Mass Effect: The Spectre in the shadows

Chapters

Prologue: Fires in the sky
Chapter one: planetfall
Chapter two: Apples and Spectres
Chapter 3: guest or captive?
Chapter four: Interviewed by a Unicorn

Prologue: Fires in the sky

Princess Celestia was not easily worried. But on a night like tonight, even the Alicorn felt a thrill of uncertainty ripple through her. The White-furred Alicorn was standing on her balcony, which overlooked the majestic city off Canterlot, her iridescent mane rippling in a non-existent breeze. Her violet eyes staring hard into the night-sky, watching the strange bolts of lights flicker across the black expanse. Celestia wasn't sure why but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. The Moonlight made the golden plates covering her hooves and chest shimmer as the Princess turned back to her bedroom. It was a spacious, circular room, with a large, soft rug covering the floor and a large fire blazing in the grate. One corner of the room was devoted to a small writing desk, the surface of which was covered in stacks of parchment. A small quill lay upon one stack, quietly leaking ink onto the report. Celestia, ignoring the stacks, sat down in front of the fire.

Lights shining in the sky often attracted attention, whether fear or excitement was debatable but the lights in the sky often brought crowds to watch them. Most of the time, they turned out to be nothing more than a stray meteor shower. But Celestia supposed that it was more out of curiosity than anything else, that Ponies came out to see the lights. But in this case...Celestia frowned, glaring at the dancing flames, as though daring them to provide her with an answer. Meteor showers, she could handle but bolts of light, dancing across the sky, leaping from star to star like children playing a game, was not something Celestia could tolerate. She'd seen some strange things in her time but dancing lights amongst the stars was not one of them. She didn't understand it. And anything that Celestia didn't understand, she regarded as a threat.

She supposed that she couldn't be surprised. The land that she ruled over, Equestria, was quoted as being "The magical land of Ponies." by many visitors. Odd things often happened when magic was involved. Though those things tended to be benign, Celestia couldn't take the chance. Her royal subjects were counting on her. Her eyes flashed as she continued to gaze into the dancing flames. She sometimes felt as though her subjects relied on her far too much. It wouldn't hurt them to try to solve problems on their own. Contrary to most-ponies beliefs, she didn't have all the answers. There were limits to her knowledge. Especially when it came to things related to the night. That was her sister, Luna's department. Being the Princess of the Sun, Celestia's knowledge wasn't perfect about nighttime events. Though Luna was occupied with her courts so Celestia couldn't just barge in and demand to talk with her. And if these lights turned out to be hostile...

Celestia shook herself. She was being stupid. There was nothing she could do about it. She knew that stars were millions of miles away from her planet. Despite Celestia's power as an Alicorn, the farthest that either she or Luna had ever traveled into space was their moon. Luna amused herself for a moment, imagining the looks on her subject's faces if they found out that even their Princess's had limits. Celestia smiled to herself again. She knew what she would do. A golden aura enveloped her horn as she focused on the spell. With a poof of golden smoke, a large mug of coffee appeared, floating in mid-air, held in the power of her magic. Coffee and reviewing her guards reports. That was a good way of sending her off to sleep. The Alicorn paused at the door to her balcony then used her magic to move a large cushion to the balcony. Seating herself upon it, Celestia turned her gaze one last time to the heavens. The lights had continued their strange dance, leaping from star to star, dancing like the flames in her grate.

Captain Sword-Dance was not a patient pony. Nor was he a very composed pony. The Dark-furred Pegasus often wondered why Princess Luna had picked him to be Captain of her Night-Guards. Not many trainee's would've hoof-slapped his mentor during a sparring match, nor would any respectable Captain be put into solitary confinement for cursing at a superior when receiving orders. But the Night-Princess had strolled up to him during Graduation and promoted him. He had been pretty surprised. Though maybe it was his skill with a sword that had gotten him the promotion. Or maybe, it was just his irresistible charm with the mares. Yeah, that must've been it. Not even the Princess's could resist him.

Sword-Dance smiled to himself as he strapped on the dark-blue armor that Luna's guards were required to wear. Being a Captain was a good job. You got the best perks of any station in the Equestrian army and you could boss people around to your hearts content. As long as you didn't bad-mouth the Princess's of course. Sword-Dance chuckled watching his recruits get ready for the night-shift. He was proud of his unit. They did their jobs quietly and without complaint. Though tonight's orders were, even to Sword-Dance, slightly confusing and a little off-the-beaten-track. The Princess had instructed them to patrol the castle though they were also to keep an eye on the sky. The flashes of light that had been spotted had unnerved Luna. Sword-Dance had sensed it. Nothing ever happened in the Sky without Luna or Celestia knowing about it. But those lights had appeared out of nowhere. The event had mystified every scientist and meteorologist in Canterlot.

"Be sure to report back regularly every-pony." Sword-Dance ordered sharply as his unit stood to attention. "Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for any trouble troops!" The Captain added sharply. The group traded glances amongst each other. Sword-Dance's troops were young and inexperienced. They were also over-confident. And Sword-Dance knew that Overconfidence was the one thing to get you killed. "Dismissed!" Sword-Dancer grunted. The group broke off, walking down the many hallways that Canterlot-Castle seemed to be made up of. Sword-Dance chuckled walking down the main hall that lead to the throne room. The Pegasus would never admit this but the castle gave him the creeps at night. As a foal, he'd always thought that the castle had been haunted by the ghost of past kings and queens of Equestria. He knew now however that he'd been stupid. There were no such things as ghosts.

Something moved. Sword-Dance froze, staring into the darkness of the hallway. Nothing should have been moving down here. Well, nothing except for him that is. He gazed deeper into the gloom, wishing that he had better night-vision. The semi-darkness made it almost impossible to see what it was. He moved forward, carefully pulling his sword free from the belt wrapped around his armor. he creature standing in front of the door was taller. Taller than he was. It was covered in what appeared to be large tubes. It didn't seem to have skin. Greenish scales seemed to cover the creature, pulled tight like a rubber suit. Sword-Dance frowned. Something wasn't right.

"Who's there!?" He shouted. The creature turned. The sword fell to the ground with a clatter. Sword-Dance opened his mouth and screamed as the creature rushed forwards. The last thing Sword-Dance saw in his life, was the cold, dead-eyes, with the mouth hanging wide open, leaving a gaping black hole. Then the creature hit him and the Pegasus knew no more.

Chapter one: planetfall

Pain. That was all I could feel. It echoed through me, grinding my bones and boiling my blood. Something wet was trickling down the side of my face. My arm was on fire and I couldn't seem to move my legs. Whatever had hit me had knocked the fight out of my body. I tried to open my eyes, so I could at least see where I was. No dice I'm afraid. Opening them simply caused me even more pain since the only thing I could see was bright white light. Though judging from the dull warmth seeping through my armor, I guessed that it was daylight. How long had it been since I had felt daylight? Now feeling thoroughly curious about where I was, I tried once again to pull myself upright and find my bearings. My arms burned with pain and refused to obey me. My body seemed to be made of rubber and was completely unresponsive.

"Okay then." I growled, feeling anger burning through me, along with everything else. "Move, you worthless sack!" I thought, summoning as much strength as I could. My body responded, shifting slightly. Though slightly may have been an understatement, as my armor covered body rocked once, then settled back to its original position. My armor bent against my body, the metal mesh resisting my attempts to right myself. "It's not me, it's YOU!" I growled angrily, losing my temper making one final push against my restrictive armor. There was a loud cracking noise, something gave way and I was finally able to push myself up. Then my face collided hard with something with a loud crack. "OW!" I yelped, falling backwards onto the ground, clutching my nose...with only my left hand. My right arm didn't seem to want to move. Rolling onto my front, I froze feeling slightly...more movable. I screwed up my courage...and slowly opened my eyes.

A field of green met my gaze. From my hunched-up position on the ground, I could see that I was lying in what appeared to be a forest. The ground was choked with thick tufts of grass, leafy plants and twisting roots. From the obscured vision that I possessed, I could see thick, brown tree-trunks, stretching high into the air. Rolling my eyes, I could see watery sunlight filtering through a thick canopy of green leaves. Damn...I remember that forest. I remember thinking how calm and peaceful it was. There was barely any sounds. Though the silence was being disrupted by the crackling of small fires, scattered about around me. The smell of burning was thick in my nostrils. But at the time, all I could feel was pain. Unbelievable pain and a rather unpleasant tingling in my legs. Whatever the hell I'd done to my body was really hammering at my body....with a vengeance.

After managing to roll onto my back and dragging myself over to one of the trees, I weakly turned my head to look down at my right arm. My body had previously been covered in a high density "Inferno" Armor, tinted a sapphire blue. Now, my arms armor had been torn open, revealing a giant wound, carving down my arm, bleeding thickly, rivulets of crimson liquid dripping into the seams and plated sections. Looking down at my body, I could see the plated sections of my chest and legs had been torn apart in several places, each tear leaking blood. Damn..that stuff hurt. Reaching round with my left hand, I felt the familiar surge of power. An orange sleeve of light surrounded my arm and hand. I pressed one of the small squared sections set into the sleeve. The Omni-tool gave a small ping.

A large square of light appeared in front of my face. The square of orange light flickered and changed color, until the mirror selection kicked in. There I was. Damn, I was an ugly son-of-a...anyway...Yeah. So I had a short mop of black hair, with a pair of hostile green eyes and pale skin. Though most of the pale skin was caked with blood, coming from somewhere near my hair line. Dismissing my Omni-tool I slumped against the tree, staring up into the sky. I knew I'd lost to much blood. My armor had been shredded. I was bleeding in several places and my vision was fading slightly. Moving myself seemed to have taken what little energy I'd worked up. Damn, falling from space hurt like hell.

THE PERSONAL DIARY OF SPECTRE UNIT: JAMES #1

I think I missed a few explanations out there whilst I was busy describing my situation. Important stuff like my name and what I was actually doing lying in a forest with small fires surrounding me and a large amount of wounds covering my body. Hmm...though I suppose life-threatening situations can distract you from stuff like your name. But you're not here to listen to me rant on about how much pain I was in at that time are you? No I suppose not. Anyways, you can call me James. I'm not from this world and I'm not even from this planet. I'm from London, England, Earth...What? Yeah just because I'm from another planet doesn't mean I'm gonna be an blood-sucking alien! Honestly. Ahem...Yeah so I'm a human and I've crashed landed on this planet....wherever the hell this place is. I don't really remember how I got here either. And I'm a spectre. Before you ask, no that's not a ghost. It's the code name for the elite task force of the Galactic Government.

Right now, I'm sitting in a small den, consisting of a small muddy cave somewhere near my landing point. I must've dragged myself here, half-delirious. I've lost quite a lot of blood. I don't really know why I'm writing this...s'pose this'll tell anyone who finds it will know what to do with my body. Heh...I didn't think I'd be writing my own farewell words. Ow...damn that hurts...I don't have to much medi-gel left. Shame really. That miraculous fluid could heal up any wound. But the vials I'd always carried had been smashed, the spilled liquid draining out through the seams. But...I don't think I'm gonna waste my words with this thing. I'm so tired right now...I don't think I can...keep my eyes open...

I groaned as I finally came to. My battered body hurt. Worse than it had done yesterday. I forced myself to my feet. My wounds, which I patched up using pieces of the stretchy under-lay that made my armor so easy to move about in, were caked in dried blood, which had formed brown crusts, making the armor hard to move about in. The left side of my face was also covered in dried blood, which flaked off when I scratched at it. I attempted to stretch my arms. Once again, my right arm seemed to be disconnected with the rest of my body, as it took a few seconds to raise. It was a bad idea anyway, as I felt something rupture underneath my chest armor. Blood oozed out, dripping through the loose seams. Oh, for a really large vial of Medi-gel!

After considering my situation, I decided to venture out into the wilderness. The small fires had burned themselves out by now and I was hoping to find some form of food. Though the mission of finding civilization was pressing on my mind. Though I amused myself at the thought of meeting someone in this sorry state, with my armor in tatters, blood dripping out of every available seam and orifice.A chuckle bubbled up inside of me at thought, though when I opened my mouth, instead of laughing, a wet cough escaped my lips...alongside a large quantity of blood. I frowned at my armored hand. At the red liquid dripping between my fingers and onto the forest floor. I knew I was in trouble now. I continued walking, staring down at my palm. I knew that no human could survive this amount of blood-loss. It wasn't possible. Not for my species at least...A sense of despair began to fill me at thought that I was going to die here, alone and unmourned...

"CLANG!" I toppled to the ground with a loud shout of pain. Dust and dirt filled my mouth, smothering my cursing with a thick deluge of foul-tasting soil. My foot had collided with something hard and, in my foolishness, had not been looking where I was going. I twisted round, trying to ignore the incredible pain that was begin to blossom across my stomach. I froze, my mouth falling open in surprise. It was my sword. Yeah, Yeah, I know, if I'm a soldier for a Galactic, space-faring task force, why the hell do I carry a sword? Well, before you actually judge me, let me explain just how bad-ass this sword actually was. Then yo can complain however much you like. I swear, I won't complain...much.

The sword had a straight handle, made out of toughened, black leather. The bottom part had a gold covering. The blade was straight though with a diamond-edged finish. Smiling to myself, I reached over and picked it up, marveling at the sheer impossibility of my sword landing right next to me. Using the sword to push myself up into a standing position, I pushed the blade through a small notch in my armor, so that it hung by my side. Feeling slightly better about wandering through a forest with no idea where I was going., I resumed my pace. Damn...By that time I was starting to feel faint with hunger. You ever tried going for days without hunger. It's not a fun experience. No...really I'm a guy who hates being deprived of food for even fifteen minutes, let alone two days.

After walking for two or three hours, I began to notice that the trees were starting to grow farther apart and that more and more of the sunlight could be seen. And there it was. The farm. It was a strange looking place. There was a large, thatched cottage alongside an even larger barn, colored a deep purple. That wasn't the strange part though. What was strange, was that there seemed to be a collection of...multi-colored ponies wandering around the premises. The families pets? I focused on one. The pony had a an orange coat with a blonde mane and deep green eyes. What I found most surprising was the fact that this mare was wearing a...no, it couldn't be. The mare was wearing a Large stetson hat. Being distracted by this odd phenomenon, I failed to notice the soft padding noise that had been growing steadily louder behind me.

"WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE MISTER!?" The high pitched voice made me freeze. The orange mare turned her head towards me, and her expression shifted from happy to anger in the space of about a millisecond. Crap.

Chapter two: Apples and Spectres

AppleJack sighed as she dragged the heavy cart, laden with large apple buckets, each containing a large amount of different apples. The Stetson-wearing mare was sweating, tired and her normally infinite amount of patience was starting to dwindle, eroded by the hours of work she'd been doing. Running her farm, Sweet-Apple-Acres, had always been something that she'd enjoyed, alongside her other family members. Thought toady, it was just her at work today. Her sister, Apple-bloom was off with her friends and her brother, Big Macintosh had some-how managed to hurt himself whilst trying to bring in the harvest. The only other occupant of the farm during the afternoon was the aged mare, Granny-Smith and she would be no help with this amount of merchandise. Chances were that she'd probably end up doing more damage to her body.

AppleJack sighed again, feeling another bite of impatience. The sun was beating down upon her body, which in normal circumstances would be enjoyable but with a large, heavy cart attached to her, the heat only served to sap her strength. She sometimes wished that the farm could bring in some extra help. Even though she loved working the farm, doing it with only two ponies was a difficult job. Though the amount of money needed made the prospect of extra help an impossibility. The apples they produced at the farm were their only source of income, yet despite their popularity with the local citizens of Ponyville, they didn't earn much money from them. Yet they needed money to pay for hired help. It was a vicious cycle and it seemed to repeat on the Apple family.

Finally, the mare reached the barn. Pulling open the large, worn wooden doors, AppleJack, screwing up the last of her energy, pulled the cart inside. Shrugging off the heavy, leather harness and tossing it onto a hook, the farm pony walked back out of the barn, tilting her hat so that it covered her eyes against the scalding sun. Elation filled her as she closed the heavy door. With the last shipment of apples stored for the day, maybe she'd go into Ponyville to meet her friends, possibly take a challenge from her energetic friend, the Pegasus Rainbow-Dash. AppleJack sniffed slightly. She'd probably have a shower first though. t wasn't good manners to turn up to a meet-up stinking of sweat. AppleJack chuckled at the thought of her other friend. The alabaster-furred Unicorn, Rarity. The fashion designer was notorious for her fear of dirt and any other thing that she considered "Uncivilized." AppleJack's grin widened. She and Rarity had quite different ideas about what was civilized.

"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE MISTER!" Shouted a young, familiar voice. AppleJack turned her head to look for who had caused the disturbance. The farm pony froze, her mouth falling open in surprise and fear. A large...something was standing at the entrance to one of the Apple-Orchards. It was a nightmarish looking creature, with a horrible, twisted body, covered in what appeared to be a large shell, covered blue. It stood on only a pair of long legs, with long...arms hanging limply by its side. Blood was pouring out from tears and open wounds, crisscrossing the creatures body, pooling on the ground. Pieces of the shell were peeling away from the main body, hitting to the blood-stained ground with a wet splash. Hostile, bloodshot green eyes stared at her, widened in surprise. A sword hung from the creatures side, the blade glinting in the sunlight. And standing behind the creature, was her sister, Apple-Bloom.

Apple-Bloom was standing behind the creature, a welcoming smile on her face. AppleJack could see a brown leather saddlebag slung across her back, the brown contrasting sharply with her yellow fur. Her Orange eyes widened in fear as the intruder turned to look at her. AppleJack, instinctively knowing what she had to do, began to move slowly forward, cautious of the creatures size. It was taller than her, almost as tall as their leader, Princess Celestia and if it decided to attack Apple-Bloom...AppleJack was conscious of the sword hanging from the creatures side. It didn't bare thinking about the damage that it could cause. Though, the creature looked more injured than angry. It was hunched over and that hostile look. AppleJack had enough experience with animals to know that the apprehensive hostility was more of a result of the wounds and the fear of further pain. If AppleJack could just contain the situation. Apple-Bloom noticed her. The filly was shaking to the roots of her flaming red mane.

"Hey there partner." AppleJack said calmly, reaching the fence that separated her from the intruder. The creature's head whirled round, the green eyes widening in fear. It was breathing heavily, clearly feeling the effects of whatever wounds it had suffered. Now that she had gotten closer, AppleJack could see that one of the creatures arms had suffered even worse damage. A massive gash had torn through the shell, leaving a huge, bloody gash. "Listen here partner," AppleJack said, in a low voice, rather as though she was talking to a crazed animal. "No-Ponies gonna hurt ya. No need to get all worked up now." The creature turned its head, the hostile look melting into a stare of surprise. Apple-Bloom edged round the creature, walking slowly until the filly was hidden behind AppleJack. The creature narrowed its green eyes and took a step back. The leg wobbled slightly and the creature shot out an arm, trying to steady itself against one of the trees, leaving a smear of blood. "Listen Sugar-cube," AppleJack said soothingly, taking a step forward. "Ya look hurt. Can ah help anyhow?"

The creature frowned at her. Then slowly nodded. AppleJack turned back to the farm, before she heard a groan of pain, followed by a muffled thump. The creature was slumped against the tree-stump, a claw pressed against its...stomach. The creature had such a strange anatomy, the farm-Pony had little to no idea what was what. Though her pondering was interrupted as the creature groaned again, its head falling back against the tree-trunk. Its green eyes rolling. Feeling panic begin to rise inside her AppleJack turned to her little sister. But the filly wasn't beside her anymore. Apple-Bloom had rushed to the creatures side, hurriedly pulling the creature's claw away from its stomach. The filly looked up at AppleJack, her large eyes filling with tears.

"Sis, this critter needs help." AppleJack stopped dead. Her sister was crying over a creature that may or may not have attacked her. "SIS!" The filly shouted, shattering AppleJack's daydreaming. Without waiting, she turned, rushing for the farm, hoping that she would be able to find her brother or at least, a packet of bandages. "HURRY!" Apple-Bloom shouted after her, the fillies shrill voice breaking slightly. "I DON' THINK HE'S GONNA MAKE IT!"

PERSONAL DIARY OF SPECTRE: JAMES#2

Now I know I've officially lost my mind. I stumbled out of that forest, bleeding to death, losing enough blood to fill a hot-air balloon, to find myself being cornered by a pair of talking ponies, one wearing a Stetson hat and the younger one wearing saddle-bag that looked like a school-bag. Oh yeah...they friggin' talk! And they sound like they're from somewhere down south. it's probably from the blood-loss. Human bodies are useless when it comes to being wounded. Any other race of creatures could survive a stomach wound with only minimal damage. Not our race though. NAH MATE! No we have to suffer through a lot of pain, bleeding and hallucinations. Though a pair of friendly, talking ponies is one of the more pleasant situations. Though right now, I'm more concerned with my survival.

I've come too inside what appears to be a bedroom. Instead of metal walls, the room seems to be made of wood, with a small bed and a bedside table with a lamp. My armors and sword have been taken...oh and I'm completely naked, covered in tightly wrapped bandages, each stained with blood. Okay, so you may think that that's not a bed place to wake up with. Yeah, It would be, if my hands hadn't been tied with a length of rope. Yeah, I've been tied up. How am I making a audio-diary? Well they didn't count on my Omni-tool. Judging from what I can see out of the window, (The length of rope only stretches to the window), I've come across some sort of low-tech civilization. This doesn't help my situation, since there'll be no way to contact the council. Since I'm tied up anyway, I doubt the people/ponies here will let me near any form of communication. Plus my Omni-tools knife application is too large to cut the ropes and the ropes stretch so there's no chance of breaking the rope through forcing it.

Normally, I'd be worried about whatever these people/ponies want with me though right now, I'm to busy enjoying the fact that I haven't died of blood-loos and that I've woken up on a comfy bed, with my wounds bandaged. Still, no sense in worrying about it I s'pose. The sun's gone down by now so Is'pose I'll find out what my captors want with me tomorrow.

AppleJack watched as Nurse Red-Heart exited the spare room of their house. After finding Big-Mach, She'd convinced the big stallion to drag a spare cart over to the creature and pull the strange arrival onto it. It had been no simple task to get the creature back to the farm and place it on the bed in the spare room. Then, whilst a tearful Apple-Bloom had been sent to fetch the local doctors, AppleJack had clumsily tried to cover up the wounds. Thankfully, the doctors had arrived in fashionable time and had been able to fully repair the wounds, using a combination of magic and medicine. But AppleJack needed to know if the creature would survive. Both her and Apple-Bloom had been waiting outside the room for the best part of two hours, anxiously listening to the team of doctors as they struggled to fix up the intruder. Apple-Bloom hadn't stopped crying since coming back to the farm with the Nurse. It worried the farm-pony. She'd never seen her little sister act this way, even when one of their prize cows had died. But here she was, sobbing into a small handkerchief, her red bow drooping slightly.

"Well I'm glad you brought this...creature to my attention, AppleJack." Nurse Redheart said tiredly, her white coat and pink mane curled haphazardly from the amount of stress she'd been under. The nurses hat she always wore was slightly askew. "Though I wish I know what that thing actually was." The nurse noticed the intense look of apprehension on the other mares face. "Oh it'll be fine with some bed-rest and a few doses of this." The nurse pulled a small bottle of pills from the pocket of her saddlebag. AppleJack took them with a mumble of thanks. The Nurse Pony frowned slightly, a look of intense concern on her face. "AppleJack, when that thing wakes up, I want to know immediately. It's a miracle that the creature is even alive, with the amount of wounds it has. Please let me know when it wakes." The nurse turned and walked away. AppleJack turned to look at her sister.

"I don't want you goin' near that thing till Twilight gets a chance to look at it. Understand?" She demanded harshly. Apple-Bloom looked up and nodded, though tears still spilled down her cheeks. "Don't you worry none." AppleJack whispered calmly, wrapping a leg around the smaller pony. "Once it wakes up, we'll find out what it wants. Just Keep away from it for now. Alright lil' sis?" Apple-Bloom sniffed but nodded. AppleJack watched her until the filly went back to her bedroom, then reached out and locked the spare-rooms door. The sword that Big-Mac had pulled off the creatures body was sitting on the kitchen table downstairs. The farm-Pony had no idea why, but she wasn't sure that she wanted the creature getting that sword back. She knew what she had to do though she wondered if Twilight would still be up at this time. The bookish Unicorn didn't like being woken up late at night, even for an important discovery like this. Though AppleJack was hoping that the Unicorn would control her temper. After all, It wasn't everyday you found a creature as Unique as this.

Chapter 3: guest or captive?

Twilight Sparkle growled angrily into her pillow, trying to ignore the insistent pounding on her front door. Whoever was torturing the poor piece of wood seemed intent on depriving her of the long nights sleep that she so desperately needed. The Unicorn had been organizing and re-organizing the books of the golden oaks Library for the best part of the day. Then there were meetings with her friends around Ponyville, reports to the Princess Celestia to send and other tasks that others might have delayed in doing. Priding herself on being a hardworking, studious Unicorn, Twilight could spend almost two hours doing, what might normally take 15 minutes, making sure every imperfection was checked, cataloged and eliminated. That was the way she did things. Do things thoroughly or don't do them at all. She figured that she'd earned a rest.

But now their was some-pony attempting to deprive her of the hard-earned rest. Any-pony who knew Twilight, knew not to disturb her when she was sleeping. Twilight pulled the pillow tightly over her head, hoping that whoever was at the door would go away, trying to drown out the aggravating pounding. It didn't help, as the pounding seemed to worm its way through the pillow and into her ears. Normally, the Unicorn would do all she could to help a pony in trouble. But she was tired, grumpy and it was past her tolerance point. Any-Pony who was knocking at the door at this time of night, obviously knew nothing about the Unicorn sleeping in the Library. Twilight squeezed her eyes tighter shut, trying to get back to sleep.

The pounding continued. Twilight grunted, hurling the pillow off the bed angrily. It hit the opposite wall with a muffled thump and slip down the wall, until it landed on top of the large, blanket covered basket, covering the small form of her dragon assistant, Spike. Rolling off the bed with a sleepy yawn, Twilight walked over to the door, glancing briefly at the mirror on her table, making sure that she looked at least presentable. Her bright purple fur was sticking out in places, so that it partially concealed her cutie mark, a six pointed pink star with several smaller stars. Her dark purple mane, shot through with a bright pink streak was unkempt and messy. Her violet eyes were bloodshot with tiredness. She sighed, annoyed with her bed-hair and ran a hoof clumsily through the mane, trying halfheartedly to smooth it out. The curls smoothed out for a brief-second then retreated back into its untidy curls. Giving up, the Unicorn opened the door and walked downstairs.

The library was slightly creepy this late at night, with long shadows creeping across the floor and the large, circular bookcases. Being set inside a tree, the library was circular in design, with the bookcases set deep into the wood, with a writing desk set into a small alcove along the back. Twilight walked across to the window, set into the wood beside the door, in an attempt to see whoever was pounding on her door. The outside was so dark however, that visibility was reduced to zero. Growling with irritation, Twilight pulled open the door with a violent flourish, ready to unleash her disapproval on whoever dared to disturb her...But it was only AppleJack standing there. Twilight's irritation drained away almost immediately. She knew that the Orange, Stetson-wearing farm-pony only ever visited this late at night when there was something either very wrong or very important. Looking closer, Twilight saw that AppleJack looked strained and worried, shifting hurriedly from hoof to hoof.

"Twilight, ah'm gonna need ya to come with me. Right now." AppleJack said, her voice strained with worry. Twilight frowned and AppleJack answered the Unicorn unspoken question. "A...things turned up at the farm." The earth-pony said, turning to leave. "Please just with me Twi. I'll explain when we get there!" AppleJack waited whilst Twilight hurriedly tried to re-order her mane and fur with a small brush and grabbing a few quills, a bottle of ink and a notepad. The Farm-pony was obviously nervous and kept shifting from one hoof to another, a feat Twilight hadn't seen in AppleJack for a long time. It made Twilight nervous. The Farm-Pony was usually calm and collected, not fidgety and wild-eyed, breathing heavily, despite her athletes build. After gathering up her supplies, Twilight followed AppleJack out into the night, closing the door and locking it behind her with magic. She hurried after her friend who had started trotting off without her.

"AJ wait!" Twilight called, hurrying to keep up. AppleJack didn't stop but slowed her trotting, though with considerable strain. "AJ..."Twilight began and jumped when the farm-pony whipped her head round fast, so fast that her Stetson slipped, covering her left eye. "What in the wide world of Equestria is wrong with you?" Twilight demanded scrutinizing her friend closely. "You've never looked this...spooked." AppleJack sighed, tipping her hat back to its usual position. Now she looked closer, Twilight noticed that AppleJack's mane was almost as unkempt as hers had been and her mane was stained with sweat, sticking out in odd places. The last time the farm-pony had looked this crazed was when she'd tried to harvest her entire orchard alone. It hadn't been a pretty sight then and it wasn't a pretty sight now. "Listen AppleJack." Twilight said soothingly. "What is this...thing you've found? It's obviously something bad to cause you this much stress."

By this time, both ponies had reached the outskirts of the farm. Twilight watched AJ hopefully, waiting for the reply she was sure to come. AppleJack had always been honest, to the point of being a little blunt. But this time, the farm-pony was keeping her mouth tightly shut. Now feeling very concerned, Twilight picked up her speed slightly, noticing that AppleJack was also starting to speed up. Just as they walked up to the main house, the door blew open, revealing a worried looking Apple-Bloom and the stoic Big Macintosh. The red stallion had taken off his work collar, and the Stallions muscles were tensing, as though the Big pony was resisting some urge to spring at something. Apple-bloom ran down the porch, coming to a stop just in front of the pair of ponies. Twilight noticed that both of the other Apple relatives were scared. Big-Macintosh's usually contented face was set in a grimace and Apple-Bloom was shaking from head to hoof.

"Where is this...thing Apple-Bloom?" Asked Twilight, reading the looks on the families face and not liking it. Apple-Bloom looked towards her sister who shook her head. AppleJack led the way into the house. Twilight froze, staring at the kitchen table in shock. A sword was lying upon the table, accompanied by a large pile of what looked like bloodstained...armor. She stared at the sword, feeling something akin to fear well up inside her. A sword? Something was incredibly wrong. What in Equestria had AppleJack found in her orchard? Twilight watched AppleJack pick up a tray of food, a bowl of oats, a small green apple and a glass of water. Food for it? Twilight shook her head, confusion and fear rapidly building inside her. Following the Farm-Pony, wishing she had stayed in bed, Twilight followed AppleJack into the hallway and up towards the guest room. Twilight guessed that the spacious room was where they were keeping the creature. She stopped suddenly.

The guest room meant that whatever was in there was...intelligent. Though in her experience, anything that was found wandering around an orchard, carrying a sword and wearing bloodstained armor was something that she wanted to avoid. Period. It was with some trepidation therefore that Twilight watched the Farm-pony slowly approach the door, reach up and tap it gently with a hoof. There was a soft thumping noise from the other side, followed by what sounded like a muffled curse. Twilight's ears perked then splayed slightly. The thing had a harsh obviously male voice. Twilight frowned as AppleJack pushed the door open...then her ears folded back as a loud voice barked out:

"CLOSE THAT DAMN DOOR! I'M BUTT-NAKED HERE YOU KNOW!"

Personal Diary of Spectre: James#3

So now I've seen a purple Unicorn. Yep, I just said that. I've seen the four eyed mugs of Batarians and beaked faces of Turians but now I've seen a purple Unicorn. She came with the Stetson wearing Pony. From what I've gathered through the open window, this, Twilight is supposed to be the one in the know. Judging from the notepad in the saddlebags, she probably wants to ask some questions about who I am and where I've come from. That's gonna be a fun conversation. Still, maybe this Unicorn will know where I can find a communication array to contact either the alliance or the Council. If...they haven't won the war yet. It's disturbing how peaceful things are here. Sure I got tied up and stripped naked but...well, no there's no way that's gonna come out right but whatever. Maybe if I cooperate with these...ponies then I can get a shuttle out of here within the week.

I'm kinda happy that my wounds don't hurt any more. Whoever bandaged them knew their stuff. The bandages will probably need to be changed soon but still, there's barely any blood on them and they don't hurt as bad as they did before. Still...I wish I could check them myself. Having my wrists bound up means these ponies don't want me to escape but the bandages suggest that these ponies want to help me. But not being able to check underneath the bandages means I can't track how well the wounds are healing...nor can I track whatever sedative these ponies have given me. If I knew what sedative they'd used then I'd be able to counter it. Whatever they've given me's stopped my Biotics cold. Annoying and slightly worrying.

Still...It's creepy how these ponies don't seem to worry about the...the enemy. There doesn't seem to be any ammo stockpiles, no GUARDIAN defense weapons...nothing. Judging from these farm-ponies, they don't even have a pistol between them. I'm starting to think that this world is either really far from council space or...something else. It's unnerving to be the only human here and since I haven't heard anything about the extra-net news, I'm starting to get really nervous. I'd climb the wall with boredom if I wasn't tied up. Being a soldier, sitting around with no news about your comrades is a really trying experience, especially since I'm stuck on some backwater world. With no extra-net to give news or even entertainment is something I always hated when on missions. Though I guess the missions weren't as bad since I wasn't stripped...hang on I think I hear something at the door...

Chapter four: Interviewed by a Unicorn

James's POV

Haven't these ponies ever heard of bloody Privacy?! Here I am, tied to a bedpost, completely naked and they just barge in?! Who in the name of sanity does that? Mind you they did close the door when I shouted at them. Though I don't suppose that's done anything for my position. At least they have decency. When they shut the door, I made sure I'd covered the lower part of my body with the blanket. It was rather clumsily done however. Trying to cover up oneself with a blanket whilst your wrists are tied is a difficult process. It makes you very clumsy. After settling myself on the bed, making sure I was covered properly, I called out for the two ponies to come in. There was a pause, before the door slid open slowly and the two ponies walked in.

"How're you doin' partner?" Asked the Stetson-wearing pony asked, setting the tray she had been carrying on the table. Glancing at it, I noticed that the small bowl was full of what appeared to be a thick, porridge-like substance. There was also an Apple and a small glass of water. "Oh that's for you sugar-cube." The Orange Pony said, smiling encouragingly. I grinned back at her but didn't take the proffered food. I'd had enough experience from drugged food to trust eating any food these ponies gave me. The farm-pony frowned. "What, ya don't want it?" She asked sounding insulted. I shrugged, which only seemed to aggravate the farm-pony. It was then that I noticed the other pony standing by the door. Unlike the orange-pony, the other pony had a coat of bright purple fur, with a darker purple-mane. A horn was sticking out from between the folds of hair. A Unicorn? Now I knew I'd gone nuts. But...despite the sheer impossibility...there she stood, her head tilted to the side, an mixed expression of wonderment and fear across her muzzle. It was clear she found me as curious as I did her. I gave a small wave.

"AppleJack...What in...I mean..." The Unicorn stammered, taking a step back. Damn it...Guess I'm still as imposing as I thought I would be. AppleJack turned to the Unicorn, smiled at me uncertainly before plodding over to the Unicorn. The Farm-pony lent forwards and whispered in her ear, though whatever she was saying was obscured by an orange hoof. "AppleJack, what about the..." The Unicorn clearly wasn't as worried about privacy as the Orange pony was. She listened to the hurried whispers before smiling rather uncertainty at me. "H-Hello there." The Unicorn stammered, managing to take a shaky step forward. "My names is T-Twilight-Sparkle." I gave her another small wave, trying to make myself less frightening. The Unicorn took another step forward, slipping the notepad and pencil out of her saddle-bag. I sighed pointedly. "What?" Asked Twilight-Sparkle, looking up from her notepad. "Your a new kind of creature. Judging from the armor, I'm guessing your intelligent so I just want to ask you a few questions." I nodded, noting the gleam for knowledge in the Unicorn's violet eyes.

"I can't answer all your questions." I said coolly trying to ignore the piercing gaze of the farm-pony, who'd retreated to the side of the bed. Before the Unicorn could ask the question I knew I was coming, I went on. "Look, most of the stuff you wanna ask is classified. By Alliance rules I'm only able to give my name, rank and platoon number." The Unicorn stopped writing and looked up at me. Both her and AppleJack were now looking at me as though I'd suddenly sprouted two heads. "What?" I demanded, feeling slightly unnerved by the staring. Twilight put the notepad on the floor, resting the pencil on top. I could see the Unicorn was concerned. "Listen," I began again, leaning forward slightly. "My name is Jame. I'm a human and Spectre, on a mission for the Citadel council. Could you at least direct me to the nearest Quantum communication center? Oh and I could use my armor as well." The two ponies stared at me, Twilight's mouth hanging open in surprise. I sighed, feeling my rapidly dissolving patience take another nose-dive. Twilight wrote something down on a second piece of paper, before she turned to look at the Orange Pony, looking worried.

"AppleJack," The Unicorn said quietly. "Could you run and give this to Spike. Princess Celestia needs to see this...thing." The farm pony, AppleJack, looked at me, seemingly concerned. "I won't do anything AJ. I just want to ask him some questions." Twilight-Sparkle said soothingly. AppleJack tipped her hat and walked out. Once Twilight had made sure that the orange pony had gone, she turned to look at m, an expression of intense concern on her face. "Listen," The Unicorn said slowly. "I don't know what a human is, nor do I have any idea what a Spectre is." I felt my heart beginning to sink. "If you want to speak to any-pony in government, then Princess Celestia is the Alicorn to talk to." I frowned. My panic must've shown on my face because the Unicorn suddenly moved closer to me, giving me an encouraging smile. "But it's okay, the Princess will be able to help you out. She's the most knowledgeable Pony I know. " I sighed, leaning back, my mouth very dry. I licked my lips, trying to control the panic building up inside me. "Here." said Twilight. The horn on-top of her head began to glow with a violet light.

The ropes bound around my wrists loosened, then snapped off. I stared. This Unicorn was a biotic. It was either that or...No. It wasn't possible. This purple pony could use magic. I stared at the Pony, now feeling incredibly dizzy. The horn glowed again. The glass of water floated up from the food tray and over to me. Trying to ignore the impossibility of the glass being levitated over to me by magic, I took the glass with a nod of thanks and gulped it down. The Unicorn smiled at me uncertainly, clearly unsure whether or not to say anything. I smiled trying to put the pony at ease. I guessed she was the type of pony who loved to know anything and everything about a new type of creature. Getting back on the subject of questions could be a good way to go.

"Listen...Twilight, was it?" The Unicorn nodded, smiling slightly. "Do you mind if we go back to answering questions. I can't give you anything to do with my military or my Spectre brothers. But...I can give you some things. Little things about my people and that. Would that be okay?" Twilight nodded, already using her...magic to hold the notepad and pencil in front of her, that hungry gleam back in her eyes. Her smile had widened to the point of being slightly manic. "Oh joy." I thought to myself. "What have I gotten myself into now?"

Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia sighed in bliss as she sipped on the steaming mug of Drinking-Chocolate. The day had been filled with such a large amount of paperwork, so much so, that the Alicorn's mind was still buzzing, full of facts and figures. Normally, Celestia would've tried to focus on the ever-famous counting-the-sheep trick. Though this time even that had failed her. Luckily, many of the chefs stayed up through the night and were always happy to provide her with a large mug of the delicious drink. With three sugar cubes. The chefs had even offered to send up a slice of her favorite cake. Eating a big slice of cake always cheered her up when she'd had a tough day. But she this time she'd restrained herself to the Hot-Chocolate. Besides, if the newspaper got hold of the fact that she'd been cake-snacking again, the Princess would never here the end of it.

"POOF!" Celestia frowned as the small letter appeared in front of her, bouncing off the mug and rolling to a stop in front of her. Pulling her snout from the mug, Celestia used her magic to open the letter. Celestia smiled, holding the letter up with her magic whilst she took another hot swig. She recognized Twilight-Sparkle's writing. The Princess always looked forward to a letter from her favorite Unicorn student. Even if it was just another of the friendship reports.

"Dear Princess Celestia. I hate to disturb you at this time of night but a grave situation has arisen. AppleJack has discovered a strange creature. It claims it is called a human that goes by the name of James." Celestia's eyes widened. The Mug fell from her grasp as the previously enjoyed Hot-Chocolate sprayed from her mouth. The Princess, coughing violently, stood up, ignoring the drink dripping off her muzzle, Celestia raced to the balcony doors, which burst open at her command. Spreading her giant white wings, the Alicorn took flight, flapping her wings to gain extra speed.

"Humans? Here?" She thought wildly, fear bubbling up inside her at the very thought. "Why here? Why Now? I have to get there before Twilight gets hurt."