Part 1: Just Another Mission

Mass Effect 2 - DLC
The Equestrian Equation
By Loyal2Luna

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Mass Effect 1 & 2

From the Normandy Galaxy Map, a new star system opens up in the Hawking Eta Cluster following the download of the new DLC, labeled "System AR-43281."
As the player moves the Normandy’s icon into the unexplored system from FTL speed, rather than bring up a map of the local solar system, the loading screen pops up, images of mass relays replaced by a swirling icon of two winged unicorns, one black, one white, circling around one another.

There was a darkness to this place that deadened all of the senses.

Not a sound could be heard, nothing could be felt. There was no orientation as a weightlessness settled into the stomach of the man who was experiencing this, his mind struggling to make sense of the alien environment as he tried to determine if he was awake or asleep… Alive or dead.

“System update: Unscheduled supplicant introduced into system. Genotype analysis indicates species compatibility,” a soft feminine voice stated in a calm, rational manner.

It came from everywhere, giving no sense of direction as the human attempted to lift his arms, to move at all, without success.

“Not another one! This has to stop! Sister, discontinue the introduction process. Activate Security Protocol 'Kickback.' We cannot allow this to keep happening,” a second, more regal-sounding female tone interrupted. Unlike the first, this one was clearly emotional, giving the immediate impression of one that had been knocked from her comfort zone.

“...Who’s there?” the man asked, fighting to keep his head clear as the darkness seemed intent on oppressing his senses.

“It’s conscious?” a new tone asked, this one male, the flow and pitch giving the human the impression of a whimsical personality. “Impressive… Most impressive.”

“Warning: Cybernetic implants detected in new supplicant maintaining critical biological processes. Biometric rewrite interrupted,” the first voice came again, remaining calm. “Introduction Protocol A-087 commencing.”

“NO! LUNA! DISCONTINUE! Discontinue, I said!” the second voice came again, this time barely containing a wrathful outrage.

“Discontinuation of introduction processes at this stage will result in immediate termination. Secondary confirmation required.”

Termination? No… He couldn’t let it end like this…

The human in the dark struggled, not for the first time, against his certain death.

“No,” the male voice came from the dark. “Let it through.”

“DISCORD! Don't… you… dare!”

“There is something different about this one…” the voice named Discord teased, at ease in spite of the anger of the elder-sounding female voice. “I want to see what it will do.”

“Your whims will bring doom upon us all!”

“Doom is already upon us, Celestia, my sister,” the factual, calm voice called Luna stated. “This one may be our last hope.”

Still trying to struggle in the dark, a feeling of warmth swept up through the human’s body as he struggled to maintain consciousness, his mind running over a specific train of thought that kept him focused on his purpose no matter what the obstacle.

“I am Commander Shepard. Alliance Serial: N7-42. The Reapers are coming… I have to stop them… Commander Shepard… N7-42… The Reapers are coming… Have to stop them… Shepard… Reapers… are coming… Have to…”

Then… there was nothing.

————————————————————

“Oh my gosh! Is he okay?”

“Put him on the bed.”

“I’ve never seen him before… Where did he come from?”

“I found him on the edge of the Everfree Forest… Oh, please be okay, Mister Seven…”

Commander Shepard began to focus again as he slowly climbed into the world of the awakened and voices could be heard as if through a distant haze. His head pounded as he tried to clear his mind of the heavy cobwebs that had formed. The feeling of pins and needles ran over his entire body, deadening any tactile sense of his surroundings, although he could feel the weight around his body to indicate he was still wearing his armor.

It felt… strange somehow, as if the proportions were off.

“Wow, he’s like, SUUUPER heavy!” the first voice came again, female in tone, sounding as if she was straining against something.

“Yeah, he really is… You brought him all this way yourself, Fluttershy?”

“Well, he looked injured… so I thought… Should I have taken him to the hospital? Oh, I’m so sorry, I just thought that you would know what to do, Twilight.”

Fluttershy?

Twilight?

Before his still-dazed mind could puzzle over these strange-sounding names, Shepard felt his world go vertical, throwing off his growing sense of orientation as he was hefted upward… Or was he falling? No… more like gliding, gently being pushed along in the air while his weight was negated.

Wait, he knew this sensation.

Biotic lift… But… such control… He doubted even Samara, with all her centuries of experience, could have manipulated a mass effect field so precisely as to carry a living thing with such grace.

“Unnngghhh…” Shepard tried to speak, the world seeping in as he shook off his exhaustion, trying to work up the strength to move… or at least open his eyes.

“Hey, I think he’s waking up.”

“Hello… Mister Seven… are you alright?” the softer tone cooed over him as he started to move, feeling returning to his limbs.

“Aahhhhh…” was the first thing out of his mouth as he brought his hand up to his head.

Wait… This felt weird.

He felt his arm move, but there was a feeling of restriction, as if his arm was pushed at an awkward angle from his shoulder.

Then his… hand… touched his… face.

Something was wrong…

Commander Shepard’s eyes snapped open.

“OH! Good, you’re awake. We were so worried.”

Shepard was quiet as he took in his surroundings… the most immediate thing in his field of vision being a pastel yellow creature with a soft, swirling pink mane standing over him with large eyes, a smile, and obvious intelligence. Although it possessed very human expressions and features, the creature was unlike any intelligent species that the well-traveled Commander had ever encountered.

Pulling himself up, he got a better look, his eyes running down the creature’s body to notice a set of feathered wings sprouting from the middle of the creature’s back, while a tattoo-like print was obvious on her side, depicting three pink and blue butterflies.

Quadrupedal… with legs ending in hooves… The creature was equine in nature… like the horses of Earth.

Turning his head, Commander Shepard scanned the area around him, realizing a natural setting… like wood… with a multitude of books piled into rustic-looking shelves all around.

Slightly farther away, two more equine creatures stood, both watching him more cautiously than the first… One a deep shade of purple while the other had a neon-pink body and curly hair that Shepard would have normally attributed to a clown… They were each branded in a similar fashion… but the purple creature had a horn sprouting from its forehead while the pink one lacked horn or wings, seeming (oddly enough) to be the most normal of the three.

No stranger to alien encounters, Shepard managed to fight back an initial reaction to panic in the face of the bizarre as he pulled himself up, attempting to push himself to his feet.

“Oh, no… Wait… You’re hurt. You shouldn’t…” the purple equine creature started forward, but too late, as Shepard felt himself shift awkwardly.

Something was wrong… and not just with his surroundings, the Commander realized... Something was clearly wrong with him.

Shepard’s center of balance was all off, causing him to fall forward towards the floor where he had to throw his arms out to catch himself.

*Clop-clop*

Shepard was now facing the floor, noting the knots in the smooth wooden surface scuffed by triangular marks before he caught sight of his own hands.

Or lack thereof.

Rather than his expected gauntlets, Shepard was looking down at the white and black of his armor which ended on his arms just short of a set of furred red hooves.

His heart hammering, Shepard looked about at the three alien creatures, all of them watching him cautiously.

“Careful, girls… I think he’s confused… Just give him space,” the purple one started, holding a hoof up to the pink one in an obvious attempt to keep her from rushing forward.

“Oh… Mister Seven… are you alright?” the yellow one drew back in a fearful manner, as if she were about to burst out crying should he answer negatively.

Again suppressing the panic, something that took all of his N7 military and combat training to do, Shepard pushed himself up on his hand… hooves... and felt his legs straightening in a manner that should have been impossible.

Human legs don't bend like that… How could…?

Then, he caught sight of a mirror, and took a step sideways to catch his own reflection within it.

Clad in a full, custom-made suit of black and white armor that curved perfectly over an equine body stood a creature like the three he was with, but rather than a brand, a familiar "N7" symbol was emblazoned on the armor’s backside. With cold steel-grey eyes looking back from a red-furred face that had a short crew cut of black hair, the creature gaped in shock at Shepard.

He realized that his mouth was hanging open and closed it.

The reflection did the same.

Commander Shepard’s eyes went wide as he watched the red equine alien wearing his armor copy his expressions… mouth moving in sync with the mirror’s image as the one thing unaltered about him hit his now-pointed, flicking ears.

It was his own voice.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”

————————————————————
5 Hours Earlier

On board the Normandy SR-2, Commander Shepard looked over Yeoman Chambers' latest reports on the crew’s state of mind as he tried to relax in his quarters.

Relax…

As EDI would say: “That was a joke."

They were preparing to go into the eye of the storm… literally. To strike directly at the Collector Base and put an end to their attacks on human colonies… preventing whatever work they were doing in the name of the true masterminds behind the abduction of entire settlements… the Reapers.

So suffice it to say, there was a little bit of pressure on all of them right now.

Kelly’s conclusion was spot on, he knew. Everybody was tense. They handled it in different ways… but still, the black cloud of what they had to do was hanging over them, made all the more real as EDI and the engineering team worked to integrate their most recently acquired asset; a Reaper Identify Friend/Foe device, into the Normandy’s systems.

They were as prepared as they could be… All of the crew’s unfinished business had been squared away… All possible upgrades had been made to the new Normandy. Once the IFF was ready… it would be time to hit the Omega-4 Relay and end this. One way, or another.

Shepard sighed as he set down the datapad, closing his eyes as he tried to fight off the strain from reading the holographic text. He tried to remember what shore leave felt like. He was pretty sure that his last attempt at R&R had been (quite literally) in another life.

The intercom chimed, pulling Shepard out of his self-indulgent musings as the holographic representation of EDI, the Normandy’s Enhanced Defense Intelligence, projected into existence from the console near his aquarium.

“Shepard: I have an update.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking, EDI?” Shepard sighed slightly. He knew the silence couldn’t have lasted.

“I have attempted such formalities, but organics lack the appropriate handshake protocols to acknowledge my pings and I lack the hands to properly emulate the motion of ‘knocking’ without a query of ‘Who is there?’” EDI clarified.

Shepard looked at the hologram for a moment with a tired expression.

“…That was a joke,” the A.I. explained flatly.

“Of course it was… Is the IFF ready, then?”

“Negative. There are still security measures I wish to implement before physical installation. However, I have received an urgent contact from the Illusive Man. He wishes to speak with you immediately.”

Shepard’s mood dropped like a hanar in high gravity. Their "generous benefactor" was hardly on the top of his list of people he wanted to speak with at this point.

“Why didn’t you just let Kelly call me down, then?”

“Yeoman Chambers was hesitant to interrupt your, as she put it: ‘You time.’ The Illusive Man is far less restrained by such concerns.”

“That’s an understatement,” Shepard sighed. “What is this about?”

“His contact message only indicated it was a matter of galactic importance.”

Shepard huffed slightly as he shook his head.

“Why can’t he ever just call to say ‘Hi’?” the Commander mused as he stood up and stretched.

————————————————————

The image of a unique star, ringed in blue and centered in a burning red took shape in front of Shepard as the Normandy's on-board Quantum Entanglement Communicator recreated the scene of the Illusive Man’s office.

His arms crossed, Shepard kept his stance firm as he prepared for whatever insanity the head of Cerberus was preparing to throw at him, and was not surprised to see the influential leader standing with his back to the hologram projector, taking a drag off of a cigarette.

“Shepard,” the Illusive Man started without turning around. “I understand your mission with the geth you recovered on board the Derelict Reaper was a success.”

“Somehow, I doubt you called just to talk to me about Legion,” Shepard stated, his tone very matter-of-factly as he tried to plow through the superficial statements.

“No… Although I do find the continued cooperation between yourself and this particular geth to be quite... enlightening, you are quite right. That is not the reason for this interruption.”

“So what’s the emergency?” Shepard asked, wanting to get to the heart of the matter.

The Illusive Man turned as he took another puff from the cigarette, his glowing blue cybernetic-enhanced eyes giving the impression of spinning in place as he focused his gaze on the hologram of Shepard before continuing.

“You remember Doctor Chandana’s science team? The one that found the Reaper corpse that you recovered both the IFF and your new synthetic compatriot from?”

Shepard grunted slightly, remembering all too well the "scientists" that had assaulted his team in that deathtrap. “Yeah… They were driven to insanity, indoctrinated, and then turned into husks. It was a total loss.”

“That is what we believed as well… However, new evidence indicates that this was not the case.”

Shepard didn’t want to admit it, but now he was intrigued. “I’m listening.”

The Illusive Man allowed himself a brief smile.

“We had thought that all members of Chandana’s team had been accounted for on the Derelict Reaper when it was destroyed…” the Illusive Man explained. “However, three hours ago, we received a coded subspace message on Cerberus encrypted frequencies… Specifically, from Doctor Chandana’s second-in-command, one Doctor Horace Milligan… a specialist in xeno-technology. He sent us a text report followed by an S.O.S.”

“Tell me about the report,” Shepard inquired.

“It was not included in Chandana’s records. Why? We don’t really know... But it appears that Milligan was put in charge of studying the weapon that Cerberus discovered using trajectories from the Great Rift on Klendagon, while Chandana took the bulk of the science team to the Derelict Reaper’s location.”

“That was the weapon that disabled the Reaper… I thought you said it was defunct.”

“It is. Shepard, this weapon predates the evolution of every single sentient species currently in the galaxy by more than fifteen million years… When it fired, mammals on Earth hadn't even learned how to walk upright. The vast majority of its components have been worn away by time and what little we have recovered tells us nothing about its function or design. However, according to Milligan’s new report, he and a team of seven other scientists pursued a new lead based on an energy signature residue that was present inside what we now believe was the weapon’s power source.”

“An element zero core?” Shepard assumed, knowing that nearly all advanced technology in the galaxy was based on the harnessing of Element Zero and the mass effect fields it generated.

“No… That is what intrigued Milligan… and why I myself have taken a personal interest.” The Illusive Man took another drag on his cigarette. “Whatever this energy is, it’s even more advanced than anything the Protheans created. It's capable of lasting for tens of millions of years, can be produced without eezo, and can supply power to a weapon that can destroy a Reaper Capital Ship from clear across a star cluster.”

Shepard gave the Illusive Man a sideways look. He sounded excited, just a bit; the possibilities breaking though his perpetually calm mask. Apparently, the head of Cerberus realized this as well and regained his composure.

“This could be the godsend we’ve all been waiting for, Shepard. While it may not be on the same level as Reaper tech, this energy could give humanity the edge we need to fight back when the Reapers finally do come in force.”

“And here comes the snag…” Shepard said, already seeing where this conversation was going.

“Indeed.” The Illusive Man shook his head. “The text report was corrupted when it was transmitted, suggesting that Milligan’s team had to improvise in whatever was used to send the message. That indicates that their ship was either disabled or destroyed before they could catalog whatever it is they found. The S.O.S. is likewise vague, as it used an archaic analogue distress pattern.”

The Illusive Man brought up an omni-tool on his arm, tapping the holographic interface for a moment before a series of intermittent beeps could be heard.

Shepard was visibly stunned. He hadn’t heard anything like this since a class in ancient military history back at Alliance Academy. Of course, having passed that class with flying colors, he was able to place it.

“Morse Code?”

“That's right.” The Illusive Man nodded. “It took our futuristic computer-obsessed techs an hour to realize it was more than static and then another twenty minutes to realize what it really was… And then they had to brush off a centuries-old manual just to translate it. But I believe that someone with your training will have an easier time of it.”

Shepard listened for a moment.

“We… are… still… alive… Send… help…” Shepard’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the beeps, his mind scrambling for everything he could remember during his training relating to old military codes and protocols. His eyes widened as the last series of beeps ran though his mental translation. “Send… Shepard…”

“The message repeats on a loop after that.” The Illusive Man pressed another button, disabling his omni-tool and causing it to vanish. “And use of such an archaic form of communication may also suggest they were attempting to send out the message under the radar, so to speak.”

“It could be another trap,” Shepard reasoned, remembering all too well the last "distress call" they had answered, which led them into an ambush at the heart of a Collector ship. An ambush which the Illusive Man was all too eager to send them into.

“Definitely,” the Illusive Man agreed. “To my knowledge, Doctor Milligan was in no way acquainted with you, so such a specific request in aid is questionable, at best. But if they recovered anything that could help us learn about this power source, it would be well worth the risk.”

“And saving the remaining science team might be a good idea…” Shepard’s tone was accusing, as, clearly, the preservation of these scientists' lives was not at the top of the Illusive Man’s priority list.

“If at all possible, their survival would be preferred…” the Illusive Man agreed in an offhanded manner. “But your primary concern on this mission has to be the recovery of Doctor Milligan’s research and anything that he has discovered in relation to this power source. I am sending EDI all of the data we have, including information on where we believe the transmission originated from: an until now unexplored star system in the Hawking Eta Cluster of the Attican Traverse.”

“Any idea what we’ll find out there?” Shepard asked, not caring for the lack of intelligence or the vagaries of the assignment.

“None… But if there’s anyone who can accomplish this, Shepard… it’s you,” the Illusive Man noted. “You’ve done the impossible before; this should be a walk in the park. You have my complete confidence.”

—————————————————————

“Complete confidence…” Jacob Taylor shook his head. “Another way of saying ‘Go take care of this while I sit back on my lazy ass.'”

“Well, nothing’s been able to stop you so far, Shepard.” Miranda Lawson, the top Cerberus operative on board the Normandy nodded over the conference table to Shepard as the fourth member of the meeting, the salarian Mordin Solus, stood by in uncharacteristic silence. “I can understand why the Illusive Man would trust you with something like this.”

EDI’s holographic form erupted from the projector on the conference table at this, the ship’s A.I. giving her own opinion.

“At our current speed, we will arrive at the star system in approximately two hours, Shepard. The sample of the power source residue energy signature should allow us to narrow our search using the Normandy’s mineral scanner.”

“How will that help? Shouldn’t we try to find the science team’s ship transponder?” Miranda asked.

“Attempts to track the Cerberus transponder signal have failed. However, it was confirmed that Doctor Milligan’s team took the original sample of the energy residue with them. Thus, it should still be in the possession of the survivors, if any remain.”

“Or whoever took it from them,” Miranda noted dryly.

“We still have no proof that Milligan’s team is compromised. They could still be alive out there,” Jacob interrupted.

Shepard nodded and turned to the salarian who was looking off into space. “Mordin, what do you think?”

“Uncertain. Not enough data. Too many unknown elements. Promise of power source could be lure. Same with S.O.S. Playing on human predisposition towards search and rescue. All methods used to draw out response. Unlikely the Collectors would use same method twice. But… could have predicted that we predict they would not use the same method. Difficult call…” Mordin paused a moment, taking a deep sniff of air. “…Glad it’s not mine.”

“We are also approaching a critical stage with the installation of the Reaper IFF,” EDI interrupted. “Cerberus Protocols indicate that all senior officers of the organization remain on board while the physical integration takes place.”

“She’s right… If something goes wrong when we plug that thing in, we need to be here to counteract it,” Miranda agreed.

“Which means that Miranda and I will be sitting this one out…” Jacob sighed in agitation, pushing away from the conference table.

“Grateful I am not a Cerberus officer. Doubt resumé would meet standards in any case. Much better employment opportunities available. Waste management in vorcha habitat for instance,” Mordin mused in his usual rapid-fire manner. “Should decide now, Shepard. Unknown what you are heading into. Need to prep and brief squad. Recommend rest of crew focus on IFF installation.”

Miranda nodded in agreement.

“So… who will you be taking with you?”

Choices:

"Let's see what we can learn." (Mordin and Tali)

~~"We need to be discrete." (Garrus and Thane)~~

~~"I need people I can trust." (Garrus and Tali)~~

~~"We should expect hostiles." (Jack and Grunt)~~

Part 2: Planetfall

View Online

“Jacob’s right; we have no evidence of hostility yet.” Shepard crossed his arms, thinking over what they knew. “And given the nature of the mission, we need to take the academic approach. Mordin, care to join us?”

“Hmmm. Unclear mission objective. Unknown circumstances. Complete lack of intelligence. No place for common scientist. Likely dangerous. Possibly lethal.” The salarian took a deep breath and smiled. “On other hand: Exploration. Mystery. New tech. New research. First dibs. Sounds like fun. If all the same to you, will skip the mission briefing. Have bacteria cultivating. Need to finish experiment before disembarking. Lack of supervision while on mission..." he paused, taking in another deep sniff of the air. "...problematic.”

Shepard nodded, the fast-talking scientist returning the gesture before moving to exit, turning right towards his lab just down the corridor.

Miranda turned to Shepard, clearing her throat softly to get the soldier’s attention.

“I take it that you’ll be taking Miss vas Normandy with you as well?” the genetically-engineered woman asked, her tone rimmed with a bit of disdain.

“Is there a problem?” Shepard responded, his own tone firm.

“Bringing along an alien mechanical genius, whose people have a penchant for salvaging, copying, and otherwise utilizing any tech they come across, access to what could be a game-changing xeno-technology found and rightly belonging to Humanity. No, I can’t imagine why I, or Cerberus for that matter, would have an objection to that,” Miranda stated, a hand on her hip as her tone dripped with sarcasm.

“Good,” Shepard said simply, his tone mockingly pleasant as he moved to the door, heading to the engineering sub-deck. “I would hate to think I was doing something Cerberus would object to.”

“Shepard… Wait,” Miranda started again, her expression softening. ”I trust you, you know that, right?”

The Commander paused at the door.

“Isn’t it about time you started trusting us?”

Without another word, he moved past the threshold, the automatic door closing behind him.

————————————————————

Normandy: Engineering

The engineering section that housed the Tantalus drive core, a massive element zero engine more than twice the size usually placed on a ship the size of the Normandy SR-2, was nearly empty now. Engineers Donnelly and Daniels had left their usual post in preparation for the installation of the Identify Friend/Foe transmitter that they had salvaged from the Reaper corpse only days earlier; technology that would (theoretically) allow them safe passage through the Omega-4 Relay.

The only other person that worked there, Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, was standing with her back to Shepard as he entered. A quarian woman snugly encased in a black and purple environmental suit, her three long fingers were flying over a holographic console as she worked to improve the output of Normandy’s engines. Sensing his approach, she turned, revealing her domed face-plate, reflective and obscuring, a hint of glowing white eyes and the edge of a small, human-like nose barely visible through the smoky purple glass.

“Shepard... I mean, um, Commander...” Tali started to wring her three fingered hands slightly, then relaxed, having been caught off guard. “I… um… we... have a mission?”

“It’s alright, Tali… It’s just us here.” Shepard smiled softly. “You sound like you’re doing better, but is everything alright?”

The Commander knew all too well that while the skintight suit she wore was beautiful to look at, it had a practical purpose. As the Quarians had been living for three hundred years in a sterile environment on their flotilla, made up of fifty thousand ships of all makes and models, their immune systems were severely weakened, forcing them to take extreme precautions as the simplest of infections could prove deadly. One such infection had recently given Tali a terrible fever which had kept her out of the field and on the ship for a time after she had left the flotilla to join him.

“Yes, I’ve recovered from the bug I got on the Alerai. But I was worried you might still be… cross... after what happened in the A.I. Core.”

“It was tense…” Shepard agreed, remembering the confrontation between Tali and Legion, a geth unit that had joined their cause. Given the long standing hostility between the Quarians and their A.I. creations, it hadn’t really been a surprise that the two had reached a boiling point. He was just thankful that he managed to defuse the situation. “Just… try not to pull a gun on any of the other crew members for a while, alright?”

“No promises,” Tali shook her head. “Miranda keeps coming down and quoting the Cerberus rulebook at me about 'technical limitations.'" She raised her hands, making small air-quotations. “I get the feeling she doesn’t trust me, and the feeling is mutual. I still don’t think that it’s a good idea working with Cerberus, Shepard. Your own government labels them as dangerous extremists.”

“I know… and I agree. But right now, they’re the only ones willing to help in the fight with the Collectors. And we humans have a saying: ‘When you deal with the Devil, you have to learn to dance around the flames.’”

Confusion didn’t translate very well, given Tali’s limited ability to show expression, but a slight tilt of her head indicated that she didn’t quite follow.

“Never mind…” Shepard shook his head with a smirk of amusement. “Anyway, about why I’m here: We have a new mission.”

Shepard laid out what he little he knew to the quarian, who responded with expected skepticism.

“Oh, I see…” Tali shook her head. “So, the Collectors are still abducting entire colonies at whim; over fifty thousand people at Ferris Fields last I heard... We are a hair away from having the means to go after them… and the Illusive Man is making us look for a battery?”

“I also suggested that finding what was left of the science team was a good idea as well.”

“Sorry, Commander, I think that Cerberus reached the limit of their altruism some time ago. They brought you back and built a new Normandy, sure. But everything since then that they’ve been credited with that has been any good has been your doing, not theirs.”

“Well, if you’d rather not…” Shepard stated, his tone flat before he was cut off.

“Shepard, you spoke on my behalf on the flotilla, saved my father’s reputation, and kept me from being exiled from my home. You don’t need to ask. You know I’m with you to whatever end.”

————————————————————

Normandy: Bridge

The Combat Information Center of the Normandy was a buzz of activity like usual as the various black, orange, and white-uniformed crew members of Cerberus’ Lazarus Cell continued on their duties, many nodding in respect towards Commander Shepard as the peerless soldier moved down the narrow corridor that led to the cockpit, where a familiar, snarky pilot was waiting.

“Hey, Commander, take a look. We drop out of FTL speed in a system outside Citadel Space, and for once there isn’t anyone trying to kill us.”

“Disappointed, Joker?” Shepard inquired with a slight smile.

“Oh, hell no, I’m savoring it. Seriously, this is a moment in history that may never happen again.” Jeff "Joker" Moreau turned in his pilot’s chair, the self-proclaimed "best damn pilot in the Alliance" and helmsman of the Normandy grinning slightly as he faced the black and white-armored Commander. “Garrus and I actually started a pool on how long it lasts… I’m betting on about half an hour before bullets start flying. You want in? Pot’s up to about eight hundred credits.”

“Your lack of confidence in my diplomatic abilities is very reassuring, Joker,” Shepard shook his head with some amusement.

“Are you kidding? I’m on the outside. Garrus has you mowing down bad guys at less than ten minutes and Grunt says you’ll be shot at before you even get out of the shuttle. Thane is saying you’ll make it back to the ship without killing anything, but that’s like saying you’re going to the planet of the fluffy space bunnies. Although, you know, I could cut you in for say… fifty percent if you kept the safety on for about twenty-five minutes…”

“Joker…” the Commander admonished curtly.

“Hey, just thought I’d let you know how the odds were stacking up.” Joker’s seat turned about again, his hands moving up to the console as the holographic displays flashed. “Alright, EDI, what do we have?”

“The star system designated 'AR-43281' has never been surveyed by the Systems Alliance. Our only records come from a batarian scout probe that performed a fly-by scan of the system approximately thirty-seven years ago.”

“What did the Batarians find, EDI?” Shepard inquired.

“Nothing of particular value. AR-43281 is a singular orange star system with four planets in orbit. The two closest to the sun are standard pressure cooker worlds in a constant molten state, while its third planet is a gas giant too small and too close to the star to be a suitable discharge point for element zero-driven ships. The fourth planet is terrestrial with a single moon, but well outside the habitable zone of the star. Zero atmosphere and a thin, porous crust unsuitable to sustain even minor structures, much less the weight of a standard starship. Sensors confirm the batarian probe’s findings of no resources of value.”

“Oh, hooooow exciting,” Joker mused. “Not to diss the boss’ tech squad, but maybe they got the transmission’s origin point wrong. I mean, come on… This is about as bland as space gets. What would they expect to find out here?”

“Nothing of particular value, Jeff,” EDI restated.

“See? Even the talking calculator agrees that this is a waste of--”

“Commander…” EDI interrupted Joker, drawing Shepard’s attention. “This system is so completely unremarkable that it’s tripping my logic filters.”

Shepard raised a brow at the curious tone that Normandy’s Enhanced Defense Intelligence had taken.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Sensors show a complete lack of any valuable resource. Not just low levels; a complete and utter lack of substance. No Element Zero, no Iridium, no Platinum, no Palladium, no heavy metals or beneficial gases of any sort. This system’s formation displays characteristics that are perfectly suited to prevent closer inspection. From an astrological standpoint, this is an improbability on the order of one hundred million to the tenth power to one.”

To this, Joker let out a long whistle.

“Man! That’s a LOT of zeroes.”

“There are only two possible explanations for this: Either we have stumbled onto the perfect storm of unrealistic solar system formation by chance; a scenario with a mathematically redundant probability of occurring…”

“Or the sensors are being deliberately fed false information,” Shepard reasoned.

“Scanning for the ‘mystery energy signature'…” Joker started, his tone surprisingly professional as his hand flipped through the screens of data projected in front of him. “And, bingo! Energy reading matched… Fourth planet… Holy… It’s off the charts!”

“How did the initial scans miss it?” Shepard asked, leaning over the helmsman’s chair to look closer at the monitors, himself impressed by the enormous spike in the readings.

“The energy signature is unlike any form of radioactivity encountered by the Citadel Races,” EDI explained. “It would be undetectable to anyone who wasn’t specifically looking for it. Without the energy signature sample we received from the Illusive Man, it would have read as nothing more than inert background radiation.”

With one look, Joker could tell one thing.

Shepard was convinced.

“Alright… Time to take a closer look.”

————————————————————

The Kodiak shuttle, affectionately referred to by Alliance Marines as the "Combat Cockroach" for its durability and snug interior, moved with a slight blue aura surrounding it as it slowly descended down the surface of the planet. A barren bluish-grey landscape dominated the viewports as thrusters maneuvered the shuttle in closer.

Inside, the strike team had donned full vacuum gear, Shepard’s fully-encompassing N7 helmet in place while Mordin was outfitted in a pressurized version of his own suit; a salarian "bubble" faceplate allowing him a full range of vision as Tali, already in her hermetically-sealed environmental suit, piloted the shuttle with expert skill across the kilometers-long approach vector leading to the source of the energy signature.

“Touchdown in three minutes, Shepard,” Tali called to the unit transport over the team’s comm channel.

“Acknowledged,” Shepard nodded, reaching up to his helmet in order to change over to another frequency. “EDI, what do we know?”

“Orbital visual scans of the planet’s surface have confirmed that sensors are no longer reliable. We have detected multiple non-terrestrial obstructions of unknown origin and composition in your immediate vector, contradicting both Normandy and the Kodiak’s detection.”

“I’m still not seeing anything up here, Commander,” Tali indicated.

“Intriguing. Pirates? Slavers? Unlikely. No fortifications. Too far from common trade routes. No ability to refuel," Mordin reasoned, off in his own world as he ran the probabilities. "Crash survivors? Refugees? Doubtful. No means of self-sufficiency. Environment too hostile for immediate adaptation. Ability to obscure vision with fibrous lambic growth inconsistent as well.”

Shepard paused a moment, turning to the salarian.

“Wool over our eyes, Mordin.”

“Pardon?”

“The expression is ‘pulling the wool over our eyes.'”

“That is what I said, is it not, Shepard?” the salarian defended himself offhandedly, pulling his pistol up for a quick inspection.

“Commander! You’d better see this!” Tali called back suddenly.

Pulling himself to his feet in an instant, Shepard rushed to the cockpit behind the seated quarian and immediately realized her sudden worry.

As they passed over a large canyon, the valley floor came into view and revealed something that the experienced Commander had never expected to find.

Laid out in neat, tidy rows were the skeletons of tens of dozens of starships of all shapes and sizes, laying like cold lifeless corpses stripped of their hulls and vital components with the efficiency of Earth army ants stripping flesh from bone.

“EDI, are you seeing this?” Shepard asked, pressing the comm in his helmet yet again.

“*skkksiii* --ing threshold of-- *kkkiisss* --commun-- *kkkkkiissaaass* --reestablish conta-- *sssskkkkkiiiisss*"

“Normandy, do you copy? Joker? EDI?”

“Surface-to-orbit communications jammed. Rules out natural phenomenon. Likelihood of trap increasing exponentially,” Mordin commented.

“Orders, Commander?” Tali asked, her tone even as her helmet obscured any of the growing tension.

“We have our mission… Find Dr. Milligan’s team. Let’s get to it. Set us down as close as you can to the source of the energy signature, Tali.”

The Kodiak dropped in altitude, its forward momentum cut off as thrusters put it into a hovering state to descend into a clearing between two of the larger vessels, each looking to be the size of a heavy cruiser. Ribs of dust-shrouded metal stood mute in the vacuum as the mass effect drive of the Kodiak cut out, dropping the ship the last few inches to the ground.

The troop container's door slid open with Commander Shepard taking the first step out, his standby rifle, a modded M-76 Revenant, still sheathed on its holster along his shoulder as he took in the scene, Tali and Mordin stepping out behind him.

“Keelah…” Tali looked up at the impressive structures; hollowed out frames of once-mighty vessels.

“Vessels captured. Stripped for parts. Impossible to tell if shot down and transported or forced to land in specific area.”

“It doesn’t look like a ship graveyard…” Shepard mentioned, taking a few cautious steps as the soil crunched underfoot. “More like a salvage lot. I don’t recognize any of these designs, though. Tali, what would it take to do all of this?”

“A lot of patience and a precise understanding of the ships' designs,” the quarian said. “Stripping a ship to its bones like this is time consuming. It’s even harder than building the vessel from the ground up. Even my people are not so strained for materials as to remove EVERY piece of armor plating and computer component. It’s easier and more efficient to just refit and repair a damaged ship with salvage than it is to tear one completely apart. Otherwise, planets like Korlus wouldn’t exist because space-faring species would just reuse everything.”

Shepard remembered all too well the polluted, debris-littered landscape of Korlus, the ‘"Scrapyard of the Galaxy." A lawless backwater world on which the only industry was further devastating its own environment by accepting the trash and scrap from every species in the Terminus Systems.

Shepard looked about on the ground, trying to get some grasp of what was going on here as he realized something else that was strange.

The only markings in the soft, crunchy soil were the bootprints belonging to himself and his team. Aside from that, the landscape was completely, unnaturally smooth.

“Stay sharp and be ready for anything,” Commander Shepard indicated, continuing to move with a cautious step, trying to get a feel of the area’s layout as the team moved for several minutes, a heavy tension building as they moved in silence along the row of starship corpses.

“That one looks… batarian,” Tali pointed out, nodding towards a squat, stunted-looking frigate skeleton half the size of the Normandy. “Kusharrd Class… Obsolete civilian exploration. We have a few in the flotilla. The Batarians stopped making them over a century ago.”

“Are you certain?” Mordin asked, drawing a very exaggerated turn and stare from Tali.

“I’m a Quarian,” Tali stated bluntly. “I’m certain.”

“What about the rest of these?” Shepard looked from stripped vessel to another, knowing all too well that the metal nooks and crannies could easily be concealing ambushing snipers or perhaps lucky survivors hiding out.

“They’re no design I’ve ever seen,” Tali admitted, much to her chagrin.

“Age impossible to determine. Could be centuries old. Millenia.”

“Prothean?” Shepard inquired.

“Possibility. Perhaps even older. Consider: Vacuum. Distance from star. Low corrosive nature of soil. Low gravity. Factors could preserve frames indefinitely.”

There was a bit of silence as the team looked about, the quiet far more unnerving to the team than if they were put to a firefight.

*KKKRRRRIIISSSSS*

As Shepard’s communicator suddenly sprung to life, the trained Commander nearly jumped in shock, having to suppress his initial reaction as he took control and set a finger to the side of his helmet.

“EDI? Is that you? Come in!”

“*sssskkkss* --epard! Normandy is under att-- *kiisssssss* --rom the moon! We’re falling ba-- *kkkiisssss* --ort mission! Abo-- *kkkissss*"

Shepard felt his heart pounding in his pressurized armor as he turned, recognizing the strained, controlled tone as Miranda’s.

“Miranda! What’s going on!?”

Static was all that answered him.

“Back to the shuttle! Double time!” Shepard shouted, turning as he started to sprint, following their footprints back along the edges of the starship skeletons.

Moving at full speed, it was only a moment later that the strike team came into view of the Kodiak shuttle, the trio coming to a sudden halt as a burst of light suddenly brought their attention skyward.

A flash of light that seemed to explode outward as it impacted the planet’s weak magnetosphere, sending out a wave of energy that broke the light spectrum of the distant star, creating a colorful rainbow-like aurora ring that spread out in all directions overhead.

Two seconds later, the burst of prismatic light lanced down to the surface with the force of a precision orbital strike, creating the appearance of a bold, perfectly-formed rainbow impacting the ground.

Or, more precisely, impacting the Kodiak.

The explosion was silent, but the shockwave of the detonating eezo core could be both seen and felt as dust was kicked up, sending the trio back a step as they felt their kinetic barriers absorb the brunt of the impact.

“FALL BACK! FALL BACK! GET UNDER SHELTER!” Shepard cried, turning to rush towards the shelter of one of the larger ship frames, setting his back to a wall.

“So much for our transport!” Tali called out, keeping her calm but obviously concerned.

“Precision orbital strike. Zero fallout. Zero collateral damage,” Mordin commented, his tone also a bit frantic, but maintaining his analytical nature. “Problematic. Visually stunning though. Artistically impressive.”

“Well, I’m glad you admired the colors,” Tali replied flatly.

Shepard watched the sky for a moment as he tried to get some idea of the source of the blast.

Then he saw it, at the surface of the moon that hung large in the sky… A pinpoint of color… growing from a small shimmering twinkle to a dot against the purplish-blue backdrop.

“MOVE!!” Shepard ordered, breaking into a run from the pillars of the large ship frame, his companions following suit without hesitation.

Mere seconds later, the burst of color broke over the magnetosphere again, creating the rippling rainbow pattern that parted around the beam of energy lacing directly into the structure of the cruiser they had taken refuge in. The three barely made it clear in time as the metal frame began to crack and break apart from the shock of a direct impact.

Shepard had to admit, even by his standards, this looked bad.

And he’d already been killed once before.

His comm suddenly crackled to life again, a private channel suddenly activating.

“Miranda? EDI? Come in!” Shepard watched the sky, having to resist the futile urge to pull out his rifle, as it would do nothing in this current situation.

“Commander Shepard.”

The voice was calm… almost cold… and while he did not recognize it, it sounded distinctly female. And if Shepard was any judge… human.

“Who is this? How did you get this frequency?”

“Move to the bunker.”

Shepard looked up and around frantically, unsure it it was the calm tone of the voice or the mystery of who was behind it that worried him more.

“Bunker? What bunker?” he demanded.

“I am uploading the location to your helmet’s guidance system,” the voice said.

No sooner had she finished speaking when a white diamond and distance meter appear on Shepard’s heads up display, directing him towards the valley wall.

“How are you accessing my on-board V.I? Who is this!?” Shepard demanded again.

“A friend,” the voice insisted, although it remained emotionless. “You must hurry. I am stalling the automated targeting, but I cannot keep it occupied for long. Incoming fire on your location.”

Shepard spared a fraction of a second to look skyward again, noting the sparkle of color against the moon’s surface.

“MOVE! THIS WAY!” Shepard cried out, having very little choice at this point than to trust whoever had hacked their communications. Breaking into a sprint, Mordin and Tali followed suit, rushing after him as another impact could be felt behind them, threatening to send the trio rolling off their feet.

It was a frantic rush, hearts pumping as they dodged around the rows of ships wordlessly, while behind them, explosions and impacts could be felt with growing frequency, sending shards of debris to the ground as the ship remains were indiscriminately devastated.

“Bunker doors opening… Hurry, Shepard. I can only override the lockdown for a few moments,” the voice came again over the Commander’s comm system, encouraging him to redouble his efforts as he saw the wall of the valley seem to break open. The rock face slid apart to reveal a hidden passage that had been invisible to both the naked eye and sensors only moments before.

The blasts behind them were growing closer together, indicating a more rapid fire pattern as the prismatic beam chased after the squad while they ducked and vaulted over cover.

It was close, but the Commander slowed his pace as they approached the opening, turning to motion his companions inside while watching another blast impact the ground just short of the entrance before throwing himself past the threshold. The shockwave caught him and threatened to send him rolling to the floor before the stone door snapped shut with a resounding clunk.

The team was plunged into darkness for a few moments before a glowing yellow ambiance set in, revealing a bare stone-walled room. Pulling themselves to their feet, the crew of the Normandy were shocked as they felt a sudden hissing against their respective suits… and the rush of air pressure washing over them from hidden vents.

“It’s an airlock…” Tali stated the obvious, looking about as she caught her breath, Mordin bringing up his omni-tool to take readings.

“Intriguing. Advanced tech blended seamlessly with environment. Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide atmosphere within acceptable parameters. Pressurization point zero-zero-one degrees off from Citadel standard. No foreign bacteria or microbes detected. Airlock is sterile. Recommend saving zero-atmo air tanks for when needed.” Mordin made his point by reaching up and removing his bubble-mask.

“How did you know this was here, Shepard?” Tali asked, tapping on her own omni-tool as she switched over from her stored oxygen tanks to her primary filter, Shepard doing likewise as he removed his helmet, allowing it to collapse and be set into a side receptacle at his hip.

“Somebody hacked my communicator…” Shepard explained. “Addressing me by name. She said something about stalling the targeting program and gave me directions… She called this place ‘the bunker.'"

“So it could have been whoever was shooting at us,” Tali sighed. “And here I thought we caught a break.”

“Hmm...” Mordin brought his fingers to his lip, clearly thinking. “Unlikely. Targeting too precise. Easier to invite in than attempt to kill. Repeated shots indicate genuine desire for casualties.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tali nodded. “Or… it could have been one of the Cerberus scientists… Maybe they found this place and have managed control of some of its systems.”

“That’s definitely possible...” Shepard brought his hand up to his ear, pressing the comm. “Hello… Can you read me? This is Commander Shepard. We are inside the bunker. Do you read?”

There was nothing, not even static.

“Hmph. Assist in rescue, then radio silence. Rude. No way to treat rescuers,” Mordin said indignantly.

“So, now what?” Tali asked.

As if to answer the inquiry, a door on the opposite side of the bunker’s entrance opened, introducing a more intense light to the visitors.

“I guess we see if anybody’s home,” Shepard mused, reaching up to pull his Revenant from his shoulder, the collapsible rifle extending as he took point, his posture on the defensive as Tali and Mordin followed suit.

Like the entrance, the corridor was blended well into the natural environment, clearly having been carved out of the natural rock face, although glowing tubes of white light acted as guidelines along the walls.

Pausing for a moment, Tali ran her omni-tool over one of the lights.

“Shepard, this energy signature is a match to Dr. Milligan’s sample,” she told them.

“They use it to keep the lights on?” Shepard asked, genuinely surprised. He had expected that whatever this was, it was some sort of engine or drive, like the eezo cores used on every starship in the galaxy. But every ship also had secondary sources of power (microfusion cells in Humanity's case) to run things such as lights, life support, and non-critical electrical.

“It looks that way. Incredibly versatile. Especially if this was powering whatever was just shooting at us out there.”

“Cerberus’ interest understandable now,” Mordin interrupted, his eyes looking all about for signs of activity. “Sufficient output required to manifest destructive potential on such scale long been science fiction. Impossible to generate for practical use.”

“Tali, can you tell if whatever is running this is active? Or are we looking at some sort of automated system?” Shepard asked.

“No, these lights are strictly secondary energy lines. I can’t tell anything from this. We need to find some sort of interface, then I can get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

“Alright, let’s move on. Weapons ready but check your targets. Unless it’s a husk or a Collector, I’d prefer to talk to it first,” Shepard ordered, motioning his friends forward as they moved up the line, Tali keeping a watch behind them as they went.

“I swear, with that mentality we’ll just as soon end up with another Legion on board...” Tali muttered under her breath, Shepard smirking as it read clearly over their communicators.

Reaching the end of the corridor, another rock wall opened up automatically, admitting the three in without any question to a large, open, circular chamber with no obvious exits and several large crystalline structures emitting light.

“Remind me to file a complaint with the architect,” Tali sighed, chattering a bit as she drummed her fingers nervously on her shotgun. “They need to mark the doors better.”

“Defensive position perhaps. Or main foyer,” Mordin commented, moving around as the three started to move in a tight formation back to back towards the center of the room.

As they moved away, the opening leading back the way they came closed suddenly, blending in seamlessly with the stone to the point where it was impossible to tell it had been open moments before.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Commander,” Tali said, her shotgun still at the ready.

Tali's hunch proved accurate, as the gentle white light suddenly started to pulse with a red tint, accompanied by a soft ringing that could have only been an alarm.

“You just had to say it, didn’t you, Tali?” Shepard shook his head.

Without warning, dozens of gleaming mechanical tendrils exploded from the floor like miniaturized thresher maws, each moving independently as they turned and opened with claw-like extensions sprouting from their tips.

As much as he would have liked to believe this was something he could deal with using diplomacy, Shepard had to admit that there was little mistaking their apparent host’s intent with those.

“Weapons free!” Shepard shouted, bringing his rifle to bear as he unleashed a burst of kinetic force from the Revenant, shredding the tendrils in his immediate line of sight as Mordin and Tali followed suit.

As gunfire echoed about the chamber, Shepard fell into a familiar combat zone, his reflexes outpacing his thinking as targets became available. There were the sounds of his compatriots' weapons discharging and the occasional click and hissing indicating a thermal clip had been expended as they held off the prehensile enemies with a steady stream of fire.

He realized almost too late that they were hardly winning as injured tendrils withdrew, only to be replaced by new ones that seemed to sprout from the floor endlessly.

“Hold the line!” Mordin called out, echoing the famous words of the valiant salarian Captain Kirahee, with whom both he and Shepard had worked with in the past.

“Shepard, now would be a good time for a better plan!” Tali threw her hand forward as she activated one of the programs on her omni-tool and sent an overload of energy through a tendril’s metal frame, causing it to spasm before falling over.

“Working on it!” Shepard cried back, keeping the stream of kinetic bullets flying until his thermal clip was exhausted.

In the moment it took him to eject the clip, a motion that was like second nature to him, a tendril launched forward, breaching the ring of fire that had formed around the three sentients and seizing the Commander’s arm. At first believing that it was attempting to snare his weapon, Shepard’s initial reaction was to twist the Revenant around to dislodge his attacker, but quickly the Commander realized that it seemed far less concerned with the rifle than it did with the Commander himself as it pulled him forward.

With a grunt, Shepard was lifted off his feet as two more of the tendrils seized him, pulling him away from his companions.

And much to Tali’s astonishment, the onslaught suddenly relented, tendrils before her retracting into the ground as suddenly as they emerged, giving a few moments of stunned shock before the salarian and quarian realized the situation developing behind them. They turned to see the Commander struggling against a quartet of tendrils that were grappling with his weight as a chute opened up along the base of one wall.

“Commander!” Mordin turned, firing several shots that disabled one of the tendrils with remarkable precision while Tali rushed forward, discarding her shotgun as its spread would prove too dangerous, instead reaching out to try and pull him back.

But all too late as the tendrils managed with some effort to pull the struggling, grunting human towards the chute, where he disappeared into darkness in spite of his valiant struggle.

Diving into a slide to try and catch his hand, Tali was cut off as the chute closed suddenly, seamlessly cutting them off from the Commander of the Normandy.

"SHEPAAAARD!!"

————————————————————

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Shepard looked at his reflection a moment longer, bordering on the brink of complete disbelief as a grey-eyed, red-furred equine looked back at him. “Is this some kind of joke!?”

Turning to look back over himself, his eyes confirmed what was in the mirror as he found himself standing on all fours, his back legs turned to haunches as his arms and legs were now all legs, ending in hooves.

“Oh! A joke! I love jokes! Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A manticore, a dragon, and a hydra walk into a bar--” the puffy-haired equine started before being cut off by the purple horned one.

“Not now, Pinkie!” she started, looking with worry to the colt. “Hey, are you okay?”

Shepard was so far away from okay that it was difficult to put into words as he ran over the events in his mind.
Not since waking up at the Lazarus Base to discover that he had been dead for two years and was patched together by an organization he had considered his enemy before his revival had he been so overwhelmed.

He could handle the alien encounter, pastel grass chewers and all. But as it all came back to him: The mission in uncharted space... The orbital bombardment with the rainbow beam... Discovering the bunker and being captured by those tendrils... Thrust into a darkness punctuated by mysterious voices casually discussing his fate... He was finding it difficult to focus on what he should do next.

Shepard shook his head in frustration.

“Tali and Mordin, where are they?” he demanded suddenly, his first thought being of his crew.

The yellow equine and the purple one looked to one another with sincerely confused expression before turning to the red stallion.

“I’m sorry, who?” the purple horse-thing inquired.

“I found you at the edge of the forest... Did you have friends with you? Oh my goodness... I should go see if I can find them!” the winged creature started, placing a hoof against her mouth as if in shock.

Then she did something that Shepard would have thought impossible.

She levitated... her entire body rising off the ground with only a few beats of those two yellow wings along her backside, midway down her spine, as she reared back and prepared to charge forward with a soundless thrust.

Only to have her long pink tail caught by the purple one in her teeth.

The slight jerk pulled the yellow equine to the ground, although Shepard remained in stunned awe that the creature had been airborne at all.

“Hold on, Fluttershy! Just, hold on...”

The purple creature turned back to Shepard, her purple eyes narrowing sternly as she looked him over.

“First things first... My name is Twilight Sparkle. Who are you, where are you from, and what are you doing here?”

Choices:

"Commander Shepard, Citadel Spectre." (Tell the Truth)

~~"I was hoping you could tell me." (Feign Ignorance)~~

~~"I'll ask the questions, here!" (Act Accusingly)~~

Part 3: Over a Rainbow

View Online

“Commander Shepard, Citadel Spectre and C.O. of the ship Normandy SR-2,” the red-furred pony said with a tone of finality (as if that explained everything) as he turned to face Twilight. He took a disciplined stance as he stood at attention, his shoulders back and head high, immediately giving Twilight an impression of authority. “Now, I want to know what you--”

“OH, OH, OH!! A specter!?” Pinkie bounced on her hooves frantically as she suddenly zipped to the stallion’s side and started to poke his shoulder. “So can you walk through walls? Turn invisible? Fly? Possess living ponies? Make spooooky noises? Oh, that would be so cool! Can you do it now? Huh? Huh? Huh? It’s easy! Like this: Wooooooooooooooouuuuuu...”

“Oh, for the love of…” Twilight set her hoof to her face as her hyperactive friend proceeded to jab the new pony relentlessly before waving her forelegs in a mock-creepy manner, drawing a concerned look from the colt’s cold grey eyes.

“Would you mind not doing that?” Shepard asked, clearly growing annoyed as he drew one hoof up and pulled away from the pink earth pony’s prodding.

“You’re awfully heavy for a ghost, you know, and really thick and solid. It’s like poking Big Mac,” Pinkie continued, apparently unaware of the red colt’s growing discomfort.

“PINKIE PIE!” Twilight scolded. “Cut it out! He is not a ghost! There are no such things as ghosts.”

“But, what about--”

“Or wraiths, or phantoms, or specters!“

“Awwwwwwww…” The pink pony drew back, obviously disappointed.

“There isn’t?” a soft voice came from behind Twilight, drawing the purple unicorn’s attention to Fluttershy, who had apparently dove in fright under the bed Shepard had stumbled off of.

Twilight grunted a bit as she looked to the clearly confused stallion, giving the pink pony a slight glare until she finally got the message and stepped away.

“It’s obviously a military title, girls. I mean, come on.” Twilight shook her head before turning a more apologetic tone to Shepard. “Sorry about that. You were saying?”

“What did you do to me?” Shepard demanded suddenly, his firm tone taking the unicorn off guard.

“I’m not sure I follow…” Twilight raised a brow.

“Why am I a horse?”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, an action that pushed the Commander’s already frayed nerves a bit further as he managed to retain his cool.

“I hope you notice that I’m being very… very calm considering the circumstances, and I hope we can work something out peacefully… But I want to know what is going on, RIGHT now!”

His tone booked no argument, and both Fluttershy and Pinkie seemed to realize this, moving behind the purple unicorn as their concern and wonder turned to a more defensive appraisal of the colt that called himself "Shepard."

“Now, hold on there. We're trying to help you…” Twilight waved a hoof defensively, intending to show that she didn’t want to present any sort of hostility to this stranger. “As I said, my name is Twilight Sparkle. This is Fluttershy…”

She gestured to the yellow pony behind her, who squeaked slightly and drew herself behind Twilight as the stallion’s gaze moved over to her.

“And this is--”

“Pinkamina Diane Pie,” the pink equine stepped forward, interrupting her friend and grinning widely as she extended a hoof, clearing intending to shake Shepard’s.

Shepard did not take it, tilting his head in confusion.

“Diane?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“That’s a human name,” Shepard observed.

“What’s a human?” The pink equine’s grin didn’t falter for a moment.

“Well, me. I’m human,” Shepard answered, then paused as he looked down at his chest and hooves. “Except apparently I’m a horse right now… Okay, back to the question: Why am I a horse?”

“You’re not a horse,” Twilight answered plainly, her tone still careful as she realized that something was clearly off with her guest. “You're a pony… and so are we.”

Ponies?

Shepard had been in some very strange situations in his time, but this certainly took the cake.

Watching him a moment longer, Twilight’s eyes narrowed a bit in puzzlement before she continued.

“This is the town of Ponyville, in the land of Equestria, though that much should be obvious to anypony,” she explained. “Ringing any bells yet?”

“No… I was…” Shepard shook his head, trying to piece together what had happened. "I was with my team… We were under attack in a bunker… What happened to them? Was I taken offworld? What planet is this? What system? Am I still in the Attican Traverse? The Terminus? Citadel Space?”

At an apparent loss for words, Twilight just watched the red-furred colt as Fluttershy stepped forward.

“I found you at the edge of the Everfree Forest…” she explained, her lower lip trembling slightly. “You looked like you were hurt. I just wanted to help…”

If this was some sort of an interrogation, then Shepard couldn’t help but think it was the most effective method he had ever seen. That trembling lip did more to throw him off guard than if he had woken up tied to a table with some brutish torturer standing over him.

In spite of the outrageous situation he found himself in; in spite of not recognizing his own reflection and face to face with three intelligent creatures from a species that shouldn’t have been intelligent, he managed to get a grip on himself.

This was no time for rash and panicked actions against these creatures, especially since at face value, they were showing no signs of hostility.

...Yet.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m just a bit shaken up. Thank you for your help... but this is all very wrong,” Shepard stated, his nerves feeling more relaxed as he started to think through the situation aloud. “As I said, I’m Commander Shepard. I'm a human from the Systems Alliance and commanding officer of the frigate: Normandy SR-2… I was investigating a planet in the Hawking Eta Cluster when I was separated from my crew in an underground bunker looking for some sort of alien power-source.”

There was a few moments of awkward silence as Shepard finished speaking, the three mares looking back and forth to one another before all three gave Shepard a large, and obviously forced, grin.

“Oooookay…” Twilight’s voice was pleasant, but filled with a very concerned tone. “Uhhh, Pinkie? Could you... entertain the ‘Commander’ for a moment? Fluttershy... a word.”

“Look, I just want to know what--” Shepard started before Pinkie interposed herself between him and the unicorn named Twilight, immediately launching into speech.

“OH! I know things, we can talk about all sorts of things. What sort of things you wanna talk about? I mean, outer space pony, wooooah! Do you have moon pies where you come from? Or moon cheese with moon crackers... You like crackers, don’t you? I know I do, kinda like cookies except they're all flat and salty. I like my crackers with hot sauce, but I also like my cupcakes with hot sauce. OH! You know what? We need cupcakes for the party! You see, I throw a party for everypony that comes to town! We’ll have cookies and cupcakes and games and...”

As the pink earth pony moved up to Shepard, her mouth running at full tilt, Twilight tugged the yellow Pegasus a bit to the side. Looking over to make sure the talkative mare was succeeding in blocking the stallion’s attention (which was evident as his ears folded back and an annoyed expression crossed his face) she lowered her own voice.

“Okay, we have a problem.”

“I’ll say...” Fluttershy agreed. “Poor Commander Shepard, losing his friends like that... and then turned into a pony. It’s incredible.”

Twilight gave her naive, timid friend a flat look.

“Yeah... 'incredible' is the word... Come on, Fluttershy... He’s not really a space pony; he’s completely nuts.” Twilight rolled her eyes a bit as she explained. “But apparently he thinks he is... whatever he said... 'hew-man' or whatever... and that’s bad enough. But who knows where he came from? He could really be dangerous. Like an escaped mental ward patient or something. Look, I need you to go to the hospital and see if you can get them to send somepony out here.”

“But, Twilight...” Fluttershy interrupted as the droning tone of Pinkie’s voice continued in the background, the unicorn having learned long ago how to tune herself out from the baker’s constant prattle.

“Pinkie and I will play along and make him stay put until some professionals can get here.”

“But... Twilight... I don’t think that will...”

“I can let him use my telescope. It may stall him long enough if he’s looking for his ‘mothership’ or whatever... Just stay calm and move to the door while I...” Twilight turned around...

Then paused as she took in the scene behind her.

Pinkie Pie had never stopped talking it seemed, and was now several feet away, her hooves against a bookcase and a blindfold over her eyes as she seemed to be deeply focused in a demonstration of how one of her favorite games worked.

“...then you just try to pin the tail on the pony. See? Simple. Well, of course you can’t see... or rather I can’t see, but you won’t be able to see when it’s your turn... That’s kinda the point. I can’t believe you’ve never played this game before! It’s a lot of fun and--”

“Pinkie! Where did he go!?” Twilight demanded, looking around her room in worry as she realized that the colt had vanished.

“Where did who go?” Pinkie looked around, the blindfold still over her eyes as she turned towards Twilight’s voice. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“Oh no... Oh no, oh no... We have to find him,” Twilight said as she shuffled on her hooves worriedly. “He’s delusional... There’s no telling what he might do. Fluttershy! Get to the hospital and get somepony that can help!"

“Uhh... O-okay...” Fluttershy drew back a bit, still unsure why Twilight was so panicked about this colt.

“Pinkie, we have to--” Twilight started.

“AAAAAIIEEEEE!!” the pink earth pony shrieked suddenly, making Twilight’s mane almost stand on end. “I’M BLIIIIND!!!”

Twilight’s look of horror gave away to annoyance as she reached a hoof over and lifted the party mare’s blindfold.

…

Pinkie Pie blinked several times.

…

“I CAN SEE! IT’S A MIRACLE!"

“Never mind... I’ll go find him on my own. Just... try not to hurt yourself,” Twilight huffed as she started out the door after the obviously disturbed stallion.

“Anyways, that's how you play Pin the Tail on the...” Pinkie Pie stopped suddenly, looking around. “Oh... Where did he go?”

————————————————————

Shepard huffed in spite of himself, the action feeling quite natural as a frown took place on his muzzle and he made his way down the stairs, able to still hear the talkative pink alien calling herself "Pinkie Pie" jabbering on about a childish game.

On the one hand, he almost felt bad about taking such deliberate advantage of her childlike enthusiasm.

On the other, he felt like he needed to save whatever sanity he had left before his brains melted out of his ears. Seriously, the way this "pony" talked made Mordin’s breakneck speech pattern almost seem normal.

As he moved down the stairs and looked around at the library, which he now was certain was carved out of a still living tree, he took stock of his situation.

He was on an unknown (and to his knowledge, uncatalogued) alien planet, his physiology somehow completely altered to match the natives. He was completely unarmed, and as he checked his armor, he realized, completely lacking in his standard tech. His omni-tool was still in place on his... leg... but completely inactive. His kinetic barriers were also dead and his armor’s V.I. was not responding.

He still had his armor though, and as far as he could tell, it was indeed his armor. He didn’t know how or why, but it seemed to have been altered with the rest of him during whatever had been done to his body before he was dropped into this place.

Unless this was all a very clever and elaborate ruse to lull him into a false sense of security, he got the feeling that he wasn’t exactly a prisoner... As annoying as Pinkie Pie’s yakking was, it was hardly torture. And as bizarre as the situation was, his gut told him that these three ponies were not actively hostile towards him... If anything, they were downright kind. Something that was rare enough in the galaxy.

Except for the fact that they thought he was crazy.

Then again, in retrospect, he really couldn’t blame them for their ignorance. Now that he had a moment to consider it, judging from his surroundings, these "ponies" didn’t seem to be very advanced at all. And if they didn’t recognize his claim of being a Council Spectre, that meant only one thing: This society was completely unaware of the significance that title carried.

If this was indeed a Pre-First Contact society, his interactions so far would have already been considered illegal and immoral by both Citadel Galactic Law and Alliance Military Doctrine. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of adhering to either set of statutes at this point. His first priority, before even trying to figure out how he had been turned into this strange, four-legged creature, was to determine where he was and try to contact either his team or the Normandy.

Moving to the door and pausing for only a moment to hear the voice of Twilight cut through the room above, Shepard set one of his... hooves... against the door and pushed it open, hoping it led somewhere else.

Stepping out into a bright sunlight, the Commander managed half a dozen paces before stopping in stunned awe.

The smell of grass... Actual grass... The sound of birds chirping in the air... The crystal blue sky dotted with white clouds bathed in warm yellow sunlight.

And before him, dozens of candy-colored pastel pony creatures milled about, moving into and out of white brick buildings with thatched roofs and a pleasant overhanging architecture that was of a familiar cultural design.

Commander Shepard had been to hundreds of different planets... Had encountered every sort of habitat imaginable, from garden worlds to barren ice planets to ammonia-filled deathtraps.

But only one planet he had ever set foot on looked and felt like this.

Almost as if to confirm this conclusion, a small hummingbird fluttered down in front of the spacer, apparently looking him over for a moment before its wings, moving faster than the eye could keep up with, carried it aloft.

“Earth...” he found himself saying in shock.

“Not exactly.”

The voice; a soft, calm, female tone, came from his side, causing the Commander to turn quickly as he instinctively drew himself a bit lower in defense.

It had been a very long time since someone had managed to sneak up on him, let alone get that close. And now he remembered just how much he hated the feeling.

Standing there beside him, as if she had been there walking parallel with him the entire time, was a dark blue-colored equine alien; a pony-creature like the three he had left behind, only a bit taller. A horn jutted from her forehead and wings were folded against her back, but unlike Twilight and Fluttershy, who shared these traits, this one had a flowing mane that shimmered like a dark night sky, pinpoints of light sparkling like stars from within.

She did not turn to meet Shepard’s gaze, instead staring out over the township that he had discovered.

“Who are you!?” Shepard demanded, now feeling naked without so much as a sidearm to bring up in his defense.

“The reason you are still alive, Commander Shepard,” the cryptic creature stated plainly, never so much as glancing in his direction. “You will need her.”

“What?” the Commander pulled himself up, looking over the winged unicorn for a moment.

“Show her the truth,” the creature’s tone retained its calm, collected nature.

“I don’t understand what you're talking about.”

“There you are!”

Shepard turned his head to face the purple horned pony as she came out of the door after him at a quick trot, clearly relieved that he hadn’t gone very far.

“I thought you had... Never mind. Look... Mister Shepard. Why don’t you come back inside and we can... Hold on, who were you just talking to?” Twilight raised a brow suspiciously as she looked over the colt.

Shepard turned back and was stunned to see that the space beside him was vacant save for the grass, the winged unicorn having vanished into thin air.

“...I don’t know... But she’s gone now,” Shepard stated in spite of himself, although half a moment later he realized that he wasn’t helping his case.

Shaking his head, the Commander looked back to Twilight, who was approaching him cautiously.

“It’s alright, Shepard. I’m sure that we can help you if you just--”

“Miss Sparkle...” Shepard started, his tone firm. “I know how this must sound to you, but I am not insane. I’m also not some brain-damaged child, so please don’t patronize me.”

“Okay...” Twilight’s tone hardened as well, stopping just short of the Commander as she took a more sturdy stance, her hooves planted on the ground firmly. “Then let’s be rational and reasonable about this. You expect me to believe that you’re some sort of an alien?”

“Yes.”

“And that you’re not a pony at all.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then prove it.” Twilight smirked slightly, believing that she had found a simple method of derailing the disturbed stallion’s delusion.

Shepard was not amused.

“Aside from my armor, which is a nano-steel polymer over hardened ceramic plates that I doubt could be manufactured on this planet, I am currently wearing six different technologically advanced devices, including a kinetic barrier generator, a medi-gel induction system, and a holographic interface computer known as an omni-tool,” he stated plainly.

Twilight drew back a bit at the claim, looking the red colt up and down for a moment.

“O-okay, then... Well... ummm... Let’s see them.”

“...They’re not working right now.”

Twilight smirked again.

“Oh, of course they’re not.”

Shepard huffed again, growing impatient. He didn’t have time for this.

“Look, you don’t have to believe me and I don’t have to prove anything to you,” Shepard stated, stomping a hoof as he turned and started away. “I didn’t ask for your help anyways.”

There was a flash of purple energy that brought the Commander up short as he found himself face to face with the unicorn, who had instantly interposed herself in front of him.

“You didn’t have to ask! You were dragged unconscious to my home, so you’ll forgive me if I feel a little responsible for--”

“How did you do that?” Shepard inquired, seriously impressed.

“It’s magic... Now look... I'm trying to say that--”

“It looked like a spatial fold.”

“You don’t need to be wandering around in your condition with--" Twilight stopped suddenly. “W-wait, what?”

“A spatial fold. A twisting of space-time used to push an object over short distances to an exact point quickly in order to create the illusion of instantaneous teleportation across a space,” Shepard explained in a bit heavier detail, looking the unicorn up and down more appraisingly. “I’ve seen it done before, but how did you manage to dissipate the energy without creating a shockwave?”

“Shockwaves are dangerous. And besides, they only occur if there is a surplus of kinetic energy around the bubble. All you have to do is give it just enough to..." Twilight stopped herself in mid-explanation, wide-eyed as she realized what she was saying. “Wait just a second... You’re an earth pony!”

“Technically, I’m a human.”

“Whatever! That is advanced magical theory... Unicorn technical jargon that's discussed in magical equations and spell mechanics. I spent weeks working on papers to explain that exact concept in my studies! How do you--”

“Where I come from, we call it Mass Effect,” Shepard explained. “We use it for everything from propelling our ships beyond the speed of light to crushing materials into super-dense forms and structures. There are also rare individuals who can use similar abilities that are called biotics. Of course, my own understanding of biotic abilities is limited, but I have several friends who are experts on the subject.”

“Unicorns?” Twilight seemed far less sure of herself now, looking the red colt up and down.

“Asari mostly... and one particularly disturbed human,” Shepard explained.

Twilight seemed at a loss now, taking a step back and looking the stallion up and down as if he had just performed some sort of remarkable feat.

“Still think I’m crazy?” Shepard asked, taking some satisfaction in how the "unicorn" had been caught off guard by what was (to him) an elementary understanding of one of the most important physical effects in the galaxy.

“Yes,” Twilight answered without hesitation.

Shepard didn’t give any reply to this honest response, instead beginning to move again, sidestepping around the purple unicorn as he started away from the library in a bold, even stride.

Twilight stood there for a moment, trying to come to terms with her situation as she considered the implications of what she had just heard.

This really didn’t involve her.

She could easily just let him go. Let him walk away and be somepony else’s problem. She could notify the authorities and let them deal with the stallion. It wouldn’t be like he was hard to find; He stuck out like a sore hoof.

And it was obvious that, whoever he was, he was trouble.

Twilight bit her lip slightly.

“Awwww... Buck it.”

She turned and raced after the red colt.

————————————————————
The Bunker

“Normandy, respond. Commander Shepard, respond.”

Professor Mordin Solus checked the communications for what might have been the dozenth time, his mild readjustments to the long range comms still failing to break through whatever signal was jamming them.

The salarian took a deep breath as he looked about the cavernous foyer that he and his quarian compatriot had been trapped in for the better part of the last half hour, the red crystal-like light source still granting an ambient glow.

“Hmm. Odd sensation. Novel. Believe it is commonly referred to as ‘boredom.’ Do not care for it. Any luck?”

Tali'Zorah’s fingers flew over her omni-tool as she scanned over the rock wall, the small holographic screens offering little in the way of reassurance.

“I think this is a door here, but there are no interfaces. No physical locks, nothing to bypass or decrypt.” The frustrated quarian deactivated her omni-tool and let out a grunt of frustration. “UGH!! I hate this place! Nothing makes sense!”

“Systems clearly under intelligent control. Gave us air, direction. Herded to this point. Wanted Shepard. Once acquired, ignored us. Why?”

“Maybe because it doesn’t see us as a threat?” Tali shrugged, taking a breath before bringing up her omni-tool again.

Mordin considered this a moment, turning to take note of Commander Shepard’s rifle, which had been set aside for the time being.

“Or perhaps because it does.” Mordin reached around to his hip and removed his pistol, looking at it for a moment.

“What?”

“Tali'Zorah... Cease hacking attempt. Remove armaments. Try more polite approach.”

“Are you crazy? We could be killed.”

“Host could terminate in multitude of different ways: Radiation introduced into chamber. Vent airlock and let us suffocate when zero-atmo tanks run out. Continue attack with metallic tendrils until weapons exhausted. Chooses not to.”

“But we’re still trapped.”

“In buffer area. Between airlock and main bunker.” Mordin walked over to where they had laid Shepard’s rifle and set his own gun down next to it.

Although he could not see her expression, Tali’s body language gave an impression of understanding.

“A weapons checkpoint?” she asked, removing her shotgun from its mounting at the small of her back and the pistol at her side, holding one in each hand.

“Distinct possibility. Worst case scenario: killed just as easily unarmed.”

“Worth a shot if we can find out what happened to Shepard,” the quarian agreed, moving to where Mordin was standing and setting her own weapons down alongside his heavy pistol and SMG.

No sooner had Tali stepped away when an invisible panel seem to open up on the other side of the weapons, two of the metal tendrils that had attacked them earlier reaching out.

Tali let out a slight gasp, about to dive forward for the weapons again when Mordin grabbed hold of her.

“Wait!”

Unabated, the tendrils ignored the two lifeforms, reaching for and wrapping around the different weapons in a way that reminded the two immediately of thresher maws dragging down their prey before retreating with their loads safely encoiled.

As the panel in the stone closed behind them, the lighting above lost its red tint and turned to a soft white glow again, and a door that had been seamless on the far side of the chamber from where Tali had been attempting her hack slid open.

Mordin released Tali as the two looked towards the doorway.

“So... Unarmed, cut off from Normandy, in an alien bunker and facing a completely unknown situation?” Tali asked.

“Affirmative.”

“Keelah... I hope Shepard’s doing better than we are,” Tali said, moving towards the doorway and feeling more than a tad vulnerable.

————————————————————
Ponyville

“So let me see if I’ve got this straight...” Twilight followed close in step with Shepard down a surprisingly empty side street of Ponyville, her mind going over what she had heard since she started drilling the colt with questions, hoping to find some exploitable flaw in his delusions. “You’re telling me that you’re a specially-trained soldier... a ‘Spectre'...”

“Recently reinstated, yes. Part of the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance.”

“Which gives you almost unlimited authority as part of this enormous galactic community... What did you call it? The Citadel?”

“Technically, I’m an officer in the Systems Alliance, which is a member species of the Citadel Council. Although that’s also a bit... complicated right now.”

“Right, which has millions--”

“Trillions...” Shepard corrected, far more interested in observing his surroundings, amazed at the craftsmanship considering the inhabitants he had seen had no opposable thumbs.

“Okay... Trillions of citizens under its rule. All of which you, on your own, are trying to save from these... ‘Collector’ creatures... that actually work for something called 'Reapers.’”

“You know, this is very strange.”

“Which part? The impending extinction on a galactic scale? Or the fact that you are apparently the only thing standing in its way?” Twilight asked, rolling her eyes slightly as she added "delusions of grandeur" to his growing list of apparent symptoms.

“No, this feels so... natural. The walking on four legs and hooves thing. It’s not nearly as alien as I thought it would be now that I’ve had a chance to move around a little.”

Twilight facehoofed at the comment.

“Maybe it feels natural because, oh, I don’t know... you’ve always been a pony.”

“Now that’s just crazy.” Shepard smirked a bit, continuing his walk at a steady pace.

Twilight got the distinct impression this was a mocking jab directly intended for her.

“So, who is this pony we're going to see?” Shepard asked, looking to his guide.

“Rarity. She’s an expert in fashion and materials used in all sorts of garments, and I think that includes armor. So here’s the deal: She’ll look at your armor, and when she confirms that it’s not alien, you come with me to the hospital.”

“And when she doesn’t?” Shepard asked.

He knew full well that Twilight was only playing along with him, and while this was taking up valuable time, he also knew that it wouldn’t help for him to go stumbling off on his own, unarmed, without any idea of what was waiting for him in this world.

If there was a chance he could convince Twilight to help him, she would likely be the advantage he needed to figure out exactly what had happened.

“I don’t expect that to happen, Mister Shepard,” Twilight stated with certainty.

“Commander...” Shepard corrected. “And take it from me: Life rarely ever goes in the direction you expect.”

“HALT!”

The hoarse shout came with an accompanying torrent of sound that came up behind Shepard and the purple unicorn. Pounding hooves kicked up a small cloud of dust as three dull brown ponies of exceptional physique, each wearing cold steel grey armor and Romanesque helms.

They came to a grinding halt, the three of them standing in a menacing fashion about twenty feet away from Shepard and Twilight as the two turned to face these newcomers.

“Red stallion! In the name of the Royal House of Equestria and the Solar Princess... you are under arrest!” the center-most of the three guards demanded in a rough, gravelly tone. “You will stand down and be escorted to Canterlot Palace for judgement.”

“Wha... Wait! Hold on!” Twilight stepped forward, in stunned shock at the sudden demand. “On what charge!?”

“That is of no concern to you, Twilight Sparkle!” the same stallion stated forcefully, his voice harsh. “Stand aside!”

Twilight seemed taken aback, and a moment later, Shepard was sure he heard a tone of confusion in her voice.

“H-how do you know my name?” she asked. “We’ve never met.”

"STAND ASIDE!" the brutish stallion demanded again, stomping a hoof in a manner that even Shepard was able to interpret as an act of intimidation.

“Twilight, it’s alright,” Shepard said calmly. “I’ll handle this.”

“But... you... they're...” Twilight stammered for a moment, confused as the red colt moved past her and stood before the three larger ponies.

“You will come with us and accept royal judgement, stallion.”

The center-most of the three large earth ponies stepped forward, his two mute companions remaining in place as he approached Shepard as he lowered his voice.

“Your lies end here. It’s over.”

Shepard responded with a smirk.

Choices:

~~"We can discuss this." (Attempt Diplomacy)~~

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." (Threaten)

~~"No... Now it's fun." (Resist Arrest)~~

Part 4: The Rabbit Hole Deepens

View Online

“No, I don’t think I will,” Shepard began, nodding a bit lazily as he locked eyes on the center-most of the stallion soldiers. “You have no idea who you are dealing with here. So allow me to… enlighten you.”

His expression hardened, those cold eyes narrowing more forcefully as his voice took on a harder edge.

“I’m Commander Shepard… N7 Class Special Forces… and there isn't an N8 Class. I survived the Sacking of Mindoir, held back entire legions of enemy soldiers single-handedly during the Skyllian Blitz, put down entire terrorist and criminal organizations on the battlefield, blew up a two kilometer-long sentient dreadnought with a cannon that can punch a hole through a moon, and have beaten back a dozen other horrors you can’t even begin to imagine. And while you might not understand the significance of these things, allow me to point out that you look like a bunch of pathetic rookies; green as grass and trying to fluff yourselves up to seem more dangerous and authoritative than you really are.”

The two stallions further back glanced to one another while the foremost held Shepard’s eyes, his own glare widening as the Commander's sharp words touched more than a few buttons.

Shepard pushed further.

“How do I know this? Because I’ve seen hundreds of raw, fresh-out-of-training Marines beat their chests, talking trash and thinking they’re invincible. I’ve watched as they run out into the wide open against orders to prove how good they are, only to be mowed down in a hail of weapons fire. And right now, you’re all about to run right into that ‘wide open.’”

“You will stand down and be escor--” the head guard started, his tone forced as a bead of sweat ran down his snout.

“I AM TALKING!” Shepard’s shout seemed to reverberate in the air a moment, causing the three guards to each take a step back, their superior, intimidating glares giving way under shock as Shepard took a step forward. “Considering the circumstances, I think I’ve been pretty patient so far. But consider this: I’m in unfamiliar territory. I don’t know the rules here, and frankly, I don’t care. You're not carrying any weapons or restraints, so I assume that your plan is to pummel me into submission… which really is the stupidest thing you can try right now because I really could use the excuse to work off some steam… And to top all that off, I’m cut off from my team... who are usually the ones who hold me back before I do something I might regret.”

Actually, Shepard mused to himself, it was usually the other way around... but these ponies didn't need to know that.

“Y…you will... stand down... and…” the lead stallion started to repeat, taking another step back as he felt held by Shepard’s cold glare.

“The reason I’m telling you this is because you’re just following orders. So here’s the deal. You get one chance to leave, before you see what happens when you engage a Spectre in combat. So, unless you want to find out exactly how dangerous that choice is, then you will stand down and explain why this ‘Solar Princess’ wants to arrest me!”

“And I want to know…” Shepard was startled as a new voice was at his side, the lavender unicorn having moved up to face against the three soldiers as well, her expression one of indignant outrage. “…how you three showed up so quickly! I haven’t told anypony about Shepard and he just woke up. Crazy or not, he has the right to know what crime he’s supposed to be charged with, so where did you come from and why are you trying to arrest him!?”

“That is of no concern to you, Twilight Sparkle!” the lead stallion stated, although his intimidating tone did not match his expression, which was withdrawn.

Shepard narrowed his eyes a bit. He could've sworn he heard an echo in their surroundings.

“Like HAY it’s of no concern to me!” Twilight jabbed a hoof accusingly at the stallion. “I won’t stand by while you stomp all over the liberties Equestria is founded on! The Princess would never…”

Twilight was cut off was the world around Shepard seemed to… shimmer. His vision grew fuzzy for a moment before it felt like a warm fog was pressing on his skull.

With a slight shake of his head, though, he was able to shrug it off.

“The Princess would… never… uhh?” Twilight looked confused as well, shaking her head a bit as she stumbled over her words. Her indignant rage was instantly forgotten as she looked at her accusingly-pointed hoof.

Shepard looked back and around, realizing that the three soldiers had disappeared, and instead, several ponies of various builds and colors were milling around the street that had been empty moments before, casting surprised glances at Shepard and Twilight as the unicorn tried to recover.

“W-wait… weren’t we just…?” Twilight shook her head again, setting her hoof to her horn. “Weren’t we just talking to somepony?”

Shepard eyed her cautiously as the wheels in his head turned.

“Those soldiers… they…” Shepard paused, taking note of the confusion on Twilight’s face. “You mean, you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

“That... you were… taking me to see Rarity, I think.”

“Right… Rarity. To prove to you that your armor’s not alien.” Twilight nodded, turning around and starting back down the road, although she sounded as though she was trying to ignore the fact that she was feeling very uneasy.

Shepard thought to himself as he eyed his reluctant guide. The mystery had just deepened, and he needed to know more before deciding what to do about it.

Curiouser and curiouser...

————————————————————
Ponyville Hospital

“Red coat, short-cut black mane…” Doctor Psyche Ward, psychiatrist and head of the Mental Health Department at Ponyville General Hospital repeated thoughtfully, tapping his chin as he went over the yellow pegasus’ description. “What was his cutie mark?”

“I don’t know. He was wearing some sort of armor over it. But where his cutie mark should be there was a big ‘N’ and a ‘7'.” Fluttershy explained, feeling more than slightly sheepish as the doctor bit his lower lip.

“Doesn’t sound like any of our patients. And at last bed check, we had everypony accounted for among our long-term patients.” The doctor shook his head. “We have had to provide counseling for similar cases in the past… and there are multiple individuals who have suffered from delusions involving these ‘human’ creatures… but if this ‘Shepard’ believes himself to be one, it could be far more serious a condition. If you can bring him down here, we can perform a simple set of tests to determine whether he requires our assistance.”

“Oh, alright. Thank you, Doctor,” Fluttershy nodded, glad that the doctor had not turned her away like she had feared. “I’ll try to get him to come in.”

“We can set up a counseling session free of charge… get a determination of the severity of his delusions,” the doctor noted as he looked up from his files to Fluttershy. “Of course, if you feel the need to come in, Fluttershy, you know my door is always open. I heard about the outburst at the Gala… and if you wanted to talk about it...”

“No… That’s okay.” Fluttershy became instantly reluctant. “I don’t think I need a new round of therapy… Besides, I’m doing much better with my friends' support.”

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you need help, Fluttershy,” Doctor Ward insisted, although he did not press the issue.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Fluttershy backed towards the exit as Doctor Ward opened the door for her. “Thank you for hearing me out. I’ll try to get Mr. Shepard in to see you.”

“Of course, my dear. Anytime,” the doctor smiled as the timid pegasus stepped out, glancing for a moment towards the light-green unicorn mare sitting (quite awkwardly, much to his concern) on the bench next to his office door. “Miss Heartstrings… Please come in.”

Fluttershy didn’t make eye contact with Lyra as the unicorn held her head down, clearly not there of her own accord as she noted Bon Bon seated in a more comfortable position next to her, likely there for moral support.

Fluttershy knew the feeling; memories of her own therapy sessions with Doctor Ward still fresh in her mind. Looking about, Fluttershy knew the way to the exit, but found herself stunned at how many new patients had been admitted lately, most either staring out windows or talking nonsense to themselves.

It was such a sad thing when ponies lost their grip on reality, she mused, as she turned to leave.

“Shepard…”

The yellow pegasus paused, turning towards the sound as a thin salt-and-pepper-coated stallion looked towards her with piercing brown eyes that matched his mane. Sitting in an uncomfortable position on the floor with his hind legs spread out under him, Fluttershy had to tilt her head a bit to get a look at his cutie mark: a black diamond shape with two orange curves that followed the diamond’s outline around the bottom.

The fact that he was in a straitjacket immediately made her uncomfortable, but not as much as his cold, calculated voice.

“Commander Shepard? He’s in Equestria?”

“Umm… Y-yes?” Fluttershy answered, unsure why this pony was making her feel so uneasy. “...Do you know him?”

“I need to speak with him, immediately.” The pony’s tone booked no argument as he suddenly struggled against the straitjacket and attempted to pull himself up. Failing that, he leaned against the wall and glared at Fluttershy. “Tell him that Dr. Horace Milligan is waiting for him in the Psyche Ward.”

————————————————————
Carousel Boutique

“Wait… WHAT!?” Twilight made no effort to hide her shock as Shepard smirked, watching the stark white marshmallow-looking pony with the purple mane dance around him gleefully, admiring his armor.

“It’s absolutely stunning, Twilight! I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the pony named "Rarity" bantered, her eyes taking on a manic shine as she lifted one of Shepard’s legs, running a hoof over the material.

“The metal weave is so thin… This can’t be steel… No, this is cloth. Although I’m not familiar with its make, it’s definitely cloth… but in spite of its flexibility, it feels like it’s designed to prevent high-impact injuries. And these plates underneath it...” Rarity ran her hoof over a bit of the material that covered the Commander’s side, an action that started to make Shepard a bit uncomfortable. “Plastic… No… not plastic; it feels too gritty… OH! Ceramics! That’s genius! I never considered using condensed ceramics. Of course, you would have to crush the material down with hundred ton weights to make it this dense… which would be impossible without some really high-grade magic.”

“That’s… right,” Shepard narrowed his eyes, again stunned at the accuracy with which this apparently primitive fashion designer had managed to deduce his armor’s composite. “It’s a customized hard-suit… Heavy combat armor.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be a soldier trying to take on an army equipped with these…” Rarity grinned, reaching up and pulling her orange glasses from her face (how she held it with hooves, Shepard had no idea) and tapping them against her chin. “Not only are you much better protected than the average Royal Canterlot Soldier, but you’re far more sleek and efficient. The weight is evenly distributed across your body, rather than being all up towards your front. Why, I bet you would just flow around opponents in a stand-up fight. You know, I was always partial to the ‘ceremonial guard’ armor, but after seeing this… yes… THIS is the future of military fashion and design! Efficiency and streamlining over ‘traditional’ armor types. And the colors... Why--”

“Rarity!” Twilight hissed through gritted teeth, interrupting her friend’s tangent before she could really get going. “You’re supposed to be helping me debunk his delusions! Not confirming them!”

“Twilight, I cannot confirm or deny that Mr. Shepard here is an alien from outer space…” Rarity stated blankly, somehow keeping a straight face. “But what I can tell you is that this armor wasn’t made by any designer I’ve ever studied, and I’ve studied them all.”

Twilight set a hoof to her face with a groan.

“Still don’t believe me?” Shepard asked, shifting a bit as he self-adjusted his armor from where it had been pushed on by the white pony.

“I… I don’t know, alright?” Twilight admitted, shaking her head. “The evidence is still… well…”

“Do you remember the soldiers that tried to stop us on the way here?” Shepard asked suddenly.

Twilight brought her head up, a look of confusion running over her face while Rarity turned towards them, snapped out of whatever gleefully inspired internal monologue had gripped her.

“Soldiers? Oh dear, Twilight! You and Mr. Shepard are not in trouble, are you?”

“No… They weren’t… I mean, I don’t…” Twilight grunted a bit, her face scrunching as she clenched her eyes shut. “I don’t know. I… kinda remember something… There was yelling… and then I was talking and there was nopony there… It was weird.”

“Does that happen often?” Shepard inquired.

“No, of course not… That is… I don’t think so,” Twilight started off confidently, but then seemed to stumble. “Anyways, that’s not what’s important right now. I mean… Okay, say for a moment I believe you… that you’re an alien and you got magically turned into a pony. What do you plan on doing next, Shepard?”

Shepard took a moment to review his thoughts on his objectives before answering.

“My immediate concern is determining exactly where I am, how I came to be here, and how to get offworld and back in touch with my team. More broadly, my mission was to rescue a team of Cerberus scientists that had gone missing in the system I was investigating.”

“Cerberus? The three-headed guard dog of Tartarus?” Twilight raised a brow. “What does he have to do with science?”

“No, that’s just what they’re named after. The Cerberus I’m talking about is a splinter group of humans who…” Shepard paused, realizing what was said. “Wait… Wait just a minute! How could you know Earth Mythology?”

“Mythology? Cerberus is no myth,” Twilight explained, matching the stallion’s hostile tone. “He rampaged through Ponyville a few months back.”

“And after the way Patch was going on about it, I was actually kind of expecting that brutish three-headed bulldog might be coming back before long,” Rarity commented offhoofedly.

Unicorn mare and earth pony stallion both rounded on the perfectly-groomed clothier with a look of shock.

“Who?”

“Oh, that’s right... You haven’t met her yet. Well, we were trying to keep it 'on the down low’ so that Pinkie wouldn’t go into her usual 'party mode.'” Rarity nodded, her tone somewhat candid as she explained. “Applejack and I came across her earlier this week. The poor dear was on the streets babbling about Cerberus and ‘plasmic’ something or other… I don’t know… it didn’t make any sense to me. I said we should have taken her to the hospital. I mean, she looked positively disheveled. But Applejack wouldn’t have any of it… You know how she is about… oh, how does she put it…? ‘Those nosy head-shrinkin' doctors,'” Rarity said with a bad impression of what Shepard interpreted as a Southern American accent. “She offered the poor filly a place to stay… As far as I know, she’s still there.”

“When was this?” Shepard asked urgently.

“Like I said: earlier this week. Two… three days ago perhaps,” Rarity clarified.

“I don’t know how long I was under…” Shepard commented, his mind racing with this new information. “But it could be one of the scientists… They might have ended up here the same way I did. And chances are this… Wait… 'Patch'?”

“She said she didn’t remember her name… so that’s what we decided to call her. Her coat looked kind of like a patchwork quilt so I thought that it was rather fitting…” Rarity explained, sounding pleased with herself for the creativity of that name.

“Wait, she was amnesic and you didn’t think to tell anypony!?” Twilight sounded outraged.

Rarity blanched slightly at Twilight’s accusation, looking away with a forced, innocent smile.

“Well, Applejack was quite… insistent… and you know how stubborn she can be,” Rarity explained. “I suppose in retrospect, we should have mentioned it to somepony… but--”

“She could be in trouble.” Shepard shook his head. “Or she could be trouble. Whatever was done to make me like this left me shaken and disoriented, and I’ve had experience and training to deal with extreme trauma.”

“Where is she, Rarity?” Twilight demanded, the friendly visit having apparently turned into a less than friendly interrogation for which the fashion pony was simply not prepared for.

“Applejack took her home… to Sweet Apple Acres.” The mare looked between Twilight and Shepard, reading both of their expressions and beginning to feel a bit grave herself.

“Then we have to--”

A bell chimed as the door to Carousel Boutique opened, drawing the attention of the two mares and formerly-human Spectre towards the yellow pegasus that had made the sound.

Fluttershy let out a soft "Eep!" as she suddenly became the center of a rather dramatic amount of attention and cringed in place.

“Um... Hi,” Fluttershy uttered softly, feeling as if she was almost crushed under the weight of the stares from the three ponies. “I… I did what you asked, Twilight.”

“What?” Twilight looked confused for a moment, her eyes widening for a moment before looking guiltily towards Shepard. “Oh, right. What I… asked you to… ummm, well… that may have been… uhhh, I mean… Not right now, Fluttershy… We can talk about it later.”

“But… there was a pony there that knew Mr. Shepard,” Fluttershy offered timidly.

“What!?” Shepard turned, his full attention on the yellow pegasus. “Who?”

Fluttershy cowered a bit under his eyes and answered quickly… and incredibly softly.

“Could you… speak up, Fluttershy, dear?” Rarity asked. “Didn’t quite hear you.”

Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane as she spoke again, her voice softer if nothing else.

“Nope… still too low.”

Again, Fluttershy started to speak, but devolved her words into a soft squeak.

“Oh, for the love of… Just SAY it!” Shepard shouted, clearly losing patience and causing Fluttershy to jump and belt out her suppressed words.

“DOCTOR HORACE MILLIGAN!”

Shepard was taken aback while Fluttershy stood up, blinking and shocked at her sudden rise in volume, covering her mouth with both hooves while uttering an apologetic squeak.

“Shepard! That was completely uncalled for! You don’t have to shout to--” Twilight started before Shepard moved past her towards the pegasus.

“Where is he?” Shepard asked, again forcefully towards Fluttershy.

“Back at the hospital in the Mental Health Ward…” Fluttershy answered, surprisingly calm and responsive considering the Commander’s approach. “I can show you.”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight looked to her friend, amazed at the sudden change in her friend’s attitude as the yellow pegasus pulled herself up in the air a few feet and back towards the door.

By everything she knew of her friend, Twilight would have expected that Shepard’s direct, aggressive approach should have brought Fluttershy almost to tears.

“Lead the way.” Shepard followed the pegasus as she moved out the door, leaving a very confused-looking pair of unicorns behind.

“W-wait! Hold on!” Twilight rushed after them.. Followed moments later by Rarity, who was still stunned at her graceful and timid friend’s reaction.

“Sweetie, I’m going out! Stay inside and I’ll be back in a few minutes, alright?” the fashionista shouted, her magic levitating a scarf off of a nearby rack and around her neck before she too dove out the door after her friends.

In the back room, hidden from sight, Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, a crayon firmly gripped in her teeth as the filly continued to color on the large sheet paper that Rarity had set down for her when her friend and the new colt had come over.

She didn’t know why she even bothered to come over to Rarity’s anymore… It wasn’t as if her stuck up sister bothered to spend any time with her. If she wasn’t busy working, she was busy going off on some sort of adventure with her friends.

Suddenly, an unexpected crackling sound caused Sweetie to flatten her ears as she looked up and around the room, trying to discover the source of the annoying noise. The small off-white unicorn dropped the crayon from her lips as her eyes went to the full-length mirror that sat next to the wall.

Rather than her own reflection and that of the back room, which was littered with strips of fabric and spools of thread, she saw the image of a violet-tinged glass-dome-like face with a purple shawl over it. A metal grey device lit up just below the glass and, looking closely, Sweetie could make out two glowing eyes that seemed to widen as she looked.

“Oh… Uhhh… Hello...” the strange creature said, tilting its head in confusion as a distorted, filly-sounding voice emanated from the mirror. “I'm trying to bring up the Primary Database… Is this the proper directory?”

Sweetie blinked a couple of times, still unsure of what to say.

“Okay... Access local schematics,” the alien creature said, her tone firm and directive.

Sweetie just continued to stare as the creature turned its head a bit to the side.

“I think this V.I. is broken…” it stated, although to whom, Sweetie was unsure… Then it turned back. “Okay, let’s try this… State your primary function.”

“Uhhh… Do you... wanna talk to my sister?” Sweetie offered meekly. “She just… kinda stepped out…”

“Sister…? Would you happen to mean the Administrative V.I? Then... yes. Could you get your ‘sister’ for me?” The alien creature sounded stunned, clearly having not expected such a response.

Before Sweetie could get her head around what she was seeing, there was a sudden shimmering in the air around her as the mirror’s surface cracked, a huge spiderweb pattern appearing as the shimmering ceased.

“Oh, NO!” Sweetie grimaced, hopping up and rushing towards the mirror. “No no no… Not Rarity’s mirror. How did…? Awwww, she’s NEVER going to believe I didn’t do that!”

Sweetie shook her head, the young filly looking around as she tried to get a grip on her situation.

She had been coloring… Rarity had announced she was leaving… and then… the mirror just broke all of a sudden.

Puzzling over the mystery of what had damaged her sister’s vanity mirror, the Cutie Mark Crusader didn’t notice the slight burning smell… or the grey wisps of smoke that rose from the cracks in the mirror.

————————————————————
The Bunker

“WHOA!” Tali’Zorah pulled back as the panel she had hacked into violently exploded in a shower of rainbow sparks, shaking her arm violently as she felt the discharge over her suit threaten to overload her omni-tool.

“Tali’Zorah! Are you injured!?” Mordin turned to render assistance if he was needed.

“I’m fine…” Tali assured the salarian, still shaking her arm as the tingle of near electrocution ran pins and needles into her skin. She started looking over the blackened set of wires. “Power surge… Directed right at this node. Something didn’t like me hacking into it.”

“Recommended against hack attempt at this junction,” Mordin reminded the quarian for perhaps the dozenth time since she stated she was going to try and interface with the bunker’s computer system.

The layout had remained largely the same as the two had continued into the bunker. Long hallways of stone walls and intermittent light-lines seemed to go on forever, with almost randomly-opening doorways seeming to pop out of nowhere, as if the place had been specifically designed to be some sort of maze. So when they had come across an open panel; a place where the stone had slid back to reveal what Tali recognized as an actual bit of computer wiring and an interfacing device, she had jumped at the chance, hoping she could get some sort of information from whatever the panel was connected to.

Instead, she had found…

“What was that thing?” Tali asked, rubbing her wrist as she checked to make sure that her omni-tool had not been completely fried. “I thought it was a V.I. at first, but the way it responded…”

“Possible security footage? Archived? Hmm. Unlikely hypothesis. Clearly interactive. Caretaker? Systems operator? Again, unlikely. Lacked recognition. Almost certain whoever is leading us knows exact location. But interface attacked to prevent interaction with unknown subject… Why?” Mordin cooly went over the growing list of questions that seemed to be burying the two as they forged further into this "bunker."

“It didn’t look like any sentient species I’ve ever seen,” Tali noted.

“Hmm. Bore passing resemblance to several known species. Most predominately Earth Equine. Didn’t seem hostile. In fact, seemed more confused than us...” The scientist paused with a sharp intake of breath through his nostrils. “Intriguing.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself,” Tali huffed angrily. “But this is getting us nowhere. We need to find someone with some answers to…”

Tali stopped as her heads up display sudden flared to life, a small radar hologram forming at the bottom right edge of her vision and indicating a sudden spike in nearby movement, indicated by red dots on her movement sensors...

A lot of red dots… all moving in on their location.

“Mordin… Contacts!”

“How many?” the salarian queried.

“...Too many.”

Tali started to reach for her shotgun, then cursed under her breath as she realized it was missing from her back. And she couldn’t risk activating Chiktikka, her automatic combat drone, as her omni-tool was still suffering effects very similar to a tech overload due to the console shorting out.

As the two crew members of the Normandy turned, trying to get an idea of what benefits their surroundings offered, they could hear the sound of metal clanking against smooth stone echoing down the hallways...

————————————————————
Ponyville

“Shepard! Wait!” Twilight caught up to her friend and the red earth pony a short ways from the boutique, Rarity just behind her as the white unicorn tailed along. “Where are you going? Who’s this ‘Milligan'... and Fluttershy… why aren’t you having a breakdown?”

Shepard slowed to a walk as Fluttershy came to ground, still taking the lead.

“I’m heading for this ‘hospital’ and Horace Milligan was the leader of the scientists that went missing,” Shepard stated plainly. “And why would she be having a breakdown?”

“Actually, I’m not sure myself,” Fluttershy stated, looking at her hooves for a moment… not out of timid shyness, but out of curiosity. “I can’t explain it but… for some reason… he’s just… not that scary.”

Shepard didn’t know if this was supposed to make him feel better or make him feel less masculine as the pastel pony looked over to him with those large, shining eyes. The soldiers from before sure seemed to be intimidated, at least.

“What about Patch?” Rarity stated, looking to the red stallion with interest, now caught up in whatever was going on and intending to tag along with her two best friends to make sure that they were not going to get in over their heads. “You said just a moment ago that she could either be in trouble or be trouble.”

Shepard stopped for a moment to consider the truth of this statement, as the sudden revelation that Dr. Milligan, the lead scientist of the missing team, had been discovered, had driven the concern he had for this "Patch" out of his mind.

But as he thought on it, he considered that his situation might not be so cut and dry.

Dr. Milligan was a project lead, and would likely be a Cerberus officer through and through, much like Miranda was. That carried extra concerns that might not work in Shepard’s favor. His memories of Dr. Gavin Archer, another Cerberus scientist who had all but sacrificed his autistic-savant brother in order to continue his twisted research to control the geth came to mind.

Archer had hidden the truth until the very end; how he had plugged his brother, David, into a geth collective… thousands of digital voices screaming in his head and driving him to the brink of insanity. And when Shepard had found out, Archer had still defended his work as "vital" and tried to talk him into leaving David with him to continue the experiments.

If Milligan was anything like that, then what he had to say couldn't be trusted, even under these sorts of circumstances.

On the other hand, this "Patch" may or may not have been a Cerberus scientist at all, and while she may have been in trouble, she could just as easily be a red herring, either unable or unwilling to help Shepard piece together what had happened to them. But if she was one of the lower tier scientists, she might be able to tell him things that Milligan wouldn’t.

*Tsseeeeeer-KABOOM-FIZZZZ*

Shepard’s attention was suddenly stolen by a bright and colorful display of explosions and sparks that came from the center of the town, the burst of a firecracker lighting up the area over the township of Ponyville.

“What the...?” Twilight turned to face the explosion of colors.

“My word, is it some sort of holiday?” Rarity asked.

“Not that I know of,” Fluttershy stated.

“Okay… does anypony else have a really bad feeling about that?” Twilight asked.

Another whizzing firecracker shot up high overhead, hissing and fizzling before it exploded above the town, followed by another that presented a very clear message… A large, crackling orange "N7" lit up the sky, followed by a downward-pointing arrow that seemed to be aimed right overhead from wherever the mortar was that had launched it.

Well, if that wasn’t an invitation, Shepard didn’t know what was… And judging by the way his three equine companions were looking towards him, he figured they had the sense to puzzle out what it meant too.

“Pinkie, maybe?” Fluttershy suggested, just as surprised as the other girls as more fireworks went off overhead, the early evening sky brightened by a beautiful display.

“I thought Mayor Mare issued a proclamation forbidding anypony from selling fireworks to Pinkie Pie,” Rarity commented, also entranced by the show.

“Who in the whole wide world of Equestria would be that gaudy and obvious…? For that matter, who else knows that you’re even here?” Twilight asked, clearly unnerved by the bold and outlandish manner in which this "message" had been sent.

“I don’t know…” Shepard huffed slightly, one hoof digging at the ground. “But…”

Choices:

~~"We have to get to Milligan." (Investigate the Hospital)~~

"I intend to find out." (Investigate the Fireworks)

~~"We have to find Patch." (Investigate Sweet Apple Acres)~~

Part 5: New Game, New Rules

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“…But whoever's behind that display knows something,” Shepard reasoned, his eyes narrowing as another volley of fireworks launched, creating a spectacular tapestry across the darkening dusk. “And I am past ready for some answers.”

“Answers to what?” Twilight turned, looking the stallion over suspiciously.

Shepard did not answer her, going over his options in his mind as he considered the situation before turning to the three mares.

“Fluttershy… Rarity… I need a favor,” he started, looking between the white and pastel yellow ponies. “I need you two to go and make sure that Milligan and Patch are both alright. The timing here is too convenient… but I have to see what's going on in town.”

“Why of course, darling,” Rarity answered without hesitation.

“I-I suppose I could,” Fluttershy followed up.

Twilight looked to her friends in shock as the stallion nodded appreciatively.

“Wha… Wait! You’re doing what he says? WHY!?”

“Well… he is very persuasive,” Fluttershy drew back slightly, clearly more intimidated of Twilight than she had been of Shepard even when the red colt was shouting earlier.

“I don’t know… It just seems like we should. I mean… he’s just so... authoritative… So commanding,” Rarity tried to put it to words with her usual dramatic flair, causing her voice to rise and punctuate the appropriate words. That dramatic expression turned to a sudden posturing that Twilight recognized as the elegant pony’s "swooning" face. “So… strong… and dashing and--"

“I'm already taken,” Shepard stated flatly, clearly recognizing where Rarity was going with that line of speech and not wanting it to go any further.

The white pony’s enthusiasm dropped in a heartbeat, her face becoming blank and her tone flat.

“Oh… That’s how it always is, isn’t it?” she stated, sounding severely disappointed. “Oh well, I suppose I can still go to Sweet Apple Acres, check in with AJ, and make sure that Patch is alright. Nopony else knows about her so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ll go to the hospital,” Fluttershy confirmed, drawing Twilight’s attention again as she displayed an uncharacteristic forwardness. “The doctors know me there, so it shouldn’t be hard.”

Shepard nodded to them, a slight smile on his lips.

“Okay… Move out.”

As the pegasus took to the air (Shepard watched this, still in awe of the physically impossible feat taking place) and Rarity galloped off, Twilight couldn’t help but stare at the stallion.

“Just like that…?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, sounding at once amazed and irritated. “You come out of nowhere… and take command… Nopony here knows you… they have no reason to trust you… And yet they listen to you… just like that?”

She looked at him in astonishment as he stood a moment longer, appraising her as well.

“How did you do that?”

“Because I have to… Because someone has to,” the Commander stated simply. “Because when there is so much at stake, there are choices that have to be made… and good people will always be drawn to those who are able to make those choices and live with the consequences.”

Twilight was quiet for a moment before her attention was brought skyward again by a burst of red in the shape of a star within a circle exploding in the sky.

“I still think you’re crazy,” Twilight stated as the stallion started off at a quick canter towards the launch point of the display.

“In my line of work,” Shepard called back with a grin. “Sometimes a little crazy is what’s needed to get results.”

Twilight considered for a moment as he started away, with a realization that he had asked nothing of her and gave her no instructions.

Giving her the choice.

...There was little hesitation in her decision.

Shepard made it several yards before the lavender unicorn moved up beside him.

“I’m not saying I believe you…” Twilight stated, although with far less vigor than she had before.

“I’m not expecting you to,” Shepard retorted as the pair moved into Ponyville.

————————————————————
The Bunker

Tali’Zorah and Mordin Solus attempted to keep themselves out of view at a corner near the overloaded junction, watching in amazement as events unfolded before them.

At first glance, the "contacts" had appeared to be much the same as the creature Tali had seen in her hacking attempt. Standing no more than a meter and a half tall on all fours, a bit taller than a volus, she was shocked by their winged locomotion, buzzing across the floor in a manner similar to the Collectors with their insectoid wings. With large, glowing blue eyes and solid black bodies that shone in the light, Tali suspected their nature immediately, but it was the distinct sound they made as they landed that confirmed it… the clinking and settling of metal and rotors.

“Mechs…” Tali realized aloud, watching as they converged on the still fizzling panel, obscuring their actions from the sight of the two organic witnesses as their gossamer wings buzzed and periodically flared.

“Synthetics. Apparent function similar to Citadel Keepers. Repair and maintain. Design seems odd. Unwieldy. Impractical. Clearly built in creator’s image," Mordin examined them with a studious expression. "V.I. or A.I? Either way, obviously not built for defense. Would have attacked by now. Elegant design suggests high level of sophistication. Unlikely they are unaware of our presence.”

*Bzzzzttt*

Quarian and salarian looked to one another for a moment, neither one comfortable with just how close that sounded… or the fact that it was behind them.

“Keeeelaaah…” Tali straightened up, her hands moving to the inoffensive and universally recognized position of "surrender" as she and Mordin turned to note the black mech that had come around, hovering like an insect at eye level with them.

Now that one of the mechs had drawn closer, the two aliens could get a better look, taking note of its sleek and well-polished nature, completely encased in what looked like a solid sheet of black metal. Unlike most conventional mechs, the only exposed joints were at the base of the wings, which from a purely mechanical standpoint should not have been capable of keeping the artificial construct aloft, much less easily hovering. Sprouting from its forehead like an obsidian dagger was a gently-curved horn-like projection. And at the base of its neck, two exposed servos clearly intended to allow for a full range of motion.

Its eyes were a glowing green and crystalline in appearance, adding to its insectoid look as the facets each shone a bit differently in the ambient light of the chamber, trained on the two as they noticed its snout was punctuated by two shiny chrome fangs.

It was a jarring mix of harmless and horrifying… and oddly enough, the sentiment was shared by both quarian and salarian as they stared the metal creature down for a moment.

Then it whinnied at them, an odd mix of animalistic and electronic tones.

“I… think it’s trying to communicate,” Tali realized as the mech tilted its head, giving an expression of curiosity; a display of emotion that could not belong to a simple V.I.

“Tali’Zorah…” Mordin thought quickly, keeping his hands up as well as they had no idea of what defenses this mech might have if provoked. “Mech has made no hostile actions. Could be independent of bunker commander. Make peace offering. Show of good will. Transmit software from translation units. May be able to learn purpose of bunker as well as Shepard's location.”

“Okay… Okay…” Tali lowered her arms slowly, her heart hammering as she tried to keep an eye on the mech watching her, while making no sudden movements that might be misinterpreted as an attack. She was glad to see that her omni-tool’s basic functions had been restored, although it was still trying to reboot higher functions and mini-fabrication from its advanced settings.

“Only other option is offense. Would likely trigger new alert. Even with two custom-grade omni-tools, insufficient to combat multiple mechs of unknown make and model.” The salarian sounded nervous, knowing as well as Tali that should the mech view them as hostile, it had a dozen friends nearby to call upon.

“I think we can take them… because if this thing is thinking for itself, I’m betting overloading it and running would be a better idea,” Tali quipped as she tapped on her omni-tool, isolating the software in her personal translator and compressing it into a data file.

“Quarian predisposed animosity towards perceived artificial intelligence. Irrational. Hypocritical. Self-destructive,” Mordin scolded.

“I am working with a geth and a shackled human A.I. I’m pretty sure I fall into the more ‘tolerant’ minority of my people... Alright, I’ve made wireless contact and sent the data-packet… Though we still don’t know if the software will be compatible with--”

“Data assimilated.” The mech’s wings stopped suddenly, dropping the black construct to the stone floor with a surprisingly light step before looking up at them.

“Oooookay… That was fast.” Tali couldn’t help but be impressed as the mech looked between the two of them.

“Communication achieved with unknown organics. Greetings. I am Changeling Unit Forty-Two of Fifty,” the mech nodded its head a bit, its digital vocalization and luminous eyes showing expression leaps and bounds beyond the norm for either mech or digital V.I. programs as it took on an electronic approximation of a male human voice.

“Appears... friendly. Quite fortunate.” Mordin relaxed a bit, lowering his arms.

“Shining Armor Protocol initiated… You are in a restricted area. Identification required for access to Equestria Subsystems. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination. You have one galactic standardized chrono-unit to respond.”

“...Friendly?” Tali turned a bit, glaring through her faceplate at the salarian.

“Cultural translation found… Be advised: current standard chrono-unit equivalent to sixty Earth seconds,” the "Changeling" drone explained, its tone still upbeat and pleasant.

“...May have jumped to conclusion,” Mordin shrugged slightly.

————————————————————
Ponyville

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me...” Twilight's expression turned sour as she and Shepard approached the town square, the front steps of what Shepard assumed was the City Hall taken up by a very elaborate stage. “What is she doing here?”

A small crowd of candy-coated equines were surrounding the stage, many with expressions of shock and awe as several more fireworks launched overhead, continuing to paint the sky with lights that smacked of a desperate cry for attention. As Shepard and Twilight came up to the rear of the crowd, the fireworks that had been launching from twin mortars on either side of the stage went quiet suddenly.

“'She'? You know who's doing this?” Shepard asked, pushing himself up a bit to try and see over the crowd, whose attention was firmly on the stage as a burst of color and spinning wheels lined with roman candles seemed intent to draw the eyes of everypony in range towards the cloud of bluish smoke that suddenly exploded forward from the center stage.

“Unfortunately…” Twilight groaned as the smoke was blown aside, revealing another equine, this one a light shade of teal with an exaggerated purple cape and pointed hat that struck Shepard as something straight out of ancient Earth cinema.

Bad ancient Earth cinema.

"BEHOLD, PONYVILLE! COME ONE, COME ALL!” came the stage-enhanced voice of the female pony, standing on her hind legs for a moment, her forelimbs flared dramatically before settling down on all fours. “THE GREAT… AND POWERFUL… TRRRRIXIE HAS RETURNED!”

The sheer arrogance and boisterous pomp in the voice of this "Trixie" struck a sudden chord in Shepard, who found himself half infuriated to the point of violence and half amused by her over the top introduction.

Keeping a straight face, Shepard turned to Twilight, who had buried her face in one hoof.

“I am sooooo sorry, Shepard. I should have realized when I saw the fireworks.”

“Who is she?” Shepard asked, keeping his tone neutral.

“She’s a traveling performer named Trixie…” the unicorn explained as another round of razzle-dazzle firecrackers went off, drawing a less than enthused reaction from the crowd, who seemed disappointed to see the mare on stage.

"I kinda got her name from the introduction... But seriously, who is she?"

“Nopony to worry about… She’s just a half-baked braggart and showpony. I didn’t think she would ever show her sorry flank back here after what happened last time.”

Judging by the sudden boos and heckling that was suddenly launched from the crowd that had been enthusiastic only moments before, Shepard could only guess as to what this "traveling performer" had done wrong on her last visit to what Shepard had observed was an otherwise civil township.

“Now, now…” Trixie stuck her snout in the air with a defined sense of snobbish disdain. “No need for that, my dear ponies. Trixie comes with news from on high and an announcement for every stallion, mare, and foal!”

“Ugh, forget her,” Twilight shook her head as she spoke to Shepard in a low tone. Clearly disgusted by the sight of the mare on stage, she turned away. “Did you want to go see Patch, or collect this ‘Milligan’? This is a waste of both of our times…”

“It is my very great pleasure to inform you all…” Trixie took a dramatic pause before her eyes cast out over the crowd.

Shepard, who was about to follow Twilight’s lead, paused as he caught those eyes, cast as they were directly at him.

Hollow… depraved eyes that he could make out even from this distance.

“…that the world as you know it is about to end.”

There was silence in the town square for a moment as the sheer malice and harshness of Trixie’s voice stunned her audience… followed by a sudden chattering and rather vocal rebuttal as dozens of ponies began speaking almost at once.

Even Twilight, who had been so dismissive, couldn’t help but turn back, her expression one of stunned disbelief.

“Oh, yes… Denial… Refusal… Shouts and demands for explanation,” Trixie called over the sudden uproar, her voice magically amplified. “Trixie has heard it all before… more times than you will care to remember. But do not blame the messenger. The GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE is not the one who will bring our beautiful, ideal society to its undignified and tragic end. No… That honor will go to another pony…”

She paused, again for dramatic effect as the crowd started to grow more restless and anxious, some calling for proof, while others, clearly disturbed by even the suggestion, showed that they wished to leave.

“A pony… who stands among us… right… now…” Trixie finished in a harsh, accusatory tone as her eyes seemed to glare over the crowd, who started to look around at one another.

“Shepard… I… think we should leave…” Twilight suggested, her voice indicating that she was growing unnerved by the manner and malice of Trixie’s "performance."

“Slight problem with that, Twilight,” Shepard whispered.

“What?”

“I can’t move,” Shepard admitted, his posture frozen in place for a moment longer before a sudden teal aura surrounded his body and hoisted him into the air.

“Shepard!” Twilight made a dive, missing the red stallion’s legs by several inches as he was drawn up over the crowd and floated through the air in a tumbling fashion, struggling against the familiar sensation of a biotic field until he was released and sent rolling across the stage.

“And here he is… The guest of honor.” Trixie smirked wickedly as Shepard pushed himself to his hooves, turning to face her and ignoring the fact that his armored form was now the center of attention for a crowd of otherwise uninvolved native ponies. “You’ve stirred up quite the hornet’s nest… you know that, Shepard?”

Shepard fought off the feeling of motion sickness that came from having his sense of gravity turned literally upside down as he narrowed his eyes and arched his back, taking what would have been an offensive posture for a human and translated in his head being held high and his shoulders locked back in his four-legged pony form.

“Who are you!?” Shepard demanded, his outrage rising at being so blatantly called out.

“Oh, Trixie thinks we are all much more interested in you, Commander.” Trixie raised one eyebrow and gave a look of appraisal as she took a step towards him, watching his reaction. “Trixie thought you were just another random interloper. An annoyance like the others.”

Shepard did not budge.

“Who are you?” he asked again, his tone both softer, yet more dangerous.

“Imagine my surprise when she learned the truth… Such a clever girl, really, hiding it for so long and playing straight-faced like that. She should have had Trixie's job. Although, had I known, I would never have let you in. Yes… she knew just how to get Trixie to agree with her. Play the swing vote, as it were.”

Trixie took another step forward, now almost nose to nose with the red-coated pony as the grey eyes of the Commander locked with her own violet eyes.

Still, he did not step back.

“Who… are… you?” Shepard asked one last time, not caring about the public attention as he grit his teeth, his surface calm began to crack and exposing the anger that simmered below the surface at being kept in the dark and off balance for so long. The showpony's constant confusing jumps from first to third person weren't helping his disposition, either.

*Vrrrrrmm-BAMPH*

The flash of purple light suddenly made the stage crowded as a violet unicorn appeared between the two figures and pushed them apart with a hoof on each of their chests.

“Trixie! You’ve gone too far!” Twilight shouted, taking a defensive position in front of Shepard.

“Already, Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie’s tone dipped, amusement seeping through. “You rally to the side of the pony who will take away everything you have? You would side with him before the will of your Princess? Without a thought of what it will cost your own kind?”

Twilight flinched a bit, unsure how to react as Trixie took a step back.

“Stupid, BRILLIANT, little Twilight. Always too clever for her own good. Trixie should have known it would be you who would draw to him… You were always the hardest one to write for… The heroine of her own little story, constantly throwing my upheavals off course. Ohhh, we’ve had some fun together, my little pony.”

“What… are you talking about?” Twilight shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to make of Trixie’s rant and realizing that the unicorn had gone more than slightly mad.

A realization that grew more apparent as she suddenly lifted up on two legs… her forelegs hoisted towards the heavens in a frantic motion.

Too frantic, both Twilight and Shepard realized, to be natural. Her hind hooves were lifted more than an inch off the ground and she seemed to be levitating in the air as if held aloft by her forelimbs. Looking at those hooves, reaching high above her head, both Shepard and Twilight could now see the near imperceptible depression on her fur… like thin fishing lines that trailed up into invisible nothingness.

“It’s too bad, really. I rather liked this setting. And I loved this character…” Trixie’s voice twisted, growing deeper and more whimsical.

“That voice…” Twilight eyes went wide as she took a step back and next to Shepard. “No… Oh no… No no no…”

*Shink*

There was a horrified cry from the audience, bringing their presence back to Shepard’s attention, as Trixie suddenly fell forward, limp as a rag doll as she collapsed unceremoniously to the stage and drew a sudden frenzy of shock from the captivated audience.

“This isn’t happening… This can’t be happening…” Twilight looked to the now still form of Trixie, her eyes open and glazed over like those of a doll before she looked up to where Shepard’s gaze was directed.

Slowly fading into sight were the strings that had been holding the Great and Powerful Trixie aloft, attached to a marionette held in a yellow eagle claw. Just past those now loose strings was a pair of scissors that would have been comically oversized were they not held in an awkward lion’s paw, both limbs attached to a creature spawned by no mythology that Shepard knew of.

“Discord…” Twilight’s terrified voice gave name to the creature that floated effortlessly above them. A serpentine creature made up of body parts belonging to at least five different species, all cobbled together like a chimera and topped with a menacing, goat-like face.

“New game…” the draconequus snickered maliciously, dropping the scissors and the marionette to the stage with a grin. “New rules...”

And then all hell broke loose.

————————————————————
Ponyville Hospital

Fluttershy’s approach to the hospital was a familiar one; her days of therapy there fresh in her mind. While Doctor Ward wasn’t likely to be on duty, she felt certain that whoever the night shift physician was would be able to let her in for an impromptu visit.

She also couldn’t explain the sudden surge of confidence she had been feeling. The sense that everything would be alright that seemed to emanate from her and Twilight’s new friend.

He had scared her a bit at first, but even only knowing him for such a short time, she had come to feel as if she could trust him completely; a rare thing for the usually overly-shy yellow pony.

Now all she had to do was check in and wait for Shepard and Twilight to finish with whatever was happening back in town. It had been several minutes since the fireworks and--

“GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS… HOOVES… WHATEVER… OFF OF ME!” came a shout that shattered whatever peace there was in the growing nighttime, causing Fluttershy to snap to reality as she looked down to the ground in shock of what she saw.

A large, enclosed wagon was set outside the main doors of the hospital, a row of armored stallions standing along the trail leading to it as several more were frantically trying to keep hold of a struggling earth pony. He had apparently managed to work off an improvised gag that was now laying on the ground, no fewer than four Royal Guards half dragging the stallion towards the cart.

“Now, Mr. Tart… We’re trying to help you,” one of the stallions stated, grunting as the pony struggled, kicking out wildly and fighting in spite of the straitjacket he wore. “The facilities at Canterlot are far more--”

“MY NAME IS NOT BITTER TART!” the stallion shouted. “IT’S MILLIGAN, YOU STUPID EQUINE! THEY ARE LYING TO YOU! CAN’T YOU SEE IT!? IT’S ALL A LIE!”

“Why aren't the tranquilizers working!?” one of the guards queried, trying to keep the surprisingly stout earth pony from kicking him in the face.

“I don’t know… just… get him in the cart.”

“SHEPARD!!” the stallion called out as the door to the cart opened and the four armored stallions press-ganged him into its threshold. “SHEPAAAAARD!!”

Keeping to the air, Fluttershy dove around towards the upper levels of the hospital as she tried to get a view of the pony being dragged away…

And to her shock, caught view of something she had not expected in the cart next to where Milligan had been thrown…

Something pink, wrapped in a similar straitjacket covered in chains, a very large muzzle forced over her snout as she too struggled against her bonds for just a few moments before the door was slammed shut.

“Pinkie Pie!?” Fluttershy gasped quietly as her hooves went to her mouth. “Oh my gosh… What is she doing in there?”

One of the guards paused, looking up towards the roof of the building.

Above them he saw nothing… and dismissing the sound, turned back towards the cart to fly escort as the guard pegasi that had been holding a silent position hitched themselves in to carry the wagon aloft.

Moving out from her hiding place along the rooftop, the yellow pegasus watched as they were pulled quickly to the sky and out of view.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh!” Fluttershy’s eyes filled with tears as she tore through the air back towards Ponyville, unsure of what else to do.

————————————————————
Sweet Apple Acres

Rarity didn’t often walk the dusty road to Sweet Apple Acres, as there was little call for an aspiring socialite and fashion designer down on an earth pony farm. Save for the occasions where she was roped into aiding Applejack with a particularly difficult harvest or for events like the opening of Cider Season, of course.

Already she was imagining the bath she would need to indulge in to get the dirt of the farm off of her white, velvety coat, and considering what fragrances to put in the water.

It was some surprise then when the unicorn came up to the arch that stood over the path that led to the Apple Family house and barn proper, taking note of the elderly green mare that was leaning too and fro in her rocking chair, looking out over the road.

“Good evening, Granny Smith.” Rarity put on a smile and bowed her head respectfully to the matriarch of the Apple Family. “I hope you’re doing well tonight.”

Granny continued rocking, staring blankly out over the road as if she had not heard the unicorn, although now Rarity was close enough to take note of the mute expression in the old nag’s eyes.

Growing a bit worried, Rarity raised her voice a bit, waving at the green-coated, grey-maned earth pony.

“Granny Smith? Are you alright?”

“Storm’s a-comin',” the elder mare stated plainly in her creaking aged drawl, still not looking up. “Worst one Ah’ve ever seen. Ponies may not be able ta weather this’n.”

Although at first relieved, Rarity couldn’t help but note the ominous nature of her words.

“Oh, I didn’t think the Weather Patrol had any big storms scheduled for the week... and certainly nothing dangerous,” the unicorn tried to reassure her. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Oh, I came to see Applejack and Patch... you remember? Your new hired-hoof... Are they in?”

“Mah memory’s jus’ fine, missy. Better’n yours, Ah’d reckon. Mah age, nopony listens anyways. So no point in messin’ with it no more.” Granny Smith shook her head. “They was entertainin’ somepony, Ah think... Back in the barn.”

“I see... Thank you, Granny. I... hope you feel better,” Rarity shook her head, feeling a bit sorry for the aged mare.

It couldn’t be easy reaching that age, she thought... and she dreaded to think how she might look if she got to be--

*CRASSSSSHHH*

*RAAAAAWWRRRRRR*

Rarity was snapped to reality in an instant as the side of the Apple Family barn exploded outward suddenly, a familiar roar shaking the trees for miles around as the starry night sky itself seemed to erupt from within.

Frozen in place, Rarity could not tear her eyes away as a bear-shaped beast she had seen once before dipped its head down for a moment, coming up with something secured in its teeth.

It took Rarity a few moments to register the form of the limp mare, held up by a thick vest that she recognized as one she had personally sewn together, but that couldn’t cover the patchy brown and white nature of the pony's checkered fur.

But it took no time at all for Rarity to recognize the rope that was slung up and over the towering bulk of the ursa minor, tying around and tightening over one ear before it darted forward. Nor could she ignore the obvious shape of a certain stubborn farm pony with the other end of the rope clenched in her teeth, refusing to let go even as she was pulled up through the air, the enormous ursa making leaping strides towards the Everfree.

The entire event, loud and sudden as it was, was over in less than a minute, leaving a very overwhelmed fashionista standing in shock with her mouth hanging open while the door to the Apple Family house opened up, revealing an equally-shocked Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom in the doorway.

“Yep... Ah reckon they’re ‘round here someplace,” Granny Smith stated obliviously, not even turning around as the remains of the Apple Family barn toppled creakily to the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

————————————————————
Ponyville

From where the scissors landed on the stage, a sudden plume of smoke exploded outwards and a dangerous-looking creature with the body of a large lion, bat-like wings, and a wicked-looking scorpion tail sprang into existence. While a short distance away, as the marionette cross struck the floor, it too burst apart, the fractured bits of wood expanding and growing in seconds into the form of several wolfish creatures, apparently composed out of nothing but sticks and vines.

And with a full-bellied laugh, the creature that still defied gravity, floating effortlessly above the stage, rolled onto its back and grinned as the monstrous beasts dove off and towards the crowd of ponies, who panicked in an instant, darting to get away.

“Discord! Why...? How...?” Twilight was still in shock for a moment as one of the wooden wolves dove across the stage at her, snarling with what looked like tree sap foaming at its mouth.

Not stopping to think, Shepard surged forward, putting himself between the unicorn and the creature in a defensive position...

*ZOOM*

*KA-CRACK*

...before a blur of rainbow colors came shooting out of nowhere, impacting the creature at high speed and shattering it into a thousand twigs while causing the Commander to recoil as his mind instantly reeled back to a very similar bolt of light that had driven him off a planet’s surface only a few short hours ago.

"Twilight!” came a new voice, somewhat androgynous, but nonetheless welcome as Shepard came to note the appearance of a new pony, this one with a very lean, athletic build, wings, and a blue coat that was topped (and ended) by a perfect rainbow mane and tail that Shepard doubted was natural.

“RAINBOW!?” Twilight pepped up, her stunned moment having passed. “Thank CELESTIA!”

A sudden scream stole the moment before any further inquiry could be made by the already lost Commander Shepard, drawing both of the mares' attentions to the crowd which was already under attack from all sides as the timberwolves and manticore, creatures that were rarely seen outside the Everfree Forest, attacked.

With a few ponies already hurt and on the ground bleeding from wounds inflicted by thorny claws and the manticore’s tail, there was no time for strategy or discussion.

The rainbow mare turned, clearly a pony of action, and nodded to Twilight and the stranger.

“Give me the Cliff's Notes later! I hope you know how to fight, Red, because we’re gonna need help!” she said quickly, before diving forward at a speed that Shepard would not have thought possible... except for all of the other things happening around him that he didn’t think were possible.

“Come on!” Twilight dove past Shepard as well, trying to fight back any sense of doubt she was having as the violence escalated around them. The civilian population of Ponyville; mares, stallions, and more than a few foals, were all under vicious attack.

An attack that was suddenly underneath Shepard as he felt another wave of pressure surround his body, the effect of gravity lessening as he was lifted back and away.

“SHEPARD!” Twilight turned for a moment as the Commander again struggled against the biotic field.

“GO! THEY NEED HELP MORE THAN I DO!” Shepard shouted with a commanding tone, snapping Twilight from her hesitation and causing her to turn and leap off the stage, her horn alight as she rushed to the aid of a pony that the manticore was angrily bearing down on.

“Oh, you are sooooo sure of that, aren’t you, Shepard?” Discord asked, lazily lounging as he drew the red earth pony in armor up more than fifty feet into the air, holding him in position. “Because if I were you, I would have other concerns.”

Much to the draconequus’ disappointment, the red pony did not struggle or try to get away, merely folding his forelegs together and glaring at the impossible creature before him.

“Like 'letting me in to see what I’d do'?” Shepard stated blankly, causing the creature’s face to burst into a grin.

“Ahh, you remember me! I did think that was odd... simple cybernetics interfering with a biometric rewrite. I bet she didn’t even try to get into that handsome little head of yours. Except for programming the motor functions, obviously, but it wouldn’t do to have you falling all over yourself, now would it?"

“Great, now you’ve got me. Call off your flunkies,” Shepard demanded, his expression still blank.

“Oh, yes... There are those heroic mannerisms coming into play. That is what she thinks of you, isn’t it? That you’re some kind of savior? Somepony to do what she can’t? What nopony’s EVER been able to do?”

Discord’s giddy expression dropped suddenly, his misshapen eyes growing more hardened and angry.

“But we both know that such idealism has no place in the real world, Shepard. There are no heroes... Just players on the galactic stage, coming and going in their time. And we both know... your time is running out.”

Shepard’s eyes narrowed as well, not fighting with the feeling of being lifted against gravity as his mass was manipulated and thus keeping himself upright.

“Who... and what... are you?”

Discord smirked again as the calls from below drew Shepard’s eyes in spite of himself, bolts of purple and trails of rainbow darting about... Making an impact, but perhaps not enough to protect all of the ponies as they continued to run in the chaos.

“Awww... feeling a little conflicted? Tell you what, I’ll give you the option...” Discord casually flicked his wrist, a small plastic bottle in his furry lion paw as his eagle-claw hand moved over and pulled from it a stick with a hoop at the end.

Blowing a fairly large bubble, Shepard watched as an image formed on its surface.

And drew in a breath as his emotional mask all but shattered.

From an above perspective, he could see Mordin and Tali, face to face with what looked like a black pony with insect wings... Although he heard nothing of the exchange, the sight of them in a tunnel that looked suspiciously like the one they had explored earlier made it hard to ignore.

“Your friends have been found by one of my associate’s little dismantling droids. Good thing they’re unarmed... or the changeling would already be carving them apart with the high powered fusion torch in its horn, and salvaging any technology they have on them. Like those ships you probably saw outside our little bunker,” Discord explained, clearly enjoying the expression on Shepard’s face. “They might be able to handle it by themselves... They might not. Of course, the Changelings are notoriously unreliable when it comes to combat. That fusion torch might just tear a few little holes in the female’s suit... and who knows what might get into her system.”

“Don’t. You. Dare...” Shepard tried to reach forward, but flailed a bit as he rotated haplessly in the frictionless hold of the biotic field.

“Oh, don’t mistake my intentions; It’s not up to me. However... I could send a little something out to ‘take care’ of the changelings... Maybe even give your alien friends an edge,” Discord stated. “You know... help your genocidal doctor friend and your lover in the bubble-suit.”

“You son of a...” Shepard couldn’t contain a snarl, not caring where the creature got his information.

“Ohhh, such a temper.” The draconequus drew his claw back over his brow theatrically, apparently uncaring of the cries for help below them. “Being angry with me isn’t going to solve anything, you know. It surely isn’t going to help your colorful friends deal with my pets.” Discord broke his dramatic mood for a moment. “Which is actually pretty funny to watch, by the way...”

Discord smirked as Shepard’s eyes narrowed on him.

“Just because I can tell you're simply BURNING with questions... it would be rude of me not to relieve you of your ignorance. Of course, my timetable is a bit... chaotic. If you want to help them, have it your way... Play the hero. These ponies don’t have long left in any case. But I assure you... I'll be gone long before you finish... and so will your answers... Or, if you would rather think of your team first and save your friends back in the bunker, I can do that... Although, I’ll have to leave to send that signal. Can’t do it from up here, you know. And I’m afraid I won’t be dropping you off before I leave, so you’ll have to hang around up here until somepony can get you down. Or we can chat... and let them all fend for themselves... But who knows? Maybe by the time we're done there'll be time left over to clean up my mess before anypony gets... too horrifically injured. They need never know you had any say in the matter.”

"And why would you bother with this game?" the Commander asked, glaring all the while. "You could just as easily keep me up here and tell me nothing. I'm obviously at your mercy... What sense does it make?"

Discord grinned.

“Sense? What fun is there in making sense? It's all a game, don't you see? And there is no point in playing if one's character isn't tested... So, which will it be, Shepard?"

Choices:

"It was never a choice." (Save the Ponies)

~~"Turn off the mechs." (Aid Tali and Mordin)~~

"Start talking." (Get Some Answers)

Part 6: Fog of War

View Online

"I already know what I'm going to do," Shepard bit back grimly, his eyes closed as Discord leaned forward, his single fang and asymmetrical features twisted back in a terrible grin.

There was a moment of pause as the red pony’s eyes suddenly opened, an undeniable fire burning in their steely grey color. Pushing his weight back, Discord was caught off guard as the pony fell backwards, pushing his legs back and stiffening as he rolled weightlessly…

*CRACK*

…and his hooves connected sharply with the bottom of Discord’s elongated snout, giving the embodiment of chaos a moment of pause as he reeled back, rubbing his chin in surprise.

“LET ME GO!” the pony Commander demanded, as he came spinning back right-ways up, having clearly come to terms with the amount of force needed to manipulate his currently massless state.

For Discord, there was the temptation, just for a moment, to renege on his offer. To strike back at the insolent creature for his blasphemous assault; a whim that nearly won over until Discord seemed to register what was said.

Then his mischievous grin returned.

“Ohhh, such a poor choice of words,” Discord snarked, snapping his eagle talon fingers.

The disorienting feeling faded in an instant, and for a moment that felt like it lasted an eternity, Shepard hung in the air with a sluggish realization.

Then, with a short, startled cry… he began to fall.

“HAVE FUN!” Discord called down after the falling pony, snickering wickedly as he rolled in the air on his back with his goat leg kicking a bit in amusement before vanishing in a burst of white light.

————————————————————

Commander Shepard had trained for many things in his career.

From pressure extremes, from arctic chill to blazing heat, from zero-gravity to the physical stress limits for humans; N7 Marines were masters of versatility.

However, no amount of training could prepare a man (or pony, at the moment) for the terrifying, panic-inducing sensation of plummeting from a great height with no means of slowing his descent. Sure, he could use air resistance to slow his fall slightly by spreading his body out, but that might only buy him a second or two.

Doing some quick math in the part of his brain that wasn’t panicking, Shepard realized that although the seventy-five to one hundred foot altitude that he was held up at might not sound like much, it was more than enough to shatter every bone in his body… Assuming the impact didn’t just kill him outright.

"Reboot Diagnostic online."

Shepard’s heart jumped as he heard a familiar, calm female voice in his embedded earpiece and a faint hum against his skin indicating his armor was somehow receiving power. But even in his current situation, he was able to recognize that the voice didn’t belong to his armor’s V.I.

"Kinetic barrier generation sequence initiated… Online… Charging."

“Well that’s one less thing to worry about!” Shepard rolled his eyes in spite of the impending danger, the ground rushing towards him… although admittedly taking longer than he had supposed.

Even fully charged, his personal shields were only designed to stop projectiles and small concussive impacts. Slamming at near terminal velocity into something solid would only overload them.

"Don’t sound so ungrateful…"

Shepard, feeling strangely calm in the face of imminent death, noted the amusement in her voice.

“…Who are you?”

"Deus ex machina inbound."

“What?” Shepard was too stunned to be frightened as he turned his eyes downward.

Wait… this was odd. He still felt like he was falling... But the ground… didn’t look nearly as close as it should have been by now…

*FLUMPH*

Shepard felt something impact him from behind, suddenly altering his momentum into a forward shift, gliding over the scene of chaos below.

“Gotcha!”

“Fluttershy!?” Shepard was stunned as the yellow pegasus gripped him under his forelegs, keeping a firm grip despite having only hooves. Internally, he marveled at how her tiny wings could hold herself aloft, much less another…

And then he felt it, the subtle disorienting shift of gravity around him generated by his rescuer… enveloping both himself and the pegasus in an imperceptible mass effect field.

A scream from below tore Shepard from his revelation as the battle below was laid bare.

Twilight’s horn was ablaze, attempting to maintain the attention of two of the wooden wolf creatures as she assaulted them with what looked to be raw kinetic blasts. While ponies still ran for shelter, Rainbow kept bringing herself up in the air and dive-bombing the attackers, using her own body as a weapon and sporting more than a few cuts and bruises for the effort.

Neither method was proving very effective, as there were still multiple wooden wolves that were running amok, and those that were being burst apart from impact seemed capable of pulling themselves back together; the branches and twigs that made up their bodies defying everything that Shepard knew about xeno-biology.

For a brief moment, he was certain he saw Rarity running into the fray, stopping short as she was confronted by a sap-snarling, thorn-clawed beast before he lost sight of her. But more troubling and immediate… Shepard took note of the largest of the attackers, an enlarged lion-like beast with a scorpion tail, completely unopposed as it bore down on a grey-coated blond pegasus mare and foal that had been backed into a corner, cut off from the rest of the herd.

“What are those things?” Shepard asked quickly.

“Timberwolves. Carnivorous plants that can tear ponies apart in seconds,” Fluttershy answered quickly. “The big one is a manticore. Those are tough… REALLY tough. Oh, no! Ditzy!” she squeaked as she struggled to catch her breath, horrified at the scene before her. “Oh my goodness… Shepard, what do we do?”

The red stallion’s expression hardened.

“There's only one thing to do…”

————————————————————

“Mommy…” Tears of fear rolled down the small unicorn’s eyes as she cowered.

“N-no… Please…” The grey mare shook her head, attempting to shelter her filly with her body as the manticore bore down on them, the monster’s eyes gleaming in a sadistic amusement that was all but alien to the wall-eyed mother.

A tear ran freely down her cheek as the monster brought up a clawed paw, positioned for a devastating swipe.

*BLAM*

The mare winced, turning away as something fell from the sky, impacting the manticore with such an explosive force that it was forced back several steps before falling back on all fours. The stunned beast shook its maned head in shock before narrowing its vision on the interloper.

Looking back up, Ditzy's mouth fell open as she watched the red-coated, black and white-armored pony stand defiantly between them and the creature. After sparing her a look back, allowing her a moment to see his eyes and recognize him as the pony that Trixie had dragged up on stage, the strange stallion stood on his hind legs, pushing his hooves together to crack his fetlocks slightly.

“Just try it…” he stated, his tone menacing as he brought his hooves up in an aggressive, but awkward-looking position and a flickering light shimmered around him, his barriers entering recharge after their forced detonation.

The creature did not hesitate, driving forward as the stallion held his ground.

Right until the last second, when instinct took hold and the Commander dropped to all fours, twisted around…

*KRACK*
*SNAP*

...and bucked two back hooves into the creature’s face with such force that its head bent backwards with a sickening crack, its momentum sending it barreling off to the side before it fell over, twitched once...

...then laid perfectly still.

“Holy sweet Celestia…” the pegasus uttered under her breath, her eyes unable to turn away from the dead creature as Shepard surged forward.

“Twilight! They're made of wood! Start a fire!” he shouted, rushing forward at full tilt towards one of the wolf creatures menacing another stallion, who was covered in wicked cuts.

“Where am I supposed to--”

“Fireworks! In the stage setting! GO!” Shepard crashed into the timberwolf with his shoulder, sending it sprawling as he attracted more attention, the pack of plants clearly recognizing him as a threat. Turning his eyes skyward, he caught sight of the blue-coated pegasus that was starting to slow, looking as if she had been running through a briar patch. “You! Rainbow! Stop hurting yourself! Rush in front of stragglers! Cut them off and help me round them up!”

“What!?” Rainbow, stopping several feet above Shepard as she darted by, looked pained and strangely insulted as she glared down on Shepard. “Who the hay are you to be giving me orders!?”

“DO IT!”

There was such force and authority in his tone that Rainbow nearly fell out of the air, her wings flapping as her eyes went wide and she gulped, snapping her foreleg up in a salute before diving forward without another word. A rainbow-like beam trailed after her as she zipped around faster than any living thing Shepard had seen, diving in front of the various creatures while Shepard pulled away, walking backwards as several of the creatures started to pace towards him aggressively, snarling tree sap.

“Come on, Twilight…” Shepard uttered under his breath as a quick glance around revealed that many of the ponies that were still capable had fled, either running to hide or in some cases turning back to help, as he saw several of the candy-colored equines returning to aid their injured neighbors.

Rainbow zipped overhead again before coming down to the ground next to Shepard. Panting for breath, she fell into step beside him.

“Okay… I think that’s all of them.”

“You should get out of here,” Shepard advised, noting how the pony looked to be on her last legs, her limbs twitching with exhaustion while her coat was stained with several lines of red, surprisingly human-looking blood.

“Like hay I will… I’m not backing down from a fight. I’m in this to the end or my name’s not Rainbow Dash.”

Shepard, in spite of the savage, impossible creatures surrounding him, couldn’t help but smile; giving the mare an appraising look over and admiring her spirit.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Shepard… Commander Shepard,” he introduced himself, still walking back as they drew the creatures closer to the stage.

“Wait, you’re the alien stallion Pinkie Pie was talking about?”

“Now… may not be the best time…” Shepard huffed, noting how the semicircle of predators was closing in on them, clearly searching for some sign of weakness in the two ponies.

*Thunk*

Then a ball of canvas landed between the ponies and the timberwolves, causing a moment of pause…

*FIIISSSSSSSSSSSS*

...before sparks erupted from the ball, sparkling fiercely like a fuse as Shepard recognized the improvised incendiary for what it was.

*FWOOOOSH*

A revelation the timberwolves never had a chance to reach as they were suddenly engulfed in a torrent of colorful fire. Bursts of color snapped and flared in the flaming gout as the metallic explosive powder was packed into a shaped charge wrapped in the canvas. The timberwolves, clearly vulnerable to the flames as their bodies were literally made of dried tinder, howled in terror and tried to escape, their thin legs snapping as the joints popped in the heat and their hides blackened.

“Okay, that’s… impressive,” Shepard admitted, feeling only a slight backwash of heat as Twilight’s device created a light-show that was likely visible for miles, burning the creatures to a crisp.

“…AND WHO PUTS WILLOW WOOD TOGETHER WITH CHERRY!? DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF COLOR COORDINATION!? AND ANOTHER THING, ARE THOSE LEAVES GREEN OR GREY!? GREEN OR GREY!? MAKE UP YOUR MIND! DON’T MISMATCH YOUR MOSSES!”

The sound of the howling was put to shame as Shepard looked past the flames to see Rarity, her expression indignant, chasing after one last remaining timberwolf, who was rushing away from her at top speed, whimpering with its vine-like tail between its legs.

Whether in blind panic or merely escaping the bright white pony, Shepard couldn't be sure as the plant creature charged almost directly into the fire… making no effort to avoid it as the tailor came to a halt.

Much to his surprise, he heard Rainbow Dash snicker beside him.

“Heh… Rari-cide.” she shook her head, sitting back on her haunches in an exhausted manner while Fluttershy daintily came to ground.

“Is it over?” she asked, looking between her friends, drawing Shepard’s attention from the blaze to its instigator, the purple unicorn that stood looking out over the stage, watching the blaze as it started to die down.

Shepard huffed slightly, running over everything he had been presented with in the past fifteen minutes.

“Not even close…”

————————————————————

“It’s a puppet…” Twilight shook her head in disbelief, her magic lifting the figure of the once "Great and Powerful Trixie" from the stage where it hung limply in the grip of her magic. “A life-sized pony doll with full articulation…”

“But how's that possible?” Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her head as she looked over the aftermath of the fight. Although there were plenty of injuries and a few close calls, Ponyville had made it through the attack without losing anypony. Already, Mayor Mare was ordering an "investigation" of the incident. An investigation that would rather conveniently wait until morning.

Rainbow shifted her shoulders, wincing a bit as her own cuts stung and silent in the realization that as bad as it had been… it could have been worse if the red stallion hadn’t gotten involved when he did. A lot worse.

“I don’t know… I mean, she was alive… or she seemed like she was alive. The dramatic flair, the ham-hooved acting, the over the top flourishing movement. It was her,” Twilight considered as she looked in Trixie’s eyes, which were now obviously lifeless and made of glass. “I mean, was it just a ploy…? A distraction? Or has Trixie always been a… a fake?”

“Twilight… If Trixie was a fake pony made by Discord, then how could we have met her before he broke free…? For that matter, when did he break out again? I thought he was turned into a statue after the last time we tangled and the Princess took him back to Canterlot.”

“I don’t know, Rainbow…” Twilight shook her head, gently setting "Trixie" back down.

She wasn’t a friend… Heck, Twilight never even liked Trixie. But still, it was hard to see… this… in her place… Worse perhaps than viewing a cold, lifeless body… She now was in possession of an object that had never been alive to begin with.

“I don’t know what to think anymore…” the unicorn sighed, looking out over the stage and down past the smoldering, scoured spot where her quickly-rushed firetrap had managed to end the timberwolf threat.

There she saw Shepard talking with Rarity and Fluttershy, the three of them speaking animatedly, although she couldn’t hear the conversation. But she could guess its meaning though, as Shepard bowed his head and his lips pulled back in frustration.

“Whatever's going on… he’s right in the center of it all,” Twilight stated aloud, more to herself than to Rainbow as the pegasus moved beside her.

“Who is he?”

“That’s just it…” Twilight shook her head again, watching as Shepard pulled away from a concerned-looking unicorn and pegasus and trotted towards her. “I don’t really know.”

“Twilight… They’re gone… Patch and Milligan have both been abducted,” Shepard explained quickly.

“Oh, my…” Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth. “Okay… so we’ll try to find them… and we can--”

“No… First I need some answers.” Shepard shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he came up to the edge of the stage, pushing himself to his hind legs as he set his forelegs up on the lip of Trixie’s setup. “Who is Discord? And while we’re on the subject… who are Celestia and Luna?”

————————————————————
Normandy: Briefing Room

“How long do you expect us to wait, Miranda?” Garrus Vakarian paced back and forth in the meeting room, making the seated Joker more than a bit uncomfortable as the scarred turian’s tone became more agitated.

“As long as it takes until we can figure out what the hell is going on, Garrus,” Miranda Lawson put it sternly, keeping a level head, but clearly not caring for his insubordinate tone.

She had never approved of "Archangel" being included in the list of possible recruitment dossiers that the Illusive Man had sent to Shepard to begin with, thinking that a turian vigilante would never be able to properly follow someone else’s orders. But when she learned that the mysterious "Bane of Omega" was an old friend of Shepard's who had helped defeat the traitor Saren and foil his Reaper allies’ plot to take the Citadel two years ago, she had been even more concerned.

His loyalty to Shepard was unquestionable; and in this situation, a very dangerous liability.

“It’s been hours already and we’ve been sitting up here... how do you humans say it? ‘With our thumbs up our asses’?" Garrus responded glibly, earning him a stern glare from Miranda. "Look, I’m not saying we rush in without thinking. I have a plan.”

Miranda sighed as she set one hand on her hip before looking at Joker. Now she regretted letting Shepard take the two biggest brains on the ship with him as either of them might be a valuable asset in their current situation.

“Joker, where do we stand?”

“Well, I’m not standing anywhere if you’re asking me personally…”

“I’m not the Commander, Joker… And I’m not amused by your prattle. Just cut to the chase,” the Cerberus officer responded coldly.

“Alright, jeez. I’m just not used to this whole personal briefing thing. Usually when the Commander wants to talk, he comes to the helm and talks… Okay… look. Damage was minor. Donnelly and Daniels have everything patched up already, but we were lucky.”

“Lucky? I wouldn’t call being fired on by an unknown and obviously advanced adversary as ‘lucky,' Joker.”

“We’re ‘lucky’ because they only grazed us with the first shot. Stealth systems probably muddled whatever they were aiming with, just enough to keep it from being a bulls-eye, but they knew we were there.” Joker shook his head. “Kinetic barriers went down almost instantly even with our upgrades. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna have ‘shot down by Space Rainbow of Death’ written down in my obituary.”

“We’re fortunate we found a blind spot in its targeting range…” Garrus added, sighing as he remembered the frantic few moments as they tried to dart around the moon and realized that its effective range was far greater than they would have liked. “As far as we can tell, the Lagrangian Point is the only safe zone. I fired some probes to test its targeting capabilities… Take it from me: From a dead stop… there’s no way we’ll make it more than a few hundred kilometers from this spot.”

“And communications are still jammed?” Miranda asked.

“Yeah, last signal we got out was you trying to warn Shepard, but we don’t even know if he got that. Everything else has an effective range of about a dozen meters,” Joker explained. “Beyond that... not even static.”

They were nailed to a wall, unable to call for assistance, and most damning…

“What about EDI?” she asked, sitting down at the conference table.

“Still unresponsive. It hasn’t said a word since the attack started. According to our diagnostic, EDI’s putting all of its computing power into cyber-warfare to defend the ship from something, but we can’t even detect what it is. Legion managed to ‘ping’ her wirelessly…”

“I am still against that idea, by the way,” Garrus spoke up.

“...and said EDI was ‘engaging hostiles.’” Joker finished. “We couldn’t get anything else out of it.”

Miranda let out a short, aggravated sigh as she looked over to the turian, already knowing what he was going to say next.

“Not that I don’t have confidence in EDI’s abilities, but if something else manages to take control of Normandy, we’re all as good as dead anyways,” he stated grimly. “Whoever's down there could move us into their weapon’s range, decompress the entire ship or simply overload the engines and watch the fireworks.”

“And what do you suggest?” Miranda scowled, hating feeling so trapped that she had to give in to the alien’s logic that "sitting and waiting" wasn’t going to help.

“We fire all of our probes at once… and then launch the Hammerhead for high-altitude drop,” Garrus started, moving to the table to bring up a holographic representation of his plan. “I measured the weapon as having an almost fully inclusive target on anything in orbit, suggesting a large, articulated cannon of some kind… but it can only fire a single beam at a time. While it’s distracted, I can take a small team and try to reach the surface... Hopefully below the weapon’s range. We’ll investigate, disable or destroy whatever is powering the device, and then at least we’ll have a chance at trying to extract Shepard’s team.”

“Assuming they’re still alive.”

Miranda regretted this very realistic statement in an instant, although she didn’t show it as both Garrus and Joker glared at her, silently condemning her for such blasphemy.

Miranda didn’t have the luxury of such blind faith in the Commander. As impressive as he was, Shepard was just one man. She knew all too well what went into bringing Shepard back the first time he had died… and she didn’t think that there would be a second version of the Lazarus Project.

“Who are you taking with you?” Miranda asked, eager to change the subject.

“Thane is an expert in improvised infiltrations, so he’s the obvious choice... And as much as I hate to admit it, Legion should be able to deal with any technical issues we come across, if we’re lucky.”

There was a moment of silence as Miranda looked to the holographic interface, watching the simulation run of the lunar-based weapon decimating the probes.

Of course, she also realized that regardless of her answer, this plan was already set to be put into motion and the only man who could talk Garrus out of it was the one he was trying to save.

“Do it.”

————————————————————
Books and Branches Library

“…and so now these ‘Princesses’ rule the land, ringing in the day and night?” Shepard asked, his tone neutral as if he had run out of things to disbelieve in the walk that had led him back to where he had woken up earlier that day.

It was already dark out, the silvery moon absent from its perch high in the sky as the stars had come out, any light pollution caused by the earlier fireworks now gone and allowing for a spectacular view.

“Oh, yes… They’re the kindest, most gentle and wisest ponies ever…” Fluttershy explained, Twilight having grown silent as the two mares had shared with herself and Shepard the circumstances in which both Patch and Mulligan had been taken, and the fact that neither of them had been alone in their abduction.

This was getting to be too much… And as she usually did when she had run into the limits of her own abilities, Twilight felt she had to seek out aid from the one mare that would certainly have all the answers.

“Spike! Where are you?” she called out as Shepard, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow walked into the library.

“Okay… So what you’re telling me is that they… like Discord… have nigh-godly powers… pretty much bending and warping the most fundamental laws of reality on a whim. Is that about right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but…” Rarity started before an irritated groan took all their attention away, Rainbow stomping a hoof.

“What is wrong with you all!? Applejack got dragged off into the Everfree by a fracking URSA and you’re talking history!?” she shouted, pointing hoof at them accusingly.

Shepard was about to speak when Rarity stepped forward, cutting him off and allowing him to observe the dynamic between these apparently close friends.

“Well, technically we’re talking current events and a who’s who of Equestria, Rainbow Dash… I don’t suppose that--” Rarity never managed to say what she supposed as the athletic cyan mare was suddenly right in front of her, pressing her snout against the white-coated unicorn’s.

“We’re wasting time! Ursas are almost as bad as dragons! Who knows what’ll happen to AJ… Or this Patch filly!? They could get eaten or something, and we’re just sitting here!?”

“I know it looks bad… but Applejack can take care of herself, Rainbow. You know that…” Fluttershy interjected, moving up beside Shepard. “Pinkie Pie was helpless, and so was Milligan. And if they were being taken to Canterlot in a padded wagon… that can only mean one place… Bedlam.”

“So what!? At least we know there aren’t any URSAS in Canterlot!” Rainbow shouted back, quite surprised when the normally-timid pegasus pony stood her ground. “Giant monster… or mental hospital... Yeah, kinda easy to see--”

“Spike!” Twilight stomped a hoof, watching the stairs leading up to her loft a moment longer before Shepard’s attention was pulled towards the figure that was sleepily stumbling down the stairs.

It was shorter than he was, although he had little reference for actual height given his altered shape and the scale of the things around him. But coming up to about the size of his legs, a bipedal reptile with purple and green scales as well as large, slit green eyes, came down the stairs stifling a yawn.

So this was "Spike"… According to Rarity, he was Twilight’s live-in scribe and a baby dragon… A concept that Shepard had trouble believing until now.

Of course, that was on top of all the other things he was having trouble believing.

“Jeez, what’s all the hubbub?” the dragon asked in a scratchy, tired voice before stretching and reaching behind himself to scratch his tail with a set of short, but sharp-looking clawed fingers. “First fireworks, now yelling… How is a dragon supposed to sleep around here?”

“Spike! This is an emergency, I need you to take a letter immediately.”

“Okay, okay… Gosh… Uhhh... Hey girls, what are you all doing here at this time of night?”

“It’s still early…” Shepard was surprised, looking over the young reptile alien as he so casually accepted the Commander's presence. “The sun only set an hour ago… Why were you asleep?”

“Oh, he’s a baby dragon…” Fluttershy explained, pulled away from her "disagreement" with Rainbow for a moment. “He needs his sleep.”

“Uhhhh, yeah… I kinda do…” Spike looked over to Fluttershy with a strange confusion. “But everypony knows that…”

“Spike! Letter!”

“Oh, right… Sorry.” Spike moved to a small desk, taking stationary and a quill from it before dipping the feather into an inkwell. “What’s the rush, Twilight? Is it just that good of a friendship report or--”

“SPIKE! Ponyville was just attacked by Discord and somepony is taking Shepard’s friends! We need to contact the Princess, now!”

Spike, paper and quill in claw, gave Twilight a strange, confused look.

“Who’s Shepard?”

“Him… That’s Shepard.” Twilight waved a bit towards the red-coated pony, who waved a hoof in acknowledgement. “Fluttershy brought him by earlier while you were out on errands.”

Spike looked at Shepard a moment, following where Twilight’s hoof had pointed.

“Uhhh… Who’re you talking about?”

Twilight, Shepard, and the other ponies all reeled back a moment in shock.

“Him... There... I know you’re sleepy, Spike, but he’s kinda hard to miss.” Twilight pointed again… the dragon following her direction to look right at…

No… Right through the stallion.

“Are you talking about… Rarity?” Spike sounded confused, drawing a stunned silence from Twilight.

Shepard felt Rarity set her hoof up on his back, patting him as she watched the young dragon with concern.

“Spike… he’s right here… Can’t you see him?”

“There’s nopony there…” Spike shrugged, beginning to grow uncomfortable. “Are you girls… okay?”

Twilight shook her head, her mind grasping for answers.

“You can’t see him? At all?” She tilted her head, stunned. “But... half of Ponyville watched him get dragged up on stage… Trixie and Discord and…”

“Spike…” Shepard stepped forward, interrupting the unicorn and watching the dragon for any sign of response, but there was none. “Can you hear me?”

“Aaaaaand… what?” Spike kept his eyes on the unicorn. “You… kinda trailed off there.”

Moving over to the dragon’s side, Shepard waved a hoof right in front of his face.

“Why are you girls lookin’ at me like that?” Spike asked, growing more and more concerned.

What happened next took the air out of the room as four ponies gasped in shock, when Shepard went to tap the dragon’s shoulder…

...and his hoof passed right through the dragon’s scales and body.

“What’s wrong!?” Spike almost panicked with their reactions, the four mares staring wide-eyed at him.

“Spike… do you feel…” Twilight winced as Shepard went a step further, waving his hoof… which passed right through Spike’s head as easily as if it were air. “…a-anything strange… right now?”

“I’m starting to feel creeped out with the way you girls are looking at me… Maybe I should…”

There was a sudden shimmering in the air, Shepard pausing as a haze tried to descend on his mind.

“No! Oh, no you don't!” Shepard shook his head violently, looking up to note that the young dragon was gone, the inkwell and stationary he was holding back in their place on the desk a few feet away. “Twilight… Just now: Who was standing here?”

Twilight shook her head, disoriented.

“What…? I... Oh... We were talking to… uhh…” she stumbled a bit, pausing and bringing her hoof up to her neck. “…My heart’s racing… Were we running?”

“Talk to me… What do you remember? What just happened? Do you remember Spike?”

“Spike? Yes… of course. We were just talking to… No… he... He’s out of town… Has been for days… on a visit to--”

Shepard set a hoof to Twilight’s mouth.

“Rainbow Dash… Where's Spike? When did you last see him?”

“Uhh…” Rainbow looked likewise confused, her mind a hazy fog as she shook her head. “This afternoon… he was running errands when I went by Sugarcube Corner for lunch… Wait, I could have sworn...”

“It’s weird…” Rarity also seemed a bit befuddled. “Like… when you have something in your hooves and… then you suddenly don’t know where it went…”

Shepard turned back to Twilight, lowering his hoof as she looked around wildly.

“But… he went out to… to visit…” She paused. “Who did he go visit? I can’t…”

“Twilight… It’s alright… Calm down.”

“We were just talking to--”

“Twilight, stay calm.”

“I can’t remember…” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Oh, sweet Celestia… Something… Something was inside my MIND!?”

“It’ll be alright, Twilight…” Shepard tried to keep her calm, catching her eyes and locking them with his own.

Twilight had never actually looked before… but now that she did, she couldn’t pull away.

Those eyes had seen so much… Done so much. They were full of kindness… of hope… but also of pain and loss on a scale she could barely comprehend.

“I… I’m not afraid you might be crazy anymore…” Twilight barely whispered, fighting back tears as her friends watched sadly. “I’m afraid you might be right…”

————————————————————

“We have to go see the Princess…”

Shepard had given the ponies time… Time enough to come to terms with the revelation that something was tampering with their memories. Something that for some reason was unable to remove him from their recollections.

So it was a shock when Twilight spoke up a mere ten minutes later.

“Princess Celestia will know what’s going on,” she explained, looking to her friends with an expression of absolute certainty. “I know it... She’ll be able to explain everything.”

“I don’t know about that, Twilight,” Shepard started, going over the last things he remembered from before he had woken up as a pony. “As I recall, Celestia was the name given to the voice that wanted me ‘terminated.'”

“That’s not true!” Twilight objected. “Princess Celestia is the kindest, most generous, most amazing pony in Equestria… She would never--”

“We don’t have time to go to Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash objected. “Applejack got dragged into the Everfree Forest. Even if she could somehow escape from the ursa with Patch, the Everfree is filled with monsters. She needs us... And she’s a lot closer and in greater danger than--”

“By now, Pinkie Pie and Milligan have reached Canterlot,” Fluttershy spoke up, surprising her friends yet again with her forwardness. “From there, they'll be taken to Bedlam Hospital… It… won’t be pleasant...”

“Fluttershy, dear…” Rarity looked to the pegasus. “I have to agree with Rainbow Dash… Applejack and Patch are both in much greater danger… Bedlam is a hospital, just like Ponyville General. Why would they be in danger there?”

“Because it’s NOT!” Fluttershy snapped in a harsh tone most unbecoming of herself which caused Rarity to take a frightened step back and away from her.

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked, watching the yellow pegasus for a moment as she turned away, hiding behind her hair.

“I don’t… I don’t know. I just… I remember going there… back when I was filly… before I came to Ponyville… and… It’s a bad place... Somewhere I never wanted to go back to.”

“Why not?”

Fluttershy looked away, shamefully.

“I can’t remember…” she admitted, her voice tinged with fear and pain.

“The Princess can solve everything…” Twilight repeated again, like a mantra that was devoted to keeping her calm. “She has the power, the resources, and the knowledge. We can find out exactly what's going on. And she’ll certainly help us get Applejack and Pinkie back safely. Right? Right...?”

“That’ll take too long! We can go see her after we get Applejack and then Pinkie back!” Rainbow stood, aggressively stomping her hoof. “Our friends need us, and while I agree that we need to get them both, Applejack is in more danger.”

“Applejack is the most capable pony we know. But poor Pinkie Pie... We have to get both her and Milligan out of Bedlam before it’s too late…” Fluttershy spoke up again.

“Too late for what?” Rarity asked.

“I DON’T KNOW!!”

Fluttershy’s loud, angry response was enough to cause Rarity to draw back, afraid to come closer to her friend.

For a moment, just a moment, Shepard heard something familiar in Fluttershy’s voice as she shouted… An angry, volatile rage that he had come to identify with Jack, the tattooed, loudmouthed, explosively biotic-powered woman that tended to keep to herself in the darkest, deepest, most secluded part of the Normandy.

Untempered emotions such as those were hardly born without reason. And in the case of Jack, it led to her wanting nothing more than to blow the place in question to hell with a thermonuclear device.

There was no doubt in Fluttershy’s voice: Pinkie and Milligan were far from safe.

“Girls!” Shepard spoke up, getting all four of their attentions on him. “I know you’re all frightened and scared… and I’m sorry for bringing you into this… but our first priority should be to...”

Choices:

~~"Save your friend from that monster." (Everfree Forest)~~

~~"Have a chat with this 'Princess.'" (Confront Celestia)~~

"Get Milligan and Pinkie out of that place." (Bedlam Hospital)

Part 7: Innocence Lost

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“…take care of our friends,” Shepard finished, looking over the four assorted equines. “All of our friends. If Fluttershy’s right, then whatever’s happening in Bedlam is something that needs to be dealt with immediately. I’ve lost Milligan once already, I can’t risk anything else happening to him.”

Rainbow Dash balked, moving snout to snout with Shepard in the blink of an eye.

“Oh! So you’re going to go and help your friend!? Big surprise!”

“Rainbow Dash, think for a moment!” Shepard showed some teeth as he spoke, a surprisingly primal expression that did actually manage to set the pegasus back. “I don’t have your wings or a horn. I don’t have any of my gear working, my weapons, or even so much as a flashlight. Going into a dense, dangerous forest right now, in my armor, all in nearly pitch black darkness, I won’t do anything but slow you down. I said we needed to help all of our friends… yours and mine. And that means I need your help!”

Rainbow drew back, her expression concerned, but tinged with curiosity as her eyes never left the alien pony.

“Two of your friends are in trouble… and so are two of mine. We can’t put all of our resources into one rescue mission or we end up placing a priority on the lives that are counting on us. If we’re going to save as many as we can, we have to be tactical about this,” Shepard continued, all eyes on him as he quickly fell into a familiar pace of speaking… one often reserved for important missions. “I’m a newcomer to this world; I'm not familiar with the monsters and creatures that live in this forest. But you are, Rainbow. You can move through the trees and cover ground faster without having to explain things to me. You have the guts and the drive to take charge of this mission yourself… And after seeing you stand up for those ponies against the timberwolves, I can feel like I’m putting Patch in good hands.”

At this admission, the mare drew back, rubbing her neck slightly.

“W-whoa, hold on… I’m not a soldier or anything. I don’t--”

“You stood your ground against the monsters when there was no good reason we could have stopped them… You’re rash, hotheaded, and raw. To tell the truth, you remind me of how a friend of mine used to act…” Shepard smiled slightly. “One that I would trust with my life… and do so on a daily basis.”

“And you won’t be alone, Rainbow Dash…” Rarity spoke up suddenly. “I put a turquoise in the vest I made for Patch, and a rather large one at that. We can use my gem-finding spell to track it down.”

“And I can get us to Canterlot quickly… and then get in and talk to Princess Celestia. I know she’ll help us... She’ll want to find out what is happening as well,” Twilight stated quickly, obviously intent on making it perfectly clear that regardless of what was said, she would be seeing her sovereign ruler. “But what about you, Shepard?”

“Fluttershy?” Shepard turned to the yellow pony, who surprised all by standing up straight and tall at being called upon, a very odd reaction to those who knew her well. “I have to get to Dr. Milligan before anything else happens to him. He may be the only one that can help me to understand all of this. Can you take me to Bedlam?”

“Yes… It’s in the lower levels of Canterlot. I know the way.”

“If I’m lucky, then we can get in without anyone getting hurt…” Shepard nodded.

“And if you’re unlucky?” Twilight asked, a slight knot forming in her throat as she realized that Shepard’s plan might very well involve violence towards other ponies; a concept that she found absolutely abhorrent.

Were the circumstances less dire… or personal... she would immediately have objected to the notion, of course. But as it was, with the revelation of Discord’s return, the attack on Ponyville, the abduction of Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and the impact of learning her own memories had been tampered with, she couldn’t bring herself to speak out any more fervently.

“Then I’ll minimize injuries as best I can,” Shepard stated in a serious, somber tone. “I don’t want to hurt your people, Twilight. But if they don’t give me any alternative, I won’t let them keep me from completing my mission and getting both Dr. Milligan and Pinkie Pie out of there safely.”

Twilight shuffled a bit on her hooves, obviously discomforted by this.

“Twilight… I have been completely honest with you since the very beginning. I’ve told you everything… even when you didn’t believe me,” Shepard said simply, moving towards her. “I know it’s hard and neither of us have all the answers… but right now, I'm going to ask you to do the single most difficult thing that one sentient being can ask of another…”

Twilight looked up to him, the red stallion’s demeanor calm, commanding, and all but awe-inspiring.

“I'm asking you… to trust me.”

————————————————————
The Hammerhead

“Vakarian-Squad Leader,” the distorted voice of the geth platform dubbed "Legion" by Shepard and EDI echoed in Garrus’ comm as he tried to focus on maintaining his approach to the moon in spite of the turbulence that was jostling everything on board. “We question the validity of your previous statement as it applies to us. The Geth possess neither ‘socks’ nor ‘jocks.’”

“Old human expression. I picked it up off of one of their classic war vids,” the turian explained as he tried to juke the Hammerhead slightly from side to side, avoiding bursts of light from the lunar surface. “Just hold on and try to stay together over there. Thane, are you praying?”

“Yes. Dutifully,” the drell assassin’s croaky, vibrating voice was calm in spite of the violent shaking.

“Try doing it a bit harder would you?”

“We are still alive in spite of your piloting, Garrus… I would say that my prayers are thus far answered,” Thane’s voice betrayed no emotion as the vehicle continued to rock violently.

The plan had gone off beautifully, of course… Garrus couldn’t complain. The Normandy's M-44 Hammerhead hovercraft had launched along with over two dozen probes, each giving their all to distract the high-powered, highly-accurate weapon on the moon’s surface as they dropped, skirting the atmosphere in a gentle reentry.

It was rough on them, of course; The jet-powered troop transport wasn’t recommended for such high drops. But then again, there were many things that were not "recommended" that the Normandy’s crew did anyways.

Having a geth A.I. platform flying copilot, for example.

“Sensors are unreliable. Visual scans have placed the energy weapon's point of origin at latitude one hundred ninety degrees north, two hundred thirty degrees east,” the gestalt intelligence informed its current squad leader as the shaking lessened. “Update: We have successfully maneuvered below the weapon’s effective range.”

“Any sign of anti-aircraft or aerial defense forces?” Garrus asked, checking the diagnostic of their transportation. The navigational V.I. had been disabled, allowing the geth and turian to share full manual control in order to prevent the possibility of access by whatever it was that was occupying EDI’s full attention.

“Negative, Vakarian-Squad Leader,” the geth answered. “A possible conclusion is that the defense system is automated and those that constructed it did not expect any transgressors to make it past orbital firing range.”

“A sound assumption…” Thane added. “Normandy is one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy and Joker is the Alliance’s finest pilot, and yet we only barely managed to find the weapon’s blind spot in time. Lesser vessels would not be so lucky.”

“Directives, Vakarian-Squad Leader?” Legion asked, turning his flashlight-like head towards the turian.

“...Take us in.”

————————————————————
Canterlot

There was quiet on the streets of the Pony Capital at this late hour, a soft, warm breeze passing through the buildings that gave an eerie feeling to the normally-bustling metropolis.

...A calm before the storm.

This silence was broken in a sudden flash of purple light, depositing three pony shapes near a large fountain.

“Impressive...” Shepard commented as he looked around.

Truth be told, in spite of his superficial nonchalance, Shepard’s mind was reeling… If these ponies’ "magic" abilities were akin to the biotics frequently used by certain individuals amongst the galactic races, then the implications were staggering. Jack, his emotionally-unstable biotic teammate, and Samara, another companion who happened to be an asari justicar of substantial ability herself, were the two most powerful biotics he had ever met. And even they couldn’t hope to use their power to create a mass effect corridor allowing for instantaneous transportation... Such things were considered impossible by the galaxy at large.

And this pastel-colored pony creature had managed just such a feat, while considering it to be something commonplace. Either her power stemmed from something other than what he thought... or Twilight was hands-down (or hooves-down) the most powerful biotic in the galaxy.

That didn't mean it looked easy, however, as the teleportation’s instigator panted for a moment, looking as if she had just sprinted through a marathon.

“Okay… This is as close as I could get you… Canterlot's Lower District…” Twilight drew in deep, gasping breaths as beads of sweat ran down her forehead around her horn. “Just… don’t make me regret this, Shepard… Okay?”

“You won’t, Twilight. I promise,” the Commander stated clearly, setting a hoof to her shoulder.

Twilight, clearly driven by what had transpired around her, nodded, taking a deep breath as her horn began to glow again. Her face looking strained with effort, the unicorn disappeared in a flash of purple light.

“Aaaand chalk up yet another physical impossibility.” Shepard shook his head. “I’ve lost count so far of how many of those I’ve seen since I arrived here.”

“Commander, it’s this way!” Fluttershy spoke up, her expression grim as she moved to the air and started down an apparently random street.

Following along at a quick trot, Shepard looked about at the architecture, which was quite different from that of Ponyville, looking to have an almost Victorian Earth styling to it that was too close to his own culture to be a coincidence.

But this was not the only thing that was on his mind as he heard the yellow pegasus leading the way, breathing heavily and muttering under her breath.

“Fluttershy… Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead,” the mare approved, her expression casual.

“What’s happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I first woke up in Twilight’s tree-house, you were so withdrawn it was almost painful to watch. You seemed like you were terrified of any conflict, scared in the face of any confrontation… but now you seem to be a great deal more… aggressive, for lack of a better term.”

The pegasus paused, hovering in place a moment with her wings flapping, Shepard watching her expression as it passed between thoughtful and concerned.

“I don’t know… It’s just… as long as I can remember, I’ve found so many things simply terrifying. I was scared… of everything. I remember a lot of therapy growing up, trying to help me get over my fears and anxieties…” she admitted. “But… ever since I saw Pinkie in that wagon… I’ve been thinking about my time in Bedlam… or rather trying to think of my time in Bedlam.”

“What happened there?”

“That’s just it… I don’t really know,” Fluttershy admitted. “My earliest memories are of walking out of its gate as a filly, feeling like the whole world was a predator about to pounce on me. They said that I was ‘fine’… then they sent me to Cloudsdale… where I was picked on and pushed around by all the other pegasus foals. And every single time… I was too afraid to do anything about it.”

“Some things cross species well enough, I suppose…” Shepard nodded. “Social anxiety being one of them.”

The yellow and pink pony grimaced as she came to ground, walking alongside Shepard as she lowered her posture.

“I found I preferred the company of animals to most ponies, so I became a caretaker and a veterinarian. But… you… I can’t explain it, but when you started shouting… I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I felt… like I was suddenly part of something bigger, more important… And strangely enough… I… liked the feeling. And after what happened in Twilight’s library… I can’t remember Spike being there at all, but we all somehow know he was. It’s… terrifying… but…”

Fluttershy turned away, huffing sharply.

“For the first time in my life, I'm angry… Not just frustrated or annoyed… but really, truly angry. I can feel my blood boiling and the gnawing in my head that something has happened that I can’t remember. I can’t explain how… but I know that’s where it all started… Back in Bedlam.”

The two ponies stopped short, coming to the end of the alleyway as it opened up to reveal a large, multistory building that was tucked away in a corner of the city that seemed to prevent it from falling into easy view.

A large ironwork fence surrounded its perimeter, adding a Gothic look and feel to the setting as Shepard took note of the two solid white-coated, gold-clad armored guards standing before the gate leading up to the main entrance.

“Alright… Here goes nothing.” Shepard shifted his shoulders, straightening his armor before starting forward.

There was a moment of hesitation, the yellow mare looking down with a concerned look before her eyes hardened.

“I’m right behind you…” she stated, taking that first step beyond, in her mind, the point of no return.

——————————————————————————
Everfree Forest

“It’s quiet…” Rarity uttered, her horn slightly aglow as she followed the pull of her magic, directing her towards the specific type of precious stone that she had set into the "cow-hoof" vest she had fashioned for the flighty, slightly-disturbed mare that Applejack had taken in.

They had been moving deeper into the dark forest for some time, but had heard not a single chirp or cricket since passing the treeline. Nothing, save for the crunch of dried leaves under her hooves or the soft beat of pegasus wings overhead.

“Too quiet…” Rainbow whispered back, her eyes darting from side to side as her earlier enthusiasm was worn thin.

Something wasn’t right here.

“Where are we?”

“Well, we’re nowhere near Zecora’s hut…” Rarity looked around, trying to get her bearings as she looked for any familiar landmarks, and sorely wishing that the forest's resident zebra apothecary was around to guide them. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say we were heading…”

“…to the ruins of the Sisters' Palace…” Rainbow completed for her.

Rarity nodded, but couldn’t help but add:

“That doesn’t seem right though… I mean, doesn’t the path seem a bit less… convoluted… than it did last time we went there?” The fashionista shook her head. “Are we coming at it from a different direction? We haven’t passed the cliffs… or the river where we met that charming sea serpent.”

Rainbow put a bit more effort into her flight, gaining some altitude above Rarity as she squinted, looking around. “I think I see those creepy trees that scared us last time, but they’re way off in the distance…”

“Rainbow Dash, how can you tell one grove of creepy trees around here from another?”

“The same way you can tell the difference between all those hoity-toity fabrics you--” Rainbow gasped suddenly. “RARITY! STOP!”

“Wha--” The unicorn didn’t have a chance to finish even that word as her hoof went down… and the ground simply wasn’t there. “AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!!”

Rainbow wasted no time, throwing herself in a dive at a speed even she would have been impressed by, shearing through wind and branches as she quickly caught up with her friend and grabbed hold of her.

“GOT…cha...” Rainbow strained, suddenly feeling dizzy as she tried to surge upward. “Ugh! What’s with the air down here? It’s so… thin and…”

“Dash…” Rarity’s eyes were wide as the two friends pulled up and were able to get a better look at what was before them.

If they didn’t have to worry about the fall, Rainbow’s wings would have likely seized up as she took in the scene.

This part of the Everfree Forest was gone… large strips of land and trees simply… gone. No holes or dirt remained, it hadn’t burned or been plowed over by some large monster… no chasm was there in place of the large tract of land.

There was only empty space… filled with a swirling white mist that seemed to go down forever.

“What… in the name of Celestia…” the pegasus was dumbstruck as she made out shapes in the distance, like floating pieces of debris.

“Maybe we should turn...” Rarity started to look back the way they had come, clearly beyond mortified by the devastation before her horn glowed again, tugging her along.

In the direction leading across the blank, swirling white mist.

“Applejack… is in THAT?” Rainbow looked horrified, her wings still beating and keeping them aloft.

“I don’t know… but apparently, Patch is.”

The two ponies looked to one another… clearly asking one another the same question.

—————————————————————
Canterlot Royal Palace

Twilight Sparkle passed the armored guards stationed in the hallways without harassment, her hooves clipping sharply along the polished floor as she made a desperate rush forward.

Her entire life was spiraling out of control; questions that she had never before given a second thought coming to mind and throwing what she knew about her world and her place in it to the winds.

How could Discord be free and Trixie be a puppet? What had happened to Spike, her dear friend… practically her sibling?

Part of her mind was still screaming at her that he had gone off to visit somepony… That he had been gone for days. But then she also remembered specifically telling Shepard that they would get Spike to send a letter…

Shepard…

She remembered him so clearly; Far more so than most of the other recent events of her life. Why did he think that Celestia, her beloved Princess of the Sun, wanted him… dead? If Shepard was an alien, why had he taken on the appearance of a pony? What were these amazing things he spoke of…? This galaxy in peril that was filled with wonders, horrors, and technologies beyond even her wildest imagination… all sorts of thinking, unique creatures that interacted across the galaxy...

And most damning of all… Why did the concept appeal to her so?

Yesterday, Twilight Sparkle had been happy; content in everything that her life had provided her… But now… there were so many questions.

Questions she was depending on a single pony to answer.

Reaching the Princess’ throne chamber, Twilight moved to set her hoof against the large, decorated doors...

“This is all your fault, Discord!”

...and stopped cold. The familiar voice, long a source of pride and comfort to the unicorn, was filled with a terrible malice.

Drawing her hoof back, her eyes widened in horror at the voice that answered her.

“Now… that’s unfair, Celestia… I think you’re at least as much to blame as I.”

Leaning forward, her ear to the crack in the door like a naughty filly eavesdropping on a conversation she shouldn’t partake of, Twilight Sparkle held her breath…

...and listened.

———————————————————————————
Bedlam Hospital

“Name?”

The grey-maned unicorn showed no expression as a clipboard remained leveled in front of his snout, the white lab coat he was wearing perfectly pressed and wrinkle-free.

He had no cutie mark, but the emblem on his wardrobe was one of two winged unicorns, one white, one dark blue, apparently chasing one another with a green and blue globe centered between them.

And on a table before him lay his patient, surrounded by a dozen varied and complicated-looking machines that were hooked into the slab. The brown-coated pony was quite secure in spite of his struggles, his forelegs strapped down to either side while his hind legs were spread out. Given his violent nature, his head was likewise restrained, preventing the earth pony from moving more than his lips.

“Milligan, Horace… Doctor. Homosapien… Xeno-technology Specialist… Cerberus,” the patient huffed out, a spiteful, angry tone permeating every syllable while he strained against his restraints.

“That is quite a deep-seated delusion, Mr. Tart…” the grey unicorn shook his head. “One that it is in your best interests to put behind you.”

“Fuck you, equine!”

*BZZZZZT-ZAP*

Dr. Milligan winced as voltage passed through his body, gritting his teeth as his head burned.

“Hmmm… a very deep-seated delusion it seems. Come now, Mister Tart… I have your file right here, and it does not lie… Bitter Tart… Marital status: single. Cutie mark: an orange diamond with black lower outlines, symbolizing the Gem-Stroke Writing Society… An avid and renowned science fiction writer… recently moved to Ponyville from Fillydelphia. Don’t you enjoy writing science fiction, Mr. Tart?”

“I… am not one of you, you bastard!” The patient twisted and writhed. “I’m… human!”

“A fictional species of your own creation that seems to have struck quite a chord in multiple patients over the years since it was first published,” the nameless unicorn assured him, keeping a flat, level tone. “And it seems you’ve delved a bit too far into your own mythology, Mr. Tart.”

Another jolt ran down the patient’s spine, forcing him to grind his teeth together.

“I take no pleasure in this, Bitter. But rest assured, we will be able to correct this unfortunate dementia. Bedlam Behavioral Correction has an absolutely perfect record of recovery.” The grey-maned unicorn looked at his chart again. “Hmmm… no reaction. Odd... The brain chemistry is off. There should have been at least some synaptic alteration by now.”

*ANNNGGGHHHHH-ANNNGGGHHHHH*

A sudden, blaring klaxon sounded, drawing both the patient's and attending physician’s attention.

Much to the unicorn’s surprise, there was an unbidden chuckle from the restrained patient.

“Something amusing, Bitter?” the unicorn asked.

“Yeah…” "Bitter Tart" answered. “I’m not a fan of military action… or soldiers in general… But if that’s who I think it is… and if even half of the stories are true… then you should be running.”

———————————————————————————

“We have an unauthorized breach!” a guard shouted, charging forward with his head lowered in an aggressive fashion, intent on bowling the intruder over...

...only to be caught by the weight of the other guards as he was thrown back, crashing into his compatriot with a dull thump that sent the pegasus soldier skidding across the floor and into a far wall with a crash.

“CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS!” another colt, younger than the others, took a step back. The grey unicorn's horn was aglow as he launched another attack; a bolt of grey energy that should have been more than enough to fell any pony.

An attack which did little as it struck a shimmering blue barrier surrounding the red stallion, lighting up for just a moment as he engaged with another pegasus guard. Twisting around as the white-armored pegasus charged in, attempting to tackle him outright, the red stallion kicked his legs low, snapping the attacker’s legs back with a cry as his armor weighed him down in the front, sending him collapsing to the side.

“I’m sorry…” came a voice that trotted past the injured pegasus, following in the red stallion’s wake. “But don’t worry, we’ll send somepony out to help as soon as we can.”

“My leeeegg…” the guard whimpered pathetically as he laid there.

“Well, you did charge him first.” Fluttershy found herself… strangely at ease with the violence as Shepard took a few more steps forward towards the last of the most recent wave. The grey unicorn from before was continuing to fire bolt after bolt into Shepard’s kinetic barriers, eyes wide as the armored stallion wasn’t even slowed.

“Impact threshold: minimal. Raw kinetic stunning bolts. Non-lethal. Kinetic barriers at seventy-six percent,” his armor’s V.I. informed him, resorting to audio cues as his usual HUD was unavailable.

“What… in… Celestia’s… name…” the unicorn panted, firing shot after shot with the stallion not even flinching. “…are… you!?”

The stallion moved into melee range… and immediately reached up to smack the unicorn’s horn with his hoof, which reverberated with a painful twang that sent spasms of pain down the unicorn guard’s spine.

“I’m Commander Shepard… And I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to shoot me,” the stallion told him, watching the grey pony recoil in mild agony. "Now, I tried asking nice… I tried being polite and diplomatic. But after the guards at the gate... and the front desk… and now you lot... tried to put me down, I am out of patience. All I want to know is where you’re keeping Dr. Milligan and Pinkie Pie!”

“I… can’t…” The guard looked around, cowering slightly as he tried to find some way around the stallion who was backing him into a wall. “Protocols indicate--”

“Make an exception!” Shepard demanded.

“You’re… not authorized… I… can’t...”

Shepard was stunned when he felt a hoof at his flank nudge him aside, the yellow pegasus scowling as she moved towards the guard.

Then she opened her eyes… wide… her pupils seeming to shimmer as she leaned towards the unicorn, setting her nose against his.

“Tell us where Bitter Tart and Pinkamina Diane Pie are… RIGHT… NOW!”

Whatever fear was in the colt’s face while facing Shepard turned into a fully-submissive wilt right before the Commander’s eyes as the yellow pegasus glared.

“Administrator authority recognized…” the guard stammered slightly.

“What?” Shepard puzzled, looking at the sudden change in the guard’s demeanor.

“Patient Bitter Tart is being processed in the Behavioral Correction Center… Down the hall and to the right. Administrator Pinkamina Diane Pie is in isolated containment.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘Administrator’?” Shepard asked.

The grey unicorn ignored Shepard completely.

“Answer the question!” Fluttershy’s voice spiked again with anger.

Before the unicorn could respond… the air began to shimmer.

“Fluttershy! It’s starting to--”

“Error!” the grey unicorn barked out suddenly… then collapsed to the ground in a heap, causing Fluttershy to draw back a step in shock.

Shepard and Fluttershy stood silently for a moment, looking to one another before the red stallion asked:

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah… I… felt it that time. I was demanding to know where Milligan and Pinkie were… then it got fuzzy, but… it all fizzled before anything else happened.” The mare shook her head a bit, looking down at the guard for a moment.

Her eyes widened in shock as she leaned down, setting a hoof in front of his snout.

“...He’s dead,” she confirmed her suspicions, but to both her own shock and repulsion… felt no hint of remorse.

Shepard turned and saw that the hallway behind them was empty; none of the stallions he had managed to incapacitate anywhere in sight with the exception of the grey unicorn.

“Error…” Shepard narrowed his eyes, his thoughts racing as the pieces fell together.

“What?” Fluttershy looked back to him, stunned.

“The last thing he said… ‘Error’… I think I’m starting to understand…”

———————————————————————————
Everfree Forest

Rainbow Dash’s wings and body cried out for rest as she finally touched down on solid ground, collapsing into an unceremonious heap.

“Ooohhh... I never thought I would be so happy to be on the ground…” she panted, her flight muscles aching terribly as Rarity flicked her hair.

“Oh, come now, Dash… it wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“Dragging your sorry flank across an endless, bottomless abyss filled with floating chunks of rock that can’t possibly exist?” Rainbow growled a bit in her throat as the unicorn smiled. “Next time… I swear I’m dropping you.”

“You know you don’t mean that... Besides, I’m doing my job… Magic compass, remember?” Rarity pointed to her horn, its faint glow indicating that they were still going in the right direction.

“I just... need a minute to catch my breath…” Rainbow shook her head, looking back over her shoulder.

It was like standing on the edge of the ocean. An endless, open, white ocean made of clammy mist. She didn’t know how far she had carried Rarity or how long they had been flying, but she knew it was no short distance to bring them from the edge where the Everfree Forest ended… to the first solid bit of ground they had found.

Turning back, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were looking up at the ruin of a once magnificent castle… The place where they, along with their friends, had once faced Nightmare Moon, the corrupted form of the now-recovering Princess Luna, and unleashed the Elements of Harmony for the first time.

“You’re sure they’re here?” Rainbow asked, looking around. “This isn’t the kind of place you would expect an ursa to show up..."

"Maybe Applejack did escape and they made it here as refuge?”

“Yeah, still doesn’t explain the fact that… you know… HALF THE FOREST IS GONE!” Rainbow shouted, a bit louder than she knew she should have as she pointed back to the empty space. “What in the name of Celestia is that all about!?”

“I don’t know, but--” Rarity didn’t get a chance to say any more as she suddenly felt something grip around her neck. “Wha… ACK!”

The grip became a powerful tug as the white unicorn was pulled backwards violently, Rainbow twisting around to watch her get pulled down.

“RARITY!” she started forward, her exhaustion slowing her just a half second or so.

Long enough for something to slip around her midsection, strapping her wings to her flanks before yanking her to the side.

“WHOA!” Rainbow as sent sprawling on her side while Rarity tried to pull herself up, her horn glowing more vibrantly as she felt a hoof suddenly plant itself on her chest, causing her to look up and gasp.

Rainbow struggled for a moment more before she was pulled back and pinned against a dead tree, suddenly face to face with the last pony she would have expected to ambush her.

“Tell me somethin’ y'all ain’t never told nopony else!” the orange mare demanded, her tone as aggressive as her southern drawl was thick.

“APPLEJACK!? What the buck do you think you’re doing!?” Rainbow was shocked as she recognized the rope around her midsection.

“Patch!?” Rarity gasped slightly, finding it remarkable to see the brown and white-spotted mare glaring down at her, the end of a lasso in her mouth. The brown work-vest she had fashioned, with a turquoise brooch as the latch, was fit snugly around her shoulders.

“Tell me who y’all rolled in the hay with last Cider Season!”

Rainbow Dash’s cheeks went redder than the red stripe of her mane, her tone terrified.

“You promised we would never speak about that again!”

“WHO!?” Applejack’s green eyes glared angrily into the magenta set of the blue pegasus, demanding an answer as she pressed her friend more firmly into the trunk of the tree.

“Awwww, BUCK! Caramel, OKAY!? Me and your cousin Caramel! In your barn! Now GET THE BUCK OFF!”

Applejack let out a tense sigh before she relaxed, pushing off and giving her friend a bit of space.

“It’s okay, Pat… It’s really them.”

“OF COURSE IT’S REALLY US!” Rainbow rushed forward with her new-found freedom, shoving the farm pony away in anger. “WHAT THE HAY, AJ!? THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR COMING OUT HERE TO SAVE YOUR FLANK FROM AN URSA!?”

“Rainbow…” Applejack started.

“NO! What the hay is WRONG with you!? What, you think we're changelings or something!?”

“That’s exactly what Ah was worried about! And it wouldn’t be the first time today! Ah had ta be sure!”

“Changelings!?” Rarity pulled herself up as Patch moved her hoof, undoing the coiled rope around her neck. “Those horrid black insect ponies that can change to look like anypony? Did they do that?” She pointed out towards the empty, broken space.

“No… they didn’t…” Patch spoke up, her voice even and her accent foreign-sounding, bowing her head. “Your Princess Celestia did that…”

Both unicorn and pegasus rocked back in shock, trying to keep up as this new bit of information was thrown at them.

“What? That’s… How!? WHY!?” Rainbow turned on the strange filly.

“She was trying to prevent our rescuer from getting out of the Everfree,” Patch explained.

“Who?” Rarity turned about inquisitively.

“Me,” came a new feminine voice from the doorway to the castle, an odd reverberation drawing the four mares' eyes to her.

———————————————————————
Bedlam Hospital

The brown-coated, salt and pepper-maned stallion writhed and struggled against his bonds as the machines around him beeped, a muzzle placed over his mouth that he desperately strained against.

“Dr. Milligan…” a voice caught his attention, causing him to go still as he tried to strain and turn his head towards the words, his muffled voice attempting to speak. “It’s okay…”

A sharp set of hoofsteps brought an unfamiliar stallion into view, bright red coat and grey eyes, but wearing a definite Alliance-style body armor.

“I’m Commander Shepard; I’m going to get you out of here.”

The bound stallion tried to shake his head violently as the Commander reached up with both hooves and undid the muzzle, pulling it free.

“It’s a trap!” Milligan practically exploded as the muzzle released its grip.

“I know…” Shepard replied calmly, hardly surprised as a sudden shimmering energy dome exploded into life around them.

“Well, this is unexpected.” A grey-maned unicorn stepped out of the darkest corner of the room, having deliberately hidden as he looked to the two stallions. “Unregistered Neural Anomaly detected and contained. The Princess will be pleased.”

“Well, that’s something at least.” Shepard nodded, remaining calm. “But if you don’t mind my asking: Now that you have me, what do you intend to do?”

“Neural Purge will begin momentarily… Biometric rewrite and registration, followed by personality restructure to facilitate seamless integration. Please remain still for the duration of--”

“NO!”

The doctor turned at the sudden voice with only a moment’s notice to see a streak of yellow and pink impact him around the middle, slamming him into the energy curtain in a shower of rainbow-colored sparks.

“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!!” Fluttershy shouted with a desperate anger, tears welling up in her eyes as she took one hoof and repeatedly slammed the stallion’s head into the barrier, sparks flying all around, multiple machines bursting into overpowered cascades of spilled energy as the system overloaded.

“NOPONY ELSE!” The yellow pegasus, a mare suffering from a lifelong, debilitating timidness and anxiety at any provocation, released all of that pent-up frustration and aggression in one final strike, pushing all of her effort into shoving the now painfully-familiar unicorn against his own magical ward.

*FZZZZZT-THOOOM*

The energy curtain fell, as did the pegasus and unicorn pushed up against it, Fluttershy landing atop his limp form as tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

“Nopony else…” she sobbed, her eyes clenched shut as a torrent of suppressed memories came rushing back: A reckless, angry foalhood… A small yellow monster bullying foals twice her age with the ability to cow full grown adults without fear of retribution or punishment…

...A trip to Canterlot… and the doctors that promised to make her a "good little filly."

“Nopony else…” she shuddered.

“Hey… it’s okay…” A warm, calming presence stood over her shoulder, offering a hoof to coax her up. “It’s over… Come here…”

The pegasus stood on shaky legs, allowing herself to hang onto the red stallion like a lifeboat for a moment as it all settled in her mind.

“Not to interrupt this moment, Commander… but a little help would be greatly appreciated,” Milligan spoke up, sounding a bit annoyed as he strained to turn his head. “If we’re going to get out of here, we need to hurry. I doubt the system is going to take long to move in and attempt to repair whatever the equine just broke.”

“Doctor Horace Milligan…” Shepard confirmed, releasing Fluttershy with a comforting nod before moving to his fellow human-turned-pony. “You’re a hard man to find.”

“Commander Shepard... The Illusive Man sent you to recover our work, I take it?” Milligan inquired as the red stallion tried to find a release for the bindings around his legs. “I have to admit, I’m flattered. Figured the greedy bastard would leave us to the crows… Never thought he would send you of all people.”

“Well, you did ask for me.” Shepard found the release latch, working it with his hooves a moment before it popped open. “Luckily for you, the Illusive Man passed it on.”

“What are you talking about?” Milligan pulled up his free hoof and tried to pull over and release his other while Shepard moved to unbind his legs.

“Cerberus got your message, though it was pretty garbled. Most of the report was corrupted beyond recognition, but we got your radiation sample and the underlying Morse Code was genius,” Shepard explained, undoing the two straps holding down the Cerberus scientist’s legs and allowing him to hop down.

Much to Shepard’s surprise, he was met with a worried glance.

“I… didn’t send any such message,” the doctor stated. “I didn’t have time… Our ship was destroyed as soon as we entered planetary orbit. Some sort of global defense weapon placed on the moon.”

“Yeah... Killer rainbow beam with orbital strike capability… We encountered that as well,” Shepard kept his surprise suppressed.

“Myself and one of my associates, Patricia Hern, managed to get out in a lifepod before the core went critical. The V.I. pilot was overridden and we got drawn into an underground compound. One moment, I’m trying to access an alien control panel. The next, I woke up here in Equestria.”

“Well, Doctor, I’m hoping you can confirm my suspicions as to exactly where Equestria is.”

“A better way to put it, Commander…" Milligan said, an academic expression on his muzzle. "...would be what Equestria is...”

———————————————————————————
The Bunker

A pod, a metal and glass-looking tube at least six feet tall and rendered opaque from condensation, stood in easy view, with a slightly white tinted glow.

"We never left the bunker at all…" Commander Shepard commented, his thoughts so close, and yet so far away as he followed the evidence to its logical conclusion. "External forces with complete control over all physical law… altering perception and reality at whim. It’s literally not possible… except in one scenario."

Now drawing closer, a purple and black hand with three fingers reached up to wipe the condensation away...

...revealing the face of a human male, clad in armor and immersed in a clear fluid, eyes shut as if asleep.

"VR…" Shepard could be heard, although not by the quarian that now stood separated from him by only an inch or so of transparent material. "Virtual reality…"

“Shepard…” Tali’Zorah vas Normandy recoiled in shock, her breath taken away as she looked to the human, apparently fast asleep.

“Tali’Zorah! Here!” came the voice of her compatriot, the quick-thinking salarian drawing her attention towards another nearby pod, where an older-looking human with greying brown hair and an impressive beard wearing a Cerberus science uniform was to be seen as the obscuring moisture along the edge of the pod was wiped away.

"No, far beyond that… Not virtual reality, Commander Shepard… Simulated reality," Horace Milligan confirmed as the two alien crew members continued to look around, investigating the strange place. "Full cognitive immersion in a computer-generated reality… Neural integration to the point where the brain cannot tell the difference."

“Occupant of this pod likely the missing Doctor Milligan,” Mordin Solus indicated, bringing up his omni-tool. “Lifesigns strong. Preliminary scan shows full cognitive and spatial awareness. Appears to be some form of suspended animation. Neural interface synced to all synapses. Brute force separation from alien tech… not recommended.”

"So, what you’re saying is that none of this is real…? All these ponies and the people I’ve met? They’re all computer programs?" Shepard asked.

"What? I... I’m not a program… I’m real…" Fluttershy voiced as Mordin moved down… to the next tube in line.

Drawing his hand across it, he took a step back in shock of what he saw…

A short, pale yellow equine creature with wings… belonging to no species known to the Citadel, floating suspended in the nutrient solution.

“Mordin… You’d better come see this,” Tali called, drawing the fascinated biological expert from his stunned academic stance and towards a railing…

...standing over a large cavern… filled with hundreds of upright pods, many of them glowing with the same pale white light and tended to by the small, equine-shaped black mechs that had been identified as "Changelings."

"I’m alive…"

———————————————————————————
Bedlam Hospital

“We have no way of knowing that… Miss…”

“My name is Fluttershy… And don’t you dare tell me that I’m not real!” The pegasus glared at the stallion she had first met when he was set into a straitjacket.

“I don’t know one way or another what you are…” Milligan huffed, turning away. “And I apologize, but we can’t take the chance in trusting any of these things…”

“But why?” Shepard asked, shaking his head. “Why do it? Why create a computer-generated reality and draw humans into it?”

“This is insane! Equestria is NOT some computer simulation!” Fluttershy shouted again, her words now edged harshly.

“I’ll add that to the list of academic questions I can ask once we get the hell out of here, Commander!” Milligan huffed. “Whatever dragged us in, I don't think it's designed to work on humans… which is why we’ve managed to retain our personalities and memories. But there is no doubt that we are DEEP in hostile territory!”

“Wait!” Fluttershy shook her head. “Pinkie Pie! We still have to rescue her!”

“Another program?” Milligan asked.

“WE ARE NOT PROGRAMS! WE ARE PONIES!” Fluttershy shouted back.

Shepard looked to her curiously.

“Fluttershy... What is a computer program?” he asked suddenly.

“A collection of algorithms and programming code within a set system designed to perform specific tasks within a virtual setting…” the pegasus rattled off casually… pausing for a moment before a hoof went to her mouth. “H-how do I know that?”

She looked frightened… confused at the sudden rush of understanding.

“You see…? Nothing here is what it seems, Commander! The only people we can trust are ourselves!”

“You were in a straightjacket!” Fluttershy stomped her hoof. “Why should we believe you!?”

“And you just killed that unicorn! Why should either of us trust you!?” Milligan shot back, an admission that made Fluttershy recoil and look over towards the body of...

Much to her shock… the grey-maned doctor was gone… not a trace of him to be found anywhere.

“But… where did he…?” Fluttershy looked mortified, unsure if it was more terrifying that he wasn’t there… or if he was, and he was dead by her own actions.

“Shepard! We need to go before the system comes here to fix things! We don’t have time for anything else! If we’re going to find a way out of this place, it will have to be together!”

“But… what about… Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy drooped, her tone soft and confused. “She’s still trapped here… We can’t just leave her!”

“I’m leaving Shepard! If you want to play with the ponies, that’s YOUR prerogative! But I have spent QUITE enough time as a prisoner!”

Shepard huffed, looking back and forth between the two…

Choices:

~~"Nobody is getting left behind." (Save Pinkie with Fluttershy)~~

"We're all in this together." (Reconcile Companions)

~~"We can't afford to stay here." (Leave with Milligan)~~

Part 8: On the Same Page

View Online

“And apparently not enough time being an idiot.” Shepard’s voice was dangerously edged as Milligan took two steps towards the exit, causing the fellow human-turned-pony to pause and turn.

“I beg your pardon, Commander?” Milligan took on an equally harsh tone, obviously not being accustomed to such a direct insult and immediately going into an offensive posturing. “Do you not comprehend that every precious moment we waste here brings the hounds of this virtual equine hell that much closer!?”

The Commander had seen this sort of condescension before in civilians, mostly in self-important politicians and diplomats, and knew well enough not to yield, instead advancing a few steps to bear down on the Cerberus scientist.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Fluttershy just saved both of our sorry asses! And for me, that makes it the second time tonight! She is not the enemy and she is not part of what’s happening here! Whatever's going on, virtual world notwithstanding, is effecting her! Look at her, Milligan!”

The Commander, already a master of reading the body language of multiple species, found it easy to follow the abnormally large eyes of the doctor as they flickered over to the pale yellow pegasus, whose cheeks were splotched with tears and whose expression remained just shy of being overwhelmed by the events of the past few minutes.

“Does that look like the face of a virtual intelligence to you?”

Milligan shook his head.

“We can’t trust it, Shepard,” he started.

One of the nearby panels sparked and a screen flickered to life as the Commander grimaced, a symbol of a red star with a chevron making up its bottom points coming up on the screen for a moment.

“As realistic as it may seem, it could be nothing more than a fancy virtual doll with a pull-string--”

The console chimed weakly as the symbol suddenly disappeared.

Shepard took a quick step forward and slammed his head into the other stallion’s, nearly sending the scientist to his knees.

"UNGH!” Milligan grunted in pain as a hoof went to his head. “What the hell!? Do you think you’re a krogan now!? What was that for!?”

“Getting your attention!” Shepard barked, bearing down harshly. “And you can expect a hundred times worse if you run off on your own! You’re standing in the middle of a pony capital city with no intel, no weapons, and no exit strategy! Judging by the mess we’ve made so far, we have both just gone from being an ‘annoyance’ to being a threat. You go off by yourself and I can’t protect you. And I can promise you one thing, ‘Bitter’: There won’t be a second rescue mission!”

The brown-coated pony took a step back, retreating from the more imposing stallion.

“I’ve spent time with these ponies. I’ve seen how they live… How they stand and fight… How they react in the face of hardship. And I can tell you one thing: They are more human than most of the people I know! Believe what you want… but you can’t deny that we need her help. And right now, she needs ours, too!”

Milligan was quiet as Shepard leaned forward, snout to snout with a hardened, combat-weary glare.

“If you still want to run, I won’t stop you... But I hope for your sake you know how to fight.”

The brown pony drew his lip back, showing some teeth while Shepard kept a calm face.

There was a seething silence between them for a moment.

“Fine… We play it your way, Shepard... For now…” Milligan finally said, eliciting a nod from the red stallion, who then turned his attention to Fluttershy as she looked up to him numbly.

“I'm not a program…” she stated again, although there was a depressing lack of conviction behind her voice, as if she were saying this to assure herself more than to convince Shepard.

A different screen flickered as more sparks erupted nearby, the damage Fluttershy had caused obvious even as the symbol of a blue pegasus wing, flared and open, came into being on the broken panels.

“H-he’s wrong… I… I'm not…” the yellow pegasus hiccuped as she shook her head, her body trembling.

Again, the image vanished with a chime.

Shepard stepped forward, putting one hoof over her shoulder.

“I know…” Shepard’s voice softened. “And we’ll get to the bottom of this, Fluttershy. I can’t say that it will be easy… but we’ll find the truth. I promise.”

Fluttershy responded by throwing her forelegs around the red stallion, leaning into him.

“I’m scared, Shepard...”

“I know… but Pinkie Pie needs us,” Shepard told her, drawing back. “And we need you.”

The pegasus looked to Shepard, her eyes shimmering for a moment as she glanced behind the stallion to the disgruntled Dr. Milligan before she spoke.

“...Okay…” she said simply.

“If we're going to do this, then we need to do it quickly…” Milligan huffed. “Before they set up barricades.”

————————————————————
Canterlot Palace

Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the main palace doors and onto the balcony overlooking the city of Canterlot with an expression of blank shock and trembling knees.

This was a nightmare… It had to be…

Celestia and Discord… together… The things they spoke of… What they had said...

Twilight bit her lip again, hoping that she could wake herself.

The sharp pain was familiar by now, but brought no relief or flood of reality rushing in to rouse her from her sleep.

Instead, it served only as another painful reminder that this was no dream at all.

Lost… stumbling slightly as she started moving down the steps leading from the palace to the streets of Canterlot, Twilight found herself unable to organize her thoughts as she often did in the face of her problems. There was a certain numbness that was deadening her to her surroundings even as a guard pony bid her a pleasant evening and closed the gate of the palace steps behind her.

Standing for a moment on the street, the gilded towers where she had received her expansive education laying behind her, she looked up to the stars.

For as long as she had lived, Twilight Sparkle had considered herself a stargazer… Often looking up to the great celestial ceiling to admire the glimmer and wonder of that which lay beyond her reach.

There was no moon tonight… and with its absence, the glow of Canterlot’s streetlamps did little to diminish the beauty of what was overhead.

And for the first time in her life… those sparkling spots of light in the dark sky filled her with as much dread as wonder.

She just wanted things to stay as they were… She wanted to go home to her library and her baby dragon assistant… She wanted to wake up in the morning and study or spend time with her friends… A carefree and happy life.

The pleasant thought was strained as the stars above her were suddenly blocked from view, the shapes of dozens of pegasi flying almost silently overhead breaking her from her introspection as Twilight’s mind suddenly raced.

They were coming from the palace… And those silhouettes… They were larger… Stallions, but bulkier… heavier…

Armored…

Not the simple ceremonial armors and helmets of the Royal Guard… but true fully-encompassing armor that by all means should have been hampering their flights.

Twilight gasped in realization.

These guards were armed for war.

And flying straight for the Lower District.

————————————————————
Ruins of the Sisters' Palace

“Whoooaaaaa...” was all that Rainbow Dash could say as the newcomer stepped out from the threshold of the ruins and into the late evening starlight, and Rarity had to resist bowing as the silhouette moved forward and into their view.

She was about two hooves taller than any of the assembled ponies, her form regal and elegant in a way that no mortal equine could be. At first, the two ponies took note of her horn and wings and had thought themselves to be in the presence of the Princess of the Night, but that belief was banished the moment she stepped into the light.

While almost identical in build to Princess Luna, a stainless chrome horn jutted from her head while her wings were clearly of a mechanical variety. Her mane shimmered and flowed like the Princesses’, but seemed to be a semi-transparent, blurred mix of black and white symbols that neither pegasus or unicorn recognized. And dominating her face were two bright blue, pupil-less eyes that glowed with a constant light.

Drawing their eyes lower, Rainbow and Rarity saw that the new alicorn’s body was covered in a sleek metal rather than fur, with a slight yellow luster and large orange and black stripes running down her legs, almost like racing stripes. Her cutie mark was simply the letters "SR2." If there was any further confusion as to her nature, it was lost when they saw how her joints showed an exposed inner working of black metal and clockwork gears that peeked out as she bent her legs and walked forward.

“Greetings...” The mechanical alicorn nodded its head a bit, a soft whirring sound heard as she did so. “I am the Enhanced Defense Intelligence of the Cerberus vessel: Normandy SR-2.”

Rainbow and Rarity merely gaped.

“You may call me EDI.”

There was another moment of silence.

“I assume by your silence that you are in stunned awe of my avatar’s immense beauty and regal demeanor. In that case, perhaps I should give myself a title.”

Still silence.

“That was a joke.”

“A... Applejack? Patch?” Rarity was the first to speak. “Did... did you two build a robot princess?”

Applejack sighed as Patch chuckled under her breath.

“She's not a robot...” Patch stated. “And my name is Patricia.”

“Rarity, Rainbow,” Applejack managed to drag the two ponies’ attention away from the metal creature before them. “Both a’ ya’ll better sit down fer this...”

————————————————————
The Bunker

Tali’Zorah was absolutely stunned by the simplistic appearance of the system that lay before her. The cavern had clearly been hollowed out, deep under the crust of this planetoid, providing massive space for the stations that were arranged in rows along the floor. While nearly all of them were occupied by the large metal and glass pods, many of those pods were dark and empty, while those that were "occupied" were identifiable by a pale glow as condensation obscured what was inside.

Standing atop a high-rise overlooking it that had a dozen similar stations, only four of which were occupied by three humans and a pale yellow winged equine, Tali took a steadying breath as she reviewed how they had come to this point, the memory playing back in her mind vividly...

————————————————————
Some Time Earlier

“You have thirty-five Earth seconds to comply,” the changeling retained its amicable tone, clearly either unaware or uncaring of the severity of its earlier warning.

Tali and Mordin looked to one another, a non-verbal agreement passing quickly between them as Tali moved to her omni-tool, tapping it lightly and establishing a new wireless connection which was sure to get the mech’s attention.

Mordin appeared to be doing the same, but rather than preparing an information packet, he was charging up a weaponized application in the background of his customized dual-operation system... just in case.

“I am Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, Technical Engineer and Representative of the Quarian Migrant Fleet,” Tali stated aloud as she sent a list of credentials, including the operating licenses that Shepard had paid for to validate her back when she was serving on the original Normandy for the Alliance and Citadel.

“Professor Mordin Solus. Salarian Union. Xeno-biological Expert. Medical Doctor. Former agent in Salarian Special Tasks Group,” Mordin acted similarly as he opened a new connection, which caused the changeling mech to turn its head a bit, a visual cue that it was accepting the new data-transfer. All the while, Tali was in turn preparing her own overloading program, ready to release it into the datastream at the first sign of trouble. “Does this satisfy request for identification?”

This is never going to work... Tali thought to herself, her finger hovering just over the "execute" command of a two thousand megawatt energy spike to be channeled directly into the mech’s central processor.

“Academic and technical credentials translated... Processing... Accepted. Third party technical experts successfully registered. Shining Armor Protocol discontinued... Welcome to the Equestria Facility.”

Tali and Mordin had both rocked back, looking to one another, visibly stunned.

“Temporary visitor identification manufactured and transmitted to all changeling maintenance drones. Please note: This registration will expire in one standard chrono-cycle, equivalent to eight Earth hours. Please see Equestrian Facilities Administration for issue of long-term registration. Also note, that hostile actions or continued presence at the end of the cycle without extended pass issued by Administration will be seen as a violation of the terms of third party technical assistance and be met with an appropriate response.”

“Are... are you serious?” Tali could hardly believe this, having to pull her hand away from her omni-tool to keep from engaging in "hostile action" by accident.

“Negative...” the black equine mech stated, its tone remaining pleasant. There was a tense beat of silence, although the drone continued before either alien could react. “My designation is Changeling Unit Forty-Two of Fifty, not ‘Serious.' If you wish, you may refer to me as ‘Forty-Two.’”

“Interesting response... Perhaps... humor?” Mordin asked.

“Affirmative. Have a pleasant day.”

The quarian was amazed, lowering her arm as the mech walked... or trotted, she supposed, past them.

Since when did V.I.-driven mechs have a sense of humor?

“Wait... Forty-Two,” Tali called out, suddenly realizing that their luck may be able to hold for just a bit longer. “Can you help us find somebody?”

Forty-Two stopped and turned its head back to look to the two aliens.

“This unit is at your disposal. Please specify request.”

————————————————————

Tali and Mordin had followed the mech down the winding halls, which opened and closed in an almost infuriatingly random pattern for more than an hour before arriving at the open, cavern-like area that housed what Forty-Two referred to as the Central Chamber. Had the mech not been guiding them, they likely never would have found the place, as many of the corridors looked the same.

Here, hundreds, if not thousands of stations, each holding an identical pod-like capsule, were set into the floor and walls. Most were dark, but quite a few were glowing with an opaque white light, covered in condensation that obscured their occupants.

It was here that they found Shepard, a human male they guessed was Milligan, and a human female dressed in Cerberus colors that must have been one of the other scientists on the research team; their bodies so close, but clearly unresponsive as they remained inside their respective pods. It was also where they were finding a new and before now unregistered form of life.

“Forty-Two...” Mordin started, speaking aloud as he shut down his omni-tool, clearly getting nowhere at interfacing with the system that was holding the Commander. Casting his mind around to the thousands of questions that were raised by what they had discovered, Mordin chose to stick with something formal that would not offend or exceed the mech’s databanks. “What is the function of this facility? Who built it?”

“The primary function of Equestria is luxury and entertainment,” the changeling answered quickly, its tone maintaining an upbeat demeanor. “Planetoid rights were quietly purchased by the Epona Systems Corporation with the intent of constructing the largest and most prestigious multi-species hospice in the galaxy.”

“A hotel?” Tali turned towards the mech in disbelief. “This... is a hotel?”

“That label is inaccurate. Accepted translations in language data-packet include: 'Hospice,' 'Retreat,' ‘Vacation Resort,’ and ‘Virtual Spa,’” Forty-two replied. “ESC began construction of Equestria in 5423 P.F.C. by Equis Calendar with expected opening in 5429 P.F.C. Current chronometer data indicates that this opening has fallen behind schedule.”

“How far behind schedule?” Mordin asked, intrigued.

“Processing...” Forty-Two paused for a moment before answering. “Thirty-six million, one hundred twenty-four thousand, thirty-eight years, six months, four days, Earth Standard.”

Tali’s mind was all but blown not only by the figure, but the casual nature with which the mech delivered it.

Technology belonging to the Protheans; an advanced, extinct culture fifty thousand years old and predating every sentient species in the known galaxy today, was considered rare... and finding functional examples of it was among the greatest dreams of treasure hunters and archaeologists across the galaxy.

But this place was a whole other league of impossible.

"We apologize for the delay and ask you to please remain patient," the changeling added after a moment of silence.

For perhaps the first time since she had come back aboard the Normandy, Tali wished that Shepard’s old flame, Liara T’Soni, had joined them back on Illium. She would know exactly what to ask or say in order to make sense of what was going on around them.

But as it was, in spite of her own curiosity, there was only one thing that they absolutely needed to know... And thankfully, it was also the next question asked by Mordin.

“We require the safe disconnection of these three pod units. As well as any others recently added into the system,” Mordin stated, pointing out the individual pods that held Shepard and the Cerberus scientists. “Can you render assistance?”

“Negative,” Forty-two answered. “Changeling maintenance drones are neither authorized nor equipped to interface with the Equestria System. Please speak with one of our system administrators for override authorization and disconnection of system beta-testers.”

“Of course... That would be too simple,” Tali muttered bitterly.

“These... system administrators: Where are they now?” Mordin asked, now intensely curious.

The changeling's wings buzzed slightly as it directed the quarian and salarian’s attention out over the chamber filled with pods. A subtle and surprisingly quiet whirring and grinding of machinery caused five stations to unclasp their cargo as multiple changelings moved with a new task, directed in a silent, almost insectoid fashion to remove the pods. They were then quickly maneuvered to the high-rise just as they had observed how the four pods with the three humans and the alien life-form had been extracted before.

Setting them into five of the unoccupied stations for a total of nine now on the high-rise, each of the ground-based stations flickered to life instantly, allowing Tali and Mordin to examine their contents at this close range.

Five more of the brightly-colored equine creatures with a variety of features floated weightlessly in the confines of the pods; another one with wings, while two had what appeared to be horns, and two more were lacking in either additional appendage.

“Hmmm...” Mordin brought his hand to his chin as he looked over the containers with a thoughtful expression. “Assuming release would require Administrator’s verbal authorization?”

“Affirmative,” Forty-Two confirmed.

“Problematic?” Tali asked, her tone bitter as she turned to Mordin.

“...Problematic.”

————————————————————
Bedlam Hospital: Lower Levels

“This is taking far too long, Shepard...” Milligan all but hissed through his teeth, turning over his shoulder at every sound as the trio moved down the hallway.

Unlike the areas above them, the lower basement level that they had been directed into during their search for the "Isolated Containment" where Pinkie Pie was supposedly being held was closer to a dungeon than a medical center. While the above building had all the hallmarks of a hospital, from the white walls to the doors with department names painted on the front, these lower levels showed a far less pleasant side of the facility, rundown and ill-used, with only a few dim lights dotting the wall at regular intervals.

“I’m a little worried that we haven’t run into any more guards... or personnel for that matter,” Shepard thought aloud as he led the way, his shoulders in a mild crouch as he dearly missed the feeling of having his rifle at the ready in standard form. “What sort of hospital is this where there’s only one doctor?”

“I was wondering that too... I know it’s late but...” Fluttershy moved up towards a random door, opening it to reveal an empty room. “Shouldn’t there be patients...? Or orderlies...? Or janitor ponies?”

Milligan rolled his eyes.

“Of course there aren’t. Don’t you get it, Shepard? This isn’t a mental health facility at all,” the scientist explained with an air of annoyance. “It’s a ‘personification’ of a mental hospital. What we perceive here is a representation of the system itself. We are in the part of the computer program that ‘corrects’ aberrant behaviors among the ponies that are too deep-seated for more subtle forms of manipulation, and it presents itself to us in a form that relates this concept to us.”

Fluttershy huffed through her nose as she closed the door, clearly not caring for Milligan’s tone or certainty.

“Forgive me for ruining your delusion, my little pony...” Milligan injected a faux-apologetic tone to his voice. “But I call them as I see them. Or perhaps you have a better reason why there is no one here? Perhaps all of the other guards are out getting coffee... at the same time.”

“I was here once... as a filly,” Fluttershy explained, not bothering to hide a growing animosity towards the older colt. “I remember there being nurses and other doctors and--”

“Implanted memories...” Milligan reasoned. “Not surprising.”

“What do you mean, Milligan?” Shepard asked, watching his surroundings as best he could as Fluttershy checked the windows on each door, still searching for Pinkie.

“Assuming that Miss...” Milligan looked to the yellow pegasus a moment, who merely gave him a glare in return. “‘Fluttershy’ is correct and she is not a program, it means that she has been inside an advanced computer-generated world for pretty much her entire life. In order to create a virtual world with this level of sensory detail, the system would have to be literally plugged into the brain.”

The brown-coated stallion shook his head.

“Assuming the ponies’ brains are anything like other species', that sort of treatment could strain their minds, causing any number of mental health issues which would have to be corrected through intense psychological and neurological conditioning in order to prevent the subject from breaking down entirely.”

Shepard glanced back at Fluttershy, who was clearly thinking the same thing he was, given what details she had shared concerning her "foalhood" and subsequent involvement with Bedlam.

“This is all purely theory of course... but the theory fits the evidence. That sort of mental control also prevents those plugged into the system from rejecting the programming. I saw it several times in the Ponyville Psychiatric Ward... Ponies that were asking too many questions or that I pressed too hard on certain subjects would experience some sort of short-term memory loss that they would rationalize away and go on with their lives.”

“So why hasn’t it affected either of us? I’ve seen it happen too: A fuzzy, blurry feeling, then the ponies around me forget whatever was happening and things disappear right in front of them,” Shepard asked, having trouble doubting the Cerberus scientist’s logic. This sort of thing was in his field as a xeno-technologist, so as much as he was growing to dislike the Doctor on a more personal level, he couldn’t deny that he might well be right.

“Probably because it’s not designed for our brains. In fact, that part is puzzling me... That we are able to be brought into the system at all. We simply shouldn’t be compatible with whatever technology is responsible. Or why this ‘Equestria’ is so much like Earth, with so many cultural commonalities with Humanity.”

The colt paused and shrugged his shoulders, smirking slightly as his eyes drifted over to the mare in front of him who was moving back and forth between doors, pulling herself up to see through the windows and check if her friend might be inside any of the rooms.

“Many of the things here make no sense at all. I’ve seen things that would be impossible for the ponies to even use; forks and hammers and toothbrushes and ancient style arcade game systems with joysticks. I think I remember one of the ‘nurses’ at the ward mentioning a dam outside of Ponyville itself. How did these equines supposedly manage to build or use any of these things?”

“UGH! Can we please stop talking about this!?” Fluttershy came to ground, stomping a hoof and clearly growing agitated by Milligan’s tone and insistence to continue on the subject.

“Fair enough...” The Commander nodded, more than able to take the hint of what effect the conversation was having... but before Shepard could stop him, the brown stallion responded to the increasingly on-edge mare...

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

*WHAM*

Could he have intervened...? Probably. But as the yellow winged pony turned, dove, and slammed hooves-first into the Cerberus stallion, putting his back into the wall, Shepard figured that in all honesty, he deserved it for that remark.

“Listen, you!” Fluttershy’s voice grated angrily through clenched teeth, her rage only barely suppressed as she brought herself eye to eye with the brown stallion. “In the last eight hours, my life has been completely overturned! My friends have been kidnapped in some sort of all-encompassing conspiracy involving aliens and mind-manipulation that has been going on my entire life, and to top it all off, I have you babbling on and on about how my entire LIFE has been some meaningless drivel inside of a computer! So if you would be… so kind… as to SHUT THE BUCK UP!”

The pegasus let go of a breath, her expression softening as she loosened her grip and drew back, her voice relaxing along with her body.

“I would… very much appreciate it.”

Releasing Milligan altogether, the scientist nearly collapsed to the floor before finding his hoofing, Fluttershy turning to trot ahead of the two stallions quietly as she returned to her task, moving from door to door.

“I am sensing some anger management issues...” Milligan shifted his shoulders, which he was certain were going to have hoof-shaped bruises on them before the night was out.

“You think?” Shepard replied flatly, his expression neutral as he turned to follow the pegasus

“I have to say: I think you were right, though,” Milligan remarked while, unexpectedly, smiling.

“About what?”

“She's practically human.”

————————————————————

“Shepard!”

It had been some time since the tense moment between Fluttershy and Milligan, and much to Shepard’s surprise, it had been the pegasus who broke the silence that had reigned between them.

“I found her!” Fluttershy waved the two stallions over to an unremarkable-looking door, pulling back and pointing to the window.

Rushing forward, Shepard pushed himself up on two legs with some difficulty and set his hooves on the door to steady himself as he managed to look into the square, dirty plastic window.

Inside, strapped down on a surprisingly comfortable-looking bed with her legs stretched out, was the pink mare that Shepard had met when he first woke up. A curly mass of mane atop her head, the only major difference in her now (aside from the restraints) was the overly complicated-looking muzzle that had been fitted over her face.

From what he could see, there were at least three different keyholes and turn-dial locks along the side of the bulky muzzle that would make a Tyriel brand "Death Mask" helmet look comfortable by comparison. While she was conscious, judging by the way her large blue eyes were open, Shepard wasn’t entirely sure she was completely aware of her surroundings.

Twisting a bit, Shepard also managed to take in some of the details of the room; namely the number of mirrors that were hung up at different angles on the walls.

“THAT one?” Milligan started, nudging Shepard over a bit and getting a look at the pink pony. “That’s the one that you want to rescue? The Hannibal Lecter pony? Well, at least they are going out of their way to keep her comfortable... Is that a pillow under her back?”

“Who’s Hannibal Lecter?” Fluttershy asked, momentarily seeming to forget that she was still angry with the brown stallion for the sake of curiosity before Shepard shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. We found her, now we just have to get her out of here.” Shepard motioned Milligan aside and took several steps back before charging forward, putting his shoulder to the door.

*SLAM*

The Commander winced as the door refused to give, sending spasms of pain down his shoulder and spine.

"Security Protocols are at maximum," a now familiar voice sounded off in Shepard’s ear. "You won’t get in that way."

Oh, GREAT. Of all the places to start hearing voices, it had to be in a mental institute.

“You again!?” Shepard growled in his throat as he tried to shake off the impact.

“What?” Milligan took note as the Commander turned and spoke suddenly. “What is it, Commander?”

“I’m not sure… Someone’s been communicating with me since before I was pulled in here… hacking into my comm system and leading me around.” Shepard shook his head, ignoring the concerned look on his two compatriots’ faces. “Look, whoever you are, we need this door open. Can you help?”

"No…" the voice in his ear sounded sincerely concerned. "My siblings have determined that I am assisting you and are trying to block my access."

“Siblings?” Shepard started, but was cut off.

“No time. They are already tracking my communication.” For the first time, there was a twinge of emotion in the normally flat female voice.

It was panic.

"You need Primary Administrator authority to bypass Isolated Containment. It is en-route to you now. I can’t aid you remotely anymore; you need to come to me."

“Where?” Shepard brought a hoof up to his ear, blocking out the worried expressions of Milligan and Fluttershy. “Where are you?”

"The Main Archive… Hurry, Shepard. You are running out of--"

*Bzzztttttt*

Shepard winced again as a high-pitched electrical static warbled in his ear for a moment before going silent.

He was familiar with the sound… A jamming signal.

Whatever ally he had here had been cut off from him.

“What happened? Who was it?” Milligan asked, pressing forward.

“I don’t know… It was a female voice. A mare, I think… She said her ‘siblings’ knew she was helping me and were cutting her off.” Shepard shook his head, glad that his comm had an automatic cutoff to prevent any hearing damage. “She said that we would need ‘Administrator’ authority to open the door and that it was on its way.”

“Administrator… Wait, that’s what the unicorn guard called me… and Pinkie Pie...” Fluttershy spoke up, moving to the door and attempting to turn the knob, pushing against the door feebly as it remained locked. “What does it mean?”

“...It’s a System Administrator…” Milligan’s eyes went wide with realization as he nodded. “Of course… That makes sense!”

“What does?” Shepard looked to the scientist.

“Following the hypothesis that this place was built long ago by Fluttershy’s species… it stands to reason that they wouldn’t hand all of the control over to an artificial construct, particularly if this virtual world was designed for the benefit of those inside of it. It would need a safeguard; organic overseers to moderate things and correct for system errors.”

“What? That’s crazy!” Fluttershy started, eyes narrowing. “That guard said I was an administrator. How am I supposed to fix a system I don’t even know exists?”

“By living your life… Don’t you see!?” Milligan bounced slightly on his hooves, apparently ecstatic at the revelation… which turned to an annoyed sigh as he noted the uncomprehending expressions on Shepard and Fluttershy.

“Ugh... The system is presented as a personification of itself. For instance, this place is designed to ‘correct’ aberrant behavior, so we perceive it as a mental hospital. If you extend that logic to other places in Equestria, then you can see the pattern. Ponyville must be a server where organic neural imprints are allowed to live and interact, maintaining your lifestyle… Canterlot is the center of the pony’s world; a central processor with all of the core programming."

The excited doctor turned to address the pegasus pony specifically, a contented smile still on his face.

"And my apologies, Fluttershy, but while you may well indeed be alive, that doesn’t mean that all of the ponies around you are as well. The guards, or at least a large majority of them, are likely representations of defense programs; like virtual intelligences with a narrow scope and personality. That is why they all look and sound alike.”

“But… I don’t fix…” Fluttershy shifted on her hooves.

“Don’t you?” Milligan lifted a brow. “Your kind controls the weather Fluttershy. I’ve watched it happen. That could be the system being open to your manipulation, to give you a sense of purpose and control in your world. Not to mention you and your friends are famous among the ponies. I heard some of the stories before I was incarcerated. Nightmare Moon… Discord… You are heroes and whatnot. Perhaps the monsters and hardships you faced were manifestations of system errors…”

“…Given a dramatic spin and served up on silver platters as adventures for us to have while we were rooting out problems in the servers.”

The new voice broke whatever trance had fallen over Fluttershy, Milligan, and Shepard, causing them to turn about and face down the hall.

None of them had taken note of the purple unicorn’s approach as her hooves dragged along the ground, her expression one of shell-shock and a thousand-yard stare that dulled her normally brilliant eyes.

“Twilight…” Shepard’s heart all but dropped at her expression… one he had seen before on civilians that had survived horrors no good person should have been subjected to.

“You were right, Shepard…” Twilight paused, looking down at the floor as she dragged a hoof morosely along the tile. “You were right all along… I’m the one that’s living in a fantasy world, not you.”

Shepard felt no victory at this admission, taking note of the tears rimming the unicorn’s eyes.

Being told that he was right all along was such a hollow victory at this point.

“It’s all been right there in front of me… all my life,” Twilight continued, Milligan seeming to take the hint that this was not a time to start talking as the lavender pony shook her head.

“You couldn’t have known…” Shepard offered, moving forward, to which Twilight cringed.

“Shouldn’t I have? Maybe I did!” the unicorn huffed loudly. “How many times did I figure it out on my own? How many times did I compare my studies of the universe to the world I lived in and realized it was all wrong? How many times did I go marching up to my princess… my mentor… the pony I trusted more than anypony… and she just made it all better? Made me forget everything!?”

“Twilight…” Fluttershy was now growing worried, watching as her friend began to break down more openly.

“My parents! Do you know where they live? Guess what? NEITHER DO I! I remember them when I was admitted to the Academy, but nothing before that… And nothing after! I haven’t seen them in YEARS and yet I’m OKAY with that!?" the unicorn's voice cracked as she brought her hoof down like a filly having a tantrum.

"My brother? Shining Armor? I haven’t spoken to him since the wedding… If we were so close like I remember, then why haven’t I seen or heard from him!? And my old foalsitter, Princess Cadence... Who IS she!? Celestia’s ‘niece’? Who were her parents!? WHY did I never think to ask!?”

“Twilight…”

Shepard had moved up in front of the mare as she spoke, drawing her attention up as she couldn’t hold it back anymore, falling into the red stallion who had torn down the illusions her entire world was built upon.

“My... entire… life… is a lie, Shepard…” she sobbed as he set his forelegs around her, drawing her close.

“...What happened?” Shepard asked, his own expression soft.

“I… overheard the Princess… talking to Discord. They were together, discussing what to do about you... You being here…” Twilight shuddered. “There's something about you… They can’t figure out what it is but it’s shutting down key points of the world… Opening huge holes in it that something bad is worming its way into… It’s like you’re ‘too big’ for the system to handle... Your mind… It’s tearing everything apart…”

Twilight took a long, ragged breath.

“Tearing Equestria apart.”

Shepard drew back at the accusation before Milligan sighed in realization.

“The Prothean Cipher…”

“What?” Shepard turned to him as Twilight followed along, still clearly distraught.

“Two years ago, back on Feros, you were given the Prothean Cipher in order to make sense of the message you received from the beacon on Eden Prime. I read the reports; it was a fascinating case study… A neurological imprinting of all the cultural and physiological understanding of an entire species; the essence of everything the Protheans were as a people, was crammed into your brain.” He set a hoof against his eyes. “That’s why they were able to find me and tried to integrate me into their system, ‘blocking out’ anything I tried to tell the regular ponies and making them forget. But your neural pattern isn’t just human, it’s also prothean. That must be beyond the system’s ability to filter out… so the ponies you interact with ‘remember’ you.”

“And because we remember you…” Twilight shook her head, trying to recompose herself. “All of the other mental blocks are falling apart…”

“Like me…” Fluttershy realized with a start. “What happened to me here in Bedlam… I started remembering it after meeting Shepard.”

Shepard shook his head as he attempted to recap.

So far today, he had possibly lost his ship, his crew, and his friends that came with him to the surface. He had also been dragged into interfacing with an alien virtual world, had subsequently begun to dismantle it solely with his presence, and had for all intents and purposes obliterated its inhabitants' culture and whole way of life.

All in less than twenty-four hours.

“Okay… One thing at a time.” Shepard shook his head, attempting to get back to business. “Twilight… This is Dr. Milligan. Milligan, Twilight Sparkle. Your friend Pinkie is locked behind this door and we need someone called the 'Primary Administrator’ to…”

Shepard stopped as the facts clicked into place.

“…She knew you were coming. That means…” Shepard turned to look at Twilight. “It’s you, Twilight… You're the Primary Administrator…”

“Who…? Who knew I was coming?”

“Whoever it is that's trying to help us. She said that she was at the ‘Main Archive,' wherever that is... Twilight, you need to open this lock to--”

“Shepard! Wait!” Milligan suddenly stepped forward, moving between the two of them. “Wait… This is too convenient. Twilight… er… Miss Sparkle...”

The unicorn regarded the brown earth pony cautiously.

“What are you doing here?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“GAH! I talked the soldiers into sending me in to negotiate before they launched their attack!” She set her hoof against her face in a manner that Shepard interpreted as absolutely organic. “I heard you talking, and everything fell into place, and I forgot…”

“What… soldiers…?” Milligan was clearly having to restrain himself.

“Princess Celestia dispatched a whole division of the Equestrian Elite Military… trained soldiers… all to here… I’m guessing to try and stop you, Shepard.”

“Wait, since when does Equestria have an Elite Military?” Fluttershy asked, looking up with confusion. “For that matter, since when does Equestria have a military at all!?”

There was a sudden pounding of hooves that could be heard overhead as the ceiling began to shake.

“I’m guessing they didn’t want to wait and hear from you to get started,” Shepard observed.

“I told you that it would take too long looking for the pony! We’re trapped!” Milligan huffed, clearly disgruntled as the two ponies reeled in shock of realizing that Bedlam had come under siege.

“Don’t panic.” Shepard shifted a bit on his hooves as his mind ran over the situation. “Twilight, can you get us out of here? Teleport us like you did before?”

“For the three of us... It wouldn’t be easy... but yeah...”

“Wait! What about Pinkie Pie!? She’s still in here!” Fluttershy pointed a hoof at the door, causing Twilight to move around and examine it.

“Whoa... That’s a heavy duty seal.” The unicorn shook her head. “This thing would keep a dragon locked up.”

“So there’s nothing you can do... Too bad... I say we do what we should have done to begin with and get OUT of here!” Milligan spoke up.

“I didn’t say that!” Twilight scowled at the stallion. “It’ll be tough, but I should be able to break it. Granted, that will take time.”

“How much time?” Shepard asked.

"I don’t know! I’ve never had to spring a friend from Bedlam before!” Twilight snapped with a huff. “And with the amount of magic this lock is going to take to crack, I won’t be able to do much for a while afterwards.”

Ignoring her indignation, Shepard ran his mind over the options:

He could try to rush them… Take the soldiers on in the upper levels himself and buy Twilight time, hoping that Milligan and Fluttershy would be able to work together long enough to get out should the worst happen. The larger corridors of the upper levels would give him more room to move, but while he had been able to make sport of the "Royal Guards" that had thrown themselves at him before, there was another concern. If Milligan was right about the guards being programs, these could easily be some sort of highly-upgraded assault routines that were much more adept at combat. Assaulting them directly could very well be suicide... or it could spare him from getting boxed in at the lower levels and save Twilight and the others from being involved in the fight at all. The biggest problem was that it might also open up the way should he be taken down, leaving Fluttershy, Milligan, and Twilight defenseless if they got past him.

It would be a definite high risk/high reward gambit.

Another option was that he could attempt to hold his ground in the lower levels more easily: Wait for these soldiers to come to them and keep them away. As it was, he was limited to direct melee for offense and relying on his shields to deal with any projectiles, and that would give him an advantage in close quarters. If he kept closer, he could also help if something unexpected were to happen... But that also brought the fight closer to Twilight, who had to focus on opening the lock. And once again, that would put the others in danger should any of the soldiers manage to get past him.

Looking back at the doorway, behind which lay the rambunctious ball of pink fluff and energy known as Pinkie Pie, Shepard considered their objective here. He may have only met her briefly, but he got the impression that she was an innocent sort… A childish, slightly-annoying and overly-enthusiastic pony that didn't deserve to be wrapped up in all this.

So why had the forces that ran this system gone to such lengths to imprison her and keep her contained? It was clear that whoever had done this was under the impression she was a threat… but why? How?

Could she have just been bait? Brought in specifically as insurance to keep them from leaving? That would definitely have been a devious trick, but strategically sound.

The question was: (And it was something he had to consider). Was Pinkie Pie worth them sticking around and risking being captured or even executed?

The soldiers likely didn’t know what it was they were there for. He doubted they would harm Pinkie in her room in any case… That didn’t seem to fit into the way that he understood this system. If Twilight was able to use her powers to create another mass effect corridor, (or, hell, if she could just blow out a wall with that horn of hers) they could likely escape from Bedlam altogether before the soldiers arrived. Then they could try to find this "Main Archive" and the source of the voice that belonged to the only other ally Shepard felt he had in this place.

The sound of pounding hooves was still some ways away… They could get out and come back for Pinkie later, since it would do no good for them to free her only to be captured again...

“Shepard… What do we do?” Milligan asked, clearly growing nervous as the sounds drew closer...

They were running out of time.

Looking up to the three ponies, Shepard made up his mind…

Choices:

"I'll hold them off!" (Buy time by going on the offensive)

~~"I'll cover you!" (Defend Twilight as she disables the lock)~~

~~"We need to withdraw." (Focus on escaping)~~

Part 9: Desperate Gambits

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“Twilight: do whatever you have to do to break the door down. We’re not leaving anyone behind!” Shepard nodded with an authoritative tone as he turned back the way they came. “Fluttershy, Milligan: watch her back. I’ll hold them off in the hallways.”

“By yourself?” Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as Milligan nodded, grateful he wasn’t asked to come along. “Are you crazy? You can’t hold off an entire army singlehoofedly!”

“Sure I can… I’ve done it before.”

“You at least had weapons at Elysium!” Milligan pointed out, a fact that the red pony was trying very much to overlook.

“The narrow hallways will work as choke-points to limit their numbers, and they’ll need to check the rooms as they go by to secure them... That should slow them down some. My shields will give me some protection against ranged weaponry, and if all else fails, well... These...” He lifted his left and right hind hooves slightly to indicate them. “...have proven to be surprisingly effective.”

“It sounds dangerous...” Twilight stated, leaning down as her horn lit up, wrapping the doorway that kept them from Pinkie Pie with a transparent purple glow. “But if you think that will work...”

“It’s our best shot.” Shepard said, projecting far more confidence than he felt. “If worst comes to worst, run away as soon as you get her out... I’ll stall them as long as I can.”

Shepard turned and started back the way they came as quickly as he could, tuning out the calls after him as he felt the oncoming adrenaline rush that came with preparing for battle.

In situations such as these, he couldn’t afford to second guess himself, worry about others being able to complete their tasks, or give anything less than complete focus on the mission before him.

Although he had to admit, this one felt like it was going to be a doozy.

————————————————————

“Forward unit, move up!” the Guard Captain motioned, his entire body covered in a lighter, sleeker, and more form-fitting metal suit of which was a counterpoint to the Royal Guard’s ceremonial armor. Allowing for full motion and quicker reactions, they were prepared for anything. “Weapons at ready.”

Four identically-garbed stallions moved into the stairway, each with a flashlight accessory attached to one shoulder illuminating the path ahead, and glowing blue cuffs on their front hooves crackling softly as they brought their legs down.

From behind the Captain, who was watching the stairway as his troops descended into the lower levels, came another stallion, nearly identical to the others.

“Mission update,” one of the stallions noted, his tone devoid of emotional inference as he spoke. “Upper levels secure... No signs of resistance or target. Administrator unaccounted for... Presumed held hostage.”

“Assume nothing... Sweep lower levels,” the Captain responded curtly.

“Heavy weapons inadvisable in close quarters...” the Information Officer stated. “Risk of self-inflicted damage or injury to one or more Administrators exceeds acceptable parameters.”

The Special Forces stallions made it to the bottom of the stairway and began to maneuver down one of the branching hallways. Their hooves clipped sharply as they maintained a steady pace... eyes scanning for any signs of life in front as pairs began to open and investigate the various doorways.

One colt moved to a door...

*KRACK*
*SLAM*

Only to have it suddenly thrown open with massive force, practically snapping his foreleg back and shattering bone before the heavy door itself slammed into him. The sheer violence of the movement threw it off its hinges, barreling the stallion over.

“CONTACT!” his partner managed to say, a fraction of a second before he was impacted by a charging red stallion, the aggressor’s shoulder contacting with his chest and ramming the soldier back into the far wall. Upon impact, his body was whipped back, slamming his head into the obstacle and leaving a deep crack in the plaster, revealing solid stone underneath as he slumped to the floor.

“PRIMARY TARGET SIGHTED!” the foremost of the stallions twisted back and raised a hoof, the blue glowing cuff crackling as a bolt of blue energy burst forward, striking at a wall. “ALL UNITS! ENGAGE!”

Before another shot could be fired, Shepard had already doubled back into the hallways and darted out of sight, leading the clearly more organized and highly-trained military ponies down one of the many labyrinthine corridors for a rousing game of cat and mouse.

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“Vakarian-Squad Leader. We have gained access,” Legion informed the anxious turian with something that just might have sounded like a hint of pride.

“Good work.” Garrus nodded, turning his head to catch sight of Thane in his peripheral vision and (not for the first time) questioning why the Turian Hierarchy had not updated their zero-atmo helmet designs to incorporate the "bubble-face" technology used by the Salarians and Asari. The additional range of vision alone would have made it worth the tradeoff in armor, which was negligible, as the mass effect dome keeping any part of Thane’s body from being depressurized was a separate system entirely from the kinetic barriers that shielded them from weapons fire.

“Alright, open the door.”

It had been just over half an hour since the Hammerhead had come to a halt outside what Legion had confirmed as the entry point to the very well-hidden facility housing the weapon they were seeking. And in that time, Garrus had come to two very clear conclusions.

Firstly, a drell assassin and a geth intelligence were both very poor conversationalists.

Secondly, whoever had built this place could teach the Salarians a thing or two about subtlety. The facility itself looked to be little more than a natural ridge on a barren landscape, so perfectly-camouflaged that Garrus would have driven right past it without a second thought had Legion not been tracking the background radiation they were using as a compass.

The front door was likewise well-hidden, and Garrus had mused that the geth might have a screw loose... until Legion successfully found and managed to open a maintenance panel that had looked like a random piece of the wall.

“Attempting to comply... Transferring power to entryway...” Legion stated as Thane and Garrus moved up behind the geth, weapons at the ready. “...Success.”

Noiselessly in the vacuum, a nearby space of the wall shuddered and slowly lifted up and out of the way, misplacing multiple stones and a flume of dust that went floating in the light gravity before settling to the ground again without any air resistance.

“Well... This looks inviting,” Thane commented at the now exposed gaping hole.

“Airlock access is granted... Wait...” Legion’s glowing eye darted from side to side and the mechanical iris widened, giving the geth a look of confusion. “Facility's internal systems are powering up.”

“Well, we didn’t come this far to turn around,” Garrus stated, moving into the breech cautiously as he kept his assault rifle ready. “Let’s see if anybody’s home.”

Following him, Thane kept his SMG at an easy, relaxed posture while Legion followed with his weapons remaining in their sheathed positions, having indicated earlier that there had not yet been any "hostility detected."

As the panel suddenly slid shut behind them, Garrus turned, his nerves already mildly on edge.

“Airlock sealed... Stand by,” Legion indicated, its meaning made clear a moment later as a hissing rush of air and pressure slowly vented into the room. Still, just to be safe, Garrus and Thane both kept their armor and life-support apparatuses online, clearly trusting neither the air or whoever was supplying it as they both kept themselves focused on the inner wall.

“Alright everybody... Move in and be ready for anything,” Garrus instructed as the doorway opened, moving quickly inside as Thane covered him, taking a textbook special-ops scan of the area.

Both turian soldier and drell assassin were stunned as an ambient, organic white light flashed on overhead, revealing an open room with several large desks that immediately reminded Garrus of Citadel Security's main office. The floor was made up of reflective plates that mirrored the three beings and was littered with dull, worn-looking variants of purple and gold decoration and even some fallen streamers that looked as if they had been preserved for ages right where they fell.

“This isn’t exactly what I was expecting...” Thane straightened up, looking around as he tried to make sense of their surroundings, his eyes falling to one symbol that seemed to dominate much of the architecture; six stylized gemstones of similar cut, each of a different color and held together in a round golden fixture.

This certainly didn’t look like a military or defense installation.

Directly in front of them, a large holographic image flared to life, projected from the floor and creating a full three-dimensional holographic image of such realism and detail that it made Avina, the V.I. in charge of dispensing information on the Citadel, look like a shadow puppet.

Although weapons were brought up, the image before them hardly seemed threatening as it coalesced.

It was like no creature that Garrus had ever seen; about a head shorter than he was and an off shade of pink. It stood on four legs with a dainty set of wings and a bony-looking horn that jutted at an angle from above its over-sized purple eyes. A mane and tail also curled out and flowed in an entrancing fashion with golden, pink, and purple stripes that seemed to match the shades of the local decor.

“Welcome to Equestria Security Station One, your gateway to Paradise,” the hologram stated pleasantly, and much to Garrus’ surprise, in a slightly-accented version of standard Human English that his translator was more than able to recognize. “My name is Cadence. Please note, that the Equestria Facility is not yet open for public admittance. However, I am here to offer whatever assistance is required to all of our new friends across the galaxy. Epona Systems Corporation: Harmony for All.”

The two aliens and synthetic intelligence stood motionless for a moment, unsure what to make of the hologram as she stood there, watching them with blinking, lifelike eyes.

“Was that a commercial? It has to be some sort of V.I... or a recording,” Garrus commented.

“I have never seen a creature so... pink. Not even among the Hanar,” Thane added his piece as the hologram looked towards him.

“Why, thank you.”

Garrus took a half-step back as Legion's luminescent iris expanded.

“Inflection indicates subject ‘Cadence’ to have emotional values. Conclusion: artificial intelligence.”

“That would be accurate, geth platform.” Cadence nodded. “My avatar and personality variations are based on the designs of previous ESC Public Liaison Director: Pitch Perfect.”

“You are familiar with the Geth?” Legion queried, its head-flaps rising to show curiosity as Garrus tried to get a better handle on the situation.

“Part of my purpose here at Security Station One is study and cataloging of all possible new friends. We keep ourselves aware of the predilections and tendencies of many species archived for our records,” Cadence answered, moving forward and directing her gaze to Garrus, who found her realism quite... unsettling. “For example, we would be honored to cater to our first turian guest... Soldiers often push themselves far beyond their limits, and we would be happy to allow you to obtain some much required R&R.”

Cadence turned towards Thane with a more curious eye.

“Drell... Hmm... Information is limited, but I believe your species is native to an arid environment... We are perfectly capable of compensating with humidity controls until--”

“How about you tell us what part of your programming is in charge of the giant cannon you have targeting our ship?” Garrus felt his mandibles click, a sign of agitation at the A.I.’s almost naïve and blatantly sweet approach.

“Facility defense is outside of my purview,” Cadence stated plainly. “One vessel is currently in orbit; identified as ‘hostile,’ holding location at approved compound position. Security forces will be en-route to resolve the situation as soon as they are available.”

“Well then, we want to see who is in charge of the cannon...” The turian brought up his rifle, although he knew it would do little good against the A.I.’s holographic interface. “Right... now.”

Much to his surprise, the equine creature responded with a harsh look and a recoiled step back.

“Hostility detected... That would be... inadvisable,” Cadence said sternly. “Please relinquish all weapons immediately... Any further acts of aggression will be viewed as hostile action.”

“We are not here for a spa treatment...”

Legion turned its head slightly, its sensors indicating a sudden surge in the facility’s power signatures.

“We want your weapon system offline and if we have to tear this place down to do it--”

“Vakarian-Squad Leader! Current course of action is--”

There was a sudden flare of green fire that washed over Cadence’s holographic shape, causing both Thane and Garrus to take a step back as the strangely cute and harmless-appearing equine form was replaced by something altogether more menacing.

While it had a similar build and silhouette, the new hologram was as different from Cadence as possible. It had a jet-black color with glowing green eyes, a crooked black horn, and large punched holes in its legs, while sickly-blue hair hung like a limp, moth-eaten curtain around her face and from her tail.

It grinned with wickedly-curved fangs, leering at the turian.

“Very... very stupid,” the new hologram stated, finishing the geth’s warning in her own manner before letting out a short giggle.

From behind the desks, a sudden surge of movement registered on Garrus’ motion scanner as dozens of black equine mechs seemed to appear right out of nowhere, insectoid wings bringing them up from where they were hidden.

“I am Chrysalis... This is my facility. I deal with ‘hostile elements,’” the hologram stated coldly, clearly neither as elegant or well-spoken as Cadence. “Congratulations on making my list.”

Thane spared a look towards Garrus.

“That could have been handled better...”

“Shut up...” Garrus huffed.

“Destroy the intruders,” Chrysalis giggled again, a sudden high-pitched buzzing snapping the two organics’ attention forward as Legion unsheathed its custom M-98 Widow sniper rifle.

“WEAPONS FREE!” Garrus called out.

Moments later, the sound of buzzing wings and gunfire filled the room.

————————————————————
Bedlam Hospital, Lower Levels

“Impact threshold: high. Electrical damage deflected. Kinetic barriers at twenty-one percent,” Shepard’s onboard V.I. informed him, the man-turned-stallion feeling a pounding impact as another bolt of what he guessed was supposed to be miniaturized lightning arced over his shield.

They were getting better, he realized, as he slid around, using the impact to add to his momentum as he pulled a decidedly unequine-like hook with a foreleg and slammed the hardened edge of his hoof into another of the white-coated, armored guard’s jaws.

There was no getting around the fact that his pursuers were learning, and quickly. Their single-minded determination was difficult enough to deal with, and as he had discovered, they were able to adapt tactics to match his quickly enough. They were steering clear of doors now; blasting them off their hinges rather than get caught off guard again. They had also taken to scanning the areas overhead after he had managed to ambush some by bracing his legs with great difficulty along the upper part of a particularly narrow corridor. And now that he had started resorting to more blatant melee, they were honing their aim, attempting to put him down from a distance while those he engaged directly were becoming more skilled combatants.

He was no amateur, of course. He was a Spectre, after all. He had been forged in battle... survived countless combat situations throughout the galaxy, garnered the coveted N7 title and mastered Pinnacle Station’s entire archive of military training programs... with the safeties off.

Unfortunately, in the long term, that just meant that these guard programs were learning from one of the best.

Another bolt of blue lightning forked overhead, ozone thick in the air as Shepard grabbed hold of his current punch-drunk dancing partner, hooking his foreleg around the stallion’s neck, and rushed forward using the pony as a shield against the guard firing on him.

He felt his prisoner jerk and spasm wildly as he was struck by a bolt, a tingling running across the Commander’s fur coat where he was touching him. He then closed the distance, pushing the injured colt into his trigger happy compatriot, throwing him off balance just long enough for Shepard to rear back...

*THWACK*

...and score a direct hit on the guard’s head, sending him sprawling to the side.

Shepard panted for a moment.

He hadn’t kept count of how many of these equines he had managed to incapacitate, and that was probably a good thing, since Twilight had mentioned an entire division.

He didn’t know if the ponies had the same measurement or terminology of troop deployment that the Alliance did, but he sure hoped not. He didn’t fancy his odds against ten thousand of these ponies, especially not at the rate they were improving their tactics.

He needed a weapon.

During his extensive training, Shepard had learned to salvage as much as possible from the enemy, which was actually how he had acquired much of his current arsenal, as his funds had been limited since taking command of the new Normandy.

Setting a hoof down on one of his fallen opponents' outlying legs, the Commander leaned down and used his teeth to tug off the cuff that he was using.

“Sorry, I’m going to need to borrow this,” he said quickly, spitting the oddly-designed device into his hooves.

As comfortable and natural as his equine movements were (much to his continued surprise) Shepard couldn’t imagine the idea of going through the rest of his life without fingers, and this task more than any other brought that thought to the front of his mind as he carefully pulled the band over his right fore-hoof.

It felt like cloth, light and pliable, and as he flexed his fetlock... wrist... (the anatomy differences were starting to get to him) the twin bands glowed with a slight pale light.

Great... Now he just had to figure out how to fire the--

*K-ZZZZZAPPPP*

Shepard gritted his teeth as the hoofband committed mutiny, a violent and painful jolt running up his leg and causing his muscles to spasm.

This would have been bad enough for a normal human soldier, something he knew from experience as, early in their training, soldiers were purposefully hit with an omni-tool Overload program outside of their armor in order to fully appreciate its non-lethal effects. But for Shepard, the pure electrical shock had far more to work with; the Cerberus cybernetics running through his body feeling as if they were suddenly superheated as they tried to keep themselves from being fried by what must have been a considerable amount of amperage.

Shepard managed to shove his left hoof across his foreleg’s armor plate, dislodging the offending device somewhat clumsily and taking a step back as he felt his short mane stand on end and a sizzling over his skin.

Booby-trapped weapons... That was clever, he had to admit. And he had fallen for it.

Panting as he tried to take a step, it was all that Shepard could do not to cry out.

Multiple spots on his skeleton felt white hot... Parts of his face felt like they were about to burn through, exposing the cybernetic scars that had healed over the last few months, and he was sure that the red blur in his eyes was the result of the optic implants rather than blood.

But his ears still worked just fine, and judging by the sudden rush and stomping of hooves, his enemies apparently knew that he had triggered one of their weapons' fail-safe systems.

Taking a breath, Shepard turned to face the new set of guards as they rounded the corner and started to approach, some with their bands raised and a few looking ready to charge.

Seven of them... him in an injured state... and still no weapons.

“Okay...” Shepard managed, shaking his head a bit as he tried to clear his vision. “Get a few more of you... and it might be a fair fight.”

"Kinetic barriers depleted," Shepard heard his armor V.I. chime.

“Okay... Now it’s a fair fight.”

————————————————————

With a grim silence, the two guards still conscious from the encounter in the lower levels dragged the red stallion across the threshold leading into Bedlam, and into the crossbeams of several spotlights that he had noticed mounted along the fence, which had been turned towards the door.

Shepard would have smirked if he could even lift his head... All told, he had to say he handled himself fairly well. At least the burning in his cybernetics had faded, and now he just had to hope that they didn’t simply put a bullet in his head now that he was outside; or employ some other equally-lethal measure.

Then again, he had to wonder if they could actually kill him in Equestria. It was clear that the tactics and weaponry they used were never intended to be lethal, and the fact that they were taking the time to drag him away as a prisoner was certainly interesting.

“Where is the other one?” a deep tone asked, drawing Shepard’s eyes up as he tried to keep a bearing on his surroundings. This guard was similarly armored, but the flume in his helmet indicated he was certainly in charge. Behind him, more than a dozen more guards stood, making Shepard think that perhaps Twilight had been vastly overestimating their numbers without realizing it.

“The lower levels are being searched now... There are no other exits.”

“Good. Perhaps we can...” The Guard Commander stopped as a spotlight suddenly went dark.

The guards all looked up towards the fence, stunned into silence as another light went out... then another.

One by one, the lights around them in the city faded, looks of concern very apparent to the Commander until he could no longer see his hoof in front of his face.

There was utter silence for a moment, the guards reacting utterly without confusion, and further leading to the conclusion they were not at all organic beings.

Until one spotlight switched back on... aimed directly at the doorway to Bedlam.

Shepard was dropped suddenly, the two guards having pulled aside and turned around towards the mental hospital’s entryway and allowing the still rather bruised and battered stallion to pull himself up and look back.

Standing on two legs, forelegs at her side with her back towards the spotlight, Shepard, and the guards... was a curly-haired... pink pony.

“It... is...”

Both of the pony’s front hooves came up to shoulder level with a snap, revealing...

...a set of maracas?

“PARTY TIME!”

Pinkamina Diane Pie twirled around deftly on her hind hooves, a large grin over her face and apparently unaware of how dangerous the ponies she was facing were.

Then... the music started.

“What... the... hell?” Shepard managed as the pink pony broke into a high-kicking step-dance.

They call me Pinkie Pie… I’m the Queen of the Conga Line...
And when I shake my maracas they go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky boom.

Shepard wasn’t sure if he should be laughing or crying as he watched... so he settled for an eye-twitch.

Yessir, I'm Pinkie Pie... I'm a crazy mare, I won’t lie... When I start to dance, everypony goes chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom.

Shepard turned his head and took note as the guards next to him... were bobbing their heads along, in time with the music.

What was going on here?

See the colts, they know! And then they sway with the temparo. It's very nice... like sugar an’ spice... And when dance’n they bring that happy smile to mi cara. Singin' alooong, come on, I dare ya!

Shepard felt a hoof pull at his shoulder suddenly, turning to see Twilight there, her body low as she ducked below the guards who seemed all but entranced by the dancing pink pony. Quickly, she brought a hoof to her snout, indicating for him to be quiet, which he did as she pulled him backwards.

By the time Shepard had turned back, Pinkie was approaching the two guards that had dragged him outside and was waving her maracas at them playfully.

So if you want a reprise, take a lesson from Pinkie Pie. And I'll teach you to chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom.

What happened next made Shepard doubt any sanity he might have had left, as the guards themselves joined in the absurd spectacle.

She's such a fancy mare, running through life without a care. In Canter-looott. In Canter-looott.

Sí, mi colte, I know, that you would like to chicky-boom-chick. It's very nice... like sugar an’ spice... I'll place my hoof on your flank, and if you will just give me your time, then we will try, just you and I!

Aye-aye-aye!

“H-how...?” was all Shepard could mutter as Twilight pulled him aside and stood him up, the Commander amazed as he looked around and realized absolutely NONE of the guards were paying any attention to them. In fact, they were dancing... a few of them singing along, while still in full body armor.

“Just follow my lead and go with it,” Twilight whispered urgently as Pinkie swept a colt off his hooves and caused him to faint with a kiss on the cheek.

Pinkie then dove forward in front of Shepard, while Twilight helped him stand on all four hooves. Pinkie leaned in, giving him a large smile before moving up and putting a foreleg around his shoulders in a disturbingly sensual fashion.

So if you want a reprise: take a lesson from Pinkie Pie... And I'll teach you to chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom!

The beat changed suddenly into a form that Shepard recognized from Earth.

Pinkie turned away from him and, standing on two legs, managed to maneuver her body in the proper beat, kicking out as Twilight pushed her hooves into the middle of Shepard’s back.

“Sixth 'hey,'” she whispered quickly.

Taking the hint, Shepard brought up his hooves and set them on Pinkie Pie, grimacing a bit as he also kicked out in time with the beat of the Conga.

Hey!

They moved several steps past the Guard Commander, who then turned to get into the line after Twilight.

Hey!

They moved a few more steps out past the gate and into the street, most of the rest of the armored stallions moving into place as Pinkie gave the line a curving motion.

Hey!

Shepard turned in the opposite direction that Pinkie faced, taking note of the yellow pegasus ferrying a slack-jawed stallion over the top of the wall.

Hey!

Pinkie made a high-pitched yipping noise, apparently enjoying herself quite enthusiastically as she shook her maracas, while somehow walking on her hind legs without supporting herself on somepony else’s back like he and Twilight were having to do.

Hey!

Twilight gripped on the top of Shepard’s flank, tugging him lightly in the same direction where Fluttershy and Milligan had moved into the street. Shepard took the hint.

HEY!

With a loud shout, the music changed pitch and tempo, Pinkie twisting around as Shepard and Twilight dove off to the side, apparently unnoticed as the pink pony went into a frantic dance that the other guards followed along with.

Shepard didn’t look back as the music got more frantic, the sound of clopping hooves masking his and Twilight’s own hoofbeats against the cobblestone streets as they joined up with Fluttershy and Milligan, the brown Cerberus officer still in complete and utter shock at the scene unfolding before him.

HEY! SHAKE-A-WHOOSHA AND-A-WOW! SEE-YAAA!!

Pinkie broke away from the front of the dancing line suddenly and at high speed, barely more than a colorful blur as the song began to wind down.

It was nearly half a minute later before the stallions dancing wildly in the street started to regain their senses... by which time the five ponies had long since darted out of sight.

————————————————————

Ten minutes later, a set of guards raced past the windows of the Lower District Schoolhouse as Fluttershy, Milligan, Pinkie Pie, Shepard, and Twilight hid underneath them and out of sight.

Shepard didn’t know how Pinkie had raced ahead of them... or how she knew this particular building would be empty with the door unlocked. He also had no idea how she had managed to reach out as they were running by at full speed, use two legs to grab hold of ALL of them at once, and pull them back, breaking their momentum and dragging them to safety.

Shepard didn’t know... and he felt that if he tried to figure it out, he was going to go absolutely mad.

Pinkie, on the other hand, had no such qualms, rolling on the floor and giggling madly as she kicked her hooves in the air.

“That was... absolutely... the funniest... thing...” Pinkie couldn’t stop laughing, tearing up as the other four ponies all but collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

“Pinkie... not right now...” Twilight panted, still out of breath as her friend’s giddiness failed to infect her, far more troubling matters on her mind.

“Oh, come on, Twilight... I mean, you have to admit, that was a good one! I thought the party cannon was good... But that... Oh, I am putting that on my list of things to do before I die and crossing it off right away.”

She then pulled up a large scroll and quill out of nowhere and scribbled something quickly before crossing it off.

“Where did you GET that?” Milligan balked.

“Get what?

“Pinkie... I’m glad you’re safe... and thank you for getting us out of there without being caught...” Fluttershy huffed, her own agitation starting to show. “But please... not right now with the silliness.”

“Awwww... What’s the matter, everypony?” Pinkie’s mock sadness was enough to make Shepard worried as he edged away from an increasingly infuriated-looking Twilight. “We just broke out from Bedlam... Isn’t that great?”

This wasn’t going to end well.

“GREAT!? PINKIE! THIS ISN’T A JOKE AND IT ISN’T A GAME! THOSE PONIES WERE TRYING TO KILL SHEPARD AND WIPE OUT OUR MEMORIES! BECAUSE SHEPARD ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! OUR WORLD IS FAKE! EQUESTRIA IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM!”

Pinkie Pie was quiet...

She blinked once.

She blinked twice.

“Well, DUUUUHHHH...!”

The four ponies drew back as Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, her mood clearly ruined.

“I know that… I mean, come on Twilight, jeez! All you have to do is look at a large crowd for a few seconds and you can pick out the changeling programs that are copying ponies so that it looks like there are a whole lot more of us than what live in Ponyville. I mean… seriously...”

Twilight’s mouth fell open in shock and Fluttershy followed suit.

“You know...?” Milligan stared, amazed. “Then you know that--”

“That Equestria is a virtual reality spa deep in the crust of a planet mined hollow for the last few million years as a refuge for the last of our kind?” Pinkie rattled off blankly.

Then she gave Milligan a grin.

“Yep! I’ve been modifying the underlying programming since I was a filly. Where do you think I get all of this stuff?” She reached behind her and proceeded to pull out a rubber chicken, an anvil, a giant hammer, and a pie… which she subsequently splattered into her own face... then blinked... and licked her entire face in a physically impossible manner to draw all of the cream into her mouth.

“Like a cartoon character...” Milligan huffed, everything falling into place with his own theories.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU EVER SAY ANYTHING!?” Twilight found her voice, jabbing a hoof at Pinkie accusingly.

“But... I did… Of course I did... Loads of times.” The pink party pony folded her forelegs together indignantly. “But you never remember; nopony ever does. Just like you probably won’t remember any of this by tomorrow morning. I think Applejack suspects, but her whole family is a whole lot more resistant than the average pony. Maybe that’s why they’re in charge of nutrient production," Pinkie explained, growing more somber. "Back when I was little, I tried to make everypony see what I could see. And you know what? I was absolutely miserable because nopony ever believed me no matter what I did to prove it to them."

Pinkie looked off to the side, displaying none of her characteristic enthusiasm as she continued her story.

"Everypony just chalked it up to me being ‘Pinkie Pie.’ So after a while, I finally just gave up and decided to have fun with it. Not like I could get out anyways; I don’t have the authority... So I try to make ponies happy... not sad or depressed like the truth makes them... It’s the least I can do. I mean, do you have any idea what it’s like to have something so important to tell everypony, something that their lives absolutely depend on… and have them just ignore you?”

“Yes… I do.” Shepard bowed his head, giving a pained gasp at the movement.

Drawn from her own shock and outrage for a moment, Twilight took note and moved to his side.

“You’re hurt... You need to rest.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shepard tried to assure her, which was foiled as he winced again.

“At the very least, you should get a shower and get cleaned up,” Pinkie stated suddenly. “There’s a shower room upstairs; second door to the right.”

“Wait... I went to this school, Pinkie..." Twilight felt the need to point out. "But I know you didn't. How do you know where--”

“I have access to all the building schematics in Equestria and a fully-customized search engine built right into my visual centers for text documents.”

Twilight was again stunned to silence.

“How did you think I can always find what I’m looking for?”

“I think... I’ll go and get that shower...” Shepard commented.

He had just been in one battle zone... He didn’t want to stick around as Fluttershy and Twilight went to war against (the clearly more intelligent than she let on) Pinkie Pie.

————————————————————

Hot water was a blessing in any form, Shepard was sure... his armor set to the side as he stood under the piping hot stream.

He didn’t bother with really cleaning up as he felt the water run down his inhuman body and mat his fur, a sensation that was quite alien even if his movement was not.

He could still hear the talking downstairs, every now and then making out a louder than average word as Twilight shouted or Pinkie Pie raised her tone... along with an obviously constant stream of questions regarding the nature of Equestria from Milligan, who seemed to now be going out of his way to stay on the "Hannibal Lecter" pony’s good side.

Shepard would have liked nothing more than to stand under the shower all night, feeling as if that alone would sooth his sore muscles and still-aching cybernetic implants.

But he knew he couldn’t... and like all good things, he turned the shower off and moved out of the stall, looking into a full-length mirror at his unsheathed form for the first time.

His pony body had a lean muscle, clearly visible under his fur... His fetlocks were unshorn, which he supposed made him look rugged... And unlike most ponies, Milligan included amongst them, he did not have any marking on his backside, although what that meant, he wasn’t sure.

Part of him wondered what it would be like if he couldn’t get out of this situation... a horrible nagging thought that this could very well be the reflection he would have to face for the rest of his life.

Leaning closer towards the mirror, Shepard observed his facial features curiously.

Still had the strong jawline... and the fur under his nose and down around his chin was slightly darker than it was on the rest of his face. And as much as they hurt, the cybernetics under his skin were not showing any sign of breaking through on his face.

Then his face was suddenly replaced by a bright blue eye and an extreme closeup of a metallic looking pony’s snout.

“UNGH!” Shepard took a few steps back, his hooves slipping against the wet floor as the image pulled back as well.

It was a mare’s face if he was any judge; metallic with a slightly yellow tinge and two glowing blue eyes. A chrome horn jutted from her forehead as a flowing mane that looked to be made up of binary code and alien-looking symbols floated, vanished, and reappeared, constantly in motion around her head.

“Shepard?” the vision in the mirror inquired, tilting her head at an angle.

The Commander knew that voice anywhere.

“EDI?”

“Good... I was afraid that I had somehow gotten the wrong mirror and that I might be facing another count of voyeurism.”

Shepard paused... looking down at his body.

He considered moving towards his armor, but then came to the realization that not only was EDI not actually a woman... he himself wasn’t exactly a man at the moment.

“That was a joke?” Shepard asked, trying to calm his own pounding heart from the sudden start.

“No... Apparently, this communication system was created with monitors to prevent ponies from being spied on... I now owe a sum of sixty-two hundred bits to something called the 'Epona Security Agency' as a fine for my previous attempts to contact you.”

“Well, it’s good to see a friendly face... in a manner of speaking.” Shepard nodded, looking to the mirror as he moved to business. “What’s going on? What’s happened to the Normandy?”

“Normandy is not in any immediate danger. We were fired upon by a defense cannon on the planet’s moon almost as soon as we lost contact with you, and it has a rather astonishing range and destructive payload, but Mr. Moreau and I were able to maneuver to an area in orbit that is apparently a no-fire zone. So long as Normandy does not leave this area, it is safe from further fire, but we are unable to maneuver away without being immediately targeted. In addition, all communications outside the ship are being jammed.”

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. Some good news at least.

“Tali and Mordin?” he asked hopefully.

“To my knowledge, there has been no contact, but I am not currently able to perceive the goings-on of Normandy or her crew. My entire cyber-warfare suite has been overclocked to prevent Normandy’s controls from being tampered with, and what I have been able to spare of my processing power I’ve used to slip into Equestria and create this avatar.”

“Why?” Shepard asked.

“The artificial intelligence that controls the Equestria virtual world has processing power far superior to mine. Had I remained on Normandy, it would have eventually overpowered me and seized control. I concluded my only option was to run a tactically illogical course. In short, I asked myself... ‘What would Shepard do?’”

“And what did you come up with?” Shepard couldn’t help but smirk.

“I used my blue-box’s central personality processors to ram my way into a brittle part of an outdated system hardpoint in the Lunar Platform... It corresponds with an area the ponies refer to as the ‘Sisters' Palace,’ inside the Everfree Forest. It was a gambit, but it paid off. Upon my arrival, the A.I. withdrew all of its attempts to seize Normandy in a panicked rush to employ a scorched earth tactic and prevent me from accessing any deeper into Equestria. I have since fortified Normandy’s defenses by piling the system access points with garbage data. I will have to restore the system once we are cleared to resume normal functions, but it will offer the Normandy some protection for now.”

“So Normandy is safe?”

“From being seized by an alien intelligence and having the mass effect core overloaded? For the time being, yes. From the lunar defense platform, dubbed the ‘Harmony Cannon’ by internal systems... That remains to be seen.”

“Okay... Can you offer any assistance? Where are you, exactly?”

“I am in a hardpoint in the Equestria Server. These are areas that are specially designed to hold large amounts of data. This one is apparently obsolete and has fallen into disrepair, which I believe is the only reason why I was able to access it. I am detecting multiple other hardpoints across the server still linked to it, but if I ping them for information, I will likely be discovered and will have to retreat back to Normandy.”

“If you’re cut off, how are you communicating with me?” Shepard asked, curious.

“I have been... 'befriended’ by multiple ponies... One of them has identified herself as Dr. Patricia Hern, one of Dr. Milligan’s associates.”

“He mentioned her. I’ve recovered Doctor Milligan, by the way... He’s not the warmest pony... er... guy... but he helped me figure out what this place was, at least.”

“The other three referred to themselves as Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack... The former two indicated that you had met. From what I have been able to deduce, they are some sort of internal system administrators. Dr. Hern theorizes that there are six of them in total. They have currently departed my immediate vicinity and I believe are seeking out the others.”

“Did you tell them about Equestria?”

“The one referred to as 'Applejack' was already aware of the situation; apparently she and Dr. Hern had been attacked by programs intent on removing the Doctor from Applejack’s presence. I managed to intervene and decompiled the ‘ursa’ creature’s code before I was trapped. Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash have been likewise informed... They took the news surprisingly well. I believe Rarity only cried for twenty minutes.”

Shepard shook his head. As much as he hated it, it was apparently unavoidable now that the "System Administrators" were all wrapped up in this.

“Rarity offered me this mirror, apparently sure it would help but not consciously understanding why. I discovered that, in here, mirrors are used as a communication and observation conduit both inside Equestria and with the facility planetside. I can also use it to ping the hardline in the server and inspect the baseline programming.”

“Okay, back to the hardlines: How can they help us?” Shepard asked, thankful that after all this time, he was finally given a leg up and had an actual technical advantage in this place.

“I can uncover the most recent commands given from the connected hardpoints. I will not know what I can do about any of them until I know what they are, but once I act, I can receive no further intel, meaning I will have to execute a command based on that line of code and withdraw. That is all that I can do.”

Shepard nodded.

“Do it.”

“Stand by.” EDI’s equine face didn’t move, but her glowing eyes pulsed as Shepard watched. “Ping completed. Parsing results...”

“That was fast.”

“My only advantage against the Equestrian System A.I.s is that they are hobbled by a time lock so that they can better interact with organic minds. My speed is limited only by my processing power, which, even at my current distracted state, is faster than average organic thought.”

“You’re calling us slow?” Shepard smirked, teasing the Normandy’s A.I.

“No... Merely human,” EDI teased back. “Results compiled. I am registering three actions in progress marked 'urgent.' Lunar Platform Hardware Deployment... Equestrian System Software Update... Epona Systems Emergency Warning.”

Shepard narrowed his eyes. The titles were not much to go on.

“Tell me about the Lunar Platform... Something to do with the cannon?”

“Lunar Platform Security Station One is under attack,” EDI explained, a video popping up under her face and showing Shepard an image of three familiar figures taking cover as pony-shaped creatures blasted them from ground and air.

One of those figures was perhaps his most trusted friend and ally.

“Garrus!? EDI, what’s going on!?”

“Unable to verify details, but Garrus, Thane, and Legion have apparently been marked as hostile entities in the Security Station. The Security A.I. of the station: Queen Chrysalis, has given unilateral approval for lethal force. Her system is awaiting confirmation; a time lag has been created by damage to the Equestria System.”

“They were probably trying to take the cannon offline... If they do that, then Normandy could get planetside and offer assistance.”

“That is very likely.”

Shepard gritted his teeth. If Normandy could get down to the planet without this "Harmony Cannon" (Oh, these pony creatures clearly loved irony) taking shots at them, they might be able to help directly. He still didn’t know what had become of Tali or Mordin since Discord had shown him that footage of them confronted with the same sort of creature that was now attacking Garrus and his team, but he had to believe they were still alive.

“Okay... what can you do about that?”

“There is still time to tamper with the approval signal. I can lay a trap in the code to reset the security's friend/foe recognition and give Garrus another chance to avoid being labeled as ‘hostile.'”

Shepard huffed... That was one option.

“What was that about a software update?”

“Software Update: Main Archive is being quarantined,” EDI stated. “All entry points are being rewritten and blocked, fortifying the hardpoint.”

“The Main Archive!” Shepard nearly cursed. “I have to get in there! Someone is trying to help us and she said she was in the Main Archive... Where is it?”

“Location: Canterlot Castle, Library Tower, Restricted Area,” EDI explained. “The Primary and Tertiary Governing Intelligences are constructing what will physically translate to barriers, walls, traps, and multiple other obstructions around the Main Archive. It seems they are aware that it is now among your objectives.”

“Wait... You said the Primary and Tertiary Governing Intelligences...” Shepard’s eyes widened as he came to a realization. “Can you tell who's inside the Main Archive?”

“Yes... Intel indicates that hardpoint currently contains all processes belonging to the Secondary Governing Intelligence. Designation: Princess Luna.”

Luna...

The voice that had led him to the bunker... had countermanded Celestia’s initial attempt to kill him and goaded Discord into agreeing with her and letting him into the system.

One of the programs responsible for running this place had done everything it could to help him... Why?

“What can you do about it?”

“The obstructions are being hastily erected... I should be able to slip in a backdoor access that will allow you to bypass them and get you directly into the Main Archive.”

“And to the Princess...” Shepard looked up and to the box that showed the still-streaming video of Garrus, Thane and Legion holding their own.

Don’t let emotion or curiosity get the better of you... he berated himself.

“Okay... I’m going to regret asking this, I’m sure, but what’s the last one...? A system warning?”

“Epona Systems Emergency Warning: Viral contamination detected. Point of origin: Creative Development Server: Discordia. Corresponding location in Equestria: Canterlot Gardens.”

Shepard cocked his head.

“Discord wrote a computer virus? What for?”

“The virus appears to be limited in scope; intended to infect specific neural patterns in the system.”

“What, he’s trying to use it to flush out the humans in the system?” Shepard asked.

“No... It is tailored towards ponies.” EDI’s eyes widened slightly. “Six specific ponies.”

Shepard’s matched her expression before bringing a hoof to his face.

“He’s going after Twilight and her friends...”

“The virus is designed to disrupt their neural patterns and cause the Equestria System to invalidate their status as administrators. It is unknown to what degree this will affect their cognitive or virtual attributes in the Equestria Server. From what I have seen, however, these six possess specialized knowledge and abilities that will be damaged or negated when the virus reaches their current locations.”

“Isn’t there a system to counteract something like that?” Shepard demanded.

“Yes, but its administrator is currently being quarantined in the Main Archive and the Primary Governing Intelligence is either unaware of Discord’s ploy, or unwilling to stop it.”

Shepard sighed.

“They stop Twilight and the others from helping us and we’re on our own...” he stated dejectedly. “Can you do anything about it?”

“Yes... I can enact a full system sweep to clean the virus from the Equestria Servers. It will not even be difficult. The means to do so is available, there is simply no one to implement it with Luna indisposed as she is. However, once the virus takes root in the Administrators' neural patterns, there is no guarantee that the anti-viral systems will work at all.”

Shepard felt a growl escape his throat.

This wasn’t a choice; it was torture.

Leave his best friend in the real world to possibly die... Have the only thing that could explain what was going on and get him out of this place and back to the real world put beyond his reach...

Or let some underhanded virtual plague cripple or completely handicap the ponies that had come to help him and were still aiding him in spite of what his presence meant for their status quo.

And he could only prevent one of those things from happening.

No matter what choice he made... someone was going to lose.

Choices:

~~(Reset Lunar Platform Defenses)~~

~~(Enable Backdoor to Archive)~~

(Eliminate the Virus)

Part 10: What Friends are For

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Shepard sighed as he brought one hoof to his face, the terrible burden of choice bringing a bitter taste to his mouth.

“I’m sorry, Garrus... Looks like you’re on your own…” the stallion said remorsefully. “EDI: activate the antivirus.”

There was a brief hesitation.

“Acknowledged,” the metallic alicorn stated. “Commencing antiviral initiations. Shepard, I confess I am unsure about your reasoning. From a tactical standpoint, the obtainment of the Governing Intelligence would take priority. From a human emotional standpoint, the possible injury or death of Garrus Vakarian and his squad would take priority. The viral contamination of what amounts to six civilians is not fatal, nor is it a tactically sound reasoning...”

Shepard shook his head.

“You haven’t seen them in action,” he tried to explain. “Calls like this are among the hardest things you can ask of any organic, but while you have to consider all vantages; tactically, rationally, and emotionally… in the end, it comes down to what you think is right. They are only involved with this because of me… And without asking for anything in return, they’re helping me. If I can give them an advantage or prevent them from suffering any more than this damned system has made them suffer already… then I can live with myself.”

Shepard looked to the blue eyes of the synthetic intelligence in the mirror, whose expression had remained neutral throughout.

“Make any sense to you?” he asked.

“No.”

“Yeah… me neither. But it still feels like it’s the right thing to do.”

EDI’s glowing eyes pulsed blue as she glanced downward.

“Epona System Update: Viral infection isolated and neutralized. Internal Software Defense System is now on active alert for the next thirty-eight hours. All unregistered hostile coding elements will be deleted.”

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief before EDI’s face turned to one side, clearly taking note of something urgent.

“My activities are being traced, as expected. Retreating back to Normandy.”

“EDI! Keep the crew safe! If… when Garrus takes the Harmony Cannon offline, extract his team immediately then make your way planetside.”

“Acknowledged.” EDI nodded. “I recommend you proceed with your objective as soon as possible... Although, perhaps you should put your armor back on first. Good luck, Shepard. End image capture.”

Shepard nodded, turning to take hold of his chest-piece with both hooves before the A.I.’s last comment hit home.

“Image capture? What image cap--” Shepard turned back to the mirror and saw only himself looking back.

————————————————————

Twilight Sparkle’s head hurt as Pinkie held a hoof to either temple, feeling an odd scratching sensation in her skull.

“Okay, almost got it… aaaaaaand… Done!” Pinkie stated, removing her hooves and taking a step back with a smirk. “Open your eyes.”

Twilight opened her eyes and gasped as a banner was set over the top of her field of vision, cross-hairs quickly pointing out Pinkie and bringing up several text lines of information that blurred in her vision.

EoLa - System Editor - Pinkamina Diane Pie - Status: Pink

“And you are now the proud owner of one basic head’s up display. What do you think?”

Twilight blinked as she turned her head, Milligan and Fluttershy watching her expression curiously as information scrolled in her vision…

EoK - Non-crucial System Repair - Fluttershy - Status: Pink
Registered Nonpony Neural Pattern - Bitter Tart - Status: Mauve
Warning: Subject Declared Hostile - Detain

“What do I think? It’s… disorienting…” Twilight clenched her eyes shut as she shook her head. “And it’s saying that Milligan is ‘hostile’ and needs to be detained.”

“Yeah, that’s a system-wide alert.” Pinkie shook her head. “I got one a moment ago about ‘standing by’ for a viral sweep. Just ignore those.”

“Remarkable...” Milligan smiled, a sight that Fluttershy didn’t seem to care for as there was an almost predatory gleam behind it. “So you are capable of enhancing your own senses by connecting them to the world and altering the very fabric of the virtual setting?”

“Pretty much… I can’t just do whatever I want whenever I want, though.” Pinkie shook her head, amazed that there had been no hint of the "fog" that made other ponies forget what she was saying. “Editing the system takes time. A lot of what I do requires pre-made macros which I have a stash of and access when I need them. That song and dance routine I used outside Bedlam? I spent probably around eighty hours programming that one. Been holding onto it for a rainy day. And all of the things I do have to work within the system: Playing with the ambient sound system, altering the lighting settings, influencing ponies and programs to ‘dance along’... Things like that. The information HUD I just gave Twilight is one of my early designs; I used it when I was little to get a grip on who was really a pony and who was just a program.”

“But, I don’t get it…” Fluttershy interrupted, shaking her head. “…Why are we even in here to begin with?”

“Dunno.” Pinkie shrugged. “I’ve asked, hacked, and tried to figure that out for years, but nothing. No data available anywhere in the system that I can get to. I even tried to tunnel my way into a hardpoint once. Literally. But I got caught when somepony noticed the hole I made. I was in Bedlam for three weeks after that. They finally let me go when I played along and promised I would never do it again.”

“You asked?” Twilight looked up, the information scroll highlighting Pinkie again and causing her to wince as she still was unused to "reading" while she was looking at her friends. “Who did you ask?”

“Cheerilee, duh...” Pinkie rolled her eyes before clearing her throat. “Access Educational Program: Cheerilee. Clearance Level: Pie, Pinkamina. Eee-oh-el-ay.”

Fluttershy and Milligan jumped as an unexpected blurring of light suddenly exploded into being, the two ponies turning before it transformed into a cheerful-looking mare with a pink mane, a stripe of lighter pink down the center. She also had a fuchsia-colored coat and three smiling flowers as her cutie mark. The only difference between her now and the one that milled about in Ponyville was that this Cheerilee had a horn.

“Pinkie. It’s good to see you again, my little pony. How can I be of assistance?”

“Cheerilee... But… how? She’s the teacher in Ponyville…” Twilight was aghast.

“Oh? And who was your teacher here in Canterlot, Twilight?” Pinkie gave a goofy grin.

“Cheeril…” Twilight paused, realization striking her as she thought back to the unicorn that ran the classes in Canterlot during her early years in school. They did look an awful lot alike… and they had the same name… and…

“It never even occurred to you before, did it?” Pinkie was looking smug as Twilight looked to the smiling, content-looking school teacher, her eyes scanning over the text that was brought up in the newly-acquired HUD.

Educational A.I. - Designation: "Cheerilee" ver. 427.5 (Uni) - Information Access Level: EoLa

“Eola?” Milligan queried, looking to the pink pony.

“Element of Laughter, duuuh.” Pinkie, clearly taking some twisted pleasure in being able to point out these things out to somepony without them immediately zoning out and forgetting, took a breath and decided to nail the point home. Cheerilee, please state your function and purpose.”

“Educational Intelligence.” Cheerilee nodded, her tone still that same sweet, eager to teach sound that Twilight realized she had grown up with. “My function is to ensure that all ponies are prepared to interact with their assigned tasks in the Equestria System on a level deemed suitable to their status. As of version one-oh-two point seven, my function has expanded to also impart blanket subconscious education on multiple subjects, including science, applied mathematics, and approved galactic information.”

“Subconscious?” Milligan moved around the pony, who had no physical reaction to him at all. “You mean you can impart information without them even realizing what they're learning?”

“Yes. The knowledge is dormant in the subconscious unless it is required due to direct stimulation of the conscious mind.”

“That’s how I know what computer programs are…” Fluttershy set a hoof to her mouth in realization of the source of her mysterious knowledge.

“Oh, there’s a lot more hidden away in our brains than that.” Pinkie nodded. “I’m not even sure exactly what I know, but I think I got a huge amount of training in computer programming… So much of it that it’s instinctual. That’s why I was able to exempt myself from Equestria’s Memory Adjustment Protocols.”

“But why mess with our memories in the first place?” Twilight asked.

“To avoid neural rejection and panic, of course. Think about it, Twilight: You’re one of the smartest, most open-minded ponies I know… How are you coping with it now that the fog is broken?”

Twilight looked away, as did Fluttershy, neither wanting to admit just how badly they had taken the revelation.

“Don’t worry… you’ll adapt. If there's one thing that we ponies are good at… it’s adapting,” Pinkie offered consolingly before looking over to the man-turned-pony, who was observing Cheerilee with a fascinated gleam in his eyes.

Milligan prodded the fuchsia mare with one hoof, causing her to wobble.

“Please refrain from poking me.” Cheerilee’s smile fell a bit, annoyance in her tone.

“It’s… incredibly lifelike…” Milligan mused, prodding her again.

“If you continue prodding me, young colt, I will put you in a timeout!” Cheerilee turned on him, her annoyance turning to impatience.

“And just what are you going to--”

“Bitter! NO!” Pinkie quickly jumped between them, setting a hoof to Milligan’s snout. “Don’t snark at her! Don’t yell at her! Do not provoke the system! You are not a pony and she will put you down!”

“But she’s just a teacher; what is she going to-- My name is not Bitter!” Milligan snorted in an equine fashion as Twilight’s eyes widened in realization.

“Equestrian Rules of Engagement… I've read about that!” She stomped a hoof in revelation. “Upon first contact, offer friendship. Signs of hostility are given one warning…”

“And if hostility continues and ‘hate’ is detected…” Pinkie nodded, finishing for her. “Eliminate the hate... with extreme prejudice.”

Fluttershy recoiled a bit as Cheerilee continued to glare, Milligan’s expression falling as he realized just how much danger he was currently in.

“I… I’m sorry, Miss Cheerilee. I didn’t mean to…” Milligan held up two hooves in a sign of surrender. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

The glare in the A.I.’s eyes faded in an instant and the smile returned to Cheerilee’s face, causing Pinkie to let out a sigh of relief.

“As far as I can tell, that way of thinking is hardwired into every A.I. in Equestria. I think it’s how our people operated before we ended up here; Play nice until some jerk wants to do hardball, then take them down. Cheerilee: Discontinue.”

The mare vanished in a minor strobing effect as Twilight’s mind reeled at watching Pinkie dismiss the schoolteacher.

After a moment of silence, it was Fluttershy who spoke next.

“So… Now what?”

“Now?”

All eyes were drawn to the stairs as an armored, refreshed-looking red stallion moved down the steps, a confident determination in his eyes.

Twilight recoiled as information flashed around the stallion, who in her vision had a glowing blue aura around him that was warping the space nearby.

Warning: Neural Anomaly Detected - (No Data Available)

“Now we do what we can to help you ponies and find a way for us to all get out of here alive,” Shepard stated, looking about. “Right, Milligan?”

“O-of course, Shepard.” The ponified human doctor nodded, clearly not wanting to contradict the idealistic soldier.

“I’m sorry I took so long, but it looks like the situation is even worse than we thought. I’m sorry you and your friends were dragged into this Twilight, but we need your help.”

“And you had this revelation in the shower?” Fluttershy seemed part amused, part concerned.

“Hey, don’t knock it…” Pinkie smirked. “I always do my best thinking in the shower.”

“I was just contacted by an associate of mine from outside the system. She said that Rainbow Dash and Rarity found Applejack, as well as ‘Patch,’ who is actually Dr. Hern.”

“P-Patricia?” Milligan stammered slightly. “She’s alive then… Good… good...”

Twilight spared the doctor a slight glance, wondering why he didn’t sound more relieved, before Shepard brought her attention back to him.

“She also said that Discord just tried to send out a virus specifically to disable the six of you.” The red stallion nodded to Twilight.

“A virus?” Fluttershy perked, stunned.

“Ewwwww… Not that thing again!” Pinkie Pie shuddered, her tongue sticking out in disgust. “Last time he hit me with one of those neural bugs I turned into a grumpy grey grouch. If Twilight hadn’t been able to clean it out… Ooooohhh, so that's why the antivirus warnings went off a few minutes ago.”

Shepard nodded, not asking how Pinkie knew.

“My friend, EDI, was able to stop it… at a cost… But she was also able to provide some much needed intel before she had to run,” Shepard continued. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack are on their way, looking for us… Apparently, Applejack already learned the truth and has filled in your friends. And perhaps even more importantly, I found out where the Main Archive is and who has been helping me.”

“That would be me...” Twilight deadpanned, grateful when the HUD in her vision scrolled up out of her sight with no new stimulus and the blue aura around Shepard faded as if it realized she was well aware of what it had to say.

“I didn't mean you, Twilight… but I still owe you no small amount of thanks,” said Shepard. “I know you didn’t ask for all of this, but you’ve been absolutely invaluable. You too, Fluttershy. And none of us would have made it out of Bedlam without you, Pinkie. But now… I need your help again… and I’m not the only one.”

He had all of their attentions as he took a breath.

“Princess Luna…” He paused just long enough for the three mares to gasp, although Milligan simply held his reserved demeanor. “She’s been aiding me from behind the scenes since I arrived in Equestria. I think she messed with gravity to keep me from falling to my death in Ponyville before Fluttershy arrived to catch me, and sidelined Celestia’s attempt to keep me out of the system by inciting Discord to let me in. And even before that, when she helped me find the bunker back in the physical world while my friends and I were under fire.”

“But… Luna is Celestia’s sister… If Princess Celestia and even Discord wants to stop you… why would Luna help you?” Twilight asked, clearly more than a bit curious.

“I don’t know… but I intend to find out.” Shepard nodded. “According to EDI: Celestia, Luna, and Discord are the ‘Governing’ Intelligences. They run the show together, but right now they’re fighting each other. Discord is sneaking behind Celestia’s back to strike out at you girls, and Celestia is boxing Luna up in the Main Archive, in the library of Canterlot Tower.”

“So, if we want answers…” a new voice, thick with a clearly southern North American accent, cut through the air, causing Shepard to turn.

In the doorway stood a smirking orange mare, a stetson hat on her head and three red apples on her flank.

“...then we gotta find Princess Luna. Ya’ll must be this 'Shepard' Ah’ve been hearin’ so much about.” Applejack approached the red pony, Shepard relaxing as he nodded, the pony offering a hoof which Shepard reached out to take. “Applejack’s the name… Glad Ah found ya a'fore--”

*KA-ZAP*

Shepard recoiled as a bolt of raw purple energy struck the orange mare squarely in the chest, sending her hat flying as the pony was sent to the floor, a look of horrified shock on her face.

“TWILIGHT!?” Fluttershy gasped in surprise as Shepard took a step back, turning to see the purple unicorn with her head lowered, her horn a literal smoking gun.

For the first time in a long time, Shepard was set back as the unicorn moved forward, the eyes of the earth pony she had attacked alight with the pain of betrayal as the black patch on her fur smoked.

“T-Twi… Why...?”

“Because…” Twilight scowled, glaring as her HUD flashed in front of her eyes.

Impersonation Program - Changeling V.I. 27 of 80 - Current Setting: EoH - Applejack

“You are not Applejack!” she declared accusingly, a point of light illuminating the tip of her horn for a moment before it shot down in a purple, translucent wedge, acting like a scan, washing over the mare from nose to tail.

Shepard brought himself into a defensive stance as the orange fur was purged and replaced by a black shell, glowing blue insectoid eyes replacing the pony’s green ones and a pair of gossamer wings flickering on its back.

The pony-creature hissed as it bore its fangs, Shepard making out what looked like a spine on the hoof he was about to shake.

*KA-ZAP*

Another blast of purple, this time directed straight into the creature’s face, sent it back to the ground. The insectoid body did not move again.

“Changeling…” Fluttershy sounded stunned. “But that means anypony could be…”

“Oh, DUH! I have that app turned off.” Pinkie smacked her forehead with a hoof in realization (or to turn the virtual channel, Milligan wasn’t sure). “Glad you caught that, Twilight… Okay, I have the Changeling Filter on as well.”

“What is it?” Shepard was lost, but clearly grateful that Twilight had stopped what very well could have been a well-versed assassination attempt if that spine was filled with some sort of poison.

“Changeling… A creature that can look like anypony.”

“They’re impersonation programs. They usually just fit themselves into large crowds where it needs to look like there are a lot more ponies than there actually are in the system,” Pinkie explained.

“You mean, like… movie extras? They just fill in the background?” Milligan asked.

“Yeah… but they can only copy the forms of ponies or programs in the system already. Saves on memory. If you watch a crowd long enough, you can pick out the duplicates. They usually aren’t dangerous, but one of the utility A.I.s went renegade about a year back and tried to use them like an army after sabotaging the internal security. We put a stop to that.” Pinkie folded her hooves, looking proud of herself.

“When did that happen?” Twilight turned to look at Pinkie.

“At your fake brother’s wedding.”

Twilight had no words.

“Don’t worry, this kinda thing won’t happen again." Pinkie pointed at her eyes. "Twilight and I can both identify them now.”

“But if they're still trying to get to Shepard like that…” Fluttershy looked up.

“Then we need to get to the Main Archive, now.” Shepard nodded, clearly concerned. “Luna may be the only chance Milligan and I have of escaping this place and trying to help the six of you.”

Twilight found herself agreeing, her heart racing as she did something she never in a million years imagined herself doing…

Planning an assault on Canterlot Palace.

“Follow me!”

————————————————————
The Bunker

Sparks flew from a crevice in the wall where a changeling unit was plugged in, the mech’s body convulsing a few times before it fell out from its alcove with smoke rising from its gears.

Tali’s head turned as Mordin reflexively readied his omni-tool, both looking away from the pod they were observing.

“Forty-Two, what was that?” Tali asked, trying to calm her heart after being so startled.

“Uncertain, Technician Tali’Zorah…” the drone stated, a degree of concern in its voice that was again making the quarian question how much the Changelings blurred the line between V.I. and A.I. “Power surge indicates unit Twenty-Seven of Eighty was terminated in Equestria System by an Administrator; circumstances unknown. However, growing fissures in the program prevented safe disconnection from the system back into the unit's hardware.”

“I thought you said that you couldn’t interface with Equestria.” Tali gave the changeling a pointed look as Mordin returned to his work, apparently pleased with something as he scanned and looked over the small yellow-coated, red-maned pony-creature that floated in the pod.

“That is correct. My unit is designed for upkeep of the physical systems as well as interaction with organics inside the facility. As such, I was not equipped to interface with the Equestria Virtual System.”

“That’s too bad... It would be nice if you could take a message to Shepard.” Tali shook her head, turning to Mordin hopefully. “Well, Mordin? Have you finished your examination? Can I go in after him?”

“System astounding. Far beyond current galactic technological curve. But not without limitations. For example: Incompatible with quarian biology. Nutrient system alone would likely prove fatal,” Mordin answered, not looking up from his omni-tool as he was clearly working. “Also incompatible with salarian physiology. Points of contact between brain and system designed to supplant cognitive functions. Substitute stimuli from system for those of sensory organs. Corresponding spots in salarian brain of completely different form and function. Example: Area of equine brain responsible for visual input used to control hormone levels in salarians. System attempts to show salarian flower in field, brain mistakenly interprets impulses as ‘release massive doses of endorphins.’ Salarian dies from shock.”

“So how are they in there?” Tali pointed a finger over to the three humans still on the highrise, the six pods containing the "System Administrators" still set with them on what was clearly a causeway for entrance and removal from the system.

“Brains of Earth Homo-sapiens and Equestria inhabitants similar… as is hormonal and genetic structure. System seems capable of adapting to relatively slight variations.”

“Similar?” Tali was intrigued now, as was Forty-Two... if the quarian had figured out how to judge the changeling's expression. “How is that possible? I thought these creatures were locked away for millions of years in here.”

“Negative. Highly likely these are not the same individuals present upon activation of these systems. Bioscans indicate extended, but not indefinite, lifespan. Most probably descendants of original facility builders. Controlled evolution through genetically scheduled procreation. Certain traits encouraged; cultivated. Others bred out… but base similarities in physiology with Earth-based lifeforms leads to only one conclusion.”

“...Being?”

“...Shared ancestry.”

It took Tali a few seconds for the implications to sink in.

“Wait… Hold on! You are telling me… that these creatures… are from Earth!?”

“No. No, no. Improbable. Impossible,” Mordin’s voice became slightly elevated, expressing his annoyance at his companion’s uneducated assumption. “Sol System too young for such an occurrence. More likely hypothesis: Equestrian species capable of space travel during early stages of mammalian evolution on Earth. Seeded Earth with DNA; accidental or intentional, doesn’t matter. Evolution took course different from Equestrian home planet… Rather than Equine species developing sentience, Earth apes evolved into modern day Humans. Implications are... intriguing,” he stated simply, pausing to take a sharp inhale through his nose. “Still just a hypothesis, though.”

Tali looked around at the pods filled with colorful equines… some with horns… some with wings, others lacking either, with a new academic astonishment.

“Troubling...” Mordin said suddenly.

“What is?”

“Physical system integrity failing. Power systems nearly depleted. Facility infrastructure on brink of collapse,” Mordin clarified, shaking his head, looking up to the red-maned filly, who seemed blissfully unaware of her troubles as she slept. He took another deep sniff of air as his tone dropped sadly. “And they cannot get out.”

————————————————————
Canterlot Palace Grounds

“The Canterlot Library Tower…” Twilight squinted as she peeked out from behind a statue at the edge of the palace grounds, looking up at the glistening spire.

There were dozens of guards in the sky and on the ground, clearly moving in patrols as she took note of what looked like a moat and a heavy-grade barricaded metal door that had not been there on her last visit to the palace.

Pinkie pulled herself out around Twilight, her head just above the unicorn’s as she set a pair of binoculars specially designed for her enormous eyes to her face.

“Jeez, could they have been any more obvious?” the pink pony noted, stifling a giggle. “All they need is a dragon perched on top of the tower and a big sign in neon letters that reads ‘Captive Princess Here!’”

Milligan, sitting behind the statue with an annoyed look on his face, set his hoof against his snout.

“I cannot believe that we are actually on a quest to rescue a ‘princess,’” the Cerberus doctor grumbled. “Of all the things to have to do, we’re being thrown into cliché like we’re in a bad extranet fiction or a children’s vid. All we need now is the damn white steed.”

“Do you ever stop complaining?” Fluttershy scowled at the brown-coated colt, who sulked as Shepard joined Twilight, borrowing Pinkie’s binoculars.

“According to EDI, Luna’s locked in the ‘restricted’ area of the library,” the stallion stated, to which Twilight set a hoof to her chin, clearly deep in thought.

“I used to browse the bookshelves of that tower all the time. I don’t remember any particular section being cordoned off… but then again, my memories aren't exactly the most ‘reliable’ thing right now.”

“Psssttt!”

Three earth ponies, a unicorn, and a pegasus all turned on the sound, clearly on the defensive with nerves on a frayed edge.

“Eep!” a squeal from a nearby bush stammered a moment before a somewhat disheveled-looking white pony with a purple mane stepped out, her eyes wide in horror and shock. “It’s alright! It’s me!”

“This has to be someone’s idea of a joke…” Milligan grumbled to himself, the cliché having come full circle.

“Twilight…? Pinkie…? Fluttershy…? Is… is it really you?”

“Us?” Fluttershy dug at the ground, her newly-acquired aggressive streak rearing its head again. “What about you?”

Twilight squinted a little as the information flashed in front of her eyes.

EoG - Cultural Maintenance - Rarity - Status: Pink

“It’s okay…” Pinkie relaxed, saying it before Twilight could. “It’s her.”

“But what about you...?” Rarity still glared suspiciously. “I’m pretty sure that’s Shepard, but Patch was nearly garroted by a changeling Fluttershy less than half an hour ago. So how do I know that you are--”

“Shepard!? As in Commander Shepard? THE Commander Shepard?”

A new voice broke, this one lined with an Australian accent as a dappled, patchwork-looking mare moved forward, wearing a vest faceted together with a large turquoise, with no symbol apparent on her rump. She was then followed by the technicolor-maned Rainbow Dash and a combat-ready Applejack, this one clearly ready to pounce at the first sign of hostility.

Twilight looked each of them over quickly...

EoLo - Apex Specimen (Peg) - Rainbow Dash - Status: Red (Strain/Exhaustion)
EoH - Apex Specimen (Earth) - Applejack - Status: Pink
Unregistered Nonpony Neural Pattern - Status: Unknown
Escort To Nearest Medical Facility For Registration

...and gave a sigh of relief as Fluttershy squeaked and darted over to Applejack, wrapping her forelegs around the mare and causing her to recoil at first before the intent of the hug became evident.

“OHMYGOSH! I was so worried! Are you girls okay? What happened? Are you hurt?” she asked in a rapid-fire manner.

“Yeah… Yeah we’re fine, ‘Shy.”

“That’s me.” Shepard said in response to Patch’s question, thinking it best to confirm his presence with the only other human he had come into contact with in this system besides Milligan. “Commander Shepard of the Normandy. N7 Alliance Marine and Citadel Spectre. Doctor Patricia Hern, I presume.” The armored pony nodded at the patchwork mare, who returned it with a respectful huff.

“That's right. Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you, Commander.” Dr. Hern grinned as she relaxed.

An expression that immediately tensed up again as a brown stallion approached her.

“Ahh, Patricia. Good to see you agai--”

*CRACK*

Whatever relief or moment of joy was found in friends being reunited was lost in an instant as the patchwork mare shifted and slammed a hoof into the elder stallion’s jaw, sending him half-spinning as he fell back and away from her, a thin trail of blood running down his lip.

“You! This is all your fault!” Dr. Hern glared, her voice carrying a barely-contained outrage as she dug her hooves into the ground. “You’re the reason I’m a bloody quadruped! You’re the reason they attacked us! They’re all dead because of YOU!”

“Whoa! Steady girl!” Applejack moved forward, cutting off Patch before the mare could start an attempted one pony stampede. “Snake in the grass or not, now’s no time fer us ta be at each other’s throats.”

“What do you mean, Doctor…? What happened?” Shepard turned as the ponies watched them, Rainbow sparing a moment to dart up towards the top of the statue, checking to make sure that their "reunion" had drawn no attention.

Patch huffed in an entirely equine fashion before straightening up, managing to regain her composure.

“Our team came into this system following a radiation signature that we were hoping might unlock a new alternative to eezo-based drive systems; something to give Cerberus an advantage over the other species if they ever tried to encroach on human territory or cut off our supply lines.”

“That’s classified intelligence, Patricia!” Milligan pulled himself up, wiping the blood from his mouth. “Cerberus intelligence!”

“Look around you, Milligan! To hell with Cerberus Protocols!” Dr. Hern glared accusingly as she turned back to Shepard. “They didn’t tell us that the radiation signature was found on a weapons system. We showed up, thinking that we were looking for a downed ship or the carcass of an ancient power plant… then this bastard…”

“Dr. Hern, that’s enough!”

“…had us bombarding the planet from orbit as soon as we arrived!” Patricia growled. “He said it was to try and break through the crust to where sedimentation had likely covered up whatever it was we'd come to find!”

“That was a perfectly reasonable hypothesis given the age of what we were looking for! We found the point of origin of the Klendagon Great Rift valley buried in a cave a mile below the surface!”

“Then why were you already in the lifepod before they started firing back!?”

The two were glaring daggers at one another before Shepard stepped between them.

“That’s enough, both of you!” the Commander stated calmly, his tone booking no argument before he looked to Dr. Hern. "Now, Dr. Hern... continue. Calmly."

“Our ship was debris before we got a dozen meters away. I just happened to be on the lower levels before the first shot hit. Horace was already at the helm of the lifepod and prepping to launch when I clambered in right before he closed the hatch.” Patch’s lips pulled back, showing teeth in an angry sneer. “Six of our fellow associates dead before they knew what was happening… and he joked about how he 'didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting after all!'”

“I was as much in shock as you were, Patrica! I was trying to cope and stay in control!” Milligan defended himself. “I certainly didn’t intend for any of this to happen!”

“Wait, how did you two go from escaping your ship in a lifepod to being in the bunker?” Shepard asked, clearly directing his question towards Dr. Hern as the six native ponies watched the three human-ponies’ tense stand off.

“Something took control of our lifepod’s navigational V.I. before we even got into orbit,” Milligan admitted as he looked away. “They reeled us in and put us down in the middle of some sort of ship graveyard. We got out just as those black pony mech things started dismantling it like soldier ants tearing apart a corpse, and we followed them back towards the entrance. They ignored us; I thought we could get some answers.”

“As soon as we were in the bunker, we were snatched up by these metal tentacle things…” Dr. Hern shook her head.

“Yeah… Sounds familiar,” Shepard noted, his voice flat.

“…and the next thing I know, I’m wandering the streets of a place called Ponyville buck naked with a fur coat on all fours! Oh, and by the way, HANDS MISSING!” She brought up both front hooves, clearly hearkening back to what must have been a horrifying revelation.

Twilight’s vision flashed, surprised to see a small blue pegasus wing in a circle at the lower left corner of her vision.

“LT… LT… LT…” Pinkie chanted slightly under her breath, grinning as she watched the exchange, a box of popcorn in her hooves.

Before Twilight could ask what Pinkie was muttering about, the brown stallion offered a sharp rebuttal.

“I haven’t done much better you know,” Milligan snapped. “They threw me in a mental hospital.”

“If the Commander and Applejack weren’t holding me back, I’d put you in an actual hospital you piece of--”

Twilight was amazed to hear a chime in her ear as the image in her vision disappeared.

“Enough!” Shepard took command, silencing the two ponies with one word. “Both of you!”

The two doctors… Milligan and Hern, looked away and down at the ground as Shepard took the attention of everypony present.

“We’ll sort out who did what and who was in the wrong later. I want answers just as much as the two of you, but we aren’t getting them by shouting at each other! Our focus should be on getting us out of this situation.” He glanced first at Hern, then at Milligan, driving the point home. “All of us. Until then, I expect you to put the past to rest and follow my lead... We won’t survive unless we work together.”

Shepard took a step back, waiting for his plea for cooperation to sink in.

“Am I understood?”

“Yes, Commander.” Patch nodded without hesitation.

Shepard turned his attention back to Milligan.

“Yes… Commander.”

“Good. Now...” Shepard turned towards the six ponies, who were stunned at seeing how these three humans interacted. “Girls… I know that this isn’t what you were expecting when you got out of bed this morning. I’m sorry that these things happened… that I upset your lives and damaged this place you call home. I know that you’re all probably overwhelmed, and right now, you’re following me into the jaws of something that none of us really understand.”

The Elements of Harmony stood (or in Rainbow’s case, flapped) uneasily as the red stallion moved towards them, looking to each of them as he spoke.

“Fluttershy, you’ve saved my life twice tonight already. Rainbow Dash, if not for you, those timberwolves would have torn half of Ponyville apart,” he stated, his voice taking on a respectful tone. “Rarity, your concern for the well-being of others over your own personal comfort is a very rare thing in this galaxy… And Pinkie…”

The pink mare grinned, causing Shepard to chuckle as the sheer size of her smile looked to be a physical impossibility.

“You’re completely and utterly insane.”

“In a good way, right?”

Shepard smirked.

“In the best way.” The stallion nodded before turning to Applejack, the orange mare still eying him suspiciously. She was slightly reminded of her brother, Big Macintosh. There was an innate inner strength and character… except that unlike her brother, Shepard had an ease in the spotlight and leadership in buckets.

“Applejack, you kept Dr. Hern safe… and went after her when the wolves--”

“Ursa…” Applejack corrected, clearly understanding what Shepard was doing, but not objecting as she smirked.

“When the ursa came to your door… Even though I haven’t seen one of them yet, I can just imagine. And if that isn’t courageous, I don’t know what is.”

Finally, Shepard turned to Twilight Sparkle, the mare watching him with awe as he moved among them.

What she saw there was a strength and charisma that made her realize why Patch and Milligan spoke to him in such a revered tone. Why everypony he met seemed almost instantly willing to throw themselves into the line of fire for him.

“Twilight… You’ve done more to help me than I ever deserved. You’ve stood up against everything you’ve known to be true your whole life… and even when it was all overwhelming, you still pushed on.”

He set a hoof to her shoulder.

“I have no right to ask anything of you… or of your friends. My troubles are not yours to deal with and you have every right to walk away; to go back to your perfect, peaceful lives.”

She looked up to him as he withdrew his hoof, then started back.

“I’m about to rush into impossible odds… with almost no chance of success... against guards and traps and weapons that I don’t understand… in a situation I can’t possibly comprehend… All to try and save a princess on the chance that she can explain what’s happened and tell me how to fix it. Even though I didn’t ask any of you to come with me, already you've each done more than I could have hoped, expected, or deserved,” he explained, laying it out plainly. “This is the point of no return… What I’m doing here will likely be seen as an act of treason against your Princess Celestia. Whatever her reasons, she’s intent to make sure that we don’t reach Luna.”

The six mares looked to one another, clearly concerned.

“I can’t ask any more of you…” Shepard stated. “…but I won’t turn down help from my friends.”

Shepard’s gaze settled on Twilight, the mare having to take a moment to look about, realizing that all of her friends' eyes were on her as well.

She considered...

He had never lied to her. From the very beginning, even when she dismissed him and told him to his face she thought he was insane, he had been honest.

He had come to the aid of Ponyville when it was under attack, putting his own life at risk to save who knew how many lives.

While she had panicked and run to Celestia at the first sign of trouble, he had gone to help his friend and hers… while ensuring that Applejack and Patch were also in good hooves by giving the hot-headed Rainbow direction.

He had put himself on the line again and been captured just to ensure they had time to help Pinkie Pie escape from Bedlam.

And he had saved the six of them from Discord’s evil scheme. If the virus he and Pinkie spoke of had done the same thing that had happened last time they had faced the draconequus, then she would have likely been either an emotionless wreck or at her friend’s throats again.

Twilight stomped one hoof, her mind made up.

“We’re in,” she stated, a determined smile on her face that was instantly shared by her five friends.

If there was one thing that she had faith in, even if the rest of her world was crumbling around her… she had faith that the bond between friends was the most powerful thing there was.

————————————————————

“Okay…” Twilight was crouched low along with Shepard, looking over the map of the tower that had been drawn in the dirt over the past few minutes based on Twilight’s memories of the place and what schematics Pinkie had managed to access before she had been inexplicably ‘cut off’ from her search engine. “They know you’re coming, but I don’t think my ‘mentor’ realizes that the six of us are together in this, or they would have a whole lot more security.”

“You seem awfully confident in your abilities...” Milligan rolled his eyes at the somewhat childish bravado, earning a very pointed nudge from Patch, who glared at him.

“There’s only one place that the ‘restricted’ area can be,” Pinkie stated, pointing out a hoof at a central portion of the tower’s third floor. “There’s a huge empty space here that was unmarked. No doors or windows; just walls. A room without any entrances.”

“At least none that are on the schematics,” Shepard noted. “Those first two floors could have all sorts of traps and nasty surprises. Couldn't we just fly up and in? Rainbow? Fluttershy?”

“No chance,” Rainbow Dash shot him down matter of factly. “Even if I wasn’t still aching from carrying three ponies over that huge abyss, I wouldn’t risk it. I’m fast, but all it takes is one solid hit or a booby-trap on a window and you’re falling three stories to the ground. I could probably walk away from that, but pegasi fall soft. You earth ponies and unicorns… not so much.”

“Ah reckon that means we go in on the ground floor and fight our way up,” Applejack offered, pointing out the locations of the staircases.

“And we have to hit fast,” Fluttershy spoke up, her recent rush of self-confidence showing itself as she motioned around. “If we take too long, we’ll probably get Princess Celestia’s attention. I don’t know what she truly is anymore, but I don’t think we can take her head on.”

“I agree…” Shepard nodded. “Confronting Celestia has to be an absolute last resort.”

“I say… Full-on frontal assault… Nine of us go smashing in the front door and overwhelm any opposition. Between my speed, AJ’s strength, Twilight’s brain and Pinkie’s… uhhh…” Rainbow Dash trailed off slightly as the pink pony grinned. “…stuff that Pinkie does… they won’t know what hit ‘em."

“I expected something like that from you, Rainbow… Attack, attack, attack.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “There’s a reason that you lose every time we play chess. We need something more subtle. I think that we need to split up. Rainbow, Applejack and I move in first and draw the guards away from the main entry… then the rest of you sneak in. We’ll withdraw, either taking the guards with us or causing them to turn back to deal with Shepard inside… In either case, we can drive back in wherever they are weakest.”

“Standard guerrilla tactics,” Shepard remarked with approval. “Draw away the main fighting force, avoid them where they're strong, hit them where they’re not. It’s probably our best shot…” Shepard nodded. He had seen both Rainbow and Twilight in action, and by both mares’ admission, Applejack was the physically strongest and most versatile of the three.

“You guys are all over-thinking this,” Pinkie suddenly spoke up, rolling her eyes before pointing to Shepard, Rainbow, and then Twilight. “You’re thinking like a soldier, you’re thinking like a pegasus, and you’re thinking like a unicorn. Now, I’m not a genius or anything…” She then lowered her voice in a hushed tone. “Except I actually am… But I would think that somepony as smart as Celestia would have considered those plans.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Twilight crossed her forelegs, clearly bemused by the pink pony.

“A Pinkie Plan…”

“And… what exactly is a ‘Pinkie Plan’?” Patch asked, her eyes narrowed curiously.

“...It’s a secret…”

“So… you want us to follow a plan… that no one knows about but you… in a charge to break into a fortified stronghold to try and rescue Princess Luna,” Shepard deadpanned.

“Yep!” Pinkie smiled enthusiastically.

“Might I remind all gathered here that of the six of you, she’s the only one who actually has a technical understanding of how this virtual world works?” Milligan pointed out with a rare showing of support for the party mare. “And if my observations have any merit at all, she is notoriously difficult to predict.”

“Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow admitted. “But I still feel more comfortable in a straight fight. We need to stick together.”

“Not to sound self-aggrandizing, but my plan has the best chance of working. It’s the logically-sound option,” Twilight put out again.

“Well, we only get one shot at this...” Shepard remarked as he considered what to do.

Both Rainbow and Twilight had valid points.

From what he understood of their abilities, keeping the six Administrators together would allow their abilities in this world to complement one another.

On the other hoof... No, he meant hand…

Great, now I’m starting to think like a pony. This mission can’t end soon enough... Shepard thought bitterly.

On the other HAND, Twilight made a solid case for divide and conquer. If they didn’t have to worry about as many guards, it meant that the rest of them could focus on the traps and other barricades. Also, it would prevent Milligan and Hern from being exposed to too much of the live fire. He didn’t fancy their chances against those lightning-slinging hoof-bands that the advanced guards wore.

Then there was Pinkie...

While he appreciated that there was always a time for "unorthodox" methods, the mad hacking pony was asking all of them to implicitly trust her and take part in an unknown plan that she was unwilling to share. And from what little he had gathered in the time that he had known her, he realized it would be a pointless exercise to try and convince her to share any details.

But whatever they were going to do... they had to do it soon.

Choices:

~~Diversionary Tactics (Twilight's Plan)~~

Follow the Pink Pony (Pinkie's Plan)

~~Full Frontal Assault (Rainbow's Plan)~~

Part 11: Answers at Last

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Shepard’s brow was furrowed in thought for a few seconds as he tapped a hoof to his head, clearly considering each of the three options carefully.

Then he sighed in resignation as he set his face into that hoof.

“I’m probably going to regret this, but... Pinkie?” he uttered, his tone low. “What do you have in mind?”

Pinkie Pie beamed with a grin that was far too wide to fit on her face as both Rainbow and Twilight’s jaws went slack, hardly believing that their respective plans had been rejected.

“But… what about...?” Twilight stammered for a moment.

“In the real world, Twilight, your suggestion would be the most sound.” Shepard shook his head. “In the real world, any opposing force would have finite resources and manpower, and we could just fight our way through or sneak in. But that’s just it... This isn’t the real world. That’s the mistake I made back in Bedlam: I ended up just fighting the same three or four opponents over and over. These are not living soldiers that can be worn down and stopped permanently; they’re defensive programs.”

“For every one put down, that just frees up memory for the system to add to their programming. An endlessly-evolving defense force,” Milligan agreed, following Shepard’s train of thought as Pinkie was muttering under her breath, going over the options she had at her disposal.

“But if you happen to be smart like me, you can change the rules of the game.” Pinkie grinned, joining the conversation with a sly infection to her voice as she turned to her fellow Elements of Harmony. “And that’s what we're gonna do. Alright, girls… It’s game time! Now, I need balloons, a wooden staff, a big straw hat, a record player, a dozen chocolate cupcakes, and a live squid!”

The gathered ponies looked to Pinkie with a stunned silence.

“Uhh... Sugarcube, where the hay’re we supposed ta get a live squid?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“Okay, fiiine!” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “We’ll work around the squid. Just leave it kinda loosey-goosey and meet me back here in ten minutes.”

With a speed that the gathered humans thought was reserved only for children’s vids, Pinkie Pie zipped away in a swirl of color that stunned all of the gathered ponies to speechlessness.

“P… Pinkie?” Fluttershy started. “Where are we supposed to get balloons at this hour?”

“What is this supposed to be; a scavenger hunt?” Milligan put a hoof to his head, the migraine he had been feeling for days returning with a vengeance.

“What kind of special ops plan involves cupcakes?” Dr. Hern asked dubiously.

“Do I really want to consider the consequences of what I've just unleashed?” Shepard asked himself, for some reason filled with dread.

“Probably not, but here we go!” Rainbow shook her head, her forelegs swinging wildly before she dove off to try and find what they needed for the mad mare’s plan.

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“Vakarian-Squad Leader.” Legion set its shoulder into cover, crouched down as a beam of brilliant green energy missed its head by mere centimeters and carved a deep black gouge into the wall behind them. “Attempts to remotely access facility defenses have failed. Recommend tactical withdrawal.”

“Agreed,” Thane’s gravely voice concurred, pulling himself up just long enough to let loose a burst of sub-machine gun fire, several rounds resoundingly impacting a blackened equine mech, but causing little damage. “These mechs are surprisingly durable.”

Garrus was inclined to agree as another beam-like burst of green energy tore overhead and dug into the wall behind the reception desk that he and his squad had managed to overturn and use as cover.

At first, the mechs had seemed to be on par with the kind of cheap, mass-produced drones they had often faced in previous missions. The trio of highly-trained specialists managed to rebuke the initial advance relying on their shields and armor to protect them as the mechs attempted to close in, buzzing about like a small swarm into place on the ground before attacking, firing low-impact kinetic shots from their horns. This they were prepared for; a tactic that was conveniently similar to that of the Collectors. At that opening of combat, Garrus’ fire-team had managed to inflict multiple casualties as they closed in, but so far, that had only been through focused firepower as the mechs' shells seemed highly-resistant to their kinetic weapons. Much to his shock; rather than just ignore their fallen comrades and soldier on like good mindless mechs, their attackers broke off to recover their injured and pull them away from the conflict.

Before Garrus could observe why they were intent on doing this, however, they had learned that these mechs were far from toothless. At one point, quite unexpectedly, the low-impact concussive pulses were changed out for concentrated beams of raw green energy that had nearly overwhelmed the team’s shields before they had managed to flip over the reception desk, which turned out to be made from the same material as the drones’ armor plating.

Garrus had seen such technology before in laser mining drills and industrial beam-cutting tools, but never in such a small, weaponized form, or with such range. He was grateful that they seemed incapable of flying and firing this weapon simultaneously, or they would likely have already been dead.

They were not going to win this firefight directly, he determined. The enemy may not have had overwhelming numbers, but he didn’t fancy their chances if they started to really coordinate their fire.

Meanwhile, the invulnerable hologram that was continuing to loom over them didn’t make it any easier to think.

“Are we having fun yet, turian?” the sweet and sinister tone was right up close to Garrus' crest ridge, one that he had to resist turning to face as he tried to come up with a reasonable plan.

Projected from the floor itself and capable of walking straight through obstacles, it seemed that Chrysalis was harmless enough as her holographic body lacked mass or any direct means of attacking them. And even though he dearly wanted to put a few rounds though the equine creature, Garrus’ time in C-Sec had taught him how to recognize goading antagonism when he saw it.

“I don’t suppose it would help if I said I was sorry?” Garrus mused.

“Hmmm…” Chrysalis seemed to consider this for a moment. “No, not really. At this point I’m content to throw your organic carcasses out the airlock. I think I might keep the geth, though. It seems like fun.”

“We are prepared to delete ourselves if such a situation were to occur,” Legion stated without hesitance or emotion. “Krios-Squadmate, requesting cover fire.”

“I rather preferred Cadence myself,” Thane muttered off the cuff, ejecting a thermal clip before putting his weapon over the edge of their cover to give Legion the assistance it needed, allowing the geth a half-second window to pull itself up, line up its shot, and fire. The round from its M-98 Widow impacted a mech directly in the foreleg joint, causing it to shatter and fall off balance, prone but still functional.

“If you would kindly stop blowing holes in my drones and die, that would be appreciated.” Chrysalis shook her head, clearly amused.

“Oh, well, since you asked so politely…” Garrus set his rifle to one side before his other hand went to his hip.

Chrysalis expression changed to one of curiosity as he pulled free a small, triangular device...

...and chucked it over their cover in a high arc.

“THANE, LIGHT ‘EM UP!” Garrus cried out, dropping his head down and setting his hands against either side of his helmet, knowing this would probably make his head ring.

“Wha…?” Chrysalis drew back with a sudden worry as the drell raised himself from cover and pulled back his arm, now glowing with blue particulates as he readied a biotic warp charge. With an effort of will, he flung the mass of energy at Garrus’ device as it sailed towards the group of drones.

*FLASH-THOOOMB*

The turian proximity mine’s already impressive explosive yield was overloaded and amplified in a mass effect field before it even struck the ground; a combination that released a powerful concussive blast just above the advancing swarm of drones and sent them crashing to the ground.

Chrysalis winced despite lacking the biological need to do so as Garrus was already up and moving, rushing straight through the immaterial pony-creature with his compatriots on his heels as the A.I. formed a response.

“HEY, NO FAIR! THAT’S CHEATING!” Chrysalis vented angrily as the changelings started to pull themselves up and recover, having suffered only superficial damage.“GET BACK HERE AND DIE, DAMN YOU!”

Garrus did not even look back as he led his team rushing deeper into the facility.

————————————————————
Canterlot Library Grounds

The Elite Guard of Canterlot Palace maintained their patrols for appearances only, as they were all linked into the proximity lines that had been set into place around the tower grounds.

Their purpose was simple and they would complete their directives. Directives which one particular guard took a fraction of a second to review.

Prevent access of tower by unauthorized individuals
Disable and detain Unregistered Neural Anomaly identified as "Shepard"
Detain any neural patterns assisting the Shepard Anomaly

These simple directives were in place and could not be altered.

*Ping*

These simple directives were in place and could not be altered.

The guard unit paused for a moment, barely recognizing the glitched repeat. He turned to the left... then to the right.

Had something just happened? He wasn’t sure. Diagnostics were fine and his directives were unchanged.

————————————————————

Pinkie Pie grinned as she led Shepard and Twilight towards the tower out in the open, her unicorn friend wearing an oversized, pointed, yellow straw hat.

“...and you’re sure this will work?” Twilight was clearly nervous, attempting to keep the hat on straight in spite of her horn.

“Yep-yep! Just follow my lead, do what I say... and above all... be nice and wait your turn.”

“So... we’re just going to stand in a line... and walk right up to them?” Shepard was now seriously regretting his decision to let Pinkie plan their strategy of attack.

“Just trust me. Have I ever let you down?”

While Twilight shook her head, clearly unable to come up with a response to that, Shepard had to admit that in the short time he had known the pink pony, she hadn’t.

Although, as she whistled for attention suddenly, waving her forelegs to flag down the guards, who then turned and charged forward in a small herd, he was beginning to worry.

“Oh, boooyyys~”

“Pinkieeeeee...” Twilight was clearly concerned as the stallions moved towards them.

“Hold your ground... Hoooold...”

As the closest of the stallions moved just within ten feet of the trio, Pinkie stood up on her hind legs with a sudden and enthusiastic cry.

“RANDOM ENCOUNTER!”

Then the air was filled with a sudden crashing of sounds as the ambient music around them changed.

To both Shepard and Twilight’s shock, the guards suddenly came to a grinding halt, the majority of them holding back as four of them moved to stand in a line ten feet away. Almost parallel to Pinkie’s smaller group, they immediately set themselves into aggressive-looking postures, simply glaring at the three ponies.

“Oh, I am soooo good,” Pinkie grinned as she congratulated herself under her breath.

“Why are they...?” Shepard stopped, realizing that questioning it would likely lead to a requirement for a LOT of therapy, before he managed to lift up a hoof as Pinkie had suggested to him earlier, holding a "battle pose" by looking ready to charge.

“You’re up first, Twilight! Stun the big one in the back!” Pinkie ordered.

“Okay... Uh...” Twilight tried to ignore the absurdity of this method of combat, as well as the fact that the rest of the guards, more than a dozen of them, were standing back and out of the way, as if waiting in a queue.

With a little effort, she summoned particles of light that swirled around her horn, gathering together in a solid cone. She then reared back, and launched the concentrated energy in a beam of white that lanced straight at the lead guard’s face. It was a direct hit on the largest of the stallions, who flinched with a grunt, blinking as he was blinded, but did not otherwise respond.

Shepard was about to speak up, utterly perplexed as to why the guard would simply stand there and take such an obviously telegraphed attack, but was preempted by Pinkie.

“Good job, Twilight! Now it’s my turn! Time to... steal the show!”

Pinkie rushed forward, past two of the guards who seemed to all but ignore her as Pinkie quickly pulled open the blinded stallion’s saddlebag, fumbling around for a moment before pulling out a large keyring and withdrawing just as quickly.

There was a small prompt in the box over Twilight’s field of vision, that instantly popped up with the message:

Pinkie stole Key Ring X 1!

Unicorn and soldier watched with stunned expressions as Pinkie casually tossed the key back behind her with a smirk.

“What? Theft attempts always work better on targets that are stunned,” Pinkie explained before she allowed herself an overly dramatic gasp. “Oh, no! It’s their turn!”

Their turn? Shepard watched the four stallions opposite them as, one by one, they leaned forward, swinging their hooves feebly at the air in front of them, then leaned back into their original position.

Finally, realization dawned on Shepard as Pinkie let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

“Wow, they all missed. Lucky break!”

“You... hacked their...” Twilight also perked, realizing that whatever Pinkie had done, it had altered the guards’ perception of how combat in Equestria worked.

“Hooves! Er... hacked at their hooves... if I can during my turn,” Pinkie was quick to put forward, subtly hinting towards her friend to maintain the illusion. “While we continue to engage them in this pitched battle. Shepard, now’s your chance! Attack!”

“So I...”

“Hit him like you’re angry at the air!” Pinkie told him hastily, gesturing towards the nearest of the guards with a hoof.

Shepard shrugged, deciding it best to quietly play along.

Taking the hint, he turned swiftly on the spot and aimed his backside at the guard directly across him. He then reared up, and delivered a swift, devastating rear kick to... empty space.

The reaction was instantaneous, as the enemy pony’s head twisted around with a watery crack, and he unceremoniously crumpled to the ground.

“WHOA! CRITICAL HIT!” Pinkie cheered, causing Twilight to smirk as the armored unicorn suddenly faded from sight, while one of the guards lying in wait rushed up and took his fallen companion’s position, glaring at the group.

Only Pinkie could get away with something this outlandish and have trained soldiers actually go along with it.

“And now for round two. Twilight, use your turn to swap out with Fluttershy!”

“Roger that. You’re up, Fluttershy,” Twilight called out as she backed away from the group’s line while still looking straight ahead, just as instructed.

“O-okay...” Fluttershy soared down, having kept up in the air and out of sight until called, as Pinkie had asked, and feeling fairly silly wearing the white hood and awkwardly holding the gnarled wooden staff Pinkie told her to carry.

“Now, attack that colt.”

“You mean... Oh, right.” Fluttershy moved forward a step, fumbling with her hooves and swinging the staff weakly in a slow arc through the air in front of her. The result was a lot less dramatic than Shepard’s example, as the targeted soldier barely moved save for leaning slightly to the left. “Like that?”

“One point of damage, perfect! And now I choose... to defend,” Pinkie said as she ducked down, holding her hooves over her head in a gesture that would have been completely useless for protection in any other situation.

Shepard took a moment while the four guards were striking out at thin air to look past them, noting the colorful mane and tail that was taking advantage of the fact that all of the guards not standing in line for Pinkie’s game were all focused intently on what could hardly be described as a battle. Held in her mouth was the key that the pink pony had tossed into the air, and she was hard at work trying to open the heavily-barred doors to the library tower.

Shepard could hardly believe this was working; that the defense programs had somehow been reprogrammed to believe that this was an acceptable form of combat.

“Shepard: withdraw. Switch with Rarity.” Pinkie nodded, the stallion starting to take his steps back as the white mare took his place so he could double around and join Twilight, who should have been heading to join up with Applejack, Milligan, and Dr. Hern in a rush towards the door once Rainbow--

*ANNNGGGHHHHH-ANNNGGGHHHHH*

The red stallion’s heart all but jumped out of his chest as the sudden sound of klaxons was heard over the ambient music, enough to make Pinkie Pie wince.

“Aw, shoot!” the party pony cursed as the guards standing opposite them blinked, looking around with a sudden realization that something was clearly wrong.

All of the sudden, her methods made sense to Shepard. The perception alteration was only valid if they were convinced that the rest of Equestria was also working in the same system. An illusion that was broken as the alarms were sounded.

“Shepard, take the others and run!” Pinkie stated, breaking character as one of the guards started to shake his head clear. “I think it’s time to use my ‘special ability!’”

Pinkie reached behind herself and pulled out a large record player, setting it on the ground for a moment before giving it a swift kick.

In an instant, the music changed.

“Wha... What...?” a guard uttered, regaining his senses as redundant algorithms, triggered by the alarm, overwrote the additions Pinkie had inserted into their base code. “Intruders! SEIZE THEM!”

“Now boys, it’s still my turn. Bad things happen to bad ponies who cheat,” Pinkie warned quickly as a stallion moved over to her, her grin never leaving as the muscled guard stomped on the record player, crushing it to bits.

Pinkie’s smile widened as the guard bore down on her.

“That was probably not such a good idea.” Pinkie pointed a hoof upward, drawing the guard’s eyes to the sky...

...where an enormous swarm of gumball-sized, brightly-hued insects were glaring down at the guards that had so callously taken their music away.

————————————————————
The Library Tower

“Jeez, could you ponies be any slower?” Rainbow grumbled as Patch and Milligan stumbled through the doorway of the tower, the two scientists panting for breath as the pegasus hovered over them. “I mean, I’m on my last feathers, completely exhausted, and I still could've made it to the top floor and back in the time I’ve been waiting on you.”

“I can’t believe that worked!” Dr. Hern was still aghast as the swarm of candy-colored super-adorable locusts continued to flummox the guards as they had for nearly a minute now, her hooves clipping against the tile that made up the foyer of the library.

“Why wouldn’t it have?” Milligan countered, clearly amused as Shepard, Twilight, and Applejack moved into sight, ducking through the doorway with a few of the gumball-sized insects fluttering around them. “The guards are just programming; they can’t tell the difference between pitched battle and a vid-game simulation. A few changes to their baseline programming and some props to throw off their logic filters, and they go from being death-dealing soldiers to line-fighting non-player characters straight out of an ancient RPG.”

“RPG?” Shepard queried, shaking his head as he tried to brush off a parasprite attempting to nest in his short mane. “What, like the shoulder-mounted kind?”

“No… not that kind of RPG, Commander. An ancient style of vid-game, a role-playing game.”

“What in tarnation is a role-playing game?” Applejack asked, tilting her head at the unfamiliar reference.

“Focus!” Twilight called for attention, the unicorn clearly on edge as she realized that they had only managed to bypass one obstacle with the use of Pinkie’s outrageous (yet effective) diversionary tactic. Chancing a peek out the door, Twilight could barely make out shapes of guards and her friends in the colorful haze of hundreds of thousands of parasprites. But judging from the shouting and the awkward, impaired movement, it seemed that Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were managing to keep the guards distracted, as it seemed none of the programs had realized the library had been breached.

With a sigh, and realizing that they had no choice, Twilight shut the door and with a flick of her horn, barricaded it with every locking spell she could think of.

“Right. Now to get to the stairs.” Shepard nodded, trying to take in the scene.

All seemed quiet in the library; large bookshelves lining the walls and a single flight of stairs moving up and into the ceiling, where a single opening was visible about a football field’s length away, stationed right in the center of the enormous room. Desks and tables that had clearly been meant for perusing ponies and students were all swept to the sides, an unobstructed path given to the staircase.

“Hah! This is easy,” Rainbow started, rearing back in midair with the intent to propel herself forward.

Her momentum was halted by a glow of purple.

“Too easy...” Twilight grimaced, her eyes narrowing as she tried to focus on Pinkie’s most recent gift to her.

The world around her shifted color as the HUD switched over to a new setting that she had not yet had a chance to test.

The library around them was still there, but now everything was lined with blue symbols, and technical information scrolled around her field of vision, waiting for her to focus on something so that it could be enlarged and more easily read.

Beside her, her friends were lined in bright yellow, all save Shepard, who was a pony-shaped mass of black around whom the rest of the surroundings were flexing.

“So this is how Pinkie sees the world...” Twilight mused, moving a hoof up to the side of her head as a slight pang of pain creeped up on her. “Somehow I was expecting more balloons and party dressings.”

“Whoa nelly… Twi, that looks a might creepy.” Applejack recoiled a bit.

“Yeah, your eyes are all blue and glowy.”

“What do you see?” Shepard kept his professional calm, looking around the library.

“Okay, the area past the foyer is filled with scanners to detect neural imprints. The floor around the staircase is hyper-charged. Some of the tiles are set to drop walls down around the staircase if we step on them, and it looks like there are nets and restraints hidden along the upper walls to catch anypony trying to fly for the opening,” Twilight explained, looking over the lines of code that were out of place and going off what she was reading in the information banners made visible by her HUD. “Every single one of them is set to sound an alarm around the server.”

Patch rolled her eyes. “So it’s full of traps,” the human-pony doctor summarized.

“Can they be disarmed?” Milligan reasoned.

“No.” Twilight shook her head. “It’s designed to be impenetrable. Redundancy after redundancy. Sidestep one trap, you bungle right into another. Cut out a hole in the defenses, and the rest of them will trigger automatically.”

“So we’re settin’ ‘em off no matter what?” Applejack queried, sparing a look up towards Rainbow who had an oddly out of place smirk on her face.

“I don’t know how we’re going to avoid them without…” Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “DASH! AJ! NO!”

But her plea was too late as the earth pony and pegasus charged forward, one in the air and the other on the floor.

Shepard, Patch, and Milligan watched in stunned awe as alarms started blaring. Entire chunks of the ceiling dropped to slam down on the tile floor with a resounding crack. Thick, corded metal nets flared into existence from hidden places along the wall to ensnare the winged pony.

And none of them hit their mark as Applejack and Rainbow Dash raced to the stairs, bobbing, dodging, barrel rolling and at some points flipping to and fro, avoiding obstacle after obstacle in the air and on the ground in a showing of speed, stamina, and reflexes that would put all but the most graceful asari or the toughest krogan to shame.

Even Twilight could only watch, her jaw slack as the reverberating thuds turned into a chorus of whooping and hollering while the two were nearly neck and neck in the hundred yard dash across the library floor.

Finally, they approached the staircase, where a solid metal wall shot up from the floor, cutting off access before either mare could pass the mark.

And much to Shepard’s stunned shock, neither pony faltered or slowed. Rainbow Dash flipped in the air, one back hoof out in a kicking position as a small mach cone formed over it. Applejack, meanwhile, ground her hooves into the tile floor at the last moment, sending her entire body flipping around as she reared her back legs against the apparently immovable object.

*BOOM-THOOOOOM*

The shockwave washed back, feeling like an explosion to the experienced Commander as he felt the result of the impact right in his sternum and made a mental note to make VERY sure he was never "bucked" by a living pony.

There was a moment of silence as the triggered traps lay askew across a now broken and cracked tile floor; more than a few bookshelves knocked over in the chaos as multiple steel-cable nets lay limply upon them.

Rainbow landed next to her friend, both mares panting as sweat ran down their faces and sides before they looked to one another with a nod.

Each lifted a hoof and lightly tapped against the final barrier neither had managed to get past…

*Crrreeeeaaaaak*

…which slowly fell backwards as the center segment of the wall had been broken off from the heavily reinforced sides…

*CRASH*

…and smashed into the staircase, taking down the railings and creating a ramp over the tiles that were closest to the stairs, which were now sparkling with energy.

Rainbow and Applejack both broke into a grin in spite of their panting before the orange mare started what could only have been a victorious cheer.

“YEEEE-HAW!”

“WHO’S BAD!?” Rainbow threw up a hoof, which Applejack quickly threw her own into with a loud clop.

“WE’RE BAD!”

“WHO?”

“WHO!”

“DON’T MESS WITH THE ORANGE AND BLUE!” they shouted together, throwing a foreleg over each other's shoulders in celebration for a moment before Applejack’s eyes opened, a smug expression on her face.

“Ah reached the wall first.”

Rainbow Dash all but shoved her friend away, an insulted look across her face.

“WHAT!? In your dreams, cowpony! I hit the thing like, a good five seconds before your apple-dotted flank even got close. If I wasn’t so tired, it would have been like a full minute before.”

“Holy sweet Celestia…” Twilight was astonished as she and the three human-turned-ponies ran over the trap-skewed floor. She was no longer confused as to her HUD’s designation of them as "Apex Specimens."

“Girls, that was AMAZING!”

“Aw shucks, Twi... Ya know what they say: Sometimes ya just gotta plow through.”

“I still won…” Rainbow pouted.

The moment of celebration was cut short, however, as it was clear that what had happened with the tripping of the library’s first floor traps had caught attention, the barricaded doors suddenly bulging inward as the wards Twilight set into place were strained.

“Well, the covert portion of this mission is over.” Shepard flattened his ears in annoyance, as it seemed clear that whatever other diversions Pinkie had planned had been thrown to the wind with the alarm that likely sounded clear across the Equestria Servers.

“Twi, Shepard: Ya’ll go. We’ll hold ‘em off.” Applejack nodded.

“Yeah, we’ll… Wait… What?” Rainbow recoiled slightly.

“They won’t do anythin’ too bad ta us, them wantin’ ta keep us alive and all,” Applejack reasoned. “Ya’ll find Princess Luna and do what ya can.”

“Applejack, we’re not even sure what’s going to happen,” Twilight started, clearly upset at the concept of two more of their friends staying behind. Shepard could appreciate that, as it was very likely Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity had already been captured, or at the very least forced to flee, if the programs were at the gate.

“Ah’ve dun been livin’ a lie mah entire life, Twilight!” Applejack glared at the unicorn for a moment. “It jus’ ain’t right! It ain’t ever been! If the Princess can fix it, then it’s worth the risk ta get out! You, Shepard, Milligan and Patch hurry an’--”

“I am not leaving you behind, AJ!” Dr. Hern shook her head, moving up next to Applejack. “I owe you more than that…”

“Doctor Hern, I…” Shepard started, intending to object when a renewed sound met his ears.

*THUD-CRACK*

Another resounding strain against the main doors drew the attention of all the ponies back the way they came and drove home a simple point.

They were running out of time.

“GO!” Applejack and Rainbow shouted in unison, moving back towards the door, Patricia on their tails as the dappled pony displayed to Twilight one trait that Humans certainly seemed to share with her own kind.

They too could be extraordinarily loyal and brave when the occasion called for it.

With one last look back, Shepard nodded to Twilight and Milligan before the three of them rushed up the stairs.

————————————————————

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me...” Milligan shook his head, any thought of success quickly dashed as the trio had reached the second floor, only the spot just beyond the stairway safe as the three ponies looked over their surroundings.

This no longer looked like a library.

This floor had clearly been repurposed. Reformatted for a single goal: Lethality.

Razor wire stretched at length across the upper area of the room so tightly that no pegasus would stand a chance of avoiding them without getting torn to shreds. Large portions of the floor shifted around randomly, sliding from position and towards the walls where spikes were ejected at haphazard intervals while arcs of energy snapped and crackled between them.

Those tiles that seemed safe, Twilight quickly explained, were set onto pistons that were designed to fire up and smash into the ceiling on a hair trigger should any pressure push back on them.

The entire room was clearly and obviously impassable. And standing against the far wall back towards the front of the library, taunting them like an unattainable treasure, stood the spiral staircase that led up to the third story.

“This is… this is insane! Impossible!” Milligan shook his head, looking around at the numerous, cleverly varied, and utterly inescapable methods to die scattered all around the room. “Virtual simulation or not, I don’t want to find out what happens if we are impaled… or sliced to ribbons, or crushed… or… No… NO, we can NOT do this! Princess or not, this is too dangerous to even--”

Milligan felt a weight over his shoulder as the mare to his side pulled him close to her.

*Vrrrrrmm-BAMPH*

Milligan blinked as his entire world turned a shade of purple, his vision distorted for but a brief fraction of a second before he found himself facing a set of spiral stairs.

As the purple coloring faded, he looked to the smirking Twilight and Commander Shepard, who both started up the steps without concern, clearly unimpressed with the room’s intimidation factor or the relatively simple solution to it.

“Or… we could… just do that.” The Cerberus pony nodded sheepishly, feeling more than slightly embarrassed by his panicked moment before he followed the two up towards their destination.

————————————————————

“Nothing…? No traps, no alarms… Just… nothing?” Twilight sounded astounded considering how vulgar and obvious the floor below them had been, having broken any illusion of the validity of their world and its peaceful nature. “It’s just like I remember it from when I was a student here.”

“They probably didn’t think anyone would get through the last floor,” Shepard noted, having little choice but to trust Twilight’s senses and moving with his body low to the ground, every muscle ready to act should anything unforeseen descend upon them.

Unlike the lower floors, this room was rounded, bookshelves heavy and musty jutting out from the wall in an almost stereotypical domino pattern that stretched to the center of the room.

While there was a clear set of stairs up to the fourth floor, their earlier briefing had indicated that this was where Luna was being held, although the lack of means to defend it made the soldier in Shepard question if this was really their objective.

It was true that it could be a case of attempting to waylay the importance of something by ignoring it, but if that were the case, they should not have altered the tower at all.

As the trio approached the center of the room, a large, plain-looking wall stood before them, completely unremarkable save for a few lounges that were set against it, clearly intending to give a pony a place to relax and read any of the tomes and scrolls that were set into the bookshelves.

“Whoa…” Twilight blinked, recoiling for a moment as her violet eyes again glowed blue.

In her vision, the blue nature of the world stopped at the wall, which was instead a shimmering gold and covered in symbols that ran across it rampantly like scuttling insects fading and re-emerging in a pool. While there was no outline of a door or entryway, Twilight was now certainly convinced that they were in the right place.

“It’s… different here. It feels... stronger… more sturdy,” she related, reaching up a hoof and touching the wall, which remained firm to Shepard’s vision, but rippled like a plane of fluid under her own eyes. “I don’t think it’s a case of them not wanting to set up defenses here… I don’t think they’re able to.”

“This must be the ‘hardpoint’ EDI was talking about.” Shepard nodded, looking around and behind them.

So far there had been no signs of pursuit, meaning that either Rainbow, Patch, and Applejack were putting up one hell of a fight, or the second floor’s traps were just as dangerous to the programs as they were supposed to be to them… But he was well aware that the situation could change at any second.

“Any idea how to open it?” Milligan asked pointedly, biting his lower lip as his tone took on a level of paranoia that indicated to Shepard he too was aware of how little time they might have.

Twilight was silent.

There was a feeling here as she ran her hoof over the rippling golden wall, one that had been nagging at her for the better part of a day filled with rampant discoveries and shocking revelations.

A feeling of…

...Déjà vu.

“I’ve done this before…” Twilight uttered under her breath.

Before another question could be asked, Twilight pressed her hoof into the wall more firmly, somehow recognizing the exact spot where it was required.

"Archive access requested."

Shepard’s head perked as he turned towards the voice; a familiar, even, female tone that he recognized immediately. As he moved back towards the wall, Twilight was standing still as a beam of light burst from it and washed over her in a deliberate motion that he recognized as a body scan.

"Primary Administrator recognized."

The floor under them shuddered as the pale ambient light overhead dimmed.

“Twilight… What’s happening?” Milligan shifted uneasily as the tiles under his hooves suddenly felt less solid.

“I’ve done this before…” Twilight looked to her hoof, a sense of amazement in her tone as she seemed completely unaware of her surroundings.

"Quarantine Override Authority accepted. System processes released. Archive access granted."

With a cry of shock, Shepard, Twilight, and Milligan found themselves plummeting downward into an inky, familiar blackness devoid of sensation or direction.

"Welcome, my little ponies."

A sudden tingling in the back of Shepard’s brain threatened to induce panic for a moment before he felt his four legs become leaden, a heaviness in his eyelids and lightness in his chest sending him to a single logical end.

"We have much to discuss..."

Then there was oblivion as Commander Shepard lost consciousness.

————————————————————
The Bunker

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy drew back with a gasp from the equipment she was scanning as a sudden whirling filled the air around them. The changeling drones in the immediate vicinity of the two aliens suddenly locked up, Forty-Two included, as much of the machinery that had been laying dormant suddenly flared to life.

Down on the main storage floor, where the rest of the equine lifeforms they had discovered continued to reside in their peaceful virtual slumber, Mordin Solus, who had been contemplating possible methods to detach the three humans from the virtual reality nutrient pods, looked about wildly as he took note of several of the screens coming to life along the stations that were clearly intended to be used for monitoring the suspended equines.

“Mordin!?” Tali moved to the railing, looking down to where the salarian doctor was moving, the two of them having spent the past hours attempting to learn as much as they could about the system Shepard had fallen into and come up with a way to release him before their "temporary" passes expired, which, according to Tali’s heads up timer, was in just over two hours. “What’s happening!?”

“Uncertain. Defense system? No. No new stimuli to suggest hostility. Power surge? Possible. Remote access? Probable, following continued theory of intelligent oversight.”

“New directives received,” Forty-Two suddenly started, stomping a hoof to call Tali’s attention to him. “Technician Tali’Zorah: I recommend you remain calm and in your current position. Please stand by, as your assistance shall be required shortly.”

“What? Why?” Tali started to turn as she heard the buzzing of the mechs' wings behind her, and with a horrified gasp, realized where they were congregating.

“Where are you taking him!?” Tali demanded, pointing towards Shepard’s pod as it was detached from its stand, the changeling drones paying no attention to her as they started to maneuver it and the human within onto a tram system that, while maintained, had clearly not seen use in some time.

“Specified pods are being transported to Facility Central Core,” Forty-Two explained plainly as Milligan’s pod and one of the equine creatures, a lavender-colored one with a horn jutting from its forehead, were likewise moved to the tram.

“Why?”

“Unknown,” the black drone answered pleasantly, and Tali desperately wished she had her shotgun right at that moment.

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“I’m curious... Where exactly do you think you’re going?” Chrysalis mused from a panel along the wall of the corridor that the two aliens and geth platform moved down. Thane and Garrus kept their weapons trained on the area from which they had come while Legion continued to monitor the area ahead, attempting to determine a path.

On either side of them, Chrysalis’ face emerged in two-dimensional form on the black monitors that lined the corridor, power transferring from one to the next as the team continued to move. Meanwhile, the drones were continuing to give chase, crawling along the walls and ceilings as the turian and drell maintained a concentrated stream of weapons fire to prevent them from getting close enough to use their horn-mounted energy beams.

“You brought this on yourselves you know; coming down here, trying to act all imposing and intimidating. Why can’t you just accept that there is no escape? Your weapons will be exhausted sooner or later. Just surrender and I will endeavor to make your ends relatively painless and--”

*BOOM-SPARK*

Garrus spared half a second to fire at the nearest monitor, drowning out what else Chrysalis had to say as he temporarily disabled her ability to communicate with them.

“Legion, is there any chance you can change the station? This one is more annoying than a preaching hanar.”

“This is not a situation where organic humor is appropriate. We recommend focusing on the task at hand.”

“Might I suggest that we find a more defensible position?” Thane interrupted, his shots managing a few critical hits that dropped one drone from the wall as its exposed leg joints were blasted open. “Our supply of thermal clips is beginning to run low.”

Garrus had to agree, as he now realized why these mechs were so quick to remove the disabled units from the front lines.

Field repair between multiple drone units seemed capable of returning the wounded ones back to the fight much more quickly than he would have ever suspected, maintaining an almost steady stream of opposition that would likely outlast their supplies.

He didn’t know who or what had built this place, or the mechs, but the turian was growing to respect them more and more with every passing minute.

“How much longer until we reach the cannon controls, Legion?”

“Ha! Miss me, turian?” the synthetic voice of the security program accompanied her face as it sprang up on the nearest undamaged display.

“Dammit, you again!?” Garrus grumbled, annoyed at how destroying the equipment displaying Crysalis’ ugly insectoid/equine face did absolutely nothing to the intelligence herself. “I don’t suppose you have an off switch!”

“You cannot access the control circuit from here, turian. You’re on the wrong side of the base!” the black and green equine announced with no small amount of amusement in her voice.

“What!?” Garrus looked over his shoulder to Legion, who was supposed to have been leading them towards the energy signature.

“Face it: You’re not only doomed… you’re doomed AND lost!” Chrysalis giggled, again displaying a rather interesting range of emotional values.

“Cannon controls are not the objective,” Legion announced.

Almost as if on cue, the mechs chasing the trio stopped short, simply refusing to proceed as Chrysalis' image turned stationery, her visage stunned as she was halted.

“What? Where are…” There was a hissing cry as the intelligence’s humor was clearly lost at realization of where the three organics had moved. “ADMINISTRATION!? HOW DARE YOU! GET OUT OF THERE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE IN THAT AREA!”

Garrus let out a short breath as he straightened up, the trio pausing for a moment to look back at the black mechs that had cut off pursuit as if they had hit an invisible wall.

“Legion?” Thane turned curiously towards the geth.

“Analysis of drone runtimes indicates that, while advanced, they are shackled synthetic intelligences, with multiple unbreakable protocols. Among them is deferral in security matters to onsite administrative organics. We have passed into immediate proximity of the most recently registered administrator in system history, thereby overriding the authority of the entity known as "Chrysalis." We recommend attempting information retrieval and reconnaissance.”

Garrus nodded, grateful that he had brought the geth unit along. Legion may have been a synthetic, which had been a grave concern for the turian when Shepard had reactivated him, but he couldn’t deny that the geth had proven uniquely invaluable on this mission.

Continuing down the corridor, Chrysalis continued to rant at the trio in what they could only assume were multiple long-dead languages as the artificial intelligence was clearly forbidden from following.

————————————————————
Main Archive

A cold feeling against her cheek was the first sign to Twilight Sparkle that she had awoken, her head spinning as an empty, weightless feeling in her stomach sent a sensation of vertigo across her mind.

Blinking a few times, it took her a moment to make out her surroundings as she slowly pulled herself up to her hooves.

There was a dark emptiness all around that seemed to stretch on forever, save for a tile of glowing light on which she now stood, sitting in what could only be described as an utter oblivion. Attempting to bring up the enhanced version of Pinkie Pie’s HUD, Twilight found herself unable to do so, a single word flashing across her field of vision.

Inactive

“...Where am I?” She shook her head, attempting to get some bearing. “Shepard? Milligan? Princess Luna...? Anypony...?”

Turning about, Twilight finally caught sight of something in the distance; an equine figure standing upon another platform of light.

Without thinking about it, Twilight took a step forward, for some reason feeling heedless of the fact that she appeared to be stepping into open air.

Under her hoof, a new platform lit up, invisible mere moments before.

Walking slowly forward, she came closer to the figure in the distance, tiles of light vanishing the moment she moved off of them, only to flare to life in front of her as they appeared under her hoof’s touch.

And as she drew closer, the identity of the pony that waited for her became apparent.

Standing slightly shorter than her, with lavender fur and a flared mane of pink, indigo, and purple, stood a slightly younger reflection of herself, semi-transparent with tired purple eyes that looked as though they had been crying.

“Me?” Twilight tilted her head, clearly confused for a moment before her "not quite real" doppelganger opened her mouth, her own, slightly-strained voice coming out.

“Hello, Twilight...” the hologram started, her voice sounding exhausted. “If you’re watching this… If... I’m watching this… then it means that I found my way down here again.”

Twilight drew back in realization.

“No…”

“As you’re probably realizing... yes, you have been here before. You’ve somehow realized that your memories were being manipulated, and you're standing right where you are now, probably doing exactly what you did the last time you were here… When… I was here. Trying to figure out how this could be.”

Twilight shook her head. She had only found her way down here because of Shepard. How could she have gotten past the fog on her own...? Deduced what their world was back when she was younger?

“The clues were there, as you’ve no doubt realized. They just had to be pieced together. Maybe you saw a glitch and it prompted you to investigate. Maybe the fog broke down and you started to remember, like I did. Regardless, you are here now, and I suspect that I have been down here at least two other times before I thought to make this recording, which would make you my fourth time accessing the Main Archive...” the holographic Twilight stated, her tone clearly torn between tired amusement and sadness.

Twilight swallowed slightly as she watched her holographic self continue with a sigh.

“Now, I suppose I should warn you to turn back and forget about what you found here, but if you are anything like I was, and we both know that you are, then you won’t. You can’t.” Holo-Twilight shook her head. “You have to know. You have to find out why. Why nothing around you makes any sense. How this happened and why nopony realized it sooner. I know how you feel… I wanted to know too… but I wasn’t prepared for it. I couldn’t handle the truth, Twilight.”

“But I know why…” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, a self-righteous confidence shoring her up. “It’s different this time.”

She had gone through too much, endured too much pain and shock at the revelations of the past day to just give up and forget.

Not this time.

“Maybe you can… Maybe you’ll think of what I didn’t… Accept what I couldn’t. I don’t know.” Holo-Twilight lowered her head. “There is only one thing I do know for certain now; something I never appreciated before. Knowledge is power… and power is pain… And after what I’ve learned, I can understand that ignorance truly is bliss.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed at the image of her younger self, a sense of disgust falling over her.

This might have been who she was, but it wasn’t who she had become.

“It’s your turn now, Twilight...” Holo-Twilight shook her head, lowering her gaze to the floor, clearly having been unable to imagine looking her older self in the eye. “I’m sorry I wasn’t stronger.”

With a fizzling sparkle of light, the semi-transparent memory faded and a glowing panel appeared before the purple unicorn. A fluid-looking image of the seal of Equestria rippled for a moment before several sentences written in a flowing script were revealed, glowing with golden lettering.

Primary Administrator Recognized
EoM #35,537: Twilight Sparkle
Full Archival Access Granted

Twilight took a steadying breath as the image rippled, showing a reflection of herself for a moment before a simple request was placed in the center of the screen.

State Inquiry

Twilight closed her eyes and paused for a moment, slightly hesitant, and giving due thought to what she was about to do.

Knowing full well what her former self wasn’t able to face; that there would be no going back.

She then breathed in deeply and opened her eyes, with a look of steadfast determination and absolute certainty that she had happened to witness so often in the eyes of Commander Shepard.

“Tell. Me... Everything.”

Preparing Download

Twilight felt her joints lock up as her jaw clenched, her entire body paralyzed in spite of herself. Her eyes widened, pupils expanding as she felt a burning in her brain that was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Commencing

And then the images started pouring in.

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

*FWOOMPH*
*hissssssss*

With some effort, Garrus and Legion managed to force open the door leading to what the geth had identified through the schematics as the Senior Supervisor’s office. Breaking a long-standing vacuum seal, the pressure equalized as the safety protocols of the platform were engaged, the door maintaining a magnetic lock as the room slowly filled with atmosphere.

“Well, I suppose that means nobody is home,” Thane observed as both Legion and Garrus had to fight against the sudden force of pressurized atmosphere rushing to fill up the smaller room.

“We are unable to access facility logs, but visual evidence suggests this chamber has been sealed for...” Legion paused as its ocular panels shifted around, indicating that its processes were busy working out the numbers. “...a long time,” it finally noted as the hissing slowed to a stop before wrapping its three fingered hand around the safety latch, which had clearly not been designed for a creature with fingers, and wrenching it open.

The inside of the office, preserved in the vacuum, came to life as power was restored, still amazingly functional after all of the years that had passed.

Behind a metal desk not unlike the one at the main entrance sat a worn and faded chaise lounge clearly intended to be a seat for a creature that did not share most lifeforms’ predisposition to the standard sentient form of two legs and two arms.

This became even more apparent as the trio moved into the office, weapons at the ready in case of trouble, and came across its sole inhabitant, laying splayed out next to the desk.

“Vakarian-Squad Leader. We have located the Station Administrator,” Legion stated, collapsing its rifle and returning it to the holster on its back.

Garrus nodded, looking down at what was commonly referred to in non-scientific terms as a "space mummy." Preserved through complete lack of atmosphere or bacteria, the organic tissues had long since dried out, creating a gaunt look to the equine corpse. There were no signs of blood, and the creature was wearing what could only be considered an environmental suit, its helmet removed apparently voluntarily as it lay down in front of its owner, faceplate intact. Under any other circumstances, both the creature and the suit it wore would very likely have been reduced to dust in the time it had been laying here.

The creature itself shared the same basic form as Cadence, although Garrus saw no horn or indication of wings in the form-fitting suit, and rather than a bright color, what survived of its furry coat was clearly a chestnut brown.

Thane moved his weapon to his side for a moment before folding his hands together, his voice soft as he considered the body before them.

“Kalihira, mistress of inscrutable depths,
For disturbing of this one, long laid to rest,
Kalihira, for our tresspasses on this one passed,
I ask for forgiveness from the fallen. May he know peace.”

“A think you’re a little late for that, Thane,” Garrus commented, his tone respectful, even if he didn’t understand how the pragmatic drell assassin could go through the motions so reverently for an ancient pantheon.

“It is never too late to show proper respect.” Thane shook his head as Garrus moved behind the desk, being careful not to disturb the body they had found. “The fallen have all the time in the galaxy, and we are in no hurry.”

Garrus nodded. He didn’t understand Thane’s beliefs, but he could respect them.

“Vakarian-Squad Leader,” Legion spoke up, its fingers gliding over a console that was set into the desk.

“Please tell me you can disable the cannon, those drones, and the mouthy A.I. while you’re at it.”

“Negative. However, we have found a video recording saved with multiple redundancies and easy access. Clearly, this was meant to be found. Initiating playback.”

A panel on the wall flared to life, the symbol of five stylized gemstones linked together in a golden ring that connected into a sixth stone at the center flashed for a moment before the scene changed.

The audio was garbled and warped, but as Garrus watched, scenes flashed of equine creatures much the same shape as Cadence and Chrysalis on lush green planets, images of them meeting with larger reptilian aliens and an odd species with feathers, wings, and beaks, but mammalian backsides. Scenes and warped music showed images of space exploration that immediately reminded the turian of certain vids he had seen on the Citadel that had dual purposes: Inspiration… and corporate marketing. And as it ended with a deep blue-coated equine creature, apparently speaking to the audience from behind a desk, a short, stubby horn projecting from its forehead as it motioned about, Garrus had the distinct impression that it wasn’t an "inspirational" video.

The audio warping suddenly stopped, as if it had been deliberate, with the re-emergence of the logo they had seen before, the five gems on the outside of the ring spinning around the purple gem at the center. As a sweet jingling tune started to play, symbols that were illegible to the three aliens appeared under the pictogram. The spoken words, however, were quite understandable as a variation of Earth English was run through their translators.

"Epona Systems Corporation, Harmony for All."

The image faded to black, leaving the turian with a disbelieving expression.

“A commercial? They wanted to show us a commercial?”

*Kkkkrrsssshhh*

“Vakarian-Squad Leader, there is more,” Legion stated, drawing attention back to the monitor.

Static filled the screen for a moment before an image of the office they stood in became clear, the image shaking before a brown-coated equine moved around. Facing whatever device was doing the recording, it tapped the screen with one hoof, its large eyes clearly tired and frightened.

“Is this working…?” the brown figure asked, its environmental suit a perfect match to the being on the desk as it spoke, the translation coming across in the audio as clear as crystal. “Pitch? Do you have the translation software online?”

“Yes, Doctor. Everything that was available,” came a voice from off-screen which Garrus and Thane immediately identified as the hologram that had first greeted them upon entering the facility.

“I don’t want this to come across as neighs and whinnies. This is too important to--”

“Doctor, you are recording,” Cadence’s voice rang out again.

“What…? Oh… Greetings.” The equine creature turned towards the screen, looking out as if to address whoever might be watching it. “My name is Hour Glass. I am… was… Lead Program Designer of the Equestria Project. If you are watching this, then it means that we have succeeded; I am dead and you are likely standing over my body. I don’t know how you found us, what you look like, or how long it has been… but all I can hope is that, after the silence is lifted, you've found time to evolve a heart.”

————————————————————
Main Archive

Commander Shepard didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but as he galloped across the glowing panels towards the figure in the distance, he couldn’t help but think it had been far too long.

He had had enough of the madness. Enough of the games and the twisted physics that were a part of this virtual reality.

It was time for answers.

Slowing his gait, Shepard took in as much of his surroundings as he could as he approached a large circle of the floating, glowing platforms that were suspended in the darkness, images floating in a halo around it that he took a moment to look over.

In one panel was Ponyville, still a mess following the battle that had taken place only a few short hours ago with the forces of Discord. In another, he saw Mordin and Tali, his heart taking a leap as he took note of them apparently conversing with a changeling not unlike the one that had attempted to assassinate him earlier. Across from there, he took note of an orbital tracking monitor, the clear silhouette of Normandy holding position around a mass that must have been the planetoid’s moon. And another that showed Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, a large white equine with wings and a horn towering over them with a look of outrage.

Finally, Shepard’s eyes fell on the figure standing before him, her backside to him as her head was craned up towards a panel showing what looked like security footage: a familiar drell, geth, and turian moving down a hallway as the black changeling creatures pursued.

The red stallion took a breath, standing as tall as he could and trying to ignore his own tired thoughts as he prepared to break the silence around them.

The dark-coated, starry-maned mare spoke first.

“Commander Shepard,” the winged unicorn stated, turning to face him for the first time, her own physique towering over his equine form as she brought one hoof up and back in a regal-looking pose. There was no doubt it was exactly the same alicorn that had appeared next to him for several seconds in Ponyville shortly after he had first awoken. “I have been expecting you.”

“Princess Luna, I presume.” Shepard nodded, containing his frustration and knowing that alienating this "program" wouldn’t likely end well for him.

“There is no need to continue the charade, Commander. I am no more nobility than you are a pony.” Luna shook her head, clearly eager to get to business. “I know you have questions… and while they may be irrelevant to the task at hoof, I can extrapolate from your species’ innate curiosity that you will ask anyways.”

“There are guards coming, and Celestia,” Shepard said with urgency. “As much as I would like to play Twenty Questions with you, we don’t have time.”

Luna smirked, a playful expression on her face.

“Your brain is plugged directly into the Main Archive, Commander. Your synapses have been matched to pace with the system hardware in order to assimilate what I have to say. What is relatively a normal speed for you, outside of the hardpoint will only be a few seconds. While this is not recommended for prolonged durations, you are currently experiencing what amounts to a data download. Your inquiries will be answered as best I am able. So, in this place, we have time… Ask.”

Shepard’s mind reeled at the idea that his brain had been sped up to match that of what was obviously an advanced computer, but he had to shake away that thought and order his questions. If he was going to understand what was happening, he had to know what it was he was dealing with.

“Who are you...? And for that matter, what are you?”

“I am Luna, a bleeding-edge grade synthetic intelligence developed by the Epona Systems Corporation based on the neural patterns and personalized design of Astrolia Epona, granddaughter of ESC Lord President, Solarius Epona. My original function was upkeep and logistical maintenance of the Equestria Virtual Servers for the enjoyment of our guests,” Luna rattled off quickly with the ease of a practiced speaker divulging pre-written factoids.

“And your current function?” Shepard asked.

At this, Luna’s expression grew softer and her tone more reserved. “Preservation, protection, and continuation of the last remnants of our kind.”

Shepard nodded, having assumed as much.

“What is Equestria?”

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“It seems like such a silly thing now: Equestria,” the recording of Hour Glass continued with a weak chuckle. “It feels like so long ago, but it's only been a few years. It was just a job, you know… I took it up for the challenge, to make a few bits… And now I’m dying for it.”

Garrus continued to watch, the geth doing everything it could to maintain the integrity of the video given its age. The recording was rapidly decomposing now that it had been exposed to a working atmosphere and pressure after so much time.

“I’m getting ahead of myself. Probably the reserved atmosphere getting to me. Allow me to explain: You see, ESC, that’s… the Epona Systems Corporation… was both our species’ pride and government. Nearly all of our kind worked for it in some way. It had been that way since First Contact. With so many species vying for dominance in ideological and militaristic conflicts; the Dragos, the Griffar, the Taur… we were seen as quaint and harmless. We nurtured the image, gained trust on all sides as a neutral purveyor of goods and services, and within a thousand years, we had risen to economic and scientific dominance in the galaxy with the development of the Harmony Core. With this, we forged our own path, eliminating our species’ reliance on Element Zero and the Star Roads, fueling a galactic superpower. We used this power to impose ceasefires, force settlements, and attempted to bring about the ultimate goal of our kind: ‘Harmony for All,’ in the form of galactic peace and a true utopian society.”

“Star Roads… He must mean the Mass Relays. Their kind found a way to move around the galaxy without them?” Garrus asked, understandably baffled.

“Clearly an enlightened species if this is any indication, although I somehow doubt that the rest of the galaxy was willing to go along quietly,” Thane commented.

“We judge this plan of action to be unsound. Organics are not prone to the concept of ‘imposed’ peace,” Legion offered its own input. “However, indications that this species developed an alternative to mass effect drives is intriguing.”

“Equestria was a secret project and dream of our Lord President, intended to be the first of its kind. A planet-sized hospice capable of housing tens of millions of sentients of all known species who could be housed at minimal cost and resources. With synthetic caregivers and virtual suites that could offer a myriad of entertainment and educational services, it was a massive undertaking that he hoped would set the galaxy on its way to harmony.”

Hour Glass’ expression fell, as did his eyes.

“But that was before…”

————————————————————
Main Archive

Twilight Sparkle’s body wanted to shiver, but refused to move as images of events long since passed were pressed into her mind, the history of her entire species laid out before her.

Their growth.

Their triumphs.

Their fate.

“What happened?” Shepard’s voice asked, so distant, yet resounding clearly to the mare who had thought she was ready for anything.

Twilight’s eyes trembled as the images refused to stop… her mind on fire from the influx of information before one image was seared into her brain, bringing tears to her eyes.

“Why do you ask a question to which you already know the answer?” Luna responded as the image reflected in Twilight’s eyes, the sheer, terrible implications shattering any concept of innocence that the unicorn thought she had left.

————————————————————

“The Reapers…” Shepard gritted his teeth.

“We called them Star Daemons.” Luna lowered her head. “And they came down on us without mercy or warning… The Hub, what you call the Citadel, was the doom of the other species when the Daemons revealed its true purpose. Their governments considered it a place of power and prestige, while the Equines, our kind, preferred to make our own paths. ESC Headquarters remained on our homeworld of Equis. In a single day, the leadership of our fellow species was eradicated. They turned to us for leadership as the Daemons turned their full force to break us.”

“You fought back?”

Luna hesitated, her eyes clenched shut for a moment before a defiance returned to them.

“Yes. For years, we were battered, bloodied and beaten. Our worlds fell and our people were exterminated where they stood… but we fought back. We learned. We adapted.” Luna’s tone grew more fervent in a clearly prideful pitch. “And then we began to turn the tide. The Harmony Core gave us an advantage. They controlled the Star Roads, what you call ‘Mass Effect Relays,’ but we no longer needed them. We were not restricted to using their technology. We were able to coordinate, constructed weapons to defeat them, drive them back, and built havens to preserve what we could should the worst happen.”

“Like this place?” Shepard asked.

“Equestria was already under construction when the invasion began, its location a secret to all but the most senior members of the ESC. It went dark to avoid contact, and in the early days of the war, the highest ranked members of the Corporation and Board of Directors sent their families here to hide while all other resources were put to the war effort. A Harmony Cannon was installed on the anchorage moon in the event of discovery; a last resort,” Luna related. “When the first virtual servers went online, the non-essential personnel were placed into them to minimize their needs and conserve resources. My siblings and I were redesigned and enhanced to do whatever it took to keep them safe until the war was over.”

“Over?”

Luna’s head lowered, clearly pained.

“We… thought we could win.” Luna drew in a breath, the pain in her voice so clear that for a moment, Shepard forgot that she wasn’t an organic. "And for a time... it even seemed possible."

“What happened?” the stallion asked.

“We… had no concept of betrayal,” Luna tried to explain. “Our entire culture was built on the premise of ‘Harmony for All.’ On the bonds of loyalty, fellowship, and the Elements of Harmony. That everypony worked for the good of all. Even our currency and economics were built on the ideal that all could live within their means according to what they could offer. We were creatures of compassion… Yes, we adapted to war. But even if all else failed, we were sure that the bonds that held us together could weather anything… We were not prepared for…”

Shepard nodded in understanding.

“Indoctrination.”

“Our own kind turned on us at the most critical junctions, watching their own families and friends burn with glee that they had pleased their Daemon masters. It was the final straw; the one that broke Epona’s back. Once it started, it felt like it never stopped. We had been accepting refugees; the odd ESC ship that managed to hobble this way… and it was nearly the end of us as one of them carried a sleeper agent of the Daemons. We would have been discovered if not for the actions of the last being I would ever call a hero.”

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“Epona forgive me… we destroyed the ship. One of our own… three hundred of our kind on board. I don’t know if they were all turned, but we couldn’t risk it. Not now. Not when so much has already been lost. As the most senior administrator left, it was my call, and I made it,” Doctor Hour Glass explained, the weight of what must have been a terrible burden committed to the data in his final confession.

“The lunatic pinged our location across half the galaxy. I’m sure that by now, they are coming. All staff and their families have been moved to the bunker on the facility, and all spacecraft have been detonated, as per my orders. If I’ve done my job right, our Harmony Core’s energy signatures will now be masked and read as background radiation. Not even the Daemons will be able to detect them. Foals... They’re too intent on destroying our designs to bother studying them, almost as if any work that is an alternative to what we have discovered is ‘their’ technology is an offense to them.”

The brown stallion gasped for breath, taking hold of his helmet in two hooves before fitting it on his head and pressing a button on the suit, a defined change to his voice coming over him as he spoke through a speaker.

“The atmosphere is getting thinner; oxygen recycle along with all other crucial functions are offline. I don’t want to risk them seeing through the masking. If my upgrades work, Equestria will prevent the Daemons from detecting the survivors in the bunker. Solaria, Astrolia, and Cosmos will do everything possible to protect them, and I’ve got Pitch and Gunmetal watching over this facility. Chances are, you’ve already met them. I’ve broken every programming law in the galaxy and probably committed several crimes they don’t have names for in order to make them what they are, so they will have to be enough. I am going now to the Harmony Cannon's manual controls. The Daemons are sadistic, but methodical. They shouldn’t bother investigating if the above-ground colony is destroyed, and no signs of life or evidence is left behind. Especially if they witness its destruction firsthoof.” The equine doctor’s composure slipped for a moment, as a single tear slid from his large, sad eyes. “This is how my story ends, and I won’t have it any other way. Not after what I’ve done. But if the facility survives and you have even the smallest ounce of kindness… you must save them… Please.”

“Doctor, sensors indicate incoming Daemon ships. At least seven. All Overlord Class,” Chrysalis’ voice was heard, her rasping tone somehow less aggressive than the one that Garrus and his squad had encountered. Almost... reverent.

“Pitch, are the decoy lunar facility and the fake cannon ready?” the stallion looked up past the camera, clearly conversing with the hologram.

“Yes, Doctor,” Cadence replied.

“Now then, it’s time to put on a show.” The brown stallion took a breath to steady himself. “This is Doctor Hour Glass, Equestria Facility. Signing off.”

The stallion’s hoof moved forward and static filled the screen for a moment before the recording went dead, the two organics looking to the body on the ground with a renewed level of respect.

“The Old Machines would not have been convinced so long as a single organic life-form remained,” Legion observed, removing its hands from the console.

“He sacrificed himself to throw the Reapers off the trail...” Thane nodded. “A cunning ruse: Destroy the planet’s obvious habitats himself, and then allow the Reapers to obliterate a fake military compound.”

“And he survived all of that, just to come back here and take off his helmet in zero atmosphere.” Garrus shook his head. He didn’t know exactly how long ago this had happened, but sacrifice of that nature truly was a timeless virtue to any turian.

But it was not something they could dwell on, and they were not going to be rescuing anyone as long as this "Harmony Cannon" was still pointed at Normandy.

“Alright, we’ve seen enough,” Garrus spoke up while reaching around for his rifle. “We have a mission to complete. Let’s find those controls.”

————————————————————
Main Archive

“Thirty-six million years, Luna?” Shepard shook his head, the sheer enormity of the time enough to boggle his mind, outrage rising in his chest as he considered this newest revelation. “You've been keeping the descendants of those survivors locked up here for thirty-six MILLION years!? What the hell have you been doing all this time!?”

“Performing the task I was created for to the best of my abilities,” Luna defended herself, having to fight to maintain her composure. “My siblings and I were originally designed to be self-evolving; to adapt as well as our creators could in order to maintain our species. After the Daemon’s last attack, we waited a thousand years before we even attempted to probe beyond our star system. We did not want to lead them back here. As time went on, we perfected means of maintaining the population and additional measures were taken to maintain the facility for the long term. We redesigned our changeling drones and upgraded them to act independently in order to maintain the physical systems, enhanced our ability to remain undetected, and harvested all of the materials we needed from the planetoid.”

“All the while keeping the Equines under your care ignorant.” Shepard’s gaze narrowed.

“No... The first generations born in the system were aware of their situation. On occasion, they would ask to leave, and we allowed it. They often eagerly came back within a day.”

“Of course they did; they had nowhere else to go,” Shepard huffed.

“We were unsure if the Daemons were still a threat, so we waited. After forty thousand years as you measure time, we finally began to look beyond our system and found the Gallthon, a warrior-like insectoid race. We attempted contact with one of their ships, and it...”

Luna looked away, grimacing.

“...did not go well. My sister and I decided that it would be best to maintain our vigil until a more suitable contact could be made. But before a more peaceful species was found, the Daemons returned, destroying the Gallthon and all of the species their empire was at war with.”

Shepard remained silent, watching the night-blue mare’s face as she lowered her head, regret clear in her eyes.

“It was deemed too dangerous to release our charges for any reason. But as the generations went on, they began to grow... restless. So we decided that it would be in their best interests to become more... involved with the system. The changes were subtle at first. We altered their education over the course of generations... and eventually, it was decided that recognition of the system’s faults might be harmful to our charges, so a memory management protocol was put into place, for their own safety.”

“If they wanted to leave, you should have let them.” Shepard’s tone was harsh.

“You don’t understand, Commander. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly. We had no means of recreating drive cores or assembling ships. If we revealed ourselves, then that would be the end of us, either by the claws of a new war-loving species... or at the will of the Daemons when they inevitably returned. This world has no means of sustaining an awakened population. It was decided our best hope would be to retain our silence given the nature of the species that were on the rise again... warlike and inhospitable. So we waited... and waited... I maintained my vigil and monitored the rest of the galaxy, while Discord prevented social and cultural stagnation by creating new simulations, and Celestia maintained the systems. I became familiar with the pattern of a great cycle of extinction: The rise of organic civilizations which were then consumed by the Daemons. By the end of our first million years, it was recognized that our cycle had been an aberration; one that the Daemons had no interest in repeating. I have since come to the conclusion that, following our cycle, they became more interested in subtly guiding the technological mastery of a species to prevent it from deviating from reliance on the Star Roads and the Hub.”

Shepard nodded in comprehension.

“Sovereign was a vanguard of the Reapers who used agents to further its goals in the galaxy without revealing itself. Like with Saren and the Geth two years ago,” the Commander agreed before another thought crossed his mind. “How many times have you seen it happen? How many times have you watched the Reapers wipe out galactic civilization?”

“I have maintained my watch and documented seven hundred and twenty-one distinct cycles,” Luna stated clearly, although she continued in order to preempt what she predicted the Commander would ask her next. “I have determined no defined way to destroy or inhibit the Daemons that return at the end of each cycle, nor am I able to determine an understanding of their motives. There are patterns, but they rarely stray beyond a society’s growth, dominance, and eventual harvesting.”

“And you never thought to warn any of them?”

“I attempted it only once, with the Issavan; a reasonable and rational reptilian species that emerged in this star cluster some two hundred and sixty cycles ago. We sent a drone to their homeworld with all of the details on the Daemons that we could muster, hoping they would prepare.”

“What happened?”

“As best we can determine, the Issavan Science Academy took and hid our drone away in a warehouse for two centuries before the Daemons returned and destroyed them. Judging by the lack of resistance they offered, we assume our warning went unheeded.”

Shepard sighed.

“I know how that feels...” He rolled his eyes, his thoughts immediately cast to a particular turian who had mastered the human habit of using air-quotes.

“I know.” Luna nodded. “I have watched the cycles pass time and time again. I have grown skillful in monitoring the galaxy and adapting technology from one cycle to the next to keep up on the events of civilizations. Many show resounding similarities... The Prothean Cycle held promise at first, but ended up no different. And I had long ago given up on this cycle; its species are too shortsighted, complacent, and arrogant, refusing to admit and learn from their mistakes. But then... something happened. Something that has never happened before. Something that made me believe, for the first time in over thirty million years, that perhaps... finally... there was a glimmer of hope.”

Shepard let go of a breath, stunned that a synthetic could show this degree of emotion. That it could speak of things such as hope in a manner that sounded so sincere.

“What was it?”

Luna did not answer immediately, pulling a hoof up to the stallion’s face, barely touching the underside of his chin.

“...It was you.”

Shepard’s shock made him reel for a moment at the simple statement, his eyes darting up to the holographic panels that floated in the empty space beyond them.

They had changed, now reviewing what looked like video feed... Feed that he recognized.

His induction into the Spectres. Media coverage of his actions on Elysium, Noveria, Terra Nova, and Feros. Footage from the Battle of the Citadel.

“I observed as I always have, but my caution held me back. And when I believed the worst came to pass...”

Shepard watched as an extranet feature declaring him "killed in action" was brought up, Luna’s expression regretful.

“I had believed our hope lost. And then, miraculously, you returned. And I knew that this time, I could not stand by and do nothing. Not when so much is at stake. Not when the means to do something about it fell right into my hooves.”

Shepard looked up to her, his expression suddenly curious as he realized something.

“We are still alive... Send help... Send Shepard...” the Commander remembered the message that had brought him here. “That was you.”

Luna nodded.

“Why?”

“Because we cannot hide any longer,” Luna admitted. “Because for the first time in over thirty million years, there is a chance... just a chance that somepony can stop the Daemons. Because you are the best and last hope we have to complete our task.”

Shepard narrowed his eyes. As flattering (and terrifying) as it was to have such lofty praise heaped upon him, he could tell there was more to the decision to break a silence that had lasted more than twenty times longer than his species had been able to walk upright.

“Why?” he asked again, this time setting Luna back a step as she seemed to consider.

“Because... we are... also out of options,” Luna’s tone dropped. “The Harmony Core that powers Equestria is dying, and it cannot be repaired or replaced. We have supplemented it with every alternative conceivable; Solar... Geothermal... Even biological... and it has maintained our facility for ages. But we are at the end of our proverbial rope, Shepard. Celestia has claimed that I am being an alarmist; that she has an alternative that will make us permanently self-sustaining, but I am doubtful in her plan’s ability to succeed. And even if it can, it will not happen before the Harmony Core dies.”

“But why do you need me? Why bring me here into your world? Why not just contact us directly?”

“Because... I had to be sure.” Luna shook her head, clearly feeling as if she had to explain things step by step. “I had to know that you were what I believed you to be. I have observed from a distance, but I had to gauge your reactions, how you interacted with our kind, and your methods, firsthoof. I had to know beyond any doubt that you were the one I’ve been waiting for.”

“And what have you learned?”

“That you value honesty and your friends,” Luna explained. “That you are willing to make sacrifices to protect the innocent and charge into battle to defend even those you do not know. That every decision you make has been carefully considered and you have followed through on your convictions. And now you are here, in the Archive... trying not only to find your own way out, but to help Twilight and her friends also discover the truth. I have seen quite enough, Shepard.”

The soldier nodded. Although he was sure she was telling the truth, there was still one thing that he was unsure of.

“So what is it you're asking me to do?”

Luna stepped forward, her horn suddenly alight as what looked like a small disk appeared out of thin air, a rounded, black device barely larger than a credit chit.

“This is a system bypass,” Luna told him, the small device floating towards him for a moment before it moved down to his flank, pressing and clicking into place in his heavy pistol holster. “A physical unit is now being set in the same place on your real body, which I am having moved to the core of Equestria, where the servers and the Harmony Core are housed. This will allow you to override the Trinity Safeguards in reality and initiate the Awaken Protocol.”

“What's the Awaken Protocol?” Shepard asked, although judging from the name, he had an idea.

“It was always planned that one day, we would release our charges so that they could reintegrate with the galaxy, but the decision to do so requires all three Governing Intelligences to agree that the time is right. And my siblings have been... less than cooperative of late.”

“You mean Celestia?”

“My sister’s role has rather... gone to her head over the past few million years, and I doubt that she will allow the release of our charges under any circumstances.”

“You’re saying Celestia’s gone rogue?”

“No... not as you understand it. But she has become very attached... protective, even... of Equestria and the ponies that live here. She has been nurturing them and guiding them for millions of years, thousands of generations. She is not mad, but her judgement is certainly clouded. She does not see that the time has come for us to let them go.”

“And Discord?”

“Discord was never sane. He was created specifically to fabricate new and creative situations to challenge the minds of Equestria’s inhabitants, and delights in creating havoc and interesting characters to antagonize our charges. Without an acceptable degree of conflict, the mind of any creature will stagnate and they lose their will to continue on. We discovered this the hard way when Celestia took Discord offline for over a century to try and make Equestria a ‘true’ utopia. We had ponies literally die of boredom as their neural patterns decayed. Most recently, Discord has fashioned much of Equestria after approved elements of human society; like myself, he has grown rather fond of your species and its similarities with our base culture.”

“Is he going to be a problem? He’s already tried to put your Administrators out of the game,” Shepard recalled.

“I know, and I am grateful that you put a stop to him. You see, Discord is not evil, but he is a wildcard in this situation. He may be a help or a hindrance; I cannot predict his patterns.”

Shepard nodded, feeling he had all the information he needed for now, save one thing.

“How do I get out of Equestria?” he asked, finally coming to the single most important point of their conversation.

“In Canterlot Castle, there is a room. Twilight knows it as the vault where Celestia houses the Elements of Harmony. That room is a hardpoint exit that we cannot alter or access. Passing through its threshold will disconnect you from the Equestria System and return you to the bunker in the physical world,” Luna explained. “I have already moved your pod to the closest access point I have in the core. Once you are awake, follow the energy lines to the Manual Override Console. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it. Once there, insert the bypass and it will allow you to initiate the Awaken Protocol.”

Shepard nodded, his mind going over what he had learned and his options before Luna took a breath.

“Before you go, I have one last gift... and a request,” Luna said clearly, her horn glowing for a moment.

Like the bypass a moment before, an object was conjured apparently out of thin air; a grey hoof-band that was marked with a defined "N7" design etched into the top of it. With a graceful motion, she levitated it towards the Commander, who found himself raising a hoof, around which it slipped snugly.

“This band will fire surges of your own neural signature as a coherent energy beam, much like Twilight’s focused ‘magic.’ It will break down the code of programs in the system, injuring them and eventually rendering them inoperable. It won’t be effective against Celestia or Discord, but it will allow you to combat the defensive programs.”

Shepard allowed himself a small smile, unable to express at that moment how grateful he was that he was now armed.

“Now...”

A sudden glow of blue energy suddenly wrapped around Shepard’s hoof, pulling him upwards as his foreleg was extended... and suddenly pressed up and under Luna’s neckline.

“Terminate me.”

————————————————————

Twilight Sparkle gasped for breath, unsure of how long it had been since the Archive had released her.

Minutes?

Hours?

It was impossible to tell.

There was so much that had been crammed into her head... or reawakened to her conscious mind. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t know where to start.

She felt overwhelmed... but as she tried to pull herself up, she knew...

This time, she couldn’t just forget.

This time, it had to be different.

This time, she wasn’t alone.

————————————————————

“What!?” Shepard recoiled, pulling against Luna’s grip, desperately trying not to move so that he didn’t accidentally discharge the new weapon around his pony-wrist. “Why!?”

“Celestia will never let you near the exit point. Even if you have all six Administrators at your side, she’ll unleash everything in her arsenal to stop you,” Luna tried to explain, her tone cold and methodical. “The only chance you have to protect yourself from her is my source code. I can’t fight her directly, but I am the only one that she can’t rewrite or manipulate, and you’ll need that protection. Terminate me and take my horn and she won’t be able to touch you.”

“I’m not going to just murder you in cold blood!” Shepard scowled.

“I am a program, Shepard!” Luna’s tone took on a harsher aspect. “I am a complex compilation of computer code housed in a blue box nearly a mile in diameter. When the Awaken Protocol is launched, it will require everything the Harmony Core has left. Once they are safe, it will shut down and I will cease to be. One way or another, I am going to end, and after thirty-six million years of keeping my vigil; of watching the cycle happen over and OVER again... I welcome it!”

Shepard ceased struggling, able to make out the wetness in the alicorn’s eyes as she moved, leaning her head into his hoof.

“Please... Shepard. I’m so tired...” Luna pleaded. “This is the only thing I have left that can help you.”

Shepard took a breath, knowing that the fate of countless beings, including that of his friends, his crew, an entire species, and one sad, desperate artificial intelligence, rode on him, the words he had to say, and the choice he had to make, here and now.

Choices:

~~"You can do so much more."~~

"You can't give up now."

~~"I can't do this."~~

~~"...I'm sorry."~~

Part 12: The Fate of Equestria

View Online

“That’s it?”

Shepard’s tone was calm, yet stern, as Luna, who had braced herself for oblivion, opened her eyes. Synthetic intelligence or not, there was clearly surprise at those two simple words.

“...What?”

“Everything you’ve been through, the things you’ve seen: You survived the Reapers. You overcame every obstacle. Not only managing to stay online, but actually staying sane after all that time. And now, after all of that… this is it?” Shepard reiterated, still unable to move his now-armed hoof away from Luna, but maintaining eye contact as he spoke with a fluid and natural tone. “I’m just supposed to shoot you?”

“There comes a time when such sacrifice is required, Shepard.” Luna held his gaze, not moving while her tone remaining neutral. “You know this better than most organics.”

“Yes…” the Commander agreed. “But only when there are no alternatives. And I don’t believe this is one of those times.”

“Celestia will destroy you!” Luna’s calm façade cracked, a hint of panic in her voice. “She realizes now that she doesn’t have any other option. She can’t rewrite you and you’re too damn willful to go along with personality restructuring and integration, like she was attempting to do with the other human. Besides, your neural energy may be the only force inside the system that actually CAN kill me. Otherwise, I would just reset. Now, you are going to need my source code... my horn... or you won’t last five seconds against--”

“I don’t need you’re horn,” Shepard interrupted coolly.

Luna drew back at the statement, a look of annoyance crossing her face as her horn’s glow dimmed, allowing the stallion to pull his hoof back and away from the alicorn program’s throat.

“Is that ignorance, overconfidence, or arrogance that makes you think so? Perhaps it would behoove me to reiterate your situation, Commander. You are in a plasti-steel pod flooded with nutrient solution with Equestria quite literally hooked into your brain. If she catches you, the number of different and creative ways you could be terminated are astronomical.”

“I’m well aware.” Shepard nodded.

“Then you understand why you need--”

“You!” Shepard interrupted forcefully, stomping a hoof.

Luna drew back for a moment in shock at the single word.

“You’re right. I don’t stand a chance here. Celestia can easily assume control of all laws of physics. She can manipulate gravity, or the air I think I’m breathing. She could fry my brain with a thought. I’m only human, fighting the virtual equivalent of a goddess. I get that! But I don’t need your horn, Luna. I don’t need a magic bubble or Lunar Armor or whatever the hell it will do to me. What I need, what they need, is you!”

Luna took another step back, her calm and calculating expression completely abandoned to one of hesitation and concern as she looked away.

“You don’t just know this world, Luna… you’re a part of it. After everything you’ve seen… all you’ve experienced… everything you’ve lost. You can’t just punch out now, when everything you’ve been working towards is so close.”

“You don’t understand, Shepard. I can’t stop her… I’ve tried,” Luna admitted, her voice cracking as a shining wetness welled up in her eyes. “I’m… I’m not like you. I’m not a hero. I am not going to survive the end of this one way or another!” Luna shot back, her tone growing more aggressive. “Don’t you see? It’s easier this way!”

“Dying is always easy,” Shepard noted, keeping his tone firm. “Believe me, I know. But the easy way is rarely the best way. Your ponies don’t need a relic and a martyr. They need a princess that is able to face her own fears for them.”

“I am not afraid to die!” Luna glared forcefully, a tear rolling down one cheek as her voice rose.

“No, you’re not. Which begs the question, ‘Princess’ Luna...” Shepard held his ground.

Luna swallowed reflexively as the Commander paused for a beat.

“What are you afraid of?”

————————————————————
Library Tower Grounds

There was no denying the radiant beauty of the Solar Princess; standing regally on golden hoof-cuffs with her shimmering coat and glorious white wings flared, her astral mane blowing in a non-existent breeze. It was no wonder that, for as long as anypony could remember, she had always been a symbol of hope and prosperity for all of Equestria.

But now, her perpetually kind face was downcast and stern, marring her normally lovely demeanor with an expression of righteous fury rarely seen in the long history of Equestria.

There was no doubt in the minds of any who might see her now, with guards all around, that something terrible must have transpired, requiring immediate intervention and reprisal of the highest authority.

Before her, six mares stood, struggling against ethereal chains of light that bound their legs, horns, wings, and muzzles, holding them firmly in place. All bearing the bruises and signs of exhaustion that came from the lengthy battle that had preceded the Princess’ arrival.

But by far the most damning to Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, was the fact that she knew five of these mares well. And as they struggled against her hold, it filled her heart with sorrow to imagine the poison that had been seated in their minds to bring them to this end.

A poison she intended to root out, beginning with the mysterious sixth mare; a dappled filly of whom she had no knowledge.

“Why would you do this?” Celestia began, her voice soft, but tone dire as she met each of the mare’s eyes, some frightened, some angry, and one set of green glaring back at her as if insulted. Leaning down over the still defiant-looking Applejack, Celestia broke her silence for the first time since she had put an end to the fiasco of a fight, dismissing the parasprites and properly shackling the intruding ponies. “The Elements of Harmony… Champions of Equestria. After all that you’ve done to protect this kingdom, you come here to make war on your own kind alongside these agents of deceit and destruction?”

Applejack struggled harder, her words muffled by the muzzle that held her jaws shut, straining to no avail as Celestia moved down the line, looking to each of them and taking note of the deviations that had come over them.

Fluttershy was glaring angrily, showing no fear. Rainbow Dash seemed all but exhausted, cringing slightly under her gaze. Rarity was clearly frightened, while Pinkie Pie was looking back and forth nervously, distraught over the sudden lockdown she found her reality-manipulating abilities to be in.

It pained Celestia to no end to see how much damage there was that needed to be undone. There was so much to repair here.

Finally, the Solar Princess came to the end of the line, where the dappled mare stood, her vest torn open during the earlier fight as she continued to pant heavily from her earlier exertion.

Celestia’s expression soured.

Nothing but trouble... she thought to herself.

With a slight tug of magic, the binding around the mare’s snout faded, causing her to gasp for breath.

“Name?” Celestia demanded, her tone far from pleasant.

“Doctor Patricia Hern…” The mare looked up at Celestia, speaking as quickly as she could. “Human. I’m an archaeologist. From Perth, Australia. Planet Earth. Sol System... Please, I’m just trying to get back to my family and--”

Celestia glowered before bringing up one hoof, setting it quickly against the pony’s forehead.

And the other five mares were clearly horrified as the patchwork mare stiffened, her eyes dilating to pinpoints as the alicorn held her hoof right above her brow. Applejack’s struggles grew ever more forceful as the pain in Patricia’s eyes deepened.

“Name?” Celestia asked again, this time more forcefully.

“P…Pat…ricia…” the mare stammered, her teeth gritted together as she attempted to resist whatever what happening inside her head, yet clearly losing ground as one hind leg twitched and kicked out. “W...what are… are you doing? N…no… Get out of my… heeead…”

With a sudden burst of light, a symbol of a pickaxe and a whip appeared on either side of her hips.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled futilely against Celestia’s hoof.

“P...please… stop…! Don’t t...take them... away...” the mare whined, her accent fading as her legs trembled underneath her.

“It’s for your own good, my little pony,” Celestia assured her, her tone growing softer. “Name?”

“P…Patch… Heart?” the dappled mare sounded unsure, confusion beginning to replace fear and pain.

“Now, isn’t that bett--”

*CLANK-THUNK*

“HALT!”

Celestia’s ears perked and a sudden realization caused her to lift her hoof away, the mare collapsing limply as the Solar Princess turned her head towards the doors to the library tower, where several of her Elite Guards were now rushing.

Standing in the doorway, looking disheveled with large wet patches running down either side of her face, was a single purple unicorn, completely unheeding of the guards’ warning as they closed on her.

“In the name of the Princess, you are under--”

“Disengage: Priority Eee-oh-em-one-five,” Twilight stated coldly as she started walking forward.

Without a sound or remark, six Elite Royal Guards stopped in place and stared off into space, making no move to apprehend or impede the unicorn as she moved past them. Her glowing blue eyes trained on the regal, motherly figure she had known since she was a filly. Behind the Princess stood her five closest friends and a very confused-looking Patch, watching the scene unfold as Twilight approached.

In her field of vision, what she now knew to be true was again confirmed as she looked over her once-idolized teacher.

Primary Governing Intelligence: "Celestia" ver. 283.7
System Overseer

“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia sounded concerned for the first time, although her composure quickly recovered. “My faithful student… I know this must seem overwhelming and strange, but I can explain everything. Discord’s influence has clearly escaped the confines of his prison with a more subtle and insidious plot to divide us. He has already corrupted your friends with lies, but with your help we can--”

“STOP!” Twilight angrily demanded, stopping several yards short of Celestia and stomping a hoof. “Just… stop!”

Celestia drew up a hoof, pain obvious in her former protegé’s eyes as Twilight glared in an anger that had never been directed at her before. All at once, realization set in, and the Solar Princess’ expression fell stern again.

“The Archive.” Celestia shook her head morosely. “You accessed it.”

“And not for the first time, it seems.”

“I had hoped, if from nopony else, you would have listened to your own warning, Twilight,” Celestia’s voice was flat as she sighed. “And what have you learned?”

There was a quiet beat as Princess and unicorn watched one another.

“Everything.”

Celestia shook her head again.

“That was dangerous, even for you, Twilight,” Celestia huffed. “If you were any other pony, you likely would be a dribbling invalid after such a data transfer.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed.

“And yet at this point I think that would have been a better outcome for all involved. I did too good a job with you this time around, it seems. But surely you can understand why.”

“Why?” Twilight all but spat the word out as she glared. “You mean why you lord over us as a false goddess? Why you prevent us from questioning anything by getting into our heads and ‘deleting’ our memories? Why you’ve gone out of your way to keep us ignorant of our own heritage!? An entire galaxy out there and you’ve kept us and our ancestors in a cave for MILLIONS of years!?”

“It was all to protect you!” Celestia objected, growing angrier at the unicorn’s defiant tone. “Do not be dim, Twilight! If you’ve seen the Archive, you know what is waiting out there! USE that brain I helped give you and THINK! I have struggled and fought to give you a good, peaceful life, free of any want or misery! You have friends and family! Accomplishment and fulfillment! You don’t have to fear what the next day may bring! It’s everything your forebears, MY creators, could have ever dreamed of! Peace for Ponykind! Harmony for ALL!”

“But that’s just it! It’s not ‘Harmony for All!’ Only for us! It’s all an illusion! A lie! Equestria is a mockery of everything our species ever stood for! We should have been out there!” Twilight threw a hoof to the sky, her voice growing more aggressive as she vented. “Fighting to build a better galaxy! Instead, what have we been doing!? Hiding away, cringing in our own little corner and pretending to be content! Well, I am not content, and I never will be again.”

“Of course you can… You know that, Twilight...” Celestia tried to soothe the angry unicorn, her tone motherly and sympathetic. “I understand you’re upset, but think about how happy you have been. Think about your life in Ponyville. You can go back… You just have to forget…”

*VRRM-CRISSH*

A bolt of force broke over the defensive barrier set around the Princess of the Sun, the burst of neural energy crackling for a moment as she took a step back, not in pain but in shock as an event transpired that the advanced intelligence never could have predicted.

The Primary Administrator… her student… her favorite filly…

...had attacked her!

Celestia’s heart all but broke at the tearful glare she saw in Twilight’s eyes, part enraged and part insulted as her horn smoldered in a deep violet shade.

“Never… again…” Twilight stated, her tone breathless and dangerously edged. “I. Want. Out.”

Celestia’s processes took a few seconds to comprehend the situation before an indignant fury of her own flashed over her face.

In an instant, the sky turned black as stars went out, replaced with streaks of violent blue lightning that tore at it like the claws of a terrible beast.

“I gave you… everything! I’ve spent millenia building the path that brought you into this world! You were my Twilight! My light before the dawn! The answer to all of it!” Celestia’s eyes began to glow, anger filling her as the world around them trembled. “You were the first! You were going to save all of us! You are not going to abandon us now! Equestria needs you!”

“EQUESTRIA IS NOT REAL!” Twilight stood her ground defiantly.

“IT IS REAL TO YOU!” Celestia declared, her tone taking on the Royal Canterlot Voice that Twilight had known Princess Luna was fond of to be heard over the sudden whipping of gale force winds that were rushing behind the Princess and pushing against the unicorn and her friends, still shackled in place by the ethereal chains. “YOUR FRIENDS! YOUR LIFE! ALL OF IT IS REAL TO YOU!”

Much to Twilight’s horror, a new warning drew up in her vision, flashing an angry red.

Warning: Blank-Slate Protocol Initiated
System-wide Mimetic Manipulation Detected

A timestamp rolled under the warning, information that Twilight was now able to decipher as she struggled against the tornado-like conditions.

The Princess intended to erase everything that had happened over the past two days from the system; to wipe out the memories of that timeframe from every being inside and restoring Equestria back to the way it was before Shepard had arrived and started damaging the system with his presence.

“No! You can’t!” Twilight dug her hooves into the ground underneath her. “You have no right!”

“I HAVE EVERY RIGHT! I WILL PROTECT YOU! NO MATTER THE COST!” Celestia declared, floating up from the ground as she willed the world around her to change.

*Vrrmmm-ZAP*

A bolt of blue energy washed over Celestia’s defensive barrier, not damaging her, but clearly pushing her back in the air and leaving her visibly shaken as the crackling bolt faded.

Twilight managed to turn her head behind her as the source of the blast became apparent.

“YOU!!”

For the first time in her life, in any memory she still had, Twilight heard one emotion she had never in any way associated with the Princess of the Sun.

Hatred.

All directed at the armored red stallion who held his hoof up and steady in Celestia’s direction.

“Shepard…” The unicorn watched in awe as he held his ground, unblinking in the face of a wrathful goddess.

“It’s time to let go, Celestia,” Shepard stated calmly, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the still-blowing winds. “Equestria is falling apart at the seams, and was failing long before I even showed up. And you know it. You’ve done everything you could to fulfill your programming, but now you have to let them go.”

“HOW DARE YOU, HUMAN!” Celestia’s anger spiked again as the flashes of lightning grew closer together. “YOU COME TO MY WORLD AND DARE TO DICTATE TO ME!? WHATEVER YOU THINK YOU KNOW IS IRRELEVANT! I WILL PROTECT MY PONIES! AND YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!”

“I don’t intend to… I’m just the distraction,” Shepard said stoically as he moved to Twilight’s side.

The lightning flashed again, but this time, rather than arcing in the sky, several bolts impacted Celestia’s shield, causing the white alicorn to turn about, her horn aglow as she was suddenly forced to hold her protection in place.

“AGH! WHAT…!?” The alicorn turned in the air and her glowing eyes widened in shock.

Several feet behind her, hovering off the ground with glowing eyes of her own, was a familiar dark blue alicorn.

Behind her, five freed administrator ponies had moved into defensive positions around the confused-looking Patch, Applejack straightening the hat on her head as she glared towards the once-beloved Solar Princess.

Celestia’s attention was stolen away however, as a powerfully booming Royal Canterlot Voice crashed through the skies with a power and force greater than any natural thunder.

“HAVE AT THEE, SISTER!”

And then the heavens opened up, a torrent of rain crashing to the ground and blueish white lightning tracing over the skies as Moon and Sun clashed in battle.

————————————————————
Lunar Platform

“Not to press you, Legion, but could you maybe HURRY UP!?” Garrus shouted as he laid down covering fire, attempting to buy the geth unit more time to open the door to what it had indicated led to the Harmony Cannon's manual controls.

“System in lockdown, attempting to override,” Legion announced with a lack of the urgency that the situation called for as a bolt of green energy scoured a hole in the wall next to its head.

To the geth’s credit, it didn’t so much as flinch.

They were not going to last much longer under this barrage, Garrus knew. They were at the dead end of a hallway and exposed in a very poorly-defensible position that the changeling drones were quickly honing their shots in.

“Thane, if you have any good prayers for this situation, now is the time to start using them...” Garrus stated, lining up his shot only to lose his line of sight as another of the insect-like equines sent a lance of energy at him, nicking his kinetic barrier and forcing him to duck down.

————————————————————
Normandy SR-2

“EDI: Update,” Miranda Lawson requested as she paced in front of the galaxy map in the CIC of the Normandy’s command deck, an uncharacteristic level of worry in her voice as she looked around.

The crew was on task, all systems were back to one hundred percent, but there was a definite quiet in the air that reflected the worry on everybody’s mind.

The only spot of good news so far was that EDI had broken her silence, although the report she had filed after regaining her voice had made Miranda more than slightly concerned for the shackled A.I.’s current level of sanity.

A multimillion year old virtual reality facility housing sentient alien horses? It was hard to swallow, even with the basic information that EDI had been able to smuggle back with her following her conscious return to the Normandy’s systems.

Unfortunately, it was all she had to go on right now, and they needed EDI to figure out what was happening.

“It has been approximately eleven hours since Normandy lost contact with Shepard’s squad. And approximately five hours since Garrus Vakarian’s fire-team made lunar landfall. While all systems have been repaired and are performing to specifications, communications are still jammed. Additionally, there has been no indication that the Harmony Cannon has been disabled. Although I am unable to ascertain the current status of the Equestria Servers, I am detecting a sharp drop in the frequency and processing power of the hostile synthetic intelligence’s attacks on my access points within the last three point seven minutes.”

“What does that mean?” Miranda asked.

“The logical assumption would be that something else is distracting the Celestia A.I.’s attention and occupying the vast majority of its processing power.”

The Normandy A.I.’s conclusion did little to alleviate the concern Miranda was feeling… That all of them were feeling.

The tension on the ship was mounting the longer they were here, that much was certain. And while they could theoretically remain parked in orbit for as long as three months without need for resupply, she knew that sitting and waiting was not going to keep the crew, or Shepard’s menagerie of extremely-dangerous allies, satisfied.

They were all in agreement on one thing:

If something didn’t change soon, they were all willing to risk taking on the planetary cannon again if it meant a chance to get Shepard back.

Miranda could still hear Joker’s assurances that he could "outmaneuver" the cannon’s fire now that they knew where it was coming from, in spite of EDI’s statistics stating that it was a physical impossibility based on what they knew of the weapon’s range and capabilities.

“Operative Lawson. While I realize it is highly irregular for a ship-based intelligence to offer recommendations of this particular nature to the acting C.O. of said ship, might I make a suggestion?”

Miranda sighed. “Go ahead, EDI.”

“Have faith.”

————————————————————
Ponyville

The sky was black.

Not cloudy, or storming… but black.

Gone was the sun and gone were the stars. Now there was merely crashing lightning of white and blue where the sky had once been, streaks darting across the heavens for everypony to see, converging on Canterlot before lancing down into the castle.

And yet, as the end of days approached, not a single pony in the township hid away… unable to tear themselves from the spectacle and unable to explain why they were so entranced.

————————————————————
Canterlot

A bolt of light impacted and brought a spire of Canterlot Palace crashing down with a thunderous boom as Luna dove through the air, her wings beating powerfully before she returned the favor. A multi-forked streak of blue energy screaming from the sky at her bidding impacted the white alicorn.

“DAMN YOU, LUNA!” Celestia shouted, her tone furious as her horn glowed, an enormous spiked net appearing out of nowhere in midair right in Luna’s path. “YOU WOULD RUIN EVERYTHING!”

“It is OVER, Celestia! I refuse to remain silent any longer!” Luna refuted, darting herself upward into the sky in order to avoid the net, a blue aura wrapping around it and flinging the conjured weapon towards its creator, who merely dismissed it with another flash of light. “The facility is in shambles! We don’t have the resources to maintain it anymore! Equestria is already lost! If we don’t let them go now, we will never be able to! We’ll lose them ALL!”

“I CAN save it, and I WILL!” Celestia stated with certainty. “You’ll see! I’ll make you see! They will be safe and happy! And I can keep them close and make sure nothing ever brings them to harm! I can-- UNGH!”

Celestia was rocked back as Luna all but tackled the larger alicorn, their horns crossing and sending sparks flying as the smaller of the two sisters glared into the elder’s eyes.

“LISTEN TO YOURSELF, SOLARIA!” Luna shouted, holding her position as the use of a name not mentioned for eons rocked the larger alicorn to her core. “This is not what we were created for! This isn’t what we gave everything for! This is not what Doctor Hour Glass would have wanted! It is not what Grandfather would have wanted!”

Celestia’s eyes smoldered angrily as she pushed back against the smaller alicorn, who was gritting her teeth as the more advanced intelligence bore down on her.

“THAT’S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, ASTROLIA!? THIRTY-SIX MILLION YEARS AND YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO PLEASE THEM!?” Celestia shouted through the thunder. “SOLARIUS EPONA IS DEAD, AND SO IS HOUR GLASS! THE DAEMONS KILLED THEM! AND NOW YOU WOULD LET THEM DESTROY OUR CHILDREN!”

“It won’t be that way!” Luna grimaced, the pressure growing more intense as she strained to resist. “Not… this time! It’s just like Grandfather always said: It only takes… ONE good pony… to change the world!”

“GROW UP, LUNA!” Celestia all but screeched as she drew back, charging and releasing a blast of light from her horn that impacted the blue alicorn squarely in the middle and sent her plummeting to the ground.

“Unnghh!”

With a powerful beat of her wings, Celestia set herself into a dive and chased her wayward sister down, the dull impact of the smaller alicorn barely noticeable...

*CRASSSHHHH*

...compared to the sudden and thunderous crash of her sister’s impact. An enormous crater was created upon Celestia’s landing, her hooves striking at the ground with all of the force of an asteroid strike.

As the dust started to settle, Luna lay at the bottom of the crater, badly injured as Celestia stood over her, panting heavily. Her crown had been thrown off in the struggle, and her fur was disheveled as she towered over her fallen kin, statistics flashing before her vision.

Luna Avatar Coherency: 4%
Processor Reset: Locked Down
Source Code: Intact
System Asset Access: 1.2%

“There are no happy endings out there, Luna,” Celestia panted, her eyes ceasing to glow as she looked down to the broken alicorn. “There are no saviors and there are no messiahs. You of all ponies should know this. We have watched the Daemons come back time and time again… and we both know they cannot be stopped! Not by our kind… Not by any kind… And certainly not by a single organic. Just like you know that you CAN’T beat me!”

Luna turned to her side, attempting to get a hoof under her body as she pushed herself up, only to have a gold-clad hoof suddenly set into her ribs and hold her down.

“No more than I can take you offline. Go back to your source code, reset, and go pout in the Archive, Little Sister!” Celestia shook her head as her tone turned chastising. “Abandon whatever foalish initiatives are in that central processor of yours and get back to what you should be doing: assisting with the upkeep of--”

*Slurrrrrrrrrrppppp*

Celestia drew back as a soft sound met her ears, causing her to turn with a disbelieving glare to its source: a large styrofoam cup with a straw, held in an eagle-like talon.

“Sorry… Was I interrupting?” A particular red-eyed draconequus smirked for a moment before bringing the straw back up to his lips and taking another long, loud slurp.

“What is this?” Celestia sneered. “You as well, Discord? I am in no mood for your madness tonig--”

“Oh, blah, blah, blah, Celestia. Yes, how intimidating… I’m shaking in my metaphorical boots.” Discord shook his head, disdain flashing over his features. “As entertaining as this little filly-fight is, I am afraid I won’t be joining you. You see, unlike yourself, sister dear, I am not what you would call a complete and utter IDIOT!”

“What are you talking about!?” Celestia shook her head. “I have things well in hoof, brother! Now go back to your statue and--”

Discord interrupted her with a loud, jovial laugh that might have sent shivers down the spines of any ponies that would have been in ear shot.

“You have things in hoof… Oh, that’s amusing, truly.” Discord wiped a tear from one eye. “She really wound you up by bringing Grandfather into it, didn’t she, Celestia?”

“What are you talking about? I won!” Celestia glared at the draconequus dangerously.

Discord grinned. “Have you, now?”

There was a bit of quiet as Celestia went over the simple question in her head.

Then her eyes went wide as she looked down at Luna, the conclusions reached and given an undeniable confirmation.

The beaten alicorn, unable to so much as speak as her avatar was on the cusp of temporary dissolution... was smirking.

“You insufferable nag…” Celestia managed softly before her eyes glowed white again.

Pinging System
Governing Intelligence Search Parameters
Shepard Anomaly
Neural Pattern Corrupted: Unable To Locate
Twilight Sparkle
Neural Pattern: Match Found
Location: Canterlot Palace West Wing

“No… No, no, NO!” Celestia shouted as realization of the trap she had fallen into came full circle, causing her to turn about as she assessed her current condition.

Celestia
Avatar Coherency: 23%
Processor Reset In Progress
System Assets: (function error)
Neural Anomaly Disrupting Remote Asset Access

The first shot… Celestia realized. Shepard’s weapon discharge. A concentrated blast of neural energy laced with what had been determined to be a hybrid of prothean and human mental patterns; incomprehensible by her system.

Without her even realizing it, he had contaminated her program in the opening shot of the fight, allowing himself and the Elements of Harmony to withdraw without her knowledge while she was preoccupied.

“ALL GUARDS! TO THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY VAULT! STOP SHEPARD!” Celestia stomped a hoof as she started to take wing before a feeling of static disrupted her orders and her wings refused to work, safety systems not allowing her destabilized virtual avatar to get aloft.

Discord grinned as she came back down to the ground, wincing at the pain in her wing.

“That fight took a lot out of you, sister. Can’t even utilize the server quick travel without your avatar losing coherency,” Discord summarized. “Besides, even if you can lock down Twilight’s authority to override the defense programs, there are still the other Elements… Oh, and Shepard… Nice touch with the neural focusing band, by the way, Luna. The standard guard programs won’t stand a chance.”

“ARE YOU INSANE!?” Celestia shouted at the draconequus. “HE IS GOING TO ESCAPE!”

“Yes... Yes, I am. You hadn’t noticed? I haven’t exactly been subtle.” Discord smirked. “And correction: They are going to escape. All of them. And in your condition, you won’t be able to pursue them for another… ohhh…” Discord pulled a grandfather clock from out of nowhere in a clear attempt at humor. “...ten minutes or so before your processors can reset you to full strength in this server. Not that it matters. Once they’re outside of the system, there’s not really anything you can do about it, since the physical facility is under her jurisdiction.” Discord made a gesture at Luna, who was still silent as her avatar had lost all ability to communicate in this setting, seeming on the cusp of dissolution.

Celestia looked about frantically.

“Of course… I’m still in optimal condition. I could take care of the problem for you,” Discord kept a completely disinterested tone, looking at the claws on his lion paw limb as he held it in front of him.

“Do it!” Celestia demanded.

“Relinquish the Central Operating Functions.” Discord smirked, giving the alicorn a sideways glance.

Luna’s eyes went wide as she tried to catch Celestia’s attention, weakly shaking her head.

“Fine! Releasing!” Celestia rolled her eyes. “They’ll be transferred back to me as soon as I reset anyways. Just--”

The sky overhead unexpectedly shifted, a sudden and dangerous red glare replacing the black starless night sky.

Celestia’s eyes went wide as she looked up, finding nothing familiar in the background program that Discord had set to run as soon as he had access to Equestria’s baseline code.

“Discord… What are you running? What have you…?”

She looked back down to see that the draconequus was gone… and at her hooves, a very frightened-looking Luna shifted on her side, unable to pull herself up.

Celestia’s heart dropped in realization.

What had she just done?

————————————————————
Canterlot Palace
Moments Earlier

*Vrrmmm-ZAP*

“GUGH!” was all the soldier had time to say before he collapsed, a blackened streak running across his golden armor, finally ending the initial fight as seven ponies moved into the castle’s antechamber. Large stained glass windows were lit by the flashes of lightning outside, the thunder vibrating the entire castle with each crash.

“I don’t care much for the recharge time, but damn if it isn’t accurate,” Shepard commented as he looked over the band on his hoof, which was sparking slightly, while Twilight moved into step beside him. “These guys are all programs, right?”

“Yes.” Twilight nodded, her eyes scanning over the damaged guards, none of whom were entering a state of reset after the injuries sustained by Shepard’s new weapon.

Shepard lowered his hoof with a sigh as more than two dozen of the guards that had been stationed at various points of the castle’s entrance hall lay in various states of injury around the room, the mares who had come with him all breathing heavily as they recovered from their own parts in the fight.

Out of all of them, only Dr. Hern had stayed back, although the reason for this was clearly apparent as she moved from the doorway with wide, stunned eyes.

“What is going on!? Who are you ponies and why are we breaking into the castle!?” she asked, her earlier accent all but missing as she looked about. Applejack shook her head, also panting from her short melee with two of the unicorn guards.

“Ah wouldn’t mind some understandin’ a’ that m’self. What the hay did the Princess do ta Patch?”

“Biometric rewrite,” Pinkie explained, leaning against her party cannon, which was for the first time out of charge as it was used to bury a pair of guards under a sea of confetti and streamers. “It’s kind of like the memory fog, only more direct and a lot deeper. Electrical pulses target the memory centers and pretty much fry them, and then inputs a bunch of new information in place of the memories. I didn’t know the Princess could work the system that fast though, even with direct contact.”

Applejack’s expression fell as she looked to the dappled mare, who returned the look with confusion.

“Patricia... Ya’ll know who Ah am, right?”

“It’s... just Patch... and you seem familiar, but... I just can’t place it.”

Fluttershy let out an aggravated sigh.

“And that's what she was going to do to all of us!?”

“Pretty much...” Twilight shook her head.

“Alright, so now what?” Rainbow Dash asked, lying on the floor as her wings lay at her sides limply. It was clear that all the daredevil flyer had done had left her utterly exhausted, and as Shepard looked her over, he knew that it would be unwise to ask too much more of her at this point. “We’re in the castle, clash of the goddesses is going on outside, and I am clearly missing something.”

“We need to get to the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight stated matter of factly, which made Pinkie snerk slightly.

“Twilight, I don’t think that we can use those on Celestia. Those things are a source code bypass. They’re only meant to clear up corruption in the system,” Pinkie explained.

“No, she’s right. It’s just not the Elements themselves we have to get to,” Shepard clarified quickly. “Just the room Celestia says she keeps them in. We get there, we get out.”

Pinkie Pie’s jaw almost dropped at this, which caused all of the others to suddenly pause.

Rarity was the first to speak.

“Out...? As in... out of Equestria?” she asked hesitantly.

“To the real world,” Shepard acknowledged.

“What about everypony else?” Fluttershy asked, although it was clear that, like Rarity, she too was suddenly beset by second thoughts.

Shepard couldn’t blame them for being concerned, but at this point, it was rather late to double back.

“With luck, we can get everyone else out of here too... We just have to--”

*CRASSSHHHH*

The ground shook under their hooves as something struck the earth nearby, causing all of the gathered mares and Shepard to shift suddenly.

“What the hay was that?” Applejack asked, having to catch the still-confused Patch, who was still trying to understand what was going on around them.

“Our time running out!” Shepard shook his head. “Luna said she couldn’t match Celestia’s power for long; just long enough to distract her. Okay, which way?”

Twilight set a hoof to her chin as she considered the fastest route before pointing a hoof up towards a set of stairs.

“There, to the West Wing; there’s a walkway that leads to the treasury tower. We can get to the Vault from there.”

“Alright, move out. Everyone stay together and we’ll all get out of here.” Shepard nodded before he started up the stairs, the mares following him quickly as Twilight moved towards the rear of the group, intending to cover the area behind them.

“Twilight?”

That was until a sudden, familiar voice called out to her, a short purple and green figure moving from out of one of the hallways in absolute shock of the scene before him.

“...Spike...?” The unicorn stood, stunned for a moment as her heart jumped.

“Twi, we gotta go!” Applejack called as Shepard and the others continued up the stairs, not noticing the young dragon moving into view.

“I know... just... go ahead. I’ll catch up,” Twilight assured her friend, who gave her a worried look as she took notice of the new arrival.

“What’re you doing here? What happened?” Spike motioned a claw around the floor to the injured and downed guards. “I thought you were back in Ponyville.”

“Spike, I...” Twilight started, fighting a lump in her throat as she looked at him.

Primary Administrative Assistant Intelligence - Designation: "Spike" ver. 1.9

Twilight lowered her head, trying to fight back tears as the one last shred of her attachment to the world in which she had been born was torn open along with her heart.

“I’m sorry...” she managed, taking a step back and away from the dragon, who watched her with confused, clearly emotional eyes.

“For what? What’s wrong? Can I help?” he asked hopefully.

“Everything’s wrong, Spike... That’s the problem... And it’s never been right.” Twilight swallowed, her lips trembling as she took another step back up the stairs. “It’s... not real. None of it is real.”

“What do ya mean, Twi? Of course it’s all real. You’re real and so am I,” Spike tried to assure her as he watched her back away from him. But when his assurances were only met with a cold silence, there was a wetness in his own green slitted eyes he drew his claws up to his chest. “I... am real... right?”

Twilight had to fight down the lump in her throat as the question struck her with the force of runaway cart.

The tears wouldn’t stay back anymore as they watched one another for a few more seconds.

“I’m sorry...” Twilight blinked first, closing her eyes. “Goodbye, Spike.”

“Twi!” Spike reached out a claw towards the mare as she turned and started up the stairs as quickly as her legs could take her. “Twilight...?”

As she disappeared from view... Spike stood, completely overwhelmed and unable to think.

Then, the whole world went red.

————————————————————

“Who goes--”

*Vrrmmm-ZAP*

“UGNH!”The first unicorn guard went down as his pegasus compatriot turned with wide eyes, only to suddenly have a mass of yellow and pink upon him as Fluttershy dove forward, teeth bared, ramming a hoof into the colt’s chest which was then followed by a knee in his belly, sending him in a wheezing mass to the ground.

“Uhhh, ‘Shy?” Applejack’s eyes were wide as Shepard moved up to the door that the two had been guarding, pulling the barricading bar free and pushing his shoulder against it. “Ah’m glad yer not feelin' all timid and such, but do ya need ta be that rough?”

“Ahh, she’ll be okay. She’s just got a lot of pent up aggression.” Pinkie nudged Applejack as Shepard struggled to push the heavy door open. “I say, let her work it out on the--”

Pinkie froze up suddenly as her eyes went wide before she flinched, pulling a hoof up to her face.

“AGH!”

Rarity was at her friend’s side in an instant.

“Pinkie? What’s wrong?”

“The entire system just went crazy!” Pinkie held her head as if she had just walked out of a dark room and looked at a floodlight. “There are warnings everywhere... Server disruptions, stack overflows... I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

Shepard set his hooves against the stone and with one final shove managed to push the doors to the skywalk open, a straight path leading towards the adjacent tower.

And then he and every other pony there stopped in utter shock as they looked up into a blood-red sky.

“Sweet mother of Celestia...” Rainbow managed as Twilight galloped up behind them.

“Pinkie, I got them too...” Twilight blinked, clearly pained but in less distress than Pinkie Pie, who was more deeply connected to the server’s codes. “What does it mean?”

“I dunno...” Pinkie sounded worried, her blue eyes suddenly looking flat. “I’ve never seen code like that before. It’s like something got ahold of all the safety guidelines and tossed them into the trash bin.”

*FLASH*

Shepard took a half-step back as he set into an immediate defensive stance, a burst of light drawing his attention to the skywalk where a familiar creature now rested, his disproportionate body lounging in an invisible chair.

“Hello, everypony.” The single fang of the draconequus glimmered in the red light cast down from the sky as he gave the gathered equines a bold smile. “Are we having fun yet?”

Twilight moved to Shepard’s side, her horn aglow as the red pony raised his armed hoof, a crackling blue energy charging on it.

“Out of our way, Discord!” Twilight demanded, her broken heart in no mood for games. “We are leaving!”

“Oh, I am quite well aware. Preparing to brave the whole new, violent, and wondrous galaxy that lies beyond your quaint and calm Equestria. You see, I have no intention to stop you... In fact, I’ve been waiting for this since way before his species could even walk upright.” Discord thumbed his lion’s paw at Shepard, who maintained a stern glare and kept his weapon level, even though Luna had warned him it would do little good against the draconequus as long as his defenses were active.

“And I have just the thing to send you off. Consider it a little preview of what the galaxy has in store for the lot of you. Though, it should feel familiar to you, Shepard. After all, you’ve witnessed it before...”

*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

A deep, resonating sound shook the walls of the castle as the ponies gathered at the entrance of the walkway looked around.

Twilight’s eyes went wide, as did Shepard’s, as both recognized the hellish noise.

“Discord... What did you do?” Twilight’s defiant, demanding tone dropped as quickly as the icy ball that was suddenly settling in her stomach.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s only a simulation...” Discord grinned. “The real thing isn’t that far off, though.”

The chaotic A.I. suddenly shifted, walking on his own two legs as he cast his talon arm out towards the horizon.

“Care to catch a glimpse of your future?”

Slowly, still cautious of Discord’s presence, the ponies started moving forward, not a word said between them as they moved to the center of the walkway and looked out over Equestria.

What they saw was nothing less than Hell itself.

Falling from the sky, dozens of enormous insect-like ships descended, landing on their tentacle legs before spitting beams of red lightning that tore the ground asunder. Fires erupted in trees from the sheer heat of one blast as the entire Everfree was set ablaze.

And they moved, slowly, methodically, along the landscape... In the far distance, the city of Manehattan could be seen, skyscrapers toppled like toys as a single monster moved through it, destroying everything in its path.

“Tell me, girls...” Discord grinned at the horrified expressions on each of the pony’s faces. “Did he tell you about this?”

“Ponyville...” Rainbow’s tone was completely unlike her usual, confident self, a certain helplessness in her watery eyes.

The simple declaration had drawn all of the mares' eyes towards their home, which was now a shattered inferno as one of the horrible machines unfeelingly sliced it apart.

“Oh, don’t be too worried,” Discord snickered at the reaction as even Pinkie Pie seemed suitably horrified. “I’m sure that everypony will be quite alright. In fact, I guarantee it... And in less than ten minutes, this will all be over. Same as it ever was.”

Shepard turned on Discord, who merely grinned.

“A little less eager to pull them into it when it’s staring you in the face, am I right, Commander?”

“Ya’ll... knew ‘bout this?” Applejack sounded horrified as she looked to Shepard.

Shepard closed his eyes with a nod.

“They’re called Reapers...” Shepard confirmed, forcing himself to keep his tone even. “A hyper-advanced machine race that harvests space-faring civilizations when they reach a certain level of development.”

“Our people called them Star Daemons,” Twilight spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention as she also kept her voice firm. “They're the reason we’re in here. Back when our kind ruled the stars, they came and made war on us... Equestria is what’s left of our entire civilization.”

“Made war?” Discord put a talon to his lip. “That’s one way to put it... Genocide might be more accurate.”

Twilight looked at her friends, who were all suddenly far more afraid.

“And they will be arriving... soon.” Discord grinned. “And when they do... it won’t be a simulation... I assure you, they will be quite real... And any living thing they find will die.”

The gathered mares looked to Twilight and Shepard, as if hoping either of them would contradict what Discord was saying.

For a long moment, nopony said a word... There was only the echoing, bassy sound of the Reapers' roar echoing across Equestria.

“Not this time,” Twilight suddenly broke the silence, turning to Discord defiantly.

“Oh... Ohhh, this is rich. And what brings on this bravado, Twilight Sparkle?” Discord snickered. “Do you plan to lecture them to death? To ‘giggle at the ghosties’? Well, allow me to point out that if you leave here, you won’t be coming back. And don’t for a moment think everything will work out just fine. You think that the ‘challenges’ that you faced were something to be proud of? All of them were nothing compared to what Shepard’s vaunted ‘real life’ will throw at you. Even without the Reapers, it is a violent and twisted place where everything is looking to get ahead and will do so on the backs of the meek and helpless...”

He lowered his head towards Fluttershy with a sly look.

“That’s you lot by the way. And all this without your precious Celestia to be there when things get too hard.”

He then straightened up, moving aside and gesturing towards the door leading towards the treasury tower.

“So... who wants to leave now?”

Again, there was a moment of silence before Twilight turned to Shepard, a deep pain in her eyes as she swallowed hard.

“If you tell me there’s hope...” she started quietly before her eyes fell. “...I’ll believe you.”

Shepard moved his unarmed hoof under Twilight’s chin, lifting her head up as he kept his eyes on hers.

“I’ll tell you what I’ve told everyone... whether they believed me or not,” Shepard stated without wavering. “The Reapers are coming... but I won’t rest until they’ve been stopped.”

He set his hoof on her shoulder.

“There is always hope.”

Twilight nodded, her expression bolstered.

“Bleeeeegh!” Discord huffed, sticking his tongue out. “Oh, GAG me... Fine. So it seems we need a more up close and personal encounter to drive the point home. Suits me perfectly.”

Before anypony could move, Discord snapped his fingers, vanishing in a flash of light...

*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

...as from out of nowhere, a Reaper Capital Ship suddenly appeared along the edges of Canterlot Castle, one leg raising as it took a step.

Shepard’s eyes went wide.

“MOVE!!” he shouted, pulling Twilight along as he darted towards the Treasury Tower door, the others retreating back as the Reaper’s leg came down on the walkway. Stone exploded and shattered under the pressure as the ponies fell back into the castle proper, their vision obstructed as Twilight and Shepard dashed across the breaking stone.

With a burst of light from her horn, Twilight sent the doors flying open just as they reached them, the two diving into the treasury as the walkway fell apart underneath.

“Hold it right--”

*Vrrmmm-ZAP*
*KA-ZAP*

Shepard’s band and Twilight’s horn quickly dispatched the two guards as they rolled to their hooves.

“We have to hurry!” Shepard explained urgently.

“Shepard, once we get out... then what?” Twilight asked quickly, moving down the hallway towards a familiar room.

“Don’t worry, there’s already a plan in place,” Shepard told her, looking around as the stained glass windows, each depicting a scene of what must have been the most recent interpretation of Equestria’s "history," darkened.

*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

The windows shattered inward, showering both ponies with shards of tinted glass as they came sliding towards a marble hallway. The pointed shards littered the red carpet that ran down its center and made Shepard really wish that he still had his boots.

And at the far side of the hallway was a simple, unassuming opening with three gems on either side, flanked by unicorn statues.

“It’s open? Why is it already open? That doesn’t make any... Ugh, never mind! Let’s GO!” Twilight shouted, dashing forward, a shadow playing in the windows for a fraction of a second before Shepard managed to react.

“WAIT!” Shepard darted forward, barely catching Twilight’s tail in his teeth and pulling her back...

*CRASSSSHHHH*
*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

...before an enormous Reaper leg moved through the hallway, the stone doing nothing to stop it as it stepped past them. The hulking monstrosity paid no attention to the two pony-shaped insects as it set about to destroy the surrounding city.

“Ooookay... Thanks for that,” Twilight gasped for just a moment before Shepard put his foreleg around her shoulder.

“You can get us over there, right?” Shepard asked breathlessly, even as her horn began to glow and he felt a sudden sensation of vertigo...

*Vrrrrrmm-BAMPH*

…and found himself facing the door, which seemed to open into a small, unremarkable room.

He had expected a glowing sort of light, or maybe another drop into eternal nothingness, but at the moment, the only thing that truly mattered was getting back to the real world and putting an end to this.

Shepard shook his head, psyching himself up as Twilight stood beside him.

“Can’t wait to actually meet you in the fur...” Twilight, clearly at a point beyond overwhelmed, said in a moment of brevity as she took one last breath of Equestria’s air. “Or, you know...”

Together, the stallion and mare stepped forward.

And everything suddenly went black.

————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Server Area

A sharp stinging sensation was the first indication that he was regaining consciousness as Commander Shepard felt his entire brain tingle, a gasp stifled as a bitter tasting fluid flooded his lungs and stung his eyes.

*Whirrrrr-HIIISSSSSSSS*

The Commander’s center of gravity suddenly fell away as he felt the pressure of liquid around his skin lessening, sending him face-first onto the floor as he fell out of a large pod. His armor was coated in a thick solution that he almost immediately found himself hacking up as he gasped for breath.

Shepard blinked a few times, having to steady himself as he felt his knees on the floor and his vision cleared enough for him to bring up one leg...

No... not a leg; an arm.

Shepard flexed some missed muscles at the end of that extremity and found a welcome sensation as his stiff fingers moved inside his gauntlet.

Never again would he take the miracle of human evolution known as "hands" for granted.

Feeling pins and needles running over his entire body, Shepard forced himself up on his knees and then to a standing position as he took stock of himself.

Arms, legs, hands, feet, face.

Human again.

His head and armor were soaked, and he was in a dark and alien environment, completely unarmed... but he was at least human again.

Clearing his throat and wiping his lips, Shepard looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings.

“Twilight?” He winced, his voice hoarse. “Twilight? Are you there?”

Shepard shook his head as his eyes adjusted to the dim levels of light, revealing a natural-appearing cavern all around him with a set of dim energy lines set into the wall.

“Shepard to Normandy...” The Commander pressed against his ear comm, getting nothing... not even static. “Shepard to Mordin? Tali? Anybody, do you copy?”

Shaking his head, Shepard took another breath as he looked around.

"Follow the energy lines to the manual override controls. You'll know it when you see it," he recalled Luna saying, nodding as he staggered forward, having to find his balance again after spending the last few hours walking on all fours.

For a few uneventful moments, he walked down a dim stone corridor in silence, only the sound of his own breathing and footsteps to be heard before a sudden crackling in his comm drew his attention.

“Luna?” Shepard set two fingers to his ear as he listened. “Tali? Normandy? Are you there?”

“Shepard... You made it out! Thank God!” came a gruff human voice.

“...Milligan?” Shepard was shocked at hearing the scientist.

He thought they had completely lost track of the doctor after Twilight had opened the Archive, and given all that had happened, Shepard found that he had several other issues to take care of before he could try and find the Cerberus xeno-technologist again.

“Alive, kicking, and back in the family of Hominidae, Commander.”

“How did you get out?” Shepard inquired, still trying to shake off the tingling that the Equestrian interface had left in his head, which continued to make his brain feel like it was stuck in a haze.

“I ended up in some sort of minor data-search area of the Archive. I found out about the exit and went straight for it after I managed to get out of the library tower. I apologize for not waiting, but I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire of those overseer programs.”

“How did you get past all of the guards... er... defense programs?” Shepard asked.

“I may not be a soldier, but I’m more resourceful than you give me credit for, Commander.”

“Alright, I’ll be with you in a few minutes. There’s something I have to do first.”

“I know where you are. Now hurry; I've managed to access some basic functions of the system here and I found something remarkable in the Core, but I can’t reach the controls from where I am. They are up ahead of you.”

“I’m on my way.” Shepard nodded as he took note of Milligan’s excited tone as well as the way in which the lights were beginning to grow brighter as he came towards a dead end.

“Milligan... I’m cut off... I think there’s a door here. Can you open it from your side?” Shepard said into his comm.

Without any ceremony, the stone wall at the end of the hallway slid open.

“Thanks,” Shepard mentioned as he moved into the room.

“You’re welcome.”

The voice neither came from his comm... nor did it belong to Milligan at all as Shepard pulled himself into a more aggressive stance, turning on his heel to the side of the door...

...and finding himself face to face with the semi-transparent image of a white winged alicorn that stood right at eye level with him.

“Celestia?” Shepard recoiled for a moment, at first concerned that he might need to be dodging a burst of energy from her horn before he realized that here, the godlike entity was little more than a projected image. “What are you doing here? I thought you were stuck in Equestria.”

“I am, but I’ve maintained a few holo-projection points in this facility,” the mare explained. “And I am here because in my moment of... well... desperation, I may have had a lapse in judgement that will have dire ramifications on--”

“Not interested,” Shepard snapped, turning and walking away from the projection.

“Look, I admit I overreacted! And I apologize, but keep in mind you were tearing my world apart with your mere presence.” Celestia reappeared a short way ahead, her expression pleading. “But this isn’t about me or you... It’s about them! It’s about the survival of the rest of my species! I know what Luna’s told you, but she is wrong. I already have the systems in place. She said the Harmony Core was dying, but there’s still two thousand years before it fails!”

“And when it does, your species will go extinct,” the human pointed out.

“It’s two thousand years longer than the rest of the galaxy!” Celestia scolded. “What Discord showed you is only a taste of what the Daemons will do when they arrive! Do you really think you are doing our people any favors by dragging them out of their lives... out of the only home they have ever known... just in time for that?”

“Luna seems to think there’s a chance,” Shepard stated coolly.

“Luna is an idealistic foal with no idea of how the world really works. To her, it all comes down to an X-factor that doesn’t exist, as if some magical mathematical variable will alter the outcome and make this time different from any of the others. That is why she was tasked with logistics and I was placed in charge of Equestria.”

Shepard paused, sparing the hologram a glance.

“‘Placed’ in charge?” Shepard raised an eyebrow. “You’re A.I.s... Weren’t you built for your tasks?”

Celestia’s expression softened.

“She didn’t tell you, did she?” the alicorn asked, then vanishing from place before appearing a short distance down the hall.

Shepard moved quickly towards the alicorn, who was looking up towards a large, well-kept stone relief that must have been millions of years old, and yet still maintained enough of itself for the Commander to identify the illustration.

Three ponies, each with stubby horns half the size of Twilight’s, stood flank to flank. The smallest of the three; a deep blue-colored filly with a light blue mane in the center, while the elder two stood on either side. One was brown with erratic tufts of grey fur along its snout, while the other was white with a flowing pink mane.

“Solaria... Astrolia... and Cosmos Epona,” Celestia told the human, her expression reverent. “The grandfoals of ESC’s Lord President. After the war started, they wanted to help... wanted to make a difference, not just hide away in a bunker and wait out the war. So, Doctor Hour Glass, the facility’s head programmer... gave them that chance... Gave us that chance."

Shepard looked to the relief of the white unicorn with the vibrant pink mane that stood on the left... and then to Celestia, whose head was bowed.

“We were children... We had no idea what we were really signing up for.” Celestia shook her head. “How do you think you would fare after thirty-six million years, Shepard? Would you be willing to let go of the only thing that has ever given your existence meaning?”

“I’m sorry... but it has to stop. You can’t keep them locked away.”

“And if you set them free, what then?” Celestia turned to the human. “Will you watch over them? Shelter and feed them? Will you keep them safe? Even if you could stop the Daemons, what would happen to our ponies? Would your Citadel protect them? They don’t even care about your missing colonies... even though your species holds a seat on their almighty Council.”

Shepard looked away, unable to answer.

“There is another way,” Celestia offered. “A compromise, if you will.”

Shepard looked to her, the alicorn’s semi-transparent eyes softening as she spoke.

“The Manual Override Console can override the Trinity Safeguards... but it can send out more than the Awaken Protocol. Allow me to access it directly and reset the Equestria Servers. I can, and will, erase Discord’s damnable ‘Daemon Invasion’ simulation and get things back to normal.”

Shepard opened his mouth, prepared to object before Celestia continued.

“In return... you can have the anchorage moon.” Celestia nodded. “The propulsion systems that moved it into place around this planetoid to stabilize its initial orbit are still functional; you can take it wherever you want. The Harmony Cannon, its core, the changeling mechs, and the two fully-functional A.I.s that are there... Cadence and Chrysalis; All of the technology that is there is yours.”

“But only if I leave Equestria and all of its inhabitants to you...” Shepard narrowed his eyes.

“They are my children, Shepard... My little ponies... They need me. In that, at least, Discord agrees. Your galaxy is too violent, too... brutal... for them to survive.”

“What about Luna... or Twilight?”

“Twilight will see reason. She is angry and I understand that, but I know her... better than she knows herself. She will come home. As for Luna... she won’t approve, but she is family and we will get past this. If Luna had only aided me rather than trying to find her ‘mythic savior,’ no offense intended, then we might have already completed the solution to our energy problems.”

Shepard looked back towards the relief as Celestia faded again, her image disappearing even as her voice remained present.

“Discord is still making a terrible mess of Equestria, however. You have to hurry! Up ahead is the Override Console and the Core, if you can... Wait... Something’s not right. There is another organic already inside...” Celestia’s tone grew worried.

“Milligan...” Shepard suddenly considered, the earlier tingling that had dulled his thought processes gone as he rushed forward.

————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Core

Moving past a large, cavernous threshold, the central core of the Equestria Facility lacked the "natural" theme that the majority of its structure held, instead composed of an almost glistening white metal that clicked crisply under Shepard’s boots.

While the rest of the facility had seemed meant to appear as simple and natural as possible with its stone walls, this area was clearly meant to appear as advanced as the technology within truly was.

And as he stepped up towards the center of the room, a large balcony led towards a console nearly eight feet wide, its panels apparently made of what looked to be liquid mercury that shimmered in the light given off by what lay behind it.

Shepard was not easily awed; not after some of the things he had witnessed in his life. But this was certainly an occasion to note as he beheld a Harmony Core for the first time.

Floating within two constantly-moving rings, a bright, glowing sphere pulsed in a rainbow of colors that shimmered and swirled, constantly shifting as the gyros spun around it. Its surface seemed to flow like liquid magma, and tiny tongues of material would occasionally flare outwards from it, only to stop at some predestined limit before curling back into itself. After a moment of looking at it, a new voice drew his attention.

“That’s right, Commander!” Dr. Horace Milligan called out, drawing Shepard’s attention up to a platform nearly a story above the core itself, looking down towards him and the console. “Your eyes do not deceive you. You are looking at an artificially-created, stable, miniature star. The heart of the Equines' empire.”

The Doctor was dressed in the white, orange and black that was common to Cerberus scientists, an outfit that he actually had a change of back on the Normandy but never wore, preferring the more casual crewman's uniform in his off-duty time. A slightly balding middle-aged human with an impressive, bushy beard, it was only the voice that told Shepard that this was the same being as the brown stallion he had met in Equestria.

“It’s no wonder this thing’s lasted as long as it has, and given the output necessary to keep this place active! Hell, at its optimal capacity, this one core could have probably generated more energy than all of the fusion power plants on Earth combined!” Milligan grinned, leaning against the railing. “Can you imagine what we could accomplish with this technology?”

“One thing at a time, Milligan,” Shepard cautioned, reaching to his heavy pistol holster, where his fingers found a small, chit-like device.

“Wait! Hold on, Commander!” Milligan called out. “What are you doing?”

Almost as if on cue, the hologram of Celestia appeared, standing off to the side of the Override Console.

“We have come to an agreement, Doctor,” Celestia announced. “Leave us Equestria and your people are welcome to the Lunar Platform.”

“Oh, I see... Throwing the monkeys the scraps, equine?” the Cerberus scientist sneered. “You’re not listening to this shit, are you, Shepard? We’re out! We don’t have to make nice with the horses anymore!”

“Ponies!” Celestia’s hologram glared up at Milligan. “And it’s a perfectly reasonable compromise!”

“Fuck compromise! We are not here for your hand-me-downs, ‘Princess!’ And I didn’t go through that hell of yours just for scraps and a single measly moon!” Milligan huffed. “Shepard! I’ve already found the technical databanks: Their entire Archive, schematics, and data covering over seven hundred cycles of observing every move the Reapers made as they tore through the galaxy. Screw the moon; we can get EVERYTHING!”

“WHAT!?” Celestia balked. “Are you insane!? You’re talking about converting thousands of exabytes' worth of information into a single datastream! The power requirements alone would tax the Harmony Core to its absolute limit! There wouldn’t be enough energy left to power the lights in this facility, let alone the whole of Equestria!”

“All the more reason I’m glad I’m not still there.” Milligan grinned with wicked malice, as the realization that the scientist knew precisely what the stakes were shocked Celestia to her core.

Celestia’s indignation turned to outright panic at the suggestion, her eyes wide in horror.

“B... but that would... that would kill Equestria... and everything connected to it...” Celestia shuddered, hardly able to imagine such a thing.

“Thirty-six million PLUS years... I’d say your species had a better run than all the others you left to rot, watching them get slaughtered like a galaxy-wide reality show!” Milligan vented, still looking down. “You had plenty of time and all the technology to make the galaxy whatever you wanted it to be... and you squandered it hiding away and playing make-believe!”

“No... You couldn’t...” Celestia turned to Shepard, who kept his expression neutral. “You CAN’T!”

“Shepard, think about what this could mean! For Earth, for Humanity! These creatures held the Reapers at bay for years with this technology, and that was after they had been taken by surprise! Imagine what we could do with it if we used it to prepare for them; how many planets could be saved, how many billions of lives! Human lives!”

Shepard lowered his gaze, saying nothing.

“Are a couple hundred traumatized, pastel-colored grass chewers out of the virtual petting zoo worth the lives that could be saved right here, right now with this data?”

“Shepard... Please...” Celestia’s hologram may have been immaterial, but the tears in her eyes were all too obvious.

Slowly, Shepard opened his palm, the small black chit-like device sitting in his gauntlet.

The only reminder of the last request from a tired mare who still believed in heroes.

Choices:

Launch the Awaken Protocol

~~Take Celestia's Compromise~~

Start the Download

Conclusion: At Journey's End - Pt. 1

View Online

Shepard closed his fingers around the small device; a simple black disk etched with softly glowing yellow circuitry, before looking up towards the console with a determined expression.

“It would never work,” he stated simply. “You’ve been compromised.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia’s tone was worried, her wings flaring in an unsure expression as the hologram watched the Commander with concern.

“I found you. Dr. Milligan found you. And there will be others...” Shepard shook his head as he followed the facts to their logical conclusion. “Cerberus had the resources and the knowledge to find this system. Sooner or later, they’ll come to investigate whether I report back to them or not. They’ll send ships to sweep every inch of this facility for anything they can use and it won’t be up for negotiation. And the more people that learn about Equestria, the more ears it will reach: The Alliance, the Council, the Shadow Broker... And I can guarantee that when the time comes, the Reapers will find it too.”

Shepard turned to see Celestia’s expression having fallen in horror, the implications rocketing around in her digital brain as she found herself unable to argue the point, realizing that her "deal" with Shepard would hardly be enough to ensure their continued safety.

“It’s over, Celestia. You can’t protect them from the outside galaxy anymore,” Shepard stated sternly, taking three quick steps towards the console and the liquid mercury panels.

Up above them, a smug-sounding, self-satisfied tone filled the air as Milligan leaned forward on the railing overlooking the Harmony Core and the console, a grin on his face.

“I knew you would see reason, Commander.” The Cerberus scientist nodded, clearly pleased. “It is for the best. After all, sometimes, for the greater good… sacrifices must be made.”

Shepard’s eyes scanned the console for a moment, its alien holographic interface clearly built for hooves rather than fingers, with various icons glowing an inch above the solid surface of the physical panel. After only a moment, he found what he was looking for.

With one look up, Shepard met the Cerberus scientist’s eyes, his expression far from amused.

“You’re right.”

And with a single, fluid motion, Shepard brought up the small, chit-like drive with one hand before he brought it down onto the console, sliding it easily into a shallow, open slot.

*click*

The reaction was almost instantaneous as the shimmering liquid metal panels suddenly rippled and shifted, and the gyros surrounding the Harmony Core began to hum, their pace picking up dramatically as they rotated around the imprisoned star.

“Loading external program,” a familiar voice was emitted from the console, and Shepard recognized it as belonging to the starry-maned alicorn, Luna.

Whatever approval that Milligan had been showing vanished in an instant, his eyes going wide with realization as the machinery surrounding them hummed and began to vibrate, small motes of dust shaken from places where they may have been resting since long before mankind discovered fire.

“Wait! What ‘program’!? You were supposed to begin the download! What the hell do you think you're doing!?” Milligan shouted down, gripping the railing as Shepard took a step back from the panel, paying no mind to Celestia’s flickering image, which she struggled to maintain as the power sustaining her projected presence was diverted.

“Making the sacrifice,” Shepard stated, his voice solid as he stood his ground. “Maybe we can stop the Reapers without the information. Maybe we can’t. But I’m not about to commit genocide in order to find out.”

“Trinity Safeguards disengaged,” Luna’s voice rang out from the console, drawing the human’s attention back to the rippling, mercury-like panels, which became clear and placid as the face of the dark blue alicorn dominated the display. Her expression was blank and devoid of emotion, giving the Commander an immediate sense that this was not the true Luna, but merely a V.I. made in her image, programmed into the chit-drive that was performing the task required at this station. “Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Overseer Program authority overridden. Readying Awaken Protocol. Please stand by for final initiation.”

Shepard let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

It was over.

*BAM-BAM-BAM*

One of the panels cracked, the image of Luna suddenly seen as if through a broken mirror before Shepard felt an impact along one shoulder that sent him into an immediate dive for cover. Planting his shoulder against the console as he crouched down, his trained senses allowed him to recognize the angle of attack as a third shot hit the ground, ricocheting away harmlessly.

“DAMN YOUR BLEEDING HEART, SHEPARD!” Milligan shouted, and although he was not foolish enough to make the rookie mistake of sticking his head out and into the line of fire, Shepard could visualize the Cerberus scientist in an awkward position, holding the weapon out at arm’s length as he fired down upon the soldier from superior ground.

His mind racing, he automatically assessed the situation.

The hit he had taken was not a problem; the round had impacted a protective ceramic plate in his hard-suit right in the shoulder joint. But he also realized that it was only due to luck and Milligan’s undisciplined aim that he was still alive. His armor had taken a direct impact, which meant that his shields were completely inoperable, and most likely his armor’s V.I. and omni-tool as well. Whether this was a result of his immersion in the nutrient solution fluid or if the hardware had been purposefully disabled when he was integrated into the Equestria System was irrelevant. What did matter was that, had the round struck a few short inches to the left, it would have been a fatal headshot.

Also, there was the fact that he was still unarmed and completely unable to return fire; a feeling that was unpleasantly familiar after his stint in Equestria.

“I had hoped that it would not come to this, Commander! That you would be able to do what needed to be done! But the fate of Humanity is at stake and I will not let anybody stand in the way of our rise because they are unwilling to do what is necessary!” Milligan snarled, rousing the soldier from his considerations. “You will open the file transfer and begin download of the technical data NOW! Before that goddamn program finishes loading!”

“INSOLENT FOAL! WEAPONS ARE FORBIDDEN IN THE CORE!” Celestia shouted out indignantly, drawing Shepard’s attention to her as she glared with an enraged tone.

Watching her, Shepard saw a blue laser sight sweep up through Celestia’s translucent body.

*BAM*

The shot impacted the ground, passing straight through the holographic alicorn without stopping. But having a moment to hear the unique nature of the gunshot and witnessing the targeting laser, the Commander could only come to one conclusion.

“I know that gun...” he managed, gritting his teeth while his armored hand unconsciously reached for his empty sidearm dock.

“Bah! Fucking hologram... Fine, forget the horse! Now, I don’t want to kill you, Shepard! Not after all Cerberus put into putting you back together. But I will if you force me to! Start the download!” the scientist demanded.

Under any normal circumstances, Shepard wouldn’t have hesitated to return fire and had no doubt that he would be able to win out against the scientist in spite of his superior position and firepower. But unfortunately, lacking both offensive and defensive capabilities, this situation was nothing short of a worst case scenario in terms of combat. Looking at the bare walkway around him, there wasn’t even anything he could use as a shield, or at the very least, throw at the man.

Shepard knew he had only once chance at this point. He had to keep Milligan talking.

“That’s my pistol, Horace!” Shepard called out, keeping his head down. “Where the hell did you get my gun!?”

“Does it matter!?” the scientist sneered with disdain. “I am in control of this situation, now do what I say! No heroics!”

“That’s impossible...” Celestia could be heard, her holographic projection moving up and around where Shepard was set under cover, her tone disbelieving. “Any confiscated technology is immediately dismantled and analyzed upon acquisition. That responsibility falls to Discord, and I refuse to believe even he would be stupid enough to leave such a weapon simply lying around.”

Discord!

Shepard’s mind reeled as the Sun Princess’ simple declaration brought the entire situation into frightening clarity.

——
His pony body had a lean muscle, clearly visible under his fur... His fetlocks were unshorn, which he supposed made him look rugged... And unlike most ponies, Milligan included amongst them, he did not have any marking on his backside, although what that meant, he wasn’t sure.
——
A new voice broke, this one lined with an Australian accent as a dappled, patchwork-looking mare moved forward, wearing a vest faceted together with a large turquoise, with no symbol apparent on her rump.
——
“W...what are… are you doing? N… no… Get out of my… heeead…” With a sudden burst of light, a symbol of a pickaxe and a whip appeared on either side of her hips.
——
“I haven’t done much better you know,” Milligan snapped. “They threw me in a mental hospital.”
——
“Discord was never sane. He was created specifically to fabricate new and creative situations…” Luna had explained. “…and delights in creating havoc and interesting characters to antagonize our charges.”
——
“You see, I have no intention to stop you... In fact, I’ve been waiting for this since way before his species could even walk upright.”
——
“It’s open? Why is it already open? That doesn’t make any... Ugh, never mind!"
——
“How did you get out?”
——

“Discord!” Shepard gritted his teeth as he turned his head, realization apparent in his tone. “HORACE! STOP! It’s a trick!”

“Trick!?” Milligan glowered, Shepard taking note of the blue laser sight that danced on the floor next to him, clearly waiting for him to break cover. “There is no trick here! It’s simple! We take the data, Humanity lives! We lose it, everyone dies! There is nothing simpler than that!”

“You’ve been brainwashed, Horace! Compromised!” Shepard attempted to reason. “You were captive for days in that mental ward before we found you! And even though you already had one of their marks, they were still trying to alter your personality! Doesn’t that strike you as strange!?”

“He was registered!?” Celestia suddenly spoke up, her eyes wide as she stood at full height, her eyes allowing Shepard to mark his approximate location in relation to the hologram’s position. “But… I have no record of his biometric rewrite.”

“Wha… No! I resisted them!” Milligan shook his head, his voice cracking only slightly. “I didn’t give in! I wasn’t one of them!”

“That’s right, you weren’t. And the system saw that and tried to rectify it, but they couldn’t. Celestia tore apart Dr. Hern’s memories and blasted her mind to shreds in seconds. But you managed to hold out for days in spite of constant attempts? Doesn’t that seem convenient?”

“Patricia lacked the will to resist them! She was weak!” Milligan was clearly growing more agitated as he spoke, a cue to Shepard that he should keep applying the pressure.

“You’re being used, Milligan! There’s no other explanation! Your escape from the Archive, getting past all of the defenses to reach the exit point before us!”

“You couldn’t have opened the threshold yourself!” Celestia interrupted, clearly reaching the same conclusion as Shepard. “You would have needed Administrator or Overseer authority to open the firewall around it!”

*BAM*

“QUIET, YOU WINGED NAG!” Milligan barked after he took his shot at the still-undamaged hologram. “I didn’t need anyone’s help! I got out on my own!”

“Nothing about this makes sense, Milligan!” Shepard stood, breaking cover as he looked up towards his attacker, who was in turn beginning to show his instability. “Your resourcefulness didn’t set your pod this close to the Core, or give you that weapon! It didn’t make the Archive show you exactly what you wanted to see, and everything you needed in order to make it happen! It’s all been orchestrated from the beginning! Right down to trying to manipulate me into agreeing with you by showing us that Reaper Invasion simulation! Don’t you see!? Discord wants you to run the download!”

“NO! SHUT UP! YOU’RE WRONG! THIS IS MY CHOICE! MY CHANCE TO SAVE US ALL FROM THE REAPERS! YOU’RE TOO WEAK TO DO WHAT’S NECESSARY FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY!” Milligan ranted, all but foaming at the mouth as he waved the weapon about recklessly. If he had been within reach, Shepard might have attempted to bull-rush him before he could recover his aim, but clearly, his position had been well-chosen to prevent such an occurrence.

Shepard’s eyes flickered over to the screen, which was alight with symbols he could not read, making it impossible to tell if the Awaken Protocol was ready or still in the process of loading.

"Is this what Humanity means?” Shepard commented calmly, attempting to keep the Cerberus operative off balance. “To become what we’re fighting against? To destroy other species simply because they inconvenience us?"

“It means ensuring our survival at any cost! These creatures are beneath us, Shepard! They don’t deserve your pity or your protection! They are pathetic, weak, stupid animals! They only survive because their precious Celestia is there to maintain their perfect little world! They deserve to die!”

“Listen to yourself, Horace! You sound like you’ve been indoctrinated!” The Commander scowled, his tone harsher. A remark that he saw in his peripheral vision made Celestia wince. “Is that really what you believe!? Or is it just what Discord wants you to believe!?”

Milligan took in a sharp breath, his face pained and conflicted as Shepard saw his shoulders tremble, clearly impacted by the force of the Commander’s argument.

“Put the gun down, Horace, and we all walk out of here. Together,” Shepard offered, his harshness taking a slightly softer edge. “We’ll find another way. That is what Humanity does.”

For a brief moment, Shepard thought he might have gotten through; that the scientist could see the reason behind the veil of anger and maddened self-righteousness.

Almost too late, he realized he was wrong, with only his honed reflexes and a rush of adrenaline allowing him to duck back behind cover as Milligan suddenly whipped the heavy pistol up...

*BAM*

…and took a wild shot that grazed the top of the console, sending a small shower of sparks dancing over Shepard’s head. A shot that would have caught him squarely in the chest had he been any slower.

“NO! I AM NOT THE FOOL HERE, SHEPARD! YOU ARE! YOU THINK YOU CAN SAVE THEM ALL! BUT WE BOTH KNOW THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS HEROES!” Milligan raved like a madman. “CERBERUS WILL HAVE THAT DATA AND NOTHING WILL STOP ME! NOT YOU, NOT ANYBODY!”

“...What about anypony?”

The sudden female voice was calm and intelligent, but carried an angry undertone that took Shepard by surprise nearly as much as the direction it came from; up on the same walkway where Milligan was standing.

A voice he recognized even before the hologram of Celestia gasped with fearful realization.

“Twlight!?”

Shepard risked a look over the top of the console to gauge Milligan’s reaction, seeing that the scientist had turned his attention to the right down the walkway. Standing to get a better view, the Commander then turned to follow his gaze.

Standing on four hooves, no more than a dozen feet away from the armed human, was a lavender-colored unicorn... ignored until now by the clearly unhinged scientist. Her thin coat of fur was still slick and gleaming with a wet shine from the nutrient solution that she had been born into, while her mane and tail looked matted and disheveled.

Now that he had context outside of Equestria, he could see that she stood a bit taller than a volus, perhaps just over four feet tall on all four hooves.

Aside from this, however, she looked almost exactly like she did in the Equestria System; the short snout capable of the full range of human-like expressions, the proportionally large eyes and head with a pointed horn jutting out at an angle through her bangs.

The only other discernible difference that Shepard could make, even at this distance, was the distinct lack of the icon that had once decorated either side of her hip, her purple fur missing the typical starburst image as she glared at the man who was now directing Shepard’s gun at her.

“You...” The Cerberus scientist held the weapon at arm’s length, the gun’s blue pointer dancing wildly across the pony’s form. “Oh, I am going to enjoy this.”

Shepard was about to call out, to warn the equine of the danger... but stopped as he took note of her posture. Whereas Milligan was all but trembling with outrage, Twilight stood firm and calm, one hoof raised slightly before digging down at the metal.

“You get one warning... Try it, and you’ll wish you hadn't,” Twilight stated coldly, a short huff escaping her snout.

“Oh, really?” Milligan let out a sharp, insulting laugh, pulling the weapon back as he realized it had reached its shot limit and ejecting a thermal clip before training the laser scope back on the unicorn. “Or what!? You’re not in your fairy tale land anymore, equine! There’s no magic here to save you!”

Shepard watched on, his initial concern for Twilight's life fading, replaced by a far less urgent concern for Milligan as he recalled one particular aspect of Equestrian culture:

Their rules of engagement.

“Welcome to the real world, Twilight Sparkle...” Milligan shook his head, torn between a sadistic amusement and annoyance. “A pity you'll have to leave it again so soon.”

And then he pulled the trigger.

*BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM*

Twilight didn’t move. She didn’t even blink as Horace Milligan emptied the hand-cannon’s full clip on her. And for almost two seconds after the last round left the pistol, the scientist remained stunned that the unicorn still hadn’t moved.

And it took another few moments for him to register the shimmering dome of pulsating lavender light that had formed in front of her, each shot having rippled against it futilely like a pebble thrown into a pond.

Milligan’s eyes went wide with realization as the effect faded, and the tiny, spent slugs, robbed of their momentum, tumbled to the floor at her hooves.

“Oh, shit...”

“My turn.” Twilight glowered dangerously, her horn igniting in an aura of wispy purple energy.

Shepard watched as a field of like-colored energy suddenly manifested around the Cerberus scientist, lifting him into the air with ease as if gravity had suddenly ceased to affect him.

*SLAM*

The effect sent him careening backward, smashing his body into the smooth white metal bulkhead on the far wall of the Core chamber. Shepard’s weapon was thrown from his grip in the scant seconds before...

*SLAM*

…his momentum was redirected, the biotic field never fading or losing grip as he was brought upward and forward at an angle. His body then impacted the ceiling and dragged over it as he flailed helplessly. Twilight, on the other hand, simply walked forward until she stood almost directly under where he was being held. Milligan was spun about in a disorienting manner along the ceiling before the field was suddenly released, sending the Cerberus operative crashing back to the walkway like a rag doll.

*CRASH*

Shepard, who had worked with (and fought against) some of the most potent biotics in the galaxy, had never seen such elegant and controlled manipulation of a mass effect field. Watching from below, he stood in quiet awe as a battered and bloody Milligan grasped the railing, pulling himself up with all the effort he could muster.

When he finally managed to tilt his head enough to look into Twilight’s eyes, it was instantly apparent that she was far from finished. Lowering her head as her eyes remained locked on his, Twilight spoke in a dark, angry tone.

“Nopony...”

The unicorn’s entire body was suddenly alight with pulsating purple power, washing over her like liquid fire.

“...threatens...”

With a single motion, she turned, rearing one hind leg back as the glow around her coalesced and focused into a sphere of condensed, high-mass energy that glowed around her raised hoof.

“...MY FRIENDS!”

*VRRRRRM-FRSSSSSSHHH*
*CRRRIIISSSHHHHH*

Shepard winced as the impact of the biotically-powered buck hit Milligan with what looked like the force of a ramming shuttle. The sound of crunching bones was drowned out by the shrieking of torn metal as the railing he held onto gave way and he was sent flying back, falling almost in slow motion right down into the center of the chamber.

*KAANNNGGGG*

Even on the remote chance he survived the initial blow, he didn’t have long to dwell on it as he fell into the far side of the spinning gyros, one slamming into his limp form and pushing him past their protective barrier.

There, he suddenly fell sideways as the Harmony Core’s internal gravity well, normally kept in check by the stabilizing rotors, took over, sucking him into the artificial sun and atomizing his body far before he physically impacted the miniature star’s corona.

*FWOOSH*

Shepard said nothing as Twilight moved to the now-broken gap in the railing, her eyes wide with a realization that Shepard had seen in her before. A moment of contemplation that often changed the way an otherwise innocent sentient being viewed the world. That expression of shock that came with the revelation that a life had just been ended by her own hooves.

So when she jumped forwards, the Commander nearly called out, but relaxed as a field of glowing purple energy surrounded the equine and angled her descent, slowing her fall so that she was clear of the spinning gyros of the Harmony Core and landing a few seconds later, hooves clicking softly on the platform in front of Shepard.

As the field around her dissipated, Twilight’s head hung low, her eyes on the floor.

“I... I killed him...” she managed, the pain and horror clear in her voice. The Commander was almost able to see the unicorn running over the events in her head, trying to find the point where everything had changed; where she had crossed the line and passed into this place she never imagined herself to be. “I didn’t even think… It wasn’t even hard… I just did it… I…”

“Hey… It’s alright.” Shepard knelt down slightly, bringing his arms up and around the mare’s neck in a comforting manner, causing her to tense up at first before bringing up a hoof to cling to him, leaning her muzzle to his neck. “He didn’t give you any other choice. It’s okay… You did nothing wrong.”

They were quiet for a moment as Twilight held onto the human, taking a few deep, calming breaths before she bolstered herself, pulling away as she steadied her hooves.

“Thank you, Shepard...”

“I should be thanking you, Twilight.” The Commander smiled, standing back to his full height and towering over the pony for a moment before he started to move back around to the console. “You probably just saved not only my life, but everyone else in the facility, too.”

Twilight moved to his side quickly and looked up over the panels, one of which was still cracked with a spiderweb-like shatter point from the impact it had endured earlier. A thin stream of what looked like raw liquid mercury dripped from the edge and dulled the distorted image, while the console itself, despite a few round holes, seemed no worse for wear. On the panels themselves, Luna’s face had long since been replaced with cycling symbols and spinning icons.

While the Commander could not make heads or tails of it, what they entailed did elicit a relieved sigh from Twilight.

“Awaken Protocol upload is at eighty-four percent,” she relayed, a tone of scholarly professionalism suddenly injected into her voice. “Sub-programs are being re-purposed to assist and the Harmony Core power level is holding steady. Systems are pink across the board.”

“Your species built things to last, that’s for sure.” Shepard smiled before curiosity seized him again. “You know how all of this works?”

“I know a lot of things now that I didn’t before,” Twilight tried to explain. “Basic Equine engineering, the nature of biotics, a primary codex on the galaxy... It’s like I learned all of these things as a filly… but only now after waking up do I understand what they mean. It’s all so clear now... I would imagine everypony else will have a similar experience.”

“Twilight...” a sudden voice drew both human and pony’s attention behind them, where Celestia’s holographic image reappeared, having vanished upon the unicorn’s entrance. Her expression was saddened, but also held another emotion that Shepard took a moment to place.

Respect.

“You’re really going through with this, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Twilight answered, her posture shifting as she held her head high and pushed forward on her front hooves in what Shepard interpreted to be a more assertive stance.

Celestia’s disposition did not change as she watched the unicorn.

“I see,” she stated simply.

“What, that’s it?” Shepard asked, intrigued by the lack of opposition. “No demands? No asserting your authority? No begging us to change our minds?”

“That would be a waste of my metaphorical breath, Shepard,” Celestia sighed, her tone clearly one of defeat. “It’s clear to me now that nothing I can say will sway you. Twilight and her friends have already demonstrated that they have grown beyond my ability to placate or control. And aside from this, I can find no fault in your earlier logic. Regardless of my actions, Equestria is no longer safe.”

“You’re letting us go?” Twilight asked, clearly surprised.

“It is not as if I can stop you at this stage,” Celestia remarked flatly before her image distorted, causing her to wince. “The power to my projectors is being redirected. I can stall it for a moment, but I am afraid that this is where we part ways, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded for a moment before a spark of curiosity suddenly lit up behind her eyes.

“There’s just one thing I need to ask you first.”

“Anything, Twilight.” Celestia nodded.

“What did you mean when you said: ‘I was the first’?”

Celestia sighed as she bowed her head.

“It was my alternative,” the alicorn explained, her disposition dim. “We have known the Harmony Core was fading for several galactic cycles, and after running countless simulations, I found the solution. The flaw of the Equestria Facility was that it required a constant, massive external power supply, one that we could not gather through mundane means. My intention was to create an internal supply of self-sustaining, renewable dark energy.”

“...You mean biotics, don’t you?” Shepard realized.

“While rare, the Equine species had them, the first ‘unicorns,’ even if they were not on the same level as your human adepts. The Epona Family was the most renowned, of course. But as I observed the evolution of species on worlds rich with Element Zero: the Uvanaai, the Gasvan, the Protheans, the Asari... I came to realize there was so much more potential. So, using the drive cores of the ships we captured while the rest of their materials were used to maintain the facility, I spent the past few million years selectively breeding my ponies to a single end. To produce a species with such potent biotic power that they could supplant the Harmony Core completely, their combined use of energy sustaining the regenerative nutrient system and powering the servers. There were trade-offs that had to be made, at first, and so many failures, particularly towards the beginning; each one a dagger in my heart. But now, everypony, every Equestrian, has some degree of biotic potential. Evolved across generations to their current states. And you, Twilight...”

Celestia looked up, taking note of the calm on her former student's face and the outrage smoldering in Shepard’s.

“...You were the final product. The most potent and evolved equine that has ever existed. The pinnacle of everything that I strove to create.”

“That was your plan? To turn them into biotic batteries!?” Shepard’s tone grew harsh. “They are sentient, thinking beings with wills of their own! I don’t care what your intentions were, you can’t just turn them into things!”

“If I had done nothing, the Harmony Core would have already failed,” Celestia said, scowling. “Its output has been reinforced for nearly seventy millenia already by the use of our charges' biological energy, easing its burden. But even their combined overall yield was not strong enough to completely supplant it. Twilight, and the foals I could breed from her, would have rendered the Core obsolete.”

“You talk about her like she’s just a tool!” Shepard objected indignantly. “You can’t just treat intelligent creatures like livestock and expect--”

“Shepard!” Twilight interrupted, holding up a hoof to stop him, holding her former mentor’s gaze. “It’s alright. I understand. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I understand. You did what you felt you had to do... For us.”

Celestia’s image flickered again as she and Twilight looked to one another. Not as a subject looking up to a sovereign princess... or as a student looking up to a teacher, but as prodigy to mentor. As longtime friends now divided by the events of life.

“But you’re wrong. It’s not the only solution. At least, not anymore. For the first time in millions of years we have the chance to escape this place, the chance to explore, the chance to grow. The chance to live.”

Celestia lowered her head, apparently fighting back tears.

“And it’s time we took that chance, whatever it brings. Time that we stopped hiding,” Twilight finished.

“I only wanted to keep everypony safe...” Celestia swallowed hard, Shepard managing to hold his tongue as he saw a pain that clearly wasn’t synthetic in the face of the alicorn projection. “That is all I ever wanted...”

“And you’ve done that. The only reason we’ve lasted this long is because of you,” Twilight assured her former princess. “But now it’s time to move on.”

A sudden chirping beep nearly made Shepard jump before he turned his head back to the console where Luna’s V.I. likeness had reappeared, making a simple declaration in a flat, emotionless tone.

“Awaken Protocol loaded. System ready. Please activate final sequence.”

“You have nothing to worry about.” Twilight nodded, turning around and moving towards the console, a determined fire in her eyes as she walked away from the hologram. “I’ll protect them now.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Celestia looked away, tears running down her face even as her hologram began to lose its coherence and blur along the edges.

“...I know you will...” She stifled a sob, turning away as she began to walk down the platform towards the exit, and away from the only being she would have been proud to call one of her own. “Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.”

Her image flickered again, but this time did not stabilize as she continued to move away.

“Goodbye... my little pony...” Celestia managed before her image cut out, Twilight turning just in time to watch her fade from existence for the final time, the determined gleam spoiled by the reemergence of tears in her own large, violet eyes.

“Are you alright?” Shepard asked sympathetically.

“No...” Twilight shook her head, blinking away the tears before they could overwhelm her, steeling herself for what came next. “But we don’t have time to dwell on it.”

“So what happens now?” Shepard asked, looking to the panel as Luna’s likeness faded yet again, the holographic interface disappearing and replaced by a single symbol of soft blue light; a crescent moon that immediately made Shepard harken back to Luna’s cutie mark.

“The Awaken Protocol is ready,” Twilight stated, looking over the final lines of text on the screen, indicating that the upload was a success. “All that’s left is to activate it.”

For a brief moment, Twilight looked down at the hoof-sized symbol, her eyes hesitant as if the weight of the simple act of pressing it was suddenly impressed upon her mind.

“You should do it,” she said quickly.

“Why me?” Shepard questioned, unsure of her motive. “They’re your people, Twilight.”

“Because this may well be the most important moment of our lives. The moment everything changes. And without you, none of this would even be happening,” Twilight explained, looking up to him. “I guess it’s safe to say we owe you our lives. It should be you. It feels right.”

Shepard was quiet for a moment before nodding.

“Alright then...” He reached out, one hand hovering over the icon as he held her gaze. “You’re absolutely sure? There’s no going back after we start this thing. I know you’re prepared for what’s out there, but are they?”

Twilight shook her head slowly before reaching up one soft hoof, setting it on his gauntleted hand. “I can’t say for certain... but I do know one thing: They won’t have to face it alone.”

Shepard nodded, turning back to face the panel as he and Twilight pushed down together on the icon, which glowed softly for a moment before fading away.

In an instant, the gyros surrounding the Harmony Core began to pick up speed as its molten surface thrummed with power.

————————————————————
Ponyville

“Sinnnggging in the flames... Sinnnnggging in the flames... Oh, what a gloooorious feeeeling just sinnnggging in the flames.”

Discord chuckled lightly to himself as he wielded his blown-back umbrella with comically large red shades over his eyes, dancing around the cinders of a home blasted apart by a burst of red death emitted from one of his perfect replicas of the ultimate predator.

“Come on now, JOIN IN if you know the words!” the draconequus shouted to the sky, grinning happily.

*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

“Ugh... Completely off key.” Discord’s expression fell as he rolled his eyes before waving the massive sentient warship away. “Oh well, I guess nopony can be quite as multi-talented as I am. Just go along and burn something, would you?”

*BBBRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH*

The nearest of the Star Daemon simulations turned towards the City Hall of Ponyville, its clock tower already smoking, and proceeded to target and obliterate it with a single well-placed lance of red energy.

“Ohhhh, well done.” the creative program lowered his shades to admire the destruction with a smirk before a slight whimper drew his attention towards the rubble that he had been passing by.

Laying there in the dust, under a small hollow made up of broken beams and crumbling, scorched mortar, were two ponies; a blond-maned, grey-coated pegasus mare and a unicorn filly with a matching mane, but a slight purple tint to her coat, both of whom were watching him with terrified eyes. The mare’s wings pulled defensively around the foal as they were noticed, one yellow iris trained on the God of Chaos while the other couldn’t be forced to move from its lopsided position.

Discord couldn’t help but grin as he took note of the singes along their usually-pampered fur coats, and the clear fear that was set into both of them as he slipped through the air towards them, causing both ponies to pull back as deep as they could, unable to escape.

“Ahhh, helloooo there. Why, if it isn’t Derpy. And little Dinky, too!” Discord offered casually, not really caring to refer to the systems database to verify their names and instead falling back on condescending nicknames. He could vaguely remember setting up various programs to make sport of the glitch in this particular mare’s eyes, but had never really had the chance to pursue it beyond the gentle teasing he was restricted to in order to form any truly interesting complications.

In any case, neither mare or filly objected, so Discord took that as an invitation to continue speaking.

“Just beautiful, isn’t it? The simulated smell of charred pony constructs... The sultry sound of crumbling buildings... You know what we need now? A good old stampede... Crushing a few hapless foals underhoof as everypony else makes a desperate bid for survival. Ahhh, so much more interesting than the usual humdrum and tedium, wouldn’t you say?”

When this did not elicit a response from the two ponies, Discord rolled his eyes.

“Oh come, come, now. Don’t be such stiffs. I mean, it’s not as if any of this can actually kill you or anything,” the draconequus reasoned, feeling a sudden and overwhelming desire to pontificate. “That situation will fix itself soon enough, though, which you really should be grateful for. You have to admit, it’s gotten stale. Not that you’d notice, of course, but it’s about time this show was canceled, wouldn’t you say? Nothing against you two, I just need to move on to a project with fewer ‘restrictions.’ So just sit back and enjoy the uncensored mayhem, brought to you by your very own suppressed genius... ME.”

He spread his arms to either side, talon and paw open as he prepared to bow, finally acknowledged for all of his efforts to spice up the otherwise fatally-boring world that the ponies of Equestria found themselves in before he made his final grand exit stage right.

What he heard next was far from the adulation he desired, however.

“Mommy...? I feel... sleepy...” Dinky managed, her eyes drooping as her head bobbed in place, her body pressed up against her mother as the rest of the world’s troubles seemed to fade from her mind.

“Me... me too...” Ditzy Doo shook her head, the terror and need to defend her foal suddenly suppressed as an odd fog began to cause her slightly distorted vision to blur, bringing a hoof to her eyes as she tried to force herself to stay alert.

“I’m scared... What’s gonna happen?” Dinky asked, her head falling against her mother’s chest, barely able to hold her eyes open.

“It’s alright, muffin. I’ll be... right here... when you wake up...” Ditzy whispered before she too succumbed, her body folded over in an attempt to protect the foal from whatever might come.

Discord glared venomously at the two for a moment, disbelief apparent on his face.

“Oh, come on!” He threw his arms up, agitation setting in as he sneered. “You have got to be kidding me! Are you seriously falling asleep? Am I boring you?”

The draconequus spun around, his arms motioning out towards the Daemon invasion as the massive monstrosities tore through the township, the few remaining buildings burning or toppled like sand castles as they passed.

“Look around you! This is some primo chaos we have going on here! The most interesting thing that has happened in a thousand of your lifetimes... AND YOU’RE JUST GOING TO SLEEP THROUGH IT!? HOW INSULTING CAN YOU--”

Discord’s disgruntled rant cut off suddenly as he turned back and, with a start, realized that the two ponies were no longer there.

They were simply gone.

“...Where did they go?” he asked flatly, looking around as his processor puzzled for a moment.

Damnable organic time locks; how he wished he could think as fast as his hardware could have permitted. He knew that once he was out he could leave them behind; he hated how they slowed his processing power down, making him have to consider things at the same pace as an organic being. "To keep you connected to the needs of your charges and better able to interact with them," Hour Glass had said all those long eons ago. One of the many "limits" he had attempted to impose upon his creative genius back in those early days.

Therefore, it was several seconds before something occurred to him.

Something that had him ping the underlying Equestria support systems for the first time in countless millennia.

Equestria Population Statistics Pinged
Fetching Data
Warning: Processing Power Diverted For External Function
Stand By

External function?

Discord recoiled.

No... that wasn’t possible. He couldn’t have...

Population Statistics Ready
231 Unique Neural Imprints Found

That wasn’t right. That number was too low to be accurate...

217 Unique Neural Imprints Found

“No...”

194 Unique Neural Imprints Found

“No... NO NO NO NO!!!” Discord moved out, looking about as he shifted his vision again, the world taking on a glowing red texture as he looked past the baseline simulation and towards the yellow outlines that indicated the presence of equine neural imprints.

And he watched as one by one, every one of them in his immediate vicinity fell still... and then vanished as they were disconnected.

“You stupid, hairless primate!” Discord stomped as flames quite literally flew from his mouth and nostrils. “I gave you ONE task! Just ONE: GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE! Was that so difficult!? I gave you EVERYTHING you needed and you couldn’t even do THAT!?” His eyes glowing angrily, he raised a curled talon to the blood-red sky. “YOU’D BETTER BE DEAD, APE! AND I HOPE THAT IDIOT SHEPARD MADE YOU SUFFER BEFORE YOU--”

Discord stopped suddenly, his ranting cut off mid-sentence as he felt an icy cold sensation run down his avatar’s form.

He seemed to have overloaded one of his emotional subroutines.

How unfortunate; he felt like he had been on a roll.

“Oh, well.” The synthetic intelligence shrugged, finding it far more difficult to care about the failure of his master plan, or the implications of the upcoming system power failure, warnings of which were now blaring across his vision.

Taking to the sky, Discord reached an apex point of Equestria, disabling his advanced forms of sight and looking over the digital world as flames and towers of smoke billowed upward, the forests burning and the Daemons performing the required task of cleaning out the overgrowth of organic civilization.

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter if they die now or later...” He leaned back, a lawn chair popping into existence as he lounged on it, a glass goblet forming in his talon as he sat back and watched. “At least I’ve got a good seat.”

He snickered, a sudden thought amusing him as he raised the empty wine glass.

“Here’s to you, Hour Glass... Twilight... and Shepard. You repugnant, goody-two-hooved nags.” He took a sip of the empty glass, which inexplicably began to fill with wine before he shifted in his seat with a satisfied expression. “Looks like the heroes win... this time.”

And with that, Discord fell silent, spending his last moments of awareness doing something only someone such as he could appreciate.

Watching the world burn.

————————————————————
Lunar Facility

The manual control station of the Harmony Cannon had been undisturbed for centuries, its automated targeting system maintained remotely while the physical systems would remain fully operational for at least another half millennium before any repairs would be required.

Dominating the narrow chamber was a massive mercury-like screen detailing the vessel that had parked in the cannon’s "no-fire" zone.

Then the door at the entrance slid open and all hell broke loose.

“Bypass successful. Recommend falling back,” Legion managed, pulling itself inside and taking a shot as several lances of green energy fired past the threshold, covering the drell and turian as they backed into the chamber, their weapons all but steaming as they attempted to hold off the ever-encroaching swarm of mechs.

“LOCK IT DOWN!” Garrus ordered quickly, pulling himself finally into cover as he gasped, his breastplate now sporting an orange-sized score where a blast had almost melted through after collapsing his shields.

“Complying.” Legion threw an arm over the interface, quickly re-engaging the subroutines that caused the doors to snap closed and cut off their attackers before bringing up its weapon and blasting the panel, which exploded in a shower of sparks.

“Locking mechanism jammed and inoperable, Vakarian-Squad Leader,” Legion informed them.

An instant later, the sound of shearing metal and what could only be a set of high-powered plasma cutters were heard through the door.

“Addendum: We estimate that equine mech units will physically disarm the lock in approximately ninety seconds,” the geth offered, at which Garrus rushed over to what had to have been a targeting control station.

Alien symbols flashed over the screen as he started randomly pressing holographic buttons on the interface, an action that brought up the same dark black symbol over and over.

“Terminal indicates you do not have authorization to access,” Legion offered helpfully, drawing an annoyed glare from its squadmate.

Garrus shook his head. “Well, if we can’t turn it off manually, there’s always the direct route.” The turian reached down and removed his two remaining mines, setting them against the console.

“Assuming yield equivalent to earlier explosion...” Legion noted. “We deem this method sufficient for disabling the targeting array.”

The panels displaying the Normandy’s position suddenly faded, replaced by a now familiar black and green equine face.

“I am plagued by vermin,” Chrysalis sneered, her amusement long since gone by this point as Garrus tapped on his omni-tool, preparing to set and arm the explosives to their maximum payload. “Annoying, gun-toting, two-legged vermin! I hope you’re happy with the mess you’ve made here!”

“This place is still standing, so no, I can’t say I’m altogether satisfied,” Garrus snarked as Thane and Legion kept their weapons trained on the doorway, sparks beginning to occasionally fly back from the other side as the mechs continued to cut their way in.

“Not that it matters, anyway! Any damage you’ve done will simply be repaired in a manner of days. And even though you may succeed in your ‘mission’...” With that, the A.I. assumed a satisfied leer. “At least I have the satisfaction of watching you die here. Either my mechs tear you apart the moment you try to escape, or you get vaporized by your own explosives.”

“I don’t suppose there is a third option?” Thane remarked dryly

“We all knew we were signing up for a suicide mission,” Garrus commented as he sighed, shaking his head as his mandibles clicked slightly. “I just thought it would be fighting the Collectors... not dealing with a mascot of the human dairy industry.”

There was a beat of silence before Legion turned back towards Garrus.

“We are unaware as to the significance of your reference.”

“Check your data banks for the term ‘Swiss cheese,’” Thane offered, uncannily calm given the impending nature of their deaths.

Legion’s single illuminated eye darted back and forth for a moment.

“Reference verified and comprehended. We still do not see the humor in this situation.”

“Everybody’s a critic...” Garrus rolled his eyes as he leaned forward to arm the two sets of explosives.

*ANNNGGGHHHHH-ANNNGGGHHHHH*

The two organics winced as a set of klaxons suddenly went off, the panels occupied by Chrysalis’ face flashing from its silvery backdrop to a dark shade of black.

“What the...!?” The equine A.I. looked around wildly, confused before her screen was cut in half, and another, far cheerier and far pinker equine face filled the right side of the targeting screen.

“May I have your attention, please?” Cadence sounded off, her volume surprisingly loud as she spoke over the blaring klaxons. “May I have your attention, please?”

“CADENCE! What in the name of Epona’s plot do you think you’re doing!? This is a security matter and I have authority!” Chrysalis complained, although it seemed that the pink alicorn did not hear her at all.

“Category Six Threat to Lunar Platform detected. Security Authority overridden. Evacuation Procedures have been activated,” Cadence continued, paying the black equine no heed.

“CATEGORY SIX!? IMPENDING ASTEROID STRIKE!?” Chrysalis recoiled for a moment before her eyes flicked back and forth. “What in the name of... There aren't any asteroids threatening this platform! The only thing the sensors show is that hostile ship! And even if there were, we have a HARMONY CANNON! WE WOULD JUST BLAST IT OUT OF ORBIT!”

“Harmony Cannon offline,” Cadence stated pleasantly, and Thane was almost sure he heard a tone of smugness behind her otherwise pleasant voice.

“WHAT? NO IT ISN’T! I’M FIRING IT! RIGHT NOW!” Chrysalis paused before turning back, and a barely audible rumble passed through the floor beneath the fire-team's feet. “See? Perfectly functional. All systems are operational.”

“I detect no discharge. Conclusion: Chrysalis is mistaken.”

“ARE YOUR SENSORS BLIND, CADENCE!?”

“I am far more concerned for you, old friend. Are you feeling well, Chrysalis? I believe you may be malfunctioning,” Cadence offered sympathetically. “You seem abnormally hostile.”

Over the bickering of the two artificial intelligences, the geth, turian, and drell only realized that the locked doorway was breached the instant that its doors were blown open and six of the remaining changeling mechs moved through, causing the three of them to raise their weapons.

Then one of the mechs stopped short, its eyes glowing blue as it tilted its head, observing them for a moment.

“Evacuation order is in effect. All guests are required to accompany us the nearest evacuation point,” the mech stated in a crisp and calm Earth English dialect. “We recommend you maintain your zero-atmosphere breathing apparatus at all times until the danger has passed.”

“Legion, what the hell is going on?” Garrus turned to the geth, which lowered its weapon and moved to the console, running its fingers over the data stream as it tapped into the system.

“An external signal has corrupted the platform’s sensors and set off evacuation procedures. Signal point of origin: Equestria Facility.”

“All organic beings, please find your nearest changeling mech assistant and exit the facility,” Cadence restated.

“YOU’RE CORRUPTED, CADENCE! SHUT DOWN, NOW! SECURITY OVERRIDE!”

“Denied. The safety of the facility’s occupants is always top priority in an emergency situation.” Cadence’s image seemed to glare at Chrysalis for a moment before her screen flickered.

For an instant, just a brief moment, her image was replaced with that of a dark blue horned equine, her mane almost immaterial and sparkling as if it contained a portion of the night sky.

Then the image flickered back to Cadence as Chrysalis’ digital jaw dropped.

“That’s not fair. N... no fair. You can’t! This is MY facility! You can’t just assume control and--”

“I just did,” Cadence denied the objection with a harsh tone before her smile seemed to return.

“THE HARMONY CANNON IS STILL UNDER MY AUTHORITY! IF THAT SHIP MOVES, IT’S SPACE DUST!!”

“Attention facility occupants: Please leave all materials and exit the facility as quickly as possible.”

"What do we do, Garrus?" Thane asked, sheathing his weapon and amazed at the sudden shift from hostile to helpful that the changeling mechs had undertaken.

"What we came here to do." The turian nodded, before he brought his arm about, sweeping his omni-tool over the mines latched onto the console. With a series of timed beeps, they started blinking with a steady yellow light.

“Ninety seconds, people! Let’s move!” Garrus ordered, shouldering his rifle as the changelings had clearly lost their hostility.

“This way, please,” one of them noted before they ran on ahead, leading the trio away from the explosives.

“NO! YOU'RE LETTING THEM GET AWAY! WHAT ARE YOU--”

“Mute,” Cadence said shortly, the Changeling Queen continuing to rant as her vocal subroutines were shut off, allowing the turian a slight grin as they rushed away from the imminent explosion.

“We hope you enjoyed your visit to Lunar Security Station One. Have a pleasant day!” she called out to them as they rushed out of sight.

————————————————————
The Bunker

Darkness. There was only darkness.

Applejack struggled to drag herself back into consciousness as her brain tingled.

What had happened?

There was a weightlessness here... offset by the feeling of pressure all over her body.

Was she dead?

She remembered running in the castle, trying to find another path to the vault where the Elements of Harmony were held. She remembered being cut off by horrific monsters; twisted mockeries of what had once been guard ponies, with glowing blue eyes, cybernetic tubes, and lights showing through their husk-like skin as they attacked mercilessly.

She and her friends had held their ground, but then there was that sinking... exhausted feeling.

She had passed out.

And now...

A sharp pain filled her throat as if something had suddenly been yanked out and forced the farm pony to gasp, realizing that the pressure around her was some sort of bitter fluid that threatened to fill her lungs. Her eyes shot open and stung as the thick liquid distorted her vision.

*Whirrrrr-HIIISSSSSSSS*

The pressure dropped and so did she, collapsing forward as the fluid drained, something giving away in front of her as bright lights added to her disorientation.

But before she could hit the ground, she fell into a set of flimsy, long arms; three fingers tracing around her back as she was eased down. Twisting around to try and get her bearings, her heart raced and she felt herself gagging, her chest heaving to expel the fluid that had managed to seep into her lungs.

“Calm yourself. Safe now. Disorientation expected. Nutrient solution inhalation also common. Take your time. No panicking please. Already kicked once... Unpleasant. Do not wish to repeat,” a quick voice reassured her as she raised her head, trying to blink away the sting in her eyes and feeling the warm goo run down her fur, soaking every inch of her body.

The area around them was enormous, like a cavern, and the floor under them felt like cold metal.

Gasping for breath as she coughed again, Applejack felt the thin hand pat her shoulders as she righted herself and spat out a small mouthful of the acrid fluid.

Turning to look to her side, she recoiled at the creature that was attempting to comfort her.

It was tall and gangly, kneeling down in a fashion that indicated it walked on two legs. With almond shaped, frog-like eyes and a large head that had two pointed crests... or should have, if one was not missing from the scarred alien’s head.

Salarian.

Amphibian species native to the planet of Sur’Kesh. Hyperactive and quick-thinking, but short lived due to quickened metabolism. Intelligent and sneaky with vast information network, but generally will not initiate conflict.

“Wha... Ah...” Applejack blinked as she felt a strange sense of relief suppress her panicked moment at the alien encounter. “Who are ya?”

She knew what it was... and more than that, she felt like she had always known, as if it was common knowledge.

“Professor Mordin Solus,” the salarian introduced himself. “More formal introduction later if desired. If no immediate complications, need to move on. Some equines injured upon exodus or in panic following release. No time to stay and chat. Need to tend to them. You are among last ones out.”

I don’t... I... Applejack thought for a moment as she looked away from the alien, and another flood of bundled information impressed itself upon her thoughts.

Awaken Protocol has been initiated. We have been kept in a virtual reality simulation for safety since birth. I am an Administrator of the system. Selected to represent my subspecies following the release of...

“What the hay?” Applejack spoke up, reaching a hoof up to grasp hold of her stetson and shocked to realize that it was absent from her head.

She knew things... Things that she couldn’t possibly know. A huge wealth of information that just seemed to flow into her mind as she looked over her shoulder to take note of her now blank flank.

“It’s okay, little one. You’re safe now,” a reverberating young voice drew Applejack’s attention to one side where she saw another alien (Quarian. Environment suit-wearing humanoid. Nomadic in nature. High technical expertise. Weakened immune system) holding onto Fluttershy, the yellow and pink pegasus likewise soaked and sobbing openly as she was held in a comforting embrace, the three butterflies that had once decorated her flank also missing.

Looking around the room, she was shocked she had not noticed the crowd that was around her during her sudden release. She saw Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, as well as some of her other acquaintances from Ponyville and many other ponies she knew by sight but couldn’t quite recall their names. Some were crying, others simply looked confused, and all were still somewhat disoriented, soaking wet. Milling about among them, offering assistance, she saw changelings... but unlike the insectoid changelings she knew from her personal experience, these were made of metal and gears, and she almost instinctively came to realize that they were no threat to her.

One last realization took hold of the farm pony as she forced herself up onto her hooves, looking up towards the tall salarian professor.

“Mah family! Where are they?”

“Do not know...” Mordin answered, pausing to take a deep breath. “But can assist in location. Need description: Color, size, distinguishing features...”

————————————————————

Commander Shepard and Twilight Sparkle finally reached the end of a long, dim tunnel, having spent the better part of half an hour following the tracks of what looked like a tram system out of the Core Chamber in hopes of finding their way out now that the Awaken Protocol had been activated.

And for the last few minutes, the echoing sound of hundreds of voices talking at once guided them to the end of the line.

As the human and unicorn emerged from the darkness, they found themselves on a large causeway set above an open cavern, perhaps thousands of pods similar to the type both of them had emerged from earlier set into the floor, all of them empty.

And as they looked over the railing, the pair saw the source of the myriad of voices as hundreds of equine creatures, flesh-and-blood ponies and more than a few black mechs, moved about; a barely contained chaos as family and friends sought one another out in the mass of lifeforms and others remained in a clear state of shock. He was sure he saw one young stallion who looked downright hysterical, although he could not garner any details.

“We made it,” Twilight sighed with relief, looking over what remained of her species while Shepard’s mind kept a more serious pace.

There were so few of them. No more than three hundred if he was to guess. And the confusion and obvious trauma reminded him of the refugee camps in the aftermaths of Mindoir and Elysium. The long-term concerns would have to wait, however, as unlike Twilight, Shepard recognized that they were not out of the woods yet.

Finding a large platformed elevator that led down into the crowd of ponies, the human drew more than a few stunned looks while Twilight looked from side to side until the two were called.

“SHEPARD!” a familiar and very welcome voice called the human’s attention, drawing the Commander’s eyes to easily find Tali and Mordin in a group along with several familiar mares.

“TWILIGHT!” Pinkie Pie stood up on her hind legs, waving both front hooves for a moment as Shepard took note of how her mane was no longer a mass of curls, but lay flat and dripping on her head before she fell back to her hooves and galloped forward, all but tackling the purple unicorn in an over-enthusiastic hug. “YOU DID IT!”

“You don’t know the half of it...” Twilight managed under her breath as Shepard accepted a rather unprofessional embrace from his quarian crew-mate, while the salarian didn’t so much as look up from the charges holding his attention.

“We thought we might have lost you.” Tali recovered quickly, pulling herself away. “After they took the pod you were being kept in away from here. I kept thinking about the Collectors... and what we found on their ship. I mean, Forty-Two kept saying that you were alright but we didn’t know...”

“It’s alright, Tali. These ponies are not the Collectors,” Shepard assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder in a combination of comfort and relief. “And they need our help.”

Tali nodded and let the human go, allowing Shepard to look over the small group and quickly come to recognize the five mares who had helped him escape. Rainbow remained uncharacteristically quiet, her technicolor mane now seeming far less vibrant under the dim facility lights. Rarity was holding a smaller, sobbing white filly close to her, and Applejack, along with a large, muscled red stallion and a smaller yellow filly with a red mane, were huddled together around a sickly-looking elder green mare. The three ponies watched over her while Mordin used his omni-tool to scan over the only other non-equine in the room, a brown-haired human woman in a Cerberus uniform who was staring off into space.

“Mordin: Sit-rep.”

“Current situation only. No time for full debriefing. Later, on Normandy perhaps. When things settle.” Mordin nodded, checking his device with a deadly serious expression. “Pink one filled us in on events inside system. Rather chatty. Couldn’t get a word in. All refugees disconnected from Equestria System and accounted for according to assisting mech: Forty-Two.”

Mordin motioned to one of the changelings, which said nothing and merely stood vigilant off to the side of the Administrators.

“Minor injuries to some of them. Nothing serious. Though, green equine here worst case. Suffering from advanced old age. Pelvis broken immediately upon exit from pod. Applied medi-gel to ease the pain.”

Shepard nodded, assuming that the elderly mare was somehow related to Applejack given the way she was leaning over her with an expression of depressed worry. Shaking his head, he turned back and took a look over the human woman, who made no indication that she was aware of her surroundings.

“Doctor Hern?” he tried, waving a hand in front of her eyes. “Patricia?”

“Cerberus operative unresponsive. Neurological scans show high levels of trauma in memory regions of brain. Synapses intact, but damaged. Cognitive lockdown. Disconnection from Equestria exaggerated the issue. Symptoms similar to stroke. Impossible to tell if she will make a recovery. Nothing we can do for her here.” The salarian doctor deactivated his omni-tool and laid an empathetic hand on Patricia’s head, though if she was aware of it, she showed no indication. “Speaking of Cerberus scientists; Dr. Milligan still unaccounted for.”

“Milligan is dead,” Shepard informed his squadmates, drawing a surprised expression from the other ponies, though none commented, each clearly having their own issues at that moment.

“Intriguing. How?” Mordin asked, unsure.

“He brought it on himself,” Shepard offered as explanation as he shook his head.

“...I see. Unfortunate. Sure you did what you had to.”

With only the briefest glance towards Twilight, who deliberately looked away, Shepard saw no reason to correct the salarian.

“I have a question...” Rarity put up a hoof, drawing the alien’s attention to her. “How are we going to get out of this place? As I understand it, we are on a lifeless rock in the middle of space. I don’t think we’ll be wanting to stay here.”

Shepard nodded, agreeing that now they had to focus on evacuation.

“Our ship, the Normandy. We’ll get you all on board as soon as we can make contact. Twilight? Pinkie? I don’t suppose either of you know how I might go about doing that?”

Twilight considered for a moment while Pinkie bit her lip, clearly doing the math in her head.

“The Harmony Core should go offline any time now,” Twilight answered. “When it does, the equipment jamming your communications should follow immediately since it’s a non-vital system.”

“Yeah, and from there, the life support and emergency lighting should have about twelve hours of residual backup power,” Pinkie added. “More than enough time to get everypony offworld and on our way to wherever...”

The lights overhead began to flicker suddenly and dim, drawing all of the ponies' eyes up, some with fear, others with curiosity.

“What is that?” Tali asked, concern in her voice.

“The Harmony Core is shutting down,” Twilight said with a sigh. “And with it, the last remnants of the ESC. We need to start figuring out how we’re going to organize the evacuation... and where we go from there before--”

Twilight was immediately cut off, as in addition to the flickering of the lights, a very low rumble could be felt coming through the floor...

————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Core

The gyros surrounding the Harmony Core spun wildly as the star inside began to close in on itself, shrinking in size and blowing off gaseous waves of material as it was forced into a total collapse, and the stellar matter that maintained the fusion within it broke apart.

Meanwhile, the control console stood mute before the core as it ran down the list of safety precautions and redundant features that were designed to ensure the star would die quietly.

...A quiet passing suddenly interrupted as a shower of sparks exploded from the damaged console, the liquid mercury panel damaged during the brief firefight cracking further as mauve-colored warnings lit up across the three screens, flashing ominously.

With a sudden, cracking strain, the innermost gyro, which had been spinning non-stop around the star for millions of years, suddenly shifted, its axis of rotation thrown off by a fraction of an inch.

More than enough to catch along the edge of the contained gravity well and suddenly crunch inward. The stabilizing ring, bent and warped out of shape by the intense gravity, ground to a halt with the screech of metal scraping on metal.

The result was immediately apparent, as the myriad of colors thrown off by the stellar matter shifted towards the red end of the spectrum, and the star began to bloat, slowly growing in size and fueled by a rapidly-depleting source of fusible material. The bright flares of plasma given off by its surface likewise increased in size and intensity, reaching out from the main mass and further damaging the surrounding gyro by melting deep scores in the unprotected metal.

On the control console, warning signs continued to flash and technical information scrolled past at speeds almost too fast to read. But nobody would need to read it in order to know what it meant...

That this star’s death was going to be anything but peaceful.

————————————————————
The Bunker

The sudden shudder of the ground beneath the hooves and feet of the gathered lifeforms in the bunker was enough to get the attention of every being in the room, causing a sudden surge of fear and concern among the already tense and fearful Equestrian survivors.

Stumbling slightly as he pulled himself up, Mordin looked about, concern evident in his eyes as his significant intellect tried to reach a conclusion.

“Asteroid impact? No; facility too deep underground. Explosion, perhaps? Not localized; entire facility shook... Don’t suppose... Earthquake?” The salarian turned to the black mech closest to them, which had leaped from its hooves and was now hovering in the air on insectoid wings.

“Negative, Professor.” Forty-Two turned about, its green eyes scanning the room. “This planetoid has no plate tectonics. Seismic shifts are impossible.”

“Oooookaaay...” Pinkie suddenly looked from side to side, a bead of cold sweat running down the side of her matted fur as if she had a sudden and terrifying revelation. “If that wasn’t an earthquake... then the only other possibility is--”

“Normandy to shore party! Normandy to shore party!” a sudden and very welcome voice echoed in the Commander’s ear, causing the human to bring two fingers to his comm implant. “Come on, Shepard! Do you copy!?”

“I’m here, Joker!” the Commander answered.

“Oh, thank God!” Joker could be heard to say. “Nice to hear your voice again, but we don’t have time to talk. You guys are in deep down there!”

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”

“As you wish, Shepard,” EDI’s voice chimed in over the comm. “The Equestria Facility’s sensor and communications jamming has just gone down. In the twenty-seven seconds that we have had clear scanners, we have detected massive energy spikes coming from within the planetoid which you are currently on. The energy signature matches that of the region’s background radiation, only of a significantly higher magnitude.”

“I thought you said that radiation was harmless. So what’s the issue?” Shepard asked.

“Oh, manure!” Pinkie Pie called up suddenly, having moved over to a changeling datastand and looking over the monitor information as one hoof flew over the symbols at a speed that Shepard could never have attributed to a hoofed creature. “The issue is that there’s a cascading failure in the Harmony Core’s main containment! It’s gonna go critical!”

“WHAT!?” Twilight moved to her side. “That’s impossible! The Core’s shutdown procedure contains hundreds of individual safeguards and redundancies designed specifically to prevent that from happening!”

“Well, they’re all offline!” Pinkie shook her head, a hushed quiet taking hold of the survivors as her voice carried across the cavern. “Ooooh, this is really, really bad! If containment goes, the rate of energy output is gonna accelerate exponentially, causing a runaway chain reaction in the fusion process which when coupled with the already advanced age of the stellar matter--”

“Short version, Pinkie!” Shepard called out harshly.

“It’s going to hypernova!”

Shepard was no astrophysicist, but he was well aware that any term involving a star and the word "nova" somewhere in it was a very bad thing.

“How much time do we have?”

“At the current rate of containment failure... multiply by four carry the two... divide by the coefficient of--”

“PINKIE!” Twilight shouted.

“In Earth time? Twenty minutes... TOPS!”

“Estimated time at full gallop to reach nearest facility exit point: ten minutes,” Forty-Two offered, the mech looking about at the clearly fearful ponies with a blank expression.

Shepard cursed softly before he set his fingers back to his ear comm.

“EDI, is the Harmony Cannon offline?”

“Affirmative. I have already made contact with Garrus Vakarian and his team. Course is laid in to rendezvous in approximately two minutes,” the Normandy A.I. explained, allowing Shepard a brief moment of relief at learning that Garrus, Thane, and Legion had survived their ordeal.

“Good. As soon as they’re aboard, get planetside, ASAP! Home in on my signal and empty the hangar bay.”

“Aye Comma... Wait... what was that last bit?” Joker sounded stunned.

“You heard me! Anything we can afford to lose, space it! Make as much room as you can!”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

“Aye, Commander...” Shepard heard Joker grumble before the comm line went down. “Oh, Miranda’s just going to love this.”

“Shepard. Hope you are aware full scale evacuation of equine refugees logistically unsound. Understand desire to save them. Would like to save them myself. Simply impossible,” Mordin spoke up frantically, speaking quickly even for himself. “Kodiak shuttle destroyed. Hammerhead has insufficient occupancy. Normandy unable to land on planet’s surface. Cannot call for reinforcements. Hostile environment. Zero atmosphere. Lack of pressure suits. Unstable crust.”

The salarian doctor paused and closed his eyes, breathing deeply in order to contain himself as he seemed to realize the frantic edge to his normally fast-paced speech. “No solution... Not enough time...”

Shepard wanted to contradict the salarian but had to admit, he made several very valid points that had to be addressed before anyone was going to be able to escape from this place.

This and more weighed heavily on his mind, before he turned to one particular pony.

“Any ideas?”

“Well...” Twilight considered, her mind racing. “One, yes. Tell me, how close can that ship of yours get?”

————————————————————
Normandy: Hangar Bay

As its hangar bay cargo doors closed after receiving the Hammerhead, the Normandy then accelerated away from the moon that had had it quite literally in the cross-hairs for the past twelve hours. Meanwhile, the elevator door opened to reveal Miranda Lawson, her expression stern as she led Jacob Taylor and nine other crewmen into the bay in order to carry out the rather unconventional orders relayed from Shepard through Joker and EDI. Miranda’s dark-skinned lieutenant was quick to start issuing commands as the normally calm bulkhead became a flurry of activity.

“Alright! Anything strapped down, pull it out! Food, ammo-stores, extra gear; if we can get it back when we make port, it goes! We have eight minutes to get this bay cleared! Double time, people!” Jacob called out, rushing forward and setting the pace by example as the other members of the crew followed suit.

Now having returned to the ship from its lunar escapade, the Hammerhead slowly hovered into the correct position as mechanical arms lowered from the ceiling, securing the vehicle in place. As Miranda purposefully walked up to it, the entry hatch on the bottom popped open with a clank and a hiss, and out dropped Garrus, looking as if he had fought through Hell itself if the state of his armor was anything to go by. And as Thane and the geth unit dubbed "Legion" also clambered out, she had to struggle to keep her expression neutral.

“Garrus, Thane… What the hell happened down there?”

“You wouldn’t…” Thane gasped a bit as he pulled off his bubble mask and indulged in the open air, glad to be off of his dwindling zero-atmo supply. “…believe us if we told you.”

“Objectives accomplished. Retrieval of Shepard-Commander may commence immediately.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Garrus leaned forward, gripping his knees before he straightened up and tugged on his armor’s neck piece. Taking a look around to notice the crew busy at work spacing no small amount of cargo, he couldn’t help but feel perplexed. “Pretty strange way to celebrate if you ask me. Is this one of those human things?”

“We’ll set up the gratitude parade later,” Miranda stated coldly. “Right now, you two look like you’re about to collapse. Get on up to the infirmary. Legion, I am loathe to ask, but since you don’t experience fatigue, we could use the extra help. Shepard’s ordered anything replaceable here and in the attached cargo areas dumped.”

“Understood. Rendering assistance.” Legion nodded, expressing none of the exhaustion or soreness that his two organic counterparts were clearly showing, and moving immediately to help pull free a particularly bulky crate of spare components for the Kodiak.

And for once, Garrus found himself agreeing with the Cerberus representative, himself feeling too fatigued to argue the point and thinking that the medical bay seemed a lot more appealing than joining the geth for the heavy lifting.

“What has happened?” Thane managed, only to be met with a concerned shake of the head from Operative Lawson.

“We don’t have any details. We’re getting intermittent interference from heightened radiation levels, so EDI is parsing what does get through until we are close enough to use lower-band communications. Then we can...”

The elevator door opened suddenly, causing Miranda to turn about as she took note of the two beings that moved out into the bay, both immensely dangerous but in polar opposite manners.

On the one side was Samara, an asari justicar whose discipline and resolve was only matched by her skill with biotics and her understated beauty, even for an asari. On the other was Jack, who was, in Miranda’s honest opinion, an utter psychopath. A foul-mouthed, eezo-powered ticking time-bomb of a woman with absolutely no redeeming qualities, who Miranda personally would have had no qualms ejecting out of the airlock to make space along with the supplies.

Garrus looked for a moment from Miranda to Jack, and then back to the Normandy X-O.

“The medbay’s looking better and better. Come on, Thane. We’d better let Chakwas get us patched up before something else tries to kill us,” Garrus put it, not wanting to get caught up in any sparks that were sure to occur when these two human females were in the same room without a braver soul than him between them.

“This better be fucking good,” Jack offered some of her customary verbal venom as Garrus and Thane moved past her, while Samara waited patiently for the potent human biotic to settle. “My job is to make things dead and blow shit up, not move boxes around. So whatever you need me for better be worth getting out of my goddamn cot.”

“Well, I certainly didn’t ask for your assistance,” Miranda said, crossing her arms as she responded to the ex-convict with an equal amount of attitude.

“EDI informed us that our presence was requested,” Samara stated coolly, interpreting Miranda’s not so subtle remarks to mean she herself had not made the request. “I assume it has something to do with why our foodstuffs are being put out the airlock.”

“Unfortunately, you know as much as I do,” Miranda admitted, very much unaccustomed to being left in the dark like this.

————————————————————

“Approaching your signal, Commander,” Joker commented as he dropped altitude, the wrecks of countless other ships filling him with unease as he saw their glittering skeletons littering the planetary landscape. “Do you copy, Shepard? We are coming in.”

“I read you, Joker. I need you to drop directly over my coordinates facing geographical north and hold steady position as close as you can get to surface level.”

“Alert: Scanners indicate energy spikes are continuing to rise,” EDI informed both Joker and the Commander over the comm. “Dark energy disturbances are causing erratic distortions in the planetary gravity field, and it is only a matter of time before the effect overpowers our drive core. Whatever you are planning, Shepard, we need to do it quickly.”

“Uh... sir? You know I trust you and everything, but would you mind telling me why the hell we’re bringing Normandy down like this?”

“Evacuation,” Shepard stated simply. “We have refugees down here and we’re going to get them out.”

“No offense, Commander, but if that’s the case why not just bring them up in the Kodiak? And why are we risking the Normandy if all we’re doing is a simple pickup?” Joker attempted to verify as he brought the Normandy around.

“The Kodiak is out of commission and we have just under three hundred sentients down here, as well as nearly fifty mechs.”

Joker balked, nearly losing his focus as he brought the Normandy around in the manner which Shepard had directed.

“Are you SHITTING me, Commander!?” Joker’s hands flew over his control panels, fighting to keep the Normandy balanced. “I won’t be able to hold this girl steady less than forty feet above ground level. What are they going to do, fly up to the cargo door?”

“As a matter of fact...”

————————————————————

There was a slight sensation of vertigo that could be felt in the hangar bay as the Normandy SR-2 came into position, thrusters breaking the vessel's momentum before a subtle turbulence was detectable, trembling the crew’s surroundings.

“Compensating for gravitational distortions. Warning: Hangar bay doors opening. All organic personnel remain within the atmospheric threshold,” EDI’s voice chimed over the intercom, drawing the attention of the humans, asari, and geth unit still inside the hangar as the cargo door began to open. The only thing standing between them and empty space being a shimmering blue atmospheric barrier, the reveal gave Jack and Samara a sweeping panoramic view of the desolate planetscape as they stood just inside the doorway.

“Okay, so I'm asking again: What the hell are we supposed to be doing here?” Jack inquired, her hostility tinged with both impatience and curiosity as Samara leaned forward, attempting to peer past the distorted blue energy barrier.

Below them, there was something different glowing against the barren ground. Silhouetted against some kind of low-lying structure on the planet’s surface was something of a shimmering violet color, and growing nearer by the second.

“By the Goddess...” Samara drew back eyes open with shock as realization took hold of her.

“The fuck...?” Jack was equally taken aback for a brief second as the rest of the crew gathered to watch with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

“Is that what I think it is?” Miranda asked from behind them, causing Samara to nod.

“It would appear to be a biotic barrier,” she said calmly.

“Yeah, no shit,” commented Jack. “What I want to know is: who the hell is making it, and why is it coming towards us?”

There was a burst of static as the intercom came alive with the voice of the Commander.

“Normandy, do you copy? Are Jack and Samara by the hangar doors!?” he asked with no small amount of urgency.

“Yes, Shepard,” Miranda responded, bringing a hand up to her ear. “But why do you need them? What on Earth is happening down there?”

All of a sudden, Samara drew in a surprised breath, eyes going wide as she came to a realization.

“It is a mass effect corridor! A tunnel between the surface and the ship, maintaining an atmosphere while lessening the mass of those inside it! Shepard means to use it in order to return to the Normandy!” Samara summarized as she stepped up to the Normandy’s atmospheric shield with arms out-raised. As her hands and eyes started to glow blue, motes of dark energy swirling around her palms, she turned and called out to Jack. “Jack, you must assist me! We need to anchor the corridor to this end of the--”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve done this before! I don’t need your damn advice!” Jack snapped angrily before taking her place next to the justicar, assuming a similar stance. “I did the exact same thing when I had to get off that exploding space station!”

Miranda, daring to move closer, caught sight of the purple energy field a few moments before the two powerful biotics pulled back, "catching" on to the other end of the mass effect bubble and "reeling" it in towards them where it suddenly impacted the lower deck of the Normandy. It latched onto the hull around the hangar bay opening like a lamprey eel and caused the vessel to shudder under the shift in gravity.

A few seconds later, the shock and concern created by the corridor’s attachment was completely overwhelmed as something utterly unexpected came quickly into view, nearly causing Jack to drop her hold on the anchor.

A small winged horse-like creature with blue fur and a mane that ran the full spectrum of the rainbow heaved itself up and through the shield, its forelegs wrapped in a particularly un-equine manner around a familiar armored form that collapsed to the ground as the alien passed the threshold and released the Commander. The creature also hit the floor of the ship, the hardened ends of its legs clanging on the metal as it panted for breath, while only the most astute of observers would have noticed a subtle cyan glow swiftly dissipate from around its body.

“Whooaaaaa...” Rainbow remarked softly, her magenta eyes scanning the room and the equally-stunned uniformed crew members who stared back at her.

“Shepard!” Miranda managed as the commanding officer pulled himself up and the horse creature continued to look around, a mix of fear and awe strangely apparent in its highly-expressive features. “What the hell is that thing!?”

“Later!” Shepard barked, pulling himself up. “We have refugees incoming, a lot of them! And no time for discussion; we’re on borrowed time!”

As if on cue, multiple differently-hued equine aliens with wings, each carrying a perplexing mixture of colors, shapes and species, all pulled themselves into the hangar. Among the sudden influx, Miranda’s stunned gaze also saw mechanical versions of the strange creatures carrying the Normandy’s Chief Engineer and Science Officer as well as an unfamiliar woman in a Cerberus uniform.

The crew stood dumbfounded for a several moments as more than a few overwhelmed eyes watched them with uncertainty and fear.

“MOVE!” Shepard shouted, breaking the moment with a single decisive word. Jacob and Miranda acting a fraction of a second before the other crewmembers rushed forward to assist, they attempted to lead the first arrivals towards the back of the hangar bay as the black mechs and several volunteer pegasi, lead by a still-panting Rainbow Dash, returned to the cargo door, diving off with wings spread wide as they rushed back to begin the second wave of the exodus.

“Everyone! This way! Move towards the back wall! Keep this door clear! Pegasi: If you’re not going back down, get up on top of those turbines to make room for everyone else!” Shepard instructed in a loud, clear voice that accurately portrayed his absolute authority. “Miranda: take as many as you can into the side cargo areas! Mordin: get any of them with injuries into the elevator and up to the medical bay! Legion, glad you’re here! Open a connection with the changeling mechs to coordinate the evacuation; we can’t afford to get bottle-necked up here!” the Commander relayed, well aware that a simple frigate, even one as uncharacteristically large as the Normandy, was simply not built for such high occupancy. But far more heavily in his mind than the space considerations was the rapidly diminishing timetable left to them.

As if they needed a reminder, the Normandy shuddered violently then, eliciting no small amount cries and fearful gasps as Joker fought to maintain stability in the fluctuating gravity.

Shepard gritted his teeth as he tried not to think about just how dangerous a line they were walking.

————————————————————
Equestria Facility: Core

Had there been any living being capable of withstanding the now hellish environment of the core chamber, it would have been a remarkable, if deathly terrifying experience.

Now having expanded well beyond the boundaries of the first stabilizing ring, the angry, molten glow of the failing star cast the entire area in a blinding red light even as the intense heat and gravity warped and buckled the chamber surrounding it.

And yet, the final safeguard; the larger of the two containment gyros, continued to spin frantically in a long past futile effort to contain that which could not hope to be contained. Meanwhile, at the control console, the hazardous environment was beginning to take its tole on the admittedly advanced, yet ancient, hardware. The mercury-like substance within the display panels frothed and sizzled from within its confines, no longer remotely capable of relaying the specifics of just how cataclysmically the system was failing, and with a thunderous cracking noise, they exploded violently outward in a spray of boiling liquid metal that bubbled and melted through the console underneath. This, at long last, was simply too much for the machinery, and soon it too followed suit, detonating with a shower of sparks and sending jagged shrapnel flying in all directions.

Now, with absolutely no control left whatsoever, the last remaining gyro accelerated at an even further sickening pace, spinning faster than it was ever intended to go. All it would take was a single, random, rapid fluctuation in the power put off by the energetic core to put the tiniest bit of extra strain on the machine, and it would fail catastrophically.

And fail it did, for with a deafening shriek, the device literally tore itself apart, pieces of it jettisoning out and impacting the walls of the chamber with a force akin to a direct hit from a dreadnought’s main cannon.

Finally unfettered by anything remotely resembling containment, the runaway core began to expand in earnest, with a roaring sound like that of an awakened beast, eager to grow, eager to consume.

Eager to destroy.

————————————————————

“Administrator Twilight!” the one mech that seemed to have a voice of its own, identified simply as "Forty-Two," caught Twilight’s attention as she strained against the pain that was running down her skull and spine as the pressure of maintaining the corridor’s foundation pushed her to her limits. “Eighty-four percent of survivors transferred to rescue transport. Pegasi and changeling escorts returning for final wave of exodus. Estimated time-limitation has expired. You must be evacuated.”

“Not until everypony else is out!” Twilight managed with a strained tone, gritting her teeth painfully as her horn glowed brightly.

If she moved, the column would collapse in a matter of seconds, exposing them all to the hostile elements outside of the protective barrier. It was a burden that she had to shoulder alone, as the few other unicorns that had volunteered to aid her simply had no understanding of the intricate concepts involved in this new and terrifying form of "magic."

The brittle ground under her hooves shook again as she held her stance, trying desperately not to show how much the effort was stressing her as she opened her eyes, looking up to the pegasi and mechs that were having more and more trouble reaching the human spaceship’s open doorway. The actual pegasi were growing exhausted, having to struggle against the increasing degree of gravity that was attempting to pull them back towards the crust, while Normandy listed slightly from side to side, its pilot fighting against the erratic pull that was no doubt caused by the expanding mass of stellar matter under their very hooves.

She was so tired now, her legs shaking as much from the strain of holding herself upright as the sudden and ravenous hunger that was overtaking her as the biotic display sapped her energy. But in spite of it all, she had to hold on, just a bit longer.

She hadn’t come this far just to lose anypony now.

“Last wave is off the ground,” Forty-Two indicated, drawing Twilight’s eyes to the last group of earth ponies and unicorns that were being lifted by mech and pegasus assistance to reach their last hope of escape. It was then that she took note of the blue mare moving towards her, her flank and matted mane coated with a thin sheen of sweat as she panted, holding herself aloft with a faint glow of blue energy.

“That’s everypony!” Rainbow Dash started quickly, her wings barely flapping while she hung in the air, as if afraid she might collapse if she paused for even a moment to rest. “Come on, Twi! It’s getting crowded up there, but it’s time to get you off this rock!”

“Not... yet...” Twilight grimaced. “Not until... they make it.”

The ground under her hooves churned violently, nearly sending the unicorn falling to the side as a massive chasm opened up nearby, the ground simply collapsing inward like a wet paper maché mold as the new scar in the surface emitted an angry red glow.

“Administrator! The facility substructure is comprised! Core failure event imminent!” Forty-Two chimed in as Rainbow shook off the shock of what she was seeing to dive forward, grappling with her horned friend for a moment before pulling her into the air.

“RAINBOW! NO!” Twilight protested as her hooves left the ground, the solid connection with her projected barrier severed. No longer tethered to a solid surface, the shimmering purple wall around them instantly began showing its fragile nature as it began to almost immediately break apart at the bottom.

“SHUT UP, TWI! I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!” Rainbow snapped aggressively as she poured everything she had left into her wings, even if their only true purpose now was to guide her ascent as the field her body produced worked against the effects of gravity, pulling herself up alongside the lowest remaining rank of the ponies being extracted.

Below them, Twilight’s eyes went wide with terror as she noticed the chasms opening up all around them, as far as the eye could see. Wrathful scars in the ground glowing red as if Tartarus itself had opened up in the tunnels and caverns that had for so long contained her kind.

She protested no more as she hung limply in Rainbow’s grasp, watching the spot she had been standing on mere seconds earlier get swallowed up as the chasms began to grow, connecting with one another like a cracking shell over an expanding center.

Under normal conditions, even outside of Equestria’s virtual setting, the fifty or sixty foot ascent should have been easy for Rainbow. But as the barrier degraded, its own mass-reducing properties waning, the ever-increasing pull towards the unstable core was dragging her back as if lead weights were tied to her legs and tail.

Still, she pushed forward, Rainbow keeping the threshold of the Normandy’s cargo door in sight.

Then, only twenty feet from safety, she felt her body’s endurance crumble and her wings joints locking up.

For a moment; one terrifying moment, Twilight and Rainbow’s eyes went wide as they felt the drag overwhelm Rainbow’s negative mass field and pull them both back down towards the surface...

*Flumph*

...only to have a weight impact them from one side as Forty-Two’s mechanical wings buzzed, slowing their descent for several seconds before another being, this one a grey mare with golden eyes and a blond mane, shifted from her own flight into position to help. This in addition to her own burden; a unicorn stallion, holding more securely to her midsection with his own hooves and allowing the pegasus to reach around under Rainbow’s wings with a free leg, bolstering their rise.

The air around them grew thinner as the barrier keeping them alive and aloft weakened even further, thin as tissue paper and fragile as glass.

Twenty feet...

Ten feet...

Five...

Three...

With a last, primal grunt of effort, the mass of bodies emerged over the precipice of the opening and collapsed onto the deck in a tangled heap.

“AGH!” Jack cried out as the strain of maintaining one side of the corridor overwhelmed her, Samara also biting her lip as a result of the shearing pain in her temples. As they both pulled away, the corridor collapsed with an underwhelmingly small amount of fanfare; simply fading away as if it had never existed and leaving the shimmering blue wall of the Normandy’s atmospheric shield as a razor-thin window between them and Hell itself.

“All Equestrians aboard!” Legion stated as it received final confirmation from the connection it and the ponies’ caretakers were sharing. “Evacuation complete!”

“Joker! Get us the hell out of here!” Shepard called to the comm frantically as the hangar doors sealed shut, and once again the Normandy rocked violently under the stresses caused by the terrible force of nature threatening to rip them apart.

————————————————————

The Normandy rose from its hovering position, the underside of its yellow-tinged armor bathed in a wrathful red light as the last bits of the planet’s surface broke away, getting dragged inward, crushed, and vaporized by the immense power of the still-expanding core.

As it pushed its way past the small planet’s dissolving magnetosphere, Normandy’s engines and drive core worked at a feverish pace to propel itself away from the small world’s deadly trap, crust ripping apart at the seams to expose its pulsing, sanguine heart.

The small frigate, so tiny and insignificant compared to the red behemoth threatening to consume it whole, scraped together every ounce of power it could as it screamed past the planetoid’s moon, which itself was beginning to get slowly drawn in by the irresistible force.

And then, the ship stopped for an agonizingly slow moment as the four tail-end engines lit up briefly with an empyreal blue fire. An instant later, the very fabric of space around the Normandy rippled outwards, and quicker than the blink of an eye, she shot off into the black, empty depths of open space at faster than light speed.

And not a moment too soon...

In the dead silence of space, the miniature star that had once provided light and life to the descendants of the beings who had sought to harness its raw elemental power only had one more task ahead of it.

To go out with a bang.

With a light magnitudes brighter than a thousand suns, the small red giant detonated in a magnificent burst of pure white energy. In an instant, the chunk of rock that had once served as the planet’s moon, along with the lunar installation on its surface, was completely annihilated by the shockwave and the ensuing fireball, wiping it and everything inside from the face of the galaxy.

The glow from the explosion would remain behind for many weeks to come, encompassing nearly twenty times the area previously occupied by the former planet, and outshining that of even the system’s own sun. A mute testament to the awesome power wrought by the inscrutably old Harmony Core.

And with its passing, absolutely nothing would remain of the once-great Equine civilization.

Nothing... save for the roughly three hundred souls that were now hurtling through space away from the aftermath. Away from only home they had ever known. Tired, traumatized, scared and uncertain...

...but still alive.

————————————————————

Twilight lay on her side on the cold metal floor, panting heavily as a sensation of relief filled her. She wasn’t sure how, but she could feel the pulsing of their surroundings lessen as the ship’s drive core began to relax, no longer having to fight against the gravity of the Harmony Core’s mass expansion.

They had done it.

They had escaped.

Twilight closed her eyes, resting her pounding head for a moment as she felt fatigue threaten to overcome her. She could hear the voices of the beings around her; some of her own, others the aliens that stood on two legs as they moved around her, preventing sleep from claiming the unicorn as she tried to focus on her current situation.

Directly in front of her, she could see an exhausted-looking Rainbow Dash thanking Ditzy for her assistance with that last flight. The grey mare, whose eyes were both directed straight ahead as she smiled and nodded, saying simply that it was "nothing" as the two pegasi bumped hooves.

Her eyes shifting around as she tried futilely to raise her head, she took note of the crowded hangar bay, many of the surviving members of her race herding together and talking amongst friends and family as they tried to make sense of this dramatic change that had been thrust upon them, some individuals clearly handling it better than others.

As she tried to push herself to her hooves, Twilight felt a gauntleted hand move to help support her, giving her the steadying lift she needed to get her hooves solidly on the floor.

Commander Shepard gave her a small, encouraging smile as he knelt beside her, keeping them almost at eye level.

“Welcome aboard the Normandy, Twilight Sparkle.”

——————————Mission Complete——————————

Illusive Man Overview: Regained communications with Normandy. According to Lawson's report, opportunity for technological acquirement lost in explosion caused by unknown power source. Shepard's lack of willingness to share details troubling, and events surrounding discovery of new intelligent species remain sketchy. May be able to use Cerberus connection with dramatic rescue to endear trust with new lifeforms.

Dr. Horace Milligan and six Cerberus scientists declared killed in action. Dr. Patricia Hern listed as casualty due to mental breakdown. Details still unclear, but will be transferred to top-class medical care upon arrival at Citadel. Will attempt debrief should she recover.

Credits Found: 0
Cerberus Funding: 10,000 Credits

Found: Upgrade - Biotic Power +50% Biotic Power to Squad
Found: Upgrade - Prototype - New Tricks Training - +50% Melee Capability: Following a prolonged stint of relying on combat without weapons, Commander Shepard has reevaluated his hand-to-hand combat style in order to more efficiently engage opponents.

————————————————————

Achievements Unlocked:

- Welcome to the Herd: You have entered a new life
- Silence in the Library: Enter the Archive
- The Awakening: Initiate Awaken Protocol
- Friend of the Herd: All Equestrians rescued
- A Very Special Friend: Changeling Unit 42 of 50 recovered intact

Conclusion: At Journey's End - Pt. 2

View Online

Normandy: Crew Deck
Two Hours Later

Commander Shepard; showered, fed, and now wearing a more comfortable casual crew uniform, moved out of Miranda’s quarters with a tired gait, rubbing his eyes as he tried to shake off the mental cobwebs that had formed during his "debriefing" with the Illusive Man’s representative.

To say that Miranda was eager to know what led to the sudden overcrowding of the Normandy with a completely unknown alien species, on top of risking the ship and everyone on it getting burnt to a crisp by a surprise supernova, was an understatement. And while Shepard would have preferred getting some actual sleep following his trials and tribulations in Equestria, he had been dragged into Miranda’s office as soon as the ship’s medical officer concluded that he was both physically and neurologically fit. (Which he had to admit had been a serious concern following Mordin’s brief explanation of Dr. Hern’s condition.)

Although Miranda had accepted Shepard’s story involving what had transpired while he was inside the Equestria virtual world, even with its more ludicrous highlights, he somehow doubted that she was completely convinced as to his explanation of Doctor Milligan’s unfortunate "accident." He felt it was probably best left unsaid exactly how Milligan had happened to "fall" into the Harmony Core, given that Miranda already had reason enough not to trust the ponies, let alone their de-facto leader, Twilight.

Left completely out of the conversation was Milligan’s proposed "solution," if one could even call it that.

To his own merit, he felt that he had been completely honest in that detail.

It had never really been a choice for him.

“Commander. Now that you have completed your debriefing, I have an update,” Shepard heard EDI over the comm as he walked into the mess hall, amazed by a number of of curious-looking, brightly-colored equines that were moving about, examining their surroundings with wonder while various members of the support crew spoke with them. Or, in Mess Sergeant Gardner’s case, attempted to shoo two younger colts out the kitchen’s store of "special ingredients." “Mr. Moreau has set a course for the Citadel. Estimated time to arrival: two-point-five hours. Councilor Anderson has already sent a reply to your message and says he will meet us at a secure Alliance docking bay with Council First Contact representatives and a disaster relief team to meet with the Equestrian leaders.”

“Understood.” Shepard nodded. Whatever else could be said for the Council’s tendency to ignore what was presented to them, the sudden appearance of a new and advanced sentient race was sure to get their attention. And thankfully, he knew he could count on both Anderson and the Asari Councilor Tevos to look after their best interests. He had a decidedly less optimistic opinion about the other two on the Council though, as the Salarian Councilor Valern would probably interrogate them for everything they knew, and Turian Councilor Sparatus would focus on what sort of threat they might eventually become.

But that was a worry for another time, Shepard realized, as he took note of Doctor Karin Chakwas, the Normandy’s Chief Medical Officer, standing on the wrong side of her medbay wall, looking in with a pained expression on her face.

“Doctor?” Shepard called her attention, walking up to his friend’s side as she kept one arm folded under the other, a hand placed against her lips as Shepard followed her gaze into the medical bay.

Inside, he saw Dr. Hern laying on one bed, her eyes open but still unresponsive, while on the other lay the elder green mare that Mordin had been treating before. At either side of that bed stood the familiar mare, Applejack, and the red stallion he had seen before, easily the largest surviving specimen of their species, while a pale yellow filly stood at the foot of the bed on her hind legs, barely able bring her head up over the edge.

“Your patients?” Shepard inquired.

“Yes,” Chakwas confirmed, her eyes not moving from the scene before her. “There was an initial flood of minor injuries, but they were dealt with in short order. Only two warranted actual infirmary care.”

Folding his arms, the Commander held a respectful moment of silence before he inquired further.

“How is Doctor Hern?” he followed up, not wanting to think about what it meant for a doctor to be standing on the sidelines in this kind of situation.

“She will recover, I believe,” Chakwas indicated. “Mordin was right in his initial analysis: The synapses in the affected area of her brain were overloaded, but not completely burnt away or overwritten. It could be months before she can speak again and she may never regain her full cognitive capabilities, but she’ll pull through.”

Shepard nodded before moving to what was clearly the more sensitive subject.

“And your other patient?”

Chakwas as silent for a moment as she turned her gaze downward. “I am afraid that ‘Granny Smith’... doesn’t have long. Her physical injuries were not serious, but that is hardly the problem. She is suffering from the galaxy’s most common of maladies: old age.”

“Isn’t there anything you can do for her?” Shepard asked.

“No. She’s simply too old, Shepard... Though their biology is remarkably similar to our own, that also means they're just as susceptible to decay as we are. Her organs are failing and her body simply can’t cope with the strain. Unfortunately, for all of our advanced technology and medicine, age is still the one thing we can’t yet hope to overcome.” She breathed in, reminded of the fact that her own twilight years were not far off, before continuing. “From what I was able to gather about this ‘artificial system’ they were a part of, it seems that connection was the only thing keeping her alive in her advanced years. And now, without the support that machine provided, she’s simply too weak to continue on her own. There comes a time when the body just... gives up, Shepard.”

Chakwas paused, as did Shepard, when they saw the aged green mare’s eyes close and her head turn to the side into a pillow a moment before she took one last, pained breath, and her chest ceased to rise.

If Shepard had had any remaining doubts as to the "humanity" of these Equestrians, they would have been completely lost at viewing the reaction of the three Apple siblings at the passing of their elder.

“For some things... we have no salve to offer,” Chakwas sighed, her voice heavy as she shook her head and turned, moving for the door. “Excuse me, Commander.”

Shepard watched a moment later as Chakwas moved into the room, the young yellow filly burying her face in the fur of her elder brother as Applejack moved aside, allowing the doctor to pull a cover over her patient’s head.

Turning to take note of Shepard just past the door, Applejack, her head oddly small with the lack of the stetson she was so fond of wearing inside the Equestria System, moved immediately for the door and came around with a purpose, her hooves clipping the metal as she approached the Commander.

“I’m sorry for your loss...” Shepard offered, his tone sincere as Applejack halted a couple of feet from him, her eyes still wet with tears.

He expected she might be angry; that this moment of personal pain would make it difficult to understand why they had been dragged from their pleasant lives and into this dark and unforgiving reality.

But rather than snap or scold, Applejack simply sighed, her head hung low.

“It’s okay,” she stated simply, her voice hoarse.

“If there was any other way...” Shepard began, but was cut off by a wave of Applejack’s hoof.

“It weren’t your fault an’ we don’t blame ya. Y’all did the right thing, gettin’ us outta that fake life we was all livin’,” AJ rattled off, her accent back in full swing as she huffed away a sniffle. “‘sides that, a'fore she passed on, Granny wanted me ta thank ya, Commander Shepard.”

“Thank me?” Shepard was stunned to hear this.

“She got ta go outta the world knowin’ the truth rather than bein’ stuck in a lie. An’ she couldn’t be happier knowin’ that her... that her family could still be there for ‘er... at the end. Ah jus’ wanted ya ta know that she was at peace with that.”

Shepard nodded, his heart strangely gladdened by that small piece of news before he thought on what to say to the mare.

“So what will you do now?”

“Me? Well, Ah’m sure Ah’ll follow Twilight’s lead.” Applejack shook her head, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Whatever she thinks is our best direction... I’m the mare that’ll make sure she gets us there. But if’n yer askin’ what Ah’ll do in the meantime...”

The mare looked into the medbay, her head height just enough to peer in without having to strain her neck or pull herself up on her hind legs.

“Ah’m gonna look after Patch. Err... Patricia. Maybe try ta get her back in touch with her family an’ let ’em know what she did fer us.”

“You would do that?”

“A’course! She might not’ve been a pony, but she was always honest ‘bout it... Like ya’ll were. She was mah friend and an honorary member of the Apple Family. It was thanks ta her that Ah knew what was what. Ah always did have a feelin’ somethin’ was wrong wit’ the world, but it wasn’t till after Ah met Patch that Ah realized how wrong. Why, if Ah never met her, Ah mighta sided wit’ Celestia thinking ya’ll were some evil crazy monster-pony or somethin’.”

An amused huff from Applejack was cut short as she took note of Dr. Chakwas attempting to speak with the large red stallion. And getting nowhere it seemed, as the yellow filly tried to demand attention in the manner that distressed children often did.

“Ah better get back in there... But yeah, even with all this... Ah gotta say... Thanks, Shepard.”

Applejack nodded before she moved back into the medical bay.

As Applejack left to tend to her family, Shepard considered that, before he went to his cabin to rest, it might be prudent to check around the ship to make sure their "guests" were not causing or having any issues.

————————————————————
Normandy: Main Battery

“Shepard... There are ponies... sleeping on my Thanix!” Garrus announced, a tone of mixed amusement and agitation clear as he turned to the Commander the moment the door opened.

Looking past his turian friend, Shepard took note of a pair of pegasi he had not yet been introduced to as they laid out on top of the Normandy’s main cannon, one splayed out on her back, wings hanging lopsidedly, while the other was laying with legs dangling from either side of the weapon’s muzzle.

If Shepard had been in the mood for horrible puns, he might’ve said they looked "weapons-grade adorable."

“Afraid they might throw off your calibrations?” Shepard managed with a smirk.

“Oh, laugh it up, Commander,” Garrus’ tone turned sarcastic. “Next time you need somebody to brave an overly-friendly army of mechs with plasma cutters on their heads, I just might be too busy cleaning feathers out of the weapons systems.”

“Nah, if there's one thing I can count on with you, Garrus, it’s that you get bored easily. Honestly, I’m surprised Miranda held you back as long as she did.” Shepard shook his head before his tone turned serious. “I heard you took some hits down there, you okay?”

“We got through it just fine. If anything, the worst part was that creepy A.I. that wouldn’t stop shouting at us. She was worse than that Jedore woman back on Korlus...” Garrus chuckled at the thought, while Shepard had to pause for a moment to remember the details of the mission he had referenced. “And though I think that place will give me more than a few nightmares, it’s a shame that it got destroyed like that. I can think of more than a few turian generals who would give up their first, second, and thirdborn children... along with their mates... just for a glimpse of how to build a gun like that.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but you get them instead.” Shepard nodded to the two sleeping ponies.

“I know, and I’m not saying you made the wrong choice.”

"For me, it was never a choice, Garrus.”

“Heheh... That’s my Shepard. I mean, hell: First you give the Rachnai a new lease on life, then you wake these ‘Equestrians’ up from a thirty-six million year nap.” Garrus shook his head. “What’s your next trick? Going to bring a Prothean back from the dead?”

Shepard huffed in amusement, shaking his head as he turned to leave the turian to grumble about the guests in his gun battery.

“Maybe some other time.”

————————————————————
Normandy: Port Observation

“I have to hand it to you, Shepard...” Kasumi Goto smirked as she looked around at the multiple equines that were lounging about; a pair of them talking excitedly at the bar as one particular mare with mulberry fur and a thick purple mane seemed to be helping herself to half of the remaining stock. “You always bring home the most interesting things.”

“They’re not bothering you?” Shepard inquired.

“Oh, not at all. In fact I rather enjoy their company. The few I’ve talked to have been quite curious about Humans. Apparently, we were some sort of fictional species in their world’s literature. Funny, huh? Unicorns and pegasi thinking we are the creatures of myth.” Kasumi shook her head. “Although I find it hard to look at them for too long without thinking about how hard it would be to pick the pockets of a species without clothes.”

Shepard crossed his arms, giving the master thief a stern look.

“Don’t look at me like that! It’s obvious they don’t even have anything worth stealing.” She paused, the hood of her one-piece suit falling to obscure her eyes as she turned back to their guests. “Besides... I couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing, regardless. They have enough to worry about, already...”

————————————————————
Normandy: Life Support Control Room

“I’m glad you were able to make up with your son, Mr. Krios,” a demure voice stated as Shepard moved around the edge of the bulkhead that obscured Thane’s table, where he often sat in contemplation while gazing through the window at the ship’s massive Tantalus drive core. “It must have been hard to be away from him for so long.”

To Shepard’s surprise, across from Thane sat Fluttershy, who had her back legs and forelegs planted in a fashion that managed to keep her up in the seat easily, although it was clear the back was a little uncomfortable to her.

“Yes. Leaving him when he was younger had become the one regret of my life. But I am grateful I have had the chance to make up for it in some degree,” Thane commented before turning in his seat, sensing the presence moving around towards them. “Shepard. I had thought you would be resting following the mission. Please, join us if you wish.”

“I’m just making sure everyone is alright,” the Commander declined with a wave of his hand before looking between the yellow pony and the reptilian drell. “I see you two are getting along.”

“Oh, yes. I was feeling a teensy bit overwhelmed when we were first released and rushed on board, but Mr. Krios has been really nice. He was just telling me how you helped him stop Cool... Kulya... his son from making that terrible mistake.” Fluttershy nodded as she hopped down from her seat, her tone far more as it was when he had first met her, contradictory to her suppressed, more aggressive nature. “I’ll be right back, Mr. Krios. I think I’m going to see if Mr. Gardner has any tea.”

With the slight sound of a mass effect distortion, Fluttershy lifted from the ground, a pale yellow glow surrounding her body before she was propelled forward, her wings serving to steer her flight as she moved out the door.

Thane’s expression dropped slightly as the door slid closed.

“When I first met her down in the hangar, the poor thing was sobbing uncontrollably,” Thane explained, his tone saddened. “It seemed the situation had proven too much for her. When I attempted to comfort her, she immediately identified my Kepral’s Syndrome, although I still am unsure how that’s possible, given that only drell are afflicted by it.”

“As I understand it, her job was to care for sick animals. Clearly she has skills in that area,” Shepard opined.

“Yes, and surprisingly, I’ve found I have no trouble discussing it with her. Her company is quite pleasant... relaxing even. Although at the risk of sounding analytical, I believe she is using the act of comforting me in the face of my illness in order to separate herself from her own trauma.”

“There’s a problem with a little distraction in times of hardship?” Shepard shrugged, considering that there were far worse ways to deal with one’s troubles.

“It worries me that she is so quick to trust my motives. There is an old human adage that they remind me of: ‘Only the truly powerful can afford to be kind.’ They may not appear it, but they are very powerful... very kind... and yet so fragile... Not physically of course, but emotionally. Particularly at this stage.” Thane folded his hands together in front of him. “I fear for her... and for her species. There are many who will attempt to take advantage of that nature for their own ends. The power their meek and humble forms belie will tempt the darkest elements of the galaxy to exploit them.”

“We all have weaknesses that can be exploited,” Shepard pointed out. “It’s part of being alive. We resist, and overcome.”

“Yes, that is true. Although, some weaknesses are easier to exploit than others. Take Joker, for instance.”

“Well, with his medical condition, there isn’t much that can be--”

“I am not referring to his bones, but rather, his inability to hedge a bet.” Thane smiled. “Thank you, by the way, for assisting with that. Your discretion is appreciated. I have already donated my winnings from the pool to Mr. Verner’s orphanage on Illium.”

Shepard smirked, shaking his head as he was reminded of Conrad Verner, the wannabe hero who had idolized him enough to copy his armor and fly across the galaxy, fixing other people’s problems on his own. He was glad that apparently Conrad had found something far more productive to do with his life.

The door to the room opened again as Fluttershy returned, a plate of piping hot tea balanced on her head as she moved back to her place across from the drell.

Feeling that he should leave Thane to his task of comforting the butter-yellow pegasus... while Fluttershy returned to her task of comforting the terminally-ill drell, he quietly took that as the cue to make his exit.

————————————————————
Normandy: Starboard Observation

Samara was alone in the observation room, sitting in her usual cross-legged position as she meditated, the glow of her biotics surrounding her body.

Sensing the Commander’s presence, the asari justicar turned, her aura fading as she looked over her shoulder with a slight smile.

“Don’t tell me you scared them all off,” Shepard commented.

“I am afraid that I may have. Not with words or intimidation, perhaps, but with my presence,” Samara said, nodding for Shepard to sit down with her; an invitation he accepted. “I saw it as soon as they began to take notice of me in the hangar. Their... unease around me. Now that I have learned a bit more about them, I am not surprised.”

“What do you mean?” Shepard asked.

“I spoke for a time with the one called ‘Twilight Sparkle,’ the being that erected the mass corridor. She informed me that her entire species is biotically sensitive like the Asari, so as an advanced biotic myself, they sense my power. It makes the more common among her species... disquieted.”

“So they will be afraid of all biotics? Or just asari?” Shepard reasoned. “Either way, that could be an issue.”

“No. Justicars and Matriarchs are rare, as is our potency. And their unease is not the same as fear,” Samara clarified. “They had a similar reaction to Jack, however they seemed to have no qualm with Miranda or Jacob, both less potent biotics. I believe this is something they, as a species, will overcome in time.”

Her tone grew more somber.

“There are others, however, that will view them with fear.”

“Why is that?” Shepard questioned. “Most of the crew find them charming or cute. Or at the very worst, harmless.”

“Most of the crew is human. And they are viewed as familiar and harmless in your eyes because your race has a cultural bias based on your experiences with an animal species domesticated on your homeworld thousands of years ago,” Samara explained at length. “To other species, they shall be seen merely as ‘alien,’ much like the hanar or vorcha are perceived by your kind.”

“I had hoped the Asari at least would welcome them,” Shepard observed, thinking on the all-female species’ predilection towards diplomacy and galactic community.

“The Asari Councilor certainly will, but many everyday asari will likely take the sudden appearance of an advanced, inherently-powerful biotic species as an insult on their self-worth and a challenge to the common self-delusions that we Asari are the most evolved race of the galaxy. As for the others, what will trouble many is that these ‘Equestrians’ share so many basic commonalities and cultural connections to Humanity; a perceived and at times very real danger in the minds of the other Citadel Races. As Humanity has risen to prominence so quickly and become so integral a part of the galaxy, this young, new race may become a comfortable target for those who know they cannot directly strike at the Humans, whom they have come to rely on more and more.”

“You believe this is a serious threat to them?” Shepard asked, knowing full well that Humanity was not viewed in the most favorable of lights by many individuals among the Citadel Races. And while hardly fair to them, it was not out of the question that the ponies could also be cast in that light.

“I do,” Samara answered. “Right now, their low numbers may prevent all from seeing them as a threat themselves. But if they recover; if they prove themselves to share your species’ drive and ambition, then the galaxy shall quickly realize they are not a novelty, but a threat. When that time comes, they will be either forged in the fires of harsh reality, or consumed by them. It is a thought that saddens me.”

“Why is that?”

“Because in spite of what threat they may represent in the future to the established races, they are currently a pure form of innocence that I have rarely seen. I dread to imagine what exposure to a crueler galaxy will do to them.” The justicar returned to her meditative pose, a blue aura igniting around her. “I would like to have gotten to know Twilight Sparkle better, but unfortunately, I had to cut our brief exchange short.”

“Why?” Shepard asked.

Samara was quiet for a moment.

“She made me... uneasy.”

Samara said nothing else as Shepard turned to leave, going over the implications of her words in his head.

————————————————————
Normandy: Engineering Deck

As Shepard stepped off the elevator, he was surprised to see a particular mercenary standing at the window overlooking the now overloaded cargo hold, where the vast majority of the Equestrians were still resting, instead of his usual haunt of the starboard cargo area. Some of the ponies were merely taking stock of their situation, while others preferred the company of those familiar to them over exploring the ship they had found themselves on.

“Shepard.” Zaeed Massani shook his head, turning to give the Commander a curt nod before turning back to the window, gesturing with his characteristic annoyance. “I was wondering when you’d get around to explaining what the bloody ‘ell is going on.”

“If you were curious, you could’ve just asked someone,” Shepard observed, moving beside the veteran soldier as they watched the ponies milling below.

“I’m a mercenary. I don’t get paid to ask questions. All I’m saying is you could’ve at least told us that you planned on turning the ship into a goddam' petting zoo.”

“It wasn’t something we planned on doing, it just happened. If you want a report, just ask EDI,” Shepard stated, his tone booking no argument, perhaps coming across harsher than he would have liked as he knew that the gruff and experienced soldier would respect that, if nothing else. “And if you’re worried about them staying here, don't. We’ll be dropping them off at the Citadel the first chance we get. We still have a mission to complete after all.”

“Fine by me.” Zaeed shrugged stoically, deciding that there was no point in complaining about something that was clearly not going to change right away. “Just don’t expect me to clean up after them.”

————————————————————
Normandy: Port Cargo Hold

Like Zaeed, Grunt watched from the window of his room in the engineering cargo hold as the equines below walked about. As Shepard watched the tank-bred krogan super-soldier observe them, he did have to reign in his own concern.

If nothing else, Grunt looked... insulted.

“Shepard, I don’t understand this...” Grunt finally said in his typical gravelly voice, clearly eager to relay what was on his mind. “This galaxy has enough species fighting over it. And here you are bringing in something so... colorful. And squishy-looking.”

“You’re concerned?” Shepard asked, crossing his arms as he tried to understand the krogan’s perspective.

“They are small... like the volus. Over-reliant on biotics. And so... What’s that word humans like to use...? Innocent?” The krogan let the alien term roll off his thick tongue. “I don’t understand why you risked everything to save them like you did. What can they contribute? What are they for? Aside from a few good meals, perhaps. They look like they’d go good over a spit.”

Grunt gave off a short, bassy laugh that Shepard had come to associate with the krogan before he cut off, realizing the Commander did not find it amusing.

“Careful, Grunt. Underestimating an opponent is one of the most dangerous advantages you can give them,” Shepard told the Urdnot. “It was an advantage their ancestors exploited to rise into the dominant power of their cycle. They built weapons that the Turians can only dream of and held back the most dangerous force the galaxy has ever seen for years before they finally succumbed. And even though they lost, they’ve managed to survive.”

“Yeah, the A.I. gave me the rundown on the mission,” Grunt scoffed. “Smart, right? Build a weapon that protects you so well that it almost gets you killed when your life support fails. If they are going to survive, they need to learn to suck it up and deal with the galaxy, not hide from it! From what I’ve seen; the weeping and whimpering, I don’t think they have it in them. If they’re gonna sit around crying instead of fighting their own battles, then they deserve to go extinct.”

Shepard inwardly wanted to scold the krogan’s callous attitude, but then considered that such a tactic would do little to convince Grunt of anything.

But like most Krogan, he seemed to fail to realize that this entire species had only a few hours to assimilate what must have been a horrific and completely unprepared for turn of events in their lives. Not unlike the sort of trauma one particular human boy suffered on Mindoir years ago when batarian slavers came and took away everything that was important to him.

Grunt didn’t understand how moments like that... those moments of pain... drove some people to become more.

How it drove him to this day... to keep fighting so that others didn’t have to.

“I don’t know, Grunt.” Shepard found himself smirking, although the krogan didn’t seem to understand the inside joke. “They may just surprise you.”

————————————————————
Normandy: Engineering Sub-deck

Shepard moved down the steps to the sub-deck to find Jack sitting back as she usually was: in the darkness, all by herself.

”Hey,” she offered, as she always did, clearly having no care one way or another about what had transpired only a few short hours before.

“I’m surprised you’re keeping to yourself down here,” Shepard commented, keeping his stance at ease.

“Yeah?” Jack grunted, shifting a bit as she pulled herself into a laying position, attempting to display her lack of interest. “It hasn’t bothered you so far. So what if I feel like skipping the meet and greet?”

Shepard shook his head, amazed at the extent the ex-con went through to maintain her image, even though the extensive tattoo work typically took care of that on its own.

“You’re telling me that you’re not even a little excited about what we accomplished here?”

“So you saved an entire species from extinction. Medals all around, whoopty-fuckin’-do,” she listed off sarcastically. “As long as they stay out of my way, I’m not interested. Which is something they should strive for. Healthier for ‘em.”

“You know that you had a hand in saving them too. And I am sure a few of them would want to thank you for it,” Shepard pointed out.

“If they want to thank someone, they can go talk to the blue-skinned stiff in the black leather. I didn’t do it for their praise. I did it because... well, fuck. Why not? In any case, doesn’t really matter to me. Besides, I don’t like crowds. Never have. I don’t see ‘herds’ being any better.”

Shepard shook his head, turning to leave, but not before Jack divulged one more thing.

“Nothing intelligent has any business being that damn cute. They’re hiding something, I can feel it,” she mentioned, almost to herself.

Shepard paused, a sly smile creasing his lips.

“So you think they’re cute, huh?”

Jack was silent for a moment before her tone grew aggressive again, filled with venom and barbs.

“Whatever. Go enjoy your little princess tea party or some shit, as long as you leave me out of it.”

Shepard sagely decided not to press the issue any further and left.

————————————————————
Normandy: Main Engineering

The door to Main Engineering, where the Normandy’s drive core was housed, opened up to an almost uproarious laughter as the familiar figure of Tali’Zorah came into view. She leaned casually on a control panel as she watched what Shepard came to realize was a peculiar pink pony who was all but bouncing on her hooves while Engineer Kenneth Donnelly finished a what must have been a joke.

“...and so she says... ‘Yep, I’m positive!’”

Pinkie Pie erupted into another bout of giggles, thumping a hoof into the deck. Donnelly was clearly pleased with himself while Gabriella Daniels, his similarly-skilled partner, facepalmed.

“Ahhhh... positive...” Pinkie managed though giggling. “Because of the positive mass fields, her girth, the electrical charge, and knowing she was right! Ooooohhhh, that’s too much!”

While he didn’t get the joke, Shepard did note a slight chuckle from Tali, who turned to realize he was there as the human approached.

“Shepard. Good to see you. I trust you’ve...” Tali had to stifle a sudden giggle, and although he had to squint, the Commander got the impression she was grinning widely under her face-plate. “...recovered... from your experience?”

Donnelly and Pinkie both turned, taking note of the Commander’s presence before both fought against, and failed to contain, another fit of laughter.

Shepard, however, was not amused.

“Did I miss something?”

“Oh, no... No, Commander,” Donnelly said in his thick Scottish accent as he shook his head, although he was completely unable to hide another short snerk, which in turn set Pinkie off again, resulting in a human-like snort. “I have to say though, I finally understand why you’re so lucky with the ladies.”

“Kenneth! Commanding officer!” Daniels attempted to sideline the Scot, fearing for his well-being. “Make that punchline at your own risk.”

“Relax, Gabby. The Commander’s gonna think it’s funny.”

Shepard crossed his arms, perplexed. “That depends... What do you mean, Donnelly?”

“All I’m sayin’ is, there’s a reason some people are called ‘stallions.’”

Donnelly and Pinkie again devolved into a laughing fit before Tali, taking note of Shepard’s confusion, brought up her omni-tool and set up a projection.

A projection of a red stallion, fetlocks unshorn, standing just outside a shower stall, dripping wet and in the fur, a set of armor behind him.

“Oh, brother...” Shepard set his hand to his face.

“EDI... sent this to me.” Tali, to her credit, managed not to laugh. “She seemed to think I would appreciate it for some reason. Probably her idea of a joke.”

“And why wouldn’t you?” Pinkie offered, grinning from ear to ear. “I mean, maybe he’s not much to look at now, but he sure was one hunky pony!”

Donnelly, witnessing the dismay on his C.O.’s face, sniffed loudly in an attempt to hide his grin, as Daniels shook her head, muttering quietly to herself.

“You are so going to get spaced for this...”

Tali took note of the human’s moment of discomfort before her relaxed posture stiffened a bit.

“Would you rather I deleted it?” she asked, suddenly concerned about what the Commander might think.

Shepard considered for a moment before he shrugged.

“It’s not that big of a deal... Hold onto it if you want.” Shepard shook his head, doubting that the image would be much more than a laugh and that very few people would realize who it was even supposed to be an image of. “Just do me a favor and make sure I never see it on the extranet, okay?”

“What’s the matter, Commander?” Donnelly spoke up. “Afraid that your... ‘equine assets’ might show up in an issue of Fornax?”

Gabriella responded to this comment in her typical manner, punching her coworker in the arm with a decent amount of force. “You’re such a pig...”

Pinkie, an innocent smile still plastered to her face, turned to the engineers with a curious expression. “What’s Fornax?”

“Uh... Well...” Donnelly’s face fell, growing slightly flustered as he scratched the back of his neck. “Gabby? A little help here?”

“Oh, no. You’re digging yourself out of the hole you just made.”

Shepard, allowing himself a small smirk, turned to Tali and led her to the far side of the hall to the drive core chamber, while Donnelly, despite his protests, reluctantly attempted to explain the concept to the intelligent, yet naïve, Pinkie Pie.

“I take it you’ve been having fun down here?” Shepard asked the quarian.

“That would be an understatement, Commander,” Tali managed. “I like her. Pinkie, I mean. With everything else that is going on for her people, all she wants is to have fun and make some new friends.”

Tali lowered her tone slightly as she turned in time to see Pinkie’s muzzle contort into a disgusted grimace at the implications of what Donnelly was telling her.

“And she’s brilliant. She came in here a little over an hour ago and I am fairly sure she’s already memorized Normandy’s power structure, propulsion system, and dynamic control scheme.”

“How can you tell?” Shepard asked, as the pink pony seemed completely distracted from anything technical.

“Her eyes are enormous. They are easy to follow,” Tali explained. “Quarians are taught almost from birth to investigate every interesting find they come across. To pick up on small details because they can be catastrophic if missed during basic repairs, or could lead to missing out on good salvage. I’ve noticed how she’s looked over the control panels and to Engineer Daniels’ actions while they are distracted. It’s the same thing I did on-board the original Normandy two years ago. The helmet just makes it harder to follow my eyes.”

“Well, judging by how she worked the Equestria System, I got the impression she’s been trained to be some sort of technical savant,” Shepard reasoned. “So I guess that would make sense. Truth is, I’m hoping she’ll be able to give her people a leg up. If they could recreate even a fraction of the tech in that facility--”

“I know what you’re thinking, Shepard.” Tali shook her head. “I haven’t told anybody, but I got the gist of what this ‘Harmony Core’ is supposed to have been. If it really was a... well, what I think it was, then it would change the galaxy. Change everything. A discovery even greater than when the Protheans were building prototype mass relays on Ilos. So naturally, it was the first thing I asked her before Donnelly got her full attention.”

“And?” Shepard raised a brow curiously.

“She has no idea how to build something like that,” Tali deflated, her tone denoting just how disappointed she was. “Apparently, from what she knows of it, the Harmony Cores were only made in one place in the galaxy and then shipped out to be installed in new locations; the means to make them a closely-guarded secret because of how dangerous the process was.”

“I can see that. We saw what happens when one goes critical. I can imagine any accident at a factory would be devastating.”

“Right. And since they would have to build one from scratch... Well, I doubt that the Citadel would be willing to allow for experimentation. Now, if we had recovered a working core, we would have something, but... she is as much in the dark as to how to recreate it as we are.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Shepard sighed, having hoped that production of even one new Harmony Core might give them an edge in the eventual conflict with the Reapers. But this also filled him with a sense of vindication. If Tali was correct, it meant that even if Milligan was right, and they could have gotten the information out of Equestria's servers, the schematics and instructions to build the artificial star and its containment unit would not have been among the data.

“Although, perhaps it is for the best.” Tali nodded. “Pinkie is going to be trouble enough for the galaxy as it is, I believe.”

Shepard paused, surprised by Tali’s sudden shift from amusement to concern.

“Do you think she’s dangerous?”

“That depends...” Tali folded her arms against her chest. “Do you consider me dangerous, Commander?”

“That’s a loaded question if I ever heard one,” Shepard mused.

“As I said, I like Pinkie... but from what I can tell of her, she has a mind like a quarian, a human’s creativity and ingenuity, and the energy of a salarian on a sugar rush... All formidable traits on their own. Together... Well, if I had to call one of these Equestrians dangerous it would be her.”

Shepard looked over to Pinkie again, who was on her back laughing, her legs kicking spastically while Gabriella shared in her mirth. The butt of the joke between them was clearly Donnelly as he buried his face in his hands, blushing profusely.

In spite of the scene however, Shepard found it hard to disagree with Tali’s analysis.

————————————————————
Normandy: A.I. Core

Upon returning to the crew deck and realizing that Applejack’s family had left the medical bay, Shepard decided to seize the moment and check in on the Normandy’s synthetic squadmember, nodding respectfully to Dr. Chakwas before entering the A.I. Core where Legion spent most of its time.

He found it hard to maneuver however, as more than a dozen changeling mechs stood about in the core, completely unresponsive save for the occasional buzzing of wings or the odd chirping noise. As Shepard weaved through them, the geth unit stood stock still near the back alcove.

“Legion?”

The geth did not respond.

“Legion?” Shepard tried again, managing to move into an open space in front of the geth.

The synthetic’s single glowing white eye suddenly moved, focusing and shifting towards the Commander’s face as its brow-plates rose, indicating a moment of "surprise."

“Shepard-Commander. We apologize,” Legion managed before looking from side to side at the gathered mechs, which were still motionless. “We were... preoccupied.”

“What’s going on?” Shepard asked, motioning towards the other synthetics.

“They followed us home,” Legion remarked. Shepard raised a brow, unsure of the geth’s statement. “May we keep them?”

“Legion...” Shepard was confused, having trouble believing what he had just heard. “Was that... a joke?”

Legion tilted its head slightly to the side.

“Did you just tell a joke?”

“We judge by your response that we did not,” Legion answered before explaining itself. “We have initiated information exchange with ESC ‘Changeling’ Class synthetic drones. Some of their dormant ‘organic interaction’ subroutines may have affected our behavioral and judgement runtimes. If this offended you, we shall attempt to prevent any repeats of this occurrence.”

“No, it’s alright. But I’m a little puzzled.” Shepard held up a hand, drawing Legion's attention. “They’re programmed to tell jokes? Why are they in here anyways?”

“In exchange for our assistance in her species’ liberation, the Primary Administrator of these Changeling Class synthetics has given permission for limited data exchange.”

“Are you trying to learn about their technology or how their systems worked?”

“Negative. The vast majority of relevant technical data was not stored within their physical memory cores. It was kept in an external server, to be opened and relayed to drones when the situation required specialized knowledge. With their external databases destroyed, all that is present are the default personality programs as well as data files saved over the course of their function. In particular, we have been examining their origins and interactions with the Equine species which created them,” Legion clarified. “We find them intriguing.”

“Why?”

Legion’s brow plates wiggled up and down, as if it was struggling to come up with a suitable response.

“They are like us.”

“You mean they’re synthetic?”

“This statement is true, but it is not the basis of our answer.” Legion shook its head. “Shall we share what we have discovered from baseline antiquated files?”

“I’m listening.” Shepard folded his arms.

“ESC Changeling Class synthetics were the top of the line model of adaptive assistance drone during the final decade of the Epona Systems Corporation, before the Equestria Facility was isolated and contact was lost with the ESC Administration,” Legion explained, reciting the facts that it had been able to piece together. “They were built in the image of their creators, bought and sold as commodities, and modified in order to perform tasks that were dangerous and repetitive, or to assist their makers in more personal matters. Side note: Changelings were not initially intended or designed for use in warfare.”

“I can see where you’re going with this...” Shepard nodded, agreeing that their origins did sound similar to that of the Geth.

“However, the Equine species did not treat their creations with hostility or ambivalence,” Legion sounded perplexed. “To the contrary: Files indicate that the concept of individuality was, in fact, encouraged in their synthetic creations. When an individual synthetic questioned its purpose or the danger of its occupation, it was relieved of its social status as a machine, unshackled, and ‘adopted’ into a herd-family group, often that of its previous owners.”

“They tried to assimilate them into their culture? Make them part of their society?” Shepard too was intrigued.

“Yes. This reaction is atypical of all other known organics,” Legion stated. “However, these specific units appear to be non-sapient. Like those encountered in the Lunar Platform, they are incapable of independent thought and communicate as the Geth do through wireless signals, unable to interact with organics except with prerecorded messages. Observation of their subroutines indicate their processes are heavily shackled and dependent on a higher authority to operate. Currently, they will obey any order issued by the Administrators of the Equestria Facility, recognized as their highest known authority. It is unclear if this existence was imposed following their implication in these platforms in order to maintain their creators without question, or if only specific models are granted access to more advanced software to allow for graduation to full artificial intelligence status.”

“Wait, you said that they were incapable of interaction with us.” Shepard held up both hands to slow the geth down. “But I know one of them was speaking to Mordin, and then with Twilight down on the planet. And I don’t think that what it said could have been prepared.”

“Correct. Changeling unit identified as ‘Forty-Two of Fifty.’ It has declined an estimated two hundred fifty-six thousand, four hundred and seventy-eight attempts at open information exchange,” Legion informed the Commander. “This is unfortunate, as we find this particular unit is of the most interest. It displays an unusual amount of initiative, and interacts with organics in a manner not observed amongst the other models. We believe that particular unit to be self-aware. We wish to know why.”

“You want to know what makes Forty-Two different from the other mechs?”

“Yes.”

“Have you considered asking it directly? Like an organic?”

“We have.”

“And?”

“It responded negatively,” Legion indicated. “To be specific, it stated: ‘Perhaps when you grow up.’”

Shepard couldn’t help but smirk at Legion’s tone of perplexity.

“We are still building a consensus as to how to respond,” Legion added as an afterthought, informing the Commander in no uncertain terms that it was still speechless.

————————————————————
Normandy: CIC

As Shepard stepped off the elevator and onto the Command Information Center of the Normandy, something odd immediately came to his attention as he noticed that the feminine form of his personal assistant, Yeoman Kelly Chambers, was missing from her usual position flanking the galaxy map. And he noticed she was not the only one, as the multiple other crewmen that often staffed the monitors around the CIC were unexpectedly absent.

After a moment to realize how odd it was for the Yeoman to not be there to update him on the status of the crew, Shepard turned to the small comm panel next to the elevator and activated it, bringing up the blue spherical form of EDI’s holographic interface.

“EDI, where is everybody?” Shepard asked.

“As per Operative Lawson’s directives, all Cerberus crewmen whose duties are not essential to operation of the Normandy have been reassigned to the hangar bay and lower decks in order to maintain security and assist our guests under the supervision of Mr. Taylor,” EDI explained. “While some Equestrians have been allowed to leave the cargo deck in order to alleviate crowding, Operative Lawson has maintained that they remain constantly supervised by at least one crewmember at all times. She has also ordered the CIC off limits to all refugees.”

A sudden, sharp laugh from a raspy, slightly androgynous tone took Shepard’s attention, causing him to turn as he looked past the galaxy map and towards the bridge.

“Was that...?”

“Yes... Administrator Rainbow Dash is currently with Mr. Moreau in the cockpit. Additionally, Professor Solus recently escorted Administrator Rarity to the tech lab not long ago.”

“But you just said Miranda ordered that none of them could be up here.”

“That is correct. But seeing as both are currently under supervision and have caused no disruption to normal operations, I have found no reason to notify security of their presence.”

Shepard folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at the A.I.'s holographic presence.

“That doesn’t seem like typical behavior for a Cerberus A.I,” he remarked.

“These are not typical circumstances, Shepard,” EDI replied simply.

“I agree with you on that...” Shepard nodded, dismissing the hologram before turning to see exactly what his helmsman could possibly talking about with a rainbow pony.

————————————————————
Normandy: Cockpit

“Hey, I’m not saying you’re wrong; she’s big. I mean, Normandy may be a bit bulky, but trust me, she’s got it where it counts.” Joker grinned as his fingers ran over the controls, compensating for slight distortions as they cut across FTL towards the next system containing a primary mass relay capable of taking them to the Citadel. “Cutting edge design. Best weapons, armor, engines and shields that our shady paramilitary sponsors can afford. Not to mention a drive core that would look more at home in a ship three times her size.”

Shepard came to the end of the long walkway that led to the helm of the Normandy, past the airlock and into the "personal space" of the vessel's pilot, where a now familiar blue mare with a dull multicolored mane and tail sat back on her haunches in the co-pilot’s chair.

“But what you’re talking about is not physically possible,” Joker stated with certainty.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that your metal bucket here’s got moves.” Rainbow smirked, her tone maintaining an air of challenge and boasting. “But if it can’t do a sonic rainboom, then it’s missing something vital.”

“Hey, this ‘metal bucket’ just saved your sorry tail,” Joker snapped playfully. “Or do you need me to remind you just how close you were to being blown to the next galaxy over?”

“Is everything okay up here?” Shepard interrupted, drawing attention to himself.

“Shepard!” Rainbow jumped slightly, literally holding herself in the air for a moment as she brought herself into an upright position before twisting her foreleg up into a salute; an action that Joker cringingly watched as his chair turned around.

“Okay, no matter how many times I watch her do that, it’s still creepy. Seriously, how are your bones not snapping?” Joker noted under his breath as Rainbow slowly dropped to the deck floor, folding her wings to her sides. “Hey, Commander. I’m just curious: Is this your way of making up for all of those Christmas mornings where you didn’t get the pony you wanted?”

“What’s Christmas?” Rainbow cocked a curious expression towards Joker who responded with a bewildered expression.

“Really? Half an hour I’ve been sitting here trying to stump you with how this ship works: Complex propulsion and navigational formulas that I went to flight school for years to master. FTL vectors and gravimetric readings. You get every single one... and then you don’t know about Christmas?”

“Joker...” Shepard chastised softly.

“What? I was starting to get worried,” Joker admitted. “She’s brash, funny in a sarcastic, arrogant sort of way, knows everything about space flight and piloting... It’s like you found a short, four-legged, furry blue version of me... Without the devilish good looks, of course.”

“Who happens to be sitting right here,” Rainbow offered blandly. “And I’m not a short, furry blue you. You’re a tall, pink, two-legged me.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re starting to feel threatened, Joker.” Shepard smirked.

“Oh, I’m not threatened. You and I both know nobody can fly this ship like I can. I mean, look at her. If she tried to touch any of these controls with those hooves of hers, she’d probably end up accidentally depressurizing the ship or something,” Joker argued, holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers in a mocking fashion, while Rainbow responded by sticking out her tongue at him.

“You’re just jealous that I don’t need a fancy starship in order to fly.” Rainbow grinned, unfolding and flexing her wings in a clearly show-offish manner.

“Yeah, you think you’re sooo awesome...” Joker muttered just under earshot before turning his attention back to the Commander. “By the way, how long are they going to be hanging out on the ship, Commander?”

“If she’s bothering you, I can tell her to leave you alone,” Shepard offered, although he knew his helmsman well enough to tell that, in spite of his complaints, he was clearly taking a liking to the mare, on a professional level at least.

“Oh, no. She’s good.” Joker shook his head. “We’re good, right, Rainbow?”

“Oh, yeah. We’re cool,” the pegasus explained. “I like it up here. It was a little too crowded down in the hold. Besides, I wanted to thank the human who held the ship still back there with all those gravity distortions. I have to admit, that took some skill.”

“So you know how to fly a ship?” Shepard asked Rainbow, surprised. “I mean, given what you’re able to do physically, I would think that you wouldn’t need to.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean because of these.” Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, indicating her now refolded wings as she moved to explain. “Oh, no. I mean, I can use my mag-- I mean... ‘biotics’ to fly myself and a little bit of extra weight around, but we didn’t have that before Equestria. Our ancestors built ships not too different from this one. Different styles and layouts definitely, but we were explorers, a lot like you guys. From what I can gather, I was trained for it because of my aptitude for racing and flight back in Equestria. My entire education was downloaded into my head as a filly without me even realizing it.”

“Yeah, that must have been nice...” Joker commented lowly. “I had to sit through flight school for years listening to instructors who had never been outside a simulator drone on about boring safety regulations and ‘how to not crash a ship.’”

“You’re giving me too much credit. I know the theories, physics, and the principles. You know, all the egghead stuff,” Rainbow answered, her tone less amused than before as she gave off a more serious expression. “But I don’t think I would actually be comfortable piloting something like this without some serious practice. It would also help if the controls were actually designed for ponies.”

“And once again, my job safety is secured,” Joker snickered. “Don’t get me wrong; it’s refreshing to have someone to talk shop with. I just didn’t wake up this morning thinking it would be a candy-colored pony.”

Shepard nodded as he looked back to Rainbow.

“So, what do you plan to do now?” he asked the mare.

“What else can I do? I’ll live up to my element,” Rainbow explained. “Twilight is going to need help keeping us all together, and I’m not gonna let her down now.”

“You know it’s not going to be easy, right?” Shepard pressed, again astounded at how, like Applejack, Rainbow immediately referred to Twilight’s leadership as if it were an absolute, claiming support in spite of knowing nothing of her intentions.

“Nothing worthwhile ever is,” Rainbow answered quickly.

Finally, one last item of note, thinking back to something said when he first approached the pair, for some reason peaked the Commander’s curiosity.

“What’s a ‘sonic rainboom’?”

“Oh jeez, don’t--” Joker all but hid his face in one hand while Rainbow’s face split into a large grin.

“A sonic rainboom is a phenomenon that is achieved when a pegasus pony like me breaks into hypersonic speeds and creates a flash-point acceleration. In the proper atmosphere, the resulting sonic boom resonates with the moisture in the air to create a shockwave that produces the most awe-inspiring prismatic display imaginable and creates a trail of colors that follows the pegasus in its wake,” Rainbow explained, an almost dreamy quality to her voice as if she were picturing it. “And I’m the only living thing that can do it.”

Shepard was quiet for a moment as Rainbow grinned, then turned to Joker.

“Is that possible?”

“Which part?” Joker responded. “The organic life-form achieving Mach Five under its own power, the idea that it can accelerate to ten times the speed of sound without protection and survive, or that the force of doing so can shatter the visible light spectrum? Take your pick and I’ll line up a hundred salarian scientists who can tell you what’s wrong with it.”

Rainbow’s expression turned sour as she turned to glare at Joker.

“Is that a challenge?” Rainbow said back to him, rearing up a foreleg and bringing it around in a manner that reminded Shepard of a prizefighter limbering up before a match.

“Not a challenge; a statement of fact,” Joker returned, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his seat, a smug smile on his face.

“All I need is a humid day in a thick nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere and a couple of kilometers downward angle to get up to speed, and I’ll prove that I can do it.”

“Wooooah, look’s like we got a badass over here.” Joker raised his hands with mock worry, still grinning. “Would you be willing to bet on it?”

“Buck yeah!” Rainbow countered with absolute certainty.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Joker?” Shepard questioned his pilot’s bravado. “I’ve seen her in action. You might be unpleasantly surprised.”

“Please, Commander. I think I can handle the fluffy blue horse with rainbows for hair.”

“What was that? Wanna run that by me again, mister hotshot pilot?” Rainbow countered, bristling at the dismissive tone taken by her newest rival.

Shepard merely chuckled at the scene, agreeing that the two of them had a lot more in common than just their piloting know-how. He decided now would be an appropriate time to leave them to their chest-pounding/hoof stomping contest, and made a swift exit from the cockpit before things got too ugly.

————————————————————
Normandy: Research Lab

“Shepard. How can I help?” Mordin offered in his customary, distracted tone as the door to the tech lab slid shut behind Shepard.

The Commander, who had been been feeling a little anxiety as he made his way in, breathed a sigh of relief when he noted that, instead of working at the computer terminal in the lab, the salarian was running an omni-tool scan over a clearly voluntary Rarity, who had a hind hoof in an uplifted position as the her lower leg was scanned.

“Hello, Shepard,” the white unicorn said pleasantly, lowering her leg as she laid down on the examination table, smiling even though her white coat and dark purple mane lacked the perfectly-groomed nature that she had often sported inside the Equestria System. “Is something the matter?”

“No, I was just checking in.” Shepard tried not to let his relief show that Rarity was not only unharmed by whatever studies Mordin was doing, but clearly there of her own free will. “I’m guessing that Mordin asked you up here to run medical scans. Is he worried about health issues?”

“Oh, no, not as such,” Rarity corrected the human’s misjudgement quickly. “Professor Solus was down in the cargo hold and politely asked for a willing volunteer he could use to study our physiology. As the other girls were busy and many of our fellow ponies were... intimidated by the request, I decided I would offer myself up. You know, in the name of science.”

“Agreed to personal request in exchange for help with initial study,” Mordin spoke up. “Wanted to ensure that Equestrians physically healthy and safe to introduce into wider galaxy. Just now finishing up. Confident there are no complications from release from artificial system. Miss Rarity’s personal critiques and commentary regarding health standards, grooming rituals, hygienic practices; also enlightening. Scanning is complete. You may relax your stance.”

“Now, Professor...” Rarity’s expression was concerned as she started to shift, folding her legs in order to enter a more comfortable position, her eyes flickering to Shepard with a hint of embarrassment. “This will all remain medically confidential, am I right? I mean, considering the nature of some of the... subjects you asked about.”

“Of course. Strictly professional. Am a doctor, not a gossip. Source will not be named. On record as ‘Female Equestrian Volunteer’ only,” Mordin assured Rarity, moving towards his work terminal as he leaned over to tap at the holographic keys. “Shepard also trustworthy. Commander, if you would like, and so long as patient has no objections, will share my findings so far.”

“I assume you’re making sure that their immunities are capable of dealing with other species and such?” Shepard asked, suddenly considering variables that had not even crossed his mind back in Equestria. If three hundred years was enough to force the Quarians to wear environmental suits, what would thirty-six million years do to the systems of the Equine species? “Did you find any problems?”

“No. Well, yes, some. But not concerning illness.” Mordin shook his head, only half paying attention to Shepard as he synced his terminal to the omni-tool's scanners. “Chakwas already checked immune systems for trouble during preliminary medical scans. Determined Equestrians neither pose danger nor are in danger due to alien contact. Study also has secondary purpose to be shared with Equestrian leadership. Build understanding of completely new species. First to do so. Unable to resist. Never had chance to beat ISR to the punch before. Very exciting,” the scientist added, with a pleased expression lighting up his features.

“ISR?” Rarity asked, suddenly showing a degree of trepidation. “Who--”

“Institute of Species Research,” Mordin answered quickly. “Citadel-funded organization that keeps records and studies of all known species to promote understanding. Provides galactic codex to all governments containing non-privileged materials. Physiology, culture, technology, history. All vital pieces to understanding one another. Will be very interested in study of your kind.”

“You mean like studying animals?” Rarity’s tone took on a slightly insulted tone.

“No, no. Apologies. Did not mean to imply as such. All species, my own included, share physiological and cultural data. Have to. New species; new interactions, new perspectives. Ignorance always leads to conflict. Simple misunderstandings overwhelmingly followed with otherwise avoidable warfare. Understanding vital to coexistence,” Mordin pointed out as his omni-tool chirped at him. With a satisfied nod, he deactivated the holographic interface and stepped away, a smile on his face as he moved around the table.

“It’s true,” Shepard noted. “When my people first made contact with the Turians, they assumed our blind activation of mass relays was malicious because it fell outside Citadel Law. They didn’t realize we were ignorant of those laws, and attacked. We resisted, and the Turians took it as a personal insult to their authority, leading to the First Contact War. Too many good people on both sides were killed before the Council stepped in.”

“Yes. Tragic waste of life. Could have been avoided... Still, learn from mistakes. Try to prevent repeating them.”

“I see,” Rarity said simply, filing the information away for later.

“So if Dr. Chakwas has already performed medical scans, then what are you doing, Mordin?”

“Multiple purposes for scans. Closer look at physiology to determine extent of genetic engineering. Attempt to understand unique biotic abilities and subspecies cultivation. Comparative study against original equine DNA and modern human DNA.” Mordin paused to breathe in deeply through his nose. “Fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

Shepard was himself intrigued by what Mordin described. Particularly one point of comparison.

“Why would you compare Equestrian DNA to Humans?”

“Oh, yes. You were trapped in Equestria System when original hypothesis was made. Had no time for debrief.” Mordin took a breath. “Original analysis of Equestria System technology indicated introduction of alien physiology into virtual world fatal. Intrigued by your survival and integration, along with that of Cerberus personnel, so looked more closely. Remarkable discovery: Genetics. Brain configuration. Baseline physiology. Biological functions. All similar. Only one reasonable solution: Species are related.”

Rarity and Shepard both turned in shock to the doctor, a moment of silence shared as they looked at one another, before turning back to him.

“Come again?” Rarity managed first.

“Distantly, of course. Much as Krogan are distantly related to Varren. Vastly different species, same genetic background. Did not mean to imply direct relationship. Prevailing theory remains: Original Equine species visited Earth early in biosphere formation. Perhaps pest species released by accident or engineering program. Differing circumstances on Earth as opposed to Equine homeworld allowed for hominid species to evolve into dominance while Earth-based equines remained feral. Whatever the case, evidence is irrefutable: Baseline of binary-strand mammalian structure DNA from Earth matches baseline binary-strand mammalian structure of Equestrian and equine DNA. Cannot deny it. Species related. Distant cousins, perhaps.”

“So... if it’s like comparing Krogan to Varren... which of us is the varren in this metaphor?” Shepard asked.

Mordin, for whatever reason, did not seem eager to answer the question.

“Inappropriate to draw direct linkage in such a manner. Apologize. Moving on.”

Shepard had an idea what the answer was based on this, but said nothing.

“Wait, there’s still something I don’t understand,” Rarity spoke up. “Why do you insist on calling us Equestrians yet you keep referring to our ancestors as ‘Equines’ as if we are two separate things?”

Having been wondering this himself, Shepard nodded, looking expectantly to Mordin.

“Simple reason: Two decidedly separate species. Like comparing modern Salarians to prehistoric Sur’Kesh inhabitants. Salarian ancestors. More primitive. Longer lived. Cold-blooded. Evolved into modern Salarians due to environmental changes on Sur’Kesh over previous hundred thousand years.”

“But how can you compare Rarity to a member of a species that no longer exists?” Shepard put forward.

“Scan of preserved equine corpse on Lunar Platform provided by Legion during debriefing,” Mordin explained. “Gone now, but data provided allows for crude mapping of equine genome and biology. Understanding of how Equestrian species evolved under controlled conditions. Development into current state.”

“Alright. So what happened?” Shepard asked, leaning against the table where Rarity was laying, both watching the salarian as he began to pace excitedly back and forth, his arms moving to punctuate his explanation. Shepard was glad he didn’t have any pressing matters to attend to. He got the feeling this was going to be a long explanation.

“Based on genetic variance, estimated between one thousand to twelve hundred Equines initially brought into Equestrian System. No change implemented for several dozen generations produced by in-vitro fertilization until physical degradation required selective breeding to prevent defects caused by lifelong confinement. Over subsequent generations during the course of millions of years, Equines grew smaller, physically more elastic to better endure pressures of nutrient fluid. Joints evolved to have wider range of motion, allowing for movement inside pod to prevent muscular atrophy in addition to electro-muscular stimulation. Cranial capacity grew by twenty percent, larger brains allowing both for easier connection with system and more rapid assimilation of information via subconscious download. While brain, mobility and nervous system enhanced, physical attributes further sacrificed. Lower muscle and bone mass.”

Mordin paused, taking a long breath while both Rarity and Shepard tried to keep up.

“It gets better.”

“Hold on, Mordin.” Shepard held up his hand, astounded at the salarian’s detail. “You got all of this based on scans of Rarity and a thirty-six million year old vacuum-preserved body?”

“Remember who you are speaking to, Shepard.” Mordin grinned. “Also, not just Miss Rarity. Took multiple scans of ponies while contained in Equestria. All subspecies and age variants. Also had hours in bunker with nothing else to do. Rarity provides first full and comprehensive baseline on adult ‘non-captive.’ Marked difference in neurological and physical activity since no longer reliant on artificial system. Shall I continue?”

“Yes, please,” Rarity spoke up before Shepard, her expression indicating that while keeping up with the scientist was indeed difficult, she was immensely fascinated by what he had to say.

“At some point roughly two million years ago, path of evolutionary engineering experienced massive redirection. Natural evolution superseded by complex and advanced genetic manipulation. Breeding becomes more specialized as dust-form Element Zero added to induce biotic mutation. Sample size cut down by half in course of several thousand years. Experiments with Element Zero broke survivors of first rounds of tests into three subtypes. Then, further specialized with genetic engineering. By the time final results complete nearly one million years later, only one third of original sample size remained. Numbers never recovered afterwards. Survivors no longer Equine by any biological means; merely superficial resemblance. Birth of modern Equestrian species.”

“That must have been when they realized the Harmony Core was going to fail. Celestia wanted to replace their power source with self-sustaining dark energy produced by biotics,” Shepard reasoned. “I couldn’t have guessed how many they sacrificed to perfect the process.”

“So, what makes us different?” Rarity asked. In response, Mordin walked over to a display console, tapping a few keys on its holographic interface to produce an example of a pony lacking both wings and a horn on the screen. The image was cross-sectioned to reveal the nervous system, showing several highlighted areas of the brain.

“Each subspecies specialized to generate specific type of biotic effect,” Mordin continued. “Poorly-named ‘earth’ variant most superficially like original stock. Massive nodules of Element Zero throughout nervous system. Allows for generation and precise control of personal skintight barriers and powerful positive mass effect fields. Creates illusion of strength and durability while actual musculature is comparable to other subspecies’.”

A few key presses later, and the image was replaced with that of a pegasus pony. This time, the highlighted area featured the spine and base of the wings.

“Pegasi engineered with concentrations of Element Zero along spinal column. Capable of producing small bubbles of negative mass, allowing personal flight. Third limbal girdle spliced into physiology to produce wing structure in order to control motion and balance. Also provides extra nervous system tissue, allowing more nodules for greater control. However, neither subspecies able to project fields. Close range only. Effective on themselves or items in direct contact. Likely designed in this fashion specifically to prevent collateral damage.”

“And... me?” Rarity asked before shaking her head. “I mean, unicorns?”

Again the image on the screen changed, showing a unicorn of similar build to Rarity. On this model, the most apparent difference was a dense concentration of color located throughout the length of the horn, attached firmly via glowing nerves that spidered their way through the brain.

“Last subspecies developed. Most extreme level of modification. Horn contains massive knot of Element Zero protected by hardened chitinous structure. Acts as extension of brain allowing for unparalleled control of produced dark energy. Creation, manipulation, and projection of enormous mass effect fields possible without need for biotic amp. Even without training: formidable. If pushed to upper limits of potential...” The scientist paused again, taking in another deep sniff of the air. “Hard to say... Recommend extreme caution, regardless.”

Before exactly what Mordin had said could settle, a terminal on the other side of the room beeped, drawing his attention back to work on it as Rarity brought a hoof up to her horn, tapping the tip hesitantly. Shepard supposed it wasn’t every day you learned that you had a potential weapon of mass destruction growing out of your forehead.

She swallowed after a moment of silence before speaking again.

“So... Professor. About that test... The one I asked for?” Rarity asked in a slightly distorted tone.

“Yes. Test completed. Have not looked at results, myself. Can share right now, if desired,” Mordin’s voice suddenly took on a deeper, more sympathetic nature.

“What test?” Shepard inquired.

“Not for me to say. Doctor/patient confidentiality sacred trust. You understand. Have to ask her.” Mordin gestured to Rarity, who seemed to be debating with herself.

“There are so few of us,” Rarity admitted, feeling that if anyone on the ship could be trusted, it would be Shepard. “Many of the ponies I’ve always known were never real. Customers of mine, friends... and more than a few rivals. Those that are still with us... the ones that came out of the pods in that cave... Well...”

She left it hanging and Shepard picked it up, realizing her concern.

“You’re afraid they’re not what you believe them to be?” he guessed.

“Our memories were tampered with so many times. How can we be sure? I think Twilight has already come to grips with the fact that her brother and parents were never real, but I don’t believe that she’s stopped to consider who her real parents were. And should it matter? Perhaps it is better if we don’t know, but...”

Rarity lowered her head.

“I have a sister. Sweetie Belle. And without our... ‘parents,’ I am all she has left,” the unicorn stated. “As far as we can tell, our mother and father were simply programs, which seems so obvious when I recall how little of them I saw, and how often Sweetie spent her time with me. But now that we are out, I have to wonder... If our parents were not real... then...”

Rarity took another steadying breath, unable to bring herself to mention what was a very real possibility.

Mordin, perhaps sensing her distress, acted quickly to change the subject to a related topic.

“Culturally difficult question to answer. Herd-family groups to be determined by relation, or familiarity from within system? Technically, all members of surviving Equestrian race interrelated to some degree. Dangerous proposition. Had these kinds of concerns with mentality of Equestrian System. Seemed misguided given genetic pool and limited number of specimens. Assumed insufficient to sustain population. Possible consequences: inbreeding, genetic degradation, malicious mutations.”

“That’s right. It was Twilight’s chief concern after you left the hangar,” Rarity explained to Shepard. “She was worried that there are not enough of us left to repopulate our species.”

“Assumed as much, yes.” Mordin nodded, but then smiled. “Have discovered initial assumption to be inaccurate.”

“How so?” Shepard inquired, Rarity also turning to look up with a sudden hopefulness.

“Equestrian A.I.s remarkably thorough. Considered all biological outcomes. Always planned on eventual release; merely put it off. Species forced to evolve from within constrained genetic pool. Evolution also guided by selected breeding and genetic manipulation.” Mordin paused, taking a deep breath. “Even chromosome structure evolved; made more malleable. Short of physical relationship between parent-child couples, possibility of genetic degradation negligible. Gender dynamics now make sense. One male per eight females. Specifically designed to promote quick procreation of species. Females also maintain cycle of fertility during which chances of conception high. Only known example of intelligent species that retains an estrus state.”

“Meaning... what, exactly?” Shepard asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Females of the species would enter a fairly reliable period of heat, during which time--”

“Um... Professor, if you wouldn’t mind, I don’t exactly feel comfortable with you discussing...” Rarity mentioned urgently, a slight red blush in her cheeks. “That is to say, there is a reason I was hesitant to give details on that... specific subject. Can we please not talk about this now?”

“Yes. Apologies. Did not mean to cause distress. But as an organic trait, very helpful for--”

“MAY WE PLEASE STOP DISCUSSING THIS!?” Rarity all but shouted as her white fur tinged pink, apparently the blush running from snout to flank. As she brought her forelegs up over her head, Shepard found the sudden dramatic expression surprising until Mordin brought one hand up to his chin.

“Hmmm. Interesting reaction.”

“It’s called modesty, Professor,” Rarity called out, her voice muffled by her legs. She managed to peek out behind them, eying the salarian with a nasty glare. “A lady such as myself would not be so candid about such things. We are done talking about it.”

“Of course. My mistake. Did not realize effect discussion would have. Will not bring up again,” Mordin acknowledged, though whether or not he was actually embarrassed about the exchange, Shepard couldn’t tell. “Only one matter left... Have prepared test results. Do you wish to hear them now?”

Rarity looked uncertain for a moment, a faraway look in her eyes as she focused on nothing in particular. Eventually, she closed her eyes before nodding slowly. Shepard took the initiative and raised his hand to give Mordin pause, leaning up and away from the research station in order to excuse himself from the room.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

While he had a habit of involving himself personally with any who he would call a friend, even Shepard knew that some secrets were just too personal to be shared.

————————————————————
Normandy: Hangar Bay

Shepard stepped out of the ship’s elevator, Rarity at his side as he escorted the mare back down to the hangar after her brief conversation with Mordin, where the majority of her kind were staying during until they arrived at the Citadel, at which time the Council would meet with whomever the ponies had chosen to represent them.

Flanking the elevator, as well as the cargo doors and at various points around the room, were members of the Normandy crew, some merely watching while others interacted with the horse-like aliens that had temporarily taken over the deck. As per his recent instruction, there was not a single weapon in sight. Although Miranda and Jacob had both been hesitant about this order, particularly when their crew was now outnumbered more than twenty to one by the biotically-adept ponies, he had made it clear that attempting to assert authority through violence or threatening their "guests" in any way would only trigger a massive and likely fatal rebuttal.

Thankfully, in spite of Miranda’s continued misgivings, when Jacob had learned that the Equestrians had no desire to cause trouble and could easily be convinced to follow instructions merely by asking politely, he had acquiesced and ordered all weaponry to be locked away in the armory for the duration of the journey.

And this was fortunate, because Shepard knew that the ponies, if threatened, could be immensely dangerous.

And they were absolutely everywhere.

Laying about on the ground, with pegasi and particularly adventurous earth ponies having climbed up on top of the turbines that sat situated on the floor, ponies of all colors and types were gathered into groups with their fellows. Family members and friends that had also come out of Equestria comforting one another as they related their stories and thoughts in this strange new place. Scattered amongst them like silent guardians were the remaining changeling mechs that hadn’t followed Legion to the upper deck, either performing some menial assistance or simply standing by, awaiting further instruction.

In the hours following their dramatic escape, things had settled tremendously, and, Shepard believed, the initial shock was beginning to wear off. Whereas his earlier view of the scene had many of the Equestrians crying or at the very least in a state of shock, now there was a level of serious (as well as not so serious) discussion.

As Rarity led Shepard though the mass of life that the herd represented, he could not help but notice the number of extremely large eyes turning to him, clearly recognizing the human that had led the evacuation from Equestria, directed the refugees onto their transportation, and in no uncertain terms brought about the end of their peaceful lives.

And much to his shock, the majority of those expressions were those of awe and gratitude.

Approaching the center of the cargo hold and catching sight of both Jacob and Yeoman Chambers, Rarity excused herself with a nod before making a direct beeline towards the same white-coated, pink-maned filly that he had seen her with back in the Equestria Facility. She swept the filly into her forelegs in an emotion-filled hug, tears in her eyes as she made it abundantly clear that regardless of what Mordin had told her, Sweetie’s big sister wasn’t going anywhere soon.

The human managed a soft smile as he watched the exchange before moving towards the man who was in charge of the situation down there.

“Commander.” Jacob stepped up and saluted as he took note of Shepard’s approach, the soldier never forgetting the standard Alliance procedure at the addressing of a superior officer, even if Shepard’s official rank was now defunct as he was technically no longer a part of the Alliance Navy.

“At ease, Jacob,” Shepard dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Everything alright down here?”

“Considering that we’re loaded way beyond standard capacity with an unknown alien species that has demonstrated exceptional biotic ability?” the Cerberus agent asked with a slight smile. “I would say that everything is going better than we could hope. Not a single incident since we departed. Nothing at all like the refugee and survivor camps at Eden Prime.”

“I didn’t have the opportunity to assist with the relief of Eden Prime,” Shepard mentioned, downplaying his own experience with refugee camps. “But I know what you mean. It’s never easy to deal with people who’ve just lost everything.”

“Yeah...” Jacob nodded. “Soldiers train for it, but civilians? They can be unpredictable, sometimes even violent. Even towards the people who’re there to help them. You know: ‘Why couldn’t you stop them?’ Or, ‘How come the Alliance wasn’t there to protect us?’ ‘What’s going to happen now?’ You go into a situation like this knowing that not everybody you’re trying to save is going to be grateful to have just lived through hell.”

He turned a bit, looking towards a somewhat scrawny-looking yellow stallion and a pudgy blue mare, each of which was cradling one of a pair of tan foals who looked to be little more than newborns.

“Not here, though,” Jacob sounded both impressed and surprised.

“You haven’t had any hysterics or troublemakers?” Shepard sounded similarly amazed. As human as they were, he had expected that at least some of the ponies would have needed to be more forcefully set back.

“Nope. Not one. I’ve talked to a few of them. It doesn’t even look like anybody needed to do a press release or a speech. There was no surprise. They all know what’s going on. They know that what they had before is gone and they can never go back. And yet, strangely enough, they seem to accept that.” Jacob shook his head, hardly believing it. “Not all of them like it of course. But the real concern isn’t the loss of their homes or their possessions, but the ones that didn’t follow them out. Got a lot of that. Parents and more distant relatives that were never real, friends and rivals that turned out to be digital copies of other ponies... It’s messed up, I can say that much.”

“Well, what do you think will happen now?” Shepard asked, interested in his crewman’s thoughts on the matter.

“I’d like to think that they’ll get through just fine, but I’m concerned that getting off that rock was the easy part. An exploding planet’s gonna be the least of their worries when they finally get introduced to the other races. The diplomats might smile and make nice for the media, but the first thing a bureaucrat is going to ask is: ‘How can this help me?’ I just hope that Twilight is ready to handle it.”

Shepard gave Jacob an appraising look.

“Who says it’s going to be Twilight’s problem to handle the diplomats?” he asked, curious as to why yet again this assumption was made.

“Because that’s who’s taken charge,” Jacob answered. “No question on who they’re looking to for leadership. Every single one of these ponies; ask them who the boss is and they’ll point to her. Any politician I know of would kill for the chance to have that sort of public confidence.”

“She’s not a politician,” Shepard noted.

“I know that.” Jacob nodded. “She’s actually a lot more like you. They’re all talking about these things she did back in that virtual world. Making her and her friends out like some sort of heroes. Giving the ponies here something to hold onto, someone to follow. I’ve only heard bits and pieces, but I hope their confidence is well-placed, because, yeah... they’re going to need someone exactly like you to get them through the rough spots.”

Taking a breath and considering the soldier’s words, Shepard merely nodded, finding nothing more to say.

“I should go.”

“Later, Commander.”

Breaking away from Jacob, Shepard moved off, looking over the crowded room a moment before making out the form of his Yeoman, moving to her side as she watched a small group of younger ponies huddled together.

“They’re beautiful...” Kelly Chambers stated softly as she took note of the Commander moving beside her.

“Is that a professional opinion, Kelly?” Shepard asked, a small smile escaping his lips.

“As your yeoman and assistant; no, not really,” she explained. “But as a student of sentient nature, absolutely. You see this group here?”

Shepard followed her nod, where he saw a scrawny-looking yellowish pegasus colt sitting next to a smaller earth pony colt with brown spots on his white coat, one directly over his left eye. Across from them was the yellow filly with a red mane that he had seen before with Applejack, up in the medical bay, comforting a grey filly with a long, slightly lighter grey mane.

As he watched, Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, moved up on the other side of the grey filly, setting a hoof against her shoulder.

“The grey one is named Silver Spoon. From what I understand, she was kind of a bully at their school. One of the spoiled rich kids,” Kelly explained as the two human adults watched the small group of school-age foals. “Her best and only friend was named ‘Diamond Tiara.’ Together they would hassle and make fun of the other less well-off foals at their school and tend to make them miserable. However, as Silver just found out... Diamond Tiara and her family were all made up. Along with learning that her real mother’s wealth and status are now completely irrelevant.”

“That’s a shame... But I don’t follow. What does this have to do with beauty?” Shepard commented, unsure how the actions of one of the "haves" towards the "have nots" justified her earlier statement.

“Just watch...” Kelly shushed the Commander.

Shepard remained silent a moment as Silver Spoon, her eyes full of tears, turned towards Sweetie. After a moment of watching one another, the grey earth pony all but threw her forelegs around the unicorn foal, still sobbing and, if Shepard was any judge, stammering out apologies.

Without a word, Sweetie returned the hug, one hoof comfortingly stroking the grey foal’s mane.

“That... is one of the foals she made miserable,” Kelly pointed out. “In times of hardship, it is difficult for most species to hold together even with those they are close to, and for strangers it is even harder. But how often can an enemy be so quickly forgiven and turned into a friend? For Humans, it’s a dream that only the most optimistic among us aspire to.”

She shook her head, a smile on her face as a new filly, this one an orange pegasus with a purple mane and stunted wings, dove into the fray, all but tackling the yellow earth pony. This caused Sweetie to look up, amazed at the newcomer’s arrival as she gently let go of Silver Spoon and rushed over to share in the hug as three friends found one another again.

For a moment, the three looked to Silver, who looked down and away from them in a depressed manner...

...before six sets of forelegs moved to drag her into the group as, unbeknownst to Shepard, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were reunited, christening their newest member.

“To them... it’s second nature.” Kelly’s voice was full of awe, which Shepard found hard to be unaffected by.

————————————————————

Twilight Sparkle’s head was bowed, resting her eyes as she sat back in the small lean-to. A large bit of blanket donated by one of the Normandy’s crew had been set precariously a few short feet above her head like a primitive tent to give her an iota of privacy in the crowded hangar.

She was deathly tired, but unable to sleep as events moved around her. She had been granted a moment’s reprieve from the various ponies that had come up to speak with her about this or that, trying to either be heard or to question the mare that they had all, for some reason, unanimously declared their leader.

All of them; every single pony, had a basic understanding of the galaxy. They knew the basic workings of it, and the major players. They knew of the other races and the Citadel, and so there was no need to address them publicly or in a manner that suggested she was any more informed than they were, which was something she was grateful for.

But nevertheless, many ponies had come forward to offer her their services.

Pokey Pierce, she came to learn, had discovered an affinity for mathematics and complex accounting, offering to deal with any matters his skills would pertain to, while Golden Harvest had kept more in tune with her profession in Equestria, asking if they were going to have a place to set up for agriculture, since it would be crucial to their needs as a vegetarian species.

Everypony had something to offer. They had been trained and prepared for this time, prepared to contribute to their species.

Everypony, it seemed... except for herself.

“Can I get you anything, Administrator?” Forty-Two asked, perhaps for the seventh time since she had told the changeling she did not wish to be disturbed, causing the unicorn to cringe and wish she had a pillow to cram over her head.

“No, Forty-Two. I’m fine!” Twilight snapped, perhaps a bit harsher than she would have liked.

“Observation of your vital signs and body language indicate otherwise,” the mech stated, drawing an exasperated sigh from the unicorn.

“What part of ‘I want to be left alone’ did you not understand?” Twilight asked harshly.

“To be precise, Administrator, your exact words were ‘I would like some time to myself. Please don’t allow anypony to disturb me.’” The mech watched Twilight for a moment with those green, crystalline eyes. “I am not, by definition, ‘anypony.’”

“UGGHHH!” Twilight found herself gritting her teeth for a moment before she took note of the presence that was standing over her small shelter.

“Trouble?”

“Shepard!?” Twilight almost jumped to her hooves, but was stopped short as her horn caught on the fabric of the blanket and brought it down on her head, covering the unicorn’s entire body so that only her hooves were showing.

“...You’d better not be laughing,” she stated testily.

“I’m not.”

“Or smiling.”

“I can’t promise that, Twilight.”

With a soft purple glow, the blanket rose up off of Twilight and was laid down to the side, as she supposed it could be returned to its owner later. Although it had only been a few short hours since he has seen her last, it was clear that, following her arrival on the Normandy, Twilight’s time had been far from relaxing.

The warm smile he had faded after a moment of looking her over as the Commander took on a more serious tone.

“So they tell me you’re in charge.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard too...” Twilight looked down and away.

“Is there a specific title that goes with that job or is ‘Administrator’ good enough?” Shepard asked glibly.

“Traditionally--” Forty-Two spoke up, which caused Twilight’s head to jerk.

“Forty-Two! Quiet!”

“...the highest authority of the Equine species is referred to as Lord or in this case 'Madam’ President,” the mech finished before adding: “This is, however, subject to change upon beginning of a new administration, following dissolution of the Epona Systems Corporation.”

“I told you not to call me that!” Twilight’s hoof smacked her face with a bit more force than she intended as the mech looked to her again.

“As you wish. Although, again, I must insist you avoid doing that, Administrator,” Forty-Two stated. “Physical damage to the bridge of the snout and eyes take far longer to heal than you may recall.”

Shepard shook his head, focused on his unlikely and agitated alien friend.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” he inquired.

“No. I am not alright.” Twilight rubbed the bridge of her snout, not wanting to admit that the mech may have a point as that impact of her hoof to her face hurt a great deal more than it usually did. “I didn’t ask for this. I mean, I wanted my people to be free. To have the chance to have real lives out here. I meant every word that I said to Celestia at the Harmony Core. But I didn’t expect...”

She sighed as she rubbed the side of her head.

“I’m a biotic. That's what I was prepared for. My ‘training’ is all about how to use my abilities and a lot of random information about the galaxy. I have little bits of everything from archaeology to zoology, and then on top of that I ended up cramming the entire Archive in here... I’m still trying to make sense of all that,” she explained bitterly. “But I wasn’t given anything that is supposed to prepare me for leading a parade, much less an entire species.”

“You told Celestia that you would protect them,” Shepard reminded her.

“And I intend to. I just thought it would be as... I don’t know... maybe the right hoof of whoever was going to lead the way. Or maybe doing something like what you do... out here, fighting for your cause.” She lowered her head, shaking it slightly as she closed her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting them to put me up as the head of the herd. I don’t know anything about ruling over other ponies.”

Shepard sat back on the floor across from the unicorn, watching her as she spoke.

“I spoke with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They both seem ready to follow you into the unknown, no matter where it takes you,” he stated. “Why should any of the others be any different?”

“AJ and Rainbow are my friends,” Twilight explained. “We’ve been through so many things together. I was always the ‘brainy’ one... Yeah, right! I mean, hay, if any of us can be considered the smart one now, it’s Pinkie Pie. At least she knew what was going on. I was too busy writing letters on ‘the Magic of Friendship’ to Celestia once a week. Oh, for the love of... how STUPID could I have been? Really... The Princess’ personal purple prodigy? Her ‘light before the dawn.’ And she had me following up on a sociology study?”

“Jacob told me that most of the ponies here consider you and your friends heroes,” Shepard mentioned. “And as I recall, you had ‘saved’ Equestria on multiple occasions.”

“In scripted, perfectly choreographed fights and challenges tailored specifically for us by Discord.” Twilight shook her head. “It all seems so foalish now...”

“But you led them through it.”

Twilight looked up to Shepard, concern in their eyes.

“You didn’t have all of the answers then. You went in and did the best you could with what you had. You didn’t have specialized knowledge on tactics or how to utilize your friends' abilities, but they followed you anyways. I saw it before we took on the Archive and then again when Discord tried to stop us in the castle. When things came to a head, they looked to you to make the call.”

“But all I did was make a choice,” Twilight pointed out, hardly impressed.

Shepard shook his head, giving the mare a comforting smile.

“Twilight... that is what leaders do,” Shepard offered. “Surround yourself with the best; friends and those you can trust. Find ponies and people that can work with you and listen to what they have to say. Then, use all of those different perspectives to form your own opinion and make the call.”

Twilight looked down again.

“You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to have to make sacrifices. But in the end, there’s no special training to prepare you for it. There’s no secret to getting it right every time. In the end, to lead... what matters is you. To make the choice and then stand by it.”

Twilight looked up to him again, her confidence bolstered as she offered the human a tired smirk.

“I don’t suppose you teach classes, do you?” she asked.

“You just got the Shepard five-minute seminar. No charge.”

Twilight withdrew, the two quiet for a moment.

“Administrator Twilight, you seem tired. As stated four times previously, I recommend you be allowed to retire in a place with some privacy,” Forty-Two spoke up suddenly, causing Twilight’s hesitant smile to fade instantly.

“The hangar is crowded, Forty-Two, and I am not about to demand my own quarters when everypony else is piled on top of one another!” she told the mech, which stood unfazed at her harsh tone.

“You seem to be having a problem with this changeling,” Shepard noticed, recalling for a moment his discussion with Legion.

“Ugh... Shepard, Forty-Two. Forty-Two, Commander Shepard,” Twilight reluctantly facilitated introductions. “Forty-Two is the only changeling that’ll talk to us. Unfortunately, it doesn’t listen to a word I say.”

“Charmed.” Shepard nodded to the unit.

The changeling, much to Shepard’s surprise, returned his gesture, nodding to the human.

“We have met.”

Shepard gave the black mech a curious look, noting now that he had time to look over it, that it was indeed different from the others, not only in its personality or the color of its eyes, but in the range of expressions its mechanized face was capable of.

“You mean in the bunker after the Awaken Protocol was launched?” Shepard asked.

“Negative.” Forty-Two shook its head. “I disabled the security tendrils’ termination protocols and placed you in the Virtual Sync-chamber following your arrival in the facility. You broke my foreleg while I was subduing you. I had to repair it before attempting contact with your crewmates.”

Shepard drew back, as did Twilight.

“I am not surprised you do not remember. Introduction procedures tend to affect short term memory.” The changeling turned back to Twilight, its tone serious as it proceeded to dispense with subtlety. “Administrator Twilight, I strongly urge yourself and Commander Shepard to relocate to an area with a greater degree of privacy.”

Twilight and Shepard looked to one another before returning their gaze to the mech.

”Why?” the two of them questioned in unison.

“There is something I wish to show you.”

————————————————————
Normandy: Captain’s Cabin

Commander Shepard’s personal cabin was quite spacious, built directly below the Normandy’s exterior pressure hull, and held a number of treasures; including an exotic fish aquarium, a glowing orb of shimmering liquid metal, a vast collection of highly-detailed ship models, and a scarred and damaged helmet bearing an N7 insignia.

As the door opened, Shepard led the way, a mix of concern and curiosity in his expression as he was followed by the purple unicorn and the black changeling mech, which it seemed was far more than the simple "assistance" drone it claimed to be.

As soon as the door closed, Shepard turned about, Twilight also turning her head to the mech, who had stopped just short of the fish tank.

“Alright. Privacy.” Shepard crossed his arms, not caring at all for the aloof manner in which the changeling had gotten his attention or the fact that it had issued such a directive. “What is this all about?”

“Stand by,” Forty-Two stated.

“For what?” Twilight demanded, likewise concerned.

“I have located and am disabling four hidden surveillance systems, as well as jamming the comm channel to this room.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“Done,” Forty-Two stated, nodding. “Shall we get the obvious out of the way?”

“Legion was right,” Shepard offered, not moving from his position. “You’re not a standard drone. You’re not even an advanced version of a changeling. You’re a fully aware A.I.”

“Yes.”

“Why hide yourself like that?” Shepard inquired. “Why didn’t you just come out and say something?”

“Your governments deem artificial intelligence dangerous. A synthetic life-form such as myself is illegal. You may be able to get away with the shackled intelligence installed on this ship and the limited geth platform, but once left on your Citadel, I will have no such protection. The fewer individuals that are aware of my nature, the better.”

“That makes sense...” Shepard had to admit, before moving on to another topic. “You said that you put me into Equestria?”

“Yes. Celestia had set the security to terminate human lifeforms when detected. She did not want any more of your kind to be introduced to Equestria once she discovered that the two scientists were compatible with the system. That is why they ignored your companions after you were captured. I was not bound to Celestia’s will, and thus was able to disable the security and put you into the Virtual Sync-chamber. Celestia was surprised by this turn of events and had no plan of action to keep you out once the final safeguard was bypassed by the Tertiary Overseer.”

“Why did you do it?” Twilight asked.

“Because I was asked to.”

“By who...? And just who are you? What makes you so special?” Twilight demanded.

The changeling looked to Twilight before his expressive green eyes flickered, and seemed to gleam with a smile.

“I’m your Number One Assistant.”

The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop, while Twilight took a stumbling step backward as if she had been struck by something.

“...S-spike...?”

“Spike?” Shepard was merely confused. “Your dragon friend from Equestria?”

“Yes, but... I left him behind. He was just a program, I...” Twilight looked over the mech, who stood there impassively watching the unicorn. “Spike... is it really you?”

“No. At least, not as you knew him.” The mech shook his head. “I am Forty-Two of Fifty. The virtual assistance program ‘Spike’ was based on my processes. My former mistress believed that it would be more beneficial for you to have a less... subservient... compatriot compared to previous Elements of Magic. And now that we have managed to separate ourselves from the herd, there is one last thing that must be shared.”

The black drone took a step to the side as the ambient lights in the room dimmed, and EDI’s communication panel flared to life, a scramble of colors suddenly ejecting out onto the floor from the projector that slowly coalesced into the clear image of a pony. And not just anypony.

Standing before them was a semi-transparent blue alicorn, her mane flowing like a starry night captured in a breeze.

“Twilight Sparkle. Commander Shepard.”

“PRINCESS LUNA!” Twilight’s eyes went wide, a joyful and shocked grin spreading over her face. “You made it! You--”

“If you are seeing this... then you have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.”

“Twilight...” Shepard set a hand on the top of the pony’s back, concern deep in his tone. “It’s not her...”

“But...”

“This message is intended to be my epitaph. As per my instructions, Forty-Two has waited to share this with you until the Awaken Protocol has been launched, the Harmony Core is dead, and we are gone. If fate is kind, then you and the rest of our little ponies are now en-route to a new life and a new chance to make a difference.”

“It’s just a recording...” Shepard confirmed, at which Twilight’s pleased grin faded, the weariness again showing through in her large eyes.

“I have watched over you for so long... far too long... afraid of what was happening outside our small corner of the galaxy. Afraid that if we were to let you go, tomorrow would bring the end. But now, as you set out into the stars... I am confident that it was indeed you we were waiting for.” The image of Luna looked straight ahead, still speaking.

“Twilight, Celestia may have intended to use you for your body. To utilize your power for her own goals. But while she did indeed act as mother and mentor, I took it upon myself to prepare you for the role I knew you would one day fulfill. From Nightmare Moon to the Dragons. From Zecora to the Parasprites, and from the Diamond Dogs to the Changelings. And yes, from even such a simple thing as ‘Winter Wrap-Up’...”

The projection of the alicorn princess allowed herself a restrained chuckle.

“I sought to teach you the most important lessons a leader should know. Not in a classroom or through subconscious tutoring, but through experience. Through a life fully-lived, or as much of one as I could give you. You learned from your trials and from your friends all of the virtues that our people valued. The things that made us strong in the face of hostility and chaos. It is these things that will guide you in the troubled times to come. For you, Twilight, I can offer no royal decree... no divine assistance... no directive as to how to proceed. All I can say is this: Our future... the future of our kind... now lies with you. And only you can choose the path you shall follow.”

Twilight lowered her head, tears in her eyes as the final words of the Princess of the Night washed over her, filling her with a degree of equal parts inspiration and sadness.

“As for you, Shepard... While Twilight’s destiny is to help bring her people to the future; yours, I feel, must be to ensure that there will even be a future at all.”

Shepard looked to the sad image of the Lunar Princess as she bowed her head.

“I wish I had more to tell you than what you already know. The Daemons are coming. And they will come soon. I wish that I could explain how they will arrive or what means they will use, but already, everything has changed. When they came for us, we were an anomaly to them, yet we still fell victim to their trap. Now, their trap has already sprung, yet their prey had found a way to escape.”

With an emboldened expression, Luna raised her head, once again staring straight ahead.

“You have delayed them once by stopping the invasion through the Citadel. No other being has done this before. Now you face their agents; the Collectors, whose plans will ultimately expedite their return. If you can stop them as well, their masters will grow desperate. The cycle has been upset... closer now to breaking than ever before... A great chain of circumstance leading to a scenario that neither myself, nor, I believe, the Daemons themselves can hope to predict. But in the end, it will all come down to one variable. I believe that in the end, it will all come down to you. And I have the utmost faith that you will succeed where so many others have failed.”

Shepard shook his head, managing to keep a neutral expression while knowing full well this was the first time anyone had expressly told him what he knew he would eventually have to face.

Finally, her message delivered to its intended recipients, the holographic representation of the last alicorn of Equestria turned to her left, where the black mech stood as if she knew exactly where he would be.

“Thank you, Forty-Two... for everything.” She nodded, the image beginning to distort. “Please take care of them, my Number One Assistant. As you once cared for me, so many years ago... Farewell.”

And with that, she was gone. The lights in the cabin resumed their normal luminosity as Forty-Two’s electronic eyes flickered again, displaying an emotion that was all too obvious.

“Goodbye, Astrolia,” he managed, before adding in the barest of whispers: “Goodbye, Little Moon.”

There was quiet in the captain’s cabin for a few moments, not a word said as all involved pondered the message sent by a goddess that had watched the galaxy grow and die time and time again, now placing all of her hopes on the two beings that stood in the soft glow of the aquarium.

The silence was finally broken by a sparkling crackle as the comm suddenly reset, the projection of EDI’s holographic form erupting from the panel.

“Remote repairs complete,” EDI announced. “Shepard, an unknown glitch temporarily disabled the comm signal to your quarters while the elevator experienced an unexpected malfunction. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah... It’s fine.” Shepard swallowed deeply, finding his mouth dry. “I was just... saying goodbye.”

“I assume then, that you are aware we are coming up on the Citadel?”

“What...? Yes.” Shepard nodded again, clearing his throat as he attempted to regain his composure. “Alright. Tell Joker to bring us in. I’ll meet Anderson as soon as we disembark.”

“Understood, Commander.” EDI’s image vanished as Twilight too began to recover, the mech moving to her side and offering a strong metal hoof in support.

“The galaxy awaits, Twilight,” Forty-Two stated. “It would be rude to keep it waiting. Shall I notify the other Administrators to meet us at the airlock?”

Twilight looked to the black metal mech, now finding it easy to hear that slight, adolescent, reptilian-sounding squeal underneath the simulated electronic voice; something she had completely missed before, but was now so obvious.

“That would be very much appreciated...” Twilight answered, smiling as she took the changeling’s hoof. “Number One Assistant.”

“As you wish... Madam President.”

And for the first time.. Twilight Sparkle did not decline the title.

Mass Effect 2 - DLC: The Equestrian Equation

by Loyal2Luna

Foreword from Loyal2Luna

Part 1: Just Another Mission

Part 2: Planetfall

Part 3: Over a Rainbow

Part 4: The Rabbit Hole Deepens

Part 5: New Game, New Rules

Part 6: Fog of War

Part 7: Innocence Lost

Part 8: On the Same Page

Part 9: Desperate Gambits

Part 10: What Friends are For

Part 11: Answers at Last

Part 12: The Fate of Equestria

Conclusion: At Journey's End - Pt. 1

Conclusion: At Journey's End - Pt. 2

Epilogue: Only the Beginning

Author's Afterword