Mane Effect

by Quillery

First published 22nd of June, 2012

An Earth Pony soldier of the far future seeks to uncover the mystery of an ancient space faring race, all the while hunting a dangerous fugitive across the galaxy.

In the year 2148, Earth Ponies discovered they were not alone in the universe.

Discovering an ancient cache of technology belonging to an extinct race identified only as the Alicorn, the Earth Ponies soared to new heights of technological advancement. With their newfound strength, they searched the galaxy for more hidden treasures of the Alicorn empire, soon discovering the existence of other space-faring races that shared their lust for progress and knowledge.

But when their fevered searching unearths ghosts that were better left buried, and mysteries better left unsolved, the Equestrian Galaxy is besieged by an ancient foe bent on nothing than the total destruction of life. Only one group of friends, led by a single Earth Pony soldier, can stop the coming darkness, all the while trying to answer the great question at the center of it all; what happened to the Alicorn Civilization and the Equestria that was?

Preface: The M.A.N.E Effect

Harmony.

Once thought to be a power, nay a foundation of order that could stand resolute in the face of anything that would challenge it. Even against the endless power of Time. Through trials and tribulations the powers of Harmony were called to action against their foes. Again and again they were wielded by those sworn to protect the lands that held the values of Harmony dearly in their hearts. But Time will not abide anything to last forever.

Not even Harmony.

Civilizations rose and fell over the ages, friendships were forged and broken, life was given and taken, and Time proved its absolute power. With each tick of the clock, each ripple across the endless eons of time and space, the powers of Harmony dwindled, becoming forgotten, becoming lost. Those that once shared their homes and lives with others through love, tolerance and friendship, gave into petty hatreds, disharmony and chaos. It was then, when the races of Equestria, the one land that valued Harmony above all else, simply vanished into the forgotten vestiges of oblivion, to forge their own paths...

Alone.

But even Time can grow bored with chaos. Time, much like chaos itself, is a fickle and complex being. Sometimes one such as Time must seek out a change of pace to sate the pains of its endless existence, for even Harmony has its entertainments. But when such great time has passed, when once powerful civilizations and races have risen and fallen long after the end of Harmony, how can any believe in its power? Sometimes, when all hope is lost to the endless throes of Time, it takes more than a mere spark to relight the flames of Harmony and of Friendship. Sometimes you need nothing less than the brightest Star to light the path before you.

And a Shepard to guide the way...

“I must say Worthy, this is your best work yet,” I mused quietly to myself. Getting into a court hearing as a reporter was no small feat, and getting into a military court martial hearing was even greater a feat. A simple drab uniform and dull colors, as well a few magical alterations was the perfect disguise as a common secretary. These Earth Pony’s needed to work on their color schemes, such dark and dismal colors.

Fashion tips would have to wait however. The court room was steadily running out of seats and I’d rather not have to stand throughout the entire proceeding. Luckily I found an empty section near the back and made myself comfortable on the tiny bleacher arrangement. The room was thick with hushed conversations, but that came as no surprise to me. Today was a day long awaited for ponies like me. Days like this built careers that turned into legend and I had seats on the first show.

I gave a little jump as my earpiece began to beep noisily. I tapped the tiny device silent and opened my omni-tool discretely to see what was the matter. The holographic screen flashed into existence, a single message displayed on the screen.

You have one new message.

One attached file.

New mail? At this hour? I accessed the file dubiously, wondering who in the Galaxy had my private contact information.

Opening Message...

To: NWorthy

From: Booky

Re: info you wanted.

Worthy,

This is the best article on Earth Pony history I could dig up on such short notice, but I think it will suit you just fine

Enjoy the read,

-Booky.

PS. You Owe me big time.

Booky. I should have known. That slimy worm had his hooves in things even I wouldn't dare touch. The mere thought of working anywhere near him made my skin crawl, but I had to admit that there was little that did not skirt past his ears unnoticed. I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble to hire him if I didn’t think he could get me exactly what I needed. I glanced at the time, seeing that there was till several minutes before the trial would begin. I downloaded the file, intent of giving it a light read while I had the time.

Downloading File.......

Download complete. Read now?

Opening File.......

Entry: Earth Pony

Earth Ponies, from the planet Earth, are the newest addition to recognised Corral Space. They have been quickly noticed by many of the current Corral races, mostly due to their large and continuously expanding population, scientific development, and extensive colonisation. Their new-found growth, like other Corral races, was brought upon by their recent discovery of ancient Alicorn technology. According to Earth Pony scientist’s claims, the discovery launched their race centuries forward in terms of weapons, science, medicine and inter-spatial travel. The current reigning government of the Earth Ponies , the Stable Alliance, dubbed this surge of Earth Pony power the M.A.N.E Effect.

No...it couldn’t be. I had seen this type of database before, but only in damaged files and stolen materials. I knew Booky was likely privy to such knowledge, but to actually have a proper copy of it and send it to me no less. I glanced at the top of the entry, confirming my suspicions and my worry.

Council.

Organised.

Data.

Entry.

Xerox.

It was what I feared. A Corral Council Codex file. That slimy, sneaky, flank stabbing little thief actually managed to get his hooves on a Codex entry. Only the highest of security clearance and importance in Corral Space had access to this information and none of them were ever allowed to share it with anypony. Even worse, he sent it to directly me, through an unsecured network to my own personal account. If that foolish cretin failed to hide his tracks adequately enough, I would be the one facing the consequences as well as him. The thoughts of potential future incarceration plagued my mind, only to be silenced by another sequence of incessant beeping from my Omni-Tool

Alert!

Incoming Message from: Username [Bookworm]

Accept?

Now he was sending messages to me? While I was sitting in the middle of an Earth Pony Tribunal? Was this fool trying to get me arrested on purpose. I glanced around, noticed that I was still relatively alone on my side of the room. I slid carefully away from anypony that was near and allowed the connection to continue, intent on giving that little worm a piece of my mind.

Connecting to Intranet Chat-Room.......

[Bookworm]: Hey worthy, did you get the file i sent you?

How could he be so casual? I wasn’t even supposed to be in this room, especially with an active omni tool connection. My only saving grace was the fact that Earth Ponies were never too particular about the simple forms of illusion magic, or else I wouldn’t even gotten past the door. But this communication was pushing it too far.

[Nworthy]: How in the hay did you get your hooves on it? Council Codex entries are not available to the public.

[Bookworm]: Lets just say i know a pony who knows a pony.

Will it help you?

[Nworthy]: I don’t know. It’s unlikely that I will be able to write an adequate report from a JAIL CELL!!! What in the Galaxy were you thinking!? Sending this to me in the middle of an Earth Pony Courtroom of all places?!

His response was delayed. Seconds crawled past as I awaited his response, no doubt trying to save his own neck, or worse yet, alert the authorities himself to apprehend me and make a clean escape of his own.

[Bookworm]: Relax Worthy. I didn’t get to where I am without knowing how to cover my tracks. You paid for security, you got security. I don’t mess around with that sort of thing when money’s involved.

Blast. I wished his reasons for caution were more altruistic, but he had a valid point. I did not skimp out on ensuring this sort of pony was adequately paid for his work. It did not do much to alleviate my frustrations towards him and his snide comments, but it did reduce my worry enough that I was not on the verge of fainting.

[Nworthy] You could have at least picked a better time to send it. The trial is about to begin and I know the Earth Pony government will wish to keep the media out of this as long as possible.

[Bookworm]: Trial? what trial? Where exactly are you?

[Nworthy]: Who else's trial would I be going to for all this trouble for?

[Bookworm]: Wait... You’re at THAT trial?

[Nworthy]: Indeed ;)

It seems that there are things that even an information broker can’t fathom. Then again, his kind aren’t usually welcome in the light of such affairs, including those of law and order. His kind would prefer to scurry around in the dark, which made the fact that I had something over him all the sweeter to enjoy.

[Bookworm]: How in the wide wide Equestrian Galaxy did you get into a military court

marshal hearing?

[Nworthy]: Let’s say I, as you put it, know a pony who knows a pony.

Now I am terribly sorry, but I have to let you go, the proceedings are about to begin. Taa taa!

[CONNECTION TERMINATED]

Any secrets of mine, my dear Bookworm, will have to wait until later. For now, I have history to write. To be safe rather than sorry, I disconnected my connection to the intranet on my omni-tool, at least until the trial was over. I did not need further interruptions hindering me now, especially when everything was about to begin. The hushed conversations quickly silenced, and a broad uniformed stallion took to the podium in the center of the room. I turned on my tool’s voice recording instruments, hoping they would be strong enough to hear everything.

“Silence please,” the Arbiter began. “These Court Martial proceedings are now in session. Fleet Admiral Packard of the First Fleet presiding. Atten-tion!”

All of those that were uniformed snapped to a hasty attention, which was rather impressive. I suppose that the Earth Ponies had a well functioning military after all. An aged stallion approached the head of the dais. He was grey in color, further reinforcing the idle fact that Earth Ponies seemed to be cruely cursed to earth tones, pun intended of course. His blue tunic was adorned with badges and symbols of many colors, showing years if not decades of lengthy and dedicated service. I had heard some things about Admiral Packard from others, but those rumors did not prepare me for the intensity that his face displayed.

He reached the dais, mimicking the attentive stance of his subordinates. “At ease.” His voice was deep and resonant, carrying through the room with little effort. The attendees complied, and a quick snap of hooves filled the air before the room returned to silence once more. Packard took his seat at the podium, leaning forward to examine the notes on the holographic display.

“Bring in the defendant.”

The chamber doors slid open, the metal panels echoing through the tense silence of the room. A chestnut stallion entered first, flanked by two other soldiers. The lead stallion looked as gruff and stern as Packard, and had a similarly dressed tunic to match. The two escorts behind him looked as commonplace as any other Earth pony soldier I’d seen so far. But between them, was the focus of my attention. Guided by the two soldiers, wearing a dully colored tunic and an appropriate scowl was the pony I had been most anxious to see all day.

The lead pony broke off from the envoy, taking a place near the front of the room, while the two escorts brought the pony between them to the central podium, facing opposite of Packard. The defendant sat at the chair provided, while the others remained in close proximity. I looked back to the Admiral, noticing that his eyes had followed the defendant unwaveringly since the doors had opened. He leaned back in his seat slightly, clearing his throat.

“These proceedings have been called into session to evaluate and determine the appropriate punishments for the actions taken by one Commander Shepard. Will the defendant please say their name and rank for the record.”

The defendant glared at the pony lording over the room with a defiant twitch of their head, before speaking into the microphone.

“Specialist Shepard, Engineer First Class, of the Third Expeditionary Fleet.”

Hushed murmurs broke out around the room like a plague at the response given. Even the fellow officers seated beside Packard seemed taken aback at what was said. Packard wait a moment for the din of the room to quiet down before continuing.

“Records dictate that you were awarded the rank of Commander nearly three years to the day, Shepard. There have been no notes of demotion since, but there have been many recommendations for it. Why do you choose to use a rank that you no longer are?”

Shepard’s icy glare did not change. “I prefer the use the rank I feel that I actually deserved, Sir. Not the one that was thrust on me because I happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. My actions alone should show that I was not prepared for the responsibilities of the rank I was given.”

I’d never heard such insincerity towards a superior officer in my life, and from a Commander no less. What on earth is Shepard doing, goading Packard into anger like that? It doesn’t even seem to be working.

“Yes, you have certainly garnered an impressive list of offenses,” Packard continued, unhindered by Shepard’s insubordination. “Some of which would have been grounds for immediate termination of rank. And yet, here you are, three years running and just now facing the consequences. For the record, I will now read your charges”

“Commander Shepard, you have been found guilty of the following on several counts each: Dereliction of duty, destruction of military property, disrupting the stability of standing peace treaties, disobeying direct orders, assault and battery of military personnel and civilian, aiding and abetting known convicted criminals, willing cooperation with terrorist organisations, unauthorised tactics involving excessive ordinance, willful endangerment of your subordinates...”

Oh my. I knew the Commander had done many terrible things, but that list was far greater than I had imagined. Even Packard looked like he was about to falter in disgust at the atrocities that Shepard has done. He paused in his reading, lifting his head to peer scornfully at the accused and releasing a weary sigh.

“Have I left anything out Shepard? This list is beyond acceptable, and not even including the convictions that brought you into military service to begin with.”

Shepard’s scowl deepened. “You forgot trying to save your sorry flanks from your own ignorance.”

Does that pony not care at all? The rest of Shepard’s life is on the line and I am sitting here watching it be thrown away. How can the Commander be so indignant towards a superior? Unless willingly going to jail is the only goal in mind.

“Yes, we’ve all heard your insistence at the existence of beings that lie beyond the galaxy waiting to descend on us all. The Corral Council has dismissed your claims, and due to your recent obsessive behavior and unacceptable practices as of late, This court has no reason to believe you either, and will hear nothing more on the subject. How do you plead to your actual charges?”

Shepard leant back in the chair, giving Packard a dismissive gesture. “Guilty, if you care that much.”

Theory confirmed, Shepard is purposely sabotaging this trial. I do believe the Commander actually wants to go to prison. But why?

Packard sighed again, a saddened look forming on his face. “That is...disappointing. You were a hero once Shepard, a paragon of all that this military stands for, somepony we could be proud of and count on to show what the Earth Ponies could do. Now you are nothing but a criminal, a renegade with your own agenda; spitting in the face of all that you have accomplished.”

The aging admiral leaned forward, asking what I believed to be the most important question of the trial. “What happened to you Shepard?”

Shepard was silent, before leaning forward as well, giving Packard a determined glare. “That depends, how long do we plan on being here?”

Why is Shepard smiling? Just before the executioners axe is about to fall, what could possibly be worth smiling about?

“As long as necessary, Shepard. Why?”

“Then you better get comfortable, it’s one hell of a story.”

Oh now this, this is good. Insight behind the actions of the galaxies greatest hero. The scandal, the intrigue! This exclusive will launch me to the pantheon of reporters! Transcription program, don’t fail me now!

Prologue: The Shepard's Lament

Choice.

Throughout our entire lives, we are plagued with choice. From the first words we say as foals, to the last words we say before we inevitably pass on into the ether beyond, we can never escape the decisions we must make to survive. We seldom think we are the only pony who has to make the hardest choices, but we don’t often stop to think about the choices made by others and how they affect us. Or the choices we make and how they affect others. I’d like to feel that the choices that I made were the more difficult than most, and the ponies I have known in my life would probably agree.

Yet here I am, surrounded by the consequences of every decision I have made in my life thus far and those affected by them, seeking answers, recompense, and justice. I’ve done a great deal in the past few years, the results will change the face of our galaxy forever, for better or worse. I did things that some would call heroic, and things that some would call barbaric. But I did them, nopony else. Just me.

I’m not proud of some of the things I have done, but even knowing what I know now, I would probably make the same choices. I don’t believe in the concept of fate. I grew up believing that the choices we make in life mattered , whether they were small or significant. Sure it would have be easier to believe that our lives were plotted out before us, but what fun is there in life if you aren’t in control? The idea of legacy is what drove me to appreciate my role in life. I knew where I came from and I was certain that, if I my made the choices that I felt were the best, regardless if they were right or wrong, I knew where I was going. I was leaving behind something for the future, knowing that I made my mark on the universe. Even my legacy has its tragic beginnings.

What would one hope to learn from a story such as this? To hear the tale of a fallen hero? Or the history of a traitor? Are you looking to learn where I went wrong, or just to find new evidence to lend credence to my convictions? Personally, I don’t give a damn either way. This is a story no pony has heard except the ones who were there. Those who are still alive anyways. The only evidence I have to put forward are the things I have seen, heard and done; and I doubt any of you will believe any of it. Why would you? I’ll tell you what I think. Ponies believed in me once, and there is no reason they can’t believe in me again, here and now. This is a story that everypony should hear, so they know why I did what I did.

Where to begin then? That’s never easy. Some ponies think that stories only have one definite beginning and one definite end. They are wrong. Look at my file, and what will you see? Shepard, Commander, Earth Born, Hero. What does any of that explain about me? Nothing. Let me add some context to the events before my life really started. My story starts much sooner than most would guess. I could easily doubt anyone knew or cared about my life before I became a hero. I was ghost unnoticed by the failed system above. Before I was a Commander, before I was a soldier, before I was even some pony named Shepard. I was alone, unloved and unappreciated. So let’s start with that.

Earth. Yea, Earth. A lush, verdant world filled with beautiful flora, fauna, and a powerful civilization on the cusp of interstellar travel and intergalactic relations, and we name it after dirt. Brilliant. That was my home for the first half of my life, and I wouldn’t easily dismiss it as the boring half. The great towering metropolitan cities that dotted the surface of our homeworld were quite the sight to see. The grand skyscrapers looming high in the sky, even above the clouds themselves, brought a level a majesty that you would read in old stories. But the higher the cities rose, it was inevitable that the shadows they cast on the world below them would grow, and the spaces in between them began to teem with unsavory creatures. The depraved, the desperate, the unfortunate, and the unforgivable. So where did I fit in with all this? Well, if you can imagine the lowest possible rung of society, and go down a few more steps, you would be close to where I ended up.

Growing up an orphan in a city slum would not have been my first choice. What I remember of my parents is barely more than a whisper in the back of my mind now. ‘You are our most precious star’ seems to repeat most often, but I had little time for those memories after they were gone. Even in the so called advanced society we lived in, metropolis slums still sucked. The authorities didn’t care to help. They were too scared for their own lives to deal the gangs and drug cartels that roamed the underground freely. I didn’t blame them. The things that ponies did in the shadows of this city would give nightmares to a Manticore.

I was just trying to survive the life I was given. The life I lived there, on Earth. Not out in space, our newest broken threshold. First contact happened when I was barely babbling coherent words. None of it really interested me. I watched some vids or heard some gossip about the wars that broke out or the peace that followed, but I just didn’t care. I was more interested in surviving down there.

Living on the streets was as easy as one would guess. Fighting through groups of desperate ponies and other muck dwellers, as well as the pains of your own weakening body, inching through poverty stricken streets with your head hung low to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Your head would be pounding, your stomach would be screaming, almost begging for that next meal even if it was somepony else’s garbage. Even on a day where the markets were quiet, and you would snatch from an untended stall and bolt, there was the running. The running to avoid getting caught as if your life depended on it. No law down there meant you had to make your own, and being caught by those with nothing to lose was more terrifying than being caught by the law. If you managed to survive a day of scraping food together and remaining unseen, then you only had one further challenge to go; finding a place for the night. You could luck out and find an unlocked venting shaft and keep warm, though the noise would keep you awake and you seldom fit in them for long. Or you would just find a box in a dark alley that felt just a tiny bit warmer than it did outside. Just a day in the life I used to live. In circumstances like those, you either grow up quick or die. So I did what was necessary, and to my credit, I got really good at it.

I found in between scavenging food and shelter that the slums had no shortage of junk to take either. At first I wouldn’t have paid it a second glance, being far more interested in collecting food. As I got older though, I started to view it in vastly different ways. Where one would see simple metal sheets laying in a gutter, I would see that if propped together, they would serve as a suitable metal tent from the rain. I started adding bits of scrap into my saddlebags in addition to finding food and if I managed to find a suitable shelter that night, I would spend countless hours looking for ways to tinker them together. I would find sheets of metal and make a shelter, I would find bits of old circuits and make them into functional circuit boards. My fascination in manipulating salvage into working tech evolved into a passion, a passion that at times overtook my desire to find food. The only reason my passion didn’t grow into a full blown obsession was the limitations of self teaching. Thankfully, they had institutions for that even in the poorer neighborhoods that I frequented.

I tried schools from time to time, if only to get the book-smarts on how computers worked. Didn’t really need it for long though, since I had managed to hack my own way into the registries before they even started to teach math. It wasn’t very long before I was just loitering, plain and simple. It kept me out of the streets, and gave me the occasional meal. I could never stay in one place for too long. They would eventually ask me about home, or about my parents. That was the tell all sign that it was time to leave. Eventually I ran out of schools to con and just stopped trying. I had learned what I needed, at least enough that I could challenge myself further with bigger fish.

Police presence was always high in the gutters. You could always feel their presence, even if you never saw a single officer. They had outposts in place to intimidate the gangs into obedience, not that it ever worked. I doubted they even had actual ponies attending to them, just mechs. Which made stealing from them all the easier. It was exhilarating to be stealing from the law’s cookie jar. A few schematics here, a few payroll deductions there. I even once managed to disable an entire automated outpost and took some higher quality equipment while the guard drones just stared at me absently. I even took them too. It’s not like Stable was using them for anything useful.

I don’t know why I was drawn to scrapyards every night. Maybe part of me thought technology would be the source of my cutie mark. After countless months and no mark to speak of, I figured I was meant for something even greater. Besides, who wants a picture of a welding torch as their cutie mark anyways? I became skilled enough to rebuild old loading drones, and even give them meager armaments for protection. Raiding salvage yards became easier, as did life. It was only natural that I would eventually attract attention from others. The kind your mothers would warn you about.

Some of the lesser gangs eventually caught wind of my less-than legal exploits. They were nice enough about my recruitment at least. No boring paperwork, or long interview process. Nope. Just pounce on me when I’m not paying attention and drag me to their lynchpony. Great outreach program. They did give a kid like me a decent enough opportunity. Steal lots of stuff, and you don’t get shot. In the interest of self preservation I complied dutifully. I didn’t appreciate being dragged down to their level, but I also preferred it to not being on the receiving end of a gang beating.

They gave me simple enough jobs. They did the shooting, I did the stealing. I was grateful for that at least, not being forced to bear actual blood on my own hooves. I realized I was still helping them with their dirty work regardless, but it was the only solace I could find to get myself to sleep at night. They attacked everything I would expect them to: other gangs, the authorities, even poorly defended shelters. Lines were being crossed, lines I would have never dared to step over. I was in the bowels of Earth Pony society, no pony was looking out for me, no pony cared about me, least of all these criminals. I was not yet convinced that I was a horrible pony like them. I was still clean from everything that this crap world threw at me. Until the scum I was forced into aiding crossed a line even the monsters of nightmares would not cross.

Raiding homeless shelters was one thing. Rounding up the newly orphaned fillies and colts like cattle was beyond what I could handle. Slavery, they said, carting these poor foals about like goods to sell at the market. I thought that sort of thing had been abolished centuries ago, but I guess some things never die. Things had to change. I had to choose; my own flank, or the well being of theirs. I had to get the buck out of there, and they gave me the perfect resources to break their own chains.

My newest employment opportunity due to recent company growth ( I kept telling myself that to soften the fact that I was working for depraved psychoponies) was attaching crude collars to the newly acquired merchandise: explosive slave collars. The overseers seemed to trust me enough to not watch me while doing the deed, or at least think I was weak and terrified enough to not dare defy them. Foals. All I had to do was prove that the collars worked on stuffed dummies, and they instantly believed that they were the real deal as I strapped them to the terror stricken foals.

I kept the explosives for myself. Week by week I snuck about the compound laying them in innocuous places that few bothered to frequent. I was planning a party with a great fireworks display, not a theatrical final act. I was not as twisted as them, and was not prepared to lower myself to murder just for the sake of others. There was always a better way, and I had found it. I was going to get these fillies and colts out of here, and I was going to kill as few ponies as possible in the process.

As well as strapping on the collars, I was also given the task of keeping an eye on the foals and keeping them quiet. The perfect opportunity to build trust with them, and show that I was a friend, not an enemy. I snuck them extra rations to keep them quiet, and read them what meager stories I could to help them through the night. They didn’t trust me at first, which was understandable since I was the one that attached the source of their nightmares to their necks. The older ones tentatively came to trust me, not enough for names, but enough for trust. I took great care in alerting them to my plan, because everything hinged on everything coming together perfectly.

Eventually the perfect opportunity presented itself for me to throw a wrench in this gang’s new business venture. If there was one thing you could count on down in the slums to ruin a gang’s day, it was another gang. Explosions and gunfire rattled the heaps of scrap and debris that comprised most of the compound’s walls. Knowing full well that my contract here did not stipulate combat involvement (Yes, I was getting tired of the business-speak allegories at this point too), I managed to sneak into the lower areas of the compound where the foals were being kept. They were understandably frightened at the conflict raging above. The colts that I had befriended looked to me expectantly. I nodded at them, it was show time.

I had been there for several months even before the gang had begun to cart in the foals for slave traders, and had a thorough knowledge of the compound’s layout. I instructed the older colts to keep the rest of the foals quiet while we navigated to the surface. I was expecting, as a worst case, a few guards remaining inside to deal with infiltrators, or escapees. I was right, unfortunately, but I always made a point to have a back up plan. The charges I had rigged were set off if the collars went out of range of the transmitter; the collars that were still being worn by the foals. My plan actually depended on the fact that the explosives would go off after we were sufficiently away to not risk getting caught in the blast. It looked like I was going to have to improvise.

It was a safe bet that the only guards left in the base would also be the least capable, so coming up with an effective plan to remove them wasn’t hard in the slightest. It was getting rid of them without killing them or alerting them to the fact that I had two dozen or so prisoners behind me that was the problem. The best way to occupy them was to make them think the compound was compromised from the battle above, so I had to detonate some of my explosives early. My transmitter was jury rigged at best, and even I could not feel confident in its use. The rogue signal could just as easily set off all the bombs, bringing the entire place on our heads. There was no time for second doubts. It was time to light that candle.

The explosions worked, barely. Nearly half of what I had laid went off at once, much more than I wanted. Thankfully it was the half that was on the far side of the base, earning the attention of everypony that could possibly get in our way. I heard screaming and shouting through static and broken radios; the base was on full alert, leaving the area we were in completely vacant. With a reprieve at last, I ushered the foals through the winding corridors, with nary an incident, to their freedom, and mine.

We ran for as long as we could to escape their reach, resting and laying low as best we could to avoid recapture, until we heard later that both gangs had nearly wiped each other out, and had nothing left. We were safe, from them at least, but we were still homeless, still alone in the ghetto. The rest of the foals begun to warm to me, naturally.I couldn’t just leave them on their own and go back to living on my own. They needed me, and as much I would have hated to admit it then, I needed them.

They looked up to me, like the parents they never had, like the parents I never had. I just did what felt right. I used what skills I had to build them shelter, and provide them with food, some stolen, some we made ourselves. It was no paradise, but it was home. These kids were my family now, and I was going to do my best to protect them.

We grew up quick together, and it kept us alive. Everypony had their skills, some even had their cutie marks to prove it. Some could cook, some could scavenge, some could even stay perfectly hidden, which would be the most useful skill to have down here. Being noticed got you killed, didn’t matter who did the noticing. Any time we felt our home was threatened, we left for greener pastures. Well, as green as you can get with rusty metal heaps and piles of refuse. We never would risk fighting over a plot of land that didn’t rightly belong to anypony. We were foals, not fighters.

We shared everything together. Our lives, our treasures, even our birthdays. The day we became a family would be the most precious day to us forever. Funny enough, it happened to be the same day as my real birthday, but they didn’t know that. Our family birthday would always be that much more special for me, and we always hoped those days would never end.Until the one birthday that changed everything forever. It was the one I’ll never forget, the one I wish could forget; our final birthday together. That day will be with me forever.

They had found us. I don’t know how, but they found us. A gang that we had been stealing scrap from had followed us after one of our raids. I was stupid because of what day it was. It was our day of celebration, our birthday. I felt invincible on those days. And I led them right to us. We had long since found a permanent home in the remnants of an old space shuttle graveyard, miles from the city. We still had to go into the city for working parts, this place had been here for decades, not one piece of usable tech to be found anywhere. We used an old train rail to load it between the city limits and the shuttle yard.

I had no idea that the gang was vindictive enough to consider scrap to be their property, or that they were smarter than they appeared. They were watching us the whole time, and I never noticed. I used to always keep an old signal scanner to watch for cameras or radios that would give us away, but we never had problems, so I stopped using it. I got complacent, and I ruined everything.

They had tech savvy ponies of their own. They followed us right to the rail yard, to our home. They had time to plan, to prepare, and they picked to perfect time to attack;Right in the middle of our birthday dinner. There was no cake, no sweets, no presents, but it was still the greatest dinner we ever had all year, and those monsters crashed it and they ruined everything.

The alarms I had set up went off late, but looking back on it now, late was better than not at all. The cameras I had were fuzzy at best, but I could see them, dozens of them. The foals started to scream, the fillies started to cry, and the colts looked to me with pleading eyes. I knew what had to be done, but even I doubted it would work. We had a safe house here, sort of. It was a hole in the ground, with one way in and one way out. I led everypony inside, knowing full well that I was probably leading them to their grave.

I never told them that I had planned for this. I didn’t think it would be necessary. I found all sorts of things useful for defense in our raids, but I had always told the foals how dangerous the stuff we found was and to stay away from it. Most of it was old rifles, pistols and old worn out ammunition; The weapons themselves were useless, but the parts would make for some excellent explosives. The foals never knew that I had built mines and laid them all over the shuttle just in case. I had hoped never having to actually use them, but this was my fault, my burden to bear.

I watched from my makeshift command center as dozens of the psychopaths began stampeding into our home, unaware of the small metal discs that they were stepping over. I held the detonator in my hooves, hesitantly. These ponies, these angry, downtrodden, murderers without compassion or kindness were descending upon us with intent to kill or worse, and I couldn’t press the button. I couldn’t bring myself to their level. I wasn’t a murderer. I was just a dumb foal, trying to protect my family, but not like this.

I sent everything else I had left at the intruders; anything that might slow them down. I heard the explosions and gunfire ring out from all directions, shaking the very foundations that kept the scrapheap from falling on our heads. Accomplishing what I could, I raced to the safe house to keep everypony calm. The safe house could be easily described as a metal box twenty feet deep in the earth. From what I could tell when I was digging this place out, it used to be an engine core. Heavily re-enforced, deep under the wreckage and rubble of the junkyard, and reeking of several unidentifiable fluids, it was the perfect place to hide, not the best place to die.

I entered the dilapidated reactor, feeling dozens of eyes upon me. I searched across their faces, terror and panic evident on each and every one. I had long since lost my voice amidst the chaos. What could I say to them? That we were about to die? I did what any responsible guardian would do; I huddled together with them, to comfort them as best I could. I could feel the fear pouring out from the others, but I held them firmly, assuring them it would be ok. I was lying of course, but they didn’t need to know that either.

The gunfire roared endlessly from above. Seconds stretched into stale hours, as the explosions drew closer and closer to our hiding place. Eventually the gunfire began to slow, replaced by shouting and screaming. The walls of the room were thick, and I could not discern what was being said, only the emotion behind the words. First was confusion, perhaps they did not know where we were? Then came anger, they were clearly agitated to have come all this way for no bloodshed. Then....panic. The shell that we hid in trembled violently, a great swooping roar echoed from all directions. Gunfire erupted from above us once again. Whoever was outside was screaming in panic. One by one the sources of the muffled shouting from above vanished into silence.

Then nothing. For what felt like an eternity I heard nothing. The others had quieted down, believing that the worst was over, but I knew better. Something was wrong. I stepped away from the others, and trotted cautiously over to the door. I placed my ear to the wall, listening intently for anything that could tell me what was going on.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I stumbled backwards in surprise. Even in light of what was going on, some of the foals giggled at my display of acrobatics. I regained what grace I had left and moved back to the door. Then I did something that I deemed immediately in retrospect to be the, single, dumbest, thing I had ever done in my life. I knocked back.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A voice called out from the other side. It was deep, strong and commanding, but It also betrayed a feeling of safety and trust to me. “You can come out now. It’s all over.”

Every fiber of my instincts protested that this was not our salvation. It could have been a trap, a convincing lie to get us to expose ourselves to the slaughter. It took great difficulty convincing my brain, but I managed to ignore the fear. I knew that this was the right thing to do. I knew we were safe. I carefully removed the lock, and opened the door. I was met with a blinding white light from atop the corridor. As my eyes struggled to regain vision, my ears took in all new sounds. I heard radio chatter, voices speaking in military code babbling on in the distance, the droning roar of a hovering drop-ship ,and the pathetic whining of a wounded gang member.

My eyes eventually recovered, and fell upon a dark silhouette within the light atop the ramp. It stepped forward into the bunker, its features gradually gaining coherence. It was a large chestnut pony, clad in military blue. His jet black mane tossed about in the gusting winds rushing inside. His deep blue eyes were squarely focused on me. He looked at me carefully, then glanced at the foals behind me. His expression became far sterner then I would have liked. As if from instinct, I retreated backwards to the cowering foals, standing between them and the newcomer, my own fears now greatly outweighing their own.

The chestnut stallion came closer, bowing his head to me, as if yielding. “What is your name, child?” he asked. His voice was low, calming and soothing at the same time. His tone alone were deflating the worry gripping at my panicking heart.

My name? By now, the name I was given at birth was just one more thing I would have loved to forget of my life up to this point. The deeds I committed, the atrocities I did to survive, who in their right mind would want to remember? The foals had taken to calling me something, but in the midst of what was happening, it was lost to me. Suffice it to say, I had no acceptable answer that I would willingly give to this stranger.

“That’s our Shepard!” a tiny voice shouted.

I turned to the little filly that had spoken up in my defense. I could see the defiance in her eyes, showing no fear towards this stranger in our home. Shepard. That was it. That was what I was to these foals; their guardian, their steward, their....shepard. The stallion’s eyes glanced to her, then back to me. He was smiling.

“Shepard, eh? Well, Shepard, you are certainly a hard pony to find.”

Stable was looking for me as well? It had been months, maybe even years since I had raided their outposts, and they were still looking for me? Worry began to creep back into me, making me start to wish I was left for the gangs. A second soldier had entered the chamber silently behind the other during the conversation thus far, covered head to hoof in blackened armor. He was staring at me the entire descent into the room, until he was side to side with the other stallion.

“Are you certain this is the one?” the officer demanded.

The black clad pony nodded. “There is no doubt sir, this is the one.” His voice was raspy, distorted by a breathing apparatus in his suit. He looked at me, tapping on his ear with his hoof. A holographic visor appeared across where his eyes would have been, if i could have seen them. A small part of me was yearning for the chance to use that technology, provided I survived this encounter. He padded at his hooves, activating a device I had never seen before; a holographic interface! Embedded into his armor! Now I was jealous.

I watched in fascination as he used the device to bring up holographic displays before my eyes. Until I realised what was on said displays. Top quality, high definition, full color images of....me. Images of all my raids of Stable outposts, for all to see. There was my first attempt, where I simply disabled the security to see if I could do it, poking my head into full view of the camera that somehow avoided deactivation. Then the second, where I actually entered the outpost proper to take whatever small scrap I could carry. The third; where I reprogrammed their mechs for my own personal use, taking the time to make a funny face at the camera I thought was broken. The foals giggled behind me, while the officer remained stone faced.

“Stealing from the military is a serious crime, Shepard. So is gang involvement, kidnapping, murder and slavery. I hope you realise that.” he said calmly.

Disbelief. That was the single thought that ran through my mind. Was he seriously expecting me to believe that he brought an entire regiment of soldiers, eliminated an entire gang, just to find me?

“But you aren’t here to arrest me, are you?” I questioned.

He smiled again. “On the contrary. I’m here to give you a job.” He raised his head from its gentle bow, now speaking with a hint of vigor and praise. “ It is no easy feat to break into Stable outposts, and yet you made it look like child’s play. You worked to undermine a gang and disable two violent criminal forces in the process of saving a great deal of young foals. And you managed to hide from our infiltrators as well for a very long time, at your age. Most impressive.”

He turned to the black pony, and shook his head dismissively. The subordinate nodded, and trotted out of the room.

“This is a life changing decision, Shepard. I won’t force you to make it lightly,” he continued, without turning back to me. “But do you honestly wish to remain here when you could accomplish so much more out there?” He pointed up the ramp as he spoke. The blinding floodlight had long since faded away, and through the vaulted corridor I could see several sections of metal ceiling had been torn out from the room beyond in the earlier chaos. It was clear to me that he was not merely pointing outside of this metal box, but up to the small sections of sky that were visible even from here in this pit.

More choices. Doubt crept over me like a blanket of lead. The choices I’d made up until now had ended in disaster each time. Was this soldier really offering me an out? How could I trust somepony that I had just met. The grip of the foals around me grew tighter. I met eyes with them, I could still see fear in their eyes. Not for any further danger, but of abandonment. They could not bear to lose me, and I didn’t think I could lose them either. I couldn’t leave them here, alone. The military was here for me, why would they bother with them? I had to take a chance, for their sake.

“I have one condition,” I said with weak desperation.

He turned to face me, a quizzical look on his face. “You are in an awfully unique situation to think there is room for bargaining Shepard.”

“You can at least hear me out.” I don’t think my voice sounded so pathetic as it did then. I looked up at him, his never changing expression still resolute.

His brow arched, and he leaned forward with interest, but said nothing.

I could not look to the foals again, but I could feel their grip on me still tightening on me. They felt I was ready to abandon them. They were right, but only partially.

“I want you to find good homes for them, all of them. I won’t settle for anything less. Do that, and I’ll go with you. I’ll be your willing lapdog.”

His features relaxed with dawning comprehension. A smile slowly crept onto his face. He stepped forward and extended a hoof to me. “I assure you that you will be put to much more use than a mere lapdog, Shepard. There are bright things in your future.”

He pulled me from the weakening grasp of the group hug. I stood face to face with him, his oppressive stature not diminishing in the slightest even after rising from the ground. This pony reeked an authoritative presence that demanded respect, even from a civilian garbage rat like me. I was not afraid, not even uneasy. I felt...safe. For the first time in my life I felt that ever-present sense of danger was finally gone.

“Thank you, Sir...” I said wearily, remembering that I had not even asked his name.

“Quartermane,” he responded. “Commander Regal Quartermane. And you are most welcome Shepard.” He turned away towards the ramp to the surface. “Let’s get you all out of here.”

We were led slowly up the ramp into open air. The sun was just barely beginning to rise, but the night sky was still fully visible through the crumbling integrity of our now former home. The canvas of lights on the pitch of night was still there, and did not fail to make me feel infinitesimally small.

I felt a tiny tug on my ratty barding. “Shepard look!”

The same little filly was pointing wildly at my flank. I craned my neck to see what it was, hoping it wasn’t a wound that I was unaware of. What I did see was far more incredible. A wavy sheet of black...no, it was a dark blue like the night sky. Four tiny bursts of white lined in a pattern: a familiar pattern. I looked back up to the sky, searching for it. And there it was, just above the cresting sun, yet fully visible. The scale of the sky, the scholars tool. The constellation of Choices. I looked back to my flank. It was an exact match.

So that’s how I joined the military, got myself out of the gutters, saved over two dozen foals from a life of poverty and slavery, even got a name I could be proud of, and that’s the day I earned my Cutie Mark.

Chapter 1: Welcome Aboard the Normanedy

Starting anew.

It was something that I would never have predicted. Being saved from the streets, given a new life, an actual career. My purpose had changed, and hopefully it was for the better. I was a military pony now, and I was learning to see the world I lived in in a whole new way. The dull, grey, monotonous existence I lived on Earth was gone. My life had meaning now, I didn’t feel like another blip missed by the system anymore. I had a narrative now, one that I could actually control for myself.

My new life in the military took some time getting used to. I had a modicum of freedom in the slums, and being thrust into a structured and disciplined environment was different than what I had grown accustomed to, but it was not as bad I had imagined. It was worse. Early mornings, late nights, bad food and short tempered instructors. Physical drills in the mornings, combat drills in the afternoon, and more of both in the evening. It was an experience that made me miss the dumpster diving back home. I made some friends here and there through my training, but none really noteworthy as I got shifted around through different camps and instructors. If nothing else, they were some friendly faces to pass the time with, and I appreciated the company as I drifted through the ranks.

The only bearable parts of my new life were the training sessions that focused around my actual talents: Computer and engineering studies. My instructors seemed to enjoy working with me, and as my skills increased, I became the prodigy any teacher dreams of teaching. It was a decent relief from the tedium of military training, until I started to excel past the instructors and force them to give me more work. Yay, the benefits of being gifted. At least the work they gave me was fun, but I could not shake the feeling that I was being groomed for a specific reason, one that I had yet to uncover.

Weeks drifted into months, and then into years. I had actually gotten promoted a few times, and been brought along on actual military exercises, some with training purposes, some not. I was always designated the engineer for obvious reasons, but I always ended up having to carry a weapon at some point. From a technological standpoint, weapons of the current age were very cleverly designed. Most standard weapons were shaped like manacles, that attached to the hoof, and unfolded when in use. The assault rifles, in my opinion, were the most practical. Their plating was much larger than other weapons, and when not in use could be used as a makeshift shield, which would have been rather useful, if I was any good with it. Or any weapon really. At the end of my field evaluations, it was recommended that if I had to carry a weapon, it should be a pistol, just because it would cause the least amount of collateral damage.

At the end of it all, I ended up getting promoted to Specialist, whatever that meant. I was told that it was strictly a tactical role, much like a Lieutenant, but with more unique duties depending on my commanding officer. I was just grateful that I didn’t have to endure boot camp training any longer, and I now had my own choice of assignments and projects to work on. And I knew exactly which one to start on.

Since my enlistment, I had begun digging up rumors in my free time about a special project that was about to begin under Earth Military supervision. They called it ‘Project Normanedy’, and it was one of the many hushed whispers that floated about the various training facilities I drifted through as part of my new life. At first, it was just ‘something big’ planned by the upper brass, but as the months droned on, further information leaked about Normanedy. It was a ship, an experimental military frigate. Supposedly the greatest ship we could possibly build with the cutting edge of technology. What I found most intriguing of all was the fact that the project was funded by the Corral Council and co-developed in conjunction with the Pegasi.

Part of my learning experience with S.T.A.B.L.E was, like many others since first contact, learning about the new races of the galaxy that we had begun diplomatic relations with. The Pegasi were a sour topic among the senior officers, on account of the first contact war. I was just a foal when it happened, so I was grateful to learn more about it. It all started over the WHIP gates that we started discovering over two decades ago. Every time we found one, we unlocked new possibilities for the Earth Pony race. Unfortunately, we had no idea that activating them had earned us the ire of other sentient and space faring races. The Pegasi were the first, who immediately became hostile towards our reckless activation of untested Alicorn technology. After weeks of fighting the Unicorns introduced themselves to us, and intervened, settling the dispute diplomatically. And that was it, the hostilities ended, and the Earth Pony was accepted into the Corral Space Alliance. Those who had actually survived through that first encounter continued to have a strong negative connotation towards our new allies. Being the techno-dork that I was though, I was far more interested in the ship than those who were building it.

Eventually my former instructors started including me on smaller projects that involved working on individual components meant for the Normanedy, though they never admitted the classified details freely to me. I jumped at the opportunity to work anywhere near that vessel. I droned through the months of military exercises just to return to my technical training and my work. My life in between being a part of the Normanedy became unimportant. My very hooves, along with several dozens more, had touched part of what many hoped to be a new Earth Pony legacy.

Five years in the making, the Normanedy was the culmination of the greatest minds and resources the Earth Pony collective could muster. It was a vessel that we, as a race, could be proud of, and that would prove our capabilities on the galactic stage. Her weapons were capable of tearing through shields and hulls like they were made of tissue paper and marshmallow; her engines were capable of breaking the speed of light and then some. The stealth system was the most impressive addition, a countermeasure that could make a vessel completely undetectable from any sensory equipment. The cloaking field was a scientific breakthrough that scientists could only dream about before the M.A.N.E Effect, and the Normanedy was the first of her kind to have it. Truly it was a craft anypony would be lucky to be a part of, and it was easy to believe that I nearly died of excitement when I received a personal request from the Normanedy’s captain to be a member of its crew. To be hoof picked to be a member of its maiden voyage was obviously a dream come true. It would be the experience of a lifetime.

The day I arrived was one I will never forget. There was excitement, and there was the state I was in. I think I earned a few strange looks as I trotted across the spaceport with the biggest grin I could muster. I think I was even skipping most of the way, hopping along in blissful glee. I felt I was being led along by the snout, but I didn’t care. I knew where it was talking me. And there she was, that beautiful, sleek, shining masterpiece that had been calling my name for five long years. Her core was a slender metal shell, hooked at its front like the beak of a falcon, flanked on either side by two framed and retractable wings. Near the rear were other fixtures of fins, tails and anything else this ship needed to be the best. All of it was colored the S.T.A.B.L.E blue, contrasted with white, black and steely greys. Across its bow, the name NORMANEDY was written along the hull in bold letters. I had made it. I could barely contain my excitement at the reality I was now facing. I was aboard THE Normanedy.

And I was about to paint her Med-Bay with my stomach contents.

I was in Heaven and Hell at the same time. On one hoof, I was aboard the greatest technological creation ever conceived, practically salivating at the opportunity to part of her engineering crew. On the other hoof, I was frozen on a medical bed, writhing in agony, trying and losing in a battle against constant waves of nausea. A little fact that S.T.A.B.L.E military often neglects telling it’s Earth born recruits is that being born in natural gravity makes it slightly more difficult to grow accustomed to the synthesized gravity aboard a standard spacecraft.

“Slightly more difficult my flank”, I muttered to nopony in particular.

“Terra-Firma Syndome, huh?”

Oh thank the stars! Someone who knew and hopefully shared my pain. I struggled to turn over, hoping to see somepony at least in similar agony to me, so I wouldn’t have to be alone in this torment. Instead, my gaze fell upon a stallion casually reclined on the bed beside me. He looked like he was enjoying a relaxing vacation with the way he laid with his body outstretched and hooves crossed behind his head, not strapped to a sick-bay table and ready to die like I was. What outraged me the most about this pony is the self satisfied little smirk plastered on his face. I made a mental note that I was going to hate him very much.

“Yeah, I had a bout with TFS when I started flying too”, he continued, oblivious to the glare I was giving him. “Nothing a few hours in a gravity chamber couldn’t fix.”

“Ugh,” I grumbled, resisting another wave. “I tried that already, didn’t work.”

He gave me a quizzical look, then threw his head back, laughing. “Oh well. I guess some ponies get used to it.” He waved his hoof passively towards himself, then me. “And some don’t.”

The urge to get up and strangle this pony was overwhelming, only to be silenced by yet another wave of cursed nausea. I groaned and turned away from my new best enemy, hoping to show him that I wasn’t interested in further conversation. Unfortunately, he kept on nickering to himself, thinking himself to be quite the joker, no doubt. His giggling only subsided when the sound of hoof steps approached from behind the curtain walls that surrounded us.

I turned over again to see the curtain fly open, revealing a light grey mare standing in the opening, with a very stern expression on her face. She was wearing a white coat with a red cross on the sleeve, which led me to conclude that she was the medical officer. Her cutie mark however, was something I could not determine. It looked like a small white cylinder with a faded white trail following it. I couldn’t get a better look as she trotted very loudly over to the stallion who lay beside me, his bemused expression unfazed.

“Piper! The captain has been looking for you everywhere!” she snapped, clearly not in the mood for jokes.

“Oh, but Doctor Chalkdust!” ‘Piper’ whined. “The captain said I needed to be cleared with a medical examination before I was fit for service.”

“Maybe I should check your memory then, because your examination was finished hours ago. Now get off your rump and get to the bridge! The last I checked, a ship needs it’s helmsman to go through the Whip Gates.”

“But this bed is sooooooo comfy!” he said, stretching himself out again to show his point. “Can’t it wait a few more minutes?

Chalkdust halted, inches from the bed. She glared at the rebellious stallion, tapping her hooves impatiently. Piper stared back, expression unchanged, mood unsullied. I lost count of the seconds elapsed of what I was witnessing, but I assumed that if it continued, I was going to be caught in the crossfire.

Chalkdust’s voice took on a tone of extreme restraint and refinement. “Mr. Piper, if you don’t get out the bed this instant and march your sorry flank to the bridge, I will get the Lieutenant down here and have him drag you there. Do you understand me?” Chalkdust took one final step forward, inches from Pipers’ muzzle to finalize her point.

“Ugh, fine!” Piper groaned. He shot his hooves in the air, conceding defeat. Chalkdust stepped back, allowing Piper to roll out of the bed. Now that he was standing, I was able to get a proper look at him. He was white coated with large brown spots speckled all over. The most predominant spot was one over his left eye, making him look something like an old fashioned pirate. The red bandanna wrapped around head, and the wooden rudder wheel as his Cutie Mark certainly solidified the similarity, but what was more jarring to me was this stallion, who apparently was the helmsman of the Normanedy, was barely larger than a full grown colt. He was lean and thin set with spindly legs, and a short stubby brown tail. If I hadn’t known any better, Piper looked like he was of age to start flight academy, not be a graduate.

He casually trotted past Chalkdust, who was still tapping her hooves, waiting for him to leave. He stopped briefly just past the curtain before turning back, with that silly grin still on his face. “Oh and Chalky, please call me Pipsqueak. It’s more...me, y’know?” He flashed one final grin before he stepped out of sight, and I heard his hoof steps clatter on the other side of the curtain, then silence as the door beyond slid shut.

I turned back to Chalkdust. She was shaking her head, muttering something under her breath. She turned her attention towards me, and moved to the base of my bed, grabbing the medical chart hanging from the edge. I could see her mouthing words from the chart, but I had no idea what she was reading. My body quivered with another wave of nausea, apparently sensing that immediate self termination might be a good contingency plan.

“So you’re the illustrious Shepard I’ve heard so much about,” she said, not looking up from the chart.

For a moment, my brain seemed to stall. Was she asking me a question? It was simple enough if it was, but for some reason I couldn’t immediately answer it. Most likely it was the fear of opening my mouth would have been giving my stomach the ‘all clear’ signal to evacuate. I decided on an alternative. “Y-yes, that’s me,” I stammered through clenched teeth.

Chalkdust looked up from the chart, eyeing me in bemusement. “It says here you have gone through every medical test possible to abate the symptoms of T.F.S and none have worked. Is this true?”

Not willing to open my mouth again, I simply nodded.

The old grey mare smiled. “Well then. We’ll have to fix that now won’t we? I happen to have a sure fire treatment for T.F.S that works every time. Definitely not something you learn from a textbook, that’s for sure.”

She returned the chart to the bed, and walked over the the medical cabinet on the wall. She reached inside with a hoof, rummaging through the bottles. I could hear the containers rattling together.

Clink. Clank. Click.

Wait. Click? At that moment, the cabinet slid over, revealing a small latch and a keypad. Chalkdust padded at the lock and it swung open, revealing what I assumed to be a secret stash of expensive medicines. There were strange shaped bottles filled with equally strange colored liquids. I could swear one was glowing blue. She grabbed the first bottle in her hoof, a long rectangular bottle filled with an amber liquid. She poured the liquid into a small glass that she took from the bedside table, and thrust it towards me, only to withdraw it momentarily. Her eyes narrowed, once again critically examining me.

She tentatively placed the glass in my hooves. “Drink it all down. Don’t stare at it, don’t taste it, don’t smell it. Just drink it,” she ordered.

I complied with no argument, downing the contents in one go. I instantly wish I hadn’t. The liquid wasn’t hot to touch and yet it burned like liquid fire, it wasn’t sour and yet it stung my eyes like pure lemon juice. My nostrils flared and my eyes watered in protest. Whatever I had just ingested was immediately at war with my insides. I made another mental note that this pony was trying to kill me. After several painful seconds the spasms eventually ceased, and I slowly regained my ability to form coherent thought. “What the bucking hell was that?!” I sputtered. Despite the briefness of the episode, I was panting heavily and drenched in cold sweat.

Chalkdust was laughing. She turned away from me to return the bottle to the safe. “If I didn’t know any better, I would guess that you have never drank a day in your life.” she chided. “That my little pony is the best hard apple cider this side of the galaxy. I dare you to find better.”

I blinked. “Alcohol,” I blurted. “You gave me alcohol? Is this some kind of cruel joke?”

I’ve had a drink or two before, even though I didn’t much care for it, but what pony didn’t to get through basic training? But this, none of them were as horrendous as this. This wasn’t pleasant. This wasn’t even enjoyable. This just hurt. A lot. “What proof was that? Fifty?”

Chalkdust glanced at the bottle absently. “Its probably closer to eighty. The more important question is; how is your stomach?”

I blinked again. My stomach...didn’t hurt anymore. The nausea was gone. All of the nasty pains that my body had been experiencing since we had left the spaceport were replaced by a soothing warmth. I felt good. “W-what? How did...?”

She smiled. “It gives the stomach something else to focus on. It should last a few hours, but we should be back planetside long before the-”.

“Doctor Chalkdust!” a voice shouted from no discernible source. Chalkdust lifted her right hoof, and brushed her sleeve away, revealing a device attached to her foreleg. It emitted series of lights and images enveloping her hoof. I recognised it immediately as a holographic omni-tool.

“Yes, Captain?” Chalkdust responded.

“Is your medical examination of our newest recruit finished?” the voice inquired. I identified the voice of that of a stallion’s, one that invoked a sense of familiarity it me, but I could not place it.

“Yes Captain. I’ve just finished.” Chalkdust replied, winking at me.

“Excellent. Shepard?” the voice asked, now directed at me.

I was caught off guard that the Captain was aware of my presence despite my being perfectly silent.

“Y-yes Sir!” I responded automatically.

“Please meet me in the briefing room. I would like to speak to you before we arrive at the Whip Gate.”

“Yes Sir, right away!”

The voice ceased. Chalkdust lowered her hoof, and walked over to the curtain. She took it with her mouth and pulled it aside, removing the barrier between us and the rest of the Med-Bay. Aside from the two of us, the bay was empty. I took this opportunity to examine the room, not having much time between stomach spasms upon my admittance aboard to take in the sights. It was, advanced, to say the least. I counted some beds, all adorned with expensive looking medical paraphernalia that I would most likely never understand their use. I had a feeling that I would be seeing the inside of this room a lot in the future.

“If you are done looking around, the Captain will see you now Shepard.”

Chalkdust had settled herself behind her desk beside the doorway. She was immediately focused on typing reports into her computer. I took that as a good sign that it was time to leave. I rolled over onto the floor, no small feat after enduring hours of stomach pain and then five seconds of enough booze to kill a small animal. Thankfully the soothing buzz did little to affect my ability to walk. I trotted past the desk and out into the hallways.

“Thanks, Doc. I owe you.” I heard no response, only a quiet humming as the doctor continued her work.

The Normanedy was a hive of activity. We had been flying for a few hours since we left Solaris Station, and it was growing increasingly difficult to move through the corridors without running into somepony who wasn’t paying attention or doing something important. Everypony was in full preparation mode, getting everything ready for the Normanedys’ shakedown run. From the Med-Bay I passed through several sections of the ship, moving from compartment to compartment with mild enthusiasm at their contents; the armory, communications, science bay. To a pony like me, nothing exciting. I got more kicks out of plasma fueled carbine injectors, and sub-sonic wave emitters. I hoped the captains summons did not take too long, because I desperately wanted to inspect the engineering deck afterwards.

I had a vague idea where the briefing room was, but I had a feeling I was drifting in the right direction. I lost count of how many doors and stairs I drifted through so far and was unavoidably moving up to another. ‘Navigation’ was imprinted on the door. I shrugged, and crossed through the threshold as the door slid open.

Jackpot. I had found the brain of the Normandy, and it was beautiful. Rows of navigational computers lined the walls, all being monitored by at least a dozen ponies. In the center sat an enormous holographic display showing star charts and galactic travel routes. The words NORMANEDY were painted on the wall before me in a steely blue. In front of the galaxy map stood an authoritative stallion in officers colors issuing commands to everypony within earshot. I approached him and announced myself.

“Specialist Shepard, reporting for duty Captain!” I said firmly, saluting.

The stallion turned to me, with a confused look on his face. He eyed me up and down, and begun to laugh. I dropped my hoof tentatively, my brow furrowed in confusion. With him now facing me, I could clearly see that he was not wearing a Captain's badge. He was an older stallion, but far from venerable. His cutie mark was a gilded compass rose, contrasting his auburn coat and blue officers tunic.

“I appreciate the compliment my friend, but I’m not the Captain” the stallion corrected. He straightened, saluting me in return. “Navigator Westward, at your service Shepard. The Captain has spoken very highly of you. He expects great things from you I’m sure.”

My ears drooped in embarrassment, and the only thing I could manage to save face was a stupid grin. I was definitely failing at being a good soldier. Thankfully, Westward didn’t seem to care. “The Captain will meet you in there.” He pointed a hoof at the door beyond the navigation computer on the far side of the room. I stepped aside to allow him to do his job, and quickly moved towards what I hoped to be the last door I needed to stumble through today.

The door slid shut silently behind me. The room was small, dimly lit and devoid of life. The only reliable source of light came from a large holo-screen on the far side. I walked towards the monitor, which sprung to life as I approached it. The S.T.A.B.L.E Military logo flashed across the screen, which began processing through worded documents. The screen was cycling through paragraphs of what appeared to be a classified military dossier. My classified military dossier. Records, facts, histories, grades, pictures and pretty much my entire life story was on display for all to see if anypony was to walk in here. Thankfully, it was only me in here to read it.

Me, and whoever was trotting up behind me.

A voice appeared from the darkness of the room. It was feminine, but other than that I had no idea who it was. “Shepard. Rank; Specialist, Engineer Level First Class. Graduated top of your class with honors. Involved in several terrestrial campaigns, some with scientific merit. Less than exemplary combat and drill skills.”

Whoever was in here reciting my life knew more about me than I did. I turned to face whoever she was, but nopony was there. I turned back the screen, and was muzzle to muzzle with what appeared to be a very large mare. The light from the screen behind her obscured her features in a hazy silhouette, but I could make out her golden eyes piercing through the darkness right at me. I instinctively stepped back, but she stepped towards me in tandem.

“But it isn’t your military accolades that interest me, Shepard. It’s the fascinating amount of criminal activities before your ,ahem, forced enlistment. Grew up in the slums of a capital Earth city. Moved from school to school, getting kicked out of or vanishing from each one. Multiple counts of theft ranging from valuable electronic hardware to software, hacking into secure military information banks. Quite the impressive list of crime I must say. I take it you fancy computers and hardware then?”

I did not particularly enjoy being interrogated by somepony who didn’t even extend the courtesy of introducing themselves, even if they were a Captain of a ship, especially when they were throwing my own past in my face. I wasn’t proud of I had done in my time growing up on Earth, but I wasn’t going to feel sorry for myself for what was in the past. It was time to show some backbone.

“Give me a wireless hacking interface and ten seconds, and I’ll have a V-Class Hunter Killer drone dancing and singing show tunes for you, Sir” I said with an edge. I stood my ground against the advancing mystery pony. They weren’t going to get me to back down.

She just laughed. I was getting tired of ponies laughing at me today.

“An impressive boast, I look forward to the opportunity to see you prove it. I can see that I will enjoy working with-”

A new voice called out from behind me. It was deep, commanding, and once again, I detected the same sense of familiarity I had from the voice in the Med-Bay. “I see you have introduced yourself to our star of the hour then, Nimbus.” I turned my head to see a stallion enter the room. He tapped on the wall beside him, removing the darkness of the room with a dull light. I watched as the new pony approached me. He was tall, imposing, and rather frightening. He was chestnut in color with a silvery black mane and deep blue eyes, but his color scheme did little the soften the serious expression on his face. A face I remembered; Quartermane. I saluted out of habit, not realising that he was not paying any attention to me. His eyes were squarely fixed on the mare behind me.

“Of course Captain Quartermane,” the mare crooned sarcastically. “ I was merely getting, acquainted, with the pony I’ll be working with on this mission.”

I was definitely tired of being left out of conversations too. “Mission? What miss-.” I had turned my head to get a look at this mystery pony that had not yet done anything to gain my approval and was already signing me up for missions I had no idea what was involved. What I saw was something I would never have expected. It was not the fact that this pony had strange colored markings on her face masking a shimmering silver coat and golden mane. Nor was it the crimson colored exoskeleton armor that nearly doubled the size of her form. It was the fact that jutting from her sides were two large, extended, silvery feathered wings.

“Y-you’re a..a...pegasus?” I knew that the Pegasi were involved in the construction of the Normanedy, but I did not expect one to be part of its crew. I felt all I had learned of the Pegasi slip from my mind in panic, uncertain of what to say or how to act without offending her, noting that my boasting earlier may have already done so.

She simply kept smiling, and bowed her head slightly towards me. “Sky-Captain Nimbus, pleasure to meet you at last Shepard. I apologise for the cloak and shadow, I merely wished to interact with you for a moment before we got down to business. Captain Quartermane has spoken very highly of your talents. I look forward to seeing them put to the test. It isn’t everyday that you are called to action by a Council Sleipnir.”

I looked back to Quartermane. Captain Quartermane now. It certainly made sense, five years was a long time, plenty of time for him to earn a few promotions. He was beaming with pride as if one of his own fillies had won Little Miss Universe. I was part of this crew for no more than a few hours and I already being paraded around like a trophy. Sure I did well in my practical engineering , but to be chosen by a Council Sleipnir for those talents was a bit mu-. Wait, a Sleipnir?

“Special Logistics Enforcement Infiltration Protectorate and Naval Intelligence Reconnaissance,” Nimbus somehow rattled off in one breath. “The Sleipnir are the Corral Council’s chosen elite. The best of the best in Corral Space. Sent on the most dangerous of missions to preserve the peace that the Corral races have fought for over the last five millenia. And as it stands now, there are no Earth Ponies in the Sleipnir ranks, not yet anyways.” She gazed intently at me, as if she were suggesting something as crazy as-.

No bucking way. My combat and drill skills were poor for a reason. I sucked at them. My expertise was computers and machines, not infiltration and enforcement. And yet here I was, staring face to face with a Council Sleipnir speaking as if she were here to recruit me.

“Me? You want me to become a Sleipnir?

She laughed again, shaking her head. There was a slight hesitation in her voice. “Not... exactly.”

Quartermane placed a hoof on my shoulder, a look of encouragement on his face. “It’s time we were honest about why you are actually here Shepard. S.T.A.B.L.E has been looking for someone to put forward as a suitable candidate for the Sleipnir for the past twenty years. To become a Sleipnir is no easy task, but it not an honor bestowed solely on combat prowess. Sleipnir are those who can think critically, under pressure. They have to be flexible, able to lead squads into dangerous situations and come out on top. The Council insists that Earth Ponies are not ready yet, but we have made some headway in improving our standing.”

“A compromise would be the best word,” Nimbus interjected. “Most think that Sleipnir operate alone, and while it is true that we operate independently, sometimes we enlist the aid of a varied team to maximise our potential.”

Nimbus had a reminiscent look on her face, her eyes appeared lost in memory. “I’ve been a Sleipnir for a long time Shepard. I’ve always had a small crew to call my own. Some were soldiers, doctors, assassins, even magitechs. I have never had a mechanical expert boasting your talents.” She looked back to the holo-screen, which was still scrolling through my dossier. She waved her hoof towards it, activating her omni-tool, and the screen went blank. Then she looked back at me.

“And we have the perfect assignment to get your started. We can get to that in a moment, first let me get a good look at you.”

Nimbus began circling around me. Step by step she eyed me up and down. I began to wish I could escape this ship without further scrutinising. She passed in front of me and I caught sight of her cutie mark emblazoned on her armor; a small puffy cloud with a trail following behind it. I followed her carefully with my own eyes, and I noticed her staring at my flank. My face felt flushed.

“Shepard, I don’t suppose you could explain the significance of your cutie mark for me?”

Oh, that’s what she was staring at. Heh, right. I craned my head back to remark the thing that made me unique, made me special, made me, well....me. A canvas of stars alight upon the black void of space, four particular stars burning brighter than any other.

“It’s the constellation Scolar, the Scale of the Sky. Those born under it are believed to be those who make wise and logical decisions, at least that’s what astrologists will have you think. For somepony like me to have it as a cutie mark, I guess my talent is making choices.”

Nimbus scratched her chin thoughtfully. “The thing about decisions, is not all of them are easy to make. Some will pit you between right and wrong, good and evil, life and death. Many choices lie ahead of you Shepard, none will be easy.”

I nodded in agreement. That was surprisingly deep and metaphorical from a member of a species that prided itself on military strength, but it was no less appropriate.“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Quartermane chimed in. “And see we shall. Pipsqueak!”

The radio buzzed to life. “Aye, Captain Quartermane?”

I immediately recognised the voice of the scrawny stallion I had met earlier, and my previous fears were verified. That tiny pony really was the one behind the wheel of this ship, and I knew that I should find a way to play nice, or he may do extra barrel rolls just to torture my poor stomach. Quartermane continued despite the panicked noises I was sputtering.

“If everything is ready, you may proceed through the Whip Gate helmsman. I expect us to be in Equestria Prime’s orbit by sixteen hundred hours.”

“Aye aye Sir! Consider it done.” Pipsqueak responded, with a level of respect I did not think him capable of.

“So Shepard,” Nimbus continued, regaining my attention. “Have you ever been to Equestria Prime?”

“I can’t say I have.” I responded simply. It wasn’t a lie, I had honestly never left Earth’s solar system during basic training, and barely any further after I had graduated. Equestria Prime was as I recalled, on the edge of the Everfree Systems, and what I knew of those regions was limited. Independent, lawless, dangerous were the choice words used when Everfree was described to me, and I merely made a note to avoid those areas as best I could.

“Equestria Prime is considered to be a tremendous achievement for our kind Shepard.” Quartermane added. “It is the most successful planet colonisation we have ever accomplished, and is the closest planet to Earth’s natural climate that we have ever been able to find. It’s a paradise in its own right.”

“An excellent assessment Captain,” Nimbus said, once again taking hold of the conversation. “I look very forward to seeing it myself. The oceanic worlds we Pegasi live on are suitable to build our cloud cities in the sky, though they distinctly lack the aesthetic appeal that you Earth Ponies value so deeply.”

I could tell that Nimbus’ lament was genuine. She was not anything like the Pegasi that I was expecting. Strong, boastful, arrogant, militaristic to the extreme. Nimbus showed some of these traits, but not at the level I was expecting. Perhaps Pegasi were not as bad as I had been led to believe. Or she was really good at hiding it.

“What do you know of the Alicorns, Shepard?”

Now I was truly stumped. The Alicorns, the race that predated us by at least fifty thousand years. An advanced space faring civilisation that vanished without a trace. The only thing left behind of them was their technology. Like the ones we found forty years ago inside our own solar system.

“I guess that is the million credit question isn’t it?” I began. “They were a super advanced race way ahead of our time, fifty thousand years ago that vanished into thin air. The stuff we find now that brings about any significant advancement is mostly their technology.”

“And the exact reason why we are going to Equestria Prime.” the pegasus added. “They found something we believe to be Alicorn in origin. An obelisk or monolith of some sort. And its still functioning.”

That got my attention. Functioning Alicorn technology? I was starting to think that I was not only chosen for my talents pertaining to this amazing vessel, I had also been hoof picked to help decipher ancient Alicorn technology. Best. Day. Ever.

Quartermane broke me out of my reverie. “Now Shepard. You and the Lieutenant will accompany Nimbus to the surface to secure and recover the artifact. It’s was discovered near a small farming colony so there should be no incid-”

Pipsqueak’s voice shouted over the intercom. “Captain! We’re picking up a distress signal from the colony. You’re gonna want to see this.”

“Put it on-screen Pip,” the captain ordered.

We all turned to the screen, as the image shifted through static. Images whizzed by, accompanied by loud noises. Explosions and gunfire. The monitor continued to show something spinning sickeningly in circles, until I realised these images were from a helmet mounted camera. The spinning slowed down, showing glimpses of ponies, clad in heavy armor and carrying assault weapons. They were firing at something in the distance, off screen. The camera focused on a panicked stallion, shouting into his radio.

“We are under attack by unknown hostiles! They came from nowhere, we need help! We can’t hold out for much longe-.”

He stopped to look at something behind the camera, a look of terror developed on his face. The camera swiveled around, focusing on a large cloud of dust and smoke in the distance. There was something emerging from the cloud. Through the static and the motion of the camera, I could barely discern what I was looking at, and I could tell the Captain and Nimbus were having the same difficulty. At a first glance, it was.....well, large would be an understatement. It was colossal, and appeared to made of metallic plating. I focused on any detail I could to identify what this thing was, until the camera shifted again at the sound of nearby explosions drawing the camerapony’s attention.

Figures appeared on the ridge behind the frightened soldier, but he took no notice, still transfixed on what was beyond in the distance. The figures appeared equine in shape, but something was off, something I could not tell in the chaos of what I was witnessing. More gunfire and close quarters detonations rung out, the squad engaging whatever those...things were.

A blur of white dived into the frame, tackling the frozen stallion out of his stupor. “Ya’ll wanna get your muzzle shot off? Git’ down an’ return fire!” It was a mare! She had rallied the soldiers to defend themselves, even more gunfire ringing out, before the screen went blank. The channel hissed with ominous static.

“That’s all there is Captain,” Pipsqueak continued. “No comm signals from anywhere on the entire colony.”

Quartermane looked grim. “Rewind that message, hold at thirty four five.”

The screen obliged, showing a still image of the...whatever the hell it was. It was still enormous and imposing. It appeared to be a metal construct, maybe a vessel of some kind. The size was beyond recognisable scope. It was long and serpentine, with large tendril like appendages sweeping below it. It was emitting a field of energy, crimson bolts of electricity were bounding all over its massive form.

I turned to Nimbus, her eyes were intently focused on the anomaly. Even I could tell she had no idea what it was. Then I turned to the Captain. His grim demeanor had not changed. “How far out are we from the colony, Pipsqueak?”

“Fifteen minutes at best sir, closest S.T.A.B.L.E cruiser is about an hour.”

“Then we go in alone, we have no time to waste.” Quartermane turned to me. “Shepard, get to the cargo bay and prepare for a surface drop.”

“Yes Sir!” I responded. I turned face and quickly trotted towards the exit, as Quartermane continued issuing orders.

“Pipsqueak, engage stealth systems as soon as we are out of the jump. Take us in nice and quiet.”

The helmsman complied dutifully and the comm channel went silent. Just as I crossed the threshold of the door, I turned to look one last time into the room. Nimbus had rounded to face Quartermane, who was now pacing around the room.

The door slid shut in front of me. I shook my head and turned towards the stairs to the lower decks.

“Well,” I thought to myself. “Looks like this mission got a lot more complicated.”

“Now explain something to me. What exactly is a ‘Specialist’? And why are they only qualified to use pistols?”

My look of disdain towards the requisition officer did little to nullify the pure shock in his reaction to my equipment manifest. After the third repeat of the question, I simply gave up explaining it and snagged my gear from his table to prepare far away from his prying. Weapons never interested me, and I honestly hoped I could have gotten through my life in the military without actually using one. I realised that was moot at this point of course, but I could at least hope I would not have to use one often. I wandered around and eventually found an empty locker near the back corner and began going through my things.

The armored barding was a steely black with red and white trim. By all accounts, the material looked and felt as if it were made of solid metal and weighed about the same, but in my hooves it was surprisingly light. I examined the armor from helmet to hoofguard, only pausing once to realise that the section that would cover the flank was bare.

“I guess I have to get the cutie mark emblazoned on afterwards,” I thought to myself.

The armor was easy enough to put on, although I felt a tad foolish being the only pony left in the ship that wasn’t armored. Once I had that settled away, I busied myself with attaching my sidearm. I laughed to myself as I studied the hoof mounted weapon, it giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘point and shoot’. I enjoyed a few moments basking in my wit only for the sound of approaching hoofsteps to interrupt me.

“Shepard, right?”

How many ponies knew me already on this ship? I turned hesitantly around to introduce myself. The stallion appeared strangely laid back, relaxed, and incredibly calm all things considered. He was a gentle tan color with a dark blue mane, which did a poor job of hiding the scars along his face just under his ears. I peered for just a moment, catching a glimpse of metal, no, circuitry, embedded into his flesh. Implants. Was this pony actually a cyber-pony? I realised technology jumped forward a few hundred years in the past few decades, but this was a bit freaky.

He thrust a hoof to me. “Lieutenant Poindexter, Magitech division. You can just call me Dexter, everypony does.”

So this pony was the lieutenant that Pipsqueak was afraid of? He didn’t seem the slightest bit scary. Sure, the implants and scars added an air of brutality to him, but his calm and relaxed demeanor alleviated any sense of unease I had from him. He cleared his throat, to which I immediately fixed eyes with him, realising that I was staring at his implants the whole time! Worse yet, I had not even extended the same courtesy to shake his hoof in return. I jerked a hoof out, nearly striking his away.

“Yes, that’s me,” I blurted, completing the hoofshake. I noticed his eyebrow arch in confusion. “Sorry about the...staring.”

His face lit in comprehension. His hoof traced the side of his face, his smile remained constant. At least they didn’t look painful. “Don’t worry about it, I still run into ponies who have no idea what Magitechs are, or what being one involves. It’s still a fairly new ordeal for us Earth Ponies.”

Machitechs, another thing that accompanied my studies of the new expanding universe. Apparently the new technology we unearthed taught us how to refine a unique element required to actually power the more complex devices, including the engine cores capable of FTL travel. And, as is standard with any incredibly powerful element, comes rather nasty side effects if mishandled. In other words; radioactive side effects. In the early years of synthesizing Element X, (Again, brilliant naming. Might as well have called it sugar, spice and everything nice, considering what it was meant to do for us.) there were complications. Complications that included words like ‘unintended venting’ and ‘emergency containment protocols’. Suffice it to say, the ensuing fallout caused an unforeseen result.

Genetic mutation occurred within days, and scores of once healthy ponies became laden with strange illnesses. Quarantine happened within hours, and tests were underway to determine the repercussions of exposure to EX. After weeks of fear borne from the possibility of a new pandemic, reports started leaking out that those exposed to EX started developing strange abilities. They were faint at first, but as time went on and new tech was implemented, Earth Ponies were gaining a steady ability to actually harness and control magic, albeit at a reduced capacity compared to, say, the Unicorns. And thus the Magitech division was born, Earth Pony soldiers with the ability to perform incredible feats of telekinetic power with the aid of tumors brought on by radiation and surgical implants meant to control them.

“Once you get used to the headaches, you barely notice it,” the Lieutenant lamented. He trotted to the locker next to mine and closed his eyes, as if focusing. I saw a faint glow emit from his implant, and around the lock. It spun wildly around, and stopped precisely three times. The locker swung open on its own, and the Lieutenant opened his eyes. He beamed a smile at me. I just stood there, staring in awe at what I witnessed. In a seemingly futile attempt to kick start my mind, I tore my eyes from his, if only for a moment. For that brief moment, I caught a glance of his armor. It was solid black, but looked similar in design to mine, except that his actually had a Cutie Mark; A set of silver crescents in an arrow-like formation. A question came to mind, if only to break the awkward silence.

“Who do you speak to to get your Cutie Mark emblazoned onto your armor?” I queried.

He blinked a few times, then laughed. “You mean that Cutie Mark?” he said, pointing at my flank.

I turned to look, thinking he was just another crazy pony. And there it was, on the flank as if it were masterfully painted onto the armor, was my Cutie Mark. I looked back to him in confusion.

“The wonders of LED technology, huh?” was all he said.

My head twitched slightly, cocking to the side. Ohhhhhh, I get it. LED camera takes a picture of the Mark, then transmits the image to fibre optic plating. Clever, if a bit excessive.It would have been less expensive just to paint it.

“I can tell you are going to be a lot of fun to work with, Shepard.” Dexter continued. “We better get going, the Captain is waiting for us.”

He started to trot away, and I immediately followed suit. The cargo bay was steadily filling with small formations of soldiers, receiving orders from their superiors. I casually glanced around as Dexter led me to our destination. The walls were a continuation of lockers and storage bins. The requisitions officer that chided me earlier was still at his post, dutifully handing out equipment and armaments to the preparing soldiers. As we approached the rear of the bay, I noticed a large blob of canvas in the far right corner. It looked like a giant tarp was strapped down to cover something, but I paid no heed to it as we trotted past it and a familiar voice got my attention.

“Shepard! Dexter! Glad you could make it,” the captain shouted. Nimbus was standing next to him, busying herself with her equipment like the rest of the ship. Quartermane looked to Dexter, who had paused slightly at the sight of the out of place Pegasus, showing wariness towards her. “Dexter this is Sky-Captain Nimbus from the Corral, she’ll be spearheading your infiltration of the colony.”

Nimbus’ expression remained unchanged, still intently focused on the rifle attached astride her right wing. “Pleasure to meet you, and you again Shepard.” She said without looking up.

“You’re coming with us Nimbus?” I asked.

That got her attention. She looked up at me, a serious expression on her face. My earlier assumptions were apparently correct, she was very good at hiding her inner Pegasus nature. “The situation has changed I’m afraid Shepard. If this were a simple retrieval, I would most certainly be accompanying you. If what we saw of the colony’s condition is anything like we saw in the distress message, it is far more dire that we had expected.” She glanced at Quartermane, who nodded in agreement.

“The security of the Alicorn Relic is of top priority to the Corral, and I can’t take any chances with its recovery. With no offense to you, or your partner, I’ll be moving forward alone, with you as a rear guard while I scout ahead. I’ll keep in radio contact and meet you at the excavation site.”

The sound of rushing air and whirring hydraulics roared as I watched the cargo bay doors slowly descend, revealing the planet below. The surface whizzed by as we flew over what used to be plentiful farmlands. Now, it was a scorched battlefield. Smoke and fire tore across the landscape, and I felt a small pang of homesickness as I was reminded of a vast plains that surrounded my home back on Earth.

“Approaching drop point one Captain,” Pipsqueak shouted over the radio.

Nimbus stepped to the edge of the ramp, scanning the view below. She turned back to me one last time, with a smile on her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you on the other side.”

She flared her wings proudly, giving them a single strong beat. She arched her back, and shook herself through. Even with the roar of the wind outside, I could hear her take a single deep breath. Then she tensed, leaned forward, and bounded out into the open air. As she left the shadows of the ship, I could see the light catch on her silvery feathers, shimmering ever so slightly. She swooped out wide, and collided with an errant cloud that had somehow earned her ire. She plowed through it, leaving a small puff of white behind and an effervescent beam of white trailed behind her.

The Lieutenant scoffed. “That’s a bit flashy for an infiltration mission, if you don’t mind me saying Sir.”

Quartermane chuckled slightly. “True, but she knows what she’s doing. I hope there won’t be too much trouble with her methods, Lieutenant.”

“No Sir. Of course not.”

Pipsqueak’s voice shouted over the radio again. “Approaching drop point two Captain.”

“Right then. Shepard, Dexter, you two know the drill. Nimbus will be ahead of you, giving relayed communications. Scout out the colony, and find out where the relic is. Keep alert down there, we still have no idea who or what is attacking the colony.”

“What about survivors Sir?” Dexter inquired. “What should we do if we find anypony alive down there?”

“The relic is your primary objective Lieutenant. If you find survivors en route to the dig site then aid them as best you can, but don’t let it impede you. Our security forces will be dropped shortly after you to contain the situation, it is none of your concern. Stick to the mission.”

I could hear the Normanedy groan to a crawl as the earth below us began to slow. She hovered over a small ridge above the colony, which I could see smoldering in the distance. I could hear gunfire and explosions from all directions, but could see no sign of fighting nearby. I stepped tentatively to the edge, examining the ground only a foot or two below me.

“After you, Shepard.” Dexter said encouragingly.

I mustered what courage I could spare, and stepped out of the Normanedy and onto the earth of a battlefield, an act I hoped I would never have to do in my life. A small part of my mind tried to calm me as best it could. I mean, what was the worst that could happen?

S.T.A.B.L.E PROFILE CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE

NAME: SHEPARD, SPECIALIST

PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND: EARTH BORN HERO

CODEX ENTRIES ADDED

RACE: EARTH PONY

RACE: PEGASUS

Chapter 2: Dis-Utopia

Paradise.

Is it the perfect organisation of ecological and environmental variables, or is there really some divine influence overseeing each divergent molecule of existence and perfection much like an artist who manipulates his canvas? Maybe the idea of paradise is just a pony-made allegory, to give ourselves the hope, even the potential to create paradise for ourselves, not find it. Ponies said that Earth was supposed to be paradise too. Sure it was a paradise, albeit a dirty, fearful and oppressive paradise. I spent everyday of my life on the run, or hiding under a rock. Even despite the chaos that surrounded me then, it was strangely...pristine, in its imperfection. I guess in that regard, paradise is too subjective to really understand it properly.

Equestria Prime in all its glory, was as Quartermane put it, supposed to be paradise. Our greatest achievement as a species in the space-faring age, a testament to what we could accomplish with the hard work of our own hooves despite what any other races thought of us. An unspoiled world treated with care and attention, love and affection. Built with the help of neither magic nor wings, just good old fashioned Earth Pony labor. Whatever facade built within my mind by the stories I had heard or from the Captain of this so called utopia were quickly crumbling before me.

I found myself lamenting on this as I surveyed the situation I currently found myself in.The colony was ablaze and falling rapidly into ruin. All around me ponies were being killed, lives were being destroyed, and I was busying myself with the origins of perfection. My mind snapped back to reality to see the Lieutenant beckoning me towards a rocky clearing. I gazed out to my left, out over the plateau which the Normanedy had just moments ago dropped us off. I could see pillars of fire and smoke littering the landscape into the distance. To my right, I could see down a gentle valley decline, dotted with small buildings and other similar constructions. For now they had escaped the destruction, but I could hear the screams of civilians and the explosions of gunfighting. Soon the fate of the outlying areas would reach them, and I hoped that I could help them in time.

“Shepard, I think we can get down to the excavation site this way. We’d better hurry.” Dexter called out as he disappeared behind a rock wall into the canyon beyond. I released a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding, my forlorn sightseeing had wasted enough time. I galloped down the ridge to rejoin with my companion.

I dashed around the corner to catch up to Dexter only to run into something soft and spongy. The object in question bounced off my face and steadily floated away from the impact. It was round and bulbous, hissing slightly as it drifted aloft in the wind. My eyes became transfixed on this aerial oddity, among others that came listlessly into view over the plain. It was strangely peaceful in light of the goings on around me. Peaceful until a certain tan pony decided to laugh at the situation.

“Gas bags, perfectly harmless as long as you don’t hit them too hard.” Dexter observed. “Smaller colonies like this harvest them for methane.”

I blinked for a moment, confused. It wasn’t the floating sponges in front of me that were weirding me out. I mean yea, the floating squishy things were odd, but it was the other floating sphere just behind Dexter that had caught my eye. It floated quietly in the air among the gas bags, and seemed extremely out of place in the group of flying sponges. It was a perfectly round, metallic orb hovering silently in the air. A glass lens darted around its shape, peering between me and Dexter, who was still completely oblivious of its existence. He eventually caught notice of my fixed gaze, turning his head to see what I was so interested in.

“What on Earth is-”

He never got to finish that sentence. The lens began glowing an ominous red, and the orb began to hum loudly.

Bweeeeee!

That was a very bad sound. Years of military training told me so, years more of living a life of petty crime and gang wars told me even more so. Even my legs agreed , because with little regard for my conscious commands I launched forward, tackling the Lieutenant.

Zrrrt. Zrrrt. Zrrrt!

Dexter and I tumbled over each other, narrowly avoiding the hostile response that quickly followed.

The three blasts shot out in rapid succession. I could feel the heat as the beams narrowly missed me, only partially rebounding off my shield. As I attempted to shake myself free of Dexter, I struggled to regain a grasp of the situation through the smell of my singed mane and spiking heart rate. I rose my head to see the assailing orb turn about for a second attempt. Its ocular device began glowing again, readying itself for another attempt on our lives. I could see the smoking earth on the place myself and the Lieutenant were standing just moments ago, glowing red of heated earth and stone. It drifted closer towards me, the droning noise once again filling the air. I scrambled to aim my gun, but I was shaking too much for a steady shot. I closed my eyes, realising my end was near.

Zrrrt!

A second passed. Then another, and another. After a few moments of silence, I realised I could still feel my heart beating, and the clamminess of my sweat drenched fur. I felt no pain at all. I tentatively opened my eyes, which fell upon a smoking wreckage before me. The drone-like thing had been shot clean through. Did I do that? I examined my sidearm, no shots fired. Then what? I turned my head to see Dexter standing, his rifle floating aloft, its barrel smoking through a hazy shimmer. His face was set in concentration, the implants in his head were glowing brightly. His eyes peered intently at the former threat, not breaking sight of it for a moment. He moved cautiously beside me, edging closer to it, the floating gun still aimed squarely at what I hoped was its corpse.

“Are you ok Shepard?” he asked, still advancing on the drone.

“Y-yea, I’m fine.”

Dexter stood above the drone, delivering a swift kick with his foreleg. Its solidity thus determined, he turned to deliver a crushing blow with his hind-leg. What life that remained in that metallic shell fizzled and spurted into nothingness after being thoroughly flattened. Dexter turned to me, extending a hoof to help me up. I accepted the aid, and righted myself to my hooves. I took the time to dust myself off while Dexter trotted in our intended direction, intent on preventing any further incidents.

I trotted towards the metal carcass, peering over it intently. We had barely been on the ground for ten minutes and we were already encountering hostilities. My excitement in this endeavor was steadily starting to dwindle. My funk was interrupted by my omni-tool buzzing to life, a familiar voice crackling over the radio.

“Shepard. I just did a flyover of an encampment ahead of you, no sign of movement. The dig site should be just ahead, I’m going to check it out. Nimbus out,” and the radio faded into silence.

“Ok Nimbus that’s cool. It’s not like we nearly got vaporized or anything,” I groaned to the empty air. That Pegasus had certainly broken my depression, only to replace it with a rising frustration. Her by-the-books assessment of the situation with nary a concern for well being of the civilians or her companions was wearing on my patience.. Anger was not my preferred emotional state, so I decided a swift kick to my recently downed foe would serve as an adequate outlet; One I immediately regretted.

After a few moments of spastic hopping and cursing to abate the throbbing pain in my hoof, I heard a burst of faint static from the drone, indicating it still had a small amount of power left. Out of curiosity, I activated my omni-tool, interested in some further information as to its origin. My tool beeped excitedly, revealing the drone’s transmitter was still barely working. It was sending out code in a computer language I was unfamiliar with, but it gave no sense of urgency or alert, so I assumed it was not a distress call. As its power reserves steadily dwindled, the transmission died, only leaving its husk to examine, but that would have to be an adventure for another day. I stored away the new information I had earned, and went to rejoin my friend.

Dexter had not gone far. He was standing at the crest of yet another pathway leading deeper into the valley, staring carefully at every possible angle. I could tell in his stance that he had no intention of lowering his gun for the remainder of our stay here, and I felt the same as well. He looked back to me, nodding his head forward.

“Let’s keep going, there’s bound to be more of those things on the way.”

“Yea, good idea.” I agreed. I stepped down the ledge without a second thought of doubt. We had been attacked, nearly killed even, but I could not turn back now. There were still innocents down here and I was going to do my best to help them, orders or not. My pace felt quickened by either noble intent or adrenaline now, giving me the strength to endure. Whichever it was, I was grateful for the surge of will to continue.

“And Shepard?” Dexter's words were quiet, almost apologetic. I turned to see him still standing on the ledge, his hoof frozen in hesitation mid step.

“Thank you, for saving my life. I owe you one.” A small smile crept onto his face, a smile of respect and admiration. One which I returned. I grabbed his hoof, pulling him forward.

“No problem LT,” I replied plainly. It seemed that we both had a similar leniency for strict military protocol, and he was certainly friendly enough. Maybe we could be friends? He seemed easy going enough for it to be possible, and I wasn’t the perfect model of a soldier anyways. “ Now let’s get going, we have a colony to save.”

He nodded, his smile widening into a grin. “You’re right, let’s go Shepard.”

After minutes of steady climbing, we made into the central valley without further incident. We entered what I assumed was the encampment that Nimbus had mentioned earlier, but it was far worse than I was expecting. The camp was pieced together primarily by portable lodgings and shelters, put together into makeshift homes and other community buildings. This section of the valley was narrow, the buildings lined up along either side much like a makeshift neighborhood street. Scorch marks marred the dirty metal sidings of the abodes, and deep ashen craters lay scattered about the ground before me and my companion.

Fires were ravenously eating through any flammable material nearby, the heat radiating through my armor and drenching me in sweat. The air was nauseatingly acrid, smoke billowing from the burning buildings all around us and dowsing the land in an eerie haze. No words were spoken by either myself or my companion, none were needed; something terrible happened here, and we missed it by mere minutes. I drifted my eyes skyward, following the endless towers of blackened ash and raging flames. The sky was turning a dark red, as if the entire planet was in pain at what was happening to it, and I felt like a tiny speck upon it with nary a thought of what to do.

My upward gaze quickly spun out of control as I suddenly fell forward, feeling my hooves catch on something. After another delightful tumble head over hooves, I shook my head clear and looked to my hind legs to see what I had tripped over. It was exactly what I expected, and exactly what I hoped to never see. Through the black veil of smoke and ash I could see a very fresh, very blackened, scarred and scorched corpse in sickening clarity. Fate was not kind enough to send the body of another attack drone from earlier. It was a biological being, that of an equine, an Earth Pony.

It, she, was amber colored, or perhaps a fainter yellow if not for the smoke dulling my vision. Her lime green mane lay haphazardly tangled about her head, almost covering her face. Despite being dead for, at my best guess, less than an hour, her eyes were wide open, transfixed in horror staring squarely in my direction. My stomach churned in disgust, as I frantically scrambled free of its death grip on me. I escaped in a panicked lurch, only to roll over and land face to face with another freshly killed colonist. I stood upright in stark fright, regretting the decision immediately. Now standing, I could clearly see that I was in the middle of an open grave.

Bodies of ponies of all shapes and sizes lay scattered around me. Some large, some small, some old, and some far too young for the fates they received. Dexter stepped carefully around the bodies towards me, his face paling steadily in horror. He looked around, not making eye contact with me.

“Who could do this to unarmed civilians?” he asked sombrely.

My eyes fell on the body of a young filly, still gripped firmly in the arms of what I assumed was her mother. She had escaped the weapon fire that took the life of her parent, only to be apparently crushed by a stampede of panicked ponies running for their lives, or from their pursuers. My mind descended into rapid depression. I thought I had escaped this sort of depravity on Earth after I had left the gutters, but what I came to realise here on Equestria Prime was just one more fact that was universally constant; monsters exist anywhere, even in the depths of space.

My grim thoughts became distanced by an approaching sound, just beyond the valley ahead of us. My ears perked upwards to gain a better read on what it was. It quickly became closer and more coherent, and it was not long until I recognised it as weapon fire. I wheeled around towards the opposite side of the encampment, Dexter following suit with weapon drawn. Flashes of light blazed on the valley walls, massive silhouettes plastered on them like grim portrayals of impending doom. Drawing ever closer, the shadows slowly gained cohesion. They were pony shaped!

“Survivors!” I cried, lowering my gun-hoof. I ran forward to offer any help I could.

“Shepard wait!” Dexter yelled after me, but I didn’t listen. No more ponies were going to die if I could help it.

I rounded the corner of the camp walls, coming into a wide clearing. Laser fire whizzed waywardly over the plains. A shape darted into view, and was galloping madly towards the camp. As it got closer, Inoticed that it was clad in heavy white armor. She, was clad in heavy white armor. The armored mare kept coming closer, and more details became visible. She appeared to be a ranking officer of the local forces, and bore a set of sapphire blue saddlebags swaying madly astride her in her full gallop. Her face was plastered in panic, only partially covered by her scarlet mane flailing in the wind behind her.

Behind her, I saw more ponies come into view around the corner, being pursued by more of those floating drones. I waved madly to gain her attention, beckoning her towards me. “Over here!” I shouted. She glanced in my direction, only to trip and fall forward in her mad dash. She stumbled over a few times, but quickly recovered, leaping behind a nearby rock across from me. I did the same, taking cover behind an adjacent rock. I watched her as she recovered from her ordeal, then she glared at me in angry confusion.

“What are you waitin’ for!? Shoot em’!” She screamed at me.

I peered over the rock, the other ponies were still a long ways from cover, but the drones were gaining fast. There was no sign of Dexter, it looked like it was up to me. I took hold of my weapon sights, aiming shakily at the looming spheres, only to be distracted by more yelling.

“What are you aimin’ at them for? Aim at those!” she shouted through ragged breaths, pointing her hooves wildly at something much lower than the floating orbs. I looked through my sights again, and my eyes widened in terror. What in the hell? Those were not earth ponies. I mean, they certainly had the same shape as earth ponies, they ran like earth ponies. By all accounts, they were shaped exactly like earth ponies, but they were not Earth Ponies. White steel plating was molded around an equine shape, hiding wires and tubing underneath like muscles. Their heads were much smaller than that of an earth pony, shaped like rounded armor plates circling a single brightened spherical light. A light glowing a very bright red. Saddle-like appendages hung from their sides, equipped with weapons of indiscernible but matching origin. Weapons they were firing at us.

I dove back into cover, narrowly avoiding a shot to my head. I looked back to the mare, who was still bobbing forward in shallow breaths. “ What the hell are those things?” I shouted to her bewilderedly.

She glanced in my direction with annoyance in her eyes. “What does it matter? They’r shootin’ at us. Means we should be shootin’ at them! Now git yer gun out and blast the damn things!” She reared up, brandishing her assault rifle expertly in her hooves, and began to fire at our attackers from her cover. Some of her shots rang true, striking one of the creatures on the front leg. It wobbled and lurched sickeningly, feeling the force of the heated slug digging into its limb, but still it continued its advance unhindered.

I sat behind the rock, trying to formulate a plan. If an assault rifle wouldn’t slow those things, my pistol would be more than useless. I needed something a lot bigger. I peered carefully over the rock, catching sight of those damn orb things again, which floated loyally aside their masters. Very loyally, I thought. I activated my omni-tool, an idea forming in my head. The mare continued firing while I began searching for the rogue signal I had acquired earlier from the downed attack drone. My tool bleeped joyfully at the acquisition of several new signals that were very nearby. I smiled a wicked little grin, one I utterly failed at hiding. This was going to be good.

“What in the hay are you smilin’ at?” my cover buddy shouted.

I flicked madly at the new functions my tool had gained access to. The code was unified in origin, and hacking into one allowed access to all of them. I watched as the drones began to spasm wildly, fluttering up and down like humming birds on caffeine. Then I looked back to the mare. “Just watch this.”

One last button press, and the orbs seized suddenly, plummeting to the ground aside the pony look-a-likes. Even though they were clearly inorganic, they paused briefly in animal-like confusion at the display of what I assumed were their pets. Pets which began humming and whirring very loudly, and shone like erupting stars.

“I’d get down if I were you.” I warned the soldier, ducking down and covering my head. She shot one last panicked glance at the scene developing before her, before comprehension sunk in. She dove into the dirt, mere seconds before the impending-

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The sound was far more deafening than I anticipated. Even with covered ears I could hear a faint ringing in my head. I steadily rose to my hooves, watching debris rain down over the valley. Dexter showed himself at last, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. He hobbled towards me, apparently sharing the same effect from the blast as I was. I saw his lips moving, but it took several tries before I could hear the words.

“What the hell was that?!”

I grinned. Activating my omni-tool again, I showed him the flashing signal and the words OVERRIDE in flashing letters. He started at it incredulously, then back to me. “Science!” Did I really just say that?

“And who’s that?” He asked, pointing at the mare behind me.

“Oh that’s, um..” I started, not realising I had yet to actually have a real conversation with the mystery mare. Me and Dexter approached her carefully. She too was carefully regaining composure from the explosion, dusting herself off and checking her equipment. She withdrew something small and leather from her saddlebag and shook it of any other debris that may of sullied it before placing the white hat securely on her head.

Her cowpony hat. Oh boy, she was going to be fun. She tipped her hat up, and finally acknowledged our existence. She wandered over to us, shaking her head every few steps. “Next time ya’ll do that, a bit more warnin’ would be much appreciated.” Her accent was thick with the dixie like drawl that I came to expect from natives of the Prarieland territories back on Earth, along the attitude. “Not that I don’t appreciate the help an’ all, but mah ears are ringin’ somethin’ fierce.”

She looked at us both, and noticed that we were sharing the same side effects of the explosion. “What platoon are you from?” she inquired. “I ain’t seen y’all around before.” Her head cocked sideways towards Dexter, her inquisitive gaze stopping on his Lieutenants badge. Her eyes widened slightly, and her hoof shot up to her head in an automatic salute. “Um, what Ah meant to say was-.” It was amazing how quickly that sassy attitude shriveled away in the presence of a superior officer.

Dexter held up a hoof to stop her sudden stammering. “Calm down, this isn’t the time or place to worry about the chain of command. Can you tell us what happened here, miss...?”

The mare relaxed, but I could still hear her rapid breathing. She glanced in my direction, and I noticed a strange look in her eyes before she looked back to Dexter. Her scarlet hair cascaded over her mahogany features in gentle whispy motions, shielding her eyes from my sight. I watched her carefully, examining for any wounds she may be ignoring out of stubborn pride. I saw no blood, or any armor damage of any kind. Her shield took the beating like a champ, making me feel inadequately protected in my light armoring. Her tail flicked about nervously as she told her story to Dexter, drawing my attention to her Cutie Mark on her armor; A pair of brass bells tied together by a red ribbon.

“Belle,” she began slowly, her breaths steadily improving. “Sergeant Major Southern Belle, Security Detail. And honestly Sir, Ah ain’t got no earthly idea what is goin’ on. Just this mornin’ everything was just peachy. We were getting ready to move the relic they found to the loading docks when these, things, show up and everything goes straight to hell.” She cast a sidelong glance at the massive crater that I caused, before she hung her head down in shame. I looked as well, noticing that something was hanging off the edge of the crater, motionless. I let the conversation continue without me and drifted towards my hoof-work to investigate.

“I lost half my squad in the first hour, an’ we’ve been losin’ steadily since then. I ain’t never seen this kind of pony before, or with this kind of firepower.”

Neither did I. I arrived at the edge of the crater just as Belle had finished speaking. The thing that had caught my attention was a mostly intact shell of whatever these things were that attacked us. Few new details became clearer from standing next to it than what I saw through my scope. This thing was not definitely biological in origin, but was very much equine in shape. Its silvery white armor plating ran along its frame like sections of skin and bone, protecting the sinewy cords of muscle and coolant that leaked from its severed limbs. Its fore body hung mangled in a heap over the lip of the crater, its rear body was nowhere in sight. I called back to Dexter.

“Lieutenant, you might wanna come see this.”

Dexter and Belle trotted slowly towards me, their eyes locked on the same thing mine was. Belle looked away in disgust, but Dexter stared wide eyed and drew closer.

“I think it’s a Geld,” he said with disbelief.

Both Belle and I did a double take each, looking at eachother, then back to Dexter. Our voices found unison in the concern that the Lieutenant may have lost his marbles.

“A WHAT?”

The story of the Geld that Dexter explained was as complex as it had sounded. Council Space, much like Stable, had put a sizeable limitation on Artificial Intelligence research based on the fears of its dangerous potential. Certainly the idea of a self thinking computer could solve countless problems but then the AI asks questions it shouldn’t be asking; why do I exist, what is my purpose, do I have a soul? Then it all goes to hell from there. Rebellion, refusal, reclamation, the three R’s of why A.I’s are inevitably dangerous, and unquestioningly illegal to research. One of the Council races took exception to this, claiming it was some sort of ‘divine calling’ or something like that, Dexter wasn’t very sure on the details. Inevitably, all of the fears came true, and the Geld rose up against their creators in a bloody skirmish, exiling from their own homeworld. I wished Dexter had remembered the name of the race that built them, but they were incredibly elusive in their exile, and were not popular topics in polite conversation.

I’d watched a lot of old movies from the archives back in training during down time, and the Termineightor was one of them. As ancient as the film was, it scared the hell out of me. It even cropped up as key examples as the Lieutenant carefully explained what he knew about the Geld, what little it was, as we continued our trek towards the excavation site.

“Other than the fact that they are a rogue AI, there isn’t much more that I can tell about the Geld. They succeeded in conquering the homeworld of the race that built them, and then they just kept to themselves after that.”

I just wanted to know why somepony would call them Geld of all things. Has no pony ever taken an anatomy class before? I suppose being robots they had little reason to care what they were called, but being an AI, their sense of existence is something they should care about. Even Belle was shocked at the use of that word at first, but her curiosities soon shifted to other subjects to ask the Lieutenant after he asked her to come with us.

Belle was more than happy to join us, if not out of gratitude for saving her, but out of a need of revenge for her platoon. She was feisty, and still had a sour disposition towards me for my little fireworks display despite my saving her life, but I was grateful for the extra gun. The fact that she knew the exact layout of the surrounding colony didn’t hurt either. We left the ruined encampment behind us, continuing deeper into the descending valley network. While the persistent sound of battle raged all around us, the canyon seemed eerily calm. Too calm, I thought. Belle on the other hoof continued inquiring of the nature of the Geld, intent on understanding their motivation.

“Why exactly is the Geld such a surprise to you LT? You seem to know an awful lot about ‘em.”

Dexter did not respond immediately. He led the party, with Belle just behind him, and both took great care in surveying the land before us with guns drawn. I kept an eye on our rear, watching for any potential ambushes.

“Because they haven’t been seen out of their territory in over two hundred years, and that’s pretty much all S.T.A.B.L.E was able to explain to us. The Council has been hesitant to reveal much about them to us, and I can see why.”

“Why those stuck up, feather brained no good-” the soldier mare grumbled. “If they actually bothered givin’ us useful information, we might not be in this mess!”

Her frustrations settled into quiet muttering as we continued forward. It had been nearly twenty minutes since the incident in the plains, and I realised we had not heard from a certain somepony in some time, and despite my earlier anger with her, I was starting to worry. I activated my radio, and attempted to hail Nimbus.

“Captain Nimbus, do you read? This is Shepard. We are approaching the last known whereabouts of the relic, do you copy?”

The radio was silent at first, buzzing with the same ominous static that I had grown to despise by now. Dexter and Belle both looked at me as I continued hailing the radio. Dexter seemed to show understanding as to what I was doing. Belle, on the other hand was less restrained in her inquiries.

“Who’s this Nimbus you’re tryin’ to reach? Friend of yours?”

As if on queue, my radio grabbed onto a faint signal from a location towards the north. A voice garbled through white noise, but I managed remove some of the interference to hear the message clearly.

“Shepard, Dexter. I flew over the excavation site, no sign of the relic. There appears to be loading equipment scattered over this part of the valley, maybe there is something more ahead. I should see you soon. Be careful, this area is way too quiet....” and the radio returned to static.

Once again Nimbus’ one sided conversation had struck a nerve in me. I groaned loudly as I vainly attempted to retune my omni-tool to reconnect with her and have an actual conversation, ignoring the further inquiries of Belle.

“You have air support down here? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Woulda saved us a lot of trouble if you ask me.”

“I would hardly call one pony viable air support Sergeant,” I shot back out of anger. I was in desperate need of another outlet for my nerves. “And Nimbus is a bit preoccupied with her task to babysit us.”

“Well, then who is this Nimbus that she’s far too busy flying in a fighter or what have you in the sky than fightin’ down here where the real battle is?”

“She’s a Council Sleipnir, Miss Belle. Sent to oversee the acquisition of the relic you dug up down here, and evaluate Shepard’s field skills,” Dexter replied matter-of-factly.

Even though I was more focused in getting my radio to work through all this static, I could not fail to notice the wide eyed stare of disbelief that Belle was giving me. I chuckled lightly at her demeanor only to watch it turn into a scowl directed right through my heart.

“Why a Council Sleipnir would be interested in the likes of you, ifin’ you’re gonna pull stunts like the one you pulled back there and- Wait an apple bucking minute here!”

Now I looked up to see what she was going on about this time. Her head swiveled wildly to Dexter, but even staring at the back of her head, I could feel the shock on her face.

“A Sleipnir? A Council Sleipnir? You mean those hoity toity, too-good-for-Earth-Ponies-private-soldiers that the Council parade in front of us, and tell us that we ain’t good enough for their club? That’s who’s leadin’ you? A non Earth Pony? Lemme guess, a Pegasus?”

Her voice faltered noticeably, almost a choking gasp at the utterance of the word Pegasus. She faced forward, and I could see her face contort in sadness. She was fighting hard to keep her emotions in check, a fight I could tell she was losing.

“Is there something you want to tell us, Miss Belle?” Dexter asked calmly. “I’m no stranger to the prejudice most feel towards the Pegasi.”

She shook her head, slowly lifting it to face the sky. Her eyes twinkled in the approaching twilight on the horizon. “We don’t have the time to listen to my sob stories, we need to get goin’ if we’re gonna save anypony.”

She seemed to snap back into her disciplined stance with nary a thought or fleeting farewell. She righted her gun, and trotted ahead of the pack, only stopping to berate us for standing about and wasting further time. I gave up on fixing my radio, and Dexter gave on leading us forward. It was clear that Belle had more than revenge on her mind; she was aiming to prove herself to somepony, but I couldn’t be certain who.

“An’ stop callin’ me 'Miss Belle'. Just call me South.”

Her head twisted in a short little huffy motion that signaled to me that she was finished talking on the subject, and remained silent for the rest of the trek through the valley. Dexter and I exchanged worried looks, but decided wordlessly that it would might be best to let the matter drop for now. Like he said earlier, few were strangers to the prejudice and animosity towards the Pegasi, many of my instructors saying few kind words in their regard. My experience so far with Nimbus was my first and only interaction with a Pegasus so far, so I really had no solid basis to outwardly hate an entire species just because we fought a war with them. Earth Ponies fought thousands of wars between ourselves before we even made it to space travel, and grudges were natural, but this was just silly. What made this different? What made it so hard to forgive? One of the many reasons I preferred dealing with machines, not ponies. I had a feeling that I would get along with whatever race had build the Geld, just to have some common interests.

The valley sharply opened into a wide clearing that did not appear to be natural stone, but recently disturbed earth and rock. We had arrived at our destination, and it was a disaster area. Storage equipment and containers were tossed about the site, most of which, if not all of it was covered in scorch marks and blaster scars. Small handfuls of surveying gear was left sitting on what appeared to be a large stone dais in the middle of the dug earth. Nopony of the group spoke as we carefully approached the ruin, still wary of potential ambushes in the eerie calm that blanketed the area like lead. Both Dexter and South focused their attention upwards at the cliffs above us, while I stepped forward onto the shaped stone platform of the dais. It looked ancient, and yet was skillfully worked and carved with precision. I ran my hoof along the section that I assumed was the center, which was smooth to the touch, and strangely warm. Perhaps this was the exact spot where the relic stood, and the earth radiated with the heat of its power. Or maybe it just radiated radiation. Either way, this was the closest I’d been to functioning Alicorn technology so far and I was going to savor the moment.

My companions eventually joined me on the dais, lowering their weapons in satisfaction that we were not being watched. Dexter busied himself with a nearby terminal, while South observed the dias as I was. I could see anger in her face as she paced back and forth, her eyes never leaving the center. “The relic was right here this mornin’ and we weren’t even close to getting ready to move it.”

She glanced around, as though she was looking for something. She paced about looking behind containers and around the scattered equipment, becoming more distressed by the second. Eventually she wandered slowly back to the dais beside me, her head hung low in sadness. I could tell she was distraught, but experience so far with her far told me it was best to let her begin talking, lest I risk the chance of personal injury.

“Mah platoon was stationed here.” She spoke slowly, sadly. “We were in charge of watching the relic before we got separated. I’ve been tryin’ to get back all day, only to get ambushed and lose more of mah friends.”

She cast her head side to side in a vain attempt to see what wasn’t there. “But they ain’t here, none of them. Not even the bodies.” Her last words dripped with righteous anger.” What the hell did those monsters do to them?”

I thought carefully of what I could say to comfort her. Everything I thought I knew of this soldier pony was falling apart at the sight of her distress. She was on the outside, a capable and well trained soldier through and through, but on the inside, she was just as vulnerable as anypony else in this kind of situation. The military trained us to view our units and platoons as family, a family we fight alongside and die alongside. A metaphor South appeared to be taking to heart.

“Shepard, can you come here for a moment?” Dexter called to me.

I hesitated a moment, not wishing to leave South alone in her depression. I placed a hoof on her shoulder to offer what little comfort I could, only for her to brush it away. She looked at me with emotionless eyes, rose to her hooves and trotted away without a word. So much for that idea. I shrugged at South’s uncanny ability to convey conflicting emotions and confuse the hell out of me, and walked over to see what Dexter wanted.

“What do you make of this, Shepard?” Dexter was standing in front of a strange looking device. It appeared to be a portable terminal, but it bore no markings that I recognized. It was unique compared to the other equipment scattered around the camp, differing in color, shape, and interface. I pressed a few buttons on the alien screen, only hearing a strange beeping noise in response. The alphabet on the terminal was unrecognisable too. Whatever this thing was, it did not belong to any Earth Pony scientist, which left one alternative.

“Maybe it belongs to the Geld,” I remarked. “It certainly does look like they share the same origin.”

Dexter bore a thoughtful expression on his face. “Then this is far more than a random invasion.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, military strategy not being my forte.

“If this was a simple invasion, there would be no need to bring any equipment like this to the surface. They would bring ordinance and weapons, but not computer terminals like this, unless they were actually looking for something.”

It didn’t take long, even for me, to make the connection. “They’re here for the relic.” I looked to the spot where the object in question most likely sat mere minutes ago. “And they probably already have it.”

“You better tell Nimbus, i’ll get South ready to go.” Dexter said, readying his weapon and trotting away to the quiet soldier.

“Good luck with that one, Lieutenant,” I muttered under my breath as he left me alone. I brought out my omni-tool, attempting to reconnect with the elusive pegasus. Once again I was met with irritating static, and a new sound that I did not expect, a painfully loud screeching. My tool started to freak out at being in close proximity to an exceptionally powerful jamming signal. My eyes narrowed on the strange device that lay before me, the pieces neatly falling into place in my mind. I waved my hoof at the offending object, my tool responding by translating the Geld’s language into something readable. With the gibberish turned to something useful, it was no challenge to turn off the cause of my days irritation.

“Please, somepony, anypony! Please help us!” my radio screamed at me the moment the static dissipated. The voice was wrought with panic, and I could hear a faint thumping noise drowning out her heavy breathing. “They are just outside, trying to break in. I don’t know how long the door will hold. Is anypony out there?”

“Ah recognise that voice!”

I turned around to see Dexter and South both right behind me, listening intently to the distress signal. South was wide eyed, mouth agape. Before I or Dexter could say anything, South ran past us towards the ascending path out of the valley without us. There was a moment of dumbfounded silence before the both of us realised our new companion had ran off into a no doubt dangerous situation, and we charged immediately after her.

We caught up with South at the peak of the hill, as we stumbled into a grim scene. Bodies lay scattered around the narrow clearing, many of which were piled alongside a portable bunker on the far side. We stepped carefully around the dead as we made our way through towards the building. South moved with haste ahead of us, taking less care in walking over the recently deceased. Whoever sent out that distress signal must have had some importance for her to show such little respect for the dead. Dexter at the very least showed the restraint I knew him capable of as he surveyed the area for potential threats.

My attention was drawn to the strange spike like protrusions that stuck out from the rest of the materials I had seen so far on the planet. At first glance, they appeared to be symmetrical metal rods attached to a tri-pod base. The legs appeared claw-like, and the entire thing did not look like anything of Earth Pony design. Perhaps it was more of the Geld’s technology, maybe a different style of transmitter? As I got closer, I noticed a fluid dripping from the base of the spike and pooling in the earth beneath it. From my work with machines, I remarked that some cooling fluids came in unique colors, but I had never seen it in a shade of red. I dabbed a small amount of it on my hooves to sample it. It was unusually warm for any coolant I was familiar with, and reeked of iron. My omni-tool beeped at me with a statistical analysis of the liquid.

<Oxygen levels stagnated. Plasma quality poor. Hemoglobin 55% saturated. Temperature 97.3 degrees, Time of death estimated, less than one standard Earth hour.>

Blood. This was blood? My hooves trembled slightly as the reality began to suffocate me like a torrent of ice cold water. My stomach twisted violently, feeling much like my first hour aboard the Normanedy. It seemed to me that even Dr. Chalkdust’s ‘treatment’ would not work for this level of horror. I looked up at the length of the spike, noticing that the entirety of it was dripping with the sickening red liquid. I backed up slowly, each step a separate battle of mind vs body to avoid losing what little of my lunch I had left. I looked to the nearby bodies, confirming the sickening truth to my weakening resolve. Many of the bodies had been violently impaled onto these horrifying spires, then discarded into piles for a purpose I hoped to never discover.

“What the hell are you doing South?” I heard Dexter shout from across the field. I turned to see Dexter staring at South in anger. From the distance I was from them, I could only see South kneeling before the bodies, moving them in an unkempt manner. I started to walk towards them and the bunker as they continued shouting at each other.

“One of these ponies had to be from mah squad,” South yelled back at Dexter, not showing the slightest bit of remorse of what she was doing. “I have to know if any of them made it, or if any of them are....” Her voice choked on the final words, as she continued turning over the bodies. Dexter just shook his head in disapproval of South’s actions, and trotted away loudly. I felt sympathetic for South’s situation, but even I had to agree with Dexter that she was allowing her grief to overcome her judgement. I kept moving towards her as she continued her search, when she suddenly leapt back in fright.

“W-what the hell is this?” she stammered in horror.

I dashed over to her to see what was the matter, following her eyes to the object in question. What the hell indeed. It appeared to be another body of a recently killed colonist, but its body was colored a disgusting ashen grey that tarnished its original color, whatever it may have been. Grooves appeared to be carved into its flesh that pulsated a bright blue. Its face was frozen in a blank expression, the strange grooves running the length of its face, even boring the eerie blue into their eyes. Eyes that I could not break away from. What had been done to this colonist was horrifying, a crime against nature, but I could not tear my gaze away from those eyes that had been drained of what life it once had. I felt that I was staring into the abyss of death itself, and that I could be sucked into it at any given moment as if I stood on the precipice of oblivion.

Then the eyes looked back at me.

Whatever thought processes I had left in my brain came crashing to a cataclysmic end. It was all I could do to watch in a mix of frozen terror and disbelief as I watched the body, no, bodies of several colonists twitch and spasm with the throes of renewing life. One, three, five was the count as the pile in front of me and South began to stand up shakily. They wavered, stumbling like zombie ponies, but who was I kidding? These things were zombie ponies! What was left of their flesh and fur was taught, emaciated, and spotted unevenly with black char or those pulsating blue veins. They lumbered forward, moaning and growling in low hushed tones like predators awaiting the instinct to pounce. I stood frozen in fear, while South slowly but shakily brought her gun to bear.

“They’re still alive!” she snapped in a hushed whisper.

I couldn’t even respond vocally. Whatever the hell these things were, they were not alive, they were not dead, they were not even ponies any more. They were monsters, and the Geld had done this to them. As they stepped closer, I could hear South attempt in vain to steady her weapon, only to hear it rattle louder in her quivering hooves. I doubt even S.T.A.B.L.E trained its soldiers in preparation for a zombie uprising. I glanced over to Dexter, who was on the far side of the ridge investigating the way forward and completely oblivious to what was unfolding behind him. I could have called out to him, but that would most likely be akin to disturbing a hornets nest of hungry predators.

A feat South took it upon herself to instigate anyways. The first volley struck the closest husk soundly, causing it to topple forwards in a slump, never to rise again. A point to note was that these things were not very resilient, but they were incredibly fast when agitated. In the time for the first one to fall, the rest charged us en masse, punctuating their anger with a bloodcurdling roar. I saw South deftly bash two away with the butt of her rifle, while the other two tackled me to the ground. The smaller one stumbled over the other, launching over me and landing squarely on its head beside me. I could hear the sickening snap of its neck as it hit the ground, twitching slightly before settling to the earth. The one on top of me gnashed its teeth wildly at me, thrashing me with its hooves, and I was barely able to dodge its feeble attempts to bite me. I held its head back with my hooves around its throat, but its attempts to strike me continued unabated.

I heard more gunfire as South dealt with the creatures encroaching upon her, and galloping hooves in the distance that hopefully belonged to Dexter. I realised that if I didn’t do something soon, I might soon become a zombie initiate myself. As my grip on its neck was beginning to weaken, I shifted my hooves for a better hold, giving me a visual reminder of the weapon attached to my blasted hoof! Somehow I managed lift my hind legs to buck the creature off me, giving me a precious second to ready the gun. Time seemed to slow as the husk lunged on top of me. Two previous attempts on my life within the same hour taught me that hesitation will get you killed, causing my mind to piece together every moment of weapon training I had ever taken in my mind in crystalline clarity. With little pause for thought, I aimed, and proceeded to fire endlessly into the monster’s head, only stopping when my omni-tool locked my weapon to prevent a damaging overheat.

It wobbled slightly at the force of the gunfire, pausing briefly in what appeared to be shock at my audacity of actually shooting it. It slumped forward, landing directly on top of me with a painful thud. I struggled to move the carcass on top of me, only now realising that despite the emaciated and gaunt look of these things, they weighed an abnormal amount. I twisted and grunted, but to no avail as I started to notice a difficulty in breathing from the crushing weight. With weakening resolve, and fading air supply, I managed to choke out a faint, “help!” before I noticed a sudden silence all around me. South’s gunfire had ceased, but I could hear her labored breathing not fifteen feet away. The galloping I had heard had stopped, and I desperately hoped it was really Dexter. My prayers were verified as I felt the warm glow of his telekinesis wrap around the felled husk and gently lifted it off of me.

I was able to sit up a bit, not just yet ready to get to my hooves. I breathed steadily, as I looked around at the changed scene around me. Dexter stood in front of me, his focus directed at disposing the zombie like being that was just moments ago crushing my lungs. I looked behind me to South, who was doing the same, breathing heavily and slowly regaining her color. I wondered idly on how much excitement she could possibly handly before simply collapsing, because it was becoming an increasingly appealing decision on my part. I steadily rose to my hooves, taking great care not to overdo it. I lifted my head to take a deep relaxing breath, and slowly opened my eyes. In front of me was the bunker, who’s door had opened during the aftermath. A mare poked her head out tentatively, looking around nervously before she looked straight at me and my companions.

“I-is it over?”

“Shepard, I found the loading docks just north of your position. I think the Geld moved the relic through here. I’m going to make sure it’s clear, then wait for you here. See you soon.”

I didn’t even feel anything for Nimbus’ communications anymore. Sure she was professional, and probably had killed quite of few of these things herself, but if she was really so close, she could have bothered to help us. I was certainly going to give that mare a piece of my mind once this was over. I turned off my radio and trotted over to Dexter and South, who were in the middle of listening to the two scientists we had rescued from the bunker. The mare was frightened, but stable, while her companion seemed much further detached from reality. He was skittish, and spend most of the introductions spouting nonsense and end of the world gibberish. We managed calm them down, and secure the bunker for the arrival of legitimate retrieval while we continued with our task. I managed to sit down as the mare was finishing her tale.

“And that’s when Professor Twidget and myself barricaded ourselves in here while the guards held them off,” she recounted calmly. “Those soldiers gave their lives to protect us.”

“There is no protecting us!” Twidget muttered. “This is the end times! The age of the Equine races is over!”

“Twidget, please! Now is not the time for your nonsense.” The mare turned to Dexter. “I’m really sorry about him, we’ve been through a lot.”

Dexter waved his hoof dismissively. “It’s all right Dr. Terra. Once we get you safely out of here, we can get him the help he needs.”

The mare relaxed a bit more at Dexters words, before he continued pressing for information. “Now, is there anything else you can tell us about what happened. Anything about the relic that you found?”

“The beacon of our doom has been brought before the eternal judge!” Twidget shouted.” Our fates are now in his merciful hooves!”

Terra hushed Twidget again, before returning to her thoughts. “I can’t remember much else, I’m afraid. Those things were pounding on the door for nearly an hour before you arrived. I thought I heard some of the loading equipment move by, but I can’t be certain.

Dexter looked to me and South. “I guess they moved the relic through here to the loading docks. Looks like Nimbus was right.”

“Hmph, lucky guess,” South said, disinterested.

It was my turn for a question. “Did either of you see our friend pass through here? She’s a Pegasus Sleipnir sent with us to secure that relic.”

Twidget screamed and backed himself into a corner at the uttering of the word Pegasus, and whimpered loudly for several moments as we all gawked at his display. He appeared to be muttering to himself, which steadily got louder until we could hear it clearly. “He walks among them, the winged harbinger of our doom! He lords over the indoctrinated, and will force his will on any who defy his purpose!”

“I’m no expert on Pegasus physiology, but I’m pretty sure I can recognise a female Pegasus when I see one,” Dexter commented. “That can’t have been Nimbus.”

“Twidget, hush! You don’t know what you are saying.” Terra snapped at the whimpering stallion, the looked away from him to us again. “I’m really sorry about him, but I have no idea what he is talking about. I saw no Pegasus out there, male or female.”

“Nimbus was on the Normanedy with us before the attack even happened,” I remarked. “She couldn’t have been here.”

Dexter nodded in agreement, while South’s indifference remained unchanged. Twidget quieted down eventually, and Dexter continued his questions.

“Even if you didn’t see the relic, where could they possibly move it from the loading docks?”

Terra thought a moment, before shaking her head in confusion. “The only trains that were moving today were between the loading area here and the spaceport in the center of the colony.”

“Spaceport?” Dexter said quickly. “Then they are trying to get the relic off planet. We should get going.”

Dexter and South moved quickly to the door, while I lingered for a moment. Twidget had passed out, but was still mumbling in his sleep. “Harbinger! Harbinger! Harbinger!” Terra trotted softly towards him to keep a close eye on him.

“Once we are out of this horrid place, he can get his medication. He will be fine.”

I nodded in feigned agreement, as if I knew the inner workings of a crazy pony. “I’m sure he will. Just stay in here, I’ll leave the door locked and send a message to the security clean up so they know where you are.”

I stepped outside and padded on the keypad to seal the door behind me. Just before I did, I glanced at Terra, who had moved Twidget to a makeshift bed. She looked at me with relief in her eyes. “Thank you Commander.”

The door slid shut quietly, while I stood staring at empty space for a moment, thinking on what Terra had said. Commander, heh. That will be the day.

“Shepard, come look at this! Now!”

I returned to reality and dashed towards the source of the shouting. I found Dexter and South standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the loading docks we were told about. I noted the ramp that would take us there, failing to understand what the matter was. I looked to my friends, and realised that they were staring at the sky, not down into the valley. I looked up and was met with a sight that would no doubt haunt my dreams for many nights to come.

Towering at what had to be no less than a kilometer high and was no less than the same distance away from us was the same metallic monstrosity that I had seen in the distress video. The difference now was that the obscuring cloud of smoke and dust was gone, and I could see this thing in perfect clarity against the velvet red sky. Its serpent like hull stretched into the sky, with long tendril like appendages acting as mooring lines tying it to the earth. It glowed with a field of crimson energy, the entire surface covered in a red electrical current. The beast, if that’s what I could call it, swayed slightly in various directions before leaning towards us. At the peak of its height, I could make out a long set of protrusions, much like a snout and horns of a mad and frightful creature.

I could not be certain that it saw, or even acknowledged our insignificant presence, as it loomed over the valley between us. The ground began to shake, the tendrils holding it down began detaching from the ground, and the behemoth steadily rose to the sky. A loud booming roar echoed over the planet as it broke free of the earth, sending us to our rumps in terror. The noise it made cut through me like a wave of fear, leaving me gasping for breath and quivering with each inhale. The massive metal serpent rose beyond the clouds and vanished from our sight with a speed that defied its colossal size.

We sat on the cliff for a long while in perfect silence. South was the first to break the calm, collapsing to the earth in panicked breathing. “What in the hell was that thing?” she panted. “A ship or a monster?”

“I don’t know,” Dexter said quietly.” But I don’t think I want to stick around and find out.”

I agreed quietly, my mind still dwelling on the whatever the hell that thing was. There was countless things it could have been, and I doubt any of them were pleasant. But it was gone, for now, and we had to hope that we could continue our mission before it returned, and worry about what it was and what it wanted then.

I gazed into the valley below, looking for any signs of movement in the docks. There were several rows of large crates and containers, turning it into a maze, making it difficult to see anything. Hopefully, Nimbus was indeed down there waiting for us before proceeding. I felt that South would have loved to meet her face to face, and I probably would have enjoyed the ensuing conversation. The devious little grin I developed at that thought quickly evaporated at a sudden sound that shattered the calm of the area below us. It sounded like a gunshot of a very powerful weapon, much like the one Nimbus was carrying.

“Nimbus may be in trouble,” I shouted, galloping down the ramp into the valley. “We’d better go help her.”

Dexter and South quickly followed suit, South giving a contemptuous guffaw as she cantered alongside me. “A council Sleipnir, needing our help? That’ll be the day.”

South’s constant show of disdain for non Earth Ponies was beginning to wear on me. Whatever reason she had to have such dislike in the Pegasi, she could have at least done a better job keeping it to herself. I paid no further attention to her as I approached the base of the canyon. We kept our speed as we approached the metal catwalks of the loading area, slowing to a trot in the midst of sharp corners and wide openings. We split up silently, fanning across the veranda and weaved through the containers looking for any sources of danger, or our elusive companion. I found more strange equipment that looked to belong to the Geld, at least confirming that they had moved through here recently, but I found no evidence of the relic, or Nimbus.

“Shepard, you’re gonna want to see this.” Dexter’s voice was quiet, sombre.

I navigated out of the containers with little difficulty, and found Dexter and South standing next to each other, staring at something around a corner. I approached carefully and peered around the corner slowly, noting the upset look in Dexter’s eyes as I neared him. What lay around the corner was a pony. A Pegasus, rather. A familiar Pegasus. A dead Pegasus.

“It’s Nimbus.”

I kept my distance from Dexter as he examined the body of our fallen friend and South secured the perimeter, hopefully looking to find out who had done this to Nimbus. I remained silent, thinking of how I was going to explain this to Quartermane once we returned to the ship. If we returned to the ship. I looked to Nimbus, her eyes were thankfully shut, but her beautiful golden mane was tarnished by the pool of her own blood that she laid in. I examined her weapon, an elegant rifle that had seen much use here on the surface, but no shots were fired recently, the barrel being ice cold. She never saw it coming.

“Somethin’s movin’ in there!” South shouted.

I immediately raised the rifle in the direction that South was pointing, fumbling slightly with the configuration meant for a Pegasi. Dexter did the same with his weapon, carefully stepping around Nimbus and stepping beside me.

“Ya’ll got five seconds to git’ out here before I toss a grenade in there for good measure, ya hear?”

I heard a crate fall over and smash on the ground, as a panicked stallion stumbled out of the mountain of boxes, his right hoof raised in submittance. “Please don’t shoot! I’m one of you!”

He was in fact an earth pony, a dock worker by the looks of his overalls. He twitched and fidgeted nervously as he trotted tentatively towards us. Dexter and I both lowered our weapons, which was starting to get awkward to hold anyways, but South kept hers drawn. He stopped several feet from us, and collapsed to his rump. Dexter approached him, offering an emergency ration from his saddlebag to calm the poor fellow down.

“Thank god this nightmare is over!” the dockworker gasped. “Ever since that mothership landed, everything has been going to hell!”

“Mothership?’ I inquired.” You mean that giant snake like thing that took off a while ago?”

He nodded. “Yea, that the one. It landed sometime this morning, right before the Geld showed up. It was scary as hell how it broke through the clouds, casting a shadow over everything. I’ve never seen anything so massive.”

“Can you tell us what happened here?”

He took a deep breath, before nodding hesitantly. “Yea, I can.” He looked around at his surroundings, taking in what was there to jog his memory. “We were moving everything around to get ready to move the relic through on to the colony for safe keeping. Then that mother ship shows up and everything falls to pieces. Our communications were hit first, then the Geld started showing up in droves. They hit this area hard, If I wasn’t hiding behind the boxes, I’d be dead just like the rest of them.”

“Did you at least see anything useful hiding back there?” Dexter asked.

The dockworker thought a moment. “Yea, I saw what happened to your friend there,” he said, pointing to Nimbus. “She was moving through the boxes all quiet like, when she came across another Pegasus like her, even called him by name, ‘Artemis’ I think it was. They seemed to know each other, so she lowers her guard. Then Artemis walks behind her and shoots her in the back of the head. Just like that. Then he left towards the trams, you just missed him.”

Why would another Pegasus be here, how could anypony else be aware of what we were doing down here? This whole endeavor was starting to stink of foul play.

“If you managed t' hide behind those crates, why did nopony else do th' same?” South inquired, finally lowering her weapon.

“They didn’t even have a chance, the Geld were already on top of us when the attack started.”

“Then how did you get there in time?” South’s eyebrows were raised in confusion.

“I…I was already behind the crates when it happened,” he admitted with shame.

“What were you busy doin’ back there? Spyin’?” South snapped poking the dockworker with an accusatory hoof.

“No! Nothing like that,” he explained. “Its just that….I work such long shifts, sometimes I can barely make it through the day. So I was busy….napping so I could get through the afternoon.”

“You survived because yer lazy?” South shouted. I swear she was about to pull a gun on this poor pony when an explosion drew our attention to the train tracks. Smoke rose from the platform below, and it did not take long for the dockworker to realise what was happening.

“They’re blowing up the tracks! Thats the last way to the inner colonies. If you want to catch the one that did this, you’d better hurry!”

Instinct took over as we left the civilian behind and dashed down the final ramp to the tracks. I almost tripped trying to hold onto Nimbus’s rifle, and decided to fold it away into my saddlebags for later. We saw a small group of Geld soldiers working their way past the remaining trains, carrying what appeared to be a very large storage crate. “They have the relic!” I shouted.

South roared with anger as she ran ahead of Dexter and I, engaging the Geld. They appeared to be surprised at the sudden ambush, but did not return fire. Instead they sped up, racing towards the final tram. They boarded quickly, and the tram steadily began to pick up speed, leaving the station without us. South continued firing as she galloped astride the moving tram, and bounded aboard. Dexter and I galloped as fast as we could to catch up with our overzealous friend. The Lieutenant managed to jump on the train, narrowly missing the guard rail. He turned back to me with a hoof extended.

“Jump, Shepard! I’ll catch you!

I maintained my speed, but the train was steadily going faster, and I was running out of platform.

“I’ll never make it!” I wheezed through ragged breaths. I was already exhausted of the day’s events so far. You would think five years of P.T day and night would give me more than ten seconds of sprinting time.

“You can, you just have to try! Trust me!”

If there was one thing I learned from today, it was that Dexter was somepony I could depend on. Whatever doubts I had, Dexter’s reassuring smile drained them away. I looked for an opening in the guardrails, and upon seeing one, I threw out all rational thought from my mind and dove towards the speeding tram. I saw it approaching ever so slightly, before I noticed I was falling too fast. I shut my eyes in panic, and awaited the inevitable plummet to the earth below. When it never came, though, I eventually opened my eyes to see that I was still in the air, floating in tandem with the tram. I looked down, and saw that I was covered in a glowing blue aura, as I slowly drifted towards the tram car. I saw Dexter struggling to stand, his eyes tightly shut in strained focus, his implants shining brightly. He set me down gently on the car, before wavering slightly, nearly collapsing from the effort.

He stood there for a moment, panting heavily, before he looked up at me, smiling. “Now we’re even.”

“I guess so,” I panted. “Now let’s go save South before she gets herself killed.”

Dexter nodded, and we both stood and leapt from car to car in the hopes of reaching the lead car before South did something foolish. As we approached the front, the sound of exchanging gunfire put me at ease to the fact that South was at least still conscious, and firing at the Geld at the front of the train. We finally made it to the front car, and found South crouched behind cover, ducking out to fire at the single remaining Geld from the four we saw earlier. I peeked out myself to see that the other three were dead, lying beside the crate they had brought on board. I saw the fourth Geld, duck in and out of cover, glancing at the three of us. I heard a series of beeps and tones come from its head, apparently attempting to communicate in its strange language.

Then all of a sudden, it keeled over with a loud thud. There was no way of us could have hit it from its cover, but yet it fell over, and was clearly dead from where we sat. South jumped over the crate she had been using for cover, and moved carefully towards the crate, trotting slowly around it to investigate her kills. She appeared satisfied with what she had accomplished alone, when the giant crate shook violently beside her. I watched her aim her gun at it, Dexter doing the same. I readied my pistol redundantly, remembering the effectiveness of my companions weapons versus mine. The crate shook again and again, each motion accompanied by a loud thud.

The lid of the crate blew off, flying overhead and landing far below us under the tracks. The sides of the container groaned and grinded, as they slowly fell away from each other neatly. Inside the crate was another Geld, but this one was easily two, if not three times the size of the rest of them. It rose to its hooves, towering over South who was still standing right beside it. She stepped back slowly, but was not quick enough to avoid the massive synthetic swiping at her with its giant hoof, sending the cowpony flying over us.

She landed with a loud thud, but groaned loudly hinting that she was still partially conscious. Dexter and I immediately began firing at the machine, as it simply stood there, taking the punishment. It did not take long for both of us to overheat our weapons, but the Geld was still standing unfazed by our onslaught. I stepped ponderously towards us, each step threatening to rattle the tram off its tracks.

“Shepard,” Dexter whispered to me.” I have an idea, stand back.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked fearfully.

“You know what they say.” He grinned. “The bigger they are…”

His voice trailed off as he began to glow his trademark blue. The Geld kept coming closer as Dexter concentrated. It was mere feet from us when the Lieutenant opened his eyes, glaring at the approaching beast. His pupils had glazed over white, and I could feel the power radiating off him. He lifted his hoof slowly, pouring all his energy into it. The Geld halted, and rose its front hooves high in the air in preparation to trample us. But before gravity could take hold, Dexter screamed, throwing his hoof into a punching motion towards the towering Geld. The energy built up in his hooves flew out in a wave of force, catching the machine square in the head. It lurched backwards, before toppling over and landing onto its back in a glorious crash.

As it lay helpless on its backside, I watched it flail its hooves in vain as it tried to right itself up like a downed turtle. Me and Dexter laughed at the display, when we noticed that South was standing just behind us, brandishing something in her mouth dangling by a pin. It looked like an apple, but it was rainbow colored. She shook her head upwards, relieving the apple from the pin. As it sailed upwards, she spun around gracefully with her tail aloft. She paused, waiting for a proper moment, before swatting the apple deftly with her tail. It flew over my head, and landed precisely in the exposed rib cage of the Geld’s underside. I looked back to South, who was smiling a familiar grin.

“I’d git’ down if I were you,” she crooned, mocking my voice almost perfectly.

“Oh crap.” I muttered, knowing exactly what she meant.

BOOOOOM!

The car shook and swayed violently from the resulting explosion, sending crates, debris and synthetic body parts raining over the tram and nearby canyon. The way the car was now rocking suggested that the tram was no longer securely fastened to the rail, but was holding course all the same. The speed of the vehicle cleared the smoke quickly, revealing a blackened section where the giant Geld once stood as a whole. The smaller Geld shells had been tossed off the side as well, leaving very little left on the lead car in way of supplies and cargo, aside from the singed control panel at the front of the car. After observing in the new scene before me, I steadily got up for what seemed to be the millionth time today. It would have been nice to escape from a near death situation without getting knocked to the ground, but that felt like a fool’s hope at this point.

I shuffled slowly to my hooves, looking around to see if my companions fared any better. South, being the instigator of the situation at hoof, was fully prepared to deal with the consequences of what she had done. The explosion didn’t seem to have affected her at all, only knocking off her precious hat. I watched her snatch it off the ground and hold it dexterously with her tail and plop it back onto her head. Her smirk conveyed an air of superiority and I didn’t much care for it as she pulled what I hoped to be a real apple from her saddle bag. She inspected it carefully, and gave it a thorough polish before biting into it loudly.

“Now,” she garbled through her chewing. “That’s how we settle things back on the farm.”

Dexter, on the other hoof seemed to be the middle of painful suffering, with the way he held his head and rubbed at his temples. He had not risen to his hooves, choosing the remain on his rump while nursing what appeared to be one nasty headache. His mane was matted, and slightly parted in a way I could see his implants. The circuitry throbbed with a low humming sound, and fizzled slightly. I saw blood dripping from his ears and nose, which he wiped away nonchalantly in his dazed state.

“Are you ok Dexter?” I asked with concern.

It took time for him to acknowledge my presence, let alone my question. He swayed weakly, shaking his head over and over to clear his head of the dizzyness. “I’ll be fine, j...just give me a minute,” he breathed. I glared at South, intent to tear her ear off before Dexter stopped me. “N..no, Shepard. It wasn’t the grenade. I just over exerted myself.”

I grunted in compliance. I focused my attention to other things, choosing the fact that this train was still moving, and we had no idea to where.

“So,” South began. “Does anyone know where this boat is headed?”

“I don’t know.” I replied without looking at her directly. The tram veered around a wide bend, before it began to noticeably decelerate. Around the corner I could see what appeared to be a station, and no further track to abide us. It appeared that we had arrived at the end of the line, wherever the hell it was.

“But we’re about to find out.”

The tram groaned to a stop at the end of the rail, the brakes squealing in protest at any further punishment. The station and nearby area were dead silent. It seemed the further into this hell we traveled, the quieter the world became, as if we truly were walking along the razor’s edge into the firey pits of Tartaurus itself. The calm made me feel uneasy, having grown accustomed to the sounds of battle since my time here.

South and Dexter stepped off the tram first, weapons drawn and focus set. The Lieutenant had recovered quickly, or so it seemed. His head twitched occasionally, and I don’t think he realised I was noticing. He was still in pain, but I guessed he felt this particular brand before and was accustomed to dealing with it. His attention was unfaltering as he scanned the station with South carefully, slowly. If this wasn't the climax of our day so far, it certainly felt close.

I left the train after South silently signaled ‘all clear’, as the two of them continued forward. I lingered behind, taking my own readings of the situation. The station ramps climbed upwards from the tram cars, perfect places for an ambush. My companions went upwards level by level, while I stayed at a careful distance. Nothing seemed out of place, no disturbed containers or even more of the Geld’s strange terminals. This area was seemingly untouched by the battle in the surrounding hills. Seemingly of course, and I wasn’t about to let my guard down just yet, not until I was off this blasted planet.

After we navigated the series of ramps and boxes, we made it to the top level of the station. This particular level appeared to connect to many adjacent areas that fed into the nearby colonies, with their own transfer points and loading areas. The scaffolding of this floor was very high in the air, and looking over the opposite side we could see a wide veranda looking over a lake, ripples gently forming from a calm breeze rolling over the hills. It was not, thankfully, so high that we could not easily miss the five or six Geld troopers patrolling the platform. Many of them were standing attentively on the far side, standing next to a stone pillar formation that glowed an ominous green. Even from up here it could tell it was important to them to protect, therefore, it had to be important for us to get to it.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, pointing out the obelisk to the others.

“Eeyep,” I heard South reply. “That’s the relic they dug up. Looks like they took good care of it.”

“But, why did they stop here?” Dexter remarked. “That platform is a dead end.” He came up to the railing next to me, and leaned over to get a better view. “And what are they doing there?” he said pointing at three Geld I had not noticed right below the catwalk we stood on. They were interacting with a set of cylindrical objects. They appeared innocuous enough from up here, but experience told me it was no doubt bad news for us.

“Let’s get down there and put a stop to this.” I said decidedly. “This has gone on long enough.”

Dexter chuckled slightly, smiling and nodding at me. He pointed towards the closest ramp down. “After you Shepard.”

I felt that the Lieutenant was humoring me, but as I recalled it was me that Nimbus was interested in. It only seemed natural to me that with her gone, I should at least try to lead for the remainder of the excursion. I paid no attention to his teasing and made my way down the ramp. Dexter and South followed behind me as we quietly trotted down towards the bottom. The Geld continued their appointed tasks as we moved from cover to cover, little as it was along the catwalks. They were completely oblivious to our presence, I hoped at least as we moved from the last section of ramp to a large wall that divided the platform tangentially from where we stood.

From the bottom of the ramp, we found ourselves closest to the three Geld that were focused on their cylinders. Down here, I could see that the things I thought were containers were, in fact, not containers at all. They each had computer interfaces, which the Geld were in the middle of accessing. They were also the first piece of technology that did not appear to belong to the Geld, the casings matching much of the excavation equipment from the relic site. I turned my focus towards the relic and its guards, not dwelling further on the cases, before my omni-tool bleeped noisily in my ear. I ducked my head behind cover, hoping the troopers did not hear it, while Dexter and South looked to me expectantly from their respective cover.

After gauging that our cover had not yet been ruined, I looked to my tool to see what was the matter. The screen showed a high concentration of unstable materials nearby, materials I recognised as incredibly explosive, and popular components of.....excavation charges. I facehoofed at not realising it sooner. Used properly in solid earth, an excavation charge causes a minimal explosion under pressure and simply loosens, or even disintegrates stubborn earth and rock without damaging worked stone. But if used in open air, and with purposeful sabotage, they could annihilate the nearby area with no trouble at all, including ancient alicorn relics.

I made quick gestures to Dexter, remembering what little I did from training to convey that these Geld had to go now. He seemed to understand, as he raised his rifle in preparation, as did South. They both nodded to me, awaiting my signal. I looked around the pillar, and still the Geld saboteurs were still heavily focused on their duty. The Geld near the relic too, were not paying any particular attention to the area we were hidden behind. This was as good a chance as any. I nodded to my companions, and I leaned around the corner, gun ready. I took aim at the closest Geld I could, and fired, praying I would hit its unprotected backside and not the explosive device next to it.

The Geld fell to the bullet in its back, and toppled onto its side. The other Geld were too slow to realise the situation at hoof, and both perished at the synchronized shots of my companions. The true challenge here would would lie in the four brutish troopers that were descending upon us from their places by the relic. They charged at us with reckless abandon, firing at us with little regard for aim or tact. Their task was clear; nopony was allowed near the relic. It was a task that I was looking forward to ruining for them. I ducked back into cover that was closer to the bombs, while South moved forward firing madly at the brutes. I had lost sight of Dexter, but I had far more immediate and troubling matters to deal with.

My omni-tool had not shut up since I approached the explosives, and I finally realised why. The tool wasn’t screaming merely because of the dangerous nearby materials, those blasted things were armed and counting! This certainly was going to spice up an otherwise dreary gunfight. “South, I gotta deal with these bombs, keep those things busy!” I shouted.

“Guh!” South grunted, taking a blast right to her shield, but not slowing down an inch. “Easier said than done!”

I ran to the bombs, bringing up my omni-tool’s interface. Thankfully the bombs were mundane equipment, the Geld’s tinkering only making it marginally more difficult. I pried off the manifold off of the first one and revealed a rainbow of wires and circuitry inside. I tugged at the loose cables, searching for the one I remembered from my training. It wasn’t difficult to diffuse a bomb, but it being in the middle of a firefight always made things interesting. My omni-tool blurted schematics and circuit diagrams at me, but it was proving difficult to concentrate on anything useful with bullets flying over my head. I looked over to the battle that was progressing without me. South appeared to have taken one of them down, and was busy wrestling with a second, while Dexter had flattened one with an enormous storage crate. But where was the fourth?

A mystery quickly resolved by a metal hoof punching me square across the face. I think I flew a good ten feet before I reconnected with solid ground, but not in the reunion that one would considered pleasant. I coughed and groaned, while I struggled to regain my balance. I heard loud hoof steps approaching me, the loud clanging of metal on metal ringing in my dazed head. The Geld stepped towards me, its head twisting with curiosity. It looked at me, but even with a face devoid of ways to show expressions, I could tell that it was conflicted about which method it should employ to kill me.

I scrambled away from it, making little difference as it continued forward. My companions were still busy with problems of their own, and the likelihood of them reaching me in time was shrinking fast. None of this was helped by the fact that my blasted omni-tool was still yelling at me about those bombs! Wait, my omni tool! I didn’t know much about the Geld, but they were still machines, and no machine enjoys a heaping dose of electromagnetism. I scrolled hastily through my tool, finding a suitable command just in time. With no hesitation, I aimed the device at the encroaching synthetic, and fired.

A bolt of energy flew from my hoof straight through the Geld, causing it to pause momentarily. A loud crackling noise filled the air, as static erupted from the metal plating of its armor, much like water seeks to be free of a confining dam. The creature twitched and jerked madly, swaying to and fro like a broken top as the excessive energy poured out, tearing its shell to pieces. It gave one last profound seizure, before it flashed like an erupting star, and an explosion that matched. When the light cleared, the Geld was on the ground in a heap and smoking slightly. It crackled with latent energy but remained still as I moved towards it. I glanced to the bombs, which also appeared to have suffered from the explosion and were now useless pieces of wiring and metal. Finally, I could breath a sigh of relief.

“Shepard, are you ok?”

I saw Dexter, standing next to South in the center of the platform. The remaining Geld had been dealt with, and we were finally free to accomplish our goal. I walked over to meet them, as they turned to face our prize. The relic was far more impressive close up, as we moved towards it. It was not as monolithic as I was led to believe but it was still a marvel to behold. It was a masterfully cut piece of metal and stone, fused together in a process that was tens of thousands of years old. Inlaid grooves glowed an effervescent green, and it hummed ever so quietly.

“I can’t believe this, actual working Alicorn technology!” Dexter exclaimed. It seemed he was more ecstatic about this discovery than I was.

South moved closer to the relic, her head bent sideways in awe. “It wasn’t doin’ anythin’ like that when they dug it up. Ah wonder what turned it on?”

“Maybe it was that ‘Artemis’ the dockworker mentioned. He probably got what he wanted from it and took off. We can worry about that after we get it onto the Normanedy.”

Dexter turned on his radio, and began to hail for our ride out of here. I prepared my omni-tool to send the data of everything we encountered on the surface to the Captain, who was no doubt expecting a full report of everything; the Geld, Nimbus, the mysterious Artemis character, and our recovering of the relic. I nearly finished when I heard a loud throbbing sound. Dexter appeared to have heard it as well, and looked around for the source as did I. I glanced behind him, and saw that the sound was coming from the relic. South had gotten closer to it, and it appeared to be reacting to her proximity to it. I could see South being dragged towards it by an unseen force, as it began to glow brighter and brighter.

I pushed Dexter aside and ran to South, grabbing her tail with my mouth. We both struggled against the pulling sensation, but were steadily losing ground to it. I managed to summon what little strength I had left, and yanked as hard as I could. I managed to throw South up over top of me towards Dexter with a loud thud. Unfortunately this momentum propelled me straight into the middle of the invisible force. My hooves left the ground as I was suddenly picked up into the air, hovering several feet off the ground. I felt a strange sensation wash over me, my body ached as if something was attempting to pull me apart, each of my limbs being pulled in different directions. All of this pain was just a minor inconvenience compared to what was happening to my mind.

I felt my brain being filled with information that was most definitely not meant for a single pony. I could feel the experiences of all kinds of different lives being forced into my head. I could feel the emotions, memories, experiences, thoughts, and dreams of thousands if not millions of lifeforms being forced into my head; I could feel them all, and they all conveyed the same things: Pain, anguish, terror, misery, panic, hysteria, and fear, pure and unbridled fear.

Images flashed before my eyes, but of what I could not tell. I saw glimpses of monsters, machines, and equines, mish mashed and mismatched together. I was witnessing a civilisations worth of pain and sorrow, and I was not certain how much more I could take.

The visions steadily slowed, but the throbbing pain that threatened to tear my head apart did not abate in the slightest. I could hear the relic pulsating louder and louder and it kept shining brighter and brighter, each undulating pulse adding to the cacophony of information and anguish that was being done to my mind, until it could impart no more knowledge to me. I would not remember what happened next as the relic overloaded, sending me flying through the air. My last thoughts were of the crimson sky, as it melted all around me into darkness, and I slipped into blissful blackness.

Engineer Skills Unlocked: Hacking, Decryption, Overload, Marksman

Codex Entries Added

Race: The Geld

Chapter 3: Eclipsed

The subconscious mind is an interesting thing when you think about it. A source of untold power, limitless resources, and unthinkable capabilities available to sentient minds. There is almost nothing one cannot do with the power of their subconscious mind, which only ruins the reality that one can only use it to its fullest potential when sleeping. The power of imagination is a wondrous thing, and one of the main reasons I didn't simply die of boredom back on Earth. Most ponies in my situation back then would seek out sleep because they had to, while I sought it out to escape from the dull reality around me; rust, dirt, grime, poverty, metal, and more dirt. Who wouldn't want a dreamland paradise to call their own, if only just to stave off the encroaching insanity of tedium and repetition?

I dreamt often when I knew I had found a safe haven for the night, and would fight off consciousness as long as possible, until hunger or impending danger would rouse me out of my slumber. I would, of course have the occasional nightmare, but that was par for the course with witnessing some of the choice atrocities available to city slums. My dreamstates almost became a second nature through the nights, and kept me company for the early years I spent alone. I could even tell when I was dreaming, and through sheer will bend the reality of them to my liking. It was that idle talent that made me realise what was happening to me now was no mere dream.

As I became aware of where I was and what was around me, it was clear that something was off. My body felt strange, alien even. It was like I was wearing a body that did not belong to me. My senses were there, but they were strangely distant, as if they were as confused as I was. My head felt heavier than normal, not by much, but enough to be noticeable. I felt smaller, smaller than I actually was anyways. I always viewed myself as larger than an average mare, but smaller than an average stallion. My body now felt far off that scale. My mane was longer too. Much longer. I never kept my mane in any state of neatness, but I could feel the side of my head and neck matted with long straightened hair. I tried to get a look at it, when I realised that something else was wrong.

The edges of my vision were blurry, and no matter how much I tried to shift my eyes, nothing happened. I stepped further into the room, or at least attempted to. My hooves remained still, ignoring my commands. I tried again and again, but my body did not respond. I felt that I was breathing and the natural motions of standing were there, but I could not move. It was not a feeling of paralysis, my body simply refused to listen to me. Another thing that worried me was that despite my rising panic, my breathing did not change whatsoever.

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t even move my eyes. What was happening to me? If this wasn’t a dream, it was certainly becoming more of a nightmare. I felt disconnected from my own emotions, and even my own body ignored the urge to react in any discernible way. At times like this I would try to breath deeply to calm down, but that wasn’t an option. The only thing I could do was watch for anything that would release my body from its uncontrolled state.

I was standing in what appeared to be a long narrow corridor. The walls were made of the purest white marble I had ever seen, and the floors were covered in immaculate tiles and rugs. Long towering frosted windows adorned the walls of the hall, letting in the daylight sun. The room appeared to rejoice and praise the very presence of light, and made the room all the more enjoyable to be in. At least I appeared to be somewhere safe, and began to calm down.

Until my head swiveled on its own, looking around the room automatically. Had I changed something? I tried again to make a move of my own, but still nothing happened. I felt my head and neck turn about, looking casually around the room and eventually settling on the nearest window. Was I being shown something? The window was difficult to see through, but I was able to make a few minor observations, if anything to occupy my mind from panic. The sun outside was high in the sky, and there didn’t appear to be a cloud in sight.

I did not focus on the weather for long, however, because the window allowed me to see my reflection. Or at least it should have been mine. The blurred style of the window made it impossible to determine shapes clearly, but I could clearly see that the pony in the window was colored a brightish purple with a darker colored mane, which was most definitely not my color scheme. My mind raced at what could possibly be happening. If this wasn’t a dream, then what was it, and why would I be in another pony’s body? Perhaps the reflection was false, or colors were poorly distinguished in this dreamworld. Whatever it was, it felt far too vivid to be a creation of imagination. I was not in control here, and I didn’t understand anything that was happening to me. I was just going to have to go along for the ride and see where it took me and hope for the best.

There was a faint murmuring sound from down the hall, and my host turned towards it. The door at the far end was wide open, and a single Earth Pony stallion stood within its threshold. How old was this memory, if an Earth Pony was present? And what would an Earth Pony be doing in the memories of an Alicorn relic? None of this made sense, but at least I could try to focus on it while my host moved on its own. My body moved again towards the door, and halted just before the threshold and turned to the stallion. He was dressed in ancient looking armor that would have been new hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. It looked like it was fitted with brass, steel and other precious metals. His helmet was the most impressive, carved into the shape of an eagle’s head fashioned from gold and silver. He nodded his head to me, and stepped aside to allow my host into the great hall beyond.

The chamber was vast, stretching on forever into the high vaulted ceilings above. Stained glass windows were on either side of the room, many of which appeared to be made of simple abstract colors. My head moved again on its own, taking in the sights as if it were trying to show me on purpose. One particular set of windows caught my host’s attention, gazing lengthily at them as we continued walking forward. These windows were far more elaborate in their design, and they looked to be telling a story with pictures rather than words. The first had the body of a mare framed in the center, shrouded in shadows and darkness. She did not look like a happy or even pleasant pony. From what I could tell of these ancient designs, she was downright nasty. Around her appeared to be six ponies of various colors and races. I counted two Earth Ponies, two Pegasi and two Unicorns, each connected to the shadowy mare by beams of prismatic light.

The second window had a similar story to tell, with what appeared to be the same characters. The same six ponies, together, working against a creature of evil. The villain of this tale, however, was not something I recognised. It was a sinister creature with a wicked look in its mismatched eyes. It was a long and disheveled being and looked to be composed of many different creatures in one. Lion, pony, bat, snake, goat and even eagle were some of the few features I could recognise. I hoped the stories being told upon these windows were legend, because I did not wish to face such a horrid, misshapen creature in my lifetime.

My body halted, and my host faced forward. I looked in awe at what I saw before me. A regal throne was built in the center of this fantastic room. It was guarded by two stallions that appeared to be dressed like the one who stood by the entrance, but one was a Pegasus and one was a Unicorn. My mind reeled in confusion. All three pony races, together? I thought the legends on the windows were just that, legends. Myths and stories of whatever Earth Pony culture that I thought this was, but here in front of me was evidence that even that assumption was wrong. If this was a vision of the past, then it showed me that once upon a time, Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi all existed together on the same world. The question was where? Or more importantly, when?

The two guards saluted stiffly at my hosts approach and bowed in a peculiar manner that pointed out the massive throne behind them. The dais was build out of elegantly carved bronze, and was adorned with fountains, draperies and flowers of every color. The steps were covered in a beautiful red rug that climbed the entire length of the staircase leading up to the throne. All of this, however, paled in comparison to the one all of this was made to honor before me. On the throne sat a creature that shattered any rational definition for beauty, regality and grace. Her opalescent coat radiated brilliantly in the beams of light that washed over her from the world outside. Her mane and tail were difficult to look at without becoming entranced as they rippled of their own accord, shimmering various shades of blues, violets, pinks and greens. Her eyes were a gentle pinkish shade, and together with a smile that could melt the heart of even the most maddened and psychotic criminal, her face was the picture of kindness, love and affection.

But even in light of all her natural beauties other things steadily come into focus as I grew accustomed to being in the presence of this celestial being. She wore golden regalia, a crown atop her head, a jeweled torc around her neck, and pearl colored slippers covered her hooves. She was no doubt a being of not only respect, but of power, to which my body bowed appropriately. When my head rose again to the queen, or princess, or deity or whatever she was, I noticed she was significantly larger than a normal pony, even from where she sat on her throne. The most amazing feature of this angelic being, this ancestral royalty of ages past, was that she had both the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a Unicorn, traits which she made look insignificant in comparison to her guards. Coupled with her large stature, which had to have been inherited from an Earth Pony, this being was a pony comprised of aspects that made us different. Was this being one of the mythical Alicorn of the past? Was I the first pony to look upon the life of our forebears, and learn of their past?

The Alicorn bowed her head to my host, and her mouth moved as though she was speaking. I could hear words being spoken, but they were muffled, distant. Whatever was being said was only unintelligible noises to my ear. I could hear the emotions behind the words, understanding whether the words were of praise and joy when I noticed a laugh or a smile, or something of a more serious nature with a scowl or a lowered head. The only other thing that I could decipher was that my host had a gentle feminine voice, at least deducing that I was in the body of a mare. My host and the Alicorn spoke at great length, but I could not make out anything of importance. Despite what was happening around me, without the context of what was being said, I was actually starting to get bored of this vision, much to my dissapointment.

The conversation went on for several minutes, resulting in many changes of tone and even local, as the Alicorn occasionally left the throne to pace beside my host as the walked around the room during their lengthy conversation. The Alicorn looked even more imposing as she trotted quietly beside me, but I felt my face form expressions of fondness and joy as my host spoke with her. I tried in vain to at least attempt to piece the distorted words together, but it only made my head hurt. I felt that something was missing, like a vital part was removed or damaged. If this really was a result of the Alicorn relic, then perhaps sitting in the ground for fifty thousand years had taken its toll on the ancient machine. Maybe I could fix it with the right parts and information?

A sudden silence caught my attention, and I noticed that the conversation had stopped. The Alicorn paused abruptly in her sentence turning her head quickly to the right. She stared out the window with narrowed eyes. Then shock. Her eyes widened noticeably bearing a look of deep concern. My host ran forward up the steps clearly confused as to what was going on, as was I. The host stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to look out the window as well. The daylight that shone brightly through the windows was steadily fading away, the room becoming darker very quickly. Looking back to the Alicorn, I could see that she appeared to be in pain at the loss of the light. My host was yelling, her voice filled with concern and worry.

The Alicorn looked up to the window again, staring intently towards the sun with sadness in her eyes. My host ran to the window until she was right in front of it, looking out over the land outside. This window was not as blurred as the others, and I was able to finally get a better look at my host in the reflection. It was definitely a mare, but she was a Unicorn mare. At least that explained the strange feeling I was noticing at the top of my skull. She had an aged look about her, one that showed the distinguishment, experience and knowledge of a long and well lived life. She was certainly far from decrepit, but her youth was clearly well behind her. Her coat was a beautiful shade of lavender, and her mane was a darkened purple, with a single pink and purple highlight that failed to cover up the grey of age. Her posture made it impossible for me to see her Cutie Mark, but I figured that was a moot concern compared to what was happening. Her eyes were darting, scanning the sky fervently at what was causing her mistress’ sudden distress.

Her eyes eventually fell to the sun, which had become obscured by something. No, several somethings. It was not a cloud of white fluff, but a cloud of something else, something I could not describe. They were like locusts, descending from the sky and blotting out the very light of the sun. Hundreds, if not thousands of them filled the once empty open sky, and appeared to be approaching towards us. I could see the shock in the eyes of my host in the reflection, before she turned back to her mistress.

She still looked to be visibly pained, but held herself high, her regality not diminishing in the slightest. My host trotted slowly towards the foot of the dais, her muffled voice pleading. The Alicorn glanced absently to the scene unfolding outside, and then to a separate window to her left. It was a stained glass window much like the others, but it was bare, no story on it to tell. Her eyes made it back to mine, and I noticed that her smile was gone.

The blurring of my vision began to worsen, as the walls of this reality were slowly warping and stretching themselves into oblivion. The corners of my eyes began to darken, and I felt a slight tugging at the back of my mind. The Alicorn was the only thing retaining its clarity, as if it was the only thing my host dared focus on. The graceful monarch stepped from the throne and trotted slowly towards me. Her head bowed until it was eye to eye with my host. She spoke again, a single word leaving her mouth before I lost all sense of sight and sound.

Despite the reality of this world collapsing around me, my last conscious thought was of that single word. I could not hear like any other words spoken in this memory, but I did not need to hear it to understand. The word was simple, and was easy to read from her lips. It was an appropriate word, given the circumstances, and one I hoped my host was wise enough to heed.

Run.

My thoughts twisted and turned rapidly in my mind, playing the same sequence of events over and over. The tugging sensation at the edge of my consciousness continued to pester me, as the visions swimming in my head slowly faded into darkness. What had I experienced? It did not feel like a true experience to me, but it was most definitely real for somepony, and that somepony was probably the one I had seen in the windows’ reflection.

Maybe it wasn’t a vision. Maybe...it was a memory, and I viewed it through a host’s eyes, ears and body. If that were true, then where was I in the memory? Who was I? When was I? What did it all mean? Was there more to see, was that just one of many clues to the fate of the Alicorn? Or was it just a single piece to an unsolvable puzzle? If there were more pieces, where could I find them? Would it even be possible to find them? All these questions crashed through my mind, spurring them to a painful halt.

I felt my senses returning, the bleary haze of my vision finally fading. Through the veil of black, I could see a tiny pinprick of light in the distance, coming closer towards me and growing rapidly. The encroaching radiance came to a stop just inches from me, basking me in its warmth. A faint buzzing filled my ears with a melodious humming sound. My senses finally calmed from their turmoil, and slowly the world around me became clear once more.

First my eyes. The coalescing light that surrounded me began to fade in intensity, and I was able to discern its source; a lamp, hovering just above me giving off a gentle glow. My eyes focused on this for a long while, before my mind shocked to its senses and realised I had seen this lamp before. As well as the ceiling, the medical apparatus around me, and that same white curtain. I could see silhouettes of ponies behind it, who looked to be engrossed in hasty conversation.

I shifted around, realising that I was on my back and covered tightly in a small blanket. It was soft and very warm, my body relishing its presence with a relaxing sigh. My ears twitched at several sounds that crept into my awareness, the gentle beeps of the machines, the monotone humming of the lighting, and the increasingly volatile conversation that was happening outside the cotton walls. I paid no attention to it, more interested in gauging my current well being. I shifted again, moving all of my parts to check and see if they were all still functional. My hooves stretched and quivered in that universally wonderful feeling of waking up after a long restful sleep. I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that the alien feeling of being in somepony else's body was gone, and I was finally back in control of my own body. I tossed the blanket off and rolled onto the floor to see just exactly what condition I was in.

The sound of my hooves clattering on the cold metal floor brought a sudden silence from beyond the curtain, and a sudden twisting feeling in my head. A light grey head poked in briefly and looked at me, before disappearing again. “You, stay here. Let me check on Shepard before you start your pestering,” I heard from the other side. The curtain flipped open again, and this time I was graced with the entirety of Dr. Chalkdust as she trotted through towards me. “If you are planning on making a habit of gracing my Med-Bay Shepard, I do hope you will have the courtesy of warning me before next time,” she said with a smile. “I’ll have the bed warmed for you.”

She stepped beside me and waved her medical-tool around my head, taking several readings and muttering something under her breath at each one. I tried to catch a glimpse at what her omni-tool was saying, but my head was starting to spin, and my stomach was starting to rebel against me. Finally satisfied, she stepped away from me, stowing her tools. “How are you feeling, Shepard? You gave everypony quite the scare.”

“Nnng,” I groaned. “Dizzy.”

She seemed mildly concerned at my answer. “Oh, of course, time for a booster!”

Chalkdust stepped from my vision as I stood very still, trying in vain to will my mind and body to cease. When she returned, she was brandishing a small glass with a familiar amber liquid. My entire body acted on its own, stepping away from the sinister drink out of reflex. Chalkdust looked cross at my avoidance, and moved towards me with a intense look in her eyes. “You know this will make you feel better, Shepard. There is no sense avoiding it.”

She had a painfully accurate point. If I was going to serve on this ship, I needed to be at my best, even if it meant willingly ingesting a mental deterrent. I took the glass from Chalkdust, eyeing it hesitantly. I swirled the liquid in its vessel, before conceding ultimate defeat, and drank it as fast as I could. The experience, if I could still call it one, was not nearly as bad as the first. My body flushed and senses screamed in pain and joy at the same time, before suddenly dissipating as before. At least it was getting marginally easier each time.

Chalkdust smiled, taking the empty glass and stowing it away. “How do you feel now, Shepard?”

“Ugh,” I groaned again. “Better, I guess.”

With the nausea gone, I noticed that my body still ached terribly. I moved and stretched, working out what felt like a months worth of cramps and sores. “How long was I out?”

“Nearly a full day.” The doctor replied with an idle expression. “You certainly had us all worried there for a while Shepard.”

A full day? I didn’t know exactly how to handle that answer. My mind was certainly well engaged, but how could a dream keep me occupied for such a long time? I guess the next question was obvious. “What happened?”

“Ah can answer that,” a second voice responded from behind the curtain. The curtain fluttered again, allowing a familiar mahogany pony entrance into the secluded bed area. South was no longer wearing her heavy plated armoring, now dressed in casual S.T.A.B.L.E blue attire. Her white cowpony hat was still settled firmly on her head as it confined what little it could of her raggedy scarlet mane. She trotted over to me, ignoring the scowl that Chalkdust was giving her.

“Miss Belle, I told you to wait outside!” she snapped.

“A’n Ah suppose you can give Shepard a clear answer as to what happened back there on Equestria Prime?” South retorted.

“What do you mean back there?” I asked. “Where are we now?” My question went unanswered as the staring match between the doctor and soldier continued, the deja vu of this particular situation becoming painfully clear. I cleared my throat in a vain attempt to diffuse the situation, and to my surprise it seemed to work. Chalkdust shook her head, feigning defeat with an exasperated sigh to which South took the opportunity to flash a triumphant grin.

“We are on our way to the Corral, Shepard.” Chalkdust began. “The council is going to want to hear what happened first hoof from those who were on Equestria Prime.”

I nodded my head in understanding, before realising that somepony was still missing. “Where’s Dexter?”

“He is debriefing with the Captain, I don’t believe they will be much longer to check in on you.”

I looked back to South, who was quietly awaiting her turn. “So what did happen? I remember the relic activating, then exploding, but not much else.”

“Well,” South began sheepishly. “I musta’ activated some sort of defense mechanism when I got too close to it. You ran in and tossed me outta the way, only to get pulled in yourself. It picked you up, and it looked like it was trying to tear you apart before it exploded and sent you flyin.”

She looked away, breaking eye contact. Her voice was filled with shame. “It’s all mah fault. If I didn’t get so close, I wouldn’t of set it off and nearly got you killed, or broken the artifact.”

South looked genuinely upset at the fault she had caused, and was beating herself up over it on my account. I trotted over to her and placed my hoof on her shoulder. Her eyes met mine again, her eyes filled with regret. “Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. “ There was no way of knowing what would have happened. And everything turned out alright in the end.”

She appeared to take some comfort in my words, but her morose expression remained. She backed away slowly, and remained silent. South seemed to be a deeply caring soul, but had a lot of issues in showing it. The only thing I felt I could do was to chalk it up to the Prairieland pride she was no doubt stewed in when growing up. I had a feeling that I was going to have to get to know her better if she was ever going to come out of her shell.

“Well then,” Chalkdust began, breaking the silence. “If I may continue with my examination.” The grey mare shooed South, who stepped away despondently. The doctor reactivated her omni-tool, and sorted through the results, showing marginal interest in many of them, except the final one. Her eyes widened considerably, as she padded at the tool hastily. “That can’t be right,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, becoming concerned at Chalkdust’s wide eyed state.

“I’m not sure.” She checked the results of my vitals over and over, but she continued to get the same answer. “All of your vitals are normal, physical status is fine. But it’s these brain waves that don’t make any sense. This level of brain activity is common with intense dreaming, but the readings are off the charts.”

“Actually, that does make sense to me.”

“Oh?” Chalkdust’s look of concern shifted to intrigue. “What exactly did that relic to do you Shepard?”

I wracked my brain, sorting through the jumble of thoughts that were mine and those that weren’t . My head was still aching slightly from the ordeal, but it was far from unbearable. I could remember the vision in perfect clarity of what was shown to me, as if it were burned into my mind forever. Every moment, every sight, every panicked word and emotion. If it weren’t for the strange sound of distance in the spoken voices, the vision may have given me truly useful knowledge. But now, it was merely an ominous retelling of what may have been the beginning of the end for the Alicorn empire.

“There’s no way I can tell you what I saw and have it make any sense,” I began. “It was a vision, I think. More like a memory, retold through somepony else’s eyes.”

“What did you see?” Chalkdust’s intrigue was noticeably growing, as was South’s. Both of them peered at me, interested in hearing more.

“I was in a castle of some kind, not like anything we’ve ever had back on Earth. The entire building was fantastic, pristine, nearly a paradise in and of itself.” My hooves flourished in the air as I traced out the magnitude of what I was saying. “I was watching through a host; a Unicorn, and she appeared to be having a conversation with a monarch of some kind.”

I paused briefly, realising what I was about to say. I wondered how they would react to the news. Nopony to to date knew much about the Alicorns. We had found some ruins of what appeared to be great colonies, some old texts, and most importantly; their technology. We never found any devices or archives that showed us what they looked like, it was all hunches and guesswork. I steeled myself, finding the words and giving them voice.

“I believe this monarch was an Alicorn.”

The reaction was immediate. Both South and Chalkdust stared in shock, eyes wide and mouths agape. I smirked slightly at their reactions, until a familiar voice made itself known from beyond the curtain. “An Alicorn you say?”

The three of us turned to see Captain Quartermane standing in the doorway, even he was showing a look of surprise at what I had said. No one even bothered to salute his arrival, still shocked over what I had revealed from my vision. “What makes you say that Shepard?”

He beckoned me to continue. I recovered my place in the story, clearing my throat and continuing. “This being that I saw, was much larger than a normal pony. She was tall and slender, easily standing twice an average pony’s height. But she wasn’t just bigger than a normal pony, she also had wings of a Pegasus and a horn of a Unicorn.”

“And the relic showed you this?” Quartermane’s voice was steady, but failed to mask his interest.

I nodded. “It felt like a dream at first, but it was more like a memory, imprinted in the relic to be shown to any who accessed it.”

“Hmm,” he mumbled. “What else did you see?”

I played through the rest of the vision again, going through the details as finely as I could. However, as I reached the end of it, I swallowed grimly as I slowly reminded myself of what I had seen. I looked solemly to the Captain, who noted my worry with confusion.

“My host, the Unicorn. She was talking to the Alicorn about something. I couldn’t understand any of it though. The words were muffled, or distant as if something was missing from the relic.”

Quartermane grunted. “Perhaps the relic was more damaged than we thought.” My eyes wandered to South, who was trying to hide a guilty look behind the Captain’s back. “Or perhaps Artemis tampered with it after he was finished with it.”

“Maybe,” I agreed, noticing South sighing in relief. “But the lack of words wasn’t the worst part. Something happened, interrupting them. Something, several somethings were filling the sky like locusts. There were thousands of them, enough to block out the sun and the Alicorn looked like she was in pain because of it.”

I waited for further reaction, but the Captain did not wait for long. “What happened next?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. That was where the vision ended. It played over and over in my head until I woke up, and I don’t think I will forget any of it anytime soon.”

The Captain thought quietly a moment. The rest of us shifted nervously, casting quick glances as the Captain pondered the next move. He looked at me suddenly, then to Chalkdust and South. “I’d like a moment alone with Shepard.”

South saluted with a quick, “Yes Sir!”, while Chalkdust bowed her head respectfully, before they departed together out of the curtained area and out into the halls of the Normanedy. Quartermane waited patiently for the door to shut behind them.

I started before him, one subject nagging at the back of my mind begging to be answered. “Sir, if I may quickly ask, why is Sergeant Major South here? Wasn’t she stationed on Equestria Prime?”

“Yes, she was.” He replied slowly. “Her platoon was a security detail that managed the major colony centers, and I’m not certain how many made it out alive. Our reserve security forces remained on the planet to assist in the clean up once back up arrived. Lieutenant Poindexter vouched for her, and I requested she be reassigned to the Normanedy. We could use the hooves-on experience with the Geld, now that they have shown themselves to be a credible threat.

“She certainly did prove to be capable down there, Sir.” I agreed. “She’ll be a valuable asset to the crew.”

“I’m certain she will, Shepard. Now, there are other things I need to speak to you about.”

“Of course, Sir.” I felt that I was about to be disciplined for certain events that may or may not have been my fault. I tried my best to maintain a straight face, but I braced myself for the worst.

“First of all, I want to apologise to you Shepard.”

I was not expecting that. “For what, Sir?”

“I may not have seen you for these past five years, Shepard, but I have been paying attention to your progress. I knew exactly what talents you were meant to bring to the table in military service, and direct battlefield engagement was not one of my intentions for you.”

I had no response to think of, and remained silent.

“I realize direct combat isn’t your specialty Shepard, but your skills were far greater than I, or really anypony expected in the military. It was not my decision to have you here aboard the Normanedy, not that I’m unhappy that you are here. S.T.A.B.L.E command has been pushing for a Sleipnir in their ranks for years, and once they managed to come to this compromise with the Corral Council, they jumped at the chance.”

He had a distant look in his eyes, and his voice trembled with quiet anger and sorrow. “They were counting on this coalition with Nimbus to work, Shepard. But now that she’s dead, and the relic was destroyed, I’m not sure where we stand with the Council.”

The captain seemed to be beating himself up over something he had no control over. It certainly didn’t feel right to allow him to punish himself over something nopony could have possibly prepared for.

“Sir, there was no way we could have known what was down there. And we managed to maintain control despite the lack of intel.”

He scoffed. “You may be right about that, Shepard, but the Council is going to look for any possible reason to blame this on us. Not to mention Artemis’s involvement.”

Artemis, right, the pegasus that killed Nimbus. The way Captain Quartermane said his name led me to assume he had previous experience with him.

“Do you know this Artemis, Sir?”

“I’ve run into him a few times, yes. He’s a Council Sleipnir, one of the best as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned. And if what the Lieutenant told me about what happened on Equestria Prime is correct, then we have every reason to believe he’s gone rogue. Not that it surprises me.”

The captains final remark had a hint of venom to it, one I felt I had to call him on. “Why is that, sir?”

“Artemis has a reputation for hating Earth Ponies, thinks we are growing too fast. And he isn’t one to show restraint in his prejudices either. I wouldn’t doubt that he’s been a strong supporter of keeping us out of the Sleipnir.”

There seemed to be a lot more to the events of the past two days than was apparent, but I was prepared to pursue it further, at least to satisfy my own curiosity. I was not certain how I was going to deal with the Council, or much rather a possible rogue Sleipnir that probably hated my entire race more than mine hated his. I knew what my next question was, and I’m sure the Captain had his own thoughts as well.

“What’s our next move then?”

The Captain sighed, breaking eye contact and looking absently around the room as he began to pace away from me. “I’ll need to forward my report to the Earth Pony ambassador. We’ll have to talk to him and hope he can get us a hearing with the Council to deal with the aftermath of this attack. They aren’t going to enjoy us accusing their best agent without solid proof, but we have to at least do something.”

“And the vision from the relic? What should we do about that, Sir?”

He looked at me sternly. “It seems to me that there is much missing from that vision, Shepard. If there was more to it we might have more to work with, but unless we come across any other relics, it is probably best to not to dwell on them. It may please the archeology world to no end that we may have finally learned what the Alicorns looked like, but the discovery of their fate may be a bit too much.”

He passed through the curtain, and I quickly followed him to the door. He paused at the open doorway, and looked at me. “Go to the bridge and tell Pipsqueak to get us to the Corral as soon as he can. I’ll be in my quarters dealing with the ambassador.”

The way he spoke told me that he was not looking forward to the experience. I saluted his departure, and he trotted away down the hall, and out of sight. I stood there alone in the hallway a moment. The captain was probably going to be a while talking to the ambassador, which maybe gave me some time to talk to somepony else before I went to the bridge. I trotted down the hall, my destination clear, hearing the Med-Bay doors slide close behind me.

The crew decks were sparsely filled, a few groups of soldiers scattered about the various tables and engaging in idle chatter. They seemed none the worse for wear, considering the battlefield they had just walked out of mere hours ago, and were enjoying loud conversation between themselves. I moved past them, searching through the faces for a particular one. It did not take me long to reach the furthest side of the room, and find reclined beside a opened locker, the pony I was searching for.

“Dexter? Are you ok?” I asked quietly.

Dexter was alert, but seemed to be staring at something that was not there, his eyes distant and unfocused. His eyes drifted to mine, but they did not seem to clearly acknowledge my presence, still retaining their unfocused appearance. “I’ll live, if that’s what you’re asking,” he chuckled. “The headache meds are just kicking in is all.”

“Oh,” was all I managed to say. There were many times back on Equestria Prime when he looked ready to collapse, but I never imagined he was going through so much pain because of it. I learned from various places that the implants required to control a magitechs power sometimes came with nasty side effects, and none of them were good. I wondered what Dexter had to deal with for his gift.

“Its good to see you are ok, Shepard. I wasn’t sure what to think after the relic exploded and sent you flying. South started freaking out, and I was about ready to pass out. It was one hell of a party down there.”

“Yea,” I said reassuringly. “One hell of a party.”

Dexter’s head wavered back and forth, slipping between focusing on me and random sections of wall. My look of concern was lost on him in the brief moments he did look in my direction, and I was having a hard time deciding whether I should be worried for his well being or not. I watched him for awhile, listening to his steady breathing, when I heard quiet hooves trotting behind me.

“Lieutenant, it’s time for your...oh, Shepard, there you are.”

I turned to see Dr. Chalkdust approaching us, with a small satchel dangling from her barding. She passed by me without a word, moving to Dexter’s side. She withdrew a small syringe from the satchel delicately in her teeth and proceeded to inject into Dexter’s foreleg without any warning from her or complaint from him. The delirious Lieutenant was completely oblivious to what Chalkdust had done, and was still staring deeply into distant space. He shut his eyes, and leaned against the wall of lockers, breathing deeply before drifting into what looked like a peaceful sleep. Chalkdust returned the medicine to the satchel, and backed away from the resting pony slowly, signaling me to follow.

When we were sufficiently away from the sleeping officer, I spoke up. “Is he going to be alright, Dr. Chalkdust?”

She gave me a gentle smile. “Oh yes, dear, he will be just fine. He’s just exerted himself more in the past day then he has in a long while. The medicine I gave him will give him some much needed rest, he’ll be awake in a few hours.”

We meandered over to an empty table, and Chalkdust invited me to sit down a moment. I complied, and sat across from her. She engaged me in idle conversation, but I could not help but turn the conversation back to Dexter. “Is it alright to just leave him lying against the wall like that?” I asked, glancing in the direction of my slumbering friend.

Chalkdust nodded. “While I agree that it is very strange, the Lieutenant seems to prefer the cold steel floors to the beds we provide in the crew chambers. I think its the way the metal vibrates with the ship that calms him.”

“What about his implants? They seemed to be causing him a lot of pain.”

She nodded again. “He is one of the lucky few who do not suffer some of the agonizing side effects of his generation. I’ve seen ponies go stark raving mad under the influence of defective implants, but the L2 variation certainly had the worst of it.”

“L2 generation?” I inquired. “What’s that?”

“The price of emergent science, that’s what it is,” she groused. “When the EX radiation leaks occurred, we were nowhere near ready to deal with the consequences. Once we realised what was happening to those affected, the science was quick to fill in the gaps. The first generation of implants were a complete disaster, killing nearly the entire population of test subjects, which to date nopony knows exactly how many.”

Chalkdust shook her head in disgust. “The second generation fared better, the subjects actually surviving the first rounds of testing to make it to the side effects. They ranged from at worst, complete psychosis, to at best, intense migraines, like the Lieutenant. He survived all of the trials the testing companies threw at him, and became one of the first and greatest Magitech soldiers of the Earth Pony race.”

“Haven’t there been any further improvements since then? It has been several years since first exposure hasn’t it?”

The grey mare smiled. “That’s where the Lieutenant’s stubbornness comes in. Yes there have been much more improvements since then. As it stands now with the new collaborations with the Corral races, we are currently in the third generation of magitech , and I believe that there have been rumors of advancing into a fourth within the next few months. However, the Lieutenant claims that while the L3 and possibly the new L4 implants are considerably more stable, they don’t put out near the levels of raw power that the L2 can. He figures that if the worst he has to deal with is headaches, then he can tough it out.”

Chalkdust’s face bore a look of fondness as she finished her tale. “I suppose he considers his implants as a badge of honor.”

I found myself sharing her expression, a smile forming on my face in regards to our discussion. I had only known Dexter, or really anypony on this crew for no more than a day, and I felt I was learning a great deal about them without the chaos of a battlefield to distract me. It seemed that even aboard the Normanedy, there would be no lack of conversation, or learning of my crewmates further to be had. The crowd of ponies at the head table began to laugh loudly, apparently finding the perfect way to shake off the tension of the previous day’s battle. With time, I might get to know them all better and make new friends. It was certainly something to look forward to.

I bade the doctor goodbye, remembering that I still had one pressing matter to attend to. I set off towards the elevators to the upper deck, looking back once to see Chalkdust remaining at the table, glancing towards the still form of the Lieutenant. Yes, definitely something to look forward to.

Little had changed from my last visit to the Navigation room, if anything it was busier than ever. Ponies were feverishly typing into the computers, and many of them were also communicating through numerous radio channels. I caught certain words they spoke to countless listeners, which led me to believe that this was damage control of the catastrophe of the day before. Even Navigator Westward was busily using the galaxy map, searching for flight paths and points of interest the Geld may choose next, and hopefully warn them of impending invasion. I knew I would be of no use on this deck, and proceeded through the room towards the hallway on the far side. At the far end of the hall was a door labeled ‘Bridge’, one which I passed through quickly to drown out the loud chattering of the previous chamber.

The bridge was a pleasingly simple room. A few simple screens with various diagnostic data of the Normanedy’s systems, flight trajectory data, and other useful data for the pilot to do his job properly. In the center was a large chair sitting before a set of controls. As I approached it, it swiveled around slowly, revealing the colt sized stallion I was looking for. He still had the same mirthful expression from our first meeting, and began to chuckle quietly.

“You are certainly looking well Shepard.” he said with sarcastic concern. “Not everyday you get picked up by an Alicorn relic and tossed around like a ragdoll.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of answer I could give him, so I just decided to ignore the statement and stick to my task at hoof. “The Captain wants us at the Corral as soon as you can manage.”

Pipsqueak smirked. “Yea, yea. We’re coming up on the Whip Gate now.”

He turned to point out the window that looked out into space. I stepped towards it for a better view, looking out over the inky void. I couldn’t fathom the thought of attempting to count all the stars I saw and probably would only count a fraction of them all in the entire galaxy during my lifetime. I looked forward, and saw our destination. I had seen Whip Gates in pictures and replications, but never a real one up close before. Its name was certainly appropriate, the entire construction being shaped like a giant leather crop. It pulsated with blue energy contained within a spherical set of rings at its core, whirling, spinning, containing the immense power that the ancient device emitted.

Pipsqueak returned to his controls, and steered the ship alongside the massive structure. A single tendril of energy leapt from the core, enveloping the Normanedy in a fluorescent blue. I could hear the instruments of Pipsqueaks console hum loudly, as did the entire ship, charging with otherworldly power. The ship began to vibrate ever so slightly, as the vessel started lurching forward at an increasing pace. The surge of energy pouring into the ship coarsed louder and brighter, and I could see the horizon ahead of us warping and twisting. As we cleared past the Gate, the arcing tendril gave one final push before snapping resoundly, and the Normanedy launched into light speed.

I wobbled slightly as the motion dampeners kicked in, preventing me from becoming a smear on the wall. Pipsqueak hoofed expertly at his controls, never missing a beat in keeping the vessel steady as we traveled faster than light itself. Outside the Normanedy, I could see us traveling in what appeared to be a tunnel of blue light. It was rather calming to watch the galaxy whisk past us, while we sped past it with reckless abandon towards our destination.

“It sure is something, isn’t it?” Pipsqueak asked, still focused on his task.

“Yeah,” I replied. “It really is.”

“You never get bored of it, no matter how many times you watch it go by.” Pipsqueak spoke with a great reverence of space. I never had much time to care about space growing up, but now that I was here in the thick of it, I could appreciate the life I could have lost forever if things had been different. I don’t think I could ever match his fondess of space, but I probably would come pretty close if this trip continued along the same path.

“Quite the adventure this trip has turned to huh?”

“I guess so.” I said, shrugging. “First a Sleipnir shows up for me, then the colony we planned to visit just happens to get attacked the same day.”

Pipsqueak spun in his chair idly, reclining to a posture of relaxation and ease. “Things just end up being bigger than they seem don’t they?”

“I guess so. Now all that’s left to do is see where it takes us next.”

“Well, you better be damned sure that I’ll be the one taking you there,” he declared with glee. “No more boring trawler runs for me. This is the good stuff, and I can’t think of any better bird to be taking along for the ride.”

I nodded in agreement as his console began to beep. He swiveled back, regaining control of the vessel. I watched out the window as the tunnel of light began to wax and wane, and in an instant, snapped out of sight. I could feel the motion dampers strain against the momentum of the ship as we slowed from the spatial jump. Out the window, I could see that the Normanedy had emerged into a set of thick nebulous clouds, darkening the light of a nearby star. I watched as the thick puffs of space dust and gas passed us by in a blink, admiring the beauty of it all.

Through the depths of the clouds, I could see a solid shape, struggling to be seen through the hazy fog. As the ship moved along its course, the silhouette became more clear as we approached it when at last, we broke through the final wall of fog. What I saw there was a sight that I could only imagine in my wildest dreams. It was a circular construction, shaped like an enormous ring that had to be hundreds if not thousands of kilometers in diameter. Suspended above the ring were sets of large metal shells that were shaped not unlike the petals of a flower, and were they to close, would lock together and seal the inner ring away.

As we drifted nearer to this construction, I could see many ships surrounding the nearby area. Many of the vessels were unique, unlike anything I had ever seen of the fleets in the S.T.A.B.L.E armada. Hundreds of fighters raced across the sky in defensive formations, dancing acrobatically through the air. They darted past us, many of them moving with a grace that would be reserved for actual creatures of flight, not spacecraft.

Moving even closer to the station, we flew past an enormous dreadnought cruiser, the only discernible markings I could read identified it as a vessel of Unicorn design. It was a sleek and nimble construction that did little to detract from its massive size, easily dwarfing most, if not all of Earth’s own battleships. It’s wings were translucent, made from a crystalline material I had never seen before, and shimmered with prismatic colors. The bow of of the ship was shaped like the head of a pony, in deep blue and violet shades. It was clear that the Unicorns valued beauty and grace, as well as raw power, and showed it very plainly in their ships.

“Thats the Dawn Star.” the pilot remarked. “Supposedly the best vessel in the Council fleet, and the flagship of the Council itself.”

We drifted past the Dawn Star as it hovered idly in place. Scores of smaller ships seemed to dance around it, before the ship was well behind us and out of sight. The Normanedy swerved again to the right, and I looked ahead at the next set of ships that encompassed the area.

The Pegasi warships were far more practical in appearance. Their massive ships were shaped much like birds of prey, adorned with steely wings and impressive cannons. The color schemes were brighter, a mix of fiery reds and electric yellows and blues. Even the dreadnaughts bore resemblance to giant, terrifying winged creatures made of solid metal, with massive weapons attached on each wing. Where the Unicorn vessels showed power through simplicity, the Pegasi showed its dominance with raw strength of arms.

We cruised past the perimeter fleets, towards the great circular space station that was our destination. It appeared even larger as we approached it, and I could make out many more details of its construction. The ring and its arms were strewn with bright lights and towering structures. Each arm appeared to hold enclosed cities, while the center ring had many separate sections quartered off individually. Each section had to have a population of no less than hundreds of thousands of living beings using the vast station as their home. This place, this sanctuary, could have no greater meaning in its name.

A button on the main console began to flash, which Pipsqueak responded by pressing it, and speaking to his radio. “S.T.A.B.L.E control tower this is SSV Normanedy, requesting docking permission.”

The radio was silent for a moment, before a voice replied. “Roger that Normanedy, you are cleared to dock. Please proceed to dock D twenty four.”

Pipsqueak took the reins of his ship once more, veering hard to the right. We approached one of the closer arms, and I saw a magnificent city skyline fill my field of vision as we approached an empty dock near the base of the shell. The Normanedy slowed to a crawl as she coasted quietly into place, magnetic coils clamping onto the vessel, holding her steady. The hydraulic arms hissed as they locked the Normanedy into place, and the engines dulled to a quiet hum. I could hear groaning metal as the gangway slid across towards the ship, and sealed itself into the airlock.

The voice from the radio spoke once more. “Welcome Normanedy, to the Corral.”

Codex Entries Added

Vessel: The Corral Fleet

Chapter 4: The Heart of a Galaxy

“Decontamination complete. Disembarking procedure complete.”

The Normanedy’s computer went silent as the airlock slid silently behind me and South. She moved slowly across the gangway while I trotted quickly to the end and peered over the edge. My mouth fell open at the size of the dock we had stopped in. Down below us, and high above was a giant wallface that curved around the entire inner ring of the Corral. Thousands of similar gangways and platforms stuck out along it like blades of grass in an endless field. Even though this area was a small part of the entire Corral itself, it did a good job of putting its massive size into scale.

South, however, had better things to do than survey the scenery of where we were like me. She moved along the dock with placid intensity, moving past me and beelining towards the elevators at the end. She nodded to the two Earth Pony guards posted at the door, who noted her presence with a similar gesture. South entered the lift and turned around to face me. She stared at me with a bored look in her eyes that slowly shifted into impatience. Realizing that she was in no mood for looky-loo today, I rolled my eyes and begrudgingly left the edge of the dock and entered the elevator with her.

The door shut silently, and the lift rocked slightly as it started its descent into the heart of the Corral. A small screen in the corner sprung to life as the descent began, chiming with the familiar tune of a Corral Network news report. It broadcasted a few minor reports, but nothing really got my attention. There were windows in the cabin, but behind them were rows of metal slabs and other boring grey decorations. This had the makings of being the most boring elevator ride of my life, until snippets of bright lights started to break through the dull steel outside the cabin. I caught intermittent glimpses of something beyond the elevator shaft. It was bright, shining and incredibly welcoming.

Light suddenly began to fill the small elevator. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I looked out through the window to see what we had descended into. The elevator was now falling along a series of clear tubes joined to several other elevators. The nexus of elevators was descending down into a long narrow shaft that opened into a much wider room at the end. At the bottom, I saw even more light pour through the opening. As we crossed the threshold of the shaft, my jaw dropped at what came into view, a single thought running through my mind.

Unprepared.

I was unmistakingly, overwhelmingly, mind-blowingly unprepared for the sheer magnitude of the Corral. I had seen pictures, videos, looked at schematics and blueprints, listened to stories and other testimonies, but none of it helped prepare me for this moment. The Corral on the inside was unimaginably immense, far bigger than any of the cities I lived under on Earth and was thousands of times cleaner. The elevator had dropped down through the ceiling of what appeared to be a single enormous chamber. I looked out the glass elevator in unbridled awe at the pristine white pathways, crystal clear rivers and verdant green parks that spread as far as the eye could see of the luxurious inner ring of the Promenade. I pressed my face against the glass like a child peering into a toy shop, peering intently for any wonders I may have missed. Until a certain somepony’s stifled giggle decided to ruin it for me.

“Whut in tarnation are you doin?”

My reverie broken, I turned to see South rolling her eyes at me with a mirthful grin on her face. She had been leaning up against the window since we entered the elevator and casting idle glances out the opposite side. The majority of her focus was drawn to the small holo-screen in the side of the lift, still broadcasting random selections of new reports. South looked bored, despite what was happening outside the elevator..

“How can you look at all of this,” I said, with a sweeping motion of my hoof towards the window. “And not be impressed?”

South calmly trotted over to the window beside me and gazed out over the edge. Her muzzle scrunched in contemplation as her eyes slowly traveled from side to side. She quietly scoffed and shook her head, before looking back to me, unimpressed. “Too shiny.”

Too shin-. It took almost all of my will to not lose it right there in the elevator at my companion. I had known South for no more than a full day and she had proved to be an incredibly stubborn, thick headed, reckless and cocky individual and I was finding it increasingly difficult to be around her. She had shown signs of a softer side back on the Normanedy, but I knew getting her to open up about it would be akin to pulling horseshoes. I was already starting to miss Dexter, but he still needed to recover and was left on the ship to rest, leaving me with the prairie mare.

“Let’s just go find the embassies,” I said curtly, quickly changing the subject. “I don’t think the Captain will want to be alone with the ambassador for too long.”

South nodded and she trotted back to her side of the elevator. There was simply too much going on around me to sit idly and stare, but I had a commitment to keep. Maybe, just maybe, when this was all over I would have some time to explore. That was as pleasant a thought as any.

“Do you even know where we gotta go?”

I recalled the set of instructions Captain Quartermane gave me before he left us to prepare on the Normanedy. We were supposed to wait a while to see if Poindexter would recover in time, but barring that we were to leave to rejoin with the Captain after about an hour. The Captain also insisted we come with our equipment ready, a request that I found odd. If this was the heart of galactic power, why would we need to protect ourselves? South had no problems with donning her armor again, so I complied simply to avoid further argument. As for actual directions to rejoin with the Captain, the instructions were alarmingly simple.

“We take this elevator down to the Corral Security offices, then talk to somepony named Corrina for directions from there.”

“Hmph,” South huffed. “Easy enough I suppose.”

She returned to her idle gaze out her window, while my thoughts drifted back to the matter at hoof. I wondered what the Captain and the ambassador would be able to come up with in a short hour and if any of it would be useful in a Council trial. There were so many things that were inconclusive, like the Geld involvement, the relic, Nimbus’s death at the hands of a supposedly rogue Sleipnir. None of it made any sense to me and I doubt anypony else would make much of it either.

My attention was drawn to the small screen behind us by another chiming sound. It was an alert for a special Extra-Net broadcast. A picture of a planet with several Stable warships in orbit around it flashed across the screen; a very familiar planet.

”Stable Alliance Military forces have finally contained the sudden Geld invasion of Equestria Prime and are now searching through adjacent sectors to discover any further threats to Earth Pony colonies. The reason behind the invasion is still under investigation and Corral Council members will be adjudicating over evidence in a hearing, later today.”

The remainder of the report turned to dull static in my head. It was regrettable what happened to Equestria Prime, but at least it did not take long for S.T.A.B.L.E to arrive and put an end to the Geld threat. It was strange that they were keeping quiet about the Alicorn relic, or Artemis’s involvement. There had to be a reason for keeping it quiet. Hopefully the answer would be found at the ambassador's office. South was still leaning against the wall of the elevator, with her forelegs crossed. Her eyes were shut and appeared to be actively ignoring the news report, but the way her tail twitched in irritation proved otherwise.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

South was quiet for a moment, slowly opening her eyes before looking towards me. She looked like she was somewhere between anger and calm in the way she stared at me, before breaking eye contact to gaze back out the window. “It’s just funny is all, how quick they are in keepin’ what happened back there quiet until they can talk about it all official like. We were there. We know what happened down there. An’ we can’t say a ruttin’ thing about it to anypony. Not t’ the survivors, or t’ the families of the ones that died.”

She rapped her hoof against the glass in anger, before turning back to me. “So no, I ain’t alright. Not until we bring this Artemis bastard down for what he did to mah friends.”

She turned around to listen to the remainder of the news regarding Equestria Prime. I just stared absently in her general direction, uncertain of what to say, if there was anything I could say. An awkward silence descended upon the elevator, not even the gentle hum of the mechanism did much to alleviate the tension. This was going to be a long ride.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator finally reached its destination, whirring gently as it came to a halt. The doors slid open quietly, revealing an active scene on the other side. Droves of ponies rushed back and forth in the hallway outside the elevator. Many of them were chatting among themselves, others hurrying back and forth with papers bulging out of saddle bags and some even escorting sour looking individuals in hoofcuffs. I stepped out of the elevator into what appeared to be a giant atrium. There was no ceiling that I could make out, only walls that encompassed a series of hallways and stairwells. The words C-SEC were painted numerous times along the sides of the room I stood in and guards stood dutifully in front of each sign, stone faced and stiff.

I trotted down the stairs from the elevator into the atrium proper, looking for signage that would direct me to my destination. I stopped at the bottom when I realised that South was not following me. She was still at the top of the stairs, her eyes darting about in panic. I sighed and trotted back towards her. “What is it now?” I asked in a hushed voice.

She was breathing quickly, her jaw set and teeth bared. “Whut do you mean, what is it? Look!” she seethed.

I looked again. Still the same ponies wandering about doing their jobs, the same ponies working together to protect the citizens of the Corral. In an effort to humor South, I did attempt to look a bit harder. The ponies were all wearing a similar style of blue armor. It looked rather imposing on them, almost doubling their actual size. It reminded me of the armor that Nimbus wore, albite hers looked far lighter and more maneuverable. They even had the same strange styles of paints on their faces as Nimbus, done in varieties of colors and designs that did a similar job of adding further intensity to their bright coloring. Then there was the fact that all of these ponies had-

Oh. I looked at every pony that was in view, confirming my realisation. All of them had wings. All of them, all of C-Sec, or at least this particular office, were all Pegasi. I let the reality sink in a bit, before I simply shrugged. They were Pegasi, big deal. I still didn’t get what all the fuss was about. It wasn’t like I was going to have any problems here, but my companion on the other hoof...

South was still standing at the crest of the stairs, on the verge of some sort of mental breakdown. I trotted beside her and nudged her forward. She resisted of course, but only slightly. I heaved a weary sigh. “Look South, I know you have issues with the Pegasi, thought I don’t know why exactly. I certainly don’t understand it, but that’s not my problem here.” I poked my hoof at her and she vaguely showed attentiveness.

I could be nice about it. Clearly South had issues with non Earth Ponies, but the fact that it was slowing us down was going to cause problems. Problems that we needed to avoid. Sometimes a dose of tough love is exactly what is needed in a time like this.

“My problem is why you can’t seem to put it behind you and move on. We have a job to do here. All that justice you want for Equestria Prime isn’t going to happen if you just sit here and act like all the feathered ponies down there are going to eat you.”

She looked at me, probably more shocked that I was scolding her than the fact I was using what little authoritative strength I had on her for compliance. I didn’t like what I had said to her, but I hoped South was a big enough mare to not hold it against me, or immediately snap on me right there in the middle of C-Sec. An argument in the middle of a security station was not something I wanted to be a part of. Her eyes wavered downwards, before her head hung low in sullen compliance. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just git outta here.”

She trotted loudly down the stairs, but at least she was moving. I sighed in relief at this minor victory for myself, noting that I was probably going to have to apologise for it later and rushed down to follow her. We were both stopped at the exit by two Pegasus stallions guarding the checkpoint. They requested our identification, which we provided obediently with a wave of our omni-tools. Their scanners bleeped approvingly and the guards let us through. South pushed her way past them quickly and moved on through the doors, while I remained a moment to ask the guards if they could give me directions.

“Excuse me sir, but where can I-”

The guards looked away, as did I at the sound of shouting, shouting that was quickly getting nearer. All eyes were fixed on a grey pegasus that came into view around the corner with a scowl on his face. He was trotting very loudly away from a second larger pegasus. The former was wearing a styled blue tunic of unknown design, while the latter was wearing full security gear, complete with helmet and a black visor. The two appeared to be in a heated argument, the smaller of the two attempting to walk away from the other, while the larger one continuously darted in front of the other attempting to get his attention.

“Absolutely not!” the smaller pegasus barked, turning away again from the other.

“But Sir, I know I have something solid! I just need more time!” The second Pegasus pleaded. The voice was distorted underneath the helmet, but the insistence in it was clear as day. The armor he was wearing was far bulkier and not as form fitting as the other Pegasi present. Even his tail was hidden under the black and blue canvas material in between the joints of the armor.

“No, You had your time and it’s been used up. The Council will not wait any longer. If you didn’t find anything useful, then you aren’t going to.”

The large one darted in front of the officer, flaring his wings out to force his superior to halt. With his wings outstretched, I noticed the feathers of his frosted white wings were tinged a bright red at the tips. “But I know he’s guilty and I have the proof, I just need to-”

The officer held up his hoof to stop his subordinate mid sentence. He flared his wings in response and actually managed to tower over the larger pegasus before him, not in size, but in sheer presence. “I know you need more time. I know you need more proof. It’s the same excuse every time. Just like with all the others. You have all these hunches Firestorm, but nothing to back it up.”

The officer turn away, pumping his wings to get airborne and hovered just above the ground for a moment.

“The sooner you realise how C-Sec is supposed to conduct itself, the sooner you might actually get somepony to listen to your ‘hunches’.” He gave a mighty beat of his wings and rocketed away up out of the atrium.

The remaining pegasus watched him leave as the C-Sec office descended into silence. All eyes were on him as he stood watching the officer vanish from sight. He stamped his hooves in anger before turning his attention to those around him. He looked around the room, nopony daring to meet his gaze as they returned to their duties. Eventually his head faced my direction. I was still standing next to the checkpoint guards, but they had both returned to idly attending the gate while I continued to stare at the beleaguered security pony. He was looking directly at me and was incredibly still as he did so. I fidgeted nervously as his gaze remained unbroken. He cocked his head sideways sharply, an action I could easily translate as ‘what are you looking at?’, before he pumped his wings and rocketed away, a corona of white and red streaking behind him.

One of the guards next to me chuckled. “Looks like old Stormy is on the warpath again. When will that pony learn?”

“I wonder why the Captain keeps that hothead around?” the other added. “Never gets anything useful done.”

I stared vacantly at the spot where the two Pegasi had been standing, wondering what the argument had been all about. The Captain had mentioned the Council’s involvement, maybe the Council had a lot more on their hooves than Earth Pony colonies to worry about. And the other Pegasus, he said he had proof that ‘he’ was guilty. I wonder who they were talking about. It couldn’t have been anything we were concerned with, what reason could a Pegasus have to be concerned with our problems? My thoughts trailed off as I realised one of the guards was speaking to me. “Is there something you needed?”

“Oh, I, um...” I muttered, trying to remember what I was asking before the argument. “I was looking for directions on how to get to the embassies.”

He pointed a hoof out the doors behind me. “Out the door, just outside the C-Sec offices, talk to Corrina at her kiosk. If that is everything I’ll have to ask you to move along please” He waved me along with a hoof, returning to his other duties. I stepped away from them as they tended to others coming and going through the terminal. At least this Corrina wasn’t far, so we could get moving quickly. I smirked at the continuing simplicity of my task as I approached the exit to C-Sec and trotted through the door out into the Promenade.

“Whut took you so long?”

South’s question was on me the second I stepped out the door. She was leaning on a pillar on the opposite side of the door and staring directly at me with the same bored eyes she had since the elevator. Was she going to be like this the entire time? There had to be something on this station that would excite her, or at least make her less of a stick in the mud. I moved towards her, shaking my head at the unlikeliness of anything interesting happening today, at least anything interesting to her.

“Just seeing Pegasus politics at work,” I replied sarcastically. “Very dramatic.”

She raised an eyebrow at the vagueness of my answer and gave a quiet huff. I chuckled to myself; if she was going to push my buttons, I would push hers. Walking past her, I came out of the covered antechamber of C-Sec into a wide pathway. Opened sky spread out all around the circular inner ring that was the Promenade of the Corral. I could see the immense space we were in bend around in the distance, coiling upwards and out of sight. The ceiling was painted with puffs of white that slowly moved of their own accord, giving the illusion of a partly cloudy sky. On the other side of a short barrier on the edge of the path I could see an artificial river trickling through a vast channel below. The water was pristine, almost luminescent in the brightness of color all around. It wasn’t just the construction of the Promenade that awed me however, it was the diversity of those who inhabited it.

From my high vantage point outside the C-Sec offices I could see many different creatures in all directions. My gaze darted about, observing all of the different groupings of races that were moving through what appeared to be a large park area below me. I saw groups of Pegasi civilians walking with Unicorns and even Earth Ponies. They trotted along leisurely through the square enjoying what appeared to be a pleasant walk in a park, with no animosity between them. At least somepony’s could get past old hatreds and learn to be friends.

At a nearby bench I saw a pair of lanky robed bipeds engaged in idle chatter. Their lengthy clothing covered much of their bodies, but I could see grey furry limbs protruding from the usual places. They stood hunched on twisted legs and they gestured to each other with clawed appendages. Despite the gaunt and dishevelled appearance of their bodies, they seemed to comport themselves in an almost regal fashion with how they bowed politely to each other and anyone that passed by.

Beside them was a lone pony with silver colored limbs ushering a group of foals through the road. There was something odd with the way she carried herself. She almost seemed to glide as she walked along with the children in tow. She was not wearing much clothing, but it was not indecently so. It was like she didn’t need any. A nagging doubt in my mind told me that there was something much more to this pony that met the eye, but unless I got closer I would not discover it here. I guess I should have payed more attention in class after all.

South coughed and my attention turned back to her.

“Where’s this Corrina we’re supposed t’ talk to?”

I looked around the immediate area. The pathway was very wide and open, the tall pillars laid up against the chamber walls. But despite the clear view nothing that looked like a kiosk stood out, or anything at all nearby for that matter. The only thing that appeared remotely out of place was a lone terminal overlooking the river below to our left. Upon closer inspection the terminal had a single command displayed, labeled ‘Help’. South and I looked at the button tentatively, but it was obvious that we were lost and some help would be nice. I placed a hoof on the terminal and it flashed a series of lights in reply before going blank.

A second later, a burst of color flourished behind the terminal. Vibrant shades of blue and purple swirled as a glowing mass of color and light coalesced into solid shapes. Slowly the edges hardened and eventually settled into the shape of a holographic pony. It stood in front of us at the terminal, its form outlined by lines of blending hues as the final details of its visage took shape. It was a Unicorn, or at least the effigy of one, evident by the protrusion from its head. It also appeared feminine, the shape of its body outlined by gentle curves and a soft smile. Its genesis completed, her eyes fluttered open to reveal two orbs of glowing white, which were directed straight at me.

“Hello,” she began. Her voice was melodious, ethereal, but lacking...something. I didn’t know how to describe it, but it was like she was missing something vital behind her words. If I could place a word on it, I could would say that it was as if she had no soul in her voice, and the lack of which made me uneasy around her. “Welcome to the Promenade. I am Corrina, a Corral designated Virtual Intelligence designed to assist new visitors. How may I help you today?”

“Uh...” I began. I was still a little distracted by Corrina’s ‘emergence’ to be able to think straight. I had worked around V.I.’s before, but they were never given forms of their own, even if this one was only a hologram. The Unicorns certainly had a flair for beauty and the dramatic, evidenced clearly by the ghost like presence standing before me. Questions started flooding my mind, but I quickly silenced the torrent and sifted through the more appropriate ones to ask.

“What is your primary function?”

Corrina nodded. “I am a data quantifying and relaying program designed to access and deliver requested information and other relevant data to those who request them, barring restricted access.”

Ok, now this was cool. A library of potentially endless knowledge about the Corral at my hooftips and I was going to make the most of it while I could.

“What can you tell me of the Corral?”

Corrina tilted her head, confused. “I’m sorry. Could you please be more specific in your inquiry?”

Hmm. Specific. I thought carefully as I looked again at the impressive chamber I was standing in. The Corral was beyond incredible and an engineer such as myself would love to know how it was put together.

“How are the Corral districts organised?”

Corrina nodded approvingly. “The Corral is made up of two distinctive sections, comprised of multiple districts in between them; the Promenade and the Warrens. The inner ring of the Promenade serves as home to the Corral’s vital services, such as the Corral Embassies, hospitals, C-Sec headquarters and other high class establishments, as well as domiciles. You will also find the Corral Council Tower here, at the pinnacle of the ring, where the Corral Council sits and adjudicates over galactic matters.”

“The Warrens encompasses the numerous districts that are housed in the Corral’s five arms and has been used largely as residential and commercial sectors. However, due to the much larger size of the Warrens, it is far more difficult for C-Sec to maintain order and peace. You will find many core C-Sec offices within the Warrens, as well as a popular nightlife scene if you are brave enough to take the risks involved.”

Interesting. The Corral just seemed like a giant mega city; complete with high class, middle class and low class and all the bits in between. It was just the sheer scope of its all that amazed me and another question came to mind.

“What is the current population of the Corral?”

Corrina stared forward a moment, completely still. The white of her eyes shifted as streams of light darted across them in an instant, before she blinked and looked back to me. “As per the most recent survey of date, the current population of the Corral is estimated at nine point five three million. Sixty two percent of the total population is equine and the remaining thirty eight percent are under other classifications.”

Other classifications? I did see that one creature that stood on two legs, but I had no idea what it was, maybe that was one of the other races that inhabited the Corral and maybe Corrina could explain them to me.

“What are the other classifications?”

Corrina began to speak, before a hoof was placed on my shoulder. I saw South, annoyed, staring directly at me with angry eyes. “While Ah would love to sit here and gab over a bunch of useless information, we got us a job to do, don’t we Shepard?”

Killjoy. I sighed in compliance and changed my question. “What is the quickest way to the Earth Pony Embassies?”

Corrina pointed her luminescent hoof to the right. “If you follow this walkway for ten minutes, you will find yourself in the heart of the Embassy district.”

“Thank you, Corrina.” I said, before turning to South. “Let’s go.”

Corrina nodded again, as her form began to flicker. “You are most welcome. Enjoy your stay on the Promenade. Logging you out, Shepard.” And she was gone.

I froze a moment. How did she know who I was? I would have asked her again, but South nudged me forward. “C’mon now, we’ve wasted enough time with the pretty shiny pony. The Captain’s gonna want to see us on the double.”

I sighed again. “Fine, whatever.” I grumbled as we walked away from the kiosk and down the ivory path.

The Embassy District appeared to be a nexus of doors, elevators and stairwells stretching all over the nearby area like a maze. Me and South walked along the path, passing by many windows and occupied offices. The scenery remained drearily constant until we reached what appeared to be the heart of the district center. A large circular desk stood out from the countless entrances, surrounded by several ponies waiting in line. Seeing no alternative we approached the gaggle of ponies to wait our turn.

South maintained her uninterested posture, staring straight ahead. She looked like she was actively avoiding looking around. Her continued boredom of this fantastic place was wearing on me. I on the other hoof, continued to look haphazardly around, much to the objection of my straining neck, to see as much as I possibly could. I could hear the ponies in line ahead talking, gossiping among themselves, but none of it stood out to me as particularly interesting; Corral politics, future Geld attacks, extremist terrorist groups and even pie recipes drifted past my ear from inane conversations as I waited patiently for directions from the receptionist.

The herd ahead of us finally trickled away and South gave me another push forward as our turn finally arrived. I stepped up to the desk, but there was no pony there to greet me. I looked around to see if there was another button to summon a VI, when a silver hoof waved out from underneath the desk. “Just a moment!” A gentle voice chimed from under the table. “I just dropped something. Now where did it..ah! Here it is.”

I watched as a teal coated backside rise from the ground and slowly straightened up to its full height. The receptionist smiled happily at me, as she corrected the glasses that were crookedly hanging from her snout. “Welcome to the Corral Embassies. How may I help you today?”

I returned the friendly smile. “I’d like directions....to.....the.....”

My words trailed off at a sudden realisation, one of the many realisations I’d been having since I started this crazy trip. At a first glance, this pony looked like a normal turquoise colored Earth Pony with amber eyes, but as I stared, things I did not notice before were sending warning signals in my brain. Her legs, first off, from the shoulder right to the hoof, were not simply silver covered, they were made of metal! This pony had robotic limbs or something of similar design, as if she had been in some kind of horrible accident, but the weird definitely didn’t stop there. Around her neck was a strange collar filled with what I assumed to be water and bubbles and her coat glistened as if was permanently wetted. Finally, the way she was sitting at the desk was completely alien to me, her rear planted on the chair and her back straight upright, with her forelegs resting on the desk and her hooves pressed together together.

Confusion set in on her features as my silence continued. My eyes simply widened in awe as she stood up hurriedly in worry. “Are you ok? Is something the matter?” She leaned forward and I caught sight of her tail flitting around. Her hairless tail. No, it wasn’t even a hairless tail. It was just a mass of muscle with fins on the end, shiny and slippery just like the rest of her. What in the galaxy was this thing?

“I...you...uh....pony?” I stuttered pointlessly, backing up slightly. I ran into something that firmly cut off my escape, which turned out to be South, who did not share my state of confusion and panic. No, she just had her usual look of disapproval and irritation as she sighed vehemently. “Ah swear, it’s like you’ve never seen uh Sea-Pony before!” she chided.

A Sea-Pony? I had heard about such a race during my training years, but I thought they were just myths and rumors. An actual race of half pony and half fish? It just sounded ridiculous. But here one was, sitting right in front of me, plain as day. I turned to look at the receptionist again, who seemed to be understanding what was happening. She returned to her chair and the gentle smile from moments ago returned in force. The collar around her neck continued to bubble lazily with a range of luminescent colors. Oh! A breathing device! Thats what it is! And the legs must be...

Upon closer inspection, the metallic limbs were indeed attached by some sort of harness around her dolphin like body, which looked like it could easily be detached with a bit of effort. I assumed that her front fins were hidden underneath the forelegs and together the false limbs did an astounding job of making her far more equine in appearance. She noticed my searching eyes and struck a pose with her forelegs to display them better. “Most Sea-Ponies dye their casings to match their coats, but I like the silver. Such a radiant color.” She fawned. “My name is Aqualia, how can I help you...?”

“South,” my companion said in my place. “An’ this gawkin’ gussy is Shepard. We’re here to speak to the Earth Pony Ambassador.”

Aqualia smiled again. “Of course, let me see if he is busy.”

She turned her attention to her console and after a few moments of searching looked back to us. “He appears to be in a meeting with one of the Council, but you are both expected.” She stood again and pointed at one of the many doors behind her. “If you follow that door all the way to the end you will find his office there.”

Apparently satisfied with that answer, South uttered a quick “thank you,” and stepped aside quickly, starting towards the door with me following behind. I looked back to see Aqualia already busy with another visitor from the line up that had grown behind us. Once we were out of earshot I hurried up beside South, a thought nagging at me. “I don’t get you South.” I said quietly, hoping the vagueness of the statement would pique her interest.

It did. She slowed to a stop just before the door and stared at me. “Whut do you mean?”

“When we hang around a Pegasus, you have a panic attack, but when you introduce me to a Sea-Pony, it’s like nothing is wrong. At first I just thought you hated all non Earth Ponies, but now it obvious you only hate Pegasi.” I gave her a hard look to strengthen my next question. “Why?”

Her stare wavered a moment. “Ah don’t hate the Pegasi.” she said quietly. “Ah just....don’t trust em.”

“Can you tell me why?”

South stood silent for a while before pressing the switch to open the door to the offices. She stepped through, her head shaking slowly. “Maybe some other time,” she said quietly.

I sighed, giving up on the matter for now. One day I was going to have the time to question South on her issues, but that would have to wait till after the Council hearing. Hopefully the Captain was having more luck with the ambassador than I was with South.

Shouting. There was a large amount of shouting coming from the ambassadors officer as me and South stepped through the entrance. The room was actually a large veranda with a wide balcony opening out into the Promenade. A large desk sat just in front of the edge, but nopony was sitting at it. Instead I saw a dark tan pony with elegant clothing and a greying black mane standing and shouting at somepony, or something hidden behind a wall. The door slid shut behind us, to which a second pony stepped from behind the obstructing wall. It was Quartermane. He looked tired, but had still had the strength to bring a hoof up to his mouth to signal for us to remain quiet.

We trotted silently towards him and looked around the corner of the room to see what was the focus of the ambassadors ire. “Twenty four hours!” he shouted. “This is absolutely unacceptable! Twenty four hours and no assistance whatsoever from the Council, while the Geld slaughter our ponies like animals.”

I stepped around the corner just in time to see to whom the ambassador was speaking. It was a hologram. A set of projectors sat in a row along the right wall, only one of which was active. The image was of a navy blue Unicorn, dressed in an elegant dress of ruby red. She was shaking her head in an unamused fashion, while the Ambassador continued his tirade.

“The Council would have intervened faster if it were a Unicorn colony, or even a Pegasus colony, while we continued to be treated like second class citizens!”

“The Unicorns,” the hologram snapped. “Or the Pegasi don’t settle colonies so close to the Everfree systems, Ambassador. If not for the sudden appearance of the Geld, it is surprising that we are involved at all.”

The Ambassador sneered. “Yes, the Geld. Far more important a task to round up the renegade synthetics than assist dying colonists, when you could have obliterated the lot of them centuries ago.”

The Ambassador began to pace in front of the image. “A lack of foresight is what allowed the Geld to become a threat in the first place, Councilor and now they are being led by one of your precious Sleipnir like toys.”

The Councilmare raised her hoof for silence. “This meeting is not to discuss the so called actions of Sleipnir Artemis. The testimonies and evidence will be given at the hearing, not before. If that is all you have to ask ambassador, the rest of the Council and I will meet you at the Corral tower in two hours for the hearing. Please don’t be late.”

The projector flickered and the Unicorns’ image was gone. The ambassador stared forward silently for a long time. The scowl on his face had not subsided, nor the angry seething from his nostrils. He eventually rounded to me and South and his face shifted into something I thought to be much scarier; a smile.

“Welllll”, he began with mock sincerity. “If it isn’t the conquering heroes from Equestria Prime! Specialist Shepard and Sergeant Major South, the very ponies who got us into this mess!”

The false kindness in his voice slowly drained away into sincere anger as he trotted slowly towards us. South stood her ground, her face mimicking the Captain's stone faced expression. I, on the other hoof was seriously considering a tactical retreat. The ambassador halted just before Quartermane, but stared at us as he continued talking. “Quartermane, I do hope this isn’t the entire group that ruined this chance for us. I would love to discipline them all at once to save time.”

Quartermane huffed indignantly. “Lieutenant Poindexter is still recovering from the ordeal, you will only have Shepard and South’s testimony at the hearing.”

“Excellent, the words of a soldier and a engineer will weigh magnificently against the words of a Sleipnir at the hearing,” the ambassador groaned sarcastically. He looked straight at me with accusation in his eyes. “You were supposed to be our first step into the Sleipnir, Shepard. Not the one that gets us banned forever. Perhaps I chose too hastily in advancing your dossier to Nimbus. Had I known you would be the one that would get her killed, I would have considered other options.”

“I didn’t get her killed!”

I regretted the words the second they left my mouth, but it was too late now. The ambassador shook his head disappointedly. “Then who else is to blame then, Shepard? Artemis? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to accuse a Sleipnir of a crime and succeed, even with an eye witness? The Council would sooner accuse you of Nimbus’ death and the destruction the Alicorn relic to be done with it, rather than one of their own chosen soldiers. As far as the Council is concerned, the word of a Sleipnir is greater than anypony elses.”

“Whut can we do then?” South asked, looking at Quartermane.

The Captain sighed. “There isn’t much we can do without some solid evidence. C-Sec had made some inquiries on our behalf, but we won’t know what they learned, if anything, until the hearing.”

“Which will be next to nothing if a Sleipnir of Artemis’s caliber has any good sense.” The ambassador added, “Sleipnir are above the law and anything they involve themselves with might as well not exist as credible evidence against them.”

“So basically,” he breathed slowly, adding an air of finality to the conversation. “We have nothing.”

“Then we go in with nothing and hope for the best then?” I said jokingly.

The ambassador did not approve. He trained his scowl directly at me, then looked expectantly at Captain Quartermane. “Perhaps we should go speak with the C-Sec commander and ask them about their findings beforehoof to try and work something out.”

The Captain nodded silently and stood still as the ambassador trotted past him towards the exit. He turned to us once the diplomat was sufficiently away. “There isn’t much more we can do here until the hearing. All I can suggest is you two take this time to explore the promenade a bit more before the Council convenes.”

South and I nodded and Quartermane turned to follow the ambassador. “Aqualia can give you directions when you leave. Just try not to cause any trouble, I don’t think the ambassador needs any more damage control to do for today.” South smirked at the Captains remark and I couldn’t help but join her. He walked out the door and he looked back at us one final time before the door closed, nodding.

South and I stood still in silence for a long while. Growing bored I meandered over to the balcony and looked out over the Promenade. Little had changed in the ten or so minutes since we had entered the embassies from our journey here. There were still droves of ponies and others wandering up and down the lanes, going about their day like nothing was wrong. I envied them of their carefree bliss, if only slightly, because my life was steadily becoming far more complicated than I ever expected it to be. I turned to the sound of hoofsteps, seeing South heading for the door. “Where are you going?”

She looked at me, a pensive look on her face. “I reckon there’s a lot of thinkin’ to do on the subject at hoof, an’ there’s only one place I do any thinkin’.”

She turned away, trotting through the door and before it shut behind her, I heard her shout back. “Ah’m goin’ to get a drink!”

A few moments later, after my brain decided to register what South had said, I dashed to the door to chase after her. Quartermane asked us to stay out of trouble and letting South anywhere near a bar alone sounded like a bad idea.

I exited out into the nexus of the embassies and caught up to South, much faster than I thought I would. She had stopped suddenly behind the reception desk and appeared to be listening to a conversation between Aqualia and.....nothing. I stopped beside my eavesdropping companion, looking at her quizzically. She responded with a shrug and looked back to the desk. We stepped around it slowly, listening to the conversation continue.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Aqualia repeated to the unseen conversant, shaking her head. “But I must ask that you do your preaching elsewhere. The embassies are not sanctioned under freedom of religious practices.”

“Oh but you misunderstand,” a calm, nasally voice countered. “My words come from the Founders themselves, surely even you can see their importance, Sea-Clan.”

I made it around the desk to see a short and stout figure standing before the desk, barely standing over its height and straining itself to stand as tall as it could. It was round and furry with a pointed snout with whiskers and wearing a pair of comically large thick lensed goggles. Its short stubby limbs were covered with leathery garb and had a set of spindly digits on each one. I didn’t even know where to begin addressing the oddity of what I was looking at, but South saw fit to let a tiny giggle slip from her mouth.

The creature rounded on us and I saw the tiny pinpricks of its eyes widen considerably in its oversized glasses. He raised an arm at us as if it was....saluting?

“Hail to you, members of the Earth-Clan!” he praised, his voice rising slightly in excitement. He flourished his statement with a little bow. “It pleases this member of the Mole-Clan to be in the presence of a fellow earth dweller. How may I be of service to you?”

I looked at this tiny creature addressing me and wondered who was slowly going crazier. “Members of what-clan?” I asked, a look of obvious perplexment on my face.

“Ahem,” Aqualia intervened. “The Mole Clan Collective tend to revere those who live close to the earth as they do. They were...how do I put this?” she paused, scratching her chin thoughtfully with her silver hoof. “Ah, yes. Optimistically overjoyed, when the Earth Ponies joined the Corral.”

“I see...” My face scrunched in confusion. A race of creatures that revered us because we lived on the ground? I looked again at this... Mole. Despite his height, he did appear to have very strong arms and the digits on his... paws I think they were called, looked like they were made for digging. But the fact that these stout little diggers respected us so much out of a shared connection to the ground we walked on was a bit much. I for one was glad when I broke free of Earth and came out here into space.

“Whut are th’ Founders?” South asked.

Aqualia chuckled softly. “It’s a play on the word foundation. You have to start from the ground up and you always start with the foundation. The Founders, as the Mole-Clans put it, are the creators of everything, a race of beings that predate even the Alicorns.”

“If I may correct you, Sea-Clan,” the Mole intoned. “But Founders are far more than idle trivia and I would ask that you do not assume them as such.”

The Mole turned back to us, pointing a long crooked claw at the Sea-Pony. “I ask of you, benevolent Earth-Clans, to explain to this creature to allow me to spread my gospel without incident.”

I wasn’t much for religion,and this mole wasn’t helping his case much. I did not appreciate his condescending tone towards Aqualia and even South looked indignant towards his rudeness towards the ever kind receptionist. Aqualia shook her head and sighed quietly. “I have a great deal of respect for the beliefs of others, even my own kind has a variety of the theology.”

She raised a hoof, pointing out a sign that redundantly reminded us where we were. “But this is the Corral embassies. This is the only place that religious preaching isn’t allowed, because this is where all of the Corral races meet and discuss between themselves, without religious persecution or bullying.” She directed her final comment with a stern glare at the mole, who crossed his stubby arms solemnly.

“The last thing the Council wants is an incident between the many races that live here over a difference of faith. Can you please convince him to leave?” she pleaded. “He will listen to you.”

I looked tentatively at her, then at the squat little thing that was staring at me expectantly. His stance had not changed and was still actively ignoring Aqualia’s presence. I had no idea what she expected me to do, I’d never dealt with religious fanatics before and I’d probably end up making it worse before I made it any better. But I guess I had to start somewhere.

“Tell me about the Founders,” I asked, moving towards him. “What are they like?”

The mole looked like he had been waiting all day for somepony to ask that question. He uncrossed his arms and raised them into the air, waving them excitedly. “The Founders are the origin of existence itself. They are beings that we, as lesser creatures will never hope to understand. They exist beyond the veil of time and space itself and it is by their very minds that we are allowed to exist.”

He took a moment to breathe, his snout making a labored snorting sounds with each breath. “We exist because the Founders will it and we exists for them to observe their creations.”

If I was supposed to be learning something new, it wasn’t happening. The Founders sounded like any other deity I’d ever heard of, just with a different name. This mole-prophet, if thats how he would refer to himself, was probably just as intent at spreading his gospel as any other religious fanatic. I needed something else if I was going to have any chance at dissuading him. “Why do the Founders observe us?”

“They observe from beyond our sight, so that they can learn from our experiences of how we live our lives, so that they may better themselves.”

Wait, what? I looked at the mole intently, but his expression was completely serious. At least I think it was. Those inch thick goggles were not making it easy to read him. “Why would. All powerful beings. Need to better themselves?” I asked staggeredly.

The mole did not waver for a second. “There are always lessons to be learned, knowledge to be found, skills to be mastered. Even for the Founders.” he remarked, shaking a claw at me. “They have faltered from their destined path and so they created us as a means to return. It is through their observations of our harmonious existence that they may return to grace.”

The only destiny I felt like embellishing was the headache I was no doubt fated to have at this very moment. This mole seemed prepared to continue all day if he wanted to. I saw that Aqualia’s smile had finally faded into a disapproving frown, signaling to me that this needed to end. The tale of the Founders had its share of absurdities, but at least he finally gave me something I could work with. “Now explain something to me,” I said calmly, matching the tone of the stout preacher. “If the Founders endeavor to learn from our ‘harmonious’ existence, wouldn’t your actions here serve to defy them?”

He shook his head. “That is the very reason I am here. To spread the word of the Founders to all, so none fall from their loving gaze.” He cast a claw upwards, pointing at nothing.

“But, as the kindly receptionist here has stated,” I countered. “Your being here could cause an interspecies conflict. That doesn’t sound very harmonious to me.”

He pointed an accusatory claw at Aqualia, who shirked away from the gangly appendage. “They have yet to see the truth and do not know the true grace of the Founders. They believe the Alicorn’s are their true forbears, but it was the Founders that created them, as they did us.”

“So you are saying that we worship the Alicorns as false gods?”

He shook his finger at me. “Not at all. The Alicorn’s were the first to be given life by the Founders. They are their chosen ones, and the Mole-Clan revere them as strongly as any race. But it is the accomplishments of the Founders that is truly worthy of praise. Without them, we would not exist and the harmonious existence they had planned would crumble to nothing.”

I smirked. “But your rudeness towards another species just because they don’t live on or in the ground doesn’t sound very harmonious to me.” I approached him slowly and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Are you sure you aren’t going about this the wrong way?”

He did not answer. He simply stood there, staring at me intently. His nose whistled slightly as he breathed, the nasally sound the only thing disturbing the relative peace around me.

“Why do you seek to dissuade me from my task, Earth-Clan? Have you too not heard the word of the Founders?”

I shook my head. “I’m not trying to dissuade you on proclaiming your faith, but I would assume that even the Founders had rules and followed them. It is no place of mine or anypony to step over your faith, but we all our own rules to follow.”

“What would you have me do then, Earth-Clan? If they would not listen to the word of the Founders here, then where would they?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. The Corral is a large place, and I’m certain you could find a perfect place to do your preaching without risking a conflict.”

“You could try the terraces around the Promenade”, Aqualia added. “Many ponies walk through those areas daily. It would be the perfect audience.” The mole didn’t make any indication that he had heard her, but I could see that the idea had made it through his mind regardless.

The mole was quiet. He scratched his chin, thinking deeply.

“Perhaps...” he began slowly. “There is merit to your claims, Earth-Clan.” He bowed away, breaking my grasp of him and stepped from the desk. “Perhaps I have sullied the good word of the Founders and must rethink my gospel.” He waddled away, not uttering another word. I sighed in relief at diffusing the situation and turned to Aqualia.

She was clapping her hooves together, which made gentle clinking noises. Her kindly smile returned and I felt a tinge of happiness wash over me as it did. There was something hypnotic about this sea-pony that made it impossible to be upset with her nearby and I was grateful for that feeling.

“Well done!” she chirped. “You have no idea how relieved I am to have him leave willingly. I would have hated to call C-Sec on the poor thing.”

“Ya didn’t seem that way b’fore,” South chided.

The soldier mare did little to dull Aqualia’s mood. She merely held the smile and looked at my companion. “It was unfortunately my duty to enforce that silly rule, but that doesn’t make it any less mean to have him carted away. He was only doing what he believed in and you can’t fault him for that.”

“No,” South said agreedly. “I don’t suppose Ah could.”

South looked away and kicked the ground quietly, having been caught in her own self righteousness. Aqualia paid no attention to her and looked back at me. “Now then, Shepard was it? I do believe I will have to owe you something for your help.”

I’d been only on the Corral for an hour or so and was already accruing favors from its populous. Things were certainly looking up. Being in a generous mood, I decided to indulge in my companions prior aspiration. “I’ll have to hold you to that at some point, I’m sure. But for now, could you direct me and my friend to the nearest bar? I believe some victory drinks are in order.” I finished with a silly little victory pose, to which Aqualia swiftly giggled. I wasn’t sure if South had noticed, because she had softly trotted away into the walkways, leaving me alone, again.

“Well let me see...” she began, looking at her computer. “I suppose you could try the Den. Its the closest to walk to, though it is technically part of the Warrens. If you just keep going along the path till the first entrance to the Warrens you see, it will be there. You can’t miss it.”

I nodded and dashed away to catch up with South, saying a few quick goodbyes to the friendly sea-pony. Thankfully South had gone in the right direction and was moving at a moderate pace. I walked astride her and pointed out the directions that Aqualia had given me. She gave me a funny look. “Ah didn’t figure you for th’ drinkin’ type, Shepard.”

I chuckled. “I’m not really, but after what’s happened today, I think I could use a drink too.”

For the first time since I’d known her, South actually laughed. It was a simple little chuckle, but it was better than nothing. We carried on with our friendly giggles as we walked down the endless ivory path and down towards the Warrens.

Codex Entries Added:

Race: Sea-Pony

Race: Mole-Clan

The Promenade

You’re going to Love and Tolerate! :Renegade Points Earned

Peace-Keeper :Paragon Points Earned

Chapter 5: Underbelly

I had expected the Warrens, from the colorful description given to me by Corrina, to be another low class junk heap much like the places I lived in back on Earth. While my first few steps into the area treated me to monotonous steel colored walls, and the occasional skittish passer-by, it just seemed a tad too bland to be a pit of squalor. The ponies down here looked more down to earth, less reserved, and well....normal. Nothing struck out to me as potentially dangerous or ominous, just another city section, albeit with darker colors and less polish. I felt naturally at home here, unlike back in the Promenade, and South seemed to share the sentiment.

She struck me as the type who showed no interest in the high class life, my assumption of her being from the Prairielands was all the evidence I needed. She seemed noticeably more relaxed in our new setting, trotting along with a sense of familiarity. We meandered down the various pathways for a while, glancing at a few random market stalls, or groups of gawkers staring at the two military equipped ponies that were casually walking past them. Maybe bringing our weapons here wasn’t such a good idea.

South stopped suddenly. I noticed a smile on her face as she turned her head upwards. Above us was a red neon lit sign that simply read ‘The Den’. A gruff looking Earth pony stood at the entrance, staring blankly at nothing in particular. However as we approached, he glanced at us both, staring at us with narrowed eyes. He looked us over, clearly noticing our weapons and other equipment, but nodded his head towards the door anyways letting us pass. I entered first, and took in the sights of the shady bar. The club was dimly lit, with more red neon strips yielding the only light in the room. Music poured in from everywhere, filled with copious bass and electric sounds. Many of the patrons were dancing to the rhythm on a wide dance floor. Small tables and chairs were scattered about, many of them empty, and a bar was located in the center of the room and on the far side.

“Would ya look at that,” South griped. I turned to see her give a quiet snort, looking up at a platform in the center of the room just above the bar, with stern eyes. On top of it was a group of mares dancing around a circular stage in the center of the bar. Most of them were Earth Ponies, but I noticed a Unicorn or two as well, wearing skimpy outfits and all writhing about in suggestive ways. I looked away, if only to avoid South seeing the reflexive red developing on my face. “Thousands of years of growin’ up, an’ theres still the need for young fillies to do such a thing.” Her voice reeked of disgust, and she stomped off towards the bar, which I assumed she did to avoid losing her temper even further.

As I sat down beside her, I heard her quickly order a pair of drinks, to which the bartender lazily began to mix. She kept her head down, away from the exotic dancers above, and focused her attention on the glasses that were slowly but surely being filled with alcohol from across the bar. I drummed on the counter awkwardly, opting to look anywhere but the bar. There were a few downtrodden looking ponies at the tables around us, many of them staring at one of the many empty glasses that surrounded them. A few others seemed to be enjoying the ‘company’ of some of the dancers, who giggled mindlessly at the drunken drivel that came out of their newest clients. Now I really wanted that drink.

My prayers were answered when the bartender returned, drinks in tow. He placed them in front of us with the level of care one would expect from a small explosion and trotted away. South scooped up her glass and emptied it in a single go, while I stared at mine absently. Now that it was actually in front of me, I was not sure if I had been serious about actually wanting this drink. On one hoof I still did not care for the state of drunkenness, and on the other...well, as far as this day was headed, a drink or two wouldn’t kill me.

“Ya gonna drink that?” South asked, beckoning the bartender for another.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Eventually.”

She snorted again. “Well then git to it! It ain’t no fun drinkin’ alone.”

I swirled the glass, delaying the inevitable. South continued to berate me with a piercing stare, before I could take no more. I swallowed hard, and downed the cider. The usual feelings returned, but I held them down as best I could. This particular brand seemed marginally weaker than the kind Chalkdust had locked away in her safe, and part of me actually felt disappointed. I shrugged, and set the glass down, eliciting a rowdy cheer from South. She slammed down her second glass and looked at me, not with anger or any other of the choice emotions that I had already seen her use so far. This time, she chose curiosity.

“So,” she began. “Whut’s yer story Shepard?”

Was she actually asking me about myself? After this entire time of me asking her? I looked at her like she was the crazy pony, and she responded with a hushed guffaw. “Ya’ll seem awful keen in learning what my deal is Shepard, but Ah ain’t heard a lick about you a t’all.”

She traced the rim of her empty glass, staring into it dreamily. “The way Ah reckon, iffin’ ya want to know somethin’ about me, Ah gotta know somethin’ bout you first. That only seems fair right?”

I wasn’t certain what troubled me more; the fact that what she had said made perfect sense, or that I felt like actually obliging her. There wasn’t much worth hiding, but I wasn’t the kind of pony who talked about myself much. Having the kind of past that I did, it was just one of those things you prefered to stay buried. I thought of a few choice things that would serve to outline who I was, without giving her too much, or digging too deep. The hardest part of telling others about yourself is where to start.

“Not really a fairy tale beginning really,” I recalled to her. “I grew up mostly in the streets, won’t bother saying where, all metropolis slums are the same. Drifted around a bit alone, I guess. learned a few things here and there raiding scrap heaps.” I glanced longingly at my empty glass, wishing it was refilled. “But that was just to start.” A few of the darker memories managed to surface, but I kept the worst ones down. “I did some...things that I’m not proud of to survive. Worked for some... unsavory ponies. But I managed to pull through, even managed to save a few others from that life, before Captain Quartermane pulled me out of there.”

South did not say anything immediately. Her face had taken to a look of quiet shock, as she absorbed what I had told her. I realised that she had been the only other pony that I had openly told my story to, aside from Quartermane, but I figured it was an excellent trump card to get her to open up a bit herself. She tapped her glass, signaling the bartender for a third round. Even after it came she drank it in silence before finally finishing it and turning back to me.

“So the Cap’ was the one that recruited you huh?” she inquired.

I smiled as the fond memory came to the surface of my mind. “Yea, he did. Wasn’t expecting him to be my C.O here either. I haven’t seen him since he brought me into Stable.”

South mulled her thoughts quietly for a moment. She stared into her empty glass, tracing the rim slowly with the tip of her hoof. “That’s quite the story, Shepard. Ah can’t say that mine is near as exciting.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” I said with a smile.

She returned the smile weakly. Her mouth opened as she began to speak, but her attention was drawn to the sound of laughter beside us. Our attention turned to the pony on my left who had been chuckling loudly since I had stopped speaking. He appeared to be on his fifth or sixth drink, but didn’t yet look ready to fall over. He was a haggard looking Earth Pony, his ratty black hair drooping over his face and his ghostly grey coat missed what I expected to be its fourth shower this morning. His head rose slowly as his laughing hit its peak and looked at me with intrigue.

“So, you know Captain Quartermane huh?” His voice was cold, raspy. “How does it feel to be working for Stable’s biggest disappointment?”

I glared at this mysterious pony. “Do I know you?”

“Heh,” he chuckled. “No, but I know you Shepard. Must be nice to be a puppet so Quartermane can atone for his own screw ups.”

South joined me in glaring daggers at this drunk, but I still had no idea what he was going on about or what I could say to learn anything useful from him, so I just let him keep talking.

“It’s funny that the first Sleipinir candidate in twenty years ends up screwing up just the same under his command, just like he did.”

How would somepony like him know about what happened on Equestria Prime? I pushed away from the bar, getting a better view of him in his slouch. He was wearing a blue uniform that I recognised from my trip through C-Sec. His Cutie Mark looked like an old playing card, except that the face of it was a ghostly effigy of something I could not identify. None of this answered the question on how a C-Sec officer would know anything about what I had been through in the past two days. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I lied, hoping to change the subject.

“Heh, whatever. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me.” He finished another drink, placing the glass down delicately. “But sooner or later, you’re gonna have to ask yourself who is worth trusting. And It ain’t Quartermane. Especially when Artemis is involved.”

My ears perked slightly at the uttering of Artemis' name. This pony was clearly toying with me, but he had knew something, or else he wouldn’t have bothered to talk to me. “What do you know about Artemis.”

He smiled sinisterly. “Lets just say Artemis needs to do a better job of choosing who he trusts, just like you. And if he isn’t careful, it will bite him in the flank soon enough.”

With that, he got to his hooves, and shakily made his way towards the exit. “Be seeing you, Shepard. Try not to get killed too soon,” he crooned as he lumbered away.

I watched him leave, desperately processing what he had said. Was he trying to help me, or just irritate me? Somehow he knew way too much of what was going on, and the sheer coincidence of me running into him here of all places was a bit strange. I looked at South, who didn’t know what to make of him either. She returned her glass to the bar, and wheeled around in her chair, and leaned her back against the bar.

“Ah suppose it would be bad form to tell mah tale now, after that,” she said with a smirk.

It seemed that fate was conspiring against me, if I was ever going to learn anything useful about South. But she was right. As vague as that random drunk had been, he had hinted at something useful, something potentially damaging to Artemis. And if anything like that existed, I needed to get it now. “I guess you will have to owe me a story later.”

South nodded, and we both hopped off our stools and trotted towards the exit. I managed to make it out of the door first, and looked around for the pony we were following. The bouncer was missing, as were some of the stall tenders that were adjacent to the club. I stood quietly observing the eerie change of scenery, when I heard hoof steps approach from behind.

“You Shepard?”

I turned to see a black dressed pegasus with a slicked back mane emerge from the alley beside the club. He had a deadpan expression on his face as he awaited my response. He raised an eyebrow when South finally appeared beside me, who did not look amused at the presence of a pegasus.

“An’ who’re you?” she demanded.

The pegasus’ expression did not change, casting his bored eyes back to me. “I said, are you Shepard?”

I was not in the mood for more delays. I had to catch up with that drunkard and find out what he knew. “I might be, what’s it to you?”

Finally, the pegasus produced a smile. A smile like he had won the lottery and decided to be insufferably smug about it. “It’s nothing really to me, but my employer...” He cast sidelong glances in both directions. “Would like to have a little chat with you.”

I followed his gaze, noticing that from the darkness of the alleys, we were surrounded by at least four armed thugs.

“Don’t even try it princess.” Okay, make that five. I turned around to see South trying to raise her gun, only to be halted by a scrawny looking Earth Pony hold a gun to her head. She glared at him with a look that gave me chills.

“Call me princess, one more time, Ah dare ya.” She spoke with a level of danger and venom that sent off warning signals in my brain, and I hoped the stallion with the gun to her head was smart enough to notice

Of course he wasn’t. The weasley pony laughed, and lowered his gun, and decided to poke South with his other hoof. “What, you don’t like being called princess, prince-.”

Before he could utter it a second time, South quickly grabbed his extended hoof and yanked on it with all her might. It gave a sickening pop as the limb was savagely dislocated from his shoulder. The stallion tore away, screaming and howling in pain, as the four other thugs trained their guns on South. She glanced at them defiantly, waiting for the next one to dare cross her. “Ah warned him,” she gloated.

The wounded thug rolled around on the ground in agony, screaming obscenities and other colorful words as the pegasus in charge of the group shook his head. “Now now, there isn’t any need to get violent. Our employer would prefer if you came along quietly.”

“And if we don’t?” I asked.

The screaming pony managed to subside his howls, righting himself enough to raise his unbroken gun hoof and training it on South. “The bitch broke my leg, she dies now!” My eyes widened at the sound of his gun heating up. I moved to shove South out of the way before-

BANG!

I reeled back in pain, the sound of the shot ringing in my head. I looked back to see South...completely unharmed. The pony that attempted to fire was now prone on the ground, blood oozing from a fresh hole in his head. South looked mildly startled, but not at the recent attempt on her life. She was far more focused in the pegasus standing beside us. I turned back to the him, seeing that he had produced a now smoking rifle from under his wing. His deadpan expression returned as he stared at the corpse of his now former employee.

“-bad things will happen.”

We were led in silence down the many maze-like corridors that made up the entirety of what appeared to one of the Warrens less desirable districts. While my first impression of the Warrens was better than what I first thought, our forced trot deeper into the darkened alleys dissolved whatever remained of that first foray into slimy muck. The steely walls shifted into rust colored slabs of unkempt metal, dimly lit by either an occasional emergency light or neon sign. The ponies that watched us pass by became more jittery and desperate looking, and quickly turned tail and ran at the sight of our group, as if they knew what was going to happen to us.

The four remaining armed goons surrounded us in formation, while the black pegasus followed from behind to prevent any ‘further incidents’, as he put it. South trotted quietly beside me, eyes front and scowling, while I took a few furtive glances at the quickly changing scenery. Worry crept into my mind, and while I had never been a panic prone pony, I was becoming genuinely terrified at my fate at the hooves of these thugs. I had never been in this kind of situation before, and I had no idea how I was going to get out of this alive. Maybe if we could recover our weapons we could fight our way out, but even that plan would risk failure before it even started.

I glanced back at the pegasus. He was paying a great deal of attention to our surroundings, casting quick deliberate glances around us, before looking forward again. I thought I saw him catch my eyes, but if he did, he made no comment, returning to his placid expression of professionalism. The goons would give me a shove if I lingered too long, laughing as they did so. I was not small in relation to most ponies my age, but these thugs were considerably larger and more menacing than I taking pleasure in shoving me around. If only I had my gun. Heh, who was I kidding? Even if I had my gun I wouldn’t accomplish much. I had my omni-tool, but even the simplest command would have been noticed.

Eventually we came to a dilapidated structure deep in the bowels of the Warrens. It was small, maybe an old shipping warehouse of some kind, but had fallen into disuse and disrepair. We were led inside to a darkened room, that appeared to be the only safe place in the building. All of the adjoining doors and paths were blocked off by rubbish and debris. The only source of light was a grimy window, which I could see blurs of vehicles of the transitway beyond, and not much else.

A single desk and some chairs were the only furniture, and looked grossly out of place considering how filthy this room was. The pegasus walked over to the desk, placing our weapons on it. The other goods directed us towards the wall beside the window, and ordered us to sit. I complied quietly, while South resisted. The larger of the goons went to strike her, when the pegasus spoke up.

“Remember what happened earlier, Thud. We don’t want a repeat experience do we? The boss wants them unharmed until he gives us other instructions.”

‘Thud’ lowered his hoof, and stepped away from South, who continued to glare at him. “Yeh, okay boss.”

The four thugs each took a seat, each of them staring in our direction, as their leader rifled through the desk, and looked at his computer. South eventually sat down, not out of compliance, but out of boredom. She stared back at Thud, who sneered gleefully back at her. “Any ideas?” she asked quietly.

“Not really,” I whispered back. “If they weren’t staring at us could call for help on my omni-tool, but I doubt they will give us the chance.”

“Hmph. Got a plan B then?”

“No talking!” Thud shouted.

We both looked at the eager stallion, who clopped his hooves together in anticipation of our eventual beating. He must have really hated us for what South did to the other pony before he got himself killed, and I definitely did not want to be left alone with him for too long. A beeping noise from the desk drew his attention, as it did everypony else. The computer had received a message of some kind, which the pegasus was responding to in hushed words. The distraction was short, not nearly long enough for me to send for help, but it was enough for me to rig my omni-tool to listen in on the conversation.

“Razor, do you have them?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Yes, sir, they are here now.” the pegasus replied. “What do you want us to do with them?”

There was a moment before the other answered. “Nothing yet, not until you deal with that other loose end. I want you to see to it personally, Razor. No screw ups, or Artemis is going to have our hides.”

“Yes sir, I’ll get it done right away!”

There was another dramatic pause, this one actually lasting long enough for Razor to develop a look of concern on his face, before the other voice finally replied.

“See that you do.”

The computer went silent. Razor mulled his thoughts silently for a few minutes, before suddenly rising from the desk and heading to the exit. Two of the goons went with him, while Thud and the other one with him remained seated in front of us. The black pegasus halted at the door, and looked right at Thud. “Keep them here until I say otherwise. Got that Thud?”

Thud looked absently at Razor, before turning back to us with glee in his eyes. “Yeh, boss, no problem at all.”

And then he was gone. The door slammed unceremoniously behind him, leaving us alone with the two bigger thugs alone. We stared at each other quietly for a long time, each side looking waiting for the other to make their move. As much as Thud looked like he wanted to hurt us, he was stoic in his dedication to following his orders. He engaged in idle conversation with the other thug, whom he identified as Spanner. What was it with thugs and their thug names? I mean, did their parents know that their children were going to grow up to be criminals or something, and just gave them appropriate names so they didn’t get picked on by their thug-buddies?

The staring contest continued for what easily turned into an hour of silent boredom. I had long since grown exhausted at the game, leaving South to defend our honor alone, which she happily did. I had thrown in a few faces for good measure, but they were lost on the gruff ponies overwatching us. An hour of this, and nothing interesting had happened. Another hour, and the Council hearing would begin, and we definitely were not going to be attending. Artemis made sure of that. But why? Why would he impose further risk to himself if he was already in the clear? Maybe that drunken pony from the bar was right, maybe Artemis did screw something up, and now he was eliminating every loose end possible.

The computer at the desk came to life again, prompting Thud to forfeit his hateful staring to answer it. The lumbered over to it drearily, and prodded at the controls to reply. My omni-tool was still listening in, so I turned my back to Spanner so he didn’t see what I was up to.

“What is it?” Thud answered.

“That’s what is it, Sir.” the same voice from earlier snapped.

“Uh, yeh, right, sir!” Thud stammered, actually saluting to the blank computer screen.

“Artemis says we need to get moving things along. Razor is dealing with the other loose end now, you can deal with the one at hoof.”

“R-really?” Thud replied, a noticeable tone of expectant joy taking hold of his voice.

“Yes, really. Dispose of them, just don’t make it too messy. Get back here when you are done.”

“Yes sir!” Thud half shouted. “Right away sir...” His voice trailed off with a sinister cackle as the computer died again.

I turned my omni-tool off, looking back at the two hulking ponies now slowly approaching us. South looked shocked at their advance, and glanced to me. “Whut are they doin’ now?”

I stared blankly at her. “Disposing of us.” I replied weakly. Her eyes widened considerably as she looked back to Thud, who was only a few yards away, brandishing a large shotgun attached to his hoof. "So much for not making it messy", I deadpanned to myself. He halted just before South, who glared at him with anger.

“I’d love to end you first for getting Twitch killed, bitch.” he growled at South, before turning to me. “But th’ boss seems to have a special interest in you, so I’ll oblige you first, as a courtesy to him.”

He brought his gun to bear, pointing it directly at me. South tried to shove me away, but Spanner smacked her away with his own weapon. I stared, frozen in fear for my impending doom, right down the barrel of the weapon that was keen to end my life. I shut my eyes as the weapon primed, its whirring steadily rising to a deafening crescendo.

And then everything went to hell.

What happened next will forever be one of the many blurs in my memory of things to come. I don’t think I could ever look back at these moments and ever recall them clearly, but I will do my best. It was safe to say, that from start to finish, the following moments would take place over a mere ten seconds.

First there was the sound of glass. Lots of it, as it cascaded over the room and a symphony of tinkles and clatters. I opened my eyes for a moment, to see the room littered with the tiny crystals that scattered all over the room. The shotgun that was once pointed at my head was now pointing high in the air, its bearer screaming in pain. Even through his flailing, I could see red spurting from the hoof and the weapon had been pierced through, giving off a series of shocks and static.

Spanner, responding at a speed that I honestly found surprising for his intelligence level, rushed to an unbroken part of the window, peering vainly through the dirt and grime for something, anything that could have perpetrated these events. He froze suddenly, and backed away slowly from the window, terror in his eyes. He fired wildly into the window, at a slowly growing silhouette that filled the window, before colliding with a amazing crash.

A blur of blue and white shot through the window, colliding with the frightened stallion and knocking him squarely to the ground. The blue streak came to a stop just above the prone thug, standing over him. It was a pegasus, dressed in blue C-Sec armor from head to hoof with a smoking sniper strapped to his back. He flared his white wings, as the panicked Spanner tried desperately aim his weapon, before the pegasus stomped on his hoof, breaking it with a resounding snap. Ignoring the screams of pain and agony he had caused, the pegasus grabbed Spanner in his hooves and dragged him over to the open window. He threw the disheveled Earth pony out, dangling him over the edge by his long greasy mane. The look on his face suggested that it was a very long fall on the other side.

“Where’s your boss?” the pegasus demanded, his voice warbled under the radio static of his helmet.

“Fuck you Sec, I ain’t telling you shit!” he spat. I was surprised that Spanner had any spine left to answer after the beating he had received.

Spanner slipped a few inches from the officers grasp, as he purposely started to drop him in annoyance.

“Did you know most pegasus are deathly afraid of falling?” the pegasus mocked. “Silly isn’t it, that a creature born to fly is afraid to fall. Not like you earth ponies. You fall just like everything else without wings, and yet you hang here, unafraid. Why is that?”

The pegasus continued his tirade at the unflinching pony in his hooves, while me and South watched on, dumbfounded. I looked at her as she scoffed quietly, disgust in her eyes. “Iffin’ there were a list of reasons why Ah don’t trust Pegasi, that’d be one right there.” she snarked. I actually found myself smiling at her comment, when movement caught my eyes. Thud was still alive, and moving towards the unsuspecting pegasus.

“Look out!” I shouted.

He almost didn’t react in time. He turned his head to face Thud, who slammed his unwounded hoof into his helmet. The officer managed to deflect some of the blow, but was unbalanced from the force of it. He staggered away from Thud, both of which seemed to have instantly forgotten that somepony was missing. The long winded scream of Spanner quickly faded into nothing as he fell over the edge, as the spar between Earth Pony and Pegasus continued unhindered.

The C-Sec officer shook his head, clearing some broken fragments of his visor away so he could see. Thud limped towards him, rushing for another strike. A pair of lightning blue eyes peered angrily though the broken visor of the helmet as he deftly dodged the powerful swing of the wounded stallion. The pegasus charged past the lumbering Thud with speed that defied his size, sweeping his legs out from under him with a pass of his wings. Thud collapsed to the ground with a sound faithful to his name, sprawling onto his back. He regained his awareness just as the officer stood above him, his rifle pointed at Thuds head.

“I don’t suppose you would be more helpful than your former cohort?” he said icily.

Thud was silent, only giving the officer above him a defiant snort.

“Didn’t think so.”

The pegasus lifted his hoof and smashed it into Thuds face, knocking him out cold. He gave a loud sigh of relief, as he sat on his haunches and worked to remove his damaged helmet. Now out of danger, I finally had a moment to observe our hero, realising that I had seen him before. The style of armor, and the red tinge on the edges of his wings, all reminded me of the pegasus I had seen at the C-Sec office this morning. At this range, I was even close enough to his Cutie Mark; A reticle shaped like a shield with fiery wings.

“Firestorm right?” I asked, standing up and walking over to the grunting pegasus, still trying to pry the bent helmet off his head. He did not answer as his struggle ended, the helmet coming off with a mighty tug.

“I just wanted to say thank....you?”

What was it and unexpected occurrences today? First there was Corrina, then the Sea-pony and the Mole, now this. I stared silently as the pegasus that had just saved us looked disapprovingly at his, her, now broken helmet. Her mane cascaded from the confines of the helm, falling out and obscuring half of her face. If one could conceivably name fire a color, it would be that of her mane, which shimmered every possible color of flame. The side of her head that did not get covered by her lengthy mane was covered by a similar device that Nimbus once wore; a targeting visor of some kind.

She gave me a hard look. “You’re Shepard right? Of the Normanedy?” She stood up and trotted over to me, offering me a hoof. “Yea, I’m Firestorm. I was the C-Sec officer assigned to your case against Artemis.” She looked around at the mess caused by her dramatic entrance, and gave me a sheepish grimace. “Sorry about cutting it so close there. I had to be sure if he was actually going to try something.”

I chuckled weakly, shaking her hoof. “Better late than never huh?”

She looked... mildly concerned at my passive attitude towards my near brush with death, but ignored it and trotted over to Thud. “I’ve been following you two since you got pinched outside the Den, I was hoping they would lead me to the one trying to cover all this up.”

She gave Thud a swift kick, who responded with an unconscious grunt. “But I don’t think these two would have been any good for leads anyways.”

“An’ why of all times did’ja choose just before our execution to help out?” South snapped at her, stomping the ground. “Did’ja want us to get killed?”

South was hunched over, seething like a bull ready to charge. Firestorm was confused at her outburst, and stepped back from the volatile mare. “Of course not!” she defended. “If I wanted you to get hurt I would have left to follow Razor. But I didn’t, now did I?”

South’s rage faltered only slightly. She straightened her posture, and directed her anger on something else with a loud snort, trotting over to the desk with our guns in it. Firestorm eyed her cautiously, until she was out of easy striking distance and looked back at me. “I don’t suppose you heard anything useful that might lead to something?”

She already knew who Razor was, but if that alone wasn’t something useful to her, she wouldn’t be here. Then I remembered that there was still an unknown party in all of this. “Actually, there is something.”

I activated my omni-tool, and played the two recordings from Razor’s mysterious employer. Firestorm listened intently, her eyes widening in realization. “I know that voice.” she said, scowling. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier.” Firestorm facehoofed angrily and turned towards the exit. “When I get my hooves on that slimy snake...” Her voice trailed off slowly. She stopped at the exit, and turned back to us.

“Are you two coming?”

“Coming where?” I asked, moving towards the door.

Firestorm opened her mouth to speak, but South returned to my side, and halted me. “Now just wait a minnit here.” she said harshly. “Who said anythin’ about us goin’ anywhere together?”

Firestorm raised an eyebrow. “I have as much stake in bringing Artemis down as you do. It makes more sense for us to work together.”

“A’n why is that?” South berated. “Whut business is it of yours to take down Artemis when it was our colony that he attacked?”

Firestorm didn’t respond immediately. She stared questioningly at South for a long time before she swung around and cantered out the door. “Because I’m C-Sec, and somepony has to,” she called out to us.

I followed her right away, out of the dank warehouse and back into the gloomy narrows of the Warrens. She trotted with a determined vigor, knowing exactly where she needed to be. I heard more trotting behind me, seeing that South had decided to follow us despite our new pegasus companion. She had a steely look on her face, and was keeping a cautious eye on Firestorm. I ran up beside her, only barely struggling to keep up with her pace.

“So,” I breathed. “Who was that on the recording? You clearly know who it was.”

She looked at me, remarking my curiosity. “Somepony I should have dealt with a long time ago. A little slime ball by the name of Mustang.”

She halted at a corner, and peered around it cautiously. South managed to catch up, choosing to remain quiet.

“Where does he normally hang out?”

“At his club,” she answered slowly. She peeked her head out of the alley and looked around. Satisfied with the surroundings, she edged out and continued down the alley, beckoning us to follow. “We’re going back to the Den.”

Our return to the upper sections of the Warrens was tedious, our time spent ducking in and out of shadowy alleyways and unpopulated areas. Firestorm insisted that we take measures in not being seen by Mustang’s scouts, so we could catch him off guard. She surmised that he had me and South led away from his hideout to deny any involvement in Artemis’s scheme, and he may be foolish enough to remain there unaware. I was thankful for her intuitive plan, because so far today we had come very close to ruining our only chance at stopping Artemis, and I doubted we would get another.

The sneaking was easy for me, from my youthful experiences. I kept up with Firestorm at an adept pace, only stopping periodically to ensure an area was safe for South to pass through unnoticed. We had a long way to travel, and I took the time to ask a few questions of our pegasus friend.

“What were you doing before you started following us?”

We came to a wide stretch of vacant pathways, not a single pony in sight. The level of quiet of the nearby area was unnerving considering what time it was. Firestorm was not disturbed by it at all, only slowing her pace slightly as she continued ahead.

“That pony you were talking to. The drunk. Do you know him?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“I do. He is, was, a C-Sec officer until recently. Too many shady dealings with unsavory types. I always suspected he knew too much about the gang involvement down here, and now I know why.”

We rounded another corner, and I started noticing familiar surroundings. I estimated we were only a few more minutes from our destination, and Firestorm seemed intent on getting us there even sooner. The pathways had returned to their dull steel coloring, and the streets were starting to fill with semblances of activity and life again. Crowds filled the market sections in front of us, milling about their business blissfully. Firestorm finally took a moment to relax, and leaned casually against the edge of the wall, casting glances between the crowds on the path and me.

“We knew him in C-Sec as Aces, though I never believed that was his real name.”

Her eyes arched angrily, before looking away. “I never trusted him, but he managed to do his job right, at first.”

“What did he do to get kicked out of C-Sec?” I asked.

My question seemed to go unanswered as she stood straight and slipped out into the gathering crowd, with us following closely behind. “He worked down here a lot, working around the gangs mostly.”

The gaggle of ponies we trudged through seemed to gravitate away from Firestorm, as she cut a path through for us to follow. Despite the tension I felt from the ponies that lived down here, most of them were respectful of the presence of a C-Sec officer among them. Either that, or none of them wanted to run afoul of her and get into trouble. Whatever the reason for the berth they gave us, it kept us hidden from any of Mustangs goons watching out for us, and still maintain a decent pace.

“The problem is,” she continued. “Is that when you work around these ponies too long, they start to get to you. The things they do, the crap they get away with. You become inured to it. Then, you start to become it.”

“Aces fell into their type of crowd. Started hanging around the clubs the gangs owned after work for fun. And in exchange for not getting the air beat out of him, he sold us out.” The rising anger in her voice was growing steadily volatile, even to the point that passers by were noticing her dipping mood and widening the space between us and them.

“Eventually we busted him on it, but not before draining him of any information that would get him out of trouble. We took quite a few gangs out because of his spineless need for self preservation.”

We came to another corner, a very familiar corner. The large ascending staircase that South and I had used to enter the Warrens was directly in front of us. Razor and his goons had led us past this on our way to his hideout, so the Den was only one street away. The crowds around us stymied, splitting off noticeably in droves that sought to leave the Warrens out into the Promenade, and those who remained in the scattered markets. Firestorm halted in the midst of the flows of ponies, looking very carefully in our intended direction as she had been since we left the lower levels.

I looked to South. She had been unusually quiet the entire journey. I had at first thought it because of the presence of our pegasus companion that held her tongue, until I saw her eyes. They way she looked at Firestorm suggested she was listening very intently to her story. They both burned with vengeful intensity as the tale of Aces the traitor was told. I don’t know how, if at all, South’s attitude towards Pegasi was changing, but I knew that Firestorm had hit on something that the Soldier found an equal level of distaste for.

“So why is somepony like that allowed t’ walk around free?”

Firestorm looked at her, noting her previous silence and sudden addition to the conversation with quiet perplexity. “Because even spineless ponies have their uses. You would be surprised how much Aces will spill on his ‘friends’ to stay out of trouble. I don’t know how he does it, but somehow he keeps himself in the loop with them.”

“Hmph,” South grunted. “Seems to me it’d be easier jus’ t’ shoot him.”

Firestorm chuckled at that comment. “You have no idea how hard it is to not shoot him. He knows he’s valuable to us, and takes a great deal of pleasure in reminding us of it.”

The Pegasus took point again, pushing her way through the crowd. South actually went ahead of me, keeping closer to the Pegasus than I thought her capable. The civilians thinned considerably as we neared the final bend, and turned into the final alley. The road beyond was empty, not a pony in sight, armed or otherwise. My companions eyes narrowed at the uneasiness of the scene before us.

Firestorm stepped forwards first, readying her shoulder-mounted weapon with a shrug. “But enough about Aces,” she said casually. “There’s another scumbag I’m just dying to introduce you to.”

She said it smiling.

The Den appeared closed, due to the fact that the large neon sign above the door was no longer lit. The bouncer from earlier was not present, and the booming music from inside was silent. Somehow, I had ended in the front of the group, as Firestorm and South trotted cautiously up behind me, checking for trouble.

“Something must have spooked Mustang”, Firestorm groused. “This place is never closed.”

“Then maybe we should hurry,” I said, lurching forward into the open doorway. “He might be gone alrea-”

I had almost rounded the first corner into the club, before I ran into something large and furry. I backed up from the expanse of hair in front of me, and craned my head up to see what on earth it was.

My voice died in my throat as I looked up at what I had bumped into. At first I thought it was the absurdly tall pony bouncer, but in reality it was something far more terrifying. I knew exactly what I was looking at, but even seeing it in the flesh could not have prepared me for it. It stood at least twice my height, and towered over me with a gruff, humorless expression. It worked its fanged jaw behind closed lips as it no doubt contemplated ending my existence, its barbed tail flitted back and forth in anticipation. It stepped towards me with an enormous paw that was covered, along with its entire body, in thick crimson armor plating. It arched downwards, bringing its feline eyes level with mine, giving his bat-like wings a predatory flair.

“Club’s closed. Come back tomorrow.” Its voice was low, guttural, feral.

I backed away from the leonine terror standing over me, only to bump into Firestorm. I saw her focused glare boring into the walking obstruction in our path. South shared the expression, but her muzzle curled up in a expectant smile of glee. These two actually wanted to fight this thing, and I wanted to run away like a foal with my tail between my legs. I thought over the insanity of my friends, knowing full well that it was probably going to get me killed. I would stand no chance against this thing, but my friends were more than capable. Maybe I should just play along then?

“We’re here to see your boss.” I said, mustering whatever authority I could.

The brute’s expression did not change. “He ain’t here.”

I forced a smug grin, trying to choose my next words carefully. “Look pal, you’d best let us through.”

He actually smiled at that. “Or. You’ll. What?”

“Well,” I began dismissively, looking back to my friends. “There isn’t much I can do.” I stepped to the side to shift his attention to my companions. “But you see my two friends here with the really big guns? They haven’t been having the greatest day, and I wouldn’t doubt that they are looking to cause some trouble to relax.”

Firestorm and South both looked confused at what I was leading to, but it didn’t take long for them to realise my intentions, and continued to glare at the bouncer in force. He was silent for a moment, I assumed he was a tad slow at understanding, until he started laughing. He chuckled dopely before looking back at me.

“Heh heh, that was a good one. I always wondered if Earth Ponies had spines, now its a shame I have to break them.”

He stepped towards us, his eyes sparked with harmful intent. “Now which one of you pretty ponies wants to go first? I promise to make it qui-”

WHAM!

If I had blinked, I would have barely see the lightning fast buck of Firestorm connect with the giant’s face. He recoiled in pain, howling in anger before he righted himself on all fours, readying to charge. Firestorm wobbled forward, unbalanced by the hardness of his skull. His eye was beginning to bruise, and blood trickled down his greasy mane, but that did not detract from the sheer hatred in his face. “Why you little runt, I’ll tear you in half!”

He bolted, charging straight for Firestorm. She had not fully recovered from her attack, and was frozen at the sight of the crimson clad behemoth charging at her. She attempted to turn around, or even take off, but her movements were too slow to react in time, any second the beast was going to-

WHAM!!!

The lumbering oaf shrugged to the left by at least five feet, colliding with a disposal bin. He crashed in a terrible slump, but remained on the ground, unmoving. After watching something three times larger that I get swatted like a bug, I turned to the source of its defeat. South dropped her rear legs with practiced grace, as if she had done that on a daily basis. She turned to us and smirked at me. “Well that wuz fun.”

Firestorm was still bug eyed at the mountain that had charged at us and was now crumpled in a heap with the rest of the garbage. She shook her head and readied her gun, looking into the entrance of the bar. There was no noise to indicate that there was anypony inside, but I doubt we would have come this far just to fall into another trap. South on the other hoof, moved over to me, joining my observation of our recently defeated enemy.

“Well Shepard, Ah didn’t take you for the kind a pony that’d stare down a Manticore, an’ live t’ talk about it.”

“Yea well,” I said, my heart rate finally starting to catch up with me. “I’m full of surprises.”

“Guys,” Firestorm called out. “We should hurry before Mustang disappears.”

South nodded at her, and readied her gun. They both went ahead, while I moved slowly to join them. I was starting to notice a frightening pattern in the events I had found myself in. I was coming frighteningly close to death too much lately, and I wondered how much it was going to happen before I just passed out from all the stress. The sound of gunfire from inside brought me to my senses, and I charged in after my friends, adding another notch to the tally.

The club was very different from what I remembered. The dismal lighting of the red neon showed a disheveled scene of overturned tables, seats and boxes. Weapon scorch marks were being quickly added the the dull steel walls, and the bodies of armed thugs were slowly piling up between the exchange of them and my friends. Firestorm had taken cover behind a metal table, and ducked in and out to fire at her attackers. South, not surprisingly, decided to take cover from behind the bar, muttering curses every time a stray shot punctured a glass bottle behind her. Whether she was angry at the broken shards of glass cascading on her head, or the rampant waste of alcohol, I would have to find out later.

A shot or two whizzed past in my direction, and I dove for the nearest available cover. I pressed myself against a stack of boxes, casting quick glances into the firefight to see who was left to remove from our path. South had just taken out what appeared to be the fifth of the seven that was defending this room, and Firestorm was diving from cover to cover to get closer. The remaining two thugs that I could see did not appear aware of where I was. The stood behind a second bar enclosure on the far side of the room, adjacent to a set of doors that led into what I assumed to be a private office.

I readied my gun, and peeked once more out at the thugs, still oblivious to my presence. I decided to use that to my advantage, edging carefully out of cover, and fired. My shot went wide, striking some of the many shelves of alcohol behind them, missing spectacularly, and drawing their attention to me. They fired at me, prompting me to move back into cover, taking a few glancing hits to my shield. I heard one of them laughing.

“Heh, with aim like that, you couldn’t hit the broad side of a buffalo!”

Of course they would take the time to mock my shooting in the middle of a fire fight. I scowled at their comments, and peered around the edge to attempt a second time. South had taking a few shots of opportunity after my attempt, but did not succeed. I noticed something odd about the impacts of my shots, mostly on how the shelves now appeared to be wobbling. An idea formed in my head, and as crazy as it was, it involved more shooting. I fired again, aiming at the same place as before. I did not even wait to see what their retaliation was, but I heard more chuckling. “You just don’t learn do ya? Maybe I should teach you a less-”

The voice was drowned out by a loud creaking noise, then a cacophonous crash of cascading glass filled the air. My stray shots, as predicted, had damaged the supports holding the six or so shelves filled with large thick bottles, that rained painfully on the heads of thugs underneath. They shouted in pain as the heavy glass pounded and broke overtop of them, one of them actually jumping out of cover and directly into a well placed shot from Firestorm. He slumped over dead in a heap, while the tumbling shelves eventually quieted. South jumped from her cover, and approached the opposing bar, gun drawn. She peered over the edge, chuckling at what she saw.

“He’s out cold.”

I joined in looking over the bar, seeing the results of my plan. As described, the remaining thug was indeed unconscious, a few prominent bumps forming on his head as a result of one of the many bottles surrounding him on the ground. It was strange how peaceful the scene looked, before shouting from the adjacent room caught our attention. “What do I pay you idiots for?!” The voice was the same from the recordings back at the warehouse. Mustang was here!

A small object rolled across the floor out of the doorway. I looked at it curiously as it came to a stop just in front of me. It was a small cylinder, that began spinning wildly on the ground and spewing dark smoke. I heard Firestorm grunt as she took to the air, and beat her wings furiously to blow the obscuring gas away.

“It’s going to take more than a smoke grenade to stop me, Mustang!” she shouted.

Satisfied that the smoke was cleared enough, the zealous pegasus landed, and charged into the room ahead of us. The dissipating smoke lingered around the doorway, which gave an ominous feeling to it. South was unaffected as she trotted through after Firestorm and I reluctantly went after her. The sound of laser fire signaled me to move faster. I broke into a gallop down the narrow hallway, passing South in my haste.

The office was small and cramped, with a small desk sitting at the head of a small staircase. A short wall flanked both sides of the stairs, which Firestorm had decided to hide behind. Her face was contorted in pain and she was clutching her sides tightly. Her dark blue armor was tainted by a crimson red that was oozing from a singed hole in her armor. She saw me enter the room, a worried expression on her face. “Get down!”

I looked up, confused. Behind the desk, I saw a tuft of silvery hair sticking out from the other side. Beside the desk, on both sides, were two ugly identical art pieces. They looked like rounded pieces of metal with narrow snouted barrels. Barrels that were smoking...

Oh.

I fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding a bolt of energy impaling through my shield and armor like it had done with Firestorm. I crawled towards her, and pressed myself against the wall beside her. South peeked in through the doorway, and saw us huddled on the ground. I motioned for her to stay down, which she nodded in compliance. She crouched low, and rolled deftly across the room to the opposite wall, and held her gun high, ready to engage. I peeked out at the turrets, that returned to their idle positions. A faint blue aura hummed quietly around them, pulsing every few seconds.

“It’s a shame you came all this way to die, Firestorm!” Mustang called out. “Artemis will get what he wants.”

“What happened with the King, Mustang?” the pegasus replied smugly. “Was he not paying you enough?”

Mustang did not respond immediately. I heard a pompous cackle from where he was hiding. “It’s just business, Firestorm. Just like this!”

He punctuated his statement with another volley from his turrets. I could smell the melting metal from the other side of the wall, and I could feel the heat from the steel I was pressed against. A few more shots like that and they would pierce clean through. It was as good a time as any for another ridiculous idea. South decided to fire blindly around the corner while the turrets focused on me and Firestorm. Some of her shots hit the turrets, but bounced harmlessly off their shields. She grunted angrily at the ineffectiveness of her weapon, and looked to me for ideas.

“Shepard.” Firestorm grunted. She placed something into my hooves. I was a cartridge that glowed an electric blue. “Toss this to your friend, she’ll know what to do with it.”

With confusion, I complied, sliding the object over the floor to South. She scooped it up, and examined it for a moment. I saw her eyes widen, as a grin formed on her face. She lifted her weapon and popped something out of the magazine, replacing it with the strange blue cartridge. Satisfied with what she had done, she leaned her gun out for another attempt. The projectiles sprayed across the room, most of them not hitting anything in particular. I noticed something odd about them, what once used to fly through the air a crimson red, they were now a steely blue and sliced through the shielding of Mustangs turrets like butter.

The blue aura around the turrets fizzled and snapped, and their incessant humming finally stopped. Unfortunately, the bullets only ricocheted harmlessly off the metal shells. South cursed as the turrets responded in kind with a volley of laser fire in her direction. I peeked out as the commotion subsided, Hearing another laugh from behind the desk. “It’s gonna take more than disruption rounds to take these out Storm!”

Disruption rounds? Now those were something I could work with. It’s amazing how much damage a round charged with electromagnetism can do on an electrical level, say for instance take out a stubborn shield, or better yet, take down whatever hacking protection it may have had. I activated my omni-tool and looked for exactly the opening I needed. I caught Firestorm looking at what I was doing. I didn’t figure her for the tech type, but she seemed to smile slightly at what I was doing. I wasn’t confident in many of my physical skills, but if nothing else, I could do this with an air of confidence.

Confident enough, actually, to step out into the open, gun holstered. I saw Mustang peek his head out over the desk, and even he was confused. I heard South yell at me to get down, but I ignored her, staring our opponent square in the eyes. He lifted his head up, high enough for me to see the smile of indifference on his face. “Just one less mook to deal with,” he chortled. The turrets swiveled around towards me, but I kept staring at him. “Any last words before these babies turn you into dust?”

I smiled. “Yeah. Duck.”

I waved my hoof, and my tool beeped obediently. The turrets that were once pointed at me spun around, and fired just inches above Mustangs head, even singing a few hairs on his shimmering mane. It took him a few moments to realise exactly what happened, before he raised both his hooves shakily above his head. I stepped back, and turned to South. “Deal with him while I help Firestorm.”

South nodded and trotted over to Mustang, hearing a few more bucks and punches than I had I wanted, but whatever. At least he was being ‘dealt with’. What mattered more to me was tending to my wounded friend. Firestorm was still, but alert and responsive. The bleeding seemed to have slowed, probably more to the cauterizing effect of the laser that grazed her than anything else. “Are you going to be ok?” I asked concernedly.

She swayed to stand upright, leaning on me for support. She winced in pain as she continued to hold her side.

“Nothing a little Medi-Gel won’t fix.” She trotted up the stairs slowly, and ignoring the scene between South and Mustang, went straight for the metal safe in the wall behind the desk. She laughed as it opened at her touch and even more at the sight at what was inside. She reached inside and turned around, placing a capsule of blue liquid into her omni-tool.

“Only you would be arrogant enough to leave your safe unlocked Mustang,” she mocked. Her tool glowed a bright blue, and I saw the tension in her face fade as the pain of her wound melted away.

South had just finished hog tying Mustang with a rope of unknown origins and I decided just to leave it at that. Firestorm walked around the desk towards him, and grabbed him by the mane, forcing his head to look squarely at her. Ignoring the grunts of pain, she began her questioning. “Now. Not that I don’t appreciate relieving you of your precious supplies, you know that I’m here for something else.” She dropped his head, which hit the floor with a painful thud. “Start talking Mustang.”

Mustang growled quietly, avoiding eye contact with all of us. Firestorm let out a unimpressed sigh. “Maybe I should give your old boss a call, let him know what hole you’ve crawled into. I bet he’d just love to give a house call, not that he doesn’t already know where you are.” She trotted over the the computer terminal on the desk, and poked absently at a few buttons. “But maybe if we let it slip to him that you are gift wrapped, he might take some enjoyment from that.”

Mustang grunted again, and Firestorm seemed irritated that her pressing wasn’t working. “What did Artemis pay you to defy him?”

“Enough.”

Firestorm was not amused. I saw a flicker in her eyes, and even her mane seemed to spark slightly with fiery anger. She began typing on the computer, loudly dictating her words. “Dear Shadow King, today I learned-”

“Wait!”

The pegasus stopped, turning to the begging Earth Pony with a frightening grin. She knelt down and yanked on his head again, bringing Mustangs eyes to hers. “Where’s Razor? What’s this ‘loose end’ you got him dealing with?”

Mustang’s face contorted between anger and submission, as he pressed uselessly against his bonds. He appeared to be torn on whether or not to tell Firestorm what she wanted, and whether or not he would still be alive if he did. His head drooped in defeat, releasing a long tired sigh. “East market maintenance tunnels. Thats all you get.”

Firestorm did not seem immediately satisfied with that answer and went in for another blow. “You better hurry,” Mustang said amusedly. “I don’t think Razor will be much longer with her either.”

Her? The other loose end was another witness? The fiery pegasus’s ears flared in alarm and dropped Mustang again onto his face. She whirled around and started out of the room without another word. I followed behind her, and South dawdled for just a moment, as Mustang yelled at her. “You aren’t just going to leave me tied up are you?”

South looked at him with a blank expression, working her jaw in bored contemplation. “Eeyup.” She turned to follow me out of the office, while Mustang started to shout obscenities at us. His ranting dulled to nothing as we walked out of the hall into the destroyed club. Nothing had changed as Firestorm stepped carefully over the bodies of the slain thugs, beelining towards the exit. South and I hurried through in her hoofsteps and made it out of the club with no more surprises. Our pegasus friend was waiting for us outside, observing the still unconscious manticore lying in the dumpsters.

“The maintenance tunnels are this way,” she said hurriedly. She cantered off, and both South and I chased after her. I managed to catch up to her, and South moved ahead of me. A question nagged at me since the confrontation with Mustang, and since we were most likely heading to another gunfight, now seemed the best chance to ask. “Firestorm, who’s the Shadow King?”

She did not look at me, focusing on where she was running. “The last thing in the galaxy you want to piss off.”

We slipped into the secluded tunnels behind the markets in what could have been a record time, based on the pain in my lungs flaring in protest at the punishment I was forcing on them. South and Firestorm were in considerably better condition as they surveyed the sharp narrow corners of the red lit corridors we found ourselves in. The sounds of moving machinery and smell of burning materials filled the air, evoking a sense of nostalgia from my past work in fixing military vehicles as training.

Firestorm led the way as usual, while South and I followed carefully behind her. I thought a few times of what exactly Razor would be doing to tie up a loose end down here of all places, but nothing apparent came to mind. He was a thug, that was obvious and this seemed like the perfect place to do his less than legal business. The deeper we went into the darkened passage, the more I wondered how many ponies were unfairly killed or disposed of down in this forsaken pit.

Firestorm signaled us to stop at a corner and peered around it cautiously. South moved in beside her and knelt down quietly, gun ready. Firestorm shook her head, and whispered something I couldn’t hear. I saw South roll her eyes, and lowered her weapon, muttering something equally unintelligible. I made it to the corner myself, and looked around to see what the fuss was about. A set of stairs descended into a wider section of the hallway, with large boxes and containers littering the area. A lone pony stood in the open, a long hooded cloak covering their body.

The pony appeared to be waiting, I think, with the way it paced back and forth, and glanced around at the slightest noise. I don’t think it knew we were here, even though it had looked in our direction several times. “Where are they,” she snapped to nopony in particular. Her voice was sophisticated, almost regal despite her impatience. Hoofsteps caught our attention, as well as hers, coming from all directions, and she turned around wildly at the sight of encroaching shadows.

Five new ponies surrounded her, all equally large and scary looking, each brandishing a large weapon. A sixth pony, a pegasus, swooped in from above, landing deftly beside the lone mare. The light was dim, but I could still tell who it was from his shape. Razor. The cloaked pony backed away slightly, but Razor maintained a close proximity to her. “So, do you have what we want? Or is this going to get messy?”

“I wished to speak to the Shadow King directly, and you are definitely not him.” the mare replied flippantly.

I could barely make out the sinister smile on Razors face, as he got even closer to the defiant mare. “You don’t seem to understand that nopony meets the King. Nopony, not even someone as respected as you.” Razor lifted a hoof and stroked the side of the mares face, which she swiftly batted away.

“Then this deal is off, and I will see someone more respected, perhaps the Council if the King is not interested.” She turned away from Razor, but one of his goons barred her way. The ponies surrounding her aimed their weapons at her, and she glanced at them panickedly.

Razor laughed. “That’s not going to happen either.” He stared at the mare, who simply stared back. “Messy way it is then.”

Firestorm bolted around the corner, as did South, guns drawn. I stumbled after them, still watching the gun toting lunatics about to execute an innocent bystander. They did not notice us until we got to the bottom of the stairs, but by then it was too late. Each of them loosed a volley of shots towards the lone mare, and I felt a wrenching feeling in my gut at the fact that I was too late again. My despair faded, however, when I noticed that the shrouded mare was still standing, surrounded by a field of latent energy. The heated metal slugs of the fired weapons hovered harmlessly in the air around her, as static bounded in between them. The cloak of the mare whipped and waved in coalescing energy, as a rising hum filled the air.

Razor and his goons backed up slowly at the show of power in front of them, but they were not fast enough to evade the following explosion of light. A great shock wave flowed from the mare, engulfing and knocking back all within its radius. Even Firestorm and South were shoved aside at the wave of energy, which dissipated as it passed through me as well. As far as the first telekinetic shockwaves i’d been hit with in my life, it was pleasantly warm.

I landed on my back, par for the course really. I could hear a chorus of groaning and other pained sounds echo from the room I had been ejected from. I squirmed to my hooves, and moved back to the vantage point to see what exactly had happened. Razor, as well as his goons, were thrown violently against the surrounding walls. Razor also seemed to be the only one who was still conscious, as he moved with slug like vigor to return to his senses. South and Firestorm had been bounced into each other, and were awkwardly disentangling themselves, the soldier mare muttering a few curses, while the pegasus tried in vain to protect her wings from being stepped on.

And at the center of all of it, the lone mare who had caused everything had been completely unaffected. She was still standing, surrounded by the still forms of her former attackers, and surveyed the results of her labour. She eventually noticed us on the stairs, and moved cautiously towards us. I trotted past my companions, who were nearly done relearning how to stand and stopped in front of the strange mare.

She stopped in kind, and bowed her head respectfully, lowering her hood as she did so. I was not surprised that the mare was of course, a Unicorn. She was sapphire blue, and her long flowing mane sparkled with gemstones and other precious metals. Underneath her cloak, I could see that she was very well dressed and did not belong down here at all. She looked at me curiously, then looked at my companions behind me.

“You are not with these ruffians, are you?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, we aren’t. I’d like to say we were coming to rescue you, but...” I looked again at the supine bodies of the unconscious guards, and Razor had made no progress in standing up, collapsing to the ground. “It doesn’t look like you need it.”

She giggled daintily, when I saw Firestorm finally grace us with her presence. She has a look of shock on her face, as she looked critically at the mare standing in front of her. “Countess, what are you doing down here?”

She smiled. “Getting myself into trouble I suppose. Thank you for attempting to help, but I am quite alright I assure you.”

“Countess?” I asked, confused. “Are you some sort of noble?”

Both she and Firestorm laughed. “Oh my no, my dear. I am more of a, how do I put this...a purveyor of certain fantasies that may otherwise be unattainable through mundane means.” She fluttered her eyes at me, and stared with a sultry gaze. Oh. I blushed a little, and Firestorm continued her questions.

“I mean, why would Razor be after you? Do you know something about Artemis?”

She nodded somberly. “Yes, in fact I do.” Her horned glowed as she telekinetically tugged on a portion of her mane, and removed a clasp from it. It was a small ruby signet, which she held in front of her longingly. “A dear friend of mine has fallen into trouble with that pegasus. We used to speak to each other daily, but I hadn’t heard from her in weeks. Until recently that is.”

She returned the clasp to its place in her mane, then lifted her hoof, showing us her omni-tool. She removed a storage device from it, and placed it Firestorms hoof. The pegasus looked at it questioningly, while the Countess continued her tale. “This was sent to me a few days ago, from her. She said that I had to show it to somepony who could help, but then Artemis had sent his ponies after my before I could come to C-Sec.”

She trotted over the Razor, who had finally slipped into unconsciousness. “Then this ruffian claims the Shadow King can protect me. How foalish I was to believe him.”

Firestorm scoffed. “It seems Artemis has paid off every lowlife down in the Warrens, even enough to defy the Shadow King. Whatever your friend gave you Countess, Artemis wants it destroyed.”

She came back towards us. “Then it makes all the sense in the galaxy for me to give it to you. I am certain you would put it to far greater use than I could.”

“Who is your friend, Countess? Perhaps we could find her and keep her safe.”

She shook her head solemnly. “I cannot tell you. She will already be in worlds of trouble in giving this to me, and I would only seal her fate further if I let it slip even here that it was her that betrayed Artemis. If you do pursue him, you will find her soon enough. All I ask is that you do what you can for her.”

She trotted past us, and up the way we had come in. “Are you going to be alright alone, Countess?”

She smiled back at Firestorm. “I’ll be fine dear. As your friend said, I can look after myself.”

She vanished around the corner, leaving us alone with the group of unconscious thugs and goons. Firestorm was mystified at the confusing nature of the Countess. So was I, but that was besides the point. Only South seemed to be unbothered by the unicorns guileful nature. “Well she was nice ‘nuff. Whut do you suppose is on that data drive then?

Our attention fell on the small device in Firestorm’s hoof. “Hopefully something good.” She handed it to me, and I examined it carefully. It was an audio file, which I played immediately. Two voices played in tandem, neither of which I recognised. One was male and the other female, and the latter appeared to be subservient to the former. Firestorm’s eyes widened as the recording played, a victorious smile plastered on her face.

“The Council is going to love this.”

Wing-Guard: Paragon Points Earned

Codex Entry Added: The Warrens

Codex Entry Added: The Shadow King

Codex Entry Added: The Countess

Chapter 6: Hammerfall

What was the reason we were going to all this trouble in the first place? What happened to Equestria Prime was a travesty and we all had reasons to believe that Artemis was the one to blame. But now we had proof, undeniable proof that he was the one behind it all, and it was because of that discovery that we all felt a surge of victory in bringing Artemis down. But was it solely justice that drove us? Why not just for the sake of the galaxy as a whole, by stopping a potentially dangerous pony from doing who knows what? I knew why I wanted to bring him down, because it was just the right thing to do. But the reasons my new companions were so vindictive towards him still eluded me and as we galloped full speed back to the Promenade, my chances to ask would have to wait until much later.

We left the Warrens as quickly as we possibly could, taking little time to deal with the remnants of our involvement. The damage to the Den and the warehouses, as well as the squadron of thugs laying in an unconscious heap that we had left behind was just the tip of the chaos we caused in the Warrens. We had what we went there for, so the cleanup would just have to wait until after all was said and done. I was relieved to be back in the Promenade. The dreariness of the Warrens was starting to wear on me, and was reminding me far too much of life back on Earth. Even the running did not bother me, our discovery giving me enough vigor to power on with my friends towards the embassies, hoping that the Captain and the Ambassador were still there.

The embassies were quiet on our arrival, only a few noticeable ponies wandering about during the mid day. At the reception desk, I saw Aqualia assisting a few random dignitaries, and I waved to her as we cantered past. She was surprised at our haste, and watched us go past towards to the door to the inner offices. When it was obvious that we weren’t going to be stopping in line, she began waving frantically at us.

“W-wait,” she shouted. “You can’t!”

“Sorry Aqualia, no time!” I shouted back. “We need to see the Ambassador right away!”

Her shouts faded away as we rushed through the door and towards the offices. Firestorm was in the lead, and made it through the door first, and South and I came in just behind. We nearly ran into the pegasus when we noticed she had come to a full stop just inside the doorway. We skidded to a halt, and before South could start berating the C-Sec officer, we both realised why she had stopped so suddenly.

The office was empty. There was no sign of either the Captain or the Ambassador. Had they returned at all from their inquiries at C-Sec? Or had Artemis stooped even lower than we thought?

“They left for the hearing ten minutes ago,” a gentle voice from behind replied.

We turned to see Aqualia standing behind us, looking a little dismayed. “They couldn’t wait any longer for you, so they left without you. The Ambassador was not pleased.”

“Damnit!” Firestorm cursed. “The hearing will start any minute now! We have to get this data file to them!”

“Well,” South deadpanned. “Ah’m open to ideas.”

“If you ran to the Corral Tower, you wouldn’t be terribly late.” Aqualia suggested meekly.

“That’s all Artemis will need to throw us under the bridge. We have to get there faster,” Firestorm snarked.

She paced around angrily, not looking at any of us. Aqualia fidgeted nervously, but remained despite her duties being unattended. Firestorm trotted out to the veranda, and peered down the pathway, tapping her hoof impatiently. South and I joined her on the balcony, and even Aqualia entered the room tentatively. Firestorm looked at me, eyeing me up and down.

“Are you afraid of heights, Shepard?”

“Uh..” I blurted, confused at the out of place question. “No?”

Firestorm shrugged, a faint smile forming on her muzzle. “I guess there’s no way around it.”

“Around what?” I asked, my confusion growing to the point of frustration. “What are you talking abou- WHOA!”

Without warning, I felt my hooves leave the solid ground beneath me. In the blink of an eye, Firestorm had lifted off, and scooped me up with her forelegs. She hovered a moment, turning to South and Aqualia, who stared at us in shock and confusion. “Aqualia, could you please give South directions to the Tower? I’ll take Shepard ahead and hopefully get there in time.”

The Sea-Pony nodded silently, and even South was at a complete loss of words. With no further delays, Firestorm turned towards the open air with me in tow, and rocketed off with a mighty beat of her wings. I really wasn’t afraid of heights, but soaring at this speed was still hair-raising. Firestorm bobbed side to side, maintaining a rapid pace as she deftly flew through the open air with me in her hooves. I wondered how silly I must have looked hanging under the speeding Pegasus, but I doubted anypony would be able to see us at this height.

I looked up to the pony cradling me. It was difficult to see her entire face from below her, but I could see a glint of her eyes, and the fierce determination that burned within. She beat her wings furiously, still gaining speed as the ground below rushed past in a blurry haze. She wasn’t even breathing hard at the effort, or at the strain of carrying me or that heavy armor that she wore. Firestorm was, like what I expected of other pegasi, bred for combat in skill, stamina, and speed. I was glad I could count on her as an ally, at least until this business with Artemis was dealt with, and hopefully along the way I could uncover why she was so intent on bringing him down.

The Promenade was rather peaceful to observe from the grasp of a speeding pegasus, as odd as that sounds. While the inhabitants below were nothing more than tiny specs, the sheer number of them did little to soften the reality of how big the Corral really was. Corrina had told me that millions of creatures lived here, and I could not help but feel that there was room for millions more. It must have taken decades, if not centuries for the Alicorns to build this place, and it only made the truth sadder that a race that could build such a wonderful place vanished without a trace.

Firestorm banked wide, aiming towards a looming spire in the distance. The tunnel shaped pathway around us seemed to bend upwards with the strange shaped tower we were racing towards. I glanced around, noticing that much of the ceiling was changing from ivory white metal to crystal clear glass. Looking through, I could see the enormous inner ring of the Corral, and a large protrusion extending from it towards the epicenter of the entire station. While it was not very large in comparison, it was clear to me that the spire that I was looking at was the true heart of the Corral, literally and figuratively; the Corral Council Tower.

Firestorm slowed her pace, swooping upwards into a steady climb. Flying upwards with baggage seemed much more difficult for her, as her wings beat at a far steadier pace. The deafening wind subsided, and I could hear a tinge of labored breathing. I looked at the spire in front of us. It was a series of glass elevators that climbed the entire length of the massive construction. Looking up, I noticed that the tower itself had to be no less than two kilometers high, and I wondered if Firestorm would be able to make the distance with me dangling underneath her.

We climbed slowly but surely, making good distance with each passing minute. We were not yet late for the hearing, but glancing at my omni-tool showed me that we would not have many seconds to spare. Firestorm grunted slightly as she repositioned her grip on me, a pang of panic raced through my heart at the sensation. “Sorry about that.” she apologised. You’re heavier than you look.” I frowned at her comment, crossing my hooves, realising that it was a pointless gesture since she couldn’t see them.

“So..” she continued. “Your friend South seems a bit high strung. What’s her deal?”

I tried shrugging, but I don’t think it accomplished much. “She doesn’t trust pegasi for some reason.” I said plainly. “She hasn’t told me why either, so I don’t know what to tell you.”

She was quiet for a while. “I see...”

She went into quiet contemplation as we continued to climb up the tower. I estimated we had covered half the distance, and Firestorm did not seem any more fatigued than earlier, and looked like she could make it all the way to the top without any trouble. I was relieved at that at least, and felt comfortable enough to ask a question or two of my own.

“So why are you so intent on bringing Artemis down?”

There was no immediate answer. Instead, I heard the rhythm of her wings beat faster, increasing the speed of the climb. She took in deeper breaths, and was moving faster than I thought possible under the circumstances. Her burst of speed was short lived, however, as she slowed again to her usual pace. We had made good distance in the meantime, but now I noticed a considerable level of exhaustion in my brash friend.

I heard her sigh. “I’ve been in C-Sec for a long time, and the one complaint I hear the most from my superiors is how much they distrust the Sleipnir. Complete autonomy, and completely untouchable. They hated the fact that the Sleipnir could, and often break the rules to get the job done.”

I remembered a few things that Nimbus told me of the Sleipnir, and some of the things I learned for myself. What Firestorm said was true, but it had to go deeper than that.

“But me? I didn’t hate them. I envied them. Too many ponies and the like get away with some disgusting things because the officers sworn to protect them wouldn’t do whatever it took to get the job done.”

I had no trouble believing that Firestorm was a pony that would do anything possible to ensure justice was served, even dangling a pony out a window by his mane and shooting up a club that could have had an innocent bystander in it. None of this even made her seem evil, just dangerous. It was her fiery determination that gave her the feeling a dependability. That she would get the job done, no matter the cost.

I could respect that, even though I probably wouldn’t do the same.

“It isn’t common that a Sleipnir takes it too far, but it happens. Artemis is just one of many that lose sight of what is ultimately right, and he’s been doing it long before he became a Sleipnir. He’s a ruthless monster, and there’s nothing I would like more than to be the one that helps bring him down.”

I lost myself in thought at what she was telling me, even to the point where I didn’t notice that we had cleared the crest of the tower and were now moving forward again. I heard Firestorm huff a few shallow breaths, as she glided slowly down to the terrace below, and dropped me carefully onto the ground. She landed with a modicom of grace, and hobbled a few times while she caught her breath. I looked around where we landed, and saw that we were in a garden of sorts. Large sections of space were fenced off. The sections of tilled earth behind the railings and walls of glass were filled with exotic plants. A set of stairs caught my eye, climbing up towards the center of the tower, where groups of well dressed ponies hung around listlessly.

Firestorm trotted beside me, having regained what little stamina she could. She had a hard look in her eyes, looking up the stairs towards our destination. “I don’t know what Artemis has done to change so drastically, but I’m tired of him making the Pegasi look bad, Sleipnir or not.”

I matched her stare, looking forward towards the tower’s apex. It seemed everypony had a lot riding on Artemis being brought down, not just Earth Ponies. We had allies elsewhere, and as much as tensions between our races were high, I was not going to let that stop me from doing what was right. I started moving towards the stairs, looking back to my newest friend with a smile. “Then let’s go stop him together.”

She gave me a fond smile, and nodded. She joined me as we climbed the stairs into the heart of the Corral Tower, and hopefully to the better part of a long and tiring day.

“Where have you been?”

I don’t think I had ever seen the Captain angry before, but the look on his face was undeniable as he caught sight of us approaching the final set of stairs into the Council chambers. He had been pacing for a long time before he noticed us, and shot Firestorm a strange look. Firestorm, showing respect, gave Quartermane a firm salute, but it did little to soften his confusion.

“Where is South, Shepard? Who is this?”

I looked at my companion, who just shook her head. I looked at the Captain, and thought of the best way to answer his questions, if at all.

“This is Firestorm, she was the C-Sec officer in charge of Artemis’s inquiry.”

The Captain did not seem all that impressed at my answer, and looked sternly at Firestorm. “Your commanding officer said you were unable to find anything useful. Why are you here?”

Firestorm didn’t even blink at the accusatory nature in which the Captain was berating her. “I had found something, but my captain refused to give me the time necessary to acquire it. Your subordinates were more than helpful in my investigation.”

“South is on her way, sir,” I added. “We had run out of time, so Firestorm flew me here in time for the trial. How late are we?”

Quartermane seemed a bit overwhelmed at all the facts that were were throwing at him. He looked at me curiously. “She...flew you here?”

I nodded. “We tried to meet you back at the embassies with what we had found, but you were already gone. It was the fastest way.”

He did not appear to have anything to say to that statement. He just continued staring at the pair of us, his eyes deep in thought. A bookish looking pegasus appeared at the crest of the stairs, clearing his throat to get our attention. The captain turned to the timid looking pony. “Um..Captain Quartermane,” he stammered. “The Ambassador has requested your presence in the hearing.”

The Captain shook his head. “Of course he did,” he sighed. He looked back to us, beckoning us to follow. We strode beside him as we all followed the clerk into the Council chamber. The captain continued his questions, but kept his voice quiet. “You say you found something?”

I nodded. “Yes, Sir. We did.”

He looked at me with intrigue. “Is it anything good?”

“Oh yeah,” Firestorm replied. “It’s good.”

“Well, let’s hope its enough then.”

We were led up a long set of stairs that opened into a large vaulted chamber. I heard murmured whispers floating in the air, coming from the large amount of onlookers from several balconies overlooking the center of the room. A loud and angry voice carried through the room, and I recognised its source as the Ambassador, who stood alone on a small ledge before a set of podiums across a pit of glass and vegetation.

We stopped unnoticed behind the Ambassador, as he finished his current tirade, and I was close enough now to make out the calmer rebuttals from the Council members themselves. The pegasus councilor, dressed in grey vestments spoke first.

“Ambassador, you speak as if your one witness is at all credible. A traumatized dockworker is hardly valid as evidence.”

The Ambassador stomped his hoof. “And I suppose Artemis is sloppy enough to allow any survivors, let alone one to testify. You cannot expect us to uncover evidence against a Sleipnir when all they touch becomes private information.”

“Then,” the Unicorn Councilor interjected. “I would hope that you would attempt better to build a credible case, than to falsely accuse one of our own operatives with no evidence to support your claims. We cannot simply believe your story just because you have nothing else.”

The two councilors looked over to their third member. Now I remembered what creature it was, from the one I had seen earlier today. The third Council Race; the Gemini. A race of sentient, biped, and erratically intelligent hounds that had an appetite for gemstones. While they often looked haggard and slovenly, their ‘Alpha Females’ were unnervingly eloquent. This particular Gemini stood quietly on two gangly grey furred legs, only partially hidden by an exquisite full body robe. Her arms were crossed gracefully behind her back, and she regarded her fellow councilors with a silent nod. Her beady yellow eyes scanned scrupulously across the chamber, darting to everyone in attendance, before falling on me. I saw her large furry jaw shift in thought as her eyes pierced through me, her ear twitching slightly.

“It seems the Gemini councilor has no comment to add, Ambassador.” The Unicorn Councilor continued.

A harsh sounding chuckle filled the room. I looked up, noticing that above the councilors was a large holographic projector. The image displayed was of a pony I had never seen before, but it was obvious enough to know who it was. A steel blue Pegasus, wearing silver armor was displayed. I saw that he was covered in bits of silvery metals across his body and face, no doubt hiding a series of scars and wounds that never fully healed. His cold eyed glare was focused on the councilors, and his face was contorted in a sinister grin as his chuckle subsided. “A shame really,” his voice filled with fake disappointment. “I do so enjoy the councilors comments.”

“What say you, to these accusations, Artemis?” the Unicorn Councilor asked.

Artemis adopted a look fake interest, directed at the Ambassador. “The Earth Ponies have every right to be upset at what happened to Equestria Prime. A terrible thing, the Geld invading without warning. And to lose an Alicorn relic and a Council Sleipnir in the process. It would look terrible if it was to be your fault wouldn’t it?”

“And how would you know anything about that, Artemis?” the Captain snapped, stepping forward. “Those events have not been mentioned during this hearing.”

Artemis sneered as he turned his head towards Quartermane. “You underestimate how well informed the Sleipnir are, Captain Quartermane. I was a direct superior to Nimbus, and upon the news of her death I was given access to her reports. It seems that your hopeful performed well, until Nimbus was killed.”

“You mean after Nimbus was murdered. By you.” Quartermane’s face was set in anger. “How many more innocents and friends have to die around you before the Galaxy recognizes you for the monster you are!”

Quartermane was shouting now, and all eyes in the room were focused on him. Except mine. I was starting at Artemis, gauging his reaction. His sneer morphed into a wicked smile, as he glanced back to the councilors.

“It seems the Earth Captain can’t leave old ghosts in the past where they belong, Councilors. I do believe this hearing is meant for more pressing matters, is it not?”

The Unicorn Councilor nodded. “Sleipnir Artemis is correct Captain Quartermane. Unless you have something to add to the matter at hoof, I will ask you to remain silent.”

Quartermane’s anger softened slightly as he broke his gaze with Artemis to the councilors. After a weighted pause, he nodded slowly and backed away from the podiums.

“Now then,” The Unicorn continued. “Is there anything else, Ambassador, that you wish to say before we make our decision?”

The Ambassador did not respond. A look of self satisfaction developed on Artemis’ face, as he looked back to the councilors.

The Pegasus councilor stepped forward. “If the Earth Pony ambassador has nothing further to add, then I believe it is time to end this pointless debate.”

“I have something!”

If it weren’t for all the eyes falling to me, I would not have believed that I had said anything at all. The Ambassador turned to me, and appeared to still be mad at me for being late, but I did not focus on him for long. I looked at the captain, who nodded towards the podiums. Even Firestorm gave me a gentle nudge forward, as I trotted slowly to the center of the room. My eyes glanced up to Artemis, who looked amused at my outburst.

“So, this is Shepard?” he mocked. “This is your newest prodigy, Quartermane? I do believe they are getting smaller.”

He directed his mocking glare at Quartermane, who did not respond to it at all. The councilors stared at me as I approached the dais.

“Shepard?” the Pegasus councilor questioned. “So you were the one that Nimbus chose to evaluate.”

“Yes, I was.” I replied.

“Then perhaps you can tell us something useful. Did you see operative Artemis shoot Nimbus as your ambassador was claimed?”

I did not appreciate the level of spite in his voice, and I glared at him in kind. “No, I didn’t”

His eyes narrowed. “Then what use are you, not only to the Sleipnir, but to the Corral as a species?”

Artemis laughed. “Now Councilor, there is no need to be so harsh on the poor pony. You did try your very best, didn’t you Shepard?”

I had had it with the condescending tone that the two Pegasi were using on me. For once, I finally understood, at least a little bit, of how South could dislike them so much. All of their anger and spite was directed at me, and they were twisting it into an attack of not only myself, but my entire race, and I had had enough of it it.

I looked up to Artemis. “Maybe if your race wasn’t so busy being smug jerks to the new ponies in the Galaxy, you would do a better job of covering your tracks.”

I raised my omni-tool, accessing the file that the Countess had gave us. My tool gave a little flash, the recording ready to play.

“This is a voice recording given to us by somepony who Artemis sought killed to prevent it from reaching this hearing, and even attempted to kill me to do it.”

The chamber went still, and sounds of hushed shock and whispers filled the air from the audience. Artemis feigned interest, but the Councilors leaned forward in anticipation. I pressed play, allowing the voices from the tool to carry across the room so all could hear it.

“My lord?” a female voice asked.

“Yes, what is it?” A second voice replied, clearly belonging to Artemis.

“We have found something that may interest you. Another relic has been found.”

“Where?” Artemis’s voice was rapt with interest.

“On Equestria Prime, an Earth Pony Colony in the Weaver Nebula.”

“Are you certain?” Artemis’ voice was growling, and echoed of metal.

“Yes, there is no doubt. I made certain myself.”

“Excellent, then we must get to it at once.”

“There is one other thing, however. The Council has already been informed, and will dispatch a different Sleipnir to recover it shortly.”

Artemis did not reply immediately. “Hrrm,” he grunted. “Then we will have to make sure that they do not get their grubby hooves on it first. Prepare to deploy the Geld to the colony. I will see to this personally.”

The recording ended, and the room was dead silent. The Councilors, the Captain, the Ambassador, and the entire crowd of onlookers were frozen in shock. It was quiet enough to be deafening, the only sound I heard was one of...applause?

Artemis...was applauding. The slow, clopping sound echoed through the chambers, each sound piercing the room like a razor. He wasn’t angry, or even concerned that his ploy had been uncovered. He looked...pleased.

“Oh ho ho,” he chortled. “Well done Shepard, well done! It seems that you have caught my mistake, and made it public to all. I must say, perhaps your race isn’t as useless as I thought.” Something about his praise made me feel sick to my stomach.

“Artemis,” the Unicorn Councilor said, aghast. “Are you saying this is true? That you sought to defy the council?”

Artemis scowled at her. “You look surprised, Councilor. Here I thought your kind were the smartest in the Galaxy. It appears that I was wrong”

“This act of treason will be your death, Artemis!” the Pegasus Councilor shouted. “To defy the council, and murder innocent civilians will see your Sleipnir status and life forfeit!”

Artemis scoffed. “I do not need your petty resources to accomplish what I have started, and you have an entire Galaxy to scour if you wish to find me.”

He looked at me one last time. “Good luck, you will all need it.”

The projection of his image flicked, and sputtered into nothing. Silence rushed over the room once again, before erupting into a storm of anger and outrage. The entire audience was engulfed in furious anger, and was teetering on boiling out of control. The chamber guards sprung into action, moving to quell the sudden riot.

“SILENCE!!!”

Order returned, silence prevailed, as the entire Council Chamber stared at the Gemini Councilor. The lithe creature stood with a wide stance, arms at her side in response to her ear shattering shout. She regained her composure, returning to her demure stance of indifference and nodded to her fellow Council members.

“Now then,” she began. Her voice was strong, but had an air of quiet regality to it. “It is a great shock that Sleipnir Artemis has gone to great lengths to defy us, but it serves no purpose to lose our heads to anger.”

She looked to us on the Dais. “We should give thanks to these brave soldiers who went above and beyond to see that this travesty was brought to light, and now we can begin to move forward and bring the traitorous Artemis to justice.”

The other councilors nodded in agreement. “But Artemis is right on one part,” the Pegasus Councilor added. “We have no idea what he is doing, or where he is going.”

“Actually,” I interjected, raising my hoof meekly. “There is more on the recording that I did not play. Officer Firestorm suggested I not play the entire message, to falsify how much we actually knew of Artemis’ plan.”

The Gemini Councilor smiled. “Very clever, may we hear the rest of it?”

I complied, bringing up my omni-tool again and hitting play.

“Has your, associate, found anything else?” Artemis’ voice continued.

“Um,” the second voice faltered. “I am not certain. There were rumors of something in the Meridian Cluster, but I have heard nothing else.”

“Well then, see to it that the rumor is examined thoroughly.” Artemis snapped. “I want nothing left to chance, no matter the risk. Or do you need reminder of our agreement?” Artemiss voice was dead of any emotion, and made me unwary of his intention.

“N-no, that fine. I will ensure it is done as you requested, Lord Artemis.”

“Good. Nothing will stop the return of the Purifiers. Least of all your incompetence.”

I closed the file, looking as matter-of-factly as I could to the Council. “That’s all there is.”

More silence, as the Councillors contemplated quietly. The Unicorn was first to speak.

“What are these Purifiers that Artemis spoke of? Was there any other information on them?”

I shook my head. “He only mentioned them once in the recording, Councilor. There was nothing else in the file about them.”

“And that other voice,” The Pegasus Councilor added, “she seemed frightened, perhaps under duress. I do not know who she is though.”

“Nor do I,” The Gemini Council added. “But this added information is quiet helpful. You have proven to be very resourceful, Shepard.”

The Gemini clapped her paws together once. “Now, we must consider options in locating Artemis. Our only clue at the moment seems to be that his forces are in the Meridian Cluster.”

“That is a very large section of space,” The Unicorn added. “And part of the Everfree systems. It would be a risky venture to send any considerable amount of scouts to search for him.”

“Then we send a single operative after him,” the Pegasus added. “There are other Sleipnir than Artemis.

The Gemini shook her head. “Artemis was one of our best, and Nimbus was as well. The board has been cleared, and Artemis has the advantage.”

“May I make a suggestion, Councillors?”

The Ambassador stepped forward. He had a focused look on his face, and I could almost see the wheels in his head turning. He had a plan in his head, and as much as I couldn’t stand his negativity, he was the Earth Pony Ambassador for a reason. The Councillors looked at him curiously. “What do you have in mind, Ambassador?”

He cleared his throat. “While I understand that you have a selection of your own personal operatives to solve this problem, I would like to suggest a different kind of variable to the equation, if I may?”

“Such as?”

“Somepony with personal stake. Artemis’s recent act has angered a race, Councillors. Our race. And any member of us with any level of patriotism would wish to seek Artemis personally for justice. Better still, we have somepony here today who has personal reasons to wish Artemis brought down, one who would put everything on the line to see that the task was fulfilled if the resources you can provide are given to them. Vindication is an excellent asset if put to good use.”

I wondered at what point the Ambassador was trying to make, and who on earth he was talking about. Maybe he was talking about the Captain, or even Firestorm. Both of them seemed to have a lot of reasons to want to chase after Artemis, and would be perfect for the job. The Councillors looked between themselves pensively, intrigue being the dominant expression on their faces.

“The Ambassador raises an excellent point.” the Unicorn commented. “While vindication can easily fall prey to revenge, it can be useful in situations such as this.”

“If you believe your candidate to be worth the time, Ambassador.” the Gemini added. “This is not a decision we make lightly.”

The Ambassador nodded. “I have the utmost faith in them, Councilor. We would not have gotten this far without their effort.”

The two female councilors looked to the Pegasus, waiting for any indication of his opinion. He glanced between them and the Ambassador, and reluctantly nodded.

“Very well then.” The Gemini reached out her paw expectantly, gesturing towards the dais. “Have your candidate step forward please.”

The Ambassador stepped off the dais, and pointed his hoof towards it. I looked between those present to see who he was waiting for. Nopony moved though, and I looked to the Ambassador. He was looking right at me.

“Well, Shepard?” he said impatiently.

“Well what?” I replied, confused.

“Get up there!” he hissed quietly.

Before I could object, or even think on what what was going on, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Quartermane looked at me fondly, a proud smile on his face. He nodded reassuringly, and he too gestured me towards the awaiting dais. Seeing no alternative, and no way out, I stepped slowly back into the center of the room and the center of attention. The councilors all used the consoles in front of them in unison, and silence descended on the room once more.

“Specialist Shepard,” the Gemini began. “Through your recent actions, you have shown a steadfast dedication to completing the tasks set before you.”

The Unicorn spoke next. “Today you have aided invaluable in bringing an unforeseen conspiracy against the Corral to light, and we can never fully repay you for your actions.”

Then the Pegasus spoke in turn, continuing the cycle. “While there has been debate on where or not the Earth Ponies were ready for the responsibilities that entail being a Sleipnir, you have shown a level of tact and resourcefulness that our operatives pride themselves on in completing their roles as defenders of the Corral.”

“Your Ambassador makes a valid point, you have personally dealt with Artemis’ treachery, and your life has been threatened as such. Whether you feel the urge of vindication towards him is up to you, but it is clear that you would work hard to hunt him down.”

“You skills are varied, and your allies are strong. You can be, in time, proof that your race is indeed deserving of greater status within Corral space.”

“Are you ready and willing, to accept the responsibilities of the Sleipnir, and join the Council elite?”

It seemed like they were actually giving me a choice, even though I already knew the answer. I looked back to my friends, the Captain and Firestorm. They all nodded, giving me the courage to speak, and seal my fate.

“I am.”

The Gemini raised her arms in a conciliatory manner. “Then it is done.”

“I quit.”

After the hearing had adjourned, I was expecting to receive all kinds of praise and attention. The last thing I expected to hear was somepony’s declaration of resignation. The Council had long since filed out of the chambers, as did many of the onlookers from the vestibules above, leaving me to deal with the flow of events that would follow. Ponies came and went, and there was a great deal of chaos and shifting in the Corral Tower as one of the biggest decisions of the day had been made. The ambassador had stolen the Captain way for a private conversation, even before he could offer an official congratulations. Instead, Firestorm took me aside for her own conversation, one she seemed desperately interested in talking about.

“I want to go with you after Artemis, Shepard.”

“But what about C-Sec?” I inquired. Firestorm was a skilled officer, with a strong insight on the criminal underbelly of the Corral, and the thought of taking her away from here seemed like a disservice to those that lived here.

“You’ve seen how C-Sec does their business,” she stated. “If we had done this their way, that hearing would have gone very differently. And that irritates me.”

“Rules are there for a reason, Firestorm,” I countered.

“Yeah,” she mused. “They’re there for somepony else to break them.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Having freedom to do anything could be beneficial in my duties to come. I had never need to break rules before, but having the option was something at least. This all led to the inevitable conversation that followed when Firestorm confronted her commanding officer who was on his way out of the tower.

“You what?” he grunted.

“You heard me,” Firestorm snarked. “I quit. I’m going with Shepard to hunt down Artemis.”

“And what makes you think i’ll allow that?”

“Did you not hear the part where I quit? If I had listened to you, Artemis would have gotten away with everything. I’m tired of not being able to do what it takes to get the job done, and let criminals get away.”

The C-Sec officer glared at his defiant, now former employee. He broke eye contact with an impassive glance to me. “Flare’s not gonna like this Sunny.”

I saw a heated look in Firestorms face, but she quelled it with a shake of her head. “I stopped caring what she thought the moment she tossed me into bootcamp.”

She started walking away, but paused briefly. “I have to do this,” she said quietly, then kept walking. The look in the gruff Pegasus’s eyes was foreign to me. It was sad, but trying to hide behind a stoic exterior. He watched quietly as Firestorm trotted away, then looked at me. He looked lost, like he was rooted to the spot and had no idea which way to go.

“Shepard.”

My eyes fell on his. He appeared to be torn between several emotional states, and was just barely keeping them in check. It reminded me of a certain pony that still owed me her life story. The officer sighed, and trotted past me, towards the edge of the terrace. “Keep her safe.”

He flared his wings and leapt off the edge, plummeting down the tower spire and out of sight. Failing to decipher what that meant, I stumbled away and caught up with Firestorm, intent on getting answers. She had stopped near a high ledge and appeared to be talking to a group of ponies that I had not noticed before. As I got closer, I noticed that the three ponies surrounding Firestorm were all Unicorns. Two of them wore long flowing shawls that covered their entire bodies and faces, only the glow of their eyes piercing through the intricate clothing. Between them, was a pony I recognised. She no long was wearing a ratty cloak, letting her extravagant violet dress skirt across the ground. Her jeweled mane was dazzling in the bright lights of the tower, and she had a demure smile on her face.

She noticed me as I approached, beckoning me over with a gentle motion. “Ah, Shepard.” She said softly. “I’d like to wish you congratulations for your victory over that dreadful Artemis.”

“It was no trouble at all, Countess.” Knowing that she was a pony of respect, I felt that the least I should do was bow. She smiled at the gesture, returning it in kind.

“There is no need for such formality my dear. You saved my life, in more ways than one, and I am indebted to you.”

“Are you certain you are safe now, Countess?” Firestorm asked. “I doubt Artemis is one to easily forgive.”

The Countess giggled softly. “With his betrayal revealed, I believe his resources here will dwindle. I should not have anything further to fear from him, so long as I travel with my guardians from now on.”

The two escorts beside her nodded, speaking in unison. “We live to serve you Countess.”

The monotonous tone of the guards was unsettling, but neither Firestorm or the Countess were bothered by it at all. The mistress smiled at the devotion of her servants and then looked back to us.

“If that is all, I must take my leave. I have been from my chambers for too long.” She turned to leave, but Firestorm stepped forward, giving her pause.

They stared at each other silently for a while, Firestorms gaze filled with piercing curiosity, while the Countess’ were calm and lucid.

“Who was the other voice on that recording, Countess? Even the Councilors didn’t know who she was. But if Artemis needs her, she can’t be just a common thug.”

The Countess closed her eyes. She appeared to be lost in deep, cherished memories with the small curl of her lips. Her eyes fluttered open, looking at Firestorm.

“As I said before, she is a dear friend, whom I’ve known for as long as I can remember. But she is also a very secretive mare, who lives a solitary and troubled life. I did much for her before she disappeared, to try and break her from her shell, but whenever we are apart she falls into her old habits again.” She trotted slowly away from us as she told us with her tale.

“I doubt even you would know who she is, Officer Firestorm. She rarely used her name in common society, preferring falsities to hide herself. On the border worlds, she is known as the Black Mistress, but I know her as Lady Midnight.”

“Lady Midnight? Is she a Matron like you?”

“Oh heavens no,” the Countess chuckled. “She had never took an interest in my line of work. She had her mind focused on ancient secrets of the past.”

“Like the Alicorns?” I added.

She cast a smile in my direction. “I believe so yes. And I believe it is her experience that attracted Artemis to her.”

She and her guardians had circled around us and paused just before the veranda leading back into the tower. She looked back to us once more, her eyes shimmered softly in sadness.

“I fear for her safety, but there is little I can do from here. If there is anything you can do, should you pursue Artemis, please do what you can to help her.”

She turned away and left me and Firestorm on the towers edge without any further questions. We stood there watching her leave quietly before she blended into the dispersing crowds and vanished from sight. Firestorm shifted awkwardly at the silence that descended on us and returned to her heated pace. I snapped to my senses as well in her hasty departure and rushed up beside her.

“What was that all about?” I asked hurriedly.

“I don’t like going in without all the facts, Shepard. Not knowing who Artemis was working with bothered me.”

“No, not that. What was that with your commanding officer?”

She gave me a hard look, then looked away sharply. “Don’t worry about it.”

She attempted to speed up, but I grabbed her by the shoulder forcing her to stop. She stared at me blankly, shaking her head. Her fiery mane danced around her face, but it did little to distract the hard look I was returning.

“I want you to come along with us Firestorm, you did more than help out. But you are leaving a lot behind, and I’d like to know that it isn’t going to come back and bite you in the flank.”

She smirked. “Family issues usually do.” She stepped away from my grasp and trotted towards the edge. “I’ll see you back at C-Sec on your way out.” She jumped off, and was gone.

Just what I needed, more baggage. While dealing with my newest squadmates issues would be no end of entertainment, I needed to speak to the Captain about what our next move should be. Thankfully, by the time I found him, he and the Ambassador looked to be finishing their conversation. He noticed me, and beckoned me over with the fakest smile of appreciation I had ever seen.

“Shepard! Glad you could join us. I was just discussing with the Captain some details of your recent accomplishment. Congratulations, by the way.”

The Captain rolled his eyes at the excessive cheeriness that the Ambassador was suddenly exhibiting, offering me a hoofshake of his own. “It wasn’t part of the plan, but the Council couldn’t have picked a better pony Shepard. I’m proud of you, and I know you will do well.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I said, returning the hoofshake. “I’ll do my best.”

I looked back to the Ambassador. “What details are you talking about?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, I assure you Shepard. The Captain and I will iron everything out before you get started. First of all is your own ship of course! You can’t possibly serve as a Sleipnir without your own ship. I’ll have to speak to Stable command and see what I can get together. Quartermane, come with me. I’ll need your help.”

The ambassador started off quickly, not even noticing the Captain mutter something as he trotted away. “That’s a first.”

We both smiled as the giddy stallion trotted down the stairs, and thankfully out of sight. The Captain and I basked in a pleasing moment of silence, before we walked together towards the elevators ourselves. I was surprised by how quickly the tower had emptied, seeing only a few ponies left of the dozens that filled the council chamber not minutes ago. I saw the nexus of elevators, and the Ambassador was the only one waiting. We took our time in descending the stairs, watching in amusement as the greying stallion tapped his hooves impatiently.

The contented expression of the Captain relieved a great deal of the stress that had piled up in my mind. But something about his stoic expression nagged at my mind, remembering his outburst during the trial. The Captain I knew had always been able to control his temper, even when things went south, but what I saw in him minutes ago was nothing like I had ever seen.

“Uh, Sir.” I blurted, my mind getting ahead of me. “If I may, what was it that Artemis did that has you so angry at him? What you said back there, it didn’t seem like you.”

He slowed his descent, but did not look at me. He maintained his stone faced expression, looking ever forward.

“It’s not a past I enjoy talking about Shepard,” he said sternly.

“Neither is mine, Sir. But I told it to you. If I’m going after him, I need to know what I’m getting into.”

That caused him to stop entirely and finally look at me. He scanned over me with a curious glare. Then he smiled. “You aren’t going to drop this are you?” he asked wryly.

I shook my head. He sighed, returning to his steady descent down the stairs.

“Meeting ponies like Artemis changes you for the worse, Shepard. Something I learned the hard way. It was about twenty years ago, during the First Contact War. I was a Junior Lieutenant then. I was part of one of the smaller skirmishes in those times, as reinforcements.”

Quartermane looked up, as he searched through his memories. I saw his eyes quiver slightly, glistening with anger.

“One of our forward assaults went bad. Real bad. It was such a decisive loss that the commanding officer of that fleet surrendered just to prevent further loss of life. We were called in to give them aid. When we got there, there were only a few ships of ours left, surrounded by Pegasi warships.”

The Captain halted again at the bottom of the stairs. He looked away from me, but I could hear the rage curdling in his voice.

“We received a message from our command ship. The Pegasi had boarded them and taken the ship. We watched them take the bridge of the ship, and Artemis was one of them. He was much less scarred back then, and actually looked like he was capable of kindness. But even monsters can wear masks. He took the commanding officer, and executed him and his entire crew right there on the spot. He did it easily, and made us watch. He even justified it by saying ‘weakness deserves no mercy’.”

Quartermane’s revelation made me sick to my stomach. I figured that Artemis was a skilled veteran, battle hardened from decades of service. I knew that he was going to be a challenging adversary. But finding out that he was a heartless killer and murderer was just too much to take. The Ambassador was right, I had a lot of reasons to want to take Artemis down, and now I had another.

“But how does he know you personally?” I asked.

“We had more reinforcements than they could handle. We managed to surround their ships in return. I was part of the team that went to reclaim our ships. We had to fight our way into the bridge. It was absolute chaos. Somehow he managed to get the upperhoof in our own ship and take us by surprise.”

“They managed to capture our boarding party, and corralled us back into the bridge, intent on executing us as well. When we got there, I noticed that many of the Pegasi were showing signs of dissent against Artemis’s actions. There was an argument between them and it was enough for us to cause a riot among the survivors.”

“The chaos was short, but we managed to cause some damage to them. I took a few shots at Artemis, giving him a few of those scars on his face. He was about to return the favor when something stopped him. This was about the time the Council finally intervened, near the end of the war. They had ordered the cease fire of all Pegasi warships and were already working with Stable for a hasty end to the conflict.”

We finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Quartermane seemed calmer at the end of his story, but he was still showing signs of repressed anger at his past.

“That cease fire saved my life, and I could tell Artemis was furious. But he wasn’t stupid. One wrong move then would have reignited the war and he would have been branded a war criminal. The Pegasi left the ship and returned to their systems. That was the last time I saw Artemis. Until now. I guess he remembered me as well, but who could forget the one who scarred your face like I did to him?”

Quartermane chuckled at his morbid comment while we continued towards the waiting Ambassador. His face returned to its previous expression of calm, and it was enough to show that he was finished on that particular subject.

“So what did you think of your first visit to the Corral, Shepard?” Quartermane asked passively, changing the subject swiftly.

In the course of a few hours today, I had been present for several arguments, persuaded a religious preacher, been pony-napped, stared down a Manticore, and been in more gunfights that I cared to count. Not to mention being on a planet side battlefield not two days ago, and now was tasked to hunt down the rogue pony that had started it all.

“It was...exciting.” I said slowly.

“Well, you better get used to it.” He grinned. “You’re a hero now Shepard, excitement is part of the job.”

We made it to the waiting Ambassador just as an elevator rose to a stop from the giant glass tube. The doors parted, and revealed a familiar mahogany pony standing inside. She noticed us immediately, looking at the three of us dumbfoundedly while tipping her white hat courteously. “Uh...heya.”

Quartermane chuckled. “I’ll let you fill Sergeant Major South in on what’s happened, Shepard. We’ll meet you back at the docks.”

He and the Ambassador trotted into the open elevator, while South carefully stepped out, attempting not to bump into either of them. She looked around at the open terrace that she found herself on, mystified at the scenery much like I was when I first arrived. The door began to close and before it did, the Captain shot me a firm salute, one I quickly returned before the door slid shut and began its descent.

South and I watched the capsule descend down the glass tube quietly, before she gave me a curious look.

“So whut’d Ah miss?”

I suggested we take the longest possible route back to the Normanedy, so that everypony could get all their business dealt with without me, and I could give South the most detailed retelling of the hearing. She was less impressed at the parts where Artemis and the Pegasus councilor openly mocked our race, and in retrospect, I was glad that South wasn’t actually there to begin with. The part where I nailed Artemis to the wall however, sent South into a fit of giggles.

When I got to the part where the council had appointed me a Sleipnir, she was oddly silent. She didn’t seem distant, or confused, not even upset. She just had no visible expression or opinion at all. I probably should have felt irritated at the fact that somepony that I considered at least moderate friend wasn’t showering me with praise, but honestly, South did not seem the type to get all emotional. The following playful punch to my shoulder hinted that she prefers being physical in her accolades. One step forward, one step back I guess.

After the story was finished, we descended in and out of random conversation, either talking about something we noticed in passing along our walk, or just trotting along in silence. I could have pressed South about herself, but I did not want to ruin her elated mood with the potential of dragging up memories that she had a reason to hide. As always, the best time would have to be later.

The surrounding area started to get familiar, and my eyes immediately searched for the entrance to C-Sec, and the elevators to the docks. Our little hike took the better part of an hour, and I had hoped that the Captain had managed to help the ambassador without strangling him, as his exasperation with the diplomat suggested. I noted the glowing kiosk to our right, wishing a few more moments with Corrina, but I knew South would have dragged me away kicking and screaming if I tried. Maybe next time.

Instead I turned left, walking towards the atrium like structure of C-Sec. Not much had changed from this morning. Droves of Pegasi were moving back and forth in groups and individually, doing their appointed tasks. South seemed...marginally less spastic upon entering, and hopefully we could walk through here to the elevators without incident.

“Hey, Shepard!”

Oh right, that. Crap.

Firestorm trotted briskly towards us, even giving South a pleasant salute. South returned a similar pleasantry, but kept a careful eye on the approaching Pegasus. “Came t’ say goodbye, Firestorm?”

Firestorms brow arched for a moment. “No, I’ve said all my good byes that matter here. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap! I didn’t plan for this! I didn’t even consider this exchange. Of course this would slip my mind at the worst possible time.

“Shepard,” South said in a low voice. “Whuts she talkin’ about?”

Firestorm looked at me too. “You didn’t tell her did you?”

Doom. Critical failure. Game over. My adventure was over before it even began. I stared blankly between the two accusing mares, not making eye contact with either of them, praying that if I didn’t answer, maybe everything would explode around me and I might survive the blast.

“South,” Firestorm started. “I asked to come along to help you all catch Artemis, and Shepard said yes.”

I saw Souths eyes widen a bit in the corner of my eyes, but I remained still.

“But if that will cause too much of a problem with you, I understand. I just felt that we worked well together, and would give Artemis a run for his money.”

South didn’t respond, still focusing the flicker of anger in her eyes on me.

"If you’re afraid of being shown up by a Pegasus, I can understand that too”

My head painfully snapped to Firestorm of its own volition in horror. Was she trying to cause a nuclear explosion in the middle of C-Sec? I tried backing away, but my brain decided to go on vacation for the rest of the day.

South turned her head slowly from me to the boastful pegasus. “Whut. Did. You. Say?”

The lightning eyed pegasus gave a confident smirk. “You don’t trust the Pegasi, I get that. But wouldn’t a soldier such as yourself love an opportunity to beat one at their own game? I’m sure even you can appreciate a good natured wager?”

Souths eyes narrowed. “Whut do you have in mind?”

Firestorm flashed her teeth victoriously. “At the end of this Artemis business, I bet I can kill more Geld than you. Loser buys the winner all the drinks they can handle.” She spat into her hoof, and extended it to South with a straight face. “Deal?”

My head twisted again to South, and I made a note to ask Chalkdust later if she knew chiropractic medicine. South stared vacantly, thinking hard on Firestorms boast. I did not know real fear until I saw her mimic the pegasus’ smug smile, and spit into her own hoof in kind, completing the disgusting ritual.

“Yer on!”

It took awhile for me to to return to cognitive function, my mind still focused on what force of nature had I just loosed on the galaxy. I figured for now it would be best to just roll with it, if anything to get the day moving to an end and hopefully get to a soft bed. The galaxy could fall apart tomorrow as a result of these twos wager, and I would have prefered to be well rested. I muscled past the ‘you’re going downs’ and the ‘hope you brought your credit chit’ and moved towards the elevator. I pressed the call button as much as I possibly could without breaking it.

I entered the elevator quietly, and my companions managed to enter silently as well, saving their feud for another day. I braced myself for the eternity long ride back to the docks, and hoped decades of established peace between two races didn’t dissolve during an elevator brawl.

Thankfully it didn’t, and arrived at the docks with no incident, aside from a bit of off beat banter between the two feisty soldiers. It was nice to see the Normanedy again, but seeing it now reminded me that there were many changes in my future, one of them being that I was to receive my own vessel. I guess I could appreciate the value of owning my own, but it would be no Normanedy.

I saw the Captain standing with the Ambassador near the airlock. They were idly conversing, but the Captain waved us over as soon as he caught notice of us approaching. The ambassador turned to us, still wearing the look of excessive happiness that did an excellent job of freaking me out. He looked to South and Firestorm, and addressed them politely, before focusing his attention on me.

“It’s excellent that you’re here, Shepard. The Captain and I have just finished speaking with Stable Command, and we have managed to pull some very delicate strings to get you the resources you need to get started.”

Here we go. I tried to look as appreciative as I could, but I had a feeling that even with my new Sleipnir status, I would be getting some kind of second banana. “So what kind of ship did you acquire?”

He chuckled softly. “Well, you’re standing right next to it, of course. Why else would we have you meet us here?”

Bwuh? I looked to the Captain, but he only added to my confusion with an agreeing nod. “He’s telling the truth, Shepard. The Normanedy’s yours now.”

“B-but, you’re the Captain.” I stammered. “She’s your ship.”

“Not anymore. You were part of the team that built her Shepard. You know her inside and out. And she was built exactly for this kind of assignment. I know she’ll do just as well in your hooves as she would mine, if not better.”

“What exactly brought this on?”

The ambassador decided to answer the question with smug satisfaction. “You are a Council Sleipnir now Shepard. All of Stable knows that you are our first step in being respected by the Galactic community, and you have performed many of your duties admirably and with skill. It took a little bending, but even Admiral Packard agreed that you deserve a chance in proving yourself, and having your own vessel to do it.”

“But I can’t lead an entire ship, I’m not even a Captain.”

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about commanding the entire ship, Shepard. Many of the military security personnel will be reassigned, leaving only the essential crew. You will only have to worry about yourself and your squad, which I see you have taken the liberty of assembling on your own.”

I looked back to ‘my squad’. As far as the kind of ponies I would want to be working together with on this endeavor, I could choose nopony better. But I felt that I would need a lot more if I was going to hunt down Artemis with any hope of success. Then it occurred to me that somepony was still missing.

“What about Lieutenant Poindexter?”

“What about me, Sir?”

I turned to the open airlock, and saw the tan pony with the electric blue mane standing there. He was smiling, as was usual for him, and he looked like he woke up from the most relaxing nap of his life. He trotted over to me, and saluted. “It will be an honor to work with you on this Shepard.”

I saluted back tentatively. “What’s with the sirs and saluting? Aren't we the sort of the same rank?”

“Oh right, “the Ambassador continued. “That's the other thing I needed to mention. Stable command felt that if they were going to give you your own ship, the least they could do was give you the level of authority to command it.”

The Ambassador reached his hoof around my neck and pulled me into a far too friendly hug, as he admired the magnificent ship before us, while I was still trying to piece together what the hell he was talking about.

“The Normanedy is yours...Commander Shepard.”

Oh, thats what he meant.

Codex Entry Added: Sleipnir

Codex Entry Added: The Gemini

Codex Entry Added: Artemis

Codex Entry Added: Regal Quartermane

Chapter 7: The Shepard's Flight

What makes a good leader? Courage? The ability to bite down their fear and refuse to show it in the face of danger? Wisdom? The ability to make calculated and strategically logical decisions on a battlefield? Maybe Tenacity? The absolute refusal to give up, to never surrender, to never back down. Maybe it is all these things and more. Traits that ponies of history have embodied in times of crisis, commanding those around them to battle, to victory. And somehow somepony thought I had those traits, and given me the rank to ‘prove’ it.

Commander.

That word seemed to be mocking me, laughing at me. No matter how many times I searched through the roster, or refreshed the Stable database, the same thing kept popping up unchanged. Commander Shepard. I had a ship of my own now, the greatest ship I could ever hope for. I had my own crew as well, a selection of soldiers and other skilled fighters at my side. We even had a mission, to find and apprehend a dangerous fugitive with dark and sinister motives. And I still couldn’t believe any of it.

I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t even aiming for this. I never considered myself a leader, having been much more of a loner as I grew up. I’d never waned to have ponies depending on me, and even when I did they were just foals. But now I had much more than mere children following me, and with greater consequences if I failed.

Thankfully the announcement was kept simple, and the official ceremonies, if there were going to be any, would wait until much later. There were far more important things for me to be doing than accepting a medal. After the Ambassador had made his declaration, a few hearty congratulations were given from those in earshot so we could quickly returned to work and board the Normanedy to prepare her for launch.

I wondered how many hooves the Ambassador had to bend in order to get this approved. A jump up the ranks to Commander was extreme, even with me being a Sleipnir now the whole thing still seemed poorly weighted. Maybe Quartermane vouched for me. He had been in the military for a long time, and despite his run in with Artemis in the past, he didn't appear to have lost any standing with his superiors. If I had known he had as much sway as I thought he did, I probably would have asked him politely not to, just to avoid all of this pressure.

I was at least grateful that the ships crew were able to handle the preparations without me for the time being, while I muddled through my conflicting concerns. No doubt Navigator Westward and Pipsqueak were setting out our route to get to the Meridian Cluster, and everypony else was getting the ship ready for another Whip-Gate jump. I wondered how long a ship’s commanding officer could realistically hide away in their quarters until ponies started asking questions.

I had to face the facts eventually though. I was a Sleipnir now, and a Commander of the Stable military. My eyes drifted around the quarters I had hidden away in since we had left the Corral. What used to be the Captain’s private room was now mine. The computer I sat before was mine. The ship itself, the Normanedy, was mine. The vessel I had helped build, the greatest project of my career, was under my command now, and that fact alone threw my head through a blender. I certainly hoped that bed was comfortable.

The storm of errant thoughts came to a halt when I heard a knock at my door. I buried everything I could into the depths of my mind, and lazily plodded over to the solid steel door that had done well in hiding me from the rest of the ship.

I pressed the button to unlock the door, and it slid open to reveal a startled looking South on the other side. She went stiff and immediately saluted. I noted a touch of intensity in her eyes. “Permission t’ enter, Commander?” she uttered.

I groaned quietly, shaking my head. “South,” I began plaintively, putting up a hoof to stop her. “You don’t have to do that. Just call me Shepard, please. This ‘Commander’ business is just too much for me right now, and I don’t need you adding to it.”

Her eyes arched in confusion. “S-sorry Command- uh, Ah mean, Shepard.”

I sighed. “That’s a start. Was there something you needed?” I stepped aside and allowed her into the quarters. She trotted in stiffly, still sticking to her subordinate nature. She looked around slowly, then halted in the center of the room. She turned to me, and lowered her head sombrely, taking off her hat and holding it to her chest. “Ah want t’ apologise to you Shepard.”

Bwuh? I don’t think even South missed the look of dumbfounded perplexity my face contorted into as the words left her mouth. My mind darted for a moment, trying to recall a moment where I felt South had reason to apologise for. She had caused a lot of issues, but none of them were explicitly her fault, or required her to apologise to me of all ponies.

“Apologise for what?”

She scuffed her hooves across the metal floor. “Well, Ah ain’t exactly been the friendliest of ponies t’wards ya Shepard, Commander or not. Ya saved my life, and others, and Ah keep making a mess o’ things for ya. You got a good head on your shoulders Shepard, an’ my pappy always told me to pony up to my mistakes, no matter what.”

She returned her hat to her head, and swished her tail to her sides. It wriggled in a peculiar manner, before she withdrew a bottle from it and two small glasses. She smiled as she balanced the drinks effortlessly in her hooves before setting them onto the nearby table. “So Ah came with a peace offerin’.”

I stared at the drinks incredulously. I realised now that it was probably a mistake to join South at a bar, and probably would have too look forward to this sort of treatment from now on. “Your dad taught you to make peace with your superior officers with alcohol?” I asked sardonically.

Her face went pale in shock. “No!” she stammered. “It’s uh, Ah mean, Ah didn’t, um, what Ah meant to say wuz...”

“South,” I said glibly. “Calm down. I was just joking.”

Her panicked sputtering droned out, and she looked away shamefully. I rolled my eyes at South’s inability to maintain a straight face and instead trotted over to the table with the glasses. The bottle that South had brought looked similar to the one that Chalkdust had hidden away in her office, but it was a much darker red. The label had been torn off and at least half of the mysterious liquid remained in the bottle. As much as I didn't want to offend South or derail her apology, I think I had had enough burning sensations in my throat to last a week.

“I appreciate the gesture, South, but I’m not certain I should be drinking when we are about to hit the Whip Gate.”

She understood, thankfully, and set the glasses aside with the bottle. “Ah suppose yer right. Not sure why Ah thought this was a good idea.” She smirked slightly, and trotted towards the door.

“Wait,” I uttered. “You mentioned your dad.”

She looked at me strangely. “Yea, whut of him?”

“Well, I still haven’t gotten that story from you, maybe now is a good time to tell me a little about yourself. You do still owe me one.”

She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “Ah guess Ah do, don’t ah?”

South paced around the room, settling on veering towards the chair in the corner. “Ah suppose a deal’s a deal.” She sat on the chair lazily, and she scratched her head thoughtfully. “Ah grew up outside of Trotter Valley on mah family’s farm.”

I tried to look surprised, but probably failed horribly. “No kidding? What did your family farm?”

“Rocks,” she stated.

“R-rocks?” I blurted. “What kind of farm grows rocks?”

“We din’t grow the rocks,” she scoffed. “We tended them! Where else do ya think we get gemstones from?”

“I don’t know, the ground?”

“An’ where do rocks come from?” she said pointedly.

“The...ground?” Ok she had me there. I tried to look innocent, but I honestly had more pressing matters than looking up the origin of gemstones when I lived on the streets. How was I supposed to know that you could harvest them from tending rocks? It did bring a question to my mind. “How do you harvest them?”

She tapped a hoof on the floor with a clang. “We buck em’ o’course! How else would we do it?”

“Can’t you get a machine do it?”

“Ya could,” she mused wryly. “But Ah ain’t see any contraption tuh date that cn’ hit a fracture point as good as a well trained pony. Most of th’ time, they end up ruinin’ them gems b’fore they dig up anythin’ useful.”

“Ah grew up buckin’ rocks, an’ iffin’ Ah wern’t out here, Ah’d probly buck em’ till Ah couldn’t buck no more.”

She lifted one of her rear legs, wiping some grime from the bottom of her hooves. I saw a glint of something shining under the muck and dirt. “An’ the diamond coated shoes don’t hurt nothin’ neither,” she said, smirking.

I stared at the gem inlaid shoes on her hooves a moment, realising now how she was able to perform a certain feat that she did effortlessly not hours ago.

“I guess thats how you can buck a manticore across the face without breaking a sweat.”

She laughed. “Thats nothin’. You should see mah big brother buck rocks. He could cleave a rock the size of th’ Normanedy in half with his left leg trussed to his side.”

“Brother? You have siblings?”

She nodded happily. “Ayep, three of em. Ah’m the eldest daughter, and my brother is the only stallion.”

“And are they all named after cardinal directions?”

She shot me a sharp look, obviously irritated by my attempt at a joke. Then she started laughing again. “South is just a nickname my brother gave me. Ah always got in tuh the most trouble, a’n he thought it real funny to explain when ever I did somethin’ wrong as ‘goin South’. A’h called him North just to see if it would rile him up any, but he took it in stride, thinkin’ it a real appropriate name. Mah sisters didn’t wanna feel left out so they took East and West. The ‘Wayward Belle’s’ wuz whut they called us.”

I tried to fight off a snicker, but South beat me to it. I don’t know why she had such an issue talking about her home life, she seemed to be enjoying the fond memories. “What do they all do?”

“Well,” she continued. “North an’ Ah are th’ only ones that followed our pappy’s hoofsteps into th’ military. He joined two years before Ah did. Ah think he’s an L.T or somethin’ by now. Ah don’t get to talk t’ him that often.”

“Oh.” My ears drooped a little. South sounded unbelievably fond of her brother, and the admission that she didn’t speak to him much struck a chord in her mood.

“What about your sisters?”

My further probing brought her out of her melancholy. “Well, little West is too young t’ leave the farm just yet, but East is a mighty fine mechanic. She could probably give you a run for your money one day Shepard. Ah think she’s got a job out on Sigma in the junkyards. She’s always sendin’ fixed parts pack to the homestead to help out.”

“What about your parents? How are they doing with almost all their children out in space?”

There was a slight shift in Souths posture as the words left my mouth. She didn’t appear angry, upset or irritated, but if I had not been paying close attention, a change could have gone unnoticed. I had no idea what subject I had tripped over, but South was lost in thought and I couldn’t be sure if it was a good thing or not. She rose slowly from the chair, and wandered casually towards the door. Before she got there, she looked at me with a sudden smile on her face. “Ah think thats e’nuff fer now Shepard. Maybe next time Ah’ll tell ya more.”

Drat. Looks like she plans on toying with me. She definitely was as devious as she was dangerous. The door opened and she started to walk out. I would have let the conversation drop at that, but a sudden thought struck my mind, one that I hoped to avoid.

“South wait,” I called out to her. “Just one thing.”

She turned back to me with a confused look on her face.

“About Firestorm...,” my voice trailed off as I watched Souths expression sour.

“Whut about her?” she said acidly.

I coughed awkwardly. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about bringing her with us. But you saw how she handles herself. I thought she would be good to bring along, and she has the same drive to take down Artemis as we do. I just don’t want this bet you two have to get out of hoof.”

South worked her jaw as she thought about what I had said. “Is that an’ order, Sir?”

I smiled. “No South, that’s a request. As a friend. Please just try to get along with her.”

“Hmph,” she huffed. “Ah’ll try, Shepard. Fer you.”

She left the room, and the door slid shut before I could even say ‘thanks’. Alone again. I paced around the room, the storm of thoughts trying to force themselves back to the front of my mind. There was still an enormous number of questions that would probably go unanswered for a long time, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t pursue then whenever I could. I found myself back in front of my computer, staring at my still open dossier, the word ‘Commander’ still attached to my name. A small sigh slipped from my lips. That one word merged all my thoughts into one single statement. Was I ready for this?

My mind drifted back to South. She believed in me, and so did Poindexter. I wondered how the rest of the crew took my promotion, as well as the other new addition to my team. As Firestorm crossed my mind, I realised I had not spoken to her since she came aboard with us. I didn’t think she would have trouble getting along with the crew, but I was not sure if the crew would get along with the fiery pegasus.

I closed the dossier file, and turned the computer off. I cast another glance around the room. Everything was as the Captain had left it, and I intended to do the same. I moved towards the door, and slipped out quietly to search for my flighty companion.

Seven.

I counted seven times that somepony had immediately stopped what they were doing just to salute to me as I passed them in the narrow corridors of the Normanedy. It was a little flattering I guess, but after seven times the novelty had long worn off. At least I didn’t have to remind them to return to their tasks after their were finished and none of them seemed keen on stopping to engage me in conversation. That left me all the time I needed to search the decks for Firestorm without interruptions.

She was wasn’t in the crew decks outside the med-bay, so now I was in the cramped elevator heading towards the cargo bay. As the lift slowly descended the ten or so feet it needed to change floors, I contemplated looking for the pony in charge of installing the elevators and slowly strangle them for improperly installing the hydraulics. I wouldn’t have botched a simple elevator so badly.

The cargo bay was mostly empty, or at least appeared to be as I stepped out of the elevator. I noticed the requisitions officer was still seated in the same place, leaning back on his chair. His head was reclined against the wall and his hat was tipped down over his eyes. He didn’t rouse as I approached him, but when I stopped at his table, he took a minor awareness to my presence.

“Just fill out a requisition form,” he said without looking up. “I’ll get it done as soon as I can.”

I looked at this lazing pony critically. The same pony who not days before was making fun of my equipment manifest was now lying here not performing his tasks. Worse yet, he didn’t even bothering to look up to see who he was talking to. It’s not like I wasn’t his commanding officer or anything. I doubted the Captain would have tolerated such insubordination, but was I the same way? It was technically my job to sort this out, but I was not all that comfortable lording over a promotion I had just received, especially one I wasn’t certain I deserved. But that didn't mean I couldn’t have a little fun with it.

“And what if the Commander needs something right away?” I asked, speaking in an even tone.

The stallion started to look up as he spoke. “Well then Shepard can come down and get it--”

His eyes widened as his head finally lifted high enough to see me clearly. His mouth hung open, twitching slightly. He performed the usual acrobatics involved with the realisation that you just sassed an officer in front of them, bounding from his chair to his hooves and nearly smashed the side of his own head with a forceful salute. It was hard to fight off a smile, but I endured just to see what else he would do next.

“C-commander!” he stammered. “I didn’t know it was you! Requisition Officer Depot, at your service, sir.”

I dismissed his saluted with a wave my hoof. “At ease, Depot.” I smiled. “And please, just call me Shepard. This ‘Commander’ thing is a bit sudden for all of us.”

He lowered his hoof and slowly returned to his chair, not yet comfortable to relax just yet. “O-of course, Shepard. Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

I scrunched my face as his utterance of the word ‘sir’, but that was something that I was probably not going to get out of. “I’m looking for the Pegasus that joined the ship, have you seen her?”

He stared a moment, shaking his head briskly in revelation. “Oh, Officer Firestorm? Yea she’s down here.”

He pointed his hoof the the farthest corner of the room. I saw stacks of boxes and other junk that I expected down here. Behind one of the piles, I caught glimpse of a fiery tail flitting back and forth. I looked back at Depot. “Officer Firestorm?”

“Well yea,” he responded, nodding. “Thats C-Sec armor she’s wearing isn’t it?”

“It is...” I replied. “And the fact that she’s a Pegasus doesn’t bother you?”

“No, why would it?”

I shrugged. It was nice to know that it wasn’t just me on this ship that had difficulty in dealing with Pegasi, but I had other things to deal with. “No reason, just nice to know.”

“Is that everything, Sir?”

I nodded, letting him get back to whatever he considered ‘work’ and walked towards where Firestorm was. As I got closer, I heard clicking and humming. I peeked around the corner, seeing Firestorm still dressed in her C-Sec armor. She was standing at a work table, busily disassembling and reassembling her rifle with practiced and experienced care. I watched quietly as she performed the task multiple times in only a few short seconds, actually using her wings dexterously as a second pair of limbs. After the fifth time in under a minute, she whistled satisfactorily.

She laid the gun out flat on the table and starting making adjustments to the lengthy weapon. Her movements and changes were precise. Even though I was not a connoisseur of weapons, I could appreciate the level of care she was taking with her equipment. A chuckle escaped her mouth.

“Are you going to sit there and stare all day?” she asked without turning around. “Or are you going to come over and say hello like a normal pony?”

I jumped a little, taken aback at her awareness of my standing here. “How did-”

She turned her head, a smug grin plastered on her face. She tossed her hair aside, pointing out the visor device attached to her ear. She walked towards me wordlessly, removing the device and placing in my hooves. I studied the device with care, bringing it up to my own eyes. The device fit snugly into my ear and it immediately sprung to life. It brought me into a whole new world of colors, lights and sounds. Various signals and other vital statistics flashed on the tiny screen, including body heat, movement and even sound levels of all nearby life forms. Glancing around, I observed Firestorm through the visor and even Depot on the far side of the room. The mountain of information it was displaying quickly became too much, and I removed the visor quickly to avoid a photosensitive seizure. This technology was impressive, but I doubted that C-Sec could or would afford to give this sort of equipment to all of its officers.

“I’m guessing that’s not C-Sec standard issue.” I asked, nursing a budding headache with a rub of my hoof.

She took the device and quickly popped back it into place hastily, as if she missed the precious time that it was gone. Another smile flashed across her mouth as she readjusted it. “Nope. Dad always told me that standard issue is nothing but issues.”

“Your dad, right...” The argument between Firestorm and her former superior officer came to mind. “He’s the pony you were arguing with back on the Corral wasn’t it?”

She laughed weakly. “Heh, that obvious huh?” Her hoof came up slowly to cradle the back of her neck, rubbing it slowly. “I can’t wait until mom gets wind of what I pulled. Gonna be a hurricane of epic proportions.”

She looked at me with a sidelong glance. “I bet your parents aren’t as insane.”

“Actually,” I began slowly. “My parents are dead.”

I watched her reaction change subtly. She looked away briefly, her blank expression not changing in the slightest. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about it. Just one of those things that’s best to get out of the way early.”

“I guess so...”

The silence wasn’t as awkward as it was when I told other ponies about my orphan heritage, but there was still something about how Firestorm’s mood had changed that told me she didn’t want to dwell on it. The hull of the ship gave hummed quietly, and Firestorm saw fit to tap the metal floor with a hoof. “This ship is pretty impressive, even for Pegasi standards,” she observed.

“Yea, it really is.” I looked around, taking in the sleek metal housing of the underbelly of the ship. “I’m pretty sure I helped build half of it, and now its mine.”

“Is that so?” She walked away from the table and began to pace the length of the room. I followed beside her as we walked around. “I didn’t spend much time on frigates much when I was training. Spent more time in the Talon Squadrons.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Oh just the standard Pegasi fighter companies. Talon Class fighters are skirmish ships built around the movements of our wings.” She lifted one of her wings, tilting it forward. On the crest where muscle shifted into feathers, there were small metallic discs implanted into the flesh. “Talon fighters are essentially mechanical suits built around us. They read our wing movements and fly just as naturally as we do. Way more effective than any other steering system.”

The Pegasi really went all out in making sure that they were dominant force when it came to flight. Even I was impressed at the level of technology and innovation of the Talon fighter. It was enough to make me want to see one in action. “Just don’t say that to Pipsqueak’s face,” I mentioned. “He might be a bit upset that somepony can fly the Normanedy better than he can.”

“Heh,” Firestorm chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s no way a Talon config would work on a ship this size. It would take years of conditioning to get the motions of the ship and pilot to sync up to the level that the Pegasi would demand. Your pilot’s skills are safe, though I am very interested to see how an Earth Pony flies regardless.”

“He seems pretty confident about his abilities. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

She shot me an impassive stare. “Who said I was worried?” She smirked.

We circled the room slowly, making our way back to the elevator. Firestorm halted briefly, taking another look around the room. “What I’d really like to see...” she continued. “Is your weapon systems. I tried to get in there, but the guard wouldn’t let me. He was actually kind of rude about it.”

Ugh. I knew that someponies were going to voice a negative opinion about my bringing a Pegasus aboard, but I hoped they would have at least done so to me before taking it out on her. When Nimbus was here, it was as if she had snuck onboard. Nopony seemed to know about her until she appeared in front of the crew as we disembarked onto Equestria Prime, so it wasn't much of a problem. The fact that it was under Captain Quartermane’s jurisdiction probably helped too. But now, everpony knew about Firestorm, and it was my show, not Quartermane’s. She wasn’t a secret, and someponies weren’t making much of a secret of their disapproval.

“I’ll have a word with him if you want. I have to excercise my rank at least a bit, don’t I?”

“Heh, yea. Wouldn’t be much of a commander if you didn’t. But don't go out of your way on my account. I was just curious to see exactly how much of a hoof the Pegasi had in it. If its anything like what I’ve seen before, the weapon systems would have to be a work of art to match the rest of her.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Firestorm chuckled. She leaned against the wall, crossing her hooves casually. “We’ll just have to wait and see then.”

Suddenly the radio crackled to life, Pipsqueak’s voice calling out. “Hey, Shepard?”

Firestorm and I looked up to acknowledge the voice. “Yes Pipsqueak?” I replied.

“You’re needed on the Command Deck. We’re almost ready to leave.”

“Alright, I’ll be right there.”

The radio went silent. Firestorm stood up and walked back to her corner. She looked back at me before she got too far. “I’ll talk to you later, Shepard. Go give em’ hell.” She punctuated her farewell with a wave of her wing, and walked away.

I watched her disappear back to her worktable as the elevator finally arrived behind me. It was nice to know that I could have at least one normal conversation on this ship, if I could find the time in between my new duties. I sighed and entered the tiny box lift, wondering what I’d have to look forward to on the command deck.

“Commander on deck!”

The sound of synchronised hooves stomping to attention rang out through the room. Everypony stood stiff, hooves raised in a respectful salute. I stepped tentatively out of the elevator, trying to keep my worried glances short and subtle. The entire room was standing at attention and all eyes were on me, including Dexter and Westward. They were both standing next to the large holographic map in the center. I walked as calmly as I could towards them, praying I didn’t trip over anything. All this attention made my heart race and skin crawl and all I could do was try and not screw up and fall onto my face.

The two motioned me to the raised platform above the galactic map. I stepped up onto the dais with dozens of eyes watching me. It was difficult to not briefly indulge in the sense of power that this entailed. I observed the gathered crew as they held their salute. While I might be able to get used to this role in time, it was hard not to feel a little imposing with the crew and ship that was now under my command. I raised my hoof into a salute of my own. “As you were,” I ordered, trying not to sound as meek as I was feeling.

They complied, relaxing their postures. They returned to their duties automatically, the chorus of beeping and chatter filling the room once more. I turned to my two officers. They were working on a computer terminal of their own, wrapped in a rapid discussion. Dexter broke from the conversation briefly to beckon me over. I stepped down and walked towards them, glancing at the computer behind them. It showed an image of a large nebulous cloud, dotted with smaller solar systems. I started hearing details of their conversation once I made it beside them.

“No, I doubt they would have gone to the Tyrias or Vestid systems, Lieutenant.” Westward disagreed. “There’s nothing in those systems except dead planets.”

“Dead mining planets Westward. What other kind of worlds do you think technology of an ancient, all powerful and now extinct race would be found then, Westward?” Dexter argued. “A dead world now might have been a hub world for the Alicorn fifty thousand years ago.”

The navigator grumbled quietly to himself. Dexter noticed my eavesdropping and invited me into the discussion. “Shepard, glad you could join us. Westward and I were just trying to figure out what part of the Meridian Cluster we should look through first for Artemis.”

Dexter stepped aside to let me see the entirety of the monitor. I strained to look at the little lights that signified systems and words on the tiny screen. I looked at the computer dubiously and waved my omni-tool towards the galactic map. With a flick of my hoof, the map that once showed a small scale rendition of the known galaxy now showed a larger scaled version of the Meridian Cluster. Four shimmering lights stood out in the nebula, each marked with a designation: Tyrias, Vestid, Bolaris and Fenrir.

“Now as I’ve been explaining to the Lieutenant, Commander.” Westward continued. “Tyrias and Vestid are mostly dead worlds, mining facilities and the like. There’s nothing at all worthwhile in those systems.”

“But if Artemis is using the Geld,” Dexter countered. “Bolaris and Fenrir are both well populated and enforced. If he had to use force to find anything there, we would know about it.”

Dexter pressed a few buttons, removing the two latter planets from the list, and bringing the formers into a larger scale. “But these two systems are only used for mineral harvesting. Yeah they’re dead, but it's also easier to get around undetected while he finds what he’s looking for.”

I stared at the two systems, pondering on what facts had been discussed. Dexter’s point that the two populated systems would not go unnoticed if they were attacked was feasible. But I had seen first hoof how the Geld operated when it invaded worlds. They would be fast in disabling communications, making a call for help impossible. Maybe we could use that to our advantage.

“With what the Geld did on Equestria Prime, we know that if they invaded any world, they would cut communications with those jammers.”

Dexter and Westward both nodded in agreement to my statement. “What are you suggesting then Shepard?” Westward asked.

“If their target was either Bolaris or Fenrir, any planet that they go to would go dark. If we were close enough to keep an open line of communication with all of the systems there, we would notice.”

“Hmm,” Dexter mumbled. “Thats not a bad idea. And while we kept an ear open from a distance, we could search either Tyrias or Vestid without worry if Artemis does approach the other systems.”

“I suppose that could work.” Westward stared at the two highlight systems. “But what if the relic isn’t in these systems? We would be wasting our time and letting Artemis more time to consider his options.”

“That might have to be a risk that we have to take.” Dexter’s muzzle scrunched contemplatively.

I tapped on the first system. The Tyrias sector widened into full view, showing three planet sized worlds and a large asteroid belt as its prominent features. I noticed something odd about the largest world. “What’s on this planet here?” I asked, pointing my hoof.

Westward brought up a different screen, bringing up the planet into a larger view. “Trawlis. It's the largest mining world in the sector. The Granite company has a base of operations on the surface.”

“How long have they been there?”

“About a decade. It doesn’t say they’ve ever found anything interesting though.”

I stared at the rocky surface of the planet’s image. The satellite image showed the large mining complex encompassing nearly a quarter of the planet’s surface. A planet that size, it was easy to guess that if one were to find an Alicorn relic, it would be hidden well beneath the surface.

“Artemis seems to have a way to locate relics, so he has an advantage over us. While it would be a good plan to find out how, we’re better off trying to at least beat him to the relic. And if I had to guess, I have a feeling that the Granite company is about to make a discovery that won’t end well for them.”

Dexter and Westward seemed to agree, though the navigator was more hesitant. “It might be a good place to start at the very least to head to Trawlis. It will get us to the Cluster so we can check in on the adjoining systems for and suspicious activity.”

Dexter shrugged. “It’s as good a plan as any. I don’t like guessing much either Westward, but we’re running on limited intel. We’re lucky we got a system name out of that recording.”

“I suppose you’re right, Lieutenant.” Westward approached the console and typed a few commands into the screen. “It will be a few moments to get the navigation system ready. Somepony will need to let Pipsqueak know that we are almost ready to go.”

“I’ll do it,” I volunteered.

“Alright then. It’s about a seventeen hour jump so at least we’ll have time to get some rest before we get there. I’ll see about getting those communication channels ready once we arrive.”

Dexter nodded and trotted away. I lingered a moment with Westward before I turned to do the same, but the grizzled stallion stopped me. He had a sour look in his eyes, and the jovial attitude I remember from my first encounter with him seemed to shrivel away. He glanced behind him, apparently waiting for Dexter to be further away.

“If I may have a word, Commander,” he said hushedly. He led me aside, far from the center of the room where anypony might eavesdrop.

“Is something the matter Westward?”

He searched again from prying ears and eyes before looking back at me. “I thought it might be important to let you know that the newest addition of the crew was caught snooping around.”

I gave him a confused look. “Who, you mean Firestorm? Was it you who stopped her from getting into the weapon systems?”

He seemed relieved at that, his face relaxing slightly. “Oh, so you know already. No it wasn’t me, but one of the guards was quick to alert me that the pegasus was acting suspiciously.”

“I hardly call a Pegasi Weapons expert wishing to see our ships weapon systems as suspicious Westward.” I said pointedly.

“She may be an expert, Shepard, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that she was attempting to enter vital ship systems with no authority whatsoever.”

“She has my authority.”

Westward was taken aback at my plain response. Whether he was outraged or just offended I wasn’t sure, but he was going to lengths to ensure this conversation did not become a scene. “Are you certain that is wise Shepard? We have no idea that that Pegasus’ motives are, or her intentions.”

“That Pegasus...” I said curtly. “Has a name. And I trust her with my life, Westward. She’s saved it twice at least already, and done more for this ship, this crew and our entire race than the council races combined in the past day.”

Now I was finding it hard to not get angry. I expected a level of restraint from a seasoned officer like Westward, but apparently everypony that was alive during First Contact had wounds far too deep to heal. “I understand your reasons of distrust, Westward. But I’m hoping that the time you spend with a Pegasus here on the Normanedy can change your opinion of them, in time. They are not all evil.”

I briefly remembered the reason Firestorm was with us, and the reason were were going to all his trouble in the first place. “Only some of them are. We’re going to catch Artemis, with her help. And maybe then we can start to finally move on from all this hate.”

Westward looked like he tried to respond, but his mouth only opened and closed slowly, not a word leaving his lips. I wanted him to think on what I had said, and hopefully some of it would dig in.

“Now you have duties to attend to, Westward. As you were.” I saluted dismissively, and he returned the gesture.

“Of course...Commander.”

He trotted away stiffly, returning to his work. I sighed in relief that we both managed to keep that conversation from boiling over. Just like South, it was probably going to be a lot of work to keep everypony in line regarding Firestorm. But simply being Commander wasn’t enough. I wasn’t going to be able to just enforce compliance in all of them. I was going to have to show that she could be trusted, or she was going to have to do it herself. Either way, it was going to be a long time before anything changed.

But I had other things to worry about now. We still had a mission to do. I moved towards the door into the cockpit. The door slipped open silently revealing the darkened pilot’s nest. I lingered in the doorway a moment, casting a quick glance back into navigation. Everypony was still hard at work, making all the necessary preparations to get the ship ready for departure. It was satisfying that the crew could function perfectly fine on its own. It definitely would make my job easier in the long run as I slowly learned to full nature of my new responsibilities. One of those responsibilities, however, was going to keep the rebellious pilot in line. I sighed glumly at that encroaching reality as I entered the room and the door slid shut behind me.

The first thing I noticed once the din of the previous room had quieted down was music. A gentle cadence of melodious rhythms were steadily rising to a crescendo, woven with a repeating chorus of electronic bell like noises. The beeping of the consoles grounded the ethereal melody back to reality, but the harmonious wind sounds brought it to a level of serenity that I did not imagine possible.

The song continued as I moved towards Pipsqueaks pilot seat. The music was loud enough to mask my approach, for he did not seem to notice me as I stepped up beside his chair. He appeared to be lost in the music, leaning deeply into his chair and swaying his hooves gently with the rhythm. Even I could not help but get lost in the sea of sounds that he was broadcasting throughout the room. The music eventually slowed and steadily winded down into silence. Pipsqueak reached forward with a leg, tapping on the console to halt the music, never leaving his state of relaxation.

“That was some interesting music.” I said.

Pipsqueak sprung forward. “Whoa!” he shouted. “You don’t sneak up on a pilot when he’s at the wheel!” He looked at me with an irritated expression, before he realised who exactly he was talking to. He didn’t repeat Depots expression, returning to his mirthful grin and reclining his chair again. “Oh its you, Shepard.” he said passively. “What’s up?”

I was glad that he was another pony that was kind enough to not beat me over the head with my new promotion, but I guess he was doing it for reasons other than altruism.

“How did you make it this far if thats how you act around superior officers?”

He laughed. “Sometimes being the best has its perks. I didn’t bust my rump in flight school to get bossed around by a bunch of grouchy drill sergeants.”

“Then how did you get assigned to Quartermane?” I asked wryly.

He chuckled again. “Quartermane is exactly the kind of pony who understands and recognises talent. He picked the Lieutenant, Chalkdust and Westward because they are the best of their fields, just like me and you. The Normanedy couldn’t accept anything less.”

“But even he calls you Pipsqueak.”

“Well Pipsqueak sounds a whole lot better than Flight Lieutenant Piper.” He made a few stiff motions with his hooves as he spoke, mimicking robotic arms. “And even Quartermane doesn’t have a pole sized stick up his rear like South.” He spun in his chair to look behind us, making sure that his comment wasn’t heard by an unintended audience. “Now that mare has some issues.”

“Tell me about it.” I added.

“Oh you want some suggestions?” He grinned. “Cause I was working on a few theories...”

I shot him a look that gave even him a reason to shut up. But it didn’t completely stop him. “Fine, fine.” He waved his hoof in a little circle. “Maybe later, I’ll have something more concrete.”

I rolled my eyes, but I knew the sentiment was lost on him. It was nice to know that not everypony had issues onboard, and Pipsqueak was a little bit amusing I suppose, not that I would ever admit it to him. I wondered why his Cutie Mark wasn’t a jester instead of that old tiller wheel, or why he purposely used a name that insulted his own size.

“How did you get your nickname anyways?”

He looked at me with a deadpan stare. “Seriously?”

He wasn't fooling me. Pipsqueak was somepony built on his sarcastic wit, and I hardly believed that he would allow anypony to call him by that name unless he had some story built behind it.

“Seriously. I doubt your size is the only reason you have that name.”

He smiled again. He tapped on his console, bringing up an image of what looked like a historical document. It was a centuries old article, written about somepony named Pipsqueak the Pirate, who lived more than a thousand years ago. He too was an abnormally small stallion, at least evidenced by the ancient looking drawings and images accompanying the article. But his size did little to detract from how terrifying he looked. He was gaunt and looked like he reeked of death. His clothes were torn and ratty, caked in blood and dirt. He had an eye patch laced with a skull and crossbones and his right foreleg was replaced by a wooden peg. A chipped cutlass was clenched in between his teeth as he fought his way through ancient foes.

“Pipsqueak the Pirate basically owned the era of pirates,” the pilot began. There was nopony on Earth in those days that could rally against him. He was small yea, but he had presence. His crew was the nastiest bunch of lowlifes you could imagine, but none of them came close to his level of cruelty and bloodthirst.”

A few images cycled by, depictions and renditions of bloody naval battles. All of them had the miniscule pirate in the thick of battle, wading through his enemies in a sea of steel and blood. Pipsqueak chuckled at the images as they whizzed past.

“And you know the best part?” He smiled amusedly as he looked at me. “He wasn’t even the captain. He was just the pony that steered the ship.” I didn’t know what was more worrying; that a pony like that ever existed, or that my pilot idolized him. He closed the files and brought up the controls for the ship, spinning his chair to me. “We all have our idols, Shepard. Not all of them are the cleanest of ponies, but they can have an affect on you in the weirdest of ways.”

Pilot, jokester and now philosopher. It was almost eerie how philosophical his statement was. He was perfectly content in the fact that his hero was a bloodthirsty pirate and I guess if it made him better at his job I couldn’t really fault him for it. His stance of zen broke when he crossed his hooves in boredom and gave me an equally bored look.

“So where are we headed, anyways?”

At least he had some professionalism. I stepped forward right up to the chair beside him. I stared outside the window at the large nebula of clouds and dust that surrounded us. The Corral was well behind us as we moved towards the Whip Gate hidden within the mists ahead.

“Trawlis. I got a feeling that that’s where Artemis will be heading.”

“Got it.” Pipsqueak turned back to his console, bringing up the navigation information that Westward had completed. ”Sheesh,” Pipsqueak groaned sarcastically. “Seventeen hour jump. Long trip.”

“Plenty of time for some rest then.”

“Heh, I guess you’ll be needing a lot of it, commander.”

I was an idiot to think that he wouldn’t poke me with that at least once. He spun back to his console with a chuckle. He padded at his controls expertly and I hear the ship spring to life as it began to move. I glanced outside the window. We were steadily moving back into the thick clouds that encircled the Corral Station towards the Whip Gate that lay beyond. Shadows and dust obscured my vision, but Pipsqueak wasn’t hindered in the slightest. His hooves traced along the control as if it was an intricate dance of motion that only he had mastered.

The Normanedy broke through the clouds into a field of empty space. It was like the epicenter of a hurricane, with large swirling masses of clouds surrounding us. At the center of it all sat the Whip Gate, churning its core of otherworldly power. Another wave of peace washed over me as I surveyed the scene. The ship swayed smoothly through the void quietly as the looming construction we floated towards slowly grew larger in our view.

“So what do you think will happen when we run into Artemis?”

For once, Pipsqueak had asked a completely serious question and had a look on his face to match.

“I have no idea.”

“Do you think we can handle him? I took a look at some of the things he’s done. He’s not going to be a pushover.”

Pipsqueak had a point. From the story Quartermane told me and from outset of First Contact, Artemis had proven himself to be nothing less than a ruthless and merciless soldier. In the two decades or so since, his skills would have only gotten better. He managed to kill Nimbus, evade suspicion from those who oversaw him and now was hiding who knows where in the galaxy. My assumption that we would find him on Trawlis was far fetched to begin with. There wasn’t even a guarantee that he was there himself. He had hired gangs from the Corral to handle his dirty work, there was no reason he wouldn’t hire others. But it was all we had.

“You know what I think?” he continued. “I think when we find him, we’ll give him the flank kicking he deserves.”

“Heh. Here’s hoping.”

We were about halfway to the Whip Gate by now. I could hear the engines beginning to whir in preparation for the impending space jump. Pip idly pressed at his controls as the ship began to hum from the surge of energy.

“This is the start of something big, I think. Big enough to warrant a speech.”

He took one of the holographic screens floating in front of him and moved it in front of me with a wave of his hoof. The screen shifted slightly into an image of a microphone. A small light was flashing, a light labeled mute. I stared through the hologram at Pipsqueak incredulously.

“Honor’s all yours, Commander.” He grinned, probably the biggest grin I’d seen all day.

“What should I say?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, something inspiring, something that shows that you know what you’re doing, something that shows confidence.”

“Confidence...right...”

My mind raced at what would be the best thing to say, if there was. Of all the skills I probably wasn’t suited for in my new role, public speaking and inspiring confidence in others was probably not one of them. The only thing I could think of was our goal of stopping Artemis and all that served was bringing Pipsqueaks worries to the front of my mind. Here we were, on an experimental ship, chasing a well known and deadly fugitive across the Galaxy, with no idea where he was or what he was doing, all by the seat of our flanks. The crew was probably as well versed on Artemis as Pipsqueak was too and knew exactly the kind of psychopath we were chasing. They were probably as wary in hunting him as I was.

But maybe that was enough. Quartermane believed in me. The Council believed in me. Firestorm, Dexter, South, even Pipsqueak believed in me. Why couldn’t I believe in me? I could make the argument that I was way in over my head, but it was too late to turn back now. All that was left to do was go forward. I had ponies backing me, and a ship to take us where we needed to go. We were out here to do the right thing, and for me that was enough.

I cleared my throat, glancing once more out the window. We were less than a minute away from the Gate now, the outer shell of the ship now pulsing blue. The shields undulated loudly as the engine began to make its final preparations before the tendril of energy would connect to the ship and launch us forward. There was something majestic about how it all was starting to come together around me, and that enough to give me the courage to give my words a voice.

I tapped the screen, ending the incessant blink of the mute button. A new humming noise filled the air, signaling that the entire ship was wired in. Here we go.

“Attention Normanedy,” I began. I heard my voice spread through the room, and by extension, the entire ship. “This is Commander Shepard.”

I paused a moment, my mind lapsing slightly. I felt that waiting to ensure that everypony was paying attention would be a good idea, but now I just felt a rising panic. Pip turned in his chair to give me an encouraging gesture and an assuring smile.

Surprisingly, it worked. “There has probably been a fair amount of concern over the events over the past few days. I share your concerns. What started out as a simple shakedown run has certainly been taking a strange turn, but I knew that I was signing up for something big when I joined the Normanedy.”

“Things have changed, but that doesn’t mean we are any less ready for them. Just as always, we have a mission, and we will see it through to the end. Artemis knows we’re after him, and we’re going to give him the chase of his life.”

“He may be hiding now, but sooner or later we’ll find him, and when we do we’ll give him the punishment he deserves for his crimes. He has been an antagonist to the Earth Pony race for far too long, and he let his biased hatred of us get the better of him. That was his first mistake.”

“We won’t be doing it alone either. We have talented individuals among us that all wish to see him brought down. I know the crew I have chosen will do what needs to be done, and I trust each and every one of them to get the job done. I hope all of you can show them the same respect and trust as I do. They have each saved my life and the lives of others in their pursuit of Artemis. I owe them much more than a simple thank you, and I hope that you can all appreciate their part to play.”

“So I say this to you all. We will find him, wherever he is. We will stop him at whatever game he’s playing with us. And when we do, the galaxy will know that it was the crew of the Normanedy that stopped him.”

I could hear the chorus of cheers through the door as I returned the screen to Pipsqueak. He had a fond look in his eyes and failed at trying to hide it. “Well said, Shepard. Quartermane would be proud.”

I flashed a victorious smile back at him. “Lets give him a reason to be prouder, then. Let’s go catch a criminal.”

“Aye, aye, Commander!”

Pip took hold of the ship with almost childlike glee and excitement. The Normanedy swerved wide as it moved along side the massive structure. She trembled slightly as we connected with the Whip gate and the ship began to lurch forward. A corona of blue light began to coalesce around the hull as the ship vibrated with intense energy. The world outside began to bend and twist as the engine core sang its song. I grabbed hold of a nearby wall, preparing for the initial jump. With one final chorus of humming, the tendril of energy snapped, and we propelled into the black unknown.

Love and Tolerate! Redux: Paragon Points Earned.

Codex Entry Added: Sergeant Major Southern Belle