Prologue - A Message in a Bottle
Prologue - A Message in a Bottle
Planet Equis, Realm of Equestria
Canterlot, Royal Chambers
With an exhausted sigh, Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon and Mistress of the Night, closed the door to her bedchambers as quietly as she could manage. The Night Court had been particularly stressful this evening, and Princess Luna could understand why that was, yet it was still stressful to think about even now.
Earlier in the day, just before Luna was to lower the moon to make way for the sun, she and practically half of western Equestria's population had seen a massive oblong object in the sky, exactly where the moon would hide it should it be raised. This alone would be cause for great concern, except when the moon was raised, a wave of brilliant blue light cascaded across the horizon, this time for everyone on Equestria and in the Crystal Empire to witness.
The ensuing panic required all four Alicorns to make a joint statement that the matter would be investigated and settled by themselves, and that business should be conducted as usual. This had calmed the louder voices, but whispers in the evening still lingered, fearful as ever.
"For heaven's sake…" Luna frowned, placing her head down against a plush, lavender pillow. "It seems that every time we defeat a dire threat such as Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, or Lord Tirek, something comes to take its place. Except this time...we have no idea what this might be."
She shifted slightly to get more comfortable, and was just about to nod off from exhaustion, until her door was loudly opened. Princess Luna swore under her breath and turned to look face to face at whoever it might be that was disturbing her.
As it would turn out, it wasn't her sister, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, or even Princess Twilight Sparkle. It was Prince Shining Armor, and his expression alone made Luna pause out of concern.
"Shining Armor, what is it?" she asked, getting out of bed. "I take it that the Night Court has more visitors about that object in the sky?"
"No, it's something else…but it does have to do with the object." Shining Armor replied as he motioned to the hallway, and Princess Luna exited her room accordingly. "While the Night Court was in session, my little sister's curiosity got the better of her…and she did something pretty damn reckless."
Princess Luna raised an eyebrow, knowing that Shining Armor rarely cursed, even as a cadet in the Royal Guard, and Twilight Sparkle's behavior being described as reckless even in the slightest. As far as Luna knew, the fourth alicorn was anything but reckless when it came to events like this.
"What did she do?" Princess Luna asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
"You know that blue pulse of light that we saw? Twilight figured out it was some kind of signal, and it wouldn't harm anything on Equis. Princess Celestia told her not to proceed further…but Twilight then sent a second pulse signal using magic back towards the object." Shining huffed. "Which was bad enough as it was, except things got worse."
"What happened?" Luna asked again.
"That object sent out another pulse once Twilight was finished, only this time it wasn't directed towards us. Rather, it was going away from us. Can you guess what was in the signal that Twilight sent out?"
"She didn't…she wouldn't…" Princess Luna closed her eyes in disappointment. "She sent out information about our world, didn't she?"
"She did, and the information sent was quite comprehensive." Shining sighed as they approached a nearby conference room. "Princess Celestia wants your opinion on the matter."
As they both entered the room, they could see Princess Twilight and the Element Bearers on one side, with Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance on the other. Judging from her sister's expression of disappointment, the Princess of the Sun was not happy with her former student in the slightest. As Princess Luna and Shining Armor also sat down, Celestia straightened her expression at Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
"Princess Twilight, allow me to repeat what you and the Element Bearers have just told me." she sighed, placing her head into her hooves. "You sent out a signal using magic through the object, detailing the existence of our realm and others and many of their facets...against what I had told you directly only a few hours before your actions. Why exactly, should I look on the, ahem…"bright side" of this?"
"With all due respect, Celestia…the citizens of Ponyville were close to kicking my castle's door in due to panic." Twilight replied. "Not only that, it was better to do something, even if it was the wrong thing to do, then nothing at all."
"Plus, may I remind you of the phrase, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained?"" Twilight added.
"Even if the thing you have ventured on is potentially our home planet's state of peace and security?" Celestia replied. "Every realm outside Equestria saw the first pulse of light. May I remind you that their ambassadors in Canterlot have sent me countless messages wanting to know what could happen to them, as well as us, should the worst come?"
"Then we'll handle it when that happens." Twilight responded, with a little more stability in her voice than before. "Please, Celestia, I'm not saying we need to go into a full-on doomsday scenario. We can be cautious about this, I agree, but at what point does…that…"
Twilight's voice trailed off, and she clutched both her hooves to her head, wincing from the growing pain in her mind.
"Uh, Twily? Are you okay?" Shining Armor asked in a concerned manner, walking over to his sister, as her stance was wobbling noticeably more and more with each passing moment. Then, she collapsed and the last thing she saw was her brother diving to catch her, before darkness fell.
====
Twilight's eyes opened to a blinding flash of light, and she swerved around to figure out her surroundings, except the only thing she saw was the vast expanse of space. She called out to her friends, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor, but her words echoed into the void with no response.
"Where am I?" she asked herself, looking around again and seeing countless stars come to life, in a brilliant display of white flecks across a black canvas. One light in particular drew closer and brighter with each passing moment.
Twilight looked away as the light came to a stop, almost as if beckoning Twilight to reach out and touch it. She tried to step backwards and away from the light, but found she could not, as if she was backed against a wall.
With no other options left, she tentatively reached out and touched the source of the light as lightly as possible. Then, images began to flash in front of her, showing her countless things she didn't recognize. It was a blurry, fast paced mess, but one stood out above all the rest. A bipedal figure, clutching an angular object on its left side, reaching out towards a bright golden light. Twilight briefly caught a glimpse of something etched into the being's chest, a single letter and number, before she was shrouded in darkness again.
====
Twilight blinked her eyes open, and to her relief she saw she was back in the conference room, with her friends and brother staring at her, their worried expressions soon changing to ones of relief.
"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, as she and Shining Armor helped Twilight to her feet. "You did give us quite the scare by passing out."
"I'm okay…or as close to okay as I can get." Twilight replied weakly, looking towards Princess Celestia. "When I was unconscious, something happened to me."
"What do you mean by that?" the Solar Alicorn replied, worry etched in her voice as well.
"I had a vision of some kind." Twilight responded. "Most of it was unintelligible, but there was one thing that stood out by far. It was a tall figure carrying something in one hoof, while reaching out towards a golden light with its other hoof. Not only that, there was writing on its chest."
"What did it say?" Princess Cadance asked.
"It was just…N and the number seven." Twilight responded, as she sat down in a nearby chair. "N7. I have absolutely no clue what that means or is supposed to represent."
"I guess we'll have to figure that out as we go." Princess Celestia replied. "Twilight, please take the Element Bearers and return to Ponyville. Don't do anything else until we can make sense of your vision, do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand completely." Twilight nodded, as Princess Luna approached and with a flash of pale blue light, the six Element Bearers were teleported away. As the three remaining Alicorns looked at each other in a concerned manner, Shining Armor raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What exactly is going on with my sister?" he asked.
"I do not know." Celestia replied, exhaling deeply in exhaustion. "For now, let us all get some rest. The morning will bring more struggles, and we must be ready to face them.'
Shining Armor and Cadance didn't seem entirely convinced, but they exited the room accordingly, followed by the Solar and Lunar Alicorns. All of them had one thing on their minds, but they didn't dare speak it out loud.
"What could happen as a result of this?"
====
Alliance Space, Milky Way Galaxy
The Citadel, docking bays
"EDI?"
"Yes, Joker?"
"Are you done recalibrating the engines?" Helmsman Jeff Moreau asked the shipboard AI of the Normandy. It had barely been six months since the end of the Reaper Invasion, and while the progress of rebuilding the Citadel was still slow, it was progress nonetheless. Joker thought back to the climax of the Battle for Earth, as the Alliance stood on the breaking point. The Reapers were posed to launch the final assault…only for a golden light to envelop them from the Crucible superweapon.
When it faded, the Reapers were gone, their forms having vanished like a ghost. The crew of the Normandy SR2 would receive the news later than everyone else, as they had crashed on a forest world with seemingly no way of returning home. Fortunately, the world was home to a small Alliance research base, and after a week of repairs, the Normandy returned to Earth at last.
The best news of all, however, was that Commander Jonathan Shepard was alive, and being treated aboard the citadel by Dr. Chakwas and the best of the Alliance's medical personnel. Joker was thankful that Shepard was able to recover quickly, and that he was able to give his report to the Council from his hospital bed.
"Joker, the engine recalibrations are complete. All systems are now green."
Joker snapped himself back to reality and thanked EDI, before giving off a sigh of relief. The two of them had been hard at work preparing the Normandy for its return to service, and judging from all the upgrades it had received, it was ready to face any obstacle.
The newly-christened Normandy SR3 boasted new point-defense turrets on the hull near the wings to deter small-attack craft, improved shields and engines, and vast improvements to the ship's lower decks. All things considered, it was a marvel that the Alliance had managed to repair and upgrade the Normandy SR2 on such short notice.
"Is there anything else to do, EDI?" Joker asked.
"There's plenty, Joker, if you just know where to look." said a warm, familiar voice. Joker turned around in his chair to see Commander Shepard, already wearing his N7 Armor, standing in the doorway with a confident smirk.
"Commander!" Joker breathed a sigh of relief, quickly getting up as Shepard approached and offering a salute.
"At ease, Joker." Shepard replied, walking over towards the bridge's main viewport. "It's good to be home. How's the Normandy held up in my absence?"
"All systems are green." EDI responded. "It is a relief to see you in good health, Commander."
"Thanks, EDI." Shepard replied. "By the way, Joker…it seems we'll be seeing some new faces aboard in a few hours. I just received their personnel profiles."
"Well, let's take a look, shall we?" Joker asked, and Shepard gave a nod in reply. Joker made a few motions on his console, and three holographic readouts appeared on a nearby screen.
"First is Lieutenant Rachel Demura." Joker mused. "Born to a wealthy family with many friends in high places aboard the Citadel. She enlisted shortly after the Collector's defeat, and made the rank of Lieutenant shortly before the Reaper Invasion. According to her former CO, she's an exceptional Infiltrator, with proficiencies in Sniper combat, tracking, and stealth."
"Second is Urdnot Hako." Joker added, raising an eyebrow at the name '"Battlemaster, and first cousin of our old friend and crewmate Wrex. Apparently has a milder temperament than most Krogan, but that changes quickly in combat. He's described as efficient, methodical, and quite agile to boot."
"Third is Ensign Thomas Dean. Has ties to several weapons firms due to his father's work at R/D for Elanus Risk Control. He managed to secure a spot as an Alliance Weapons Keeper, and he'll be keeping the armory ready when Lieutenant Vega isn't available."
"Finally, there's our new Navigator, Thalia Eversole." Joker finished. "She's a former fighter pilot with three commendations under her belt, having earned the title of Ace after an engagement with the Collectors. After the Reaper Invasion, she volunteered her services as a navigator."
"Good to know." Shepard nodded, sending the profiles to his wrist-pad. However, just as the transfer finished, an alert began to flash on his wrist. He pulled the text-based message up to his helmet, and after reading it, turned immediately to Joker.
"Joker, prepare the Normandy immediately for a long-distance jump. We're going on an extended away mission at the request of the Council and Admiral Hackett."
"What for?" Joker asked. "I thought most of the Mass Relays were still inoperable."
"We just found one that's active, and an alien signal of some kind was sent through it." Shepard responded. "The message is comprehensive enough that the Council wants my opinion on it."
"Can I ask what "comprehensive" means in this case?"
"A potential first contact." Shepard replied, and Joker dropped his jaw. "I need the Normandy fully stocked and all crew aboard within three hours from now. Joker, EDI, can you handle that?"
"You got it." Joker nodded.
"Confirmed, I'm sending out a requisition manifest to the closest Alliance Supply Depot." EDI added. "All necessary supplies and cargo will be on board in three days at least, a month at the most.."
Shepard, stopping walking, rolled his eyes and turned to look at EDI with a knowing smile. After a few minutes of silence, he gave a quiet laugh. Eventually, Joker also began chuckling under his breath.
"I see you have found one of my jokes to be humorous at long last. I will record this in the ship's log for posterity." EDI replied in an almost-excited sort of way.
"EDI, will we be all set to depart on time?" Joker asked, and EDI replied in the affirmative.
"Good. Get on it." Shepard nodded, heading out towards the hangar deck to catch a ride to Alliance Headquarters.
Author's Note
Yep, I never thought I'd be doing this again, but I played more Mass Effect LE, and I got hooked. I actually got out of my comfort zone when I wrote the Equestrian side of things, and I hope it turned out well in the end.
