Ch.2- Threshold Reactions
Chapter 2: Threshold Reactions
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"Don't you hate it when some gay little song gets stuck in your head? I sure do…" -Anonymous
For those who travel between universes often, you may be able to track when exactly you enter a universe by feeling for the Threshold. For those who don't know, a Threshold is that strange, invisible line or area that marks off one world from another. Passing into a new world, you will experience a psychic broadcast, a Theme that will give you a brief understanding of what you're going into.
Each world has a different one: The Haloverse has Gregorian chanting, marked with images of vast Forerunner constructs. Mass Effect has a strange, ethereal drone, with a long montage of stars and planets. Warhammer is marked with a broad, orchestrate symphony, detailing many scenes of battle and woe. And as for the world of My Little Pony, well…
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Each of the four ships that first came to Equestria hit the Threshold at the same time, and each of them going about their daily business, unaware of what was about to transpire.
On the Wrath, Inquisitor Creighton and Captain Lema were discussing contingencies on dealing with the xenos that had taken care of the Emperor. Magos Kriel was chanting in binary to a machine spirit in the engineering room. Lt. Osburran was with his troops, checking if all their weapons were fully operational for the 7th time. Gideon and Numitor were both reviewing the Codex Astartes, to see if there was anything in particular it said about dealing with xenos, and not having to kill them (in the entire history of the Space Marines, they have only worked with other xenos about three times).
The Road Not Taken and the Eternal Judgment went about their routines of keeping their ships running. Alan and Cassius were playing an ancient but still popular card game called "Texas hold 'em". N'tho settled himself by reading an even more ancient book called "Sun Tzu's the Art of War" (A fascinating read for militarily-minded Sanghelli). Overall, kind of boring for all involved.
And on the Normandy, everyone was doing what they always do when they were on long Mass Relay jumps. Miranda checked up with the Illusive Man about what was going on. Jacobs was checking all the weapons. Jack was brooding in the lower decks. Grunt was smashing crap in the garage. Tali was working with the engines. Thane was praying, Samara was meditating. Mordin was studying data from some project he was working on, and Garrus was doing “calibrations”, leaving Shepard to roam the ship, seeing how everyone was doing.
All this was going down when they hit…
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A hot air balloon descended from into clouds…
A rainbow-colored streak raced across the sky, heading straight for a quaint, picturesque town…
The balloon landed in the middle of the town. All around it, the locals went about their business. The locals were equines- Ponies, that was the word that struck all their minds- all brightly colored and big-eyed, somehow being the definition of cuteness. Out of the balloon came a purple colored unicorn and a lavender colored dragon-thing. In front of the unicorn was a group of five other ponies…
A rainbow maned, cyan-colored Pegasus, cocky and sure, racing among the clouds…
A pink on pink pony, happy and sweet, inflating bubble gum…
A white unicorn, sparkling and dazzling, standing among a room of mirrors…
An orange pony with an actual Stetson cowboy hat, kicking an apple tree…
A yellow colored Pegasus, looking meek and adorable, giving a rabbit an apple, which it promptly devoured…
The purple unicorn, teleporting out of nowhere, having all the other ponies pose around her. The dragon-lizard thing blew green fire on a scroll, which then flew into a magnificent castle on a mountain. A majestic, regal equine with wings and a horn, opened the scroll, and gazed upon a picture of all the ponies in a group hug.
All the while, a cutesy, girly song was playing, sounding like this:
"My Little Pony, My Little Pony. Ah, ah, ah, ah…
My Little Pony. I used to wonder what Friendship could be,
Until you shared that magic with me;
Big adventure, tons of fun,
A giving heart, faithful and strong,
Sharing kindness, it's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete, yeah!
My Little Pony, you know you are my very best friend…"
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Collectively, unaware that all the ships saw the same thing, the visitors snapped out of the vision, and all thought the same thought: What the Hell did I just see?
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Emperor's Wrath
Date: Unknown M.42 (20 days relative to the ship, unknown to the Materium)
Thought of the day: Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.
The Imperial vessel exited the Warp, opposite side of the system from the Mass Relay. None of the Emperor's men could see it, however, as the windows were all sealed up. They wouldn't have cared, either. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
The leaders on the ship were back in the bridge, discussing what they saw in the vision. The opinion on it was evenly split: some of them thought that it was a work of Chaos, to put them in a false sense of security; others thought that it couldn't be Chaos-based, as something that cute couldn't possibly be made by the evils of the Ruinous Powers (Evil doesn't do cute).
"Whatever that vision was," The Inquisitor finally decided, "Is completely irrelevant now. As I'm sure you all are aware, we have arrived to the Emperor's location. Magos, bring up the holoscreen, please."
The tech-priest loaded into the holoscreen, which brought up footage of the star system. All the leaders looked, and all became confused.
"Inquisitor," Captain Lema asked, "Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong, but does it look like the sun is smaller than the planet?"
"It seems that way, Captain." Creighton responded, still squinting of the hologram. "It also looks like the sun is the same size as moon there."
"Are they… are they actually going around the planet?"
"Again, it looks that way. Unless the Magos here decided to grow a sense of humor."
"I assure you, Inquisitor," Kriel responded, "What you are seeing here is what is out there. Although it doesn't seem logical in the slightest bit."
"Perhaps we've entered a pocket universe in the Warp." This was spoken by Jericho Guiterra, the head Astropath of the Emperor's Wrath. The small, feeble old man had been part of the ship since becoming a Navigator when he turned sixteen. He had a scrawny white goatee, and a blindfold that covered his eye sockets - an unfortunate side effect of looking into the Astronomicon, and binding his soul with the Emperor. As the most experienced psyker onboard, his knowledge of the Warp was without question.
"The laws of the Materium," He continued, gesturing to the hologram (which he could see through his psychic powers), "May not be the same as our own. Thus, stars are smaller, gravity works differently, and things which we would consider impossible are normal day occurrences."
"Indeed." Creighton mused, putting that little bit of information in the back of his mind. But, continuing on, he asked, "Jericho, can you pinpoint where on the planet's surface the Emperor is?"
The Navigator took a step closer to the holoscreen, and pointed to the middle of the central continent. "Around here," He described, "Towards the northern hemisphere. I'm also detecting a few other really powerful psykers there as well. Must be the xeno gods that He mentioned."
He was quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought. "Huh," He grunted, "I'm picking up a lot of minor psyker minds down there. A lot of them. I think… I think there may be an entire race of psykers down there."
Creighton's stomach turned cold. An entire race of psykers? Xenos with their own gods, possibly on par with the Emperor? This was sounding more and more like a new kind of Eldar by the minute, making this job all that much more complicated.
Mendel leaned back in his chair, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "If anyone has any opinions on the matter, I'm more than willing to listen."
Lieutenant Osburran spoke up. "The Emperor didn't say whether or not these gods had physical bodies or avatars. Maybe they aren't a threat to us."
"Furthermore," Captain Gideon put in, "From the images here, it doesn't appear like the xenos are all that advanced. Maybe pre-industrial, at best."
"Indeed," Captain Numitor also said, "All we have to do is demonstrate our superiority, and they'd worship us as gods themselves. Do something like blow up a mountain, fly over their cities, slay their best warriors, something mundane like that."
Mendel smiled. "You know," He declared, "That might actually work. That actually sound like the perfect plan." He turned to the captain. "Lema, I want you to-"
The Inquisitor didn't finish his sentence, as the tech-priest and the psyker became possessed.
One moment, they were listening intently to their comrades, the next they were seizing up, as an unknown force began to take control. The blindfold on Jericho burned away, and the eyes sockets on both he and Kriel started glowing with white orbs. The Space Marines and Guardsman, fearing they had been possessed by daemons, drew their guns and chainswords to dispatch them.
"Do not shoot, but listen, Warriors of Humanity!" The possessed men spoke together, in a voice both musical and powerful. The Astartes, the Guardsman, the Inquisitor- everyone on the bridge- stopped what they did, and looked upon them. Only one person alive could speak with that voice…
Everyone went down to their knees, murmuring "Ave Imperator". His spirit was in their presence, managing to both control a psyker and a tech-priest.
Speaking in a calmer voice now, the Emperor continued, "I have listened to your plans, my children, and I must tell you now; Acting against the xenos in violence and arrogance is the worst possible thing you could do, and something I will not let come to pass. So, I would like to have your word of honor, that you would give the respect and honor to these xenos that you would your brothers."
The men of the Imperium felt intensely conflicted. For thousands and thousands of years, humanity had taught itself to fear and hate the alien, the non-human. In all its history, experiences with the Eldar, Tyranids, Orks and Tau, nothing good ever came from working with xenos. A good alien was a dead alien.
But, more importantly, humanity had also spent thousands and thousands of years learning to worship and obey the Emperor. To some, He was a literal god. To others, He was a hero by the truest definition, keeping mankind alive and together through its darkest hours. If it was decreed that the Emperor wanted something, the Imperium would move the very galaxy to get it.
Thus, each and every one of the crew and passengers onboard gave their oath that they would not kill the xenos unless provoked, and that they would treat them with respect in the Emperor's name. Even the Inquisitor gave his word, although he asked, "But, My Lord, why can't we show them our might? Why can't we just come and get you?"
"I will explain that in due time, Inquisitor Creighton." The Emperor spoke again, "But now, I must enlighten you on what to expect when you come down."
The possessed tech-priest tapped away at the controls of the holoscreen, and the image of the system was replaced by the image of an equine creature from the vision. It was big-eyed, brightly colored, and had a cute, naïve, innocent smile on its face.
"This is a Pony." He continued, "They are the most prolific race on this world, which is called Equestria. There are three variations of this Race: Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn." The hologram Pony changed with the last two, having wings for the second one, and a horn for the last one.
"This is Princess Celestia and Luna." The image of two horse-like ponies popped up, a tall white one and a smaller dark blue one. They both had wings and horns. "They are both rulers of this world, and the goddesses of the sun and moon. They were the ones who have given me my new body, and to whom I owe an enormous debt to."
"I do not want to cause them or their people any unnecessary trouble. Therefore, when you come to get me, the shuttle you come in will land in a place called the Everfree Forest." A map of the region appeared, and an arrow pointed to a large forest on the eastern side. "This place is considered wild and treacherous to the locals, and will not have a large population to see you."
"When you land, there is a town to the west. It is called Ponyville. In it, you will meet a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle." A purple unicorn with a six-pointed star on its flank appeared. "She is an apprentice of Celestia, and shall be our representative and guide among the locals. And when it is time to collect me, she and the Princesses will bring you to me."
"Go forth, my children. I await your arrival."
And with that, the Emperor released Jericho and Kriel, both visibly awed by the ordeal. The Inquisitor regained some of his composure, and ordered in a shaky voice, "Captain Lema, set a course for 'Equestria'. I think we follow the Emperor's plan from here."
"Indeed, Inquisitor. Indeed…"
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UNSC Road not Taken
June 23rd
The people of Halo tried to deal with the vision as best they can. Not an easy thing to do, as they didn't have the least idea on what they experienced. For the most part, everyone, both on the Road not Taken and the Eternal Judgment pretended that they didn't see anything, and continued whatever they were doing.
There was only one indication that the vision happened: Everyone, and I mean everyone, had that earworm of a song stuck in their head. The Grunts would dance to it, the Jackals would whistle it, and the Hunters, Drones and Engineers would hum it in their strange, alien languages.
This led to mixed reactions among the rest of the crew. Some people, like Alan and Cassius, happened to like the song, and would occasionally join in. Others, like N'tho, couldn't stand it, and were slowly being driven mad by it.
"For the love of the Forerunners!" He shouted one night, before they arrived in the system, "Please stop singing that goddamn song!"
"Oh, come on, N'tho," Cassius demurred, "It's not that bad a tune. You're just overreacting."
"I've always thought that suicide has been the coward's way out," He countered, "But after hearing that for 2 days nonstop, I want to take myself to an airlock and launch myself into the void."
"Mah Lil' Pony, Mah Lil' Pony…" Vasquez sang, continuing his irritating rampage. The Sanghelli bellowed in frustration, and started smacking his head with a data pad to smash the song out of his head, much to his comrades' amusement.
Finally, after a longer than anticipated journey through slipspace, the two ships exited out. When they reentered real space, they popped out behind a large planetary mass, presumably a moon. As the ships began to move out of the umbra, most soldiers and staff not busy maintaining the ship went to whatever windows that were available, eager to see their destination.
Alan, Cassius and N'tho went to the hangar, where the doorway was sealed with plasma shielding (a technological gift from the CAR to all new ships), allowing transparency and breathable atmosphere. Slowly, like an excellent cinematic for a video game, the moon fell away, and the full system came into view. What they saw dumbfounded them.
"Why is that star so small?" Cassius asked rhetorically, almost knowing that no one could possibly answer him.
"How can that planet be bigger than its sun?" Vasquez wondered. "N'tho, yah think it might be Forerunner work?"
"Possibly," The Sanghelli mused, "If anyone has the power to do that, it would be them. I can't think of anyone else it could be."
The view was quite spectacular, and warranted them looking for most of half an hour. The planet itself was beautiful; two large continents spanning most of the globe, all different shades of blue and green and brown. No pollution, no development, no signs of destruction. It was a virgin world if ever there was one.
Later that day, all the soldiers onboard both the Road not Taken and the Eternal Judgment were summoned to their respective briefing rooms, getting the low-down on the planet as the ships went into orbit around the planet.
Scans of the planet indicated that there was indeed a civilization down there. Somewhere between medieval and early industrial; Tier 6 civilization, nothing too advanced. Building dimensions pointed to the inhabitants being between three and five feet tall. The only weird thing about this world were the clouds; they hardly ever moved, and when they did it was at a remarkably high speed.
But, more importantly, the position of the Master Chief had been located on the planet. The only caveat to this was that, apparently, he was inside a mountain underneath a castle- How the hell that even happened, no one could guess; probably slipspace related. With the advent of discovering a new race, the rescue and recovery mission had turned into a stealth op and first contact assignment.
Captain Mark Brogan of the Road not Taken and Ship Master Thar 'Valuum of the Eternal Judgment had a brief discussion on how to proceed. It was eventually concluded that, to avoid scaring the locals, the landing squad would land on the outskirts of civilization, by one of the large forests near the castle. And the landing team would be small; 2 Pelicans and a Phantom, carrying a total of 50 troops.
Three squads were selected, including Alan's unit. However, when the Ship Master learned that N'tho and Cassius were also onboard, he made a request that they accompany the humans down to the planet (probably to do some kind of switcheroo on the surface. Ex-Covenant races were still just a bit leery about being around humans too much).
As the two ships began heading for the north pole of the planet, the squads began prepping for the drop. But really, nothing they could do could prepare them for what they were going to experience down there…
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SSV Normandy
September 7th, 2285
The reactions to the vision onboard the Normandy were as varied and different as the crew members onboard.
The majority of the crew, having just been experimented on by the Collectors, think it was a latent effect from the experiments, go to Dr. Chakwas for examination (who herself thinks she may not be in the right state of mind either).
Miranda and Dr. Solus, both experienced with mental psychosis, tried to rationalize and explain what they saw, coming up with any number of theories that could explain the vision (most of them involving the Protheans and the Reapers, who were the only other races they knew that dabbled in psychic communication). But nothing they came up with could properly explain the bizarreness of the vision.
Jacobs ignored it, not finding any particular reason to dwell on it. Jack and Grunt, always the more combative and short-minded of the team, quickly drowned out the tune by breaking stuff in the garage. Tali thought it was kind of cute, until she found herself absent-mindedly drawing the ponies while working in Engineering.
Thane and Samara believed it was somehow a message from their respective gods, a sign of great change for the ship, and possibly the galaxy. Matt Shepard, having been at the receiving end of mind-bending visions, tries to analyze it, thinking that it may have some kind of cryptic message hidden in it.
And Garrus…
After receiving the vision, Garrus immediately went back to his cabin. Making sure that no one else was around, he activated his personal computer, and opened his private files; the video files of "My Little Pony", seasons 1-5.
He didn't watch a particular episode, but rather focused on the opening theme, setting it on loop. He watched it about ten times, scrutinizing every detail. After the last loop, he had an epiphany that hit him like a ton of bricks.
The vision he saw was beat-for-beat a copy of the opening sequence of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."
By the Spirits, He thought, falling back into his chair, looking at his scar with new understanding, What have we gotten ourselves into now?
The next day, the Normandy finally exited out of transit. The receiving Mass Relay, looking just like the one they jumped on, was on the edge of a small, strange star system. From the get-go, they realized this was no ordinary system.
"Uh, Commander," Joker spoke as Shepard approached the bridge, "Is it just me, or is that tiny star going around that planet?"
"That observation is quite correct, Joker." EDI answered, "The planet is about 1.19 times the size of Earth, while that star is about .095% the size of Sol. Although how that doesn't make it a radioactive neutron star, I have no data to explain it."
"Can you pick up anything else about this place?" Shepard asked.
"I've been scanning the planet, Commander. So far, I'm detecting high levels of rare earth materials all over the surface."
"Like what? Palladium? Platinum? Element Zero?"
"All of them and 127 more."
"Seems like we struck pay dirt, Shepard." Joker told him.
"Anything else you can see?"
EDI continued, "Visual scans of the planet indicate there may be some development by an unknown alien civilization. However, I cannot determine how advanced this culture is, as I'm receiving high levels of interference all over the place."
"What kind of interference?"
"I can't identify it. There seems to be high levels of energy saturating the system. I have no data entries that can identify it, although it seems somewhat familiar to electromagnetic disturbances."
Shepard looked out the window, gazing upon this virgin world. So green, so peaceful. Hard to believe that it was on the other side of a Mass Relay with the Collectors. But, if this world was truly untouched, it would fall to Shepard and his crew to make the first contact, and not have it go like the Rachni wars.
"EDI, Joker," Shepard ordered, "Set us on course with that planet. Its time I put my feet back on the ground."
"Aye aye, Commander." Joker replied. The ship's engines kicked on again, and began heading for the strange planet, completely oblivious (as the others were) that they weren't the only ones heading for this globe…
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Ponyville, Equestria
3 years A.N.
1 month after Trixie and Gilda's return
Spike, the only dragon in Ponyville -and Twilight's personal assistant- was walking down the street, unaware that he had been marked. He had been sent to the post office to get a package from Baltimare, something that Twilight had ordered for some new spell she was working on. She was still busy working on the preparation for the spell with Trixie -it still baffled him that the show-off unicorn had done a complete 180 on her personality- so she sent the always reliable Spike to go collect.
Not that he minded being a servant boy. He had lived with Twilight Sparkle since she was a filly and he was a hatchling. Hay, she actually hatched him for her entrance exam into Celestia's school, and became the Princess's own protégé. Working for the purple unicorn was always… interesting, but also fulfilling. And with her current circle of friends also being his friends as well, it all worked out.
At this moment, Spike was carrying the box from the post office back to the tree house library that they lived in, when out of nowhere (as she often does), Pinkie Pie showed up.
"Hey there, Spikey Wikey." She said in that singsong voice of hers.
"Oh, hey Pinkie." He returned. It slightly grated him when ponies called him by that nickname. Only one pony -Rarity, his crush since coming into Ponyville- could say it with impunity.
"What'cha got there?" She asked. She walked with him, staying to his right, and glancing up to the sky every now and then.
Spike immediately got suspicious, but told her, "Just getting some mail for Twilight. She's working on some… future-seeing spell or something."
"Another spell," The party pony giggled, "I know that she and Trixie are the Princesses' students, but you'd think they would have a break every now again for a party."
"Pinkie, you think everyone should party all the time."
"Well, am I wrong? Aren't my parties' fun?"
"Sure they are. Its just… well, don't you think you have them a little too often?"
Pinkie's constant smile lowered slightly. "What makes you say that, Spike?"
Spike slowed his pace, thinking on how to put what he wanted to say. "Well, do you remember when you wanted throw an after-party for Gummy the day after you threw his birthday?"
"And everyone was avoiding me, and I got suspicious and thought they didn't like me anymore, and I interrogated you and made you say what I wanted you to say, and went crazy?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"But then it turned out that they weren't avoiding me, but were throwing me a surprise birthday party, and Twilight wrote a friendship report to the Princess about trusting your friends and stuff?"
"You know what, forget I said anything."
"Okie-dokie-lokie. And Spike, watch out for that puddle."
"Wha- AAAAUUGH!"
Unbeknownst to Spike, Pinkie had secretly guided him into the puddle, which just so happened to be underneath a perfectly placed thunder cloud. On top of said cloud, a Pegasus activated the lightning bolt inside, which hit the puddle and gave the dragon a nasty little shock. The box went flying, and Spike dropped to the ground. Fortunately, dragons are pretty durable, and he was only a little singed and shocked.
Gilda and Rainbow Dash poked their heads above the cloud, and with Pinkie, broke into uproarious laughter at another well-played prank. "Oh, boy," The griffon laughed, "You should've seen the look on your face. Freakin' priceless!"
"Totally," Dash chuckled, "You must've gotten 3 feet of air! Perfect timing."
"Yeah, yeah," Spike replied, dusting himself off, "You girls got me g… Oh crap!" The baby dragon looked up, leapt across the puddle, and caught the package midair. When he came back down, he did a cool (if unnecessary) spinning roll, saving the box from harm.
The two ponies and griffon looked at Spike with disbelief, completely surprised to see that little stunt. Usually, the kid was something of a klutz, always dropping stuff everywhere and being the dragon version of Derpy. "Wow, Spike!" Pinkie cried out, "I've never seen you move that fast!"
"Dang, little dude." Dash declared, "I've known you for 3 years, and I've never seen you do anything like that."
Spike looked at the box, then himself, and then the sizable puddle he leapt over. He smiled, proud of his achievement. "Yeah, that was pretty cool."
"I tell ya," Gilda said, "When you finally grow your wings, you should join up with us. The Wonderbolts are much more open with membership nowadays."
"Yeah, well, I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I'll see you girls later." He resumed walking to the library. Pinkie was following a short distance behind.
"Hey, Pinkie, where are you going?" Rainbow called out. "I thought we were going to some more pranking today?"
"Later, silly," The earth pony responded, "But we got to go over to Twilight's first."
"…Why?"
"Because the plot demands it, of course."
Gilda looked at her comrade. "It's been a month since I've been here, and she still acts loco. Does she have some condition or something?"
"Sure," Her rainbow-maned compatriot deadpanned, "It's called 'Pinkieism'. There's no known cure. Let's go make sure she doesn't burn something down or randomly break into song."
The griffon shrugged, and flew alongside her friend. Pinkie's randomness was a small price to pay to live in Ponyville.
In the past month, a lot had happened. Firstly, Rainbow Dash got accepted into the Wonderbolts. It was definitely one of the best days they've ever had, seeing her pull off a double Sonic Rainboom for them (even Dashie didn't know how she pulled it off). Now that she had her uniform, she practiced with the team every Tuesday and Thursday.
Secondly, Gilda and Trixie had been welcomed back into the town. They could go to Sugarcube Corner and not get dirty looks, or go to Sweet Apple Acres and not have apples thrown at them. Gilda had even been offered a spot on the local weather team, and Trixie was often seen wandering the town with Twilight Sparkle, fixing any minor disputes or problems.
And thirdly, friendships had been fixed. All the Elements of Harmony had befriended the former outcasts, along with their families and siblings (Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity having extensive families in town). Gilda and RB were back to the way they were before they first separated, and Trixie and Twilight seemed to get along as if they never were former enemies to begin with.
In general, this had been the best month ever for everyone.
They arrived at the library, finding Twilight glaring at the merry pranksters, Spike hiding in the kitchen with the box.
"What in the wide world of Equestria were you girls thinking?" She demanded, looking super pissed off. "Electrocuting Spike like that. That package could've been damaged, or worse, you could've really hurt him. I would've thought that you were all above such things."
The pranksters stood about awkwardly, slightly embarrassed. Gilda looked about the library for Trixie's support, but the azure unicorn was at Fluttershy's cottage to obtain further ingredients for the spell. Still, she tried to calm the situation.
"Aw, come on, Twi," She demurred, "Spike's borderline unbreakable. I've seen how he looks after going through your teleportation spells. Believe me, if he can come out of that only a little singed, he can handle some low voltage shocks."
"Yeah," Dash put in, putting her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Besides, you should've seen the way he caught your mail afterwards. It was so cool. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he was a ninja or somethin'."
"Totally," Pinkie practically squeaked with her high-pitched voice, "You haven't been showing any silly kung fu movies, have-"
Pinkie stopped mid-sentence, something she never ever did. The others in the library noticed, and looked at her, slightly perplexed. She had completely froze up, her mouth open for the next word. She stood there for a solid three seconds, not even breathing it seemed.
"Uh, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, poking her ribs, "Are you-"
The earth pony's eyes rolled up to her skull, and she fell to the side, spazing and twitching like in a seizure.
Now, while the girls were frightened by this sudden turn of events, this had kind of happened before. The twitching was a sign of her Pinkie Sense, a bizarre ability that she had which allowed her to predict the future. This, however, was different. They had never seen it so fully controlling, so strong an attack. It was almost stroke-like in intensity.
"Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed, and the girls rushed to their friend. Spike poked his head out of the kitchen, curious as to what was happening. Remembering from a medical journal about holding down a convulsing pony to keep from hurting themselves, Twilight jumped on Pinkie. However, she forgot it said not to hold a pony down, and was promptly launched to the second floor. The party pony's blue eyes then became wide and fear stricken, as if beholding the most horrific scenes imaginable. She screamed, a scream so loud and bloodcurdling that it could be heard across town, and chilled the listeners to their very core.
Then, just as suddenly as it came, the attack passed, leaving her laying on the floor gasping for breath. She looked at her friends, looking scared and confused, as if not knowing where she was.
"Pinkie Pie," Dash hissed, mind reeling from the chain of events, "What the f$*k was that?"
"A doozy." She returned, sounding forced and dead, rather than her usual, happy and witty way of talking.
"Well, what's going to happen?" Gilda demanded. For her friend to have such a huge (and utterly creepy) burst, it must be something completely unimaginable.
Pinkie got up, shaking her head to banish some particularly bad visuals. Quick as a flash, she was back to her usual, perky self. "Oh, we're getting visitors tomorrow."
"Visitors?" Twilight repeated, rubbing her head as she finally got down the stairs. "What kind of visitors?"
"Offworlders, Twilight. Aliens are coming."
Their eyes went wide for a second, as her words registered to them.
"Wait, we're going to be visited by aliens? Alien-invader-type aliens?"
"No no, they're not here to take over. They're friendly. The aliens are here to get something, something important."
"Aliens are coming?!" Dash exclaimed, "That's so cool! I wonder what type of cool stuff they have, or what they look like."
"Yeah, totally." Gilda gave a nervous laugh, her mind returning to the armor in the glass container, the "Master Chief". Part of her wondered if these aliens were here to collect it. The rest of her, however, wanted to tell Trixie and the Princesses as soon as possible.
"Well, if you're certain the aliens are coming," Twilight said, "I should probably write a letter to the Princess to give her a heads-up."
"Don't worry, she already knows about them."
Twilight looked surprised, but probably should've expected it. After all, the Princesses look over the heavens, so they would know when anything was coming to Equestria. Gilda looked even more nervous, dead certain that these were definitely the aliens for the armor.
"Hang on a second," Spike interrupted, joining in the conversation, "Are these aliens evil? Why were you screaming?"
Pinkie lowered her head, looking both sad and scared. "It wasn't the aliens that made me scream," She whispered, barely audible, "It was what followed the aliens." She squeezed her eyes shut, a stray tear falling down her muzzle. "Hatred. War. Death. Things that nopony should go through…"
For being a library, Twilight's house had never been as quiet as it was that moment…
________________________________________
Canterlot, Equestria
The Silver Tomb
The Goddesses of Day and Night stood around the God of Man, looking at a projection of their star system with worry and apprehension.
Using their magical control of the sun and moon, Celestia and Luna were able to project everything that was under their celestial control. Which meant that they had perfect visuals of the four approaching starships.
"Okay," Celestia began, zooming in the projection to the three unidentified space vessels, "Let's see what these other visitors are."
The projection zoomed in on two vessels, both relatively close to each other, indicating they were part of a fleet perhaps. The largest one was ornate and stylized, tinted a pinkish chrome with a curvy design and extended "neck", aglow with many blue points of light. The smaller ship was stubbier, colored a metallic brown with scattered golden lights, clearly built more for function than form.
"These," Luna spoke, reading the banners on both ships, "Appear to be the… CAR Eternal Judgment and the UNSC Road not Taken." UNSC, Luna thought, That sounds a little familiar.
"And this," Celestia announced, zooming in on the tiny, black and white ship that came from the Object, "Is the SSV Normandy II. Looks pretty small for a spaceship, probably some kind of personal yacht. It certainly doesn't look very threatening, compared to the others."
Perhaps, Adam mused, But we can't judge these newcomers by their ship alone. Fortunately, I have enough power in me to look inside the ships, see what these strangers have. Allow me.
The projection moved back to the long ship, the Eternal Judgment. It became highlighted, as the Emperor began scanning the interior and its passengers. This would take a few moments, leaving the alicorns in silence. Celesta waited patiently, eyes locked on the projection.
Luna, however, had let her mind wander. In particular, her mind returned to memories of old, to when Royal Sisters first created the Silver Tomb…
X)(X)(X
Celestia, Luna and Discord stood in the newly finished chamber, preparations finally wrapped up for the ritual. It had taken many months of laborers toiling and constructing in secrecy, and then many more months of lacing the room with intense magic to get ready. To say they were eager to begin was an understatement.
It had been about 20 years since the children first met with the Emperor, and had taken up the mission of trying to help him. They searched the Canterlot Archives, searching for anything that might solve their puzzle, until the discovered the Enhanced Golem Spell. Basically, it was detailed instructions on how to create an artificial magical being, one capable of holding immense power. Possibly even the sheer mass of the Emperor's Spirit.
Luna stood at the edge of the massive bed, where the ritual's magic would be held. 20 years was a long time for mortals, but for her and her sister and friend, it had only been the span from childhood to adolescence. She was just starting to grow into her long legs and wings, her coat starting to go from the almost indigo color of youth into a darker midnight blue.
She turned to her sister, standing at the left side of the bed. "You ready, Celly?"
"Of course, Luna," Celestia replied, smiling and confidant, "Whenever you are."
She nodded. Luna had always been a little jealous of the sun goddess. Being older, taller, having all the ponies idolize her for raising the sun while her sister was shunned because of the night. Not to mention the always clean white coat and flowing pink mane that she effortlessly flaunted without even trying, making Luna feel…underwhelming in comparison.
"Pardon me, girls," Discord asked, a little annoyed, "Is there any particular reason why I have to be down here? After all, this ritual only required two spell casters."
The Princesses sighed, having to deal with the one boy in the room. Discord was, for all intents and purposes, the ultimate misfit. He was a Draconequus, the dragon equivalent of an alicorn. But while the alicorns were the perfect embodiment of all the best qualities of pony-kind, he was a mutated chimera. He had the body of a pony, wings of a bird and dragon, arms of a lion and eagle, mismatched eyes, horns and teeth, all differently colored and sized, with the attitude of a mischievous prankster and a deadpan snarker.
Obviously, when he was hatched, he didn't stay long among his kind, as his looks, early magical powers and mischievous personality made dragons hate him. Fortunately, Celestia found him hiding in the Royal Gardens, and "adopted" him. Luna found him to be a little irritating herself, but Celly seemed to find him pretty endearing. Which is why, at times when Discord was causing them trouble, Luna let her sister take care of him.
Like now, for instance.
"Discord," Celestia soothed the complaining Draconequus, "We've been over this before. The spell was originally meant for making golems and holding mortal spirits in a body. This is meant for a god. The spell was intended for a pony's small shape. This is for a much larger, more powerful human. And most importantly, the spell was intended for just magical energies. We're working with our magic and Adam's 'Warp magic'. So, since you're the only one of us who even has Warp powers, you are probably the most important part of this ritual."
"I just don't see why I have to help that guy," Discord protested, "He doesn't even like me."
"Nonsense!" Celestia countered, "Of course He likes you. That's why He let you join the ritual."
In all fairness, they were both right. Adam didn't like Discord when He first met him. When Luna made their first introduction, Luna picked up feelings of loathing and disgust, and heard Him say something like "Chaos Daemon". For the most part, they didn't speak to each other, and at times it seemed as if Adam was tempted to just reach out and destroy Discord. But, after many talks with the sisters, He finally decided that Discord wasn't a threat, and may even be somewhat helpful in the future.
This ritual was, if anything, a test of Discord's trustworthiness.
The "Spirit of Disharmony", as he would later be known, sighed, and said, "Fine, I'll help. But only 'cause you asked me so nicely." He smiled at her with that lopsided grin of his, snaggletooth and all. Celestia returned in kind, and the two of them had the strangest look in their eyes.
Why are they looking at each other like that? Luna wondered, looking at the both of them. They couldn't be getting all lovey-dovey or anything, could they? The way they fight all the time? They're like flippin' cats and dogs!
"So," Luna spoke up, breaking the moment, "Uh, are we ready to begin now?"
"Sure thing, Woona," Discord said, using Luna's annoying filly-hood nickname, "Let's get this show on the road. Bring in Skeletor."
Luna began focusing, feeling the local space for His presence.
Adam. Adam, can you hear me?
X)(X)(X
Luna. Equestria to Luna, can you hear us?
The Night Princess snapped out of her reverie, and looked back to her sister and the Emperor.
"Oh, sorry," She apologized, "What were saying?"
I was just about to tell you about the aliens on the Eternal Judgment.
"Oh, yes, of course. What did you find?"
A lot, actually. The ship is definitely xeno. Not a human on the whole thing. Seems pretty Tau-like, though, as they have multiple species running it.
"Can you show us what the aliens look like?"
Definitely. Come, see.
The Princesses then received mental flashes of all the aliens onboard, an image accompanied with a weird, nonsense word that was probably what they called themselves. Names like "Sanghelli", "Jiralhanae", "Uggnoy" and "Kig-Yar", to name a few. They were ugly bastards, too: mandible-mouthed, monkey-looking, squat and blue-skinned, birdlike and wide-eyed - a straight-up freak show, it seemed like.
After showing all the aliens Adam told them, Now I shall scan this Road not Taken, see what they are up to. The projection moved to the stubby brown ship, again highlighted as it was scanned. Luna returned to the memory, but only with half her mind, so to still be aware of what transpired around her…
X)(X)(X
Adam, can you hear me?
Of course, Woona, The Emperor chuckled, I've been right here the whole time.
Luna bit back a giggle. For whatever reason, when Celly or Discord called her that, it irked her. But when Adam said it, she thought it was the sweetest nickname ever.
She looked up at the ceiling, and saw a small orb of blue light hovering above them. This was how He managed to manifest Himself among the Equestrians, projecting an infinitesimal portion of His power across the multiverse.
"There He is, Celly." She announced, pointing to the manifestation.
Celestia looked at the Spirit, and smiled that winning smile of hers. "Are you ready, my friend?"
I'm ready when you are, my dear, The Emperor answered. He then lowered himself to Discord's face, glowing more intensely. The real question, however, is whether you are ready, Discord.
The Draconequus grimaced. "Of course I'm ready, Skeletor." He snapped, standing straighter over the orb. "Would I be here if I wasn't?"
Maybe not, Daemon. But you still haven't given me any reason to trust you yet. I just want to be sure that I don't have my new form corrupted before I even enter.
"How many times must I tell you?!" He shouted, offended at another accusation, "I'm not a Daemon! I wouldn't harm anypony or anything!"
We'll see about that. Remember, I can see everything. And the truth has a way of revealing itself at interesting times.
"Can we PLEASE get on with this?" Celestia snapped, frustrated with the continual bickering.
My apologies, Celestia. Please, proceed.
The alicorns' horns began to glow, encircling many of the intricately carved gems on the bed. These gems -Fire Rubies, sapphires, emeralds of the highest quality- were all carved by the Princesses with magic, shaped into the various bones of the human body. The goddesses arranged them into the shape of a 9-foot skeleton, from the tiniest metacarpal to the skull itself.
As the gem-bones were arranged, Celestia, Discord and Luna infused them with magical and Warp energies, allowing them to retain the spiritual powers of the Human God. Kind of like how engineers work on a USB chip to retain programs on a computer. Except that, for a better comparison, this was like downloading the most advanced and powerful AI program ever into a potato.
The skeleton and the spell, as mentioned earlier, are made to retain huge amounts of energy. However, the Emperor is well known to be the most powerful psyker/ magical entity that ever lived. And, compounded with the little detail that the Golden Throne only needed one psyker a day to function, He gains the powers of 999 psykers each and every day, making him even more powerful.
(In fact, it's often been speculated in the Warhammerverse that, should the Throne fail, and the Emperor die, His Apotheosis would make Him the strongest of all Chaos Gods. And, naturally, the resulting Warp Storm made from that would make the Birth of Slaneesh during the Age of Strife look like a small rainstorm in comparison.)
After about 5 minutes, the bones were properly arranged, and infused with enough energy to stand the strain of holding His Spirit…
X)(X)(X
Ah, here are the humans.
The Princesses looked back at the Emperor, as He finished His scans.
"Other humans?" Luna asked, "Do you think… are they from the same place as the 'Master Chief'?"
One in the same. In fact, both they and the xenos are here for him. Seems that he's quite the heroic figure among them.
"Splendid." Celestia declared, "I'm sure they'll be quite happy with us, when we give him back."
They'll be even happier when they find out he's still alive. Poor fools went on a mission to recover a dead hero, only to find he was only taking a nap.
"Are they dangerous?"
Only if you give them a reason to. They didn't come to fight, and only want to pick up the Spartan. That's what they call him, by the way.
"And what about the Normandy?"
Let me see.
Again, He scanned the ship, and Luna returned to the old ritual…
X)(X)(X
The Emperor's projection, roughly 1/billionth of his total power, tentatively began entering the crystalline skeleton, like a child putting his toes in the water for the first time.
Tendrils of energy came off the Warp orb, slithering into the bones, making them glow with their own illuminations. Magical symbols and markings, made to protect the form from damage, lit up as the spirit energy filled up each vessel. For Adam, it was a strange sensation; although being close to omnipotent and omnipresent in His galaxy, He never had experienced His physical body being two places at the same time.
But He was pleased. This was the first step to saving The Imperium, saving Humanity. It was strange, that the galaxy's ultimate hope resided not with mighty warriors or wise and cunning inquisitors, but a trio of xeno god-children.
When the projection had fully merged into the skeleton, the eye sockets of the skull lit up with golden light. The Emperor gazed upon the alicorns and Draconequus, and with a tone of gratitude, He said, Well done, my friends. I believe that the ritual was a success.
Luna jumped with joy, cheering like a little kid. Discord manifested his trademark cotton-candy-chocolate-rain cloud, partaking in a little snack after doing his part. Celestia just smiled, knowing it was a job well done.
"Thank you, Adam," Celestia returned, "Now, how long will it take to finish the job."
That, my dear, is the big question. You have given me an anchor on which to start depositing my soul. However, it will take some time to finish, considering how much power I have, and how much I keep gaining.
"How long, Adam?" Celestia pressed.
If I were to constantly add energy to this form, as much as I could safely put in without overloading it, I could have it done in… around 3'000 years.
The god children heard this, and just stared at Him.
I know it seems like a long time-
"Three THOUSAND years?!" Discord shouted. "We may be immortal, but we don't like waiting around THAT long, you know!"
Believe you me, Discord, it's longer on my side. While you three have been searching around for that spell for 20 years here, I have been sitting on a chair for 50 years. At that rate, it'll be 11'000 years before I can get out. The machine may not even last that long.
"We understand, Adam," Celestia put in, "It's just…we're only 100 years old ourselves. So, imagining that we'll have to watch over you for that long a time is… well, a little much for comprehend."
I realize that, 'Tia. I'm not being ungrateful, I'm just letting you know what you have to prepare for.
"It's okay, Adam," Luna spoke up, "We'll wait for you to grow your new body. In the meantime, maybe you can help us be better Princesses."
Oh?
"Yeah. You've been alive for, what, forty thousand years? I'm sure you've learned all kinds of things about ruling and leadership. Maybe, to pass the time down here, you can teach us a few tricks."
You know, Luna, that's actually a wonderful idea. Now that I think about it, it's been awhile since I've had someone to talk to about statesmanship that wasn't taking my orders.
The Emperor became silent, directing His next message to Luna alone. This would become the most important thing He ever said, and the most important thing she ever heard.
Between you and me, Luna, that's why I like you more than your sister. You've always been the smart one of the bunch.
Luna blushed quite profusely, getting odd looks from Celly and Discord. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever told her…
X)(X)(X
Luna thought back to that moment, and realized that was moment that started her little crush on the Emperor. Its funny how such a small act of kindness could lead completely changing how you look at a person. He may not have known it, and may still not know it, but Adam had stolen her heart.
She would've told Him ages ago, if given a chance of success. On Equestria, interspecies romances were not unheard of or looked down upon. If a gryphon and a Pegasus wanted to be together, or a dragon and a unicorn, there was really nothing stopping them from doing so. Hell, she was pretty sure that Celestia and Discord had a fling before he got turned to stone.
But, she didn't. It wasn't so much that she didn't think He would accept (although Luna never asked Adam what He thought about Equestrian ways), so much as that she knew His people never would. "Suffer not the xeno to live", and all that. He could push them to not kill all the ponies when they arrived, but He wouldn't make them try to allow intermingling. Luna understood, and suffered in silence.
Adam had just finished His scan of the Normandy, and chuckled.
Ah, this is an interesting one.
"How so?"
A couple of things. It's a ship made by a secretive terrorist group, piloted by a galactic hero. There are a couple xenos onboard, but all serve as the hero's entourage. The ship itself has few weapons, but the crew has weapons all over the place. They have psychic soldiers that aren't psykers, almost like your subjects. But the funniest part is that one of the xenos is a fan of your people.
The sisters exchanged a look. "What do you mean by that?"
I'll have to explain that at a later time. However, the point is that out of all the coming ships, this particular ship is the least threatening.
"So," Celestia asked, "Should I still go through with the plan? Let the other nations know?"
Might as well. You can't keep this thing secret for long. And, more importantly, we should all get ready for when They show up.
"Very well. I'll make a few calls." Celestia teleported out, leaving Luna with the Emperor.
Here's your chance, Luna thought desperately, Tell Him how you feel before it gets too crazy, while you still have a chance!
"So, uh, Adam," She started, having no idea how to say what she wanted.
Yes? The Emperor questioned.
Luna looked into His eyes, the golden orbs now a startling shade of cerulean. She could feel the absolutely immense psychic presence, which made even Chaos Gods think twice before troubling Him. And she noticed, for the first time, the barest hint of a smile, which could teach Celestia a lesson or two.
She saw all this… and completely chickened out.
Covering for herself, she said, "How's your body feeling?"
Adam could tell that that wasn't what she was originally going to say, but decided not to press it. Its feeling wonderful, He answered, I've put enough of my power in here to live again. In a little more than a month, I'll finally be walking.
Luna smiled, and risked putting a hoof on His arm. "I can't wait to see that."
Neither do I.
With that, the Princess took her leave, teleporting out. The Emperor's fingers twitched, almost making a fist. Indeed, He mused, Almost ready…
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So, in summary:
, the Halo troops know there are sentients down there
, and Garrus is a closet brony
Did I throw in the Opening theme? Yes i did. Did some people find it annoying? Sure did.
The Emperor made His troops promise to play nice
Lots of hints and foreshadowing sprinkled about this chapter, which may give the reader a possible glimpse into the future. Needless to say, its going to be epic
Garrus the closet brony..Funniest.Thing.Ever
1636024 so garrus is a brony... (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)
seems legit.
1636323
They liked it on the other site. I thought people would like it here too
But seriously, You would think this would Shepard and his team an edge, having someone being Genre Savvy to the naitives. Further, you could consider Garrus to be something as an Audience Surragate, giving a unique prepective on the ponie's antics, as well as the actions of the other visitors.
But I digress.
This.... I like.
Master chief is not entirely human... so what does that make him?
Never played WH 40k or Mass effect but I still enjoy this story, Please keep up the good work.
1636834
yes, but what i mean is that he is not entirely human because the librarian
MOAR
1639076
he can resist the freaking composer... its like a mini halo... but i think you are right, he has his "powers" but they aren't unlocked yet
1639076
Yeah, it's essentially as you said. The big thing you could say about the worlds shown here is that, because of their connections, they are automatically AU, and not connected to the Prime/baseline worlds.
Each world has some difference: Chief didn't land on Requiem, so Halo 4 is out; there was more than one collector base- and possibly more Reapers- so ME 3 would be significantly harder; the Emperor still being fully functional contradicts most 40k fluff; and of course, with Trixie and Gilda being reaccepted- and the arrival of the spacefarers, Season 3 is completely out the window.
With all that in mind, the future is truly how you make it. Things will change for the humans and their alien allies just as much as will for the ponies.
So it plays the main menu theme song and background when you go there.
thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2011/01/17/1295287513-clever-girl.jpg
All i can say is me gusta and i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i377/Sansanimus/Gifs/Tumblr-disgonbgud.gif
1638773 Cheif is what is called biologically engineered (space marinas are considered genetically and biologically engineered) and even with the librarian he is still human all she did was accelerate the evolutionary DNA a few hundred generations
Did you just reference Portal 2?
"The most advanced and powerful AI program ever into a potato."
So Matt Shepard kept the Collector base? Bad Shepard. Bad!
I beg to differ.
Navigators in 40k are a breed of mutant allowed by the emperor with the ability to navigate the warp through the use of a third warp sensitive eye in their forehead, for non-navigators to look upon this eye causes madness unless you're badass. They are born it is not a job choice. Astropaths likewise are a kind of psyker whose normal eyes go blind when their gift manifests, they can sense their immediate surrounding through the warp but other than that are quite blind.
As such their jobs and abilities are mutually exclusive.
Magnus the Red Primarch of the Thousand suns, was technically a more powerful psyker than the Emperor due partly to his use and study of sorcery, I can't recall if it was ever stated who was more powerful. Also one must remember that the Emperor's raw power has increased exponentially since he was entombed on the golden throne as he was no longer able to enforce his ban on religion and humanity began to worship him as the God Emperor.
Calling the MLP theme gay? What's wrong wit chu? The s***storm hasn't hit yet, so I have the author to thank for that. Thank you for another amaaaazing chapter.
Aww, I knew I was missing something by just manipulating the fabric of the Multiverse to travel about. Oh well, it's instantaneous, more or less, not giving that up for a few songs I can find in some other universes music repository. . .
took a re-read to get the portal referance
oh, GLaDOS, you and discord will troll all of existance to ragequitting
Italics
italics ewrywhere 
"Slowly, like an excellent cinematic for a video game, the moon fell away, and the full system came into view."
');
Immediately the song from the Halo 4 endgame credits started playing in my head... Such feels.... HNNNG! javascript:smilie('
Only reached this point, but I wanted to say that you are doing good so far. I have two issues with it right now tho.
1. You need to describe the characters more, particularly those from Mass Effect right now, since it seems that only a few of those named characters are aliens from the readers point of view when in fact it is more like half of them.
2. Pinkie Pie's fourth wall breaking ability and her sensing when friends are coming, this is more of a personal grumble of mine so don't worry to much about it, but I always found it strange that within a reasonable size of the fandom Pinkie Pie seems to be some kind of fourth wall breaking machine even tho in the show she only broke the wall a handful of time(one of which was with Twilight, but everyone seems to ignore that part.) and that she somehow knows when there is someone new in town, even tho in the show she never exhibit the ability to do so, in fact she always bumped into the new 'friend' before finding out that there was someone new in town. I am not saying to take it out all the way, but maybe tone it down a bit.
Tho considering I still have several chapters to go it is probably too late to change the second point, so ignore that, besides it was only a small pet peeve of mine.
I wonder who you could possibly be referring to.
This has got to be the coolest crossover I've read so far!
*slow claps* Congrats sir, you have me, hook, line and sinker!
Ok I just started the chapter but that joke about how many times Space Marines have worked with FILTHY XENOS was pretty damn hilarious!
EDIT: BY THE THRONE MY SIDES HAVE DIED FROM LAUGHING THAT MLP INTRO JOKE WAS SO GOOD AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I've got the feeling that, if the Collectors are following the Normandy, the Imperials will be quite grateful to work out their frustrations on an unambiguously Black Hat xeno species. When Shepard gets around telling them about the Reapers, the phrase 'a New Crusade' will probably be uttered.