening button, nor a keypad. This thing wasn’t even made of metal! Garrus smacked the door with his fist, nearly punching a hole through the wood.

“Eep! Um...I’ll be right there.” Garrus turned to look at the door and faced forward. What he didn’t expect was a little yellow quadruped staring up at him in horror. She slammed the door. Hard. Right on Garrus’ foot. Pulling off the mask didn’t help his situation with the local, and neither did his unworldly screams. She sat in the corner of her cot, weeping loudly. The little white creature that threw the carrot at Garrus patted her head, and glared at Garrus.

“What? What’d I do?”

---Zaeed

“What the bloody hell are you? ‘Ey! Get down from there and fight, you li'l bitch!"

Massani’s new friend, a light blue pegasus, was readying another dash at his face. Rearing her back leg for another temple kick, she zoomed at him with full force. A vapor cone formed around her and her face was pulled back by the Gs. Zaeed was better than her though.

In one fluid motion, Zaeed thwacked the pegasus with his rifle butt, and brought her to the ground. Placing his foot on her chest and pointing his rifle at her eye, he said with a smile, "Heheheh, I like your style, girl. Whaddya say about gettin' me the hell outta here?"

The pegasus squinted her eyes and tried her best to look intimidating. Not easy when she was looking at Zaeed’s scars. "Whatever gets you away sooner." Zaeed shook her hoof and stared at her blankly with his scarred face. The blank and angry gaze pierced her, and the sight of his blind eye made her nearly wretch. “Ugh, I’m taking you to Rarity when we get to Ponyville.”

Zaeed released his grip and frowned at the pegasus. "I’ll ‘ave you know I got shot in the face and lived. And if you so much as look in the wrong direction I’ll shove my gun right up your prissy arse!”

The pegasus jerked back. “Jeez, I only wanted to help. Fine, follow me.” Still watching her back, they headed towards Ponyville, the pegasus gaining speed and forcing Zaeed to form into a sprint.

“Slow the hell down! I don’t have bleedin’ wings like you!”

“I thought this was a race.” The pegasus lied.

“Hell, even if it were, you’d probably have lost eventually.”

The pegasus gasped, and put on a challenging face. “You challenging Rainbow Dash? The Rainbow Dash? Buddy, you’re in for a heck of a race.”

Down the path they went, Zaeed commenting on Rainbow Dash’s confidence. He liked this girl, which was rare for him.

---Shepard's Escape

The hospital, as Shepard found out he was in by the directory on his wall, was dimly lit and barren of all but patients. How the ponies survived with these basic and primitive instruments, he'd never know. Each hall seemed to extend further with each turn, like a maze. The passages devoured Shepard in darkness, until some light, violet in color, shone at the end of the hall.

Still afraid of the ponies, he hid in a hallway in the side. Then, she spoke.

“Hello? Commander Shepard, are you here? I don’t want to hurt you!” Shepard couldn't trust that, as he’d been fooled by that millions of times. Then, a glint caught Shepard’s eye. A surgical knife. His morals almost let free, but he denied his mind the thought of using the knife. Instead, he casually went out from his hiding spot and showed his hands.

“Look, maybe we can talk about this,” he said loudly, “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Neither do I, Commander Shepard.” The click of a light switch was heard, and a purple unicorn was revealed. She held out a hoof to him, smiling with genuine care. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. Would you please follow me? I have a lot to explain to you.”

“So, you’re telling me that I just appeared from the sky, and into Equestria?”

“Yes, Commander Shepard, that’s all we could see.”

Shepard sighed and, looking down, realized what happened. The damaged Omega 4 Relay, the crash, it all made sense. “Listen, we’re not from your universe, at least I don’t think.”

“Well, I figured that.”

“My ship, the Normandy, crashed. Can you tell me where it is?”

“I don’t really know, since I brought you into the hospital as soon as I saw you hit the ground in front of my house, but I think the ship may have hit somewhere in the Everfree forest.”

Shepard pressed the button on his Omni-Tool once more, and dully stated: “New Mission: Find Normandy, check to see if anyone survived.”

“Commander Shepard? What is that yellow thing on your arm?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain. Now, can you assist me on this mission?”

Twilight had to accept, for nopony ever escaped the Everfree forest alone. She offered a yes, and they both went out the door, Spike still cleaning up the bookshelves.

---Garrus’ new friend

“Hey, calm down! I’m not here to hurt you! Argh, why’d you have to close the door on my foot, though!?” Fluttershy’s caring instincts came in, and she sprung up to tend to Garrus’ foot.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! It’s just that you scared me so bad and, um...I didn’t mean to.”

She tenderly lifted his foot, massaging it in every different direction. His foot was much more different than that of a pony, plus, she was still sort of hesitant about being near such a scary creature.

“Oh, ow, ahh, that’s the spot. Damn, you’re better than the girls back at the Citadel!”

“What’s the Citadel?”

“Er, it’s just where I used to work.” Garrus remained quiet until Fluttershy was done tending to his foot. Apparently, she broke one of his claws, so she bandaged his toe and finished up.

“There, all better. Now, how about some soup?”

Garrus gave her a confused look, his mandibles drooping slightly, “What’s that?”

“Oh, um...Just a dish we like to eat. You’ve never eaten it before?”

“Can’t say I have. Though, I haven’t eaten all day, so anything is welcome.”

Fluttershy smiled sweetly and directed Garrus into her home. The white rabbit named Angel, as Fluttershy informed him, was ready to attack should he try anything funny. Garrus sat on the small chair, nearly crushing it with the combined weight of his armor. So instead, he sat on the floor. Fluttershy was over at the stove, preparing the soup for themselves. Garrus, still curious as to where he was, looked around the small cot. It was well decorated, and full of many creatures he’d never even heard of. What in the universe was a ferret?

The little yellow pegasus brought the pot of soup to the table and poured it into the two bowls. Not thinking rationally, Garrus dug his face into the soup, not only burning his wound on the side of his face, but also making himself look like a fool. Brushing off the burning, yet still cringing slightly, his mandibles dripped and twitched. He looked like a little child with mess all over his face, the soup spilling down the creases of his mouth and onto his armor.

"Oh, um...let me get you a wet map."

---They’re here

“Shepard, you foolish human. Not only have you led us to you, you’ve endangered millions more.” The Harbinger prepared the hundreds of scouts for their mission. Shepard foolishly went into the damaged Omega 4 Relay, a big mistake in just the common sense department. “Scouts, go through the Relay. Bring me Shepard’s remains in a fleshy pile.”

The scouts got into their cruisers, fueled by the loyalty to the Harbinger, and their utter need to revive the other Reapers. The scouts arrived at the Omega 4 relay, it even more damaged than before. Each scout nodded to each other, and then slowly approached the Relay. Without following its normal behavior, the Relay immediately shot the hundred ships forward, killing almost seventy. Behind them, the Relay deteriorated further, showing that it only had a few more good uses.

There the scouts drifted, slowly floating towards the large, green planet in front of them. Their engines were shot, but they were still able to somewhat direct their ships to their destination. The anti-gravity smoothly brought them to the planet, where the Collectors’ stabilizers allowed them to land safely. The size of their cruisers, along with their tech, damaged their ships less than the Normandy. This fact was clear when they arrived in the flat of the Everfree forest.

“Shepard, we advise caution. We are coming for you.”

-----

As an added note, I may edit this once I get a full review from the TG. Expect improvements.

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