The Reapers Legacy

by Maximumoversaiyan96

Chapter 9: Curiosity killed the Pony

Chapter Nine: Curiosity Killed The Pony

The next day was off on a good start with a beautiful morning. The sky was cloudless, and the sun shone brightly.

Shepard stretched her rested limbs. She had slept very well.

Although she had been worried for Edi last night, but Edi’s mood seemed to have gotten much better after that dream. Shepard maybe didn’t understand the use of magic, but she knew Princess Luna must had something to do with Edi’s dream. Only somebody with her abilities could have granted a synthetic like Edi a dream and she was grateful for it.

Edi was one of her cherished companions. She deserved some rest and peace. Shepard collected her armor, which she had scattered across the room last night, and put it on again. She thought about wearing normal clothes, but after the fresh memoires of the attack she preferred to be safe than sorry. And who knows what those Exiled would do next. Shepard couldn’t predict their next move. She lacked information about her enemy.

When she exited her room, an elderly pony was already waiting outside her room. ‘’About time you woke up! You may be a hero now, but that isn’t an excuse to be sluggish and sleep in the day. I was contemplating to just wake you up.’’ He said with a calm voice. The pony wore a formal suit and a monocle over his right eye.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, surprised by the unexpected rebuke. The elderly pony saw the look on Shepard’s face and made a small bow. ‘’Where are my manners? I am Kibitz, Celestia’s royal advisor and Head Steward of the royal castle,’’ The pony introduced himself. ‘’The other guests are already having breakfast with Princess Celestia,’’ Kibitz informed Shepard.

Shepard nodded. ‘’Breakfast sounds good,’’ Shepard replied. Kibitz accompanied her to the dining room.

‘’I believe you want to have a look on the progress we made on repairing the space ship. We would really benefit from the knowledge of your arm friend,’’ Kibitz added.

‘’That would be the best course of action,’’ Edi agreed with Kibitz.

They entered the big dining room. The N7s were already wolfing down everything they had put on their plates. Opposite of them sat Celestia and Twilight. Neither Princess Luna nor the other Elements of Harmony were present.

Shepard went to get some food. After she had loaded her plate, she sat beside Shae. Shae said a muffled good morning and continued eating. ‘’Where is Princess Luna?’’ Shepard wanted to know.

Celestia replied smiling. ‘’As you know Luna is guarding the night, so she is most of the time asleep during the day,’’ Celestia explained.

During the breakfast Celestia told everypony else about the extent of the harm the Exiled had managed to inflict. ‘’I am sorry to say that more than 100 ponies were abducted among them Captain of the Royal Guard Midnight Light. He bravely defended a group of civilians, when he was captured,’’ Celestia said sadly.

The N7s looked abashed to the ground. Celestia continued. ‘’The chance to come across some lost survivors has become very slime. As it stands now the loss in the city is twice as much as were taken. The lives of about two hundred ponies were lost in the attack. Almost every major building had been protected. Thanks to the quick warning from Shepard, we deployed the shields in time. So, the city infrastructure is almost completely intact. We only lost some buildings in the inner region, and some in the outlying suburbs,’’ Celestia stated the current facts.

‘’If I am allowed to ask a question,’’ Mikal interrupted Celestia politely.

Celestia nodded. Although she didn’t show it these aliens fascinated her.

‘’What kind of shields did you use to protect yourselves from the ships’ canon? The ships of the Exiled are some of the most advanced vehicles in our galaxy. A powerful enough shield to repel the ships canon should be outside of the capabilities of a pre-space flight species,’’ Mikal said. ‘’No offense,’’ He added after a short pause.

‘’It was a magic shield. Shepard already told me about your possible struggles to accept something so unbelievable to you as magic,’’ Celestia replied smiling.

‘’Yeah, right. Magic. Commander Shepard told us already. What can you do? Shoot rainbow out of your ass?’’ Nivraka asked very rudely.

The other three N7s looked at her shocked. This was no way to speak to a ruler of a species. The situation was still very delicate, they couldn’t afford to offend their hosts in such a rude way. Twilight and Celestia were taken aback as well.

To the N7s surprise Celestia chuckled in a good mood. ‘’There are many forms of magic. Shooting rainbow out of one’s behind would be of the very vulgar kind,’’ Celestia joked. She looked at the aliens. ‘’Maybe you want to see a little demonstration,’’ Celestia offered.

‘’If it is not too much to ask,’’ Shae replied curiously.

‘’That will be interesting,’’ Morrigan commented also interested in what that magical pony could do.

‘’What to do? What to do?’’ Celestia pondered. ‘’I know,’’ Celestia exclaimed as she got an idea.

Her horn started to glow golden. The aura engulfed her body. Before everyone’s eyes she started changing. Her form was shifting. When the process was complete, instead of the pony Celestia sat a human being who bore all the resemblance to the ruler of Equestria.

‘’What do you think of my human form?’’ Celestia asked amused. The N7 couldn’t reply. They were dumbfounded.

‘’But how? Impossible. Not impossible. Maybe Illusion? Some kind of projection?’’ Mikal tried to make sense of everything.

‘’I can assure you this body is real.’’ She replied stretching her human arms. Celestia glowed again. When they light subsided there sat an exact copy of Mikal.

‘’Unbelievable,’’ Shae breathed.

‘’Me next!’’ Nivraka exclaimed excited.

Celestia glowed again transforming into a copy of Nivraka. The female Krogan whistled. ‘’I am even more handsome than I first thought,’’ She commented looking at her own reflection.

‘’There must be a scientific explanation,’’ Mikal exclaimed meekly. He firmly believed that the universe held big mysteries to them all, which they didn’t fully understand, yet. But his rational mind rebelled against accepting something as impossible as this magic.

Celestia changed back into her pony form. ‘’Didn’t you always teach me not to show off one’s power?’’ Twilight teased Celestia.

Celestia shook her head smiling. ‘’That my former student one day would stab me in the back like this. Using my own words against me,’’ She said chuckling.

Twilight grinned and turned towards the aliens. ‘’If you want, I can give you a detailed lecture about magic later,’’ Twilight offered. ‘’Shepard really enjoyed it,’’ She added.

The group looked at the commander. Shepard who was sipping at her coffee replied unconvincing. ‘’Yeah, I guess.’’

After the breakfast the group went to investigate the ship. To the surprise of Shepard and the rest of the guests, they didn’t have to walk far. While they rested the diligent ponies had transported the ship from its crashing site to the royal palace. They didn’t know what dangers that ship still contained and wanted to protect the citizens. Celestia explained to them.

At the ship Celestia had to excuse herself. Royal duties called. She left them followed by her royal advisor Kibitz telling her today’s schedule. Edi and Twilight immediately went to help the scientists. Shepard and the rest stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. They were soldiers not scientists. As they were watching the repairs on the ship, they suddenly heard a cry.

‘’Twilight!’’ The group turned around seeing a bunch of ponies running towards them. The first three tackled Twilight to the ground.

‘’Oh darling! I am so glad you are okay!’’ Rarity exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

‘’We became mighty scared for a moment back then,’’ Applejack agreed. Fluttershy just whimpered.

‘’I am okay, girls,’’ Twilight assured them. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had caught up now, too.

‘’So that’s why you weren’t present at breakfast,’’ Shepard observed holding her arm up so Edi could inspect the ship better.

‘’Yeah, Pinkie and I went to meet them at the train station. They came to check on us immediately after they heard about the attack,’’ Rainbow Dash said to Shepard.

‘’Of course, we did. By the way it is good to see you are well, too, Shepard. How that ghastly aliens could do such a horrible thing?’’ Rarity exclaimed with vigor. Then she noticed the aliens present. ‘’Oh, I mean… Well, I meant not you,’’ Rarity added slowly, unsure of what to say to the aliens.

‘’Don’t worry, Rarity,’’ Shepard assured her. ‘’I usually don’t like categorizing people in good and bad, but these were some really bad guys. And they here were captured by the attackers themselves,’’ Shepard told them.

‘’I feel a bit lost. Who are you guys?’’ Morrigan managed to ask.

‘’About time for introduction, I was already wondering who you guys were,’’ Applejack said. ‘’I am Applejack,’’ The apple farmer introduced herself.

‘’My name is Rarity,’’ Rarity said.

‘’Rainbow Dash,’’ Dash said shortly her fore legs crossed levitating in the air

‘’I am Pinkie Pie,’’ Pinkie screamed and bounced around.

‘’My name is Fluttershy,’’ Fluttershy introduced herself as quietly as possible.

‘’I am Commander Shae Shepard and that are my squadmates. Nivraka Urdnot. Morrigan King. And Mikal Vozeno.’’ Shae introduced herself and her team.

‘’You are called Shepard, too?’’ Applejack asked surprised.

‘’Yeah. Commander Shepard is my mother.’’ Shae replied embarrassed. ‘’What are the odds?’’ She added.

‘’You have a daughter? Why didn’t you tell us?’’ Pinkie Pie screamed, shocked by the revelation her eyes spinning around.

‘’Well, I only found out about it yesterday. It seemed I was somehow sent seventy years into the future,’’ Shepard started to explain, but then she noticed the confused looks on everybody’s faces.

‘’It is not so important. Important is that I indeed have a daughter,’’ Shepard settled on that.

‘’But you don’t look like Shepard at all being so blue and all,’’ Dash pointed out.

‘’That is complicated. Actually, Shepard and I are from different species. It is a trait of my species we can merge with the biological setup of other species to procreate. That is why although we are different species we still are related by blood,’’ Shae explained.

‘’Of course, I knew that,’’ Dash claimed unconvincingly. Of course, nobody believed her.

‘’I am glad that you were worried about me, guys, but Edi and I have to get back to work.’’ Twilight wiggled out of the hug. The three realized they were still holding onto Twilight and let go of her.

‘’Why don’t you show them around town?’’ The princess of friendship offered.

‘’Eh, Twilight? Did you forget what Princess Celestia said? They should stay in the castle not to cause a panic among the citizens,’’ Rainbow reminded her.

‘’Oh, right,’’ Twilight remembered. She blushed. ‘’Then what about a tour of the palace?’’ She offered instead.

‘’Not a bad idea. I can give them a quick history lesson of Equestrian fashion,’’ Rarity said excited.

‘’Just kill me now,’’ Nivraka groaned.

‘’I personally would like to learn more about your culture and magic,’’ Mikal said. The word magic still got stiffly over his lips.

‘’We may be no Twilight. But we can give you the basics,’’ Applejack replied. Fluttershy nodded.

‘’And then I bake cake and then we will eat cake.’’ Pinkie Pie jelled suddenly.

‘’I will stay with… Commander Shepard,’’ Shae said awkwardly. She didn’t figure out how to address Shepard yet. Naturally Shepard had to stay at the ship, so Edi could work.

‘’Then let’s go,’’ Rainbow Dash said.

And the five ponies and the three N7 made their way back to the castle. Shepard smiled at the view of Equestrians and Council races walking side by side in harmony. Shepard wished that the future would be filled with similar scenes like this. It was only a small step, considering what happened yesterday, but it was a step in the right direction.

‘’Follow me, Shepard. We should look at the engines and the bridge. The scientists worked the night through, but without Edi we don’t have a realistic chance to get the ship running in the near future,’’ Twilight said and walked into the ship. Shepard and Shae followed her.

‘’Where do you want to go first? Because of the current situation we are limited to the royal castle, but here are plenty of interesting place to go around,’’ Applejack said looking at the N7s.

The three N7s looked at each other.

‘’I would like to see the library,’’ Mikal stated his opinion.

‘’Boring,’’ Nivraka exclaimed not into it. ‘’I want to inspect the guards’ quarters,’’ She said.

‘’I think we should start with a crash course in history and the rules of etiquettes,’’ Morrigan said.

‘’That is a reasonable first step,’’ Mikal agreed. Nivraka grunted an agreement.

‘’Don’t worry we have enough time. We can visit your places as well,’’ Fluttershy said diplomatically. She was still uncomfortable around Nivraka.

The female Krogan took great pleasure in Fluttershy’s discomfort. Of course, she wouldn’t openly threaten her or anything. She wasn’t that stupid. But it boosted every Krogan’s ego seeing another being tremble in fear before their might.

Morrigan was after Shae the next superior officer in their squad, so it was naturally that both agreed with her.

‘’I think I know a good place to start. The hallways before the throne room are decorated with exquisite window pictures,’’ Rarity said.

Dash swallowed. ‘’Eh, Rarity. I am no longer allowed in there,’’ She stated hesitantly. Rarity looked at her surprised.

‘’Why would that be, darling?’’ The clothes designer wanted to know.

Rainbow rubbed her right foreleg. ‘’I think you know that sometimes I take my flying a little bit to the extreme,’’ Dash said vaguely.

‘’Spit it out already!’’ Pinkie Pie yelled jumping into the air.

‘’I crashed into three windows and now aren’t allowed in there anymore,’’ Rainbow said quickly.

Pinkie gasped loudly. ‘’I know! You can help me bake a cake!’’ Pinkie exclaimed.

‘’I don’t know, Pinkie. I am not a baking type. More the eating type,’’ Dash admitted.

‘’Nonsense. I will show you the joy of baking.’’ Pinkie grabbed Rainbow and dragged her towards the castle’s kitchen. The group watched them leave in a stupor. The N7s had to get used to this increased enthusiasm first.

‘’Well, now that that is settled. Let’s get a move on,’’ Applejack exclaimed, and the rest followed her.

Twilight led the two Shepards through the narrow hallways of the ship until they reached the engine room. ‘’Like you said, Edi. The engine is mostly undamaged. The few burnout wires we have already fixed,’’ Twilight explained and gave a unicorn a sign. He pressed a button and the engine powered up.

‘’Very impressive, Twilight. You ponies are not to be underestimate. This is centuries ahead of your technology, yet you managed to repair it to this degree,’’ Edi replied praising observing the engine.

Twilight blushed. ‘’It was nothing. But this technology really is fascinating. I still can’t believe this all is powered without any magic,’’ Twilight replied.

‘’Now that the engines are working, we should have enough power to activate the bridge,’’ Edi stated. They already walked past the bridge on the way here, so it was not difficult to find. On the bridge Edi instructed the ponies and a little bit later the bridge went online. ‘’Very good. Shepard, plug me in,’’ Edi ordered. Shepard obeyed. They waited a few minutes until suddenly the lights blinked repeatedly. ‘’I have now control over the system,’’ Edi informed them no longer from Shepard’s omni-tool. ‘’The damage is worse than I thought. The weapons and shields took the most damaged. They are beyond repair. So, if we get it to space, we will be defenseless. At least the engine and the hyper-drive are still intact. But there is a problem with the navigation system. Without it we won’t be able to navigate to where we fly. The holes in the outer shell should be easy to fix,’’ Edi reported.

That didn’t sound so bad. ‘’That is better than I expected,’’ Shae admitted.

‘’It seems at first that way, but we have a major problem. To repair the navigation system, we will need a control board out of a very refined metal. I am afraid it is outside of our capability to produce such an element,’’ Edi finished.

Nobody knew what to say. They were so close. They had a flying ship, but without any means of piloting it. ‘’I heard your conversation,’’ Solar Love suddenly spoke up. The group looked up seeing the elderly unicorn walking towards them. ‘’It may be out of our abilities to create what you need, but there might be somepony who could help us,’’ The group waited expectantly for his answer. ‘’The dragons,’’ He simply said.

‘’Of course!’’ Twilight cried out jumping into the air excited. ‘’How could I forget this? Dragons are masters in utilizing all the metals of the earth.’’ Twilight agreed with Solar.

‘’Dragons? Really?’’ Shae looked unconvinced, even a little amused. Shepard put a hand on her shoulder.

‘’I already met one. They exist.’’ She gave her daughter an encouraging look. Shae sighed. Fine, she would even stomach this madness. First her mother, now dragons. This mission is going totally different than she could ever imagine.

‘’We should speak to Celestia. I am sure with a letter of recommendation we should get what we need,’’ Twilight said. ‘’Professor Solar Love, please see to it that the holes are repaired,’’ Twilight asked of the head scientist. ‘’Of course, princess,’’ He bowed slightly and went back to work.

‘’And this is when we defeated Discord,’’ Applejack told the N7 standing in front of the window showing the scene.

‘’You sure have a funny way of handling enemies. We usual shoot them, not befriend them,’’ Nivraka stated. She received an elbow from Morrigan.

Morrigan in fact was really enjoying this little history lesson. Friendship. Love. Kindness. Forgiveness. Morrigan couldn’t explain it, but she felt drawn to it. She started to understand why these ponies were so nice to them, although they were dangerous aliens. Their way of thinking was completely different from their own. These ponies deeply believed in these values and even more remarkably lived by them. Maybe after she became a veteran, she would return here to retire. This place didn’t seem so bad to spend one’s last years here.

On the other hand, neither Nivraka nor Mikal seemed to share her opinion. Nivraka was a Krogan, so she was a warrior. This mushy attitude really irritated her. And Mikal was far too rational to let himself get swept away by all these emotions.

‘’Dangerous to rely on emotions. Very unstable. No guaranty of success,’’ He commented.

Rarity gave a forced laugh. ‘’Such drastic measures are only used in the most desperate of time. And we were able to repel the attack of those, who captured you,’’ Rarity defended them.

Neither present witnessed the attack but had heard about it and the N7s had to admit Rarity had a point. But Nivraka had an issue how it was phrased. To her it sounded like a challenge. ‘’Hey, Ratass. You think you are better than we?’’ Nivraka took a step closer.

Rarity became intimidated. ‘’The… the name is Rarity,’’ She stuttered.

Applejack stepped between them. ‘’Watch your manners! Without us you would be still stuck on that ship, so behave and show us the respect we deserve as your hosts,’’ Appljack stated looking Nivraka straight into the eyes.

Fluttershy, who had retreated behind Applejack, let out a weak. ‘’I agree.’’ A look of Nivraka silenced her.

‘’Nivraka, stand down!’’ Morrigan ordered with authority in her voice. Nivraka hesitated. She let out a growl. ‘’Are you a wild animal? Apologize!’’ Morrigan said. Nivraka still hesitated. ‘’Now!’’ Morrigan started to lose her patience.

With a final growl Nivraka made a small bow. ‘’I apologize for my actions,’’ She pressed out.

Applejack not really sure what just happened replied. ‘’You don’t seem to mean it, but I accept your apology.’’ Nivraka grunted and walked away.

‘’I am sorry for my companion,’’ Mikal said. ‘’Krogan. Very brutal race. Becomes restless without proper confrontation. In addition, probably mentally stressed, because of recent traumatic experiences. Increases frustration and aggressiveness,’’ Mikal explained.

The ponies looked at him confused. They couldn’t really follow.

Morrigan elaborated. ‘’What Mikal means is Nivraka is having a hard time right now, so don’t take it the wrong way. She is actually pretty decent. And that is something for a Krogan,’’ Morrigan stated.

‘’I knew she is a good person deep down,’’ Fluttershy agreed.

‘’I for one, was almost scared to death. This was the worst experience I! EVER! HAD!’’ Rarity said and fainted on a nearby bench. Mikal and Morrigan looked at her worried.

Applejack chuckled. ‘’Don’t worry. She is normally like this.’’

Suddenly they heard. ‘’Oi, over here.’’ They followed Nivraka’s voice. They met her in front of a mysterious door. ‘’Check this out!’’ Nivraka opened the door. She revealed a room full of mirrors. ‘’Pretty creepy, isn’t it?’’ Nivraka asked.

‘’Wait! This is part of the royal quarters. We have never been in this part of the castle,’’ Applejack said.

‘’Well, you wanted to show us the most exciting places right? So, let’s go!’’ Nivraka stepped inside.

‘’I feel like we shouldn’t be here,’’ Fluttershy whispered getting a bad feeling from the room.

‘’Fluttershy is right. We are probably not allowed in here,’’ Rarity concluded.

‘’Did somebody tell you are not allowed in this room? If not, that means it is allowed, because if not somebody would have told you,’’ Nivraka justified.

‘’I… Well… But…’’ Rarity didn’t know what to say to such logic.

‘’Or are you scared?’’ Nivraka dared.

‘’Of course not!’’ Applejack exclaimed.

‘’Honestly, I am,’’ Fluttershy admitted, but was overheard.

‘’Let’s explore this mirror cabinet!’’ Applejack decided.

Nivraka laughed. ‘’It seems you aren’t so bad after all, pony.’’

Morrigan sighed. These ponies were way too easy to manipulate, but she was curious about that room as well, so she didn’t say anything. As the group entered the room completely, the door slowly closed itself on its own.

Twilight, Shepard and Shae hurried back to the throne room. The guards didn’t attempt to stop them. After a polite knock they entered the throne room. Celestia was just speaking to a handful of ponies but stopped when the three entered. If she was displeased, she didn’t show it. Her face had the same warm and kind smile as usual.

‘’Excuse us, Princess Celestia, but we have something to discuss regarding the ship,’’ Twilight explained.

Celestia nodded. ‘’Of course, would you please excuse us for a moment? It won’t be long,’’ Celestia asked of the other ponies. The group talked to themselves excitedly but didn’t refuse. They walked out of the throne room. ‘’What is it, Twilight?’’ Celestia wanted to know.

‘’We encountered a problem, but I think Edi can explain it better,’’ Twilight said.

Shepard stretched out her arm. ‘’Yes, princess Celestia. The ship should fly with some repair, but the navigation system is damaged. We need a control board of a very specific kind. I have the blueprints for it, but I am afraid to craft such a delicate piece, you will need a metal, I doubt your kind is able to create,’’ Edi explained.

Celestia thought about that for a moment. ‘’What do you suggest?’’ Celestia asked.

‘’Professor Solar Love advised us to ask the dragons,’’ Twilight said.

‘’The dragons?’’ Celestia exclaimed surprised. ‘’Yes, I can see how they could be able to help you,’’ Celestia confirmed.

‘’That is great! All we need is maybe a letter from you to Ember and we should be able to get what we want,’’ Twilight stated.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. ‘’You want a recommendation letter from me? I guess I can do that, but Twilight you are a princess yourself now, your reputation among the dragons is probably better than my own. Honestly, between my sister and I, it seems they prefer my sister. Our personalities just don’t go well with each other. But before I write your letter, don’t you have somepony, who would be most helpful in this situation currently at home?’’ Celestia pointed out.

Twilight gasped. She just realized it. ‘’Of course, Spike!’’ Twilight cried out. Celestia nodded. ‘’I sometime forget Spike is a dragon,’’ Twilight admitted.

Celestia chuckled. ‘’I don’t think he will be happy to hear that,’’ Celestia said.

‘’Shepard, please wait here while I’ll get Spike,’’ Twilight said before her horn lighted up and she vanished.

‘’Wow, where did she go?’’ Shae asked surprised.

‘’Teleportation Magic,’’ Edi explained.

This magic was just insane. Celestia brought out paper and pen. She finished before Twilight reappeared a small, purple dragon on her back.

‘’Twilight, I am so glad you are ok. I know you said to guard the castle, but when I heard about the attack…’’ Spike sniffed away a tear.

‘’Damn. He is cute. I didn’t know dragons could be so cute,’’ Shae whispered to Shepard. The Commander chuckled. But she had to agree. Spike was really incredible cute for being a fire breathing dragon.

‘’Here Twilight. I have written the letter. I hope it will help you.’’ Celestia levitated Twilight the letter. Twilight had also taken a backpack from home, where she put Celestia’s letter.

‘’Thank you, princess,’’ Twilight thanked her with a small bow. Celestia nodded.

‘’So, who is ready to visit the dragons?’’ Twilight asked excited. ‘’Hold on to me!’’ She instructed the group. Shae and Shepard put a hand on her back and with a purple explosion of light they disappeared. Now Celestia had get back to her own royal duties. Being a princess wasn’t easy.

As the group entered the mirror room, they looked nervously around.

‘’I have to admit it is a little creepy,’’ Morrigan stated. Everybody nodded. This was a mysterious place. Suddenly Nivraka saw something move on the mirrors that wasn’t them.

‘’Hey, who goes there?’’ Nivraka jelled and began persuading the figure.

‘’Wait! We shouldn’t split up!’’ Rarity jelled running into a mirror. She let out a scream of pain.

‘’Applejack? Rarity? Nice aliens?’’ Suddenly Fluttershy couldn’t see her friends anymore.

Applejack looked around. ‘’Hey, you all? Where did you go?’’ Applejack jelled still trying to appear tough. She was alone now.

The rest of the group was also separated.

‘’Weird. Scientific explanation not apparent. Have to take magic into perspective,’’ Mikal concluded as he saw that he was separated from the others.

He then heard a voice. A quiet voice. Somebody was mumbling something. He saw a figure. He slowly approached it. Their back was turned to him so he couldn’t tell who they were, but the figure was definitely Salarian.

‘’Greetings. Since I know I am the only Salarian on this planet, you must be an illusion. A trick on my mind,’’ Mikal stated.

The figure turned around. ‘’Talking to himself, must have emotional trauma,’’ The other Salarian stated.

Mikal recognized him. He blinked in surprise. ‘’Dr. Solus, but you are dead,’’ Mikal stuttered.

‘’Not dead, at least not dead here. Maybe some place else dead, but not here.’’ Mikal didn’t understand what he meant. They looked at each other without saying anything. ‘’So, are Salarians still obsessed scientists?’’ Solus asked. The question could have been interpreted as humor, if not two Salarians were holding the conversation.

‘’Yes, indeed. We still achieve scientific breakthroughs faster than any other race,’’ Mikal confirmed.

‘’No, no not good. Did we at least learn anything?’’ Solus asked with worry in his voice.

‘’What do you mean learn anything? We are learning all the time,’’ Mikal replied confused.

‘’That is not good. Not good at all.’’ Solus started going up and down. ‘’Science can’t be solution for everything. Need compassion. Without compassion science is monstrous,’’ Solus said to himself.

‘’Please, I have so many questions. Why did you cure the Krogans? Why did you die for them? You were the most brilliant scientist of your time. Why did you choose to sacrifice all that knowledge, all that potential? You could have improved on life itself!’’ Mikal was uncommonly emotional about this. The hero traitor stood in front of him.

He knew what the officials said about Mordin Solus. The one who cured the Genophage and let the Krogans loose on the galaxy. He was a traitor to the entire Salarian species, but only thanks to him the universe was saved from the Reapers.

Mordin had a smile on his face. He even chuckled. ‘’It seems there are still good Salarians out there.’’ He became serious again. ‘’I don’t know what will happen, but don’t let our people do the same mistake twice. Science without compassion is meaningless. Only compassion gives it meaning,’’ Mordin said.

Mikal refused to accept this. Salarians were less emotional than other species and that was there biggest strength. Why should they give up the one thing which made them strong? Mikal refused to look Mordin in the eyes. Mordin sighed and gently forced Mikal to look at him.

‘’It is hard to accept. But I know you will understand. We can’t make the same mistake twice. If we do, we will doom the universe,’’ Mordin said.

‘’I don’t understand. What do you mean?’’ Mikal wanted to know.

Suddenly a darkness started to swallow up Mordin. Mikal tried to pull him out, but it was pointless. ‘’Don’t repeat the mistake of the past,’’ Mordin said for the last time before he was dragged in completely.

Mikal suddenly felt a gentle, but strong pull. He was too shaken to really resist, so he let himself be dragged away.

Where were those guys? Why did they let her alone? These were questions which were in Nivraka’s head until they were replaced by the simple conclusion. Don’t care. I am getting out of here.

Nivraka decided on a direction and marched on. She walked for a while. Damn. This room was fricking huge. She was walking for at least five minutes now. Suddenly she heard a voice and her blood ran cold. It was Ed’s. He was screaming for help. Nivraka ran towards the voice. She saw Sara standing over Ed.

’You sure took your time to finally join us,’’ Sara said before she pulled the trigger and obliterated Ed’s head. Nivraka was furious. She didn’t think. She didn’t care how Ed, who was dead and Sara, who was with the Exiled could be here. The only thing she cared about was killing the woman who just killed Ed. She charged Sara, but she easily sidestepped her and ram a dagger into her side.

‘’That is one heart,’’ Sara counted. Nivraka was too enraged to even care about the loss of one of her two hearts. She attacked her again without any thought on her own condition. Sara sidestepped her again and ran the knife deep into her chest. ‘’Second.’’

Nivraka felt her strength leaving her body. She started closing her eyes. Her last view was Sara’s laughing face mocking her. Nivraka suddenly opened her eyes again. She felt her body. Her received injuries were gone. She heard Ed screaming again. Nivraka became angry again. Not because of what was about to happen to Ed, but that some kind of illusion was trying to mess with her head. She ran again and met with Sara and Ed again. Without a word Sara killed Ed.

‘’You want to try a second time? You know I am better than you, always were. You have no chance of beating me,’’ Sara stated calmly a superior smirk on her face.

Nivraka growled. She couldn’t accept this, but she couldn’t just charge on. She had to fight calmly. She had to keep a cool head. Instead of charging she slowly approached Sarah, her guard up.

Sara chuckled. ‘’Fine. If you want to dance, I will dance with you.’’ Not firing her shotgun instead pulling out her knife again she waited for Nivraka’s attack.

When she was in reach Nivraka threw a wild right hook. Her reach was longer than Sara’s so she shouldn’t be able to counter. Sara easily dodged and ram her knife into Nivraka’s knee. Nivraka shuddered a little when she received the pain but threw another punch. Miraculously, Sara managed to dodge again.

Nivraka was losing to her temper again. Why was she not able to hit her? As she tried to figure it out, she felt pain again as Sara stabbed her two hearts again. She didn’t even see her move. How was she so fast? Nivraka fell once more to the ground. And she was dying again. She felt her hearts stop beating. She was dead.

Then she heard a quiet whisper. ‘’Do you want the strength to take revenge?’’ A hissing voice asked. Nivraka was too weak to answer but grunted an agreement. ‘’Good. Good. I can give you this strength.’’ Nivraka recognized the voice as a syntethic’s. ‘’Just accept my gift and you will be able to fulfill your revenge.’’ Nivraka didn’t argue. She just let the strength flow into her. She felt herself getting cold, her hearts didn’t start beating again, but she was getting stronger. Metal strengthened her body. She started to rise.

She looked at Sara, who stood there with a confident grin. ‘’So, you took their gifts as well. I think this is the first smart choice you did in your entire life,’’ Sara mocked the Krogan.

Nivraka was back to her full height. She was ready to attack, when Sara’s skin started to peel off, revealing a metal substance underneath.

‘’You accepted our gift. You are one of us now,’’ Sara said in a weird metallic voice. ‘’You will help me kill Shae and the rest of our group!’’ Sara’s voice was so clear in Nivraka’s head that she accepted everything she said. She let out a loud roar. She would kill any organic she would come across. Before her rage could find a target, a firm voice commanded. ‘’Enough!’’

nd Nivraka was freed from the metal and pulled away. Nivraka didn’t care where she went just away from here. The looks of a mockingly grinning Sara followed her until she disappeared. Nivraka let her head fall. That had been exhausting.

Morrigan couldn’t see neither her comrades nor their hosts anymore. Where did they run off to? Morrigan slowly walked through the fog. Suddenly she could hear cheers. The fog disappeared and revealed a crowd of cheering people. They chanted her name. Morrigan King. Morrigan noticed something strange. There were only humans in the crowd. Suddenly Barbara Mason appeared right next to her.

She addressed the crowd with a proud smile. ‘’We are here today to celebrate our greatest hero. The one, who finally lead our people to its rightful destiny. To rule the galaxy. Morrigan King, made it all happen, slaying the traitor Commander Shepard.’’ This wasn’t right. She would never do that. A sinister smile appeared on Mason’s face. ‘’And now she will demonstrate the last act of loyalty and rid the universe of the last Shepard.’’ From somewhere Shae was dragged out. She was tied up and had injuries on her face as if she had been beaten. Two guards threw her to Morrigan’s feet. Shae spat out blood.

‘’You think I am going to beg?’’ Shae asked her voice weak, but her eyes determined.

‘’Kill her now!’’ Mason ordered coldly.

Suddenly Morrigan had a gun in her hand. Against her will she raised her hand. She fought against pulling the trigger, while Shae looked her straight into the eyes. Mason circled around her slowly.

‘’What are you waiting for? Do it! You know you want to get rid of her,’’ She whispered. Mason’s voice suddenly becoming deeper and more metallic.

‘’No! She is my friend!’’ Morrigan still resisted.

‘’Friend? You just accepted that she is better than you, intimidated by her abilities you settle on being just her friend instead of her superior. You know you have the skills, but Shae gets always the praise. Just because she is the child of Commander Shepard.’’ Morrigan felt how doubt creeped into her head. Did she really see herself as inferior to Shae? The gun was shaking more. ‘’You deserve so much more. You deserve to be the hero. Where does she come from and where do you? She was born a celebrity. You had to fight for everything, and you achieved everything you wanted. So why are you backing out now? Just one final push,’’ The voice tempted her.

Determination filled Morrigan. ‘’You can’t make me do this!’’ With a quick movement she pointed her gun at Mason and shot.

A cold laughter echoed through the air. ‘’You are resisting. Fine. We tried to show you a way. Know this! Since you decided to play the supporting role. The hero always saves the day and the supporting character always dies,’’ The laughter died down as Morrigan felt a warm pull.

She let herself be pulled just to escape this ominous prophecy.

Rarity was alone. ‘’Hello? Applejack? Fluttershy? Friendly aliens?’’ Rarity walked backwards keeping an eye out for her friends.

She suddenly bumped into something and with a terrified screak she turned around. There laid a scared Fluttershy covering her eyes trembling in fear. ‘’It is only you Fluttershy,’’ Rarity said relieved. ‘’Come, Futtershy. Look at me. It is me, Rarity,’’ Rarity tried to calm her friend.

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. She let out a breath of relief. ‘’Thank Celestia. It is you. I was so scared. You left me alone in this scary place. I don’t like this place, Rarity,’’ Fluttershy said.

‘’I agree, Fluttershy. Something is definitely weird about this place,’’ Rarity agreed.

‘’Finally! I found you all,’’ A voice said. They turned around to see Applejack trotting towards them.

‘’Applejack!’’ Both exclaimed at the same time.

‘’Did you see our guests?’’ Applejack asked. Rarity and Fluttershy shook their heads. ‘’Well, shoot. I knew going in here was a bad idea,’’ Applejack stated.

Suddenly they heard a disturbing noise. Like hoofs on a chalkboard. ‘’What was that?’’ Fluttershy voiced her shock. Neither Fluttershy nor Rarity knew what that sound had been.

Applejack swallowed. ‘’I don’t know. But maybe it will help us getting out of here. We should check it out,’’ Applejack decided.

Fluttershy and Rarity nodded and reluctantly followed Applejack. Suddenly the room changed, and they were back in Ponyville. But it was a destroyed Ponyville. The buildings were destroyed, everywhere was fire, robotic ponies roamed the damaged streets.

‘’What the hay?’’ Applejack exclaimed disturbed by the scene. High in the sky levitated some kind of structure. It was out of metal and had many legs. And it was also huge. It was almost as big as whole Ponyville. The sound from earlier echoed again. It was so loud the three ponies had to shield their ears.

‘’Targets identified. Bring me the three elements,’’ A deep metallic voice came from the skies. Suddenly all the robotic ponies turned around towards the three. They recognized many of their friends. Madam Mayor, Derpy, BonBon, Lyra Heartstrings and many more. All had blue glowing eyes and wires covered their bodies. Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity couldn’t do anything but flee.

‘’What is going?’’ Rarity asked frightened. They passed a corner. More robotic ponies cut them off. They turned around and ran away in a different direction.

‘’That are our friends. What happened to them?’’ Fluttershy wanted to know worry in her voice.

‘’Something bad, Fluttershy. We have to get out of here!’’ Applejack answered. They were now surrounded.

‘’Please, ponies. Stop what you are doing. We are your friends.’’ Fluttershy pleaded but their pursuers closed in relentlessly. They soon were on top of them. Applejack and Rarity fought hard, but soon they were defeated by the sheer number.

The voice from earlier returned. ‘’We finally found you. The species, which exceeds all predictions. The last enemy to our plan. We will return, and you will make it possible.’’ The three were now completely trapped until a shining light freed them. Ponyville, the robotic ponies and the big thing in the sky all disappeared. Scared and drained they let the force which saved them drag them wherever it wanted without any resistance.

They were just happy to escape that nightmare.

All together they were kicked out of the room. They stumbled to the ground with Celestia standing in front of them looking down on them with an expression on her face questioning them what they were doing. So, it had been Celestia, who saved them. Her mane gently swayed, a frown on her face. The group let out a collective relieved sigh.

The nightmare was finally over.

‘’It seems I came just in the right moment. I know it is sometimes hard to reign in one’s curiosity, but there are reasons why we don’t show you certain parts of the castle,’’ Celestia scolded them.

The group stood up. ‘’What the hell was that back there? What is that room? Couldn’t you have warned us?’’ Nivraka yelled at the ruler of the ponies angrily. She was still affected by what she had seen.

Celestia frowned. It seemed they really made her mad this time. Still retaining her friendly tone Celestia replied. ‘’You entered the room of thousand faces,’’ Celestia explained.

The group looked at her confused. ‘’We have never heard about something like that,’’ Applejack said.

Fluttershy added. ‘’It was horrifying in there.’’

Celestia sighed. ‘’Maybe it was my fault for not telling you. Please, follow me and I will explain,’’ Celestia said and started walking back to the throne room. The group followed her.

Celestia began to speak. ‘’My sister and I created those mirrors.’’

The group gasped. ‘’You created that hellhole?’’ Nivraka exclaimed.

‘’Species, who are able to create such a room are indeed frightening,’’ Mikal commented still trying to shake off what he had seen.

‘’I agree with our new friends. Why would you create something as awful as that?’’ Rarity wanted to know.

Celestia was silent for a moment. ‘’In the early years of our reign my sister and I were still insecure. The sudden departure of Star Swirl the Bearded left us unprepared. We didn’t know what do, how to speak, how to act. So, we decided to create a device, which should give us advice,’’ Celestia said. ‘’At first the room served its purpose. Thanks to it we were able to handle a couple of tough situations, but it started to change. The room was more complex than we first anticipated. More and more visions proved to be wrong and they turned darker every time we used it,’’ Celestia looked forward remembering memories hidden behind her eyes.

‘’You went in there willingly?’’ Nivraka asked interrupting her.

‘’Well, you did so, too,’’ Celestia replied with a slightly mocking grin. Nivraka grumbled. She had a point. Celestia continued. ‘’We understood, that we have created something far more complex than a simple advisor. The room doesn’t show the future. It shows different possibilities of the past, future and present. Sometimes it shows you possibilities of the future, sometimes it gives you a warning and sometimes it reveals to you your biggest regret of your past. Naturally, we stopped using the room after we realized its unreliability,’’ Celestia explained to them.

‘’No offense, your majesty. But why didn’t you get rid of it?’’ Applejack wanted to know.

Celestia smiled sadly. ‘’Like with most past mistakes, they aren’t so easy to erase. Like I said, we created the room in a time where neither I nor my sister were fully capable of our abilities. We used so much magic on the mirrors, that I am afraid, if we destroyed the mirrors, what unforeseen consequences the escaping magic could have on the surroundings,’’ Celestia finished her explanation.

The group was silent. Celestia turned around. ‘’You should remember what you have seen in that room. It may help you in the future. I know you are shaken, but you shouldn’t underestimate the power of the mirrors,’’ Celestia shook her head. ‘’I must return to my duties. Please try not to walk into any more magical rooms,’’ Celestia said half joking and walked away.

‘’My excitement to explore has severely decreased,’’ Rarity stated. The group nodded. Nobody wanted to continue the tour of the castle.

‘’Let us go look how Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are doing,’’ Applejack offered weakly.

Nobody objected. Everybody was still in thoughts about what they just experienced. They made their way towards the royal kitchen, where Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had run off to bake a few cakes.

Comments

[DDDDDDDDD23]

ponies are to mary sue.
Twilight would not be able to repair the ship at all.

[Boldish42]

Chapter nine is the best so far. It's a decent story, though I think you leaned a bit much on pchn00's commander of shepherds for the set up. Still, it has some very promising aspects that I'm interested to see how you develop. I recommend finding an editor.

[Aroddo]

Interesting premise but marred by dreadful writing, naive story and complete disregard of physical realities.

[Bloodrunner]

Is this story dead?

[MagicalPony2099]

10739151
It is. Look at when the author of this story was last online.