"Shepard, are you ready for this? No goin' back." Joker, the pilot of the Normandy SR2, was incredibly nervous. With this suicide mission, he could lose his ship, and his friend. Shepard put his strong and calloused hand on Joker's shoulder, nodding to him with a smile. Shepard’s eyes glowed lightly and cheerfully, emitting a glow of reassurance. Joker smiled meekly back, preparing himself for whatever the Omega 4 Relay, the only thing between the crew and saving the galaxy, had in stock.
"We're gonna give those Collectors hell!" Shepard ducked with ninja reaction time, barely missing the airborne cork whizzing by and nearly cracking the windshield. It ricocheted back into Joker’s right eye, forcing an angry mutter from his lips. He flipped the crew the bird, and turned his chair to face EDI. Her blue hologram appeared in the terminal at the cockpit’s front, asking in a friendly tone, “What do you need, Mr. Moreau?” Shepard remembered when Joker and EDI weren’t on such good terms.
“Run diagnostics on the ship.”
Red light poured in from the cockpit windows, encasing every crew member within range in blinding crimson. Shepard’s squad averted their eyes, but Shepard remained and stared into the light, not batting an eye. His pupils shrunk, and the light dimmed to a point where he was able to easily survey the area. The red sun shot fire from its surface and brushed the Normandy lightly. A blue glow surrounded the ship, and dematerialized as the ship passed the heat.
The Normandy had a bit of an upgrade since it last saw service. When the original was taken down by the Collectors, nothing salvageable remained. Cerberus, the wealthy company that it was, built the new replica, the SSV Normandy SR-2. Shepard took days to get all the necessary materials for upgrades, but now it was ready to take on the Collectors head-on.
"Shepard, come over here. That look a little... ominous to you?" Garrus, Shepard's old Turian friend from C-Sec, motioned for the Commander to come over and take a quick look. The Omega 4 Relay was shooting red sparks from its core, and the massive spikes shooting to the side were broken, seemingly cut in half by heat. This looked intentional.
"It does. EDI, scan that thing before we go launching into it." Shepard spoke into the ceiling of the ship, arms crossed and foot tapping the grate floor. Blue light, although dim, shone out of a terminal jetting from the wall.
"Shepard, scans show a dangerous amount of radiation. The ship's shields can protect against that, but the crew may become sick. Also, it appears that the warp path may be altered slightly. Nothing too drastic, according to the radar.”
Zaeed stepped in to add his five credits, “Come on Commander, you don’t have to worry. Anything shows up, I’ll shoot it in it’s bloody face!” He pulled out his pistol and showed it off, the thermal clip upgraded to explode on contact. He made jerking motions with his gun, chuckling at Shepard’s exaggerated facepalm.
"Well, Commander? You wanna take the risk and let me fly this baby in there?"
Shepard stood there a long while, stroking his healing scars with a hand. He paced the floor and glanced at the damaged Relay. Then, he came over to Joker. One quick nod was enough to hint to Joker to begin. He tipped his hat, and slowly brought the throttle down.
“Shepard! Run!!”
The explosions made Shepard’s ears ring loudly. Electricity shot through his system and his eyes glowed red the exact shade of the Omega 4 Relay’s core. Then, he dropped. Stagnant quiet filled the ship when the hull was breached, and every crew member was sucked into the endless void of space. Few survived it, but those that did were destined to save a world they’ve never seen nor heard of.
---Shepard
"I think he's waking up! Come on, we need to throw a welcome party!”
"No, sugarcube, let 'im rest. He took a real hit out there."
Everything was cloudy, exactly like the days after his surgery. Exactly like when he woke up and Cerberus was ambushed. Instead of the loud shots of thermal pistols, however, there was a tranquil humming of a honey-sweet voice. Though faint, Shepard was able to make out the yellow color of the creature. His head fell hard on the metal again, though, and he soon found himself dreaming.
Fire surrounded his body as the screams of millions enveloped his mind in a torrent of suffering. The thousands of people he once knew residing on the Citadel were running from an unseen figure. Then, without warning, before him stood the Harbinger, staring down at him with robotic eyes. "I know this hurts you."
Another Reaper landed behind the Harbinger with a clash of rock and bodies which flew onto Shepard’s paralyzed figure. Deafened by the wail of the enormous machine, Shepard covered his ears and prepared to die. The flame burned through his flesh and bone, leaving only the charred corpse of the Commander. Now there was absolutely nobody powerful and influential enough to save the galaxy, and Harbinger knew it. He laughed loudly in triumph.
Shepard gasped loudly and frightened the yellow pony sitting beside him. She cowered in her chair as he struggled against the restraints on the bed. His screams further frightened the little pony, to the point where she cowered under the chair and burst into tears. One of the nurses heard the screams and dashed into the room to attempt to calm him down.
“Where am I!? Who are you!? What are you!?”
Shepard kept resisting the belts to no avail, creating deep bruises in the flesh. Then, the soft voice of the nurse interrupted his struggles, and he was somewhat calmed.
“Dear, you need to settle down! You’re scaring Fluttershy!”
“Sorry, ma’am. I’m just a little confused. And I can’t see anyone.”
Nurse Redheart looked down to the floor, tapping both hooves on the floor left and right in a rhythmic pattern. Shepard, although now in this strange new world, remained human. In Equestria, humans were not a natural occurence. Even less so his crew members that survived.
“Get some rest, N7.”
“Wait, ma’am, what do you mean ‘N7’?”
“Isn’t that your name on your uniform?”
“No, miss. My name is Commander Shepard.”
Silently, the nurse and Fluttershy trotted away, making their best efforts to not make a single clop. Fluttershy still sobbed quietly, and sniffled once or twice. Her legs shook vigorously while the nurse had her arm on Fluttershy.
Shepard laid in silence on the white bed whilst watching the white sun setting in the hills in front of him. The white turned to orange, pouring into the room and reflecting from Shepard’s visor, sitting neatly on a table adjacent to his bed. Normally, that would be on him outside of the Normandy, but instead they put him in casual clothing. Clothing he assumed they wore regularly. A red robe, mostly, with satin underclothing.
There he lay, ticking off the seconds as the sun drew nearer and nearer into total obstruction. How he missed the sunsets of Earth, before his parents died.
Sometime during the wait, Shepard fell asleep. He didn’t feel anyone moving him in his sleep, but when he awoke sometime during the middle of the night, his restraints were unlatched. Shepard sat up, if not too quickly, and slapped his hand to his forehead. A few minutes passed, and Shepard removed his hand, groaning as the pain subsided. He directed his attention out the window again, able to get a better look. Never before had he seen such...innocence and purity in an uncharted world. Or, at least, he thought it was uncharted.
“New mission: Find out where the hell I am.”
Shepard clicked the button on his omni-tool, and the log was saved. His feet hit the marble floor hard. Unfortunately for Shepard, it was recently mopped. Using his stealth training, he put his back to the side of his bed and sat there.
. . . Not a sound.
Still, he had to remain behind the bed, in the event of another unexpected arrival. His brow began to drip with sweat and he panted frantically when he heard a familiar sound coming from behind the door.
No, there can’t be geth here! God damnit, I don’t have a weapon!
“Commander Shepard? Are you alright?” The sweet voice of the nurse broke the silence. And so did the sound of a dropping metal tray, along with shattered glass. Shepard could feel the cold liquid soaking into his robes. “Commander Shepard!? Doctor, he’s escaped!”
While he remained hidden, Shepard could hear the deep and gruff voice of a male.
“Well, find him! It is of paramount importance that you do not let him get out to Ponyville!”
“Yes, sir!”
He heard the nurse’s footsteps nearing him, so he jumped from his hiding place and slid into the nearest wall, on account of the spilled drink. His brain fogged by something, Shepard was only able to make a meek attempt at headlocking the nurse. What attributed more to his inability to grab her was her height. Nobody, not even a Volus, was this short. The nurse screamed shrilly, alerting the doctor in the other room. He came in yelling at the top of his lungs, and Shepard found himself doubling over in pain.
“What do you suppose we do with him?”
“We need to report this to Celestia. He’s a danger to the ponies.”
Ponies? Why would an alien race care about ponies?
There was no time to ponder further. In no time at all, the two creatures slumped onto the ground in a sloshing mess. In the corner of his teary eye, he saw the silhouette of...something. Though it was faint, he was able to hear two words in a cheerful, yet robotic, tone.
“Shepard-Commander.”
---Garrus
“Gahah! One less to worry about!” Garrus gleefully shouted as the large bear fell onto the forest floor. “Ah, shit. That...is my cue to leave.”
The loudest roar Garrus had ever heard bellowed from the recesses of the deep cave he’d just escaped. Footsteps shook the very ground he stood on, and boulders perched atop the hill came crumbling down. His mandibles flared wildly. “Dah, hell...”
Garrus grunted in pain after being hit square in the leg with a rock. Sure, it was going to hurt in the morning, but at least he survived. Shooting behind him, Garrus ran to the nearest source of artificial light he could find. A large log lay in his path, obstructed by a shroud of darkness. Of course, Garrus tripped over it and landed in a thick and wet pile of leaves. His scaly skin made a perfect frictionless surface to slide in unnoticed.
The large purple bear sniffed the air once, moving his head from left to right, surveying the forest. It growled furiously. Garrus froze in place, twitching his mandibles on account of the ants crawling on him. In a steamy huff, the purple bear stomped its way to the cave once more.
“Ungh. That was a close one.” Garrus stood up from his leafy cloak. Cracking his back, he turned toward the lights in the distance. To get a better look, he pulled out his Sniper Rifle and looked through the scope. A small cot, he thought to himself, there’s got to be someone there who can explain this.
His backpack hissed when it attached the Rifle back in place, scaring away the animals following their strange new friend. Garrus sighed happily with each step in the grass.
“Been forever since I last felt grass on my feet.” He had the urge to pinch the grass in his feet with each step, and so he did. After an hour or so of walking, however, his toes grew tired of the trivial, and rather monotonous, task of grasping the plants.
In his walk to the cot, there was a little white, furry creature holding a carrot. Its ears were tall and stood erect from the top of its head. Reacting unexpectedly, the creature threw its carrot straight at Garrus’ face. Luckily, he still had his helmet on, so the carrot made a little plastic clunk, and fell to the ground. The little white creature hopped away swiftly, making little pitter patters on the soil with each landing.
“Finally.”
Garrus arrived at the quaint cot. It was still billowing smoke from its chimney; smoke was clouding in the air and reflecting the blue light of the moon.
The primitive door of the cot confused Garrus completely. Never before had he been forced to find this kind of thing out on his own. There was no opening button, nor a keypad. This thing wasn’t even made of metal! Garrus smacked the door with his fist, nearly punching a hole through the wood.
“Eep! Um...I’ll be right there.” Garrus turned to look at the door and faced forward. What he didn’t expect was a little yellow quadruped staring up at him in horror. She slammed the door. Hard. Right on Garrus’ foot. Pulling off the mask didn’t help his situation with the local, and neither did his unworldly screams. She sat in the corner of her cot, weeping loudly. The little white creature that threw the carrot at Garrus patted her head, and glared at Garrus.
“What? What’d I do?”
---Zaeed
“What the bloody hell are you? ‘Ey! Get down from there and fight, you li'l bitch!"
Massani’s new friend, a light blue pegasus, was readying another dash at his face. Rearing her back leg for another temple kick, she zoomed at him with full force. A vapor cone formed around her and her face was pulled back by the Gs. Zaeed was better than her though.
In one fluid motion, Zaeed thwacked the pegasus with his rifle butt, and brought her to the ground. Placing his foot on her chest and pointing his rifle at her eye, he said with a smile, "Heheheh, I like your style, girl. Whaddya say about gettin' me the hell outta here?"
The pegasus squinted her eyes and tried her best to look intimidating. Not easy when she was looking at Zaeed’s scars. "Whatever gets you away sooner." Zaeed shook her hoof and stared at her blankly with his scarred face. The blank and angry gaze pierced her, and the sight of his blind eye made her nearly wretch. “Ugh, I’m taking you to Rarity when we get to Ponyville.”
Zaeed released his grip and frowned at the pegasus. "I’ll ‘ave you know I got shot in the face and lived. And if you so much as look in the wrong direction I’ll shove my gun right up your prissy arse!”
The pegasus jerked back. “Jeez, I only wanted to help. Fine, follow me.” Still watching her back, they headed towards Ponyville, the pegasus gaining speed and forcing Zaeed to form into a sprint.
“Slow the hell down! I don’t have bleedin’ wings like you!”
“I thought this was a race.” The pegasus lied.
“Hell, even if it were, you’d probably have lost eventually.”
The pegasus gasped, and put on a challenging face. “You challenging Rainbow Dash? The Rainbow Dash? Buddy, you’re in for a heck of a race.”
Down the path they went, Zaeed commenting on Rainbow Dash’s confidence. He liked this girl, which was rare for him.
---Shepard's Escape
The hospital, as Shepard found out he was in by the directory on his wall, was dimly lit and barren of all but patients. How the ponies survived with these basic and primitive instruments, he'd never know. Each hall seemed to extend further with each turn, like a maze. The passages devoured Shepard in darkness, until some light, violet in color, shone at the end of the hall.
Still afraid of the ponies, he hid in a hallway in the side. Then, she spoke.
“Hello? Commander Shepard, are you here? I don’t want to hurt you!” Shepard couldn't trust that, as he’d been fooled by that millions of times. Then, a glint caught Shepard’s eye. A surgical knife. His morals almost let free, but he denied his mind the thought of using the knife. Instead, he casually went out from his hiding spot and showed his hands.
“Look, maybe we can talk about this,” he said loudly, “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Neither do I, Commander Shepard.” The click of a light switch was heard, and a purple unicorn was revealed. She held out a hoof to him, smiling with genuine care. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. Would you please follow me? I have a lot to explain to you.”
“So, you’re telling me that I just appeared from the sky, and into Equestria?”
“Yes, Commander Shepard, that’s all we could see.”
Shepard sighed and, looking down, realized what happened. The damaged Omega 4 Relay, the crash, it all made sense. “Listen, we’re not from your universe, at least I don’t think.”
“Well, I figured that.”
“My ship, the Normandy, crashed. Can you tell me where it is?”
“I don’t really know, since I brought you into the hospital as soon as I saw you hit the ground in front of my house, but I think the ship may have hit somewhere in the Everfree forest.”
Shepard pressed the button on his Omni-Tool once more, and dully stated: “New Mission: Find Normandy, check to see if anyone survived.”
“Commander Shepard? What is that yellow thing on your arm?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain. Now, can you assist me on this mission?”
Twilight had to accept, for nopony ever escaped the Everfree forest alone. She offered a yes, and they both went out the door, Spike still cleaning up the bookshelves.
---Garrus’ new friend
“Hey, calm down! I’m not here to hurt you! Argh, why’d you have to close the door on my foot, though!?” Fluttershy’s caring instincts came in, and she sprung up to tend to Garrus’ foot.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! It’s just that you scared me so bad and, um...I didn’t mean to.”
She tenderly lifted his foot, massaging it in every different direction. His foot was much more different than that of a pony, plus, she was still sort of hesitant about being near such a scary creature.
“Oh, ow, ahh, that’s the spot. Damn, you’re better than the girls back at the Citadel!”
“What’s the Citadel?”
“Er, it’s just where I used to work.” Garrus remained quiet until Fluttershy was done tending to his foot. Apparently, she broke one of his claws, so she bandaged his toe and finished up.
“There, all better. Now, how about some soup?”
Garrus gave her a confused look, his mandibles drooping slightly, “What’s that?”
“Oh, um...Just a dish we like to eat. You’ve never eaten it before?”
“Can’t say I have. Though, I haven’t eaten all day, so anything is welcome.”
Fluttershy smiled sweetly and directed Garrus into her home. The white rabbit named Angel, as Fluttershy informed him, was ready to attack should he try anything funny. Garrus sat on the small chair, nearly crushing it with the combined weight of his armor. So instead, he sat on the floor. Fluttershy was over at the stove, preparing the soup for themselves. Garrus, still curious as to where he was, looked around the small cot. It was well decorated, and full of many creatures he’d never even heard of. What in the universe was a ferret?
The little yellow pegasus brought the pot of soup to the table and poured it into the two bowls. Not thinking rationally, Garrus dug his face into the soup, not only burning his wound on the side of his face, but also making himself look like a fool. Brushing off the burning, yet still cringing slightly, his mandibles dripped and twitched. He looked like a little child with mess all over his face, the soup spilling down the creases of his mouth and onto his armor.
"Oh, um...let me get you a wet map."
---They’re here
“Shepard, you foolish human. Not only have you led us to you, you’ve endangered millions more.” The Harbinger prepared the hundreds of scouts for their mission. Shepard foolishly went into the damaged Omega 4 Relay, a big mistake in just the common sense department. “Scouts, go through the Relay. Bring me Shepard’s remains in a fleshy pile.”
The scouts got into their cruisers, fueled by the loyalty to the Harbinger, and their utter need to revive the other Reapers. The scouts arrived at the Omega 4 relay, it even more damaged than before. Each scout nodded to each other, and then slowly approached the Relay. Without following its normal behavior, the Relay immediately shot the hundred ships forward, killing almost seventy. Behind them, the Relay deteriorated further, showing that it only had a few more good uses.
There the scouts drifted, slowly floating towards the large, green planet in front of them. Their engines were shot, but they were still able to somewhat direct their ships to their destination. The anti-gravity smoothly brought them to the planet, where the Collectors’ stabilizers allowed them to land safely. The size of their cruisers, along with their tech, damaged their ships less than the Normandy. This fact was clear when they arrived in the flat of the Everfree forest.
“Shepard, we advise caution. We are coming for you.”
As an added note, I may edit this once I get a full review from the TG. Expect improvements.
“My Celestia...Shepard, you flew in this thing!?” Twilight inched closer to the Normandy crash site, part of her mind making sure she avoided the hazards hidden in the wreck, such as serrated metal, bodies strewn throughout the place, and the Krogan tank cracked and leaking into the grass. Whilst avoiding the wreckage, she found herself entangled in miscellaneous cords which she mistook as snakes. The other part of her mind wondered how such a massive structure could stay airborne.
Shepard stood in the grass, wondering what could have gone wrong with the Omega relay. EDI’s scans showed that it would only cause a minor path stray, not a damned reality skip!
“Erm, Commander Shepard? You might want to take a look at this. There’s a big blob of brown...goop here.”
Shepard arose from a crouch as he was reading the dog tags of Kenneth Donelly. He ran up at a steady pace, until Twilight started screaming. The screams of terror pierced Shepard’s ears, but that was the least of his problems.
“Twilight, get out of here, now!!” Shepard shooed her away forcefully, a chunk of her tail’s hair being pulled off by many Collectors.
“Shepard, you’re unarmed. Come quietly and we will use minimal force.”
Shepard reached for his back pocket, finding the pistol safely secured in his recovered armor. He whipped it out and fired three rounds into the chest of a Collector, ducking behind a tree once they began to fire their particle beams. Unfortunately, the tree was burnt through instantly, and Shepard was forced to flee to the town.
“Foolish human. You can not escape evolution.”
The Collectors gave chase, shooting in the vicinity of Shepard. More or less.
In the frenzy of fire and adrenaline, Shepard forgot Twilight’s most important instruction, and now he was about to pay an enormous price.
The ponies of Ponyville stood frozen in the street, dead silent. Mares bringing their groceries home allowed their goods to spill to the streets. Colts pulling their carts nearly ran over themselves. At the sound of a newborn’s cries, the town broke into panic. “Alien!!”
“Run for your life!” “SAVE THE MUFFINS!!”
The ponies scattered into their homes, and some accidentally found their way into others’ abodes. Shepard stood in the middle of the town, alone. The Collectors appeared to have been left far behind, no longer an immediate threat to Shepard. Now, it was a matter of calming the town and explaining everything.
---Zaeed III
He had to admit, Rainbow Dash was strong, and incredibly fast. Zaeed nearly vomited, and he was still far behind her. Calling it a draw, Zaeed panted over to the nearest shady spot he could find.
“You-You’re goddamn cheating! N-Not possible for me...to lose!” Zaeed swatted at Rainbow, who was flying circles around his tired body. “Ah, good fucking lord, that hurts.”
“What?”
“My lungs. Forgot I haven’t run like that in ages.”
Zaeed and Rainbow sat under the shade, both bored out of their wits. Neither spoke to each other, but rather, stared into the sky for a time. There was something...off about it.
Rainbow saw her purple unicorn friend sprinting across a field far ahead of them, tripping over herself a few times. “Hey Twilight!” She called, yet her friend either didn’t hear her or paid no attention to her.
“Ah, don’t worry, mate. She’s probably a busy...what are you again?”
“Ponies?”
“Yeah, those.”
Rainbow sighed, annoyed this time, and fell flat on her back to watch the clouds again.
---Garrus III
In the middle of Garrus cleaning himself, and Fluttershy mopping the floor, there was a loud bang on the door. It persisted, getting harder with each knock. “Oh...my. It must be important!”
Fluttershy lightly walked to the door, not expecting it to slam open and break a window. Her fear subsided, as she saw her good friend Twilight in the doorway. Her relief, however, also evaporated when she examined the unicorn. Her mane was frazzled. Her eyes were the size of pinpricks. She was panting loudly, and her mouth was bleeding from the corner.
“W-w-T-T-T-T-Twilight?” Fluttershy staggered, nearing the unicorn with caution.
“Oh no...” the crazed pony had spotted Garrus, “not another one! Fluttershy, run! It’s in your house!!”
Twilight used her magic to grab the nearest blunt object she could find. This, sadly, was a pot. She shoved Fluttershy over and aimed it right at Garrus.
“Wait, Twilight! Another what!?”
“I said run, Fluttershy!” Twilight snapped, ears twitching.
Reacting quickly, Garrus jumped over to the unicorn and attempted to relinquish her grasp from the pot. Twilight disagreed with the notion and broke the pot on Garrus’ head. Nothing too serious, yet it did leave a nasty gash.
“Twilight! What are you talking about!?” Fluttershy broke her timid nature and screamed at the top of her lungs. Twilight stared back at her, mouthing ‘run you foal.’
Seizing his opportunity, Garrus jumped onto Twilight and firmly held her legs onto the ground. Blue dripped down onto Twilight’s forehead, and Garrus’ head throbbed. Still, despite the throbbing cranium, he held her with insurmountable strength. “Ngh! Purple horse thing, tell me who you’re talking about! I won’t harm you, just tell me!”
“W-wait? You’re not...one of them?”
“Who!?”
“The...aliens with the glowing yellow eyes!”
Garrus’ eyes grew wide and spied outside in a flash. ‘Horseshit. The Collectors.’’ Garrus thought, directing his attention towards Twilight once more.
“Twilight, these...aliens are called ‘Collectors’. If they stay here and aren’t stopped, they’ll awaken the Reapers and destroy the entire galaxy!”
Now it was Twilight’s turn to freak out. “THE ENTIRE GALAXY!?!?!?” The unicorn jumped under the couch and started shivering. Fluttershy did the same, squeaking from under the same couch.
Garrus walked himself over to the window, looking for any approaching Collectors. Why are they here, though? Unless...
“Shepard’s alive!”
---Legion
Shepard still stood in the middle of the town, in complete darkness, invisible from all enemies. The darkness acted as a shroud, keeping him hidden from the ponies, so that they now trotted along the town happily. It seemed almost like they had forgotten all about Shepard. Then, while Shepard was looking at the odd figure in the now rising moon, a shadow passed by him, far too tall to be a pony or human.
Legion slipped through the alleyways and onto the rooftops of Ponyville. Here there was a perfect vantage point, so that his hunt may continue. These ponies were alien to him, giving him reason to believe they were a threat. His sniper unlocked from his back, ready to fire at his next victim. Legion readied his rifle.
His crosshairs met the eyes of a golden pony, with orange curly hair. “Hostiles in our sights.” Legion whispered to himself in his robotic vocoder. The shot rang ‘round Ponyville, and the orange pony lay on the floor in a cold heap.
Shepard heard this shot, looking around for the source. There it was, the geth droid sitting atop a chimney of a docile home looking to be made of gingerbread. ‘No.’
Legion readied another shot, placing the glowing red round into the chamber, and pulling back the lock. “Hostile number two, in sights.”
“No!” Shepard yelled, calling the attention of Legion. “Not again!
“Shepard-Commander, we do not understand. Do you not wish for us to terminate the hostiles?” Legion’s facial panels moved in a pattern, showing that he was curious.
Shepard had to look way up, cracking his neck in the process. Finally, Shepard addressed the situation. “Legion, why are you shooting them?”
“Shepard-Commander, have you forgotten the incident at the medical building?”
“Legion, they weren’t going to hurt me, and neither are they!”
“But-”
“Drop the weapon, or I’ll be forced to take you out myself.”
Legion’s face shot with surprise, and he immediately threw his weapon onto the ground next to Shepard. “Shepard-Commander, are you positive that this is a wise decision?”
“What do you mean?” Legion pointed behind Shepard, to where three Collectors awaited their chance to attack. By now, the entire town had retreated into their homes, so it was just Shepard, Legion, and the Collectors.
“Shepard, this is your final warning. Come with us, or suffer the pain of the Harbinger.”
Legion let himself down to the dirt, picking up his rifle. “Shepard-Commander, shall we take care of them?”
Shepard grinned widely, and nodded his head. Legion threw up his rifle and accurately shot each Collector before it even had a fraction of a second to attack. “Hostiles terminated.”
---Garrus IV
“Twilight, come with me. I’ll need your magic if I’m going to find Shepard. If you can conjure fire, we can use that as a weapon. Fluttershy, you stay here, I don’t want you getting hurt. I’ll report back when I find Shepard. Let’s move out!” Garrus picked up Twilight by her stomach, to which she replied by shaking her legs wildly, and took her along with him, out the door and onto the path to Ponyville.
The only sounds coming from the path were those of the wind and rustling leaves. Garrus made light stomps while walking, but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed.
“NO!” Shepard’s voice echoed through the twilight.
Garrus and Twilight jumped, hearing a loud noise that cracked throughout the sky.
Garrus knew this sound all too well. “Come on! If there are shots fired, there’s Shepard.”
The pair sprinted into action, leaving a cloud of dust behind them that caught the eye of Rainbow Dash, sitting with Zaeed on a rooftop. He was shining his gun, allowing Rainbow to see her reflection in the metal.
“Hey, Zaeed, you see what I see?”
“Yeh, I do.”
“Wanna go race them?”
Zaeed put on a challenging look, nodding to her and winking with his good eye.
They soon caught up to Garrus and Twilight, laughing gleefully all the way. Zaeed recognized Garrus almost as soon as they made eye contact. “Wai’ a minute, Rainbow! I know this Turian!”
“Massani? How did you end up here?” Garrus asked.
Zaeed jerked his head towards the smoke billowing from the Everfree forest. Garrus mouthed an ‘O’, then quickly explained his situation to Zaeed and Rainbow. Agreements made, the four made their way to Ponyville, urgency fueling them.
---Shepard V
“Shepard-Commander, these organic lifeforms wish to speak with you.”
A small, brown spotted child pony walked up to Shepard with shining eyes. “Um, Mr. Shepard? Why did you save us if you’re an alien?”
The boy had an accent Shepard remembered from Earth. European, if he wasn’t mistaken. Shepard had to come up with something, for even he didn’t know why he was saving the ponies.
“Erm...back where I come from, aliens are my friends. You’re considered an alien to me, since I’ve never seen something like you. It’s...kinda hard to explain.”
Little Pip, now satisfied with the answer he was given, began to interrogate Shepard about many random things.
“What’s your job, mate?”
“Engineer, but I don’t see how--”
“Where’d you get these cool trousers? Did Lady Rarity make them for you?”
The questions continued, and Shepard’s mind pulsed with heat. Urges overcame him, and he stomped on the ground. Using his biotech powers, he threw Little Pip over into a barrel. Unharmed, yet scared beyond wits, Pip whimpered away to wherever he lived, still rolling in his barrel.
The others stood around Shepard, looking at him wide-eyed as they saw his face begin to glow brighter within the cracks of the scars. “Shepard-Commander, your aggressive behavior is causing your face to--”
“I know. Leave it alone, Legion.”
Four figures emerged from the hills behind Shepard, slowly walking towards the town. The faint yell of one of them pierced the silence, and drew the attention of the ponies, as well as Shepard.
“You sure that’s ‘im?”
“Positive.”
The four greeted Shepard when he turned around, explaining the situation. Somewhere along the path while following Twilight, an argument erupted over the mission.
“Shepard, there’s only three of us, you damned idiot! ‘Ow do you expect us to fight back!?”
“Zaeed’s right, Shepard. Two against a thousand are terrible odds.”
Twilight’s ears perked up, remembering something the princess once told her about. Voices began to rise, so she broke through the arguing men. “Boys, boys! I have a plan! Follow me to the library, so we can discuss this in a more...private location.”
Zaeed and Garrus shot angry glances at Shepard, who was still mumbling in his defense.
---The Plan
“Spiiike! I’m hooome!” Twilight called into her candle-lit library.
Shepard found it strange that she lived in a fully furnished tree, but that was not essential now. What mattered was talking to this ‘Spike’ character. To the group’s surprise, Spike was not a large, strong, and noble looking character, but a baby dragon. Though Zaeed and Shepard had only heard of dragons in fairy-tales in their younger years, there was one planted right in their face. Of course, Garrus had no clue what the big deal was. Spike looked a little like the baby Turians back on Palaven.
“Woah, you brought the aliens here?” Spike inquired innocently.
“Yes, Spike. I need you to take a--” Twilight stopped mid-sentence, rethinking something, “I mean, uhm, can you get us some drinks?”
“Purple pony thing, what are you doing?” Zaeed asked.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle, thank you very much, and I don’t want Spike to panic!” Zaeed quieted down, nodding in approval. Best to not scare the children.
Spike set the drinks on the mahogany table. Twilight thanked him and shooed him off, preparing her quill and parchment. “Princess Celestia is my teacher, so she’ll listen to me without a doubt. I just hope there’s still time...”
“Come on, Twilight, we can kick their hinds outta Ponyville if those aliens show their faces again!” Rainbow Dash hovered midair and jabbed at nothing to demonstrate her strength.
‘She’s more of an ego than the Krogans.’ Zaeed thought to himself.
“Um...Twilight, what can the princess do about the monsters? We don’t normally use weapons.”
Fluttershy, who snuck her way to Twilight’s despite her orders to check on Spike, timidly cocked her head to the side as she asked the question.
“Oh, Fluttershy. The princess has had a little something up her sleeve for the past few weeks.”
‘Dear Princess Celestia,
During my investigation of the hospital, the day where the alien was reported fugitive, I found that the alien was friendly, and did not intend harm. Now, while he and I were investigating his vessel, we came across another species of alien. Shepard calls them ‘Collectors’, and, I don’t mean to scare you, but these aliens are capable of destroying the entire galaxy, including the sun and moon. The survivors from the crash of the vessel that brought them here (the explosion from the Everfree forest) have little to no chance against this threat, due to their lack of weaponry. If I may ask, when the time is right, would we be authorized to use the O.F.C?
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight signed the parchment and stamped it into the envelope. Using Owlowiscious as a homing owl, she delivered the letter.
“Now, we must wait for her reply.” Twilight stated.
“Shepard-Commander, if this is successful, we may be able to eradicate all Collector life, and possibly bring an end to the Reapers.” Legion chimed in.
“If this works. We can’t be sure.” Shepard directed his attention to the window facing the moon. Noticing the flash of red light next to the moon, he added in, “If we have enough time.”
---Time is Short
In a puff of smoke, a letter enclosed in a red-stamped letter appeared on the table. Twilight’s eyes opened slowly, surveying the dark room around her, then made her way to the table. Twilight read it aloud, hoping to wake the others. Legion stood in the corner of the library, his blue eye illuminating the shelf in front of him.
My Faithful Student,
I have taken this into account, but I am afraid that you will have to prove these ‘Collectors’ exist before my council will allow the O.F.C to be used. Report to Canterlot immediately, and allow Shepard to explain. Perhaps the council will believe the one who saw them firsthand.
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia
“Shepard? Shepard, wake up!”
“Duh--Huh?”
“We need to go meet the council. Shepard, get up. We don’t have any time to lose.”
Shepard stood, shaking his head. Finally regaining his balance, he nodded to Twilight. The others soon awoke, and they made their way to Canterlot, following the purple unicorn. Each looked at another nervously as they walked along the path. For the first few hours of the walk, it felt like torture. By sunset, each non-pony wanted to end their suffering. They were all brought to a crawl by the time they reached the Royal Gardens, Garrus forced to drop the Collector body on the ground and rest.
“Here we are, men. The Royal Palace of Canterlot.”
The castle was built into the side of a mountain, and by the looks of it, had a thinning layer of paint on its walls. Judging by how crappy it looked, something must have happened.
“Oh my Celestia...”
Canterlot was empty. No, it was more than empty, it was deserted without a trace of anypony ever even being there. Exactly like the colonies Shepard visited. Shepard and Co. followed the frightened unicorn through the streets, to the castle.
Still no sight of anypony. Not even in the Princess’ throne room or chambers. “Shepard! What happened!?”
Shepard stared around, remembering his past battles. “The Collectors. We have less time than we thought.”
“Oh no, the O.F.C controls!! They’re decimated!” The box containing many buttons and levers was showering sparks onto the ground, fire spewed from every inch of its surface.
“What’s this ‘O.F.C’ anyway?” Shepard asked.
“The Orbital Friendship Cannon. It harnesses the Elements of Harmony’s power into one large ray. It can only fire once every month, since it’s still a prototype, but it was our only chance of destroying--”
“The Collector ship?”
“Yes.”
Shepard shook his head in disappointment, but soon formulated a plan. “Twilight, what are these ‘Elements of Harmony’?”
“The six elements are Magic, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, and Honesty, represented by me and my friends.”
Shepard smiled, realizing what they could do. “If we find your friends, could we use them against the Collectors?”
Twilight nodded.
“Okay, that establishes that...but there’s one more thing.”
“Yes?” Twilight inquired, trying to further the conversation.
“We’d have to infiltrate the Cruiser to save the world. Not all of us will survive, though.”
Twilight gulped, “I-I’ll have to ask the others. Is there any other way, Shepard?”
“No. This is the only way, Twilight. I’m sorry.”
Shepard embraced Twilight, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. Shepard had never felt something so soft.
*Added note: Special thanks to redstone for helping me edit and add things to this. He’s a real fine chap.*
