The first thing Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, noticed when she came to her senses...was that she wasn't in her new castle's bedroom in Ponyville. In fact, she wasn't in her castle at all.

She was currently lying down in a sleeper bunk, not out of place on a passenger train. She had been on enough trains to know, but that led her to the most pressing question at the moment that she could think of.

Why was she on a train, going who knows where, in the middle of the night, when she should be asleep in Ponyville? Sliding out of the bunk, she approached the door to her cabin.

Only for it to open as she approached, revealing the form of her brother, Prince Shining Armor.

"BB-BFF?" she asked, now very confused. "What's going on? Why am I on a train? Where are we going?"

"I have no clue." Shining replied as they entered the hallway that led towards the front of the train. "I was wrapping up some paperwork back in the Crystal Empire, when Cadance offered me some tea. I drank it, blacked out, and I woke up in the cabin next to you."

"Okay...this is...interesting." Twilight sighed with a tone of frustration. "Who would go through all the trouble to kidnap us both and put us on a train?"

"That would be me, Twilight, Shining Armor. I do apologize, but it was necessary."

Both of them turned to see Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance walk up, though Cadance had a very visible sheepish look on her face.

"Umm, pardon my Prench...but what the buck is going on, Cadance? What was in that tea?" Shining asked.

"That wasn't how I wanted to do it, but my ever-so-wise aunt insisted." Cadance said, with a bit of irked frustration in her tone towards the end. "Was getting me to drug my husband with sleeping-herb tea necessary?"

"Yes, it was." Celestia replied, as she motioned them towards the lounge car. "I will explain all you wish to know, but I ask for an open mind in return. Now...shall we?

====

As the four assembled ponies sat down, and Celestia magically summoned a pot of strong coffee and snacks, Shining raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't spiked, is it?" he asked cautiously.

Celestia then poured and drank a cup of the aforementioned coffee, and raised an eyebrow after a few moments. Shining sighed, took an offered glass, and for a few moments, there was silence as everyone woke up fully.

"Now, the exact reason I had to bring all three of you here will be revealed once we arrive at our destination, but for now...allow me to fill you in on the circumstances of what my sister and I refer to as...the Harvesting."

"That sounds ominous." Cadance said. "What was being harvested?"

"We ponies were." Celestia replied. "Allow me to start from the beginning."

"When my sister and I, five hundred years ago, were leading an expedition to the western mountains near the dragonlands, a short distance from my old castle. We uncovered something that was not Equestrian, Draconid, or from any species here on Equis that we know of."

"We referred to it later as the Artifact. What it contained could end a civilization in its entirety."

"No way. No how." Shining asked in disbelief. "There's nothing from Equestria that could be that powerful."

"You're right." Celestia continued. "Nothing from Equestria. It was not a weapon, or even a lifeform, contained in that vault. It...was a trove of knowledge of what lies in the stars beyond Equis."

"You see, the builders of the Archive were exceptionally advanced in technological means. Their power came from something called "Mass Effect", but what that might mean, I do not know. The archive contains a complete record of this technology and its purposes, and how to utilize it ourselves should we desire."

"But it also contained a dire warning. A warning I should have heeded."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"This Mass Effect technology was capable of performing feats our magic simply could not do at the time we discovered it. I and those who were studying it were growing quite curious to see what we could do with our new powers."

"How does that have to do with this Harvesting?" Cadance asked.

"I'm getting to that." Celestia replied. "Two years after our discovery...I was too eager to bring this technology to public use. I wanted to spread it throughout the world...but...in my haste and hubris, I neglected the warning of the builders. And because of that...Equis was nearly destroyed."

"One day, the sky turned from blue to black, and thunder began to sound as they descended on Equis."

"They?" Twilight asked fearfully.

Celestia turned to her, and spoke.

"They are known as...or at least they chose to be known as...the Reapers."

"As they descended, their leader, Harbinger, came to face me. I asked their purpose...and Harbinger responded to me in a voice that knew only death, only destruction."

"Harbinger proclaimed it was the Reapers' eternal task, in a cycle occurring every fifty thousand years...to harvest and cull all sufficiently technologically advanced organic life….and claim their civilizations' combined knowledge."

"Does that mean what I…" Shining asked.

"Yes. I realized what he meant, rallied the power of the sun and the moon, and attempted to strike him down."

"Did you?" Twilight asked, hanging on to every word.

"No. My attempted attack failed." Celestia said, shedding a tear. "The full combined power of both the Sun and the Moon did nothing more than make him laugh, his nigh-unstoppable, deity-like form completely undamaged. He began to laugh at me."

Everypony listening dropped their jaws.

"And he wasn't alone in his laughter. The assembled Reapers mocked us as one, calling me insignificant, weak, pitiful. I begged him to spare my planet, my ponies...and they stopped laughing."

"They offered me a deal. I was to hand over all of the Mass Effect technology we had developed, and we were to never use it again. We were to be forever reliant on magic...and I had no choice but to accept."

"All of the other Reapers departed, and I upheld my end of the bargain as Harbinger oversaw. Once I had finished destroying all I had created with it, he claimed the remains and departed without another word."

"I saved Equestria from destruction, and I sealed the archive away. Never to be reopened again." she finished. "But now...I feel we are ready to reopen it once again."

There was silence, unbroken dead silence. Twilight opened her mouth, then closed, then opened it again. Shining Armor and Cadance were simply speechless.

"We will arrive at the Artifact shortly." Celestia finished as the train began to slow down. "I suggest you gather yourselves and prepare."

"Are you sure about this?" Shining asked as they headed out towards the exit ramp.

Celestia paused and sighed.

"Yes, I am." she replied. "Come. The Artifact is not far from here."

====

"This is it?" Twilight sounded a little underwhelmed. The Artifact was a tall, curved spire, mounted on a dais in the ground. It glowed faintly with green markings, and its surface was worn from time and weather exposure.

"Yes." Celestia replied. "I have never let anypony else know about it, other than my sister, and now you three. I merely wanted to see it again, one last time."

"One last time?" Cadance asked. "Will we not see it again?"

"No, for I am going to destroy it." Celestia said. "Stand back. I nearly ended all life on this planet in my haste to use the knowledge within, and I won't make the same mistake again."

The other three stepped back and Celestia fired a beam of compressed orange energy at the artifact. There was a flash, a plume of dust, and as the obscuring cloud faded, the four of them flinched.

The artifact was now glowing much brighter, and it began to hum loudly before stopping, and falling silent. Celestia sighed, and turned to head back to the train.

"Is it, you know...destroyed?" Shining asked cautiously.

"It is disabled. That is sufficient for now." Celestia replied. "Let's head back to Ponyville. I have exhausted myself greatly, and kept you from sleep for long enough."

====
Milky Way Galaxy, The Citadel, Systems Alliance Space

Citadel Shipyards

It was quiet aboard the shipyard, thought Jeff Moreau, better known as Joker, for the first time in months. He sat at his helmsman's station aboard the newly made Normandy SR3, browsing through the ship's diagnostics readouts.

It had been seven months since the activation of the Crucible superweapon and the exile of the Reapers by Commander Jonathan Shepard. With the Citadel mostly intact as a result, the combined races of the Systems Alliance could focus on rebuilding once again.

After the Normandy SR2 was recovered with the surviving crew, Joker included, the wreckage was used to rebuild the fabled vessel for the third time. The SR3 featured a multitude improvements to the SR2 design, and Joker was still getting used to all of its new capabilities.

It was a task that was daunting, especially now, as Commander Shepard would return as C.O of the Normandy, first thing the next morning. He had had been recovered from the center of the Crucible barely conscious, but alive. An extensive regimen of medical care and physical therapy later, and Shepard was finally declared fit for service and command once again, only a few days before now.

"Joker? I am surprised to see you are still awake. It is nearly 0200 Hours." said a feminine voice form the pedestal next to him. EDI appeared as her globe-like holoram form, and Joker gave a sigh.

"I'm fine, EDI." Joker said. "Gotta wrap up diagnostics for the maiden launch tomorrow."

"I'm glad to see you're still on top of things, Joker." said a new voice, male, authoritative, but warm, from behind. Joker turned to salute as Commander Jonathan Shepard came forward to stand near the helm.

"Commander, welcome aboard." Joker said, EDI voicing a similar greeting.

"Likewise." Shepard replied. "It's good to be back. I never thought I'd miss the inside of Dr. Chakwas's gene therapy capsule, but, there's a first time for everything."

Joker and Shepard shared a laugh.

"I'm surprised to see you here, though." the helmsman replied. "Aren't you taking command in the morning?"

"Officially, that's the case." Shepard smirked. "But I figured I'd check in on the Normandy beforehand. It'sa shame Admiral Anderson didn't get to see the war through to the end."

"He won't be forgotten anytime soon, sir." Joker said. "May he rest in peace."

"Agreed."

Then, EDI flashed brightly, drawing their attention.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"I have just received an inbound signal from Admiral Hackett." EDI reported. "OMEGA priority. Alliance signal analysis has detected an active Prothean beacon on the edge of Alliance space."

"Is that a joke?" Joker asked.

"No." EDI replied. "Commander Shepard, you are needed in the Communications Room immediately."

"On my way." Shepard replied. "See if you can get Javik on the line as well. Seeing as he's the last Prothean, we'll need his input. Joker, get the entire crew on standby staus. Tell them we might be shipping out earlier than expected."

"Affirmative." EDI nodded.

"Aye, sir!" Joker aded. Shepard headed out of the bridge towards the comms room at a brisk run, and Joker began activating the SR3's systems across the board as EDI began broadcasting an immediate "Return to vessel" signal to the members of Shepard's team and the crew of the Normandy.

As Shepard entered the comms room, the image of Admiral Hackett, Javik, and the Alliance Council members appeared on the screen.

"Commander Shepard." Hackett said.

"Admiral Hackett." Shepard replied. "Reporting for duty, sir."

"Good, let's begin, seeing as we're all here." Hackett said. "Forty five minutes ago, we received a signal from a Prothean Beacon, which Alliance liason Javik was able to verify as legitimate…"

Author's Note

And here, it begins. I hope you enjoyed.

Next chapter - Brief reunions, a Relay Jump...and arrival at Planet Equis.