Shepard leaned back in his chair, a quiet sigh escaping his lips as he looked out to see the night sky above Canterlot. The past 3 days has been hectic for him and the crew of the Normandy, with most of the ground crew engaged in several missions, forcing him to read over their reports due to him being their Commanding Officer

Kaiden and Ashely fought off a Thresher Maw on Edolus, Garrus and Tali finding and saving an AI on the Citadel, and finally Destiny, Wrex, and himself trying to capture a genocidal Salarian doctor. The only ones that were not engaged in any activity that was dangerous were Liara and Lonar. The former due to her insistence in learning about Equestrian culture and the Wall, the latter had to attend to a funeral of a Spectre.

He gave a grimace at the memory when he gave the report to Celestia, she was furious at what she heard from him. She gave simple shout of anger before her entire form glowed once before she vanished from sight, leaving a puddle of melted stone in her place. Sufficiently to say, Udina was terrified by Celestia's departure and quietly told Shepard that he was dismiss while he called someone to clean up the mess.

He was brought out of his musing when someone knocked on his door.

“Coming, coming.” Shepard groan out, stretching his back as he stood up. He walked up to the door and opened it, revealing Tali standing before him. “Tali? What can I do for you?”

“Oh! I wanted to see if you wanted to go out into the city?” Tali said, smiling up at Shepard. Shepard only rose an eyebrow, turning around and walked back into his room, waving Tali in as he did.

“Aaaand you came to me because....” Shepard asked as he grabbed his jacket. Tali blushed somewhat and wring her fingers nervously.

“Well, Destiny has gone out with her boyfriend. Lonar, Liara, and Garrus are talking, trying to find out more about Benezia and Saren.” Tali answered Shepard, looking up at him sheepishly.

“What about Ashley?” Shepard looked at himself in the mirror, checking to see if he needed to touch up his stubble beard. “Or hell even Kaiden, he is kinda uptight, needs to loosen up.”

Tali laughed as Shepard walked past her, coming up behind him. “Ashley went to gun range to practice and see if there were any weapons she could trade out.” Shepard rolled his eyes at this. “Kaiden went to visit his mother in the city earlier today.”

“Ah.” Shepard locked his door and held out his arm to Tali. “Well that will explain where he went. Shall we?”

Tali blushed, but linked her arm with Shepard. “Of course good sir.” Tali giggled. Shepard smirked a bit, giving her a side long look.

“What about Wrex?”

“Keelah, that would be embarrassing. That would be liking asking my father come with me.”

-Canterlot City Proper-

Shepard and Tali sat in the aircar, both of them laughing at several stories they swapped with one another.

“Keelah, it is so embarrassing looking back at it now.” Tali wiped her eyes from the tears that fallen from her eyes from laughing to hard.

“It should be!” Shepard chuckled. “If I decided to take a stand for something, standing out in the front yard in my birthday suit should make the point obvious.” Tali blushed and laughed out loud.

“What about you Shepard, any embarrassing stories to share?” Tali asked him, then mentally cursed herself when she saw Shepard gain a faraway look in his eyes. “I-I'm sorry I shouldn't-”

“Its fine Tali.” Shepard gave her a small smile. “I remember when I was 15 years old, I just started getting into dating. The first girl I dated was Danielle Cortez, a sweet girl of 14 years, and the smartest girl in our class year.”

“What happened?” Tali leaned forward, eager to hear more.

Shepard leaned back and gave a big smile. “Well, everything went fine at first. We went on a lot of dates,  we had many kisses, and our families liked one another....well, her father liked me a lot.”

“Only her father?”

“Never met her mother.” Shepard clarified, shrugging his shoulders “I figured she died so I never asked, didn't seem appropriate for me delve further until she felt I should know. Anyways, one day I saw her sitting at the local coffee shop, sipping away at a latte. Which confused the hell out of me.”

“Why?”

“She told me she would be working with her father that day at the fields. So believe me when I say that I was surprised.” Shepard gave a chuckle. “So there I go, walk right up to her and plant one on her lips. I frighten her badly enough that she almost sucker punch me. Demanded to know why I kissed. Here I was thinking I did something wrong, 'Did I do something wrong Danielle?' I asked. She got this weird look on her face and then smiled at me and kissed me.”

“What?” Tali looked at him in confusion.

“Exactly.” Shepard smiled “She then started flirting with me like crazy. Then asked if she wanted to go back home for some private time. I asked about her father, but she waved it off. Said he was busy in the fields.”

“What happened next?” Tali's eyes and ears were completely focused on Shepard at this point, to into the story to stop.

“So we head back to her house, started making out like crazy. The entire time I felt like something was off, but couldn't put my finger on it. Then she dropped the bomb on me.” Shepard gave a small shake of the head. “Said to take off my clothes and get on the bed. She was going to put on something special. Like the eager little virgin that I was, I stripped down to my boxers.”

“Oh keelah.” Tali rolled her eyes, but remain attentive to the story.

“She comes out in the smallest thong I have ever seen and a small white t-shirt. Stands there leaning against the bathroom door, smiling like a minx and slowly starts walk to me. Then her father showed up.” Shepard closed his eyes, while Tali eyes widen in shock. “He comes barging up the steps and walks in on me and Danielle about to get it on. My short life flashed before my eyes and I was ready to jump out the window. Then Danielle stepped out from behind her father.”

“What?!?” Tali blinked in surprised.

“Yeah, me too.” Shepard laughed out loud. “There she was, standing behind her father covered in dirt, and she was standing in the middle of the room with nothing but a thong. I was so confused that I actually had to think on it and rub my eyes to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. Turns out that Danielle had a twin sister, who lived with her mother, as per agreement of the divorce papers. The shouting match between the two was loud. During that time, I was sitting in my boxer shorts next to her father on the living room couch, still confused on what was going on. Her father told me to get dressed and that they will go to my parents house after everything settled.”

Tali was in tears from the story, laughing and holding her stomach. “What happened afterward?”

“Her father marched 'Michelle' and Danielle to my parents' house and explained everything. When they left, my entire family was still confused on what was going on.” Shepard finished.

“Were your parents mad?” Tali asked.

“Somewhat, they were more upset to the fact that I had no protection or at least learned some sort of anti-pregnancy spells. They dragged me and Danielle to the nearest clinic to learn 'safe sex' spells the next day.”

“Keelah you two were still together after all that!” Tali looked surprised by this.

“Yup.” Shepard crossed his arms in pride. “She wasn't upset because I didn't know that her sister was there. They didn't exactly get along and her father wanted it to be a surprise. Go figure huh.” Tali only shook her head.

“Oh look! There is the club!” Tali pointed out to building with bright neon lights and open roof. The air car landed and the two got off.

“Huh, 'The Lunar Stars Club'.” Shepard said out loud. “Sounds fancy.”

“Lets go!” Tali grabbed Shepard and pulled him along, a bright smile on her face. They walked in to see dozens of ponies, humans, and griffons on the dance floor. There was even a couple of quarians, krogans, young dragons, and minotaurs as well. Everyone had smiles on their faces as the music to the last song died down.

“Yo, lets bring on the next track!” the DJ cried out, with dozens of people cheering as an answer.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Mambo Number 5.” The speakers blared out before the music started up.

Tali laughed as she practically jumped onto the dance floor, dragging Shepard along. Shepard chuckled and began to dance, only for Tali to start laughing.

“What are you doing!?” Tali danced away from him, her legs gracefully moving to the beats.

“Doing the Shepard Shuffle!” Shepard was barely moving at all, his arms swinging somewhat lamely.

“That’s not dancing!” Tali cried out in fake horror. Shepard smirked before his movement became more erratic and crazy, forcing many dancers to get out of his way.

“Hows this?!” He said out loud, spinning on his heels.

“That’s even worse!” Tali managed to get close to him and grabbed his  shoulders. She forced his hands to her hips, and began to lead him in much more sedated face. Shepard's face flushed, but followed her lead. Shepard and Tali danced for several more minutes before the DJ came back on. The music slowly started taking a much more creepy back tone, with howls of wolves and a man laughing the background.

“Alright, alright, alright! Ladies and Gentleman, Birds and Equines, and everything in between! Nightmare Night is just around the corner, and lucky for us, Old Earth managed to give us the best song ever created for that All Hollows Night. Lets listen to smooth voice of Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop, and still going strong after a thousand years have passed. Lets hear for the creepy, the scary, and the downright terrifying moves of THRILLER!”

If the club party wasn't in full swing from before, it was now, as the everyone began to dance. Even Shepard himself let himself get lost in the music. He showed Tali the moves from the song, even throwing in the monster mash dance step.

“You are a good dancer!” Tali laughed as Shepard swung her into a spin, stopping her self before she ran into someone.

“Never said I was a bad one!” Shepard was jerking his movements, almost zombie like as he made his way back to Tali.

“Could have fooled me!” Tali copied his movements, zombie dancing her way back to him. This was stopped when she felt something wet land on her hand. She looked down to see what it was, before another fell. She looked up to see storm clouds overhead, before the rain began to pour onto the dancers. Everyone rushed off the dance floor, escaping for the protection from the rain.

Everyone but Tali.

“Tali! Get out of the rain!” Shepard called from the underneath the roof. Tali turn to him and smiled, her bio-luminescence eyes shining brightly in the rain. She raised her omni-tool and typed something onto

“What the?” The DJ jerked back when his omni-tool went off. He read the message, before looking directly at the quarian still on the dance floor. “You want this party to continue?!”

“Yes! A little rain never hurt anyone!” Tali yelled back. The DJ frowned, nodding his head in agreement.

“The little lady is right. This is party is it not! Lets get down and wet people!” The DJ fingers flew across the board, a new song starting up. “This is DJ Fingers, and he is demanding that all you get you pretty asses on the floor! This party is not even close to ending!”

“Bob Sinclair, Mister 305, yeah....We gonna Rock the Boat, Rock it till it breaks down! We gonna Rock the Boat, Break it to the underground!”

Tali began to dance to the music. Her moves both fluid and precise, at first no one moved, then Shepard moved forward and danced with her. This was the opening flood gates as everyone flooded the dance floor.

Tali looked at Shepard a big smile on her face. “Thank you.” she mouthed to him. Shepard only smiled and nodded his head at her.

“Lets dance!” Shepard called out.

-3 hours later-

Tali and Shepard were walking through one of the many parks that are inside the the city, a smile on both of their faces.

“Keelah, I haven't had that much fun in long time.” Tali smiled as she leaned against Shepard, the rain had fizzled down to a light sprinkle.

“Me neither.” Shepard smirked as he looked around the park for anything that could attack them, something that was instilled into him by Commander General. “Why did you have to get me wet though?”

“Sorry.” Tali blushed, looking away from him. “Just....”

“Just?” Shepard prompted her.

“Just keeping a promise.” Tali said quietly. Shepard raised an eyebrow at this, and began to debate with himself if he should prod further. But Tali made the call for him. “To my mother.”

“Your mother?” Shepard looked down at Tali, seeing that her face gain a sad look upon it.

“Yes, my mother made me promise on her death bed to live life to the fullest.” Tali said quietly.

“Hey now.” Shepard place a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with regret. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.”

“No no. Its okay Commander.” Tali said quickly.

“Hey! What happen to Shepard!” Shepard gave her a small smile.

Tali blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, Shepard.” Tali shook her head before looking up at the now clear sky. “I...I really want to get this off my chest.” Shepard nodded his head once in understanding.

“My mother managed to contract an very dangerous illness when her suits filters failed.” Tali explained to him.

“Suit?” Shepard looked at her in confusion.

“My mother.....my mother was one of the few hundreds Quarians that were unable to be cured from the weaken immune symptoms. Her body kept rejecting the cure, so she was still stuck inside the suit.” Tali looked up to the sky to see the clouds being pushed away by the pegasi of Canterlot, giving way to the starry night. “She was pregnant with me at the time.”

“Must of been hard on your father and mother then.” Shepard said quietly.

“Yes. Father was worried that I wouldn't be able to walk outside a clean room without a suit, given that my mother was unable to.” Tali answered, her eyes closed as she remembered her mother.

“Well, given that you are standing out here without a mask, not caring about a little rain, I say that assumption was wrong.” Shepard stood next to her, carefully looking over her. Tali smiled a bit, nodding her head at his statement.

“Both of my parents were surprised when the doctors told them that my immune system was strong enough that I didn't need a suit. Father told me when I was younger that Mother gave up her chance to be free from the suit so I can have a chance at a normal life.” Tears began to fall from Tali's face as she looked down at the ground.

“You blame yourself for your Mother's death.” Shepard answered. Tali looked up at him, her eyes dimmed somewhat from her crying.

“How could I not blame myself.” Tali cried. “If a cured Quarian had gotten sick, they would have been bed ridden for days, but would of recovered. My Mother couldn't even take off her mask to show me her face with out hours of preparation!”

“A mother would give up everything to keep their child safe and happy.” Shepard said quietly. “She wanted to give you a chance at a normal life, even if it compromised her own well being to do it.” Tali looked away, knowing Shepard was right. “That is why she wanted you to live your life to the fullest. Because you are worth the effort and sacrifice.” Tali looked back at him, a sad smile on her face.

“She said that too.” Tali said quietly. Shepard gave her a smile before engulfing her in hug.

“I think you need this.” Shepard said, grinning down at the blushing Quarian.

“Thank you.” She buried her face into his chest, a quiet sigh escaping her lips.

“Come on. Lets head back and wash up before we actually get sick.” Shepard said to her. Tali nodded her head at this, making their way out of the park.

At the entrance of the park, a small family walked towards them, confusing Shepard somewhat.  A brown Earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark was in the lead, with a small pale purple unicorn riding on his back. Flying next to him was a wall eyed pegasus with bubbles as her cutie make and a basket full of muffins.

“Huh, little late for a picnic.” Shepard muttered to himself. As he and Tali walked by, the Earth pony spoke up, with a slightly British accent, to Shepard.

“I wouldn't blame him for the mistake he is about to make.” He said out loud as he passed. Shepard turn back in surprise.

“Daddy, how come Amethyst couldn't come with us?” The small unicorn said, effectively cutting off Shepard before he could speak.

“Oh my little muffin,” The pegasus spoke out loud to her daughter. “You know how she is, she thinks there is always something is about to go wrong when we go on trips.”

“But that is half the fun!” The unicorn foal said in surprise. Shepard watched as the strange family made their way deeper into the park, he was struggling to figure out what the Earth pony meant by 'not blaming him for the mistake he is about to make'.

“Shepard, is something wrong?” Tali asked.

“No....nothing. Just thinking.” Shepard answered as he turned back around to keep walking. They walked by a blue police box, Shepard giving it a once over before he kept walking. 'Where did the hell did that come from?'

-The next day/Commander General Office-

Shepard stood in front of door for the longest time, unsure on how to approach his mentor. Questions had formed in his mind from the moment he was taken under the Commander General's wing.

'What is my purpose? Why did Master push me so hard to excel in combat? Why was I chosen to be the new bearer of Victory?'

“Are you standing out there for a reason, Little One?” A voice called out from office. Shepard flushed but walked in, saluting Commander General the moment he stood in front of his desk.

Various knickknacks was scattered across office. Guitars, weapons, and maps were fixed to the wall and video games, books, and various pictures sat proudly on various shelves and drawers. Pictures ranged from long dead humans, to pictures of him and Luna smiling happily at the camera. Commander General sat behind an ancient oak desk, an eagle adorning the front, clutching an olive brand and arrows. The Commander General finished signing a piece of paper before snapping his finger, the paper burning up with magical flame, sending it to whoever needed the file.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?” Shepard asked, crossing his arms while giving his mentor a frown.

“Nope.” Commander General smirked, placing his elbows on the desk and crossing his fingers. “I got a mission for you and your squad, Little One.” Shepard straightened up, nodding his head to the Commander General.

“Awaiting orders, Master.” Shepard replied crisply to him.

“I need you to take the Normandy to the Hawking Eta cluster, Century System, to the planet Presrop and I need you to talk to Father Kyle.”

“Father Kyle?” Shepard asked

“Formerly known as Major Thomas Kyle,Veteran of the Torfan Raid.” 'You mean the Torfan Slaughter.' Shepard thought to himself, refusing to speak his thought out loud.

“You need me to talk to him? Why?” Shepard questioned. For a moment, Commander General stayed silent before speaking up.

“Major Kyle saw a lot of bad things when we were down there, Little One.” Commander General muttered. “Most of it by my hands.”

The batarian screamed in fear as his assault rifle fired on full auto, trying desperately to kill the dark cloaked figured as it rushed headlong at him. The cloak figure's swords flashed across the batarian's waist and neck, silencing the screaming slaver.

Shepard blinked, Commander General continued on with his debriefing, unaware of the small vision that Shepard was introduced to.

“We sent 2 Alliance negotiators to try and bring him in to help him.”

“I'm sorry, why again?” Shepard scratched the back of his head, chuckling somewhat nervously.

“Day dreaming again, Little One?” Commander General tilted his head to the side, his face still hidden in his cloak, making it hard for Shepard to get a read on him.

“No. Sometimes the visions from the Prothean beacon come and go.” Shepard answered. Commander General stared at him for a moment before nodding his head.

“Okay. As I was saying before you had your little episode. Major Kyle has PTSD, very bad case of it. He lost a lot of men on Torfan, most of it due to surprise ambushes and bad calls in the heat of the moment. No one blames him, not the surviving men under his command, not me, not even Celestia.” Commander General said.

“But he blames himself.” Shepard shook his head slightly, instantly reminded of Ashley and the story of what happen to General Williams. Commander General nodded his head at this.

“Yes. It became too much for him and he was given a honorable discharge after his evaluation.” Commander General passed Shepard a file. Shepard opened it to see the picture of Major Thomas Kyle and all of his information. The picture shown was before and after the assault on Torfan, the picture on the left showed a human filled with confidence and small light of laughter in his eyes. The picture on the right on the other hand showed a broken man, his face was sullen and had rings under his eyes. Shepard winced at the photo, but couldn't help but wonder why Commander General didn't even come close to looking like Kyle.

'Maybe because he survived something that should of killed him and all the other humans.' Shepard thought to himself. 'Or maybe because he is an ancient form of human. Much tougher and stronger than us Equestrian humans. That and he has the Elements of Victory, which pushes his strength to ridicules levels.'

“One day, he just stopped coming to see his psychologist, and fallen off the map until 2 weeks ago.” Commander General said, passing Shepard several photos, showing Major Kyle standing on a stage, appearing to be preaching several dozens of people.

“Whats this about?” Shepard asked as he looked over the photos. “Something to do about his new name change?”

“Indeed.” Commander General said quietly. “These people standing before Major Kyle are known Dark Mages.” Shepard's eyes narrowed at this information.

Dark Magic was well known even before humans appearance on Equestria. Many ponies, griffons, and minotaurs dabbled in dark magic for many reasons.

Love, greed, and power were the main causes. Sometimes they would go for dark magic for other reasons. Grief and loss sometimes drove them to use it.

When humans appeared, the less the savory characters tried everything in their power to gain magic, it doubled when Commander General gain magic after his fight with Discord. Some even tried to kill Commander General, in some fool attempt to gain the Elements of Victory.

“Granted, Dark Magic has shown to be useful in some regards, especially in wet works groups like Cerberus. They have a tight control over their users, however, and they take courses and spells to cleanse them of the taint of Dark Magic.” Commander General said to Shepard.

“Why does he talk to them, is he a user?” Shepard asked.

“Surprisingly no.” Commander General said quietly “He actually helps them control their addiction to the spells. He sees them as kin, he has taken up the cause to protect them, and they in return see him as a protector of sorts.”

“Why?”

“To ease his pain, I guess. He sees them as people he could save.” Commander General muttered out loud. “And the group see him as a man that is trying his best to protect them from the Alliance.”

“You want me to bring him in?” Shepard asked as he looked at the photos, trying to see any person that could be a real threat to him and the crew.

“Yes, but do it peacefully. The last 2 idiots tried to use force and they got blasted to pieces because of it.” Commander General growled, remembering the video file he saw a couple of days ago.

“Yes Master. I will get my crew and head out to the planet by night fall.” Shepard saluted, Commander General nodded his head, waving his hand to dismiss Shepard.

“Be careful Little One.” Commander General said to him as Shepard walked out. He sighed as he looked down at the paper work, cursing the fact that he couldn't have someone fill these out. A minute later he got up and walked out, his cloak billowing behind him.

As he walked out of his office and down the hall, he looked out to see the beautiful city of Canterlot expanding below.

“I know you are there Doctor.” Commander General muttered out loud. “No one quite has the same energy as you do.”

“Indeed.” The brown Earth pony stood next to the cloaked human, a simple hum escaping from him.

“Tell me something Doctor. Why bother trying to help us? I know you talked to Shepard.” Commander General said.

“Why indeed.” Doctor Whooves exclaimed. “It's been such long time since humans were around. You lot are simply hard to predict. I thought I had easy life now that I am a pony and the future looking quiet tame. Then you and the bloody rest of your group shows up out of blue, mind you, blasting dimensional barriers like they weren't even there. I spent a week fixing what you daffs did!”

Commander General chuckled at this. “Oh I am so so sorry I was just trying to survive.”

“Hmph....well.....I guess I can't blame you humans for trying to survive. You lot are hard to kill to after all.” Doctor looked down at his hoof in disinterest.

“Still didn't answer my question.” Commander General prodded.

“No, I didn't.” Doctor turn to walk away, but was stop by the next words.

“I guess we are not going to see you or your family anymore in the near future.” Commander General said out loud, still looking at the city, causing the pony to stop in his place.

“Why do you say that?” Doctor said, not looking back at the human.

“You only show up when a disaster is about to happen. I know you are trying your best to change some things. But even I can see a lost cause in your eyes.” Commander General said quietly.

“Oh....its not a complete lost cause.” Doctor wistfully explained.

“Shepard.” Commander General muttered. “He is in the middle of all of this.”

“Like a sun that is about to go supernova. Shepard is the catalyst to this moment, he will either be forged through fire or break from the strain.” Doctor Whooves explained quietly before he trotted away.

“How bad will it get, Doctor?” Commander General asked out loud. He heard the Doctor stop for a moment before he continued on, refusing to answer the question. Commander General sighed as he looked over Canterlot.

“That bad huh....”

-Station over Presrop/ 3 days later-

“Alright people, you know the drill!” Shepard barked out loud as he and the ground team geared up. Shepard had gathered everyone and relayed the information to them before setting off to the Normandy. Joker and Rainbow were ecstatic to be working with one another again, while Navigator Press Mapper tried to reel them in.

Shepard turn around to see Lonar, Garrus, and Liara walking towards them, fully geared up and ready to go.

“Whoa!” Shepard held up his hands, walking up to them with a surprise look on his face. “Where do you three think you are going?”

“Planet side, to help you out.” Garrus answered as he looked over his sniper rifle.

“No.” Shepard said, pointing his finger at the group, specifically at Garrus. “No, no, no, no, no! This is an Alliance problem. I don't need you guys getting mixed up into this. You already have Saren on your plate.”

“Is it not your problem too?” Liara asked, causing Shepard to grimace and nod his head.

“Yeah....but Master-” Shepard started but was interrupted by Liara.

“Master?”

“Uh...Commander General is my mentor, my teacher if you will.” Shepard clarified to her, before jumping back on track. “This problem is little more....uh....delicate than what we are normally doing.”

“So.....why is everyone gearing up like they are about to face an army.” Garrus pointed out, looking at Wrex as he placed his heavy machine gun on his back after placing a dozen ammo blocks in his ammo pouch.

“Eh....cause we might if it goes to hell?” Shepard answered. “More than likely they would summon sort of infernal beast if it does.” he added quietly.

“'If' things bottom out, then you will need the extra firepower.” Lonar stated, smiling at Shepard cheekily. Shepard groan at this, unable to counter this statement.

“Er....Um....*sigh* Fine. But follow my orders. If this goes wrong, we literally got hell coming onto our doorstep.” Shepard conceded to Lonar and waved his arm to proceed. “Ok people, lets move, get in the Mako!”

“John.” Destiny called out to him, waving her hoof at him. Shepard walked over and kneed down to her.

“Whats up Des?” Shepard whispered to her.

“What are you going to do when we get down there?” Destiny asked, looking worried at the upcoming mission.

“Well, hopefully call Major Kyle out and try to get these people help.” Shepard said, his eyes closed as  spoke to her.

“Thats it! John, these people are Dark Magic Users! They are tainted! We can't help them!” Destiny argued.

“Des, they came to him for help.” Shepard explained to her patiently “Obviously they want to be cured from the desires that dark magic give them. Major Kyle is trying to help them.”

Destiny scowled at Shepard. “They use dark magic for a reason! They were tempted and they-”

“Enough!” Shepard barked at her, startling Destiny. “I seem to remember you and your desire to learn dark magic when you were under the Queen's care. If only to learn what made it so desirable.” Destiny's ears flatten from Shepard stare. “I am not having conversation with you.”

“Why?”

“I use Dark magic, Des.” Shepard walked away from her, Destiny's face filled with surprise.

“What!?”

“I just don't have the need for it.” he said out loud. “Now get your flank in the Mako, or you will be left behind.”

-Several minutes later/ Father Kyle's Compound-

“Alright people. To be the less threatening, I will be taking Ashley and Kaiden, pistols only.” Shepard explained as he made his way to the back.

“Yes, sir.”

“Gah...only pistols?”

“Sorry Ashley. If I came out holding an entire armory, they would be more likely kill us on sight.” Shepard explained.

“Aside from the fact that an 80 ton armor tank/APC is right around the corner.” Wrex muttered.

“Hopefully that won't matter too much.” Shepard smirked.

“Do you want a sniper, Commander.” Garrus grabbed his rifle, indicating his desire to help.

“No, if they even spot you, negotiations will go to hell in handbasket.” Shepard explained.

“Literally.” Ashley muttered as she grabbed her helmet.

“Alright lets head out.” Shepard walked out the back, Kaiden and Ashley following behind him.

The next few minutes were tense before it became to much for the turian.

“That's it, I'm heading out.” Garrus grabbed his helmet before walking to the back.

“Garrus sit down!” Lonar exclaimed, she rushed to grab her weapons and helmet. “This is an Alliance problem!”

“Well, now I am making it my problem. Commander needs a sniper to watch his back.” Garrus pulled open the door and walked out, with Lonar trailing behind him. Tali sighed while Destiny was trying to contact Shepard.

“John! Garrus is heading out to your position. John! John? Johnathan Shepard you will turn on YOUR DAMN RADIO!” Destiny scream in to the radio. Wrex only began to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all.

Garrus made his way to the top of the hill, staying low as he did so. He made his to the top before laying down and taking aim. Lonar landed next to him, hissing in anger at him. “Garrus, what are you doing!”

“Pulling my weight.” Garrus grumbled. “Shepard doesn't trust me. This is my chance to prove my loyalty to him.”

“You mean treat you better than shit. Garrus, going against Shepard's order is not exactly going to grace you in his favor.” Lonar growled.

“Someone is coming out.”  Garrus ignored her and got comfortable, aiming his rifle at the man wearing civilian clothes, with only a breathing mask on his face.

The next few minutes were tense as Garrus saw the man raise his pistol at Shepard, it took a lot of effort for him not to shoot him right away. Both Garrus and Lonar watched as the two talked, watching as the two guards that came with Father Kyle look at him with worry. Father Kyle looked down and his pistol was lowered, Shepard walked up to Father Kyle reaching out to him.

Father Kyle's pistol quickly came back up, too close for Shepard's shield or armor to stop.

Garrus had no choice but to take the shot.

*BANG*

-Few minutes earlier with Shepard and squad-

“What are we going to do if things go south, Commander?” Ashley asked.

“Well.......Running sounds good idea.” Shepard quipped.

“And beyond the running part, Shepard?” Kaiden asked with a smirked.

“Haven't thought that far yet.” Shepard said with a smirked. Kaiden rolled his eyes but got ready as soon as a large minotaur came out to greet them.

“This is a private sanctuary. Outsiders are not welcomed here.” The minotaur growled out.

“Well, that was a friendly greeting.” Ashley muttered.

“I need to talk to Major Thomas Kyle. Its important that I see him.” Shepard said respectfully to the large being. The minotaur snorted from his mask, looking over Shepard and his group.

“'Father' Kyle wants nothing more to do with the Alliance.” The minotaur growled, leaning over Shepard in an attempt to scare him off. Sadly, this actually did nothing more than amuse the Guardian Operative.

“Listen here, Bruiser.” Shepard patted his chest. “I want to end this peacefully. If he doesn't see me, people can get hurt.”

“Is that a threat human. We will not let you Father Kyle away. He protects us, he leads us!” The minotaur growled. Shepard smirked as he reached up and grabbed his sword, slowly pulling it out. The minotaur slowly watched as the blade was pulled out, frozen in fear as he recognized the blade.

“The Sword.” The minotaur whispered, taking a step away from Shepard.

“Listen, I don't want to make this a blood bath. Those two Alliance Negotiators were killed here and left to rot. The Alliance want someone to pay for those deaths.” Shepard said, slowly placing the sword back into its sheath.

“They insult us! They want us to die for something we can't control!” The minotaur voice quivered in fear.

“Then help me. Let me talk to Major Kyle and I can help you and your group get out of here alive.” The minotaur tilted his head, no doubt hearing orders being given to him.

“Okay. Father Kyle wish to speak to you at the other compound-”

“No.” Shepard cut him off. “No offense, but I am not about to get surrounded in case things goes bad. He can bring out as many guards as he wants, as long it is out here, I'm game.” Shepard crossed his arms. The minotaurs snorted once before nodding his head.

“Agreed. Father Kyle will see you soon.”

“That took some ball Commander.” Ashley said in awe.

“Its what I do.” Shepard shrugged.

“Liar. You were riding on by the skin of your teeth.” Kaiden chuckled. Shepard chuckled at this statement.

“That too.” The three stood around waiting for Major Kyle, not even caring about the dozen or so guards rushing out of the far compound and took up several positions around them. Finally after several minutes a man came out, a sullen look on his face as he walked up to them.

“Kind of pushing it with the breathing mask don't you think Major Kyle?” Shepard said out loud.

“An simple brush of the mask and my life would be forfeited to the plains of the beyond, Commander Shepard.” Major Kyle said quietly as he walked up to him. “I know why you have come, we have no quarrel with you. Why can't you leave us alone.”

“You know why I am here.” Shepard said as he crossed his arms, giving Major Kyle a severe look. “Those negotiators were hit with dark magic and killed. Made to suffer until they died.”

“They wanted to take me away.” Major Kyle eyes narrowed. “Abandon the children under my care, turn my back on my family while they killed them from space. They spoke blasphemy! They spoke badly of my children, called them monsters while they tried to help a monster. They deserved what they wrought upon themselves. It was necessary to protect my children.”

“That was too far and you know it, Major.” Shepard argued.

“And killing those that want help is not? To me that was not far enough!” Major Kyle growled back. “Why are you here? To take me away!”

“Yes. Commander General sent me to help you.” Shepard said, his eyes locked onto the Major's, who only tilted his head back and gave a bitter laugh.

“Help me! He was the cause of my nightmares! Do you know what he is?! A monster! I saw him take down over a dozen beings while our own people fell all around him without care. While I tried my best to keep my men alive, he was rushing off in a fit of rage while the men rallied around him!” Major Kyle gave a pathetic sob of laughter, his eyes had tears running down his face.

“You know Commander General is an ancient human. He saw so many deaths that seeing people die is 'normal' for him. You can't hold that against him.” Shepard pointed out. Major Kyle gave a heaving sigh before nodding his head.

“Yes....yes you are right. He is made of sterner stuff than us. It doesn't change what he did.” Major Kyle said quietly.

“He knows that.” Shepard said to him. Shepard looked around him, his arms extending around him. “Look around you. You want to be better than him, but you are changing into the thing you hate the most. You push these beings into protecting you.”

“No! They protect me because they want too!” Major Kyle cried out.

“Really? Killing two idiots and making them suffer for their mistakes just sends signals that not all is well. Things are spiraling out of control and already the line has been crossed. Don't you understand that you are endangering your followers?” Shepard said as he crossed his arms again.

“I understand.....but I cannot do what you ask. If you take me away, my children would be helpless!” Major Kyle said, but even he could see that statement was weak.

“You order your followers to kill those negotiators. They must face the consequences of your actions. Do you want your children to suffer for your sins too.” Shepard said calmly. Major Kyle's face formed into anger, he quickly reach to his side and pulled a pistol and pointed at Shepard. For Shepard, he wasn't too worried about his position.

“No! No! You can't blame.....This.....This is my fault.” He said quietly, his pistol lowering to his side. “My children are innocent. Pure! Even with their use of Dark Magic, they want help. Please...I never meant for this to happen. I'm....sorry.”

“You doing the right thing Major. Your children will be better off for it.” Shepard smiled and nodded his head at Major Kyle.

“Please, give me time to talk to my children. I will go with you willingly, but if I simply leave without saying anything, they will panic and attack you, forcing you to kill them all.” Major Kyle explained. Shepard nodded at this, walking up to him and reaching out to Major Kyle.

“Your pistol please.” Shepard asked.

“Of course.” Major Kyle's grip loosen, quickly changing his grip on to the barrel of the gun. He bought his gun up to hand to Shepard. “You shown me the error of my-”

*BANG*

Blood sprouted from Major Kyle's chest, his eyes wide in shock and pain as his body flew backwards from the blow. Shepard looked on in disbelief as he saw the Major fly back, his pistol falling to the ground. The moment Major's body landed on the ground, screams of anguish belted out of the radio. Shepard immediately turn on his team radio only to hear Destiny's voice screaming out.

-JOHN!-

“Des! Who fired that shot!?”

-I did. I got your back, Commander- Garrus voice pushed through. Rage erupted through Shepard as he  ducked rounds aiming to kill him.

“YOU FUCKING MORON! HE WAS TURNING HIMSELF IN!” Shepard roared.

-What? Shit, Commander watch out!- Shepard turn back to see a large being made of flames attempt crush him before a boulder smashed into it, dispelling it. Sniper rounds took out many of the summoners from Garrus. The Mako came around the corner, firing its cannon rounds and heavy machine guns, taking out the suicidal members of Major Kyles group.

-4 hours later-

Shepard sat down in his room, holding his head as he thought back on the botched mission. They ended up killing the entire compound's personal. Shepard nearly killed Garrus on the spot and began to rage against him, shouting in his face while bolts of magic flared from his body.  It was only thanks to Lonar's and Garrus's helmet cams that he didn't murder anyone.

In fact, he blamed himself afterward everything settled down. He couldn't blame Garrus due to many things that Shepard could of handled better.

The main one was back up. He 'NEEDED' a sniper to look after him in case the mission went to hell. The only reason he didn't have or even want Garrus to be over watch was because of his deal with Garrus's attitude.

The second was the team's radio, which he turned off before leaving the Mako. He didn't know what kind of defenses or monitor equipments that Major Kyle invested into the compound. A simple message to anyone could of resulted in a disaster, which unfortunately still happen. If he kept an open channel, Garrus would of known about Major's Kyle's surrender.

And finally there was the video helmet cams. From both Lonar's and Garrus's view, it appeared that Major Kyle was raising his weapon to fire. While Shepard's shield would stop it, Garrus did not know that, due to how different their shields were. In respect to Garrus position as the team's main sniper and ability, Shepard understood why Garrus took the shot. Shepard would of done the same in his position if the same events happen to him.

The talk he had with Commander General was one for the record books in Shepard's mind. It only lasted 5 minutes before the Commander General cut the channel.

“Is that all, Little One?”

“Yes Master. The Turian-”

“Do not blame the Turian for your short comings. Take the time to look at the mission as a whole rather from only your view. Until then, Commander General out.”

Shepard leaned back, cursing himself and his hot head temper against Garrus. But Garrus rubbed him the wrong way, but now that was becoming a liability. He couldn't kick him off due to his skills, plus he already save Destiny's life and kept an eye on Tali while on the  Citadel, protecting her from the racist beings.

“Dash!” Shepard called out.

“What's up Commander?” Dash called out.

“Any pressing matters that came up while we were down there?” Shepard got up, taking off his shirt and walking to his bed.

“Nope.” Dash said quickly, which caused Shepard to roll his eyes.

“Like what you see Dash?” Shepard quipped.

“S-s-shut up! I mean! No! Gah!” Shepard laughed and jumped into his bed.

“Wake me up if something comes up.” Shepard sighed. Dash said nothing, but the room's light turned off. Shepard closed his eyes, praying nothing important tries to wake him for the next 8 hours.

-11 hours later-

Shepard was nursing a cup of coffee in the cockpit with Joker when the call came in.

“Hey Commander. Got incoming call from Queen Celestia and Councilor Tevos, High Priority. Both you and Spectre Lonar are needed in Conference room.” Joker look back at Shepard, who was leaning against the wall.

“Anything else?” Shepard asked after he finished off his coffee.

“Prepare the Normandy for battle.” Joker fingers were flying across the board. Shepard walked next to Joker's seat and hit the intercom.

“ATTENTION! ATTENTION! AS OF NOW, THE NORMANDY IS ON STANDBY FOR SHIP TO SHIP COMBAT. THREAT LEVEL IS HIGH AND PREPARE FOR ADDITIONAL ORDERS AS FOLLOW! CODE STATUS IS AMBER!” Lights flashed around the Normandy, deep gold in color, while the personal on board rushed around the ship. Press was barking on the intercom to other levels of the ship while Rainbow was relaying information to Joker when Shepard continued on. “ALL GROUND TEAM MEMBER! REPORT TO THE HANGER AND STANDBY FOR FURTHER ORDERS!”

“Joker, did you receive the coordinates?” Shepard asked.

“Yes, Commander.  Just outside of Alliance control space. Attican Beta Cluster,  just outside the Theseus System. We are linking up with the 63rd Scout Flotilla, under the Fifth Fleet.” Joker relayed.

“Good. How far out are we?” Shepard asked.

“About 4 hours.” Joker fingers were moving quickly, half paying attention to Dash as she quickly read out loud on their ordnance they have stored.

“Get us there in 2.”  Shepard turn and quickly walked towards the Conference Room.

When he reached the Conference Room, he saw Lonar standing by the entrance, waiting for him.

“Whats going on?” Lonar asked him as he walked inside.

“Don't know yet, but we are about to find out.” Shepard stated as the images of Councilor Tevos and Queen Celestia appeared before them.

“Commander, Spectre.” Celestia nodded her head towards them, a grim look on her face.

“I am at your call, your Majesty.” Shepard bowed to her before straightening up and nodding towards Councilor Tevos. “Councilor.”

“I wish I can say this a social call, but this is anything but that.” Councilor Tevos stated. “About 6 standard hours ago, a merchant ship under contract with Binary Helix made its way towards the planet called Feros to resupply them.”

“Feros?” Lonar looked at Tevos with surprise. “You mean the Prothean riddled planet on the edge of Alliance space.”

“The very one.” Tevos nodded her head to Celestia. “Her Majesty allowed us to scour the planet for any Prothean tech or relics.”

“What happen? Why are we being mobilized and linking up with the Fifth Fleet?” Shepard asked, his eyes focusing on Celestia.

“The merchant ship managed to drop off some of its supplies before a fleet of Geth ships appeared. Along with this.” Tevos pointed to the image that appeared between her and Celestia. Shepard scowled at the large squid like ship, looking like it was repaired recently.

“The same ship that attacked Eden Prime.” Celestia spoke up. “And you know what that means.”

“Saren.” Shepard and Lonar growled.

“Indeed. The merchant ship barely managed to get away and make its way toward Arcturus Station to report what happen.” Tevos said. “As of now, a fleet of Citadel and Alliance ships are making their way to the planet. This is the first time Saren has been seen in weeks, and he came to Feros for a reason.”

“We will find out when we bring him in.” Lonar stated.

“If only it was as simple as that.” Celestia said, giving them a sad look. “The ship is powerful, able to shrug off kinetic attacks with ease. We are sending our strongest DEW ships along with upgraded shields. We will be taking the brunt of the attack while the Citadel forces land troops and weaken the Geth forces.”

“Find out why Saren is here and save those that are on the planet.” Tevos ordered.

“Be careful, my Faithful Guardian, Saren will no doubt be ready for all of you.” Celestia warned.

“We'll be there.” Shepard nodded his head once before the holograms vanished. Shepard turn and marched out of the room, Lonar trailing behind him.

-Hanger-

“So whats going to happen.” Kaiden asked. Everyone was near the Mako, Wrex was leaning against the tire while Tali was sitting on top of the tank next to him. Garrus had pulled up several crates for him and Liara to sit on. Kaiden was standing near Ashely, who was leaning against a support beam watching them with Destiny next to him

“We are hooking up with the Fifth Fleet, under the 63rd Scout Flotilla for the upcoming battle.” Shepard told them.

“63rd? Crap.” Ashley muttered.

“Whats wrong Williams?” Shepard looked at her in confusion.

“Rear Admiral Mikhailovich is a total hardass.” Ashley growled, a scowl forming on her face. “If you thought I was bad when you first met me, you are about to get a rude awakening.”

“Um....What do you mean?” Liara asked.

“I mean he is a racist.” Ashely sighed. “He hates anything not human.”

“What about ponies?” Garrus asked in surprise.

“He 'Tolerates' them. Thinks they make us soft.” Everyone turn to Destiny, who look at them in surprise.

“What?”

“Hah! Shows what he knows.” Wrex laughed.

“I wouldn't let him on the Normandy, Commander.” Kaiden sighed. “He sounds like he will just point out anything he doesn't like and have a hernia with all the aliens on board.”

“Wasn't planning too.” Shepard said.

“Trust me.” Ashely look at him in the eyes. “He is going come on board whether you want him to or not.”

“We will worry about that when it comes down to it. Right now we have to worry about what is going down on the planet.” Shepard said, getting everyone back on track. “Right now Binary Helix is under attack from the Geth. We have to head down planet and find out why the Geth is attacking them.”

“There is something on Feros that Saren wants.” Lonar continued on. “And Saren is willing to throw his forces there to get it.”

“The Normandy is going to participate in the initial assault, but once we get an opening, we will head straight down to the planet to Binary Helix Headquarters, which is under heavy assault from the Geth.” Shepard crossed his arms. “We go down, find out what Saren wants, and either bring him in or take him down. This is the closes we have ever been in getting Saren so we need to make this count.”

Shepard walked towards the elevator, his eyes gaining a dangerous glint. “Saren will be in our custody or dead at our feet. He won't get away this time.”

End of Part 1.

A/N: Oh my god....this took forever to write and it is still not done! Anyways, I am not done yet. This is a little extra for all of you guys that read this.

Team Member Music Profiles: This music represent the person themselves.

Commander John Shepard- Another One bites the Dust

Sergeant Major Destiny Sparkle- I'll be there for you

Spectre Lonar Maerum- From the Inside

Garrus Vakarian- Remember the Name

Clans Leader Urdnot Wrex- To Glory

Tali'Zorah Vas Nevos Rannoch- Sorry for Party Rocking

Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko- Harder Better Faster Stronger

Sergeant First Class Ashely Williams- Hero

Liara T'soni- Moving Mountains

Discord Tales- Political Headache

Idea from The Illusive Man

“Oh come on Udina.”

“No, I will not go out for a drink, I got too much on my plate as is.” Udina growled at the Draconequus.

“Well you are such a prude, no wonder Celestia doesn't want to hang out with you.” Discord calmly stated, looking at his claws with interest.

“Because I actually work for a living, Discord. Now please leave.” Udina pointed at the door, which at the moment opened up. “Ah! Your Majesty!”

“What is with all the yelling?” Celestia asked, staring at the two in the office. “I can hear it from my bed chamber.”

“Ah! I apologize for our rudeness.” Udina quickly stated. “But Discord here was bothering me.”

“Tattle Tale.” Discord muttered.

“About what exactly?” Celestia said, a gleam in her eyes.

“Oh, I just wanted to take the Prime Minister here out for a bit of drinking.” Discord said lazily, sitting on a cotton candy cloud. “But the Prude here wants to work.”

“I think that is a wonderful idea!” Celestia said happily.

“But....but I got-”

“Ah ah.” Celestia shook her hoof at him. “You been working to hard, Udina. You need at least a break. Go, have fun.”

“But the reports on the royal funds are-” Udina started but was silence with a spell from Discord.

“I will handle it.” Celestia said “I have done it before, Udina. Now shoo!” Udina dejectedly walked out the door, with Discord trailing behind him. If he had turn around to look at them, he would of saw  Discord slapping hoofs with Celestia, a big grin on their face.

-The next Morning-

Udina groaned as he sat up on his bed, holding his head due to the hangover. “Never.” he growled. “I will never drink with Discord again!” He looked down at his omni-tool in surprise when it stated he had a message.

“What the hell...” he muttered as he read the message. “Luna has a new item of interest to show me? Gah, in about 20 minutes! Damn it!” He rushed to get himself ready and out the door to the meeting.

-MageTech-

“Princess Luna.”

“HELLO PRIME MINISTER! HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT!”  Luna roared at him, causing Udina to groan in agony.

“Why are screaming at me?” Udina whimpered.

“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! I AM NOT SCREAMING AT YOU!” Luna tilted her head in confusion.

“Your using Royal Canterlot Voice for Gods sakes!” Udina moaned as he held his head.

“I BELIEVE YOU ARE MISTAKEN! ANYWAYS, WE HAVE MUCH TO TALK ABOUT AND WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT!” Luna trotted away, dragging Udina with her. Udina looked down the hall to see Discord muffling his laughter along with, to his great shame and anger, Queen Celestia.

“Discord what did you do to Luna.” Celestia wiped away her tears.

“Oh just a little magic on vocal cords. Don't worry about, it will last about an hour.” Discord laughed.

“Oh that is so evil.” Celestia chuckled.

“I think we should be cast in stone in for a while, if only to escape Udina.” Discord smirked a bit before walking away.

“You will do so willingly?” Celestia look at him with surprise.

“If only escape Udina. He will get us back with his prude behavior.” Discord reasoned.

“Oh dear, he is going to such hassle to work with now.” Celestia murmured.

And I am done. Now on to RotP!