Captain's log - Stardate 84267.3
We have been sent to the very edge of Federation space to investigate what is becoming known as the Equine anomaly, a region of space through which warp travel is impossible due to the highly irregular behaviour of the local subspace. Its name comes from the fact that many who have entered this region have reported seeing something resembling a blue horse watching them in their dreams.
It has become apparent that some powerful telepathic lifeform resides here, and we are to attempt to make friendly contact with it. It has never shown any aggressive behaviour other than the watching, and it seems likely that this may be the only way for it to contact other beings.
The senior officers are under orders to attempt to communicate with this being if they encounter it in a dream.
We also know that there are several star systems encompassed by the anomaly, and intend to investigate whether life has developed, despite the local conditions.
"Captain," Data said. "At current speed we will be forced to drop out of warp in approximately one minute."
"Thank you, Mr Data. Now, remember, as soon as we enter the anomaly, all technology which relies on subspace will stop working. This means no warp drive, long range comms or transporters, and only short range sensors. Any planets we may visit will likely require a shuttlecraft to reach, that is, if the entity which resides here will let us look around.
"Also note that due to local conditions, any advanced civilisations we may encounter are unlikely to have developed warp drive. We will need to use our own judgement on whether or not to make first contact."
As the captain finished speaking, the ship was brought to a stop. Picard looked around the bridge. "Set a course for the nearest star system. Full impulse. Engage."
Seven hours later
Travel at sub-light speeds meant that they would not reach the star for several days. However, now that they were within the anomaly, it was hoped that the entity which resided here would be willing to help with navigation, allowing avoidance of uninhabited systems. That, of course, relied upon contacting it.
Picard's dream was one he had had many times, though he was not happy about it. He was walking, alone, through his family's vineyard, without a care in the world. Then 'they' came. The Borg. A drone appeared in front of him. He turned and tried to run, only to find another standing in his path.
It was always the same. They would close in on him, before bringing him to the ground and beginning the assimilation process. That was usually when he woke up.
This time, however, was different. Two bolts of blue light hit the drones, causing them to immediately disintegrate.
Looking around, his eyes quickly landed on his saviour. As described, it was a creature which somewhat resembled a blue horse, but that didn't do justice to the sheer presence it had. Not to mention the horn and wings. It wore a collar with a crescent moon on the front and the same symbol also appeared to be tattooed (or something similar to it) on its flanks.
More than anything else, it looked supremely confident, which, given that it had just obliterated the two imagined drones, wasn't too surprising. Despite the fact that he was taller than it, Picard felt slightly small.
Still, that wasn't going to stop him from completing his mission. "Hello!" he called out to it.
"Greetings," it replied in a female voice. Picard made a note to think of it as female until informed otherwise. "We have seen your kind in dreams before, but you are the first to talk to Us. Kindly introduce thyself." Another mental note covered the intermittent old fashioned speech patterns.
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of the Federation starship Enterprise. We came to explore this region of space. And you are?"
"Princess Luna, Guardian of the Night. It is Our duty to raise the moon, and to make sure Our subjects are safe in their dreams."
"Am I to assume, then, that there is an inhabited world nearby?"
"Indeed. We are the night princess of its largest nation."
"It is nice to meet you, your highness." It was at this point that one of the things she had said hit home. "You claim to raise the moon, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Exactly that," she replied simply. "We move the moon into position, whilst Our sister, Celestia moves the sun. Why? Is this not normal?"
"Decidedly not," Picard replied, rapidly increasing his estimates on this being's capabilities. "Most worlds go through day and night by themselves."
Luna looked somewhat taken aback by this revelation.
"... Strange. We assumed that this was the natural way. It is how it has been done for millennia."
"Millennia? How old is your civilisation?"
"We do not know for certain. The three pony tribes united around five thousand years ago, and my sister and I came to power around a thousand years later, but We cannot say how long ponies have existed."
That was a long time. Picard had met ancient beings before, but from what he had heard, these two were probably revered as gods. Still, maybe this was a normal lifespan for 'ponies'. He asked her.
"No. Only for alicorns. Earth ponies tend to live a couple of hundred years, unicorns, one hundred and fifty, and just a hundred or so for pegasi, although exceptionally powerful unicorns can extend that significantly."
"Powerful?" he asked, not certain he wanted to know the answer.
"Gifted with magic, of course. Do not tell Us that thy world does not have magic?"
"Actually, we don't."
"But thy vessel. It seems to have many magically active parts. Although they appear to be inoperative at the moment, they still distort the ambient magic slightly. Enough for Us to suspect their purpose."
"Such as?" Picard wasn't sure what she was talking about now.
"The biggest appears to produce a bubble of magic and distorts it in a way which We suspect would provide high speed propulsion."
"High speed... The warp drive. You're talking about subspace. You're telling me that your people can manipulate subspace directly?"
"If that is what you know it as, then yes." She tensed for a moment. "It appears that one of my little ponies is having a nightmare. I must leave you. Goodbye, Captain Jean-Luc Picard."
The being known as Princess Luna faded out before Picard's eyes.
The senior officers sat around the table in the briefing room, first thing in the morning. Several of them had had an encounter with Princess Luna during the night, and each of them had a different perspective.
Worf had just finished explaining how she had proven herself a formidable warrior in his dream, although he wasn't sure if that would translate into reality.
Next up was Counsellor Troi. "She seemed lonely. I don't know if that just comes from her age, or if there are other factors at play, but it sounds like the only one who has been there her whole life is her sister, and since it seems that they rule at different times, it is not unlikely that they don't see much of each other."
Geordi had found out about the ponies' technology, which as described, suggested a pre-industrial civilisation for the most part, with a few, seemingly random, exceptions.
Finally, the captain dropped his bombshell. "I discovered that they artificially move their sun and moon, and that a significant portion of the population has what they refer to as 'magic'. Through further questioning, I was able to figure out that what they call magic is actually direct subspace manipulation."
"What?!" Geordi shouted. "But that's impossible."
Data looked thoughtful. "It would explain why the local subspace is so unstable. If the indigenous life is constantly changing it to fit their purposes, ripples from that process would propagate out, creating the anomaly we see today. It also seems reasonable to suggest that the unstable subspace is what allows Princess Luna her telepathic range, since it does not seem to extend beyond the edge of the anomaly."
A slow clap came from the end of the table. "Oh, bravo," a voice said sarcastically."It seems you've figured out half of the secrets of Equestria already."
