The Mane 6 discover Liara's time capsule and find out about the Reapers
"If you're hearing this... then there is still hope. Hope that you can avoid the same mistakes we made. We fought the Reapers, but we failed to stop them. We did everything we could. We built the Crucicble, but it didn't work. We fought as a united Galaxy, but it wasn't enough. I only hope the information in this capsule is enough to help you before it's too late.
My name is Liara T'Soni. Herein lies the recounting of our war with the Reapers."
(Being familiar with the Mass Effect games would really help you in this story.)
It was just another day in Equestria... or so they said it would be. It started out simple enough, Princess Twilight going to Canterlot for her daily routine of Princess duties that she seemed to enjoy doing, something that baffled Princess Celestia and her younger sibling, Princess Luna. Her friends still holding their jobs in Ponyville, although she feels she doesn't see them as often anymore, she knew being a Princess would have its benefits and drawbacks.
The three were currently sitting in the Throne Room, Luna and Twi have their own smaller and slightly different versions of Celestia's Royal seat. When there was a short break from ponie's seeming first-world problems, Luna decided to break the silence before them.
"Just give it time Twilight, you'll get tired of hearing people's constant bickering and complaints in a few decades or so." Luna told her.
"Don't worry Twilight, I won't keep you trapped here with Luna and I as much, you will still get to go on missions with your friends whenever necessary." Celestia assured the newly appointed Princess, it hadn't even been a year since Twilight's Coronation.
Then suddenly the heavy room doors furiously flung open.
"Princess Twilight!" yelled a Royal Guard who seemed to be in a hurry for some odd reason.
"Yes, what is it?" asked the curious ruler.
"I-" He quickly took a second to bow down to the royalty before him, "I bring you news from Ponyville, it's from someone known as Pinkie Pie. She says she has a surprise for you, something she found in the Everfree Ruins."
"The Ruins? Why would she go that far?!! Did she tell you anything about what it may be?"
"She only said there was a black pillar sticking out of the ground that starting beeping at her, that's when the nonsense came in... you understand, your Highness?" he nervously mentioned
"Yes I understand, I'll be on my way imediately." She firmly said.
"Twilight wait, I can set up a chariot to take you--"
"I can go by myself Celestia, I still find it weird to be carried around everywhere I go... ya know? I just think it's awkward."
"Very well Twilight, you must hurry then. Who knows what Pinkie could have found out there in the Ruins."
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in Dark Space...
"The time of our return is coming. Organics will be harvested and preserved once again." Said a certain powerful being with a voice so booming and hollow that it would make Princess Luna tremble in fear.
"Harbinger, the last cycle's harvest left us in very few numbers. Are you certain we can preserve this cycle's organics with no issues arising at all?" asked another booming, yet soothing voice that didn't lack any sort of menace from the former being.
"I am certain, Shepard."
...
Back on Equestria
Twilights raced towards Ponyville and flapped her wings faster than she ever thought they could have. She's still kind of clumsy when it comes to flight but maybe the right motivation was all she needed, she decided to make a stop at her house to get Spike and maybe some supplies for whatever may be out there in the Ruins.
"I still can't figure out why Pinkie would venture that far out, even she wasn't alone. Oh, I hope she wasn't." Twilight mumbled to herself, still trying to put the pieces together in her head.
Now upon arriving at the Library, she heard a rustle come from the right bush in front of her door. The Princess cautiously edged over to whatever was making the noise when--
"Surprise!" Exclaimed a Pinkie that appeared from behind Twilight.
"GAH!!"
"Hiya Twilight! I have something to show you, something I found in the Everfree Ruins."
"I know, you sent a guard to tell me, remember?"
"Oh yeah, well I wanted to tell you myself just incase he didn't tell you exactly what I said."
Twilight grabbed Pinkie using her wings and embraced her dear friend, "Well he did, now what in the hay were you doing out there? I hope someone was with you."
"Oh don't worry, someone was. It was Gummy who wanted to go out there in the first place." Pinkie replied, returning Twilights hug.
The Princess gave Pinkie Pie a stern look, "Gummy... wanted to put you in danger by going all way out into the Ruins where there is nothing to be found of any importance?"
"Well, there is the beeping pillar." Pinkie stated, tapping a hoof to her chin.
"Well if you want to hurry up and show us what is, lets get everypony else and head on over. I still need to get Spike and pack some essentials for studying whatever it is you found out there."
Twilight was about to head inside her house when Pinkie grabbed her tail and started pulling her the other way, "We don't have time! I've alredy told the others to meet by the bridge outside of the Forest. They're probably waiting right now!"
"Ugh if you say so Pinkie, let me teleport us there." her horn started to glow.
"Yay!" Pinkie exlaimed, tapping her hooves together. There was a bright light, one second they were at the Ponyville Library, the next they were ontop of their friends in a ponypile next to the bridge they were going to meetup at.
"Ooof! What the--" Rainbow Dash saw her favorite princess and hugged her. "Twilight! Haven't seen you around here as much lately, how's being a princess? Is it as awesome as they say?"
"Hehe, not quite Rainbow, its very hard work." All of the pony friends were now in a group hug... except for Rarity, and Spike.
"Hey what happened to Rarity, and did we forget Spike at the Library?"
"Oh right Twilight, Rarity went out for gem hunting earlier today and she wanted to bring Spike along with her. Don't worry sugarcube, they ain't at the same place as those Diamond Digs were las time." assured Applejack, "Who knows how long they're goin to be, but if this here pillar is as important as Pinkie makes it sound, we can't wait much longer to go and see it. We'll just have to on without 'em."
"Oh, that's too bad, well then lets get going ok? I'm curious so as to what it really is." said Twilight.
"I just don't want it to waste my time." answered Rainbow.
"Only one way to find out. To the Forest!" Explaimed an overly excited Pinkie.
...
When they got to the Ruins after a somewhat exciting walk and occasional run from the monsters that lived in the Everfree, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was just as Pinkie had said, just a beeping black pillar. It was taller then the ponies though it would be. About, the same height as three ponies standing on eachother's back.
Rainbow Dash took a step forward to examin it when there was a hissing sound and a small hatch opened from the bottom of the structure from the front, which lead to a staircase.
"So... who wants to go down the creepy staircase first?"
"I'll go, I wouldn't want anythang jumpin out to hurt any of ya." stated a caring Applejack.
When they reached the bottom of the staircase there was nothing but darkness at first... then sounds of machinery starting up filled the silent room, then a light in the middle revealed that the ponies were in some time of rounded cramped space with eight computer desktops hanging from the ceiling with a few computer-like consoles on the ground.
The light that luminated the room was a humanoid figure that started to give them a message:
"If you're hearing this... then there is still hope. Hope that you can avoid the same mistakes we made. We fought the Reapers, but we failed to stop them. We did everything we could. We built the Crucicble, but it didn't work. We fought as a united Galaxy, but it wasn't enough. I only hope the information in this capsule is enough to help you before it's too late.
My name is Liara T'Soni. Herein lies the recounting of our war with the Reapers. Oh, I suppose I should start at the beginning yes?
During my cycle in the year 2148, explorers on a planet called Mars, which is located in the Sol System, discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization known as the Protheans. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time. They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilizations of my time call it...
MASS EFFECT
...
Hours had passed, and the ponies were soaking in the new information like sponges. This was new to all of them, even Pinkie Pie remained silent to hear what this mysterious creature known as "Liara T'Soni" had to warn them about.
"And that is only a bit of the information stored in this Time Capsule I have created. I hope the GUI interface isn't too complex for you species to access, goodluck in your war against the Reapers, I can only hope you fare better than we did."
"Umm, did that make sense to y'all?" asked Applejack
"What's a Reaper? They don't sound like nice ponies!" Explaimed a nervous Pinkie Pie.
"Whatever the Reapers are, they sound like they may be yet another threat to Equestria." firmly stated Twilight.
"Yeah, they also sound unstoppable, didn't you hear what Liara said? Those things are enormous!" yelled an unconfident Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, there has to be a way to stop them. There has to be!" wimpered Fluttershy.
"Everypony! I found the Codex!" Pinkie exlaimed, pointing at a group of orange pages floating around where the VI of Liara once was.
"Uh Pinkie, whats the Codex?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know, I just clicked on that word see?"
"Hmm, it seems to have different sections of information. Good eye Pinkie." replied the Princess as she walked over to the orange holographic interface.
"You know me Twilight, I have the best eyes in all of Equestria!" Pinkie boasted as her eyes somehow enlarged to twice their size as she looked at Applejack who had a confused look on her face.
"Ok lets see now, technology, planets... Commander Shepard?"
"Who?" Asked Rainbow.
"I don't know, but apparently this person has an entire section just for them."
"Well, why don't we see who it is?" suggested AJ.
"No, we need to get Princess Celestia to look at this. Whoever this Liara person is, or was, she left this time capsule here to warn us about these things known as the Reapers. We need to start preparing right now, we can examin the rest of the Codex later ok?" said a nervous Twilight. Part of her didn't want to believe that there are beings powerful enough out there to sweep entire galaxies.
"Wait a minute, we are the Elements of Harmony right? We can just let the Reapers come to us and show them the power of Friendship." spoke a now confident Rainbow.
"Sugarcube, I'm afraid the Reapers sound tougher than that."
"Girls! We can discuss this later, for now lets get to Celestia and warn her that we are in danger, much more than we have ever been." Twilight didn't mean to sound so cold.
...
"So what you're saying is, Equestria is now under threat once again. This time from beings who sound much more powerful than us. Do we know if we can use the Elements against them?" questioned a very worried Celestia. The five ponies were now in the Throne Room, Luna was silently taking in this deppresing news.
"I don't know, the way Liara described them... they aren't just a threat to Equestria. She said they are a threat to the entire Galaxy, our Galaxy! She said there is a way to defeat them, but it didn't work. She mentioned something known as the Crucible." Twilight explained.
"Well? What did she say about it?"
Lowering her head in shame and her eyes swelling up in tears, Twilight explained the difficult part, "Well... she said something went wrong upon firing it. After hearing that, I don't know if there really is a way to fight them. Celestia there has to be something!"
Celestia brought the Princess under her wing's embrace, her eyes now filling up as well, "Twilight, I promise you that we will find a way to defeat these monsters. We have the power of friendship, what makes you think they can counteract that?"
Rainbow Dash was feeling anxious about this whole ordeal, she fluttered over to the Rulers and and spoke up, "Your highness, there were recordings of what the Reapers told them. You'd have to hear those for yourself."
"Ok then, I will assign guards over the capsule you found immediately, we will keep it under constant watch. I will personally take some time to listen to what this 'Liara' person has to warn us about. If these Reapers really are a threat to everything, then we will have to unite every species to even have a chance at fighting them. Twilight, you and your friends will need to unite Equestria with the other Kingdoms of the world, including the Griffons, Dragons, Minotaurs and unfortunately... the Changelings."
...
"Sovereign: You are not Saren.
Garrus Vakarian: What is that? Some kind of VI interface?
Sovereign: Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Garrus Vakarian: I don't think this is a VI...
Sovereign: There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign.
Commander Shepard: Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!
Sovereign: Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply... are.
Garrus Vakarian: The Protheans vanished over 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there, it's impossible!
Sovereign: Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything.
Commander Shepard: Whatever your plan is, it's going to fail. I'll make sure of that.
Sovereign: Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken.
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya: Cycle? What cycle?
Sovereign: The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance, and at the apex of their glory they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them - the legacy of my kind.
Commander Shepard: Why would you construct the mass relays and leave them for someone else to find?
Sovereign: Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your civilization develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic life. You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it.
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya: They're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!
Commander Shepard: What do you want from us? Slaves, resources?
Sovereign: My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation - independent, free of all weakness. You cannot grasp the nature of our existence.
Commander Shepard: Where did you come from? Who built you?
Sovereign: We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure.
Commander Shepard: Where are the rest of the Reapers? Are you the last of your kind?
Sovereign: We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom.
Commander Shepard: You're not even alive! Not really. You're just a machine, and machines can be broken!
Sovereign: Your words are as empty as your future. I am the Vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over..."
The 5 ponies and Royal Guards were now looking at Celestia who was drenched in a sweat that was practically bouncing off of her because of her trembling in fear.
"You see? They are very much more dangerous than anything we have ever faced." Twilight noted.
"Um, I think they're more dangerous than anything anyone's ever faced." added Rainbow.
Celestia was now a bit more relaxed now and was going through the rest of the Codex, clicking any sections that interested her the most. "Hmm, I would like to know where we are in the Galaxy."
The Liara VI responded and said, "The planet this capsule is located on is known as Eden Prime in my cycle, it is located in the Utopia system. It is one of the Human's first and most successful off-planet Colonies. During my time it was often described as a peaceful paradise."
Celestia mumbled to herself, "Eden Prime? But I thought our planet was called--"
"Ooh, I wish I saw Eden Prime back then, it sounds so nice." interrupted Pinkie Pie.
Celestia cleared her throat before speaking, "Well there is certainly alot we can learn from this time capsule we have found but we must get some rest for now, especially you and your friends Twilight. Actually, where has Rarity been this whole time?"
"Oh, she went out gem hunting with Spike, we will try to get them caught up as soon as they come back." assured Twilight.
"Then for now, all of you must get some sleep, we all have a busy time ahead of us. I only hope the Crucible can help us somehow in the fight against these Reapers." Celestia told her little ponies, she assigned guards to take shifts and keep this new discovery under constant watch.
In the mean time, Rarity and Spike had made a discovery of their own...
Spike and Rarity were somewhere out in the Rambling Rock Ridge doing some gem hunting for Rarity's summer fashion line coming up soon, she wanted these dresses to look better and more original than ever before. A theme she had been experimenting on lately was armor-like outfits, because of royal guards being around Ponyville protecting the newly appointed Princess Twilight.
It was in the later hours of the day and Spike was getting a little anxious about wanting to go back home, for Rarity's sake of course.
"Hey Rarity, it's getting a little late. Do you think we should start heading back now?" asked a worried Spike who was right behind his crush pulling a red wagon almost full of rubies and other precious gems.
"Oh I know it's getting dark but I need just a few more for my new line. Just a little longer ok Spike?"
Spike sighed, "Only for you Rarity."
"Thank you my Spikey Wikey."
Spike let out a little blush when he noticed something unusual in the distance to their left, "Uh, Rarity?"
"Yes Darling?"
"What's that thing?" He suspiciously pointed at what looked like a metallic structure. Upon getting a closer look at it they noticed just how big it really was. The almost flower looking structure towered over them.
The mysterious artifact had multiple arms that aimed upwards then arched outwards, there was a mysterious object inside the center that had a greenish glow that activated when they got within a few feet from it.
"I have no idea" Answered a cautious Rarity.
She circled around it while keeping a small space between her and this discovery, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain go through her head and rushed through her entire body.
An invisible force lifted and suspended her up in the air. Spike tried to jump to her rescue, but a defense mechanism activated and he ended up being shocked and thrown down to the ground unconscious.
Rarity didn't know what was going on outside of her head, she was experiencing something like a dream... Or a nightmare. She was seeing a vision of the end of days, no, she was seeing the end of everything. She saw her friends and everything she knew being destroyed before her very eyes. She saw large machine-like beings that made a noise so intense it sounded like the shriek of the damned, only it was coming from inside her own head. Tearing right through her skull, it almost made it impossible for her to think.
She let out a painful cry, yelling at the top of her lungs to make everything stop. Then she also fell to floor and sunk into unconsciousness.
...
A few hours later, Spike woke up and saw Rarity laying helplessly on the ground. He tried waking her but all of his attempts didn't work. It was now nighttime and Spike didn't want to wait and see what dangers there could be out here.
"Rarity please wake up! We have to get back to Ponyville!" She didn't respond at all.
He put his head on her chest to make sure she at least still had a pulse. After being relieved by hearing her calm heartbeat he gathered some dead wood and made a fire to watch over her for the night, he would head home and get help in the morning.
When morning came and she still didn't wake up, Spike urgently ran to Ponyville to get Twilight and the rest of the gang to help Rarity...
...
Rarity's eyes slowly opened and she found herself in the Ponyville Hospital and was relieved by the sight of her friends whom she saw die during her vision with the Reaper artifact.
"Oh I'm so glad you're all alive! Where's Spike? Where is he?!!"
Her friends tried calming her down, it had been 8 hours since Spike had led them to Rarity and brought her home. Twilight was right next to her dear friend holding her hoof as she was in the unusual sleeping state, and was the first to speak up. "Rarity relax! Spike is doing ok he's here too, he's sleeping because he watched over you last night. He told us everything that happened and about the structure you found, no wonder you never came home. We've already sent a team over to secure it. You two have been through a lot and you need some--"
A voice from behind interrupted her, it was Nurse Redheart, "Now please don't overwhelm our patient, she needs to relax with all the stress built up in her."
"No no, I'm fine really."
"You sure? From the looks of your stats, you've been through a lot recently. We noticed that while you were unconscious, you had rapid eye movement. Something that usually occurs during intense or lucid dreaming."
Rarity shuddered and fear flooded her entire being as she recalled what she experienced, "I saw, oh... I don't know what I saw. My friends were being burned right before my very eyes, all of Equestria was in ruins! There were these immense beings that destroyed everything they saw, they made a noise so maddening and terrifying it made you want your head want to explode! It sounded as if it were the shriek of the Changelings, only it felt like it was originating from your own mind. I fear Equestria is in grave danger, I know how unreal all this may sound."
Applejack now spoke up, "We believe ya Rare, we know exactly what you saw and its all true. Equestria IS in danger, the Reapers are a'comin back and we were about to go and warn every pony when Spike came to town and started rambling about that thing y'all discovered."
"Oh my goodness, something needs to be done before its too late!" Silently yelled a terrified Fluttershy.
"Oh we're gonna do something about it alright, we are going to wait for these 'Reapers' and we are going to show them the magic of friendship!" Exclaimed an ever so confident Rainbow Dash.
"Now Rainbow Dash, we still don't have much information on them, we'll have to check the codex when Rarity gets better." Explained Twilight.
"Oh don't let me slow down your progress Twilight, saving Equestria is more important than a single mare such as I."
After giving Rarity's point some thought, Twilight agreed "You're right Rarity, it's imperative that we learn as much as we can from Liara's time capsule and get to work right away! Lets go girls."
"Don't worry Rare, we'll be back as soon as we can ok?" Assured Pinkie Pie.
"You can count on us. We'll be back for you, then we'll save Equestria."
"I know you will, Twilight", responded a more relaxed Rarity. She slowly laid her head down on the hospital bed, then closed her eyes and smiled, "I know you will."
...
The 5 friends got back to the capsule and started to take in the knowledge it contained once again.
"The planets of the main council species are Thessia, which is the homeworld of my people; the Asari. Palaven, the Turian homeworld. Surkesh, the world of the Salarians. And finally Earth, the homeworld of the Humans.
"There are other races that exist during this cycle, but if you want information on those, you will have to access the 'Non Council Races' section."
"Hmm, the human world sounds very interesting, with a name like Earth. Wait, didn't the humans colonize this planet during their cycle?" Asked Twilight, who was accessing the codex and was so very interested in everything about the cycle before her.
"Why yes, this planet was known to the humans as Eden Prime. It became a symbol for humans, to them it meant that they were ready for life among the stars alongside other species."
Rainbow Dash shook her head and asked to nopony in particular, "Wait a minute, Eden Prime? That's our planets name? I thought--"
Twilight blocked out what Dash was saying while she was lost in her own thoughts as she was thinking things out in her head. 'We're going to need to use this Mass Effect technology to prepare for the Reapers, we also need to start creating ships for space travel. It would be wise for my friends and I to start taking military training to prepare for war. We need to make new weapons and armor. Oh we have so much to do, And we don't even know how much time we have to ready ourselves! I must report all of this to Princess Celes-- Oh wait, I don't have to report to anyojne now that I'm a princess. Duh!'
"Okay okay, where can we acquire this technology that you rely on?" Twilight was now done with her own thought process.
"There is both a benefit and a drawback from Mass Effect technology. It's based on Reaper tech, it's what every race eventually depends upon. It is a gamble as it serves advanced enough for whatever reasons you have for using it, at the same time you know it's their technology that you're relying on. This only proves just how formidable and clever your current foe is."
"Well isn't there a way we can avoid and fight the Reapers without their own toys?" Pinkie Pie was actually listening to the VI.
"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be another way. Only Mass Effect technology can give you the adequate advancements, it can provide Faster Than Light travel and helps to create biotics and greatly improves your firepower."
Applejack didn't like this and was very upset, "Gah! The Reapers are givin us no choice but to play this game by their rules! It's cheatin is what it is! There must be some way we can beat'em without using their tech."
"What about magic? Can that be used against them?" Twilight was looking forward to hearing Liara's answer to this question.
"I'm sorry, but my programming is limited and cannot answer that question for you. From the archives I was given though, magic is considered a myth. Nothing more."
The ponies all gave eachother dumbfounded and confused looks. Now it was Twilight's turn to be angry...
We apologize in advance for those who just found this story.
If you have been reading my blog then you know that we have been considering revamping Equine Effect. I'm honestly quite surprised that this story has a bit of popularity (if you can call it that). After doing some serious brai storming and comment reading we've decided to go ahead with that plan. It's the idea of the story that you guys like so much, (I know how bad my writing is). There is no way we can please everyone, we know that, we would however like to do this story the right way. All I've got to write with is my PS3 and iPod so it will be awhile before you actually see another chapter from us, again we are very sorry. It may be a even more of a wait because the ideas my co-writer and I have tend to differ, so we need to come up with different compromises. I promise you though, even if it takes the next year just to get things in order, Equine Effect will be written and we promise you'll enjoy the improved version of this epic tale we have planned. I would understand if you stopped following the story because of the delays, it's been painful for us too.
