Of Enterprising Men and Ponies: Part 1
Twilight's Castle, After the ES Harmony's Return
It had been almost another month since the Harmony returned, and the refit was complete. The ES Harmony was due to leave later that day, continuing its voyages. The official meeting with the sharin was soon to come. However, the concept of new life and civilisations had sparked a long dormant curiosity within the Princess.
And so here she was, standing in the library.
The mirror portal was still. The machine surrounding it had been activated, and Twilight had been pleasantly surprised to find the book still allowed it to open after over two thousand years of inactivity.
She was debating to herself whether or not to enter, a curiosity invaded her mind she could not chase away. Her conversation with the ES Harmony’s senior officers kept playing in her head.
Twilight hummed. “Perhaps I should have a look through on our return, see how they are doing. Not all humans were exactly… friendly. But with humans like the friends I knew I think they found a future for themselves.”
“Space travel like us?” Nimble suggested.
Twilight nodded. “Perhaps. Who knows, they may have met other races and created alliances with them.”
Iynx raised an eyebrow. “What, like a Federation of sorts?”
Her thoughts were banished from her mind as a flash of white light heralded the appearance of a certain Spirit of Chaos.
“Discord,” she said in greeting.
“Sparkle-butt, whatcha doing?” Discord said with childlike glee.
Twilight silently glared at him.
“Oh don’t be like that,” he rolled his eyes. “I just wanted to come see you after that terrible ordeal you went through, quite the trip you had, hmm?”
“You could say that,” Twilight responded. “But we made it through.”
“Yes, like a true captain you led them through it all,” Discord complimented. “Reminds me of some others I know through that portal. Let’s hope Miss Griffon can live up to you.”
“Through the portal? You’ve been?” Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise.
“But of course, several times. Some of the people there are quite entertaining, when they don’t punch you in the face that is.”
“You got punched?” Twilight suppressed a grin. “How did somepony manage that?”
“Well someone did, it is a rather long story.”
“I can only imagine,” Twilight said mirthfully. “I wonder what is happening on Earth right now…”
“You’re thinking of visiting, are you not?” Discord asked.
“I am.”
“You should go,” Discord said in encouragement. “Your friends are long gone but aren’t you curious to what humanity has done with themselves?”
“What’s with that knowing look?” Twilight asked cautiously. “What have you done?”
“Me? Nothing. Mostly.”
“Mostly?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later, so go on already! New horizons await and all that.” Discord encouraged further.
Twilight sighed. “I must admit ever since Nimble Star started that conversation back aboard the Harmony, I have been curious. Alright, one quick look at Canterlot High and then home again.”
“If you so insist,” Discord said as he crossed his arms. “Though, I suppose we shall see.”
“If something happens I’m holding you personally responsible,” Twilight warned, though with a slight grin.
“Get in line,” Discord smirked.
Twilight rolled her eyes, and then walked through the mirror before anything could distract her. The mystical object's surface shimmered as the portal was travelled through, and then was still again.
Discord grinned wider, and in a flash his usual appearance was replaced with another he had fondness for. A smug looking human male in a black and red uniform, a combadge pinned onto it with four pips lining his collar.
“Oh, I do so love to watch fireworks,” Discord said as he sighed in bliss.
With another click of his finders, the surface of the mirror shifted once more, this time displaying an image upon its surface. An image showing a sight he was quite familiar with, and one Princess Twilight Sparkle would also come to know.
It was the image of a ship, traveling on impulse power through the depths of space. A ship with a name that held the same prominence as ‘Harmony’ did in the ponies’ native reality.
A ship bearing the name Enterprise.
Earlier on, in another place
“Captain’s log, supplemental. The USS Enterprise has been ordered to return to Earth Spacedock by one Admiral Phillip Jamerson, though the reasons for this lengthy diversion have not been explained to me. All that I and my crew have been informed is that the task ahead is one of great scientific interest, one linking to our planet’s own past. I would be lying to say my curiosity hasn’t been piqued, and now time will tell the true significance of this mysterious assignment.”
A vast starship moved gently through space on impulse power, the majestic orb that was planet Earth growing ever larger as they made their approach. Earth Spacedock too was coming into sight, various other Federation starships moving in and out of the dock as well as the vast shipyards surrounding the gigantic space station.
The ship itself wasn’t small, but even it was dwarfed by the spacedock. The name USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D was etched into the hull in various locations, most dominantly atop the wide saucer section atop the ship. The Enterprise was Galaxy Class, easily the largest starship in the Federation at the time with a compliment of over a thousand souls aboard. The flagship of the entire federation fleet, the Enterprise had the luxury of being the first ship called when any significant discoveries were found and required Starfleet regulation.
And it seemed this was one of those occasions.
As the ship began its final approach to the dock, those manning flight control within the station remotely took control of the Enterprise away from the helmsman and guided it through the two great doors leading inside. Two other starships were already in the dock, an Ambassador Class and a New Orleans Class starship respectively, aging in comparison to the Galaxy Class of starship. The Enterprise cast a shadow over both the other ships as it was carefully guided into position, coming to a full stop as the airlock extended out from the port until it latched onto one of the Enterprise’s own exterior hatches.
“Docking complete,” one of the bridge officers, a unique android by the name of Data, informed the balding and stern-faced man sitting in the captain’s chair. “All readings normal, the crew is clear for departure onto the starbase.”
“Very good, Mr Data,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard stated, standing from his chair and adjusting his uniform. “Number One, we don’t want to keep the Admiral waiting.”
“This must be important to call the Enterprise all the way home,” Commander William Riker noted, getting up to join his commanding officer as they approached the turbolift. “What do you think they found?”
“Something that doesn’t waste our time,” the tactical officer, a klingon by the name of Worf, muttered to himself sarcastically as the Commander and Captain passed.
“Statistically speaking, it is highly likely that they would not have called us specifically if they were not certain that it was not ‘a waste of time’,” Data commented matter-of- factly, earning a glare from the klingon in turn.
“Well, there is only one way we can find out,” Deanna Troi, the ship’s counsellor, stated from her own seat directly left of the captain’s chair. “We’re explorers, we live for the unknown.”
“Transporter room,” Picard commanded the turbolift, not commenting on his senior staff’s ongoing banter.
The doors slid closed, obscuring the bridge from view before moving to ferry its passengers across the ship towards their requested destination.
“Mr Worf does have a point,” Riker commented as the turbolift kept on moving. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been led on a wild goose chase. Or would it be a wild targ hunt in Worf’s case?”
“Doubtful, Mr Worf would enjoy such an activity,” Captain Picard noted. “But the Admiral was quite clear on its importance.”
“I just wish they were more forthcoming with us.”
“We shall discover the truth soon, one way or another,” Picard pointed out, the turbolift doors opening to reveal the ship’s hallway beyond. “And if this is, as you say, a wild targ hunt, then the Admiral and I shall be having a long talk indeed.”
Picard exited without another word, Riker following on wordlessly albeit with a small smirk on his features.
The walk to the transporter room was a short one from the turbolift, the darkened room with a single large glowing pad being manned by a single crewmember at the console opposing the transporter itself. The Transport Chief gave a nod to the Captain and the Commander as they walked up the steps onto the pad, each taking their respective place on the device.
“We’re locked onto the transporter room closest to the Admiral’s officer,” the Transporter Chief assured the pair. “We’re all clear, ready when you are sir.”
“Thank you,” Picard replied, bracing himself for dematerialisation. “Energise.”
The Chief nodded again, engaging the transporter and then shifting some elements of the display upwards that elicited a beeping sound of confirmation. Blue particles lifted around the two men on the transporter, their molecules being taken apart and transported to a second pad a little ways away.
Their materialisation on the opposing pad was swift, and soon they were once again on the move through the various hallways beyond, this time on Earth Spacedock as opposed to the Enterprise. The corridor led out onto a large promenade, a stylistic fountain splashing in the centre. Facing outwards from the fountain was a large window giving a breathtakingly beautiful view of Earth, and directly opposite that behind the fountain was a door labelled to be the Admiral’s office.
Many people walked on through the area. Most were Starfleet personnel going about their jobs. Some were alien dignitaries on a tour. A few were simple visitors to the starbase admiring both the fountain and the view.
And one of those people in the crowd was staring directly at Picard, an easily recognisable man with a telltale arrogant smirk on his lips.
“Captain?” Riker placed a hand on Picard’s shoulder as he attempted to get a closer look at the man, the Captain looking back at Riker for a moment before attempting to locate the man again.
But he was gone.
“It was nothing,” Picard dismissed, although concerned by what he momentarily thought he saw. “Come on Number One, the Admiral.”
They walked passed the fountain and approached the doorway, chiming to make their presence known before being admitted by the sole inhabitant within.
“Captain Picard,” Admiral Phillip Jamerson greeted, standing up from his desk to shake the Captain’s hand. “And Commander William Riker, if I am not mistaken.”
“Yes sir,” Riker confirmed, also shaking the Admiral’s hand.
“I am sorry we had to pull you away from your assignment at Heldar III, but a rather perplexing anomaly had arisen,” the Admiral stated, sitting back down in his seat while motioning for the others to sit opposite him. “It truly has us quite puzzled.”
The admiral was an aging man, grey hair and wrinkles covering much of his face. Yet he sat at his desk with a straight back and a confidence in his posture, hand resting on the table with fingers interlocking.
The Captain and Commander Riker sat down in the two chairs provided, giving the Admiral a quizzical look.
“You made its importance clear, but I am curious to know why all the secrecy was necessary,” Picard said to the man. “Any light you could shed on this matter would be most appreciated.”
“I’m sorry for the secrets, truly. But we thought it best to keep it relatively quiet for the time being,” the Admiral explained, collecting a few PADDs and shifting them so the others could see their screens. “Now, what do you make of this?”
Picard and Riker looked down onto the images they were being shown, sharing glances containing equal confusion.
“All due respect sir,” Riker began. “But what is so important about a slab of marble?”
The images showed various angles of a marble square base to a statue that had long since gone. It sat within a darkened warehouse, dusty but otherwise intact. Remains of a wooden crate sat scattered all around, likely the container that had previously held it.
“This slab of marble was found in a warehouse in the city of Canterlot, up in Northern America,” Jamerson informed them. “It apparently dates back to the twenty first century, when the city was still rather small in size. The warehouse was largely untouched and abandoned ever since World War Three decimated the Earth, shifting through various owners ever since first contact with the Vulcan High Command.”
“So what changed?” Riker enquired.
“Not long ago, strange energy readings began to be detected within that warehouse. As such a small team was dispatched to investigate,” the Admiral stated. “There wasn’t much of interest inside, mostly old antiquated school equipment from the old Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy. But the energy reading eventually led them to this one large crate with that statue base inside, and the readings were… troubling.”
“Troubling?” Picard said questioningly.
“Yes. We couldn’t identify them,” he explained. “The team had reported it… well, glowing on several occasions. Strange auras surrounding it, before completely disappearing. And yet all tests performed on the damn thing showed it to be nothing more than a solid rock. No power source, nothing. The energy readings faded, and then they returned, before fading again. All quite baffling.”
“You said the warehouse contained school equipment?” Riker asked. “Is there any record of this thing back before first contact?”
“Records from that time are sketchy at best,” the Admiral responded. “But a few decayed newspaper clippings found inside did mention strange lights and other such things. Nothing concrete, but enough to add to the mystery. We don’t know if this is some kind of special anomaly, or if the statue might be some kinds of unheard of alien technology. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“And something like this was just… sitting in front of a school?” Picard said incredulously. “And never noticed?”
“Maybe it never raised enough eyebrows. Maybe the school was hiding something. Whatever the case may be, I want the Enterprise to transport this thing to the Vulcan Science Academy for a more thorough inspection. Hell, feel free to perform however many tests of your own on the thing. Whatever can be done to uncover what it is and what it’s doing on Earth.”
Riker looked a little worried. “Is it dangerous?”
“Not as far as we can tell. I will leave the details of its transport to your own discretion, Captain.”
Picard considered for a moment, and then nodded in the affirmative. “Have it ready for transport up to cargo bay two. I’ll have my people set up the necessary monitoring equipment, and have Mr Data devise a few tests to run.”
The Admiral sat back in his chair, sighing. “Thank you, Captain. It might be the case that all it does is give a little light show, but we would like to know for sure what it is we are dealing with.”
“Of course, Admiral,” Picard confirmed, standing from his chair with his subordinate following. “We will transport your mysterious statue base. If there is anything to be found, we will make it so.”
“Everything seems normal,” Commander Data affirmed, taking readings from his tricorder as various personnel from the Enterprise moved throughout the area. “My scans are unable to detect any anomalous readings.”
He and the other crew members stood in the middle of a vast cityscape, Canterlot stretching out all around them. The warehouse was definitely among the least developed area of the metropolis, having been largely untouched and left to rot ever since its abandonment a few hundred years prior. Now, however, the rusted doors had been opened wide and the object of interest within had been dragged carefully out onto the tarmac beyond. That marble statue base was in broad daylight for the first time in many long years, and the crew had wasted no time in making initial scans of their own while planting transport enhancers in a circle around it.
“Well, something about it has Starfleet Command worried,” Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge noted, working on the transport enhancers along with his engineering team. “They wouldn’t have us doing this otherwise.”
“Can your visor not detect anything our tricorders cannot?” Data enquired of the blind man.
La Forge looked up at the object quizzically, adjusting something on the side of his visor as he glanced up and down its entire surface.
He then shook his head. “Not a thing. As far as it can tell, it’s a rock.”
“It is a rock,” Data confirmed. “Specifically, a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals. Calcium carbonate to be exact.”
“Thank you for the trivia, Data,” La Forge remarked in sarcastic amusement. “But I’ve never known a completely normal rock to cause the federation flagship to be recalled to Earth before.”
Data twitched his head in thought. “It is highly likely that it is having its anomalous properties concealed through undetectable means. Either that, or perhaps it is an effect that comes and goes at irregular intervals.”
“Well this thing has no power source, that’s a certainty,” La Forge pointed out. “As an engineer, I can see no way for this thing to produce any kind of reading in the first place. It’s not even radioactive.”
“I’m afraid I cannot give you an answer at this time,” Data apologised, equally confused as his crewmates. “But perhaps there might be some type of spatial rift responsible.”
“Spatial rift?”
“I am just hypothesising, Geordi,” Data explained, putting away his tricorder. “Should it emit any reading during transit, I suggest we are ready to capture all data possible.”
“That is the general idea,” La Forge confirmed, looking to the side as one of his team informed him that the statue base was ready for transport. He gave the other engineer a nod, tapping on his delta combadge to contact the ship. “La Forge to Enterprise. The object is ready to-”
Then a loud crackling sound caused all eyes to shift back towards the statue base. Where before it had lied dormant, empty and normal, it now began to take on a purple glow on one side as multicoloured and highly unstable energies sparked out dangerously around them.
“La Forge to bridge! We have activity down here; the object is emitting some kind of unidentified energy!” La Forge urgently informed the Enterprise, much of the away team scrambling to a safe distance as he scanned it with his visor. “I’m picking up all sorts of readings, but I can’t make heads or tail of any of them!”
“Geordi!” Data shouted in alarm, tackling the engineer to the ground and a bolt of energy shot right through where La Forge had just been, striking the ground behind him before dissipating.
Then, as quickly as it began it also came to an end. The lightshow began to die down, before vanishing completely. All activity ceased, and the marble statue base became inert once more.
Data looked down at Geordi, the latter staring at the statue base in astonishment. “It appears that Starfleet’s assessment was not incorrect.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” La Forge commented as Data helped him back up to his feet, pressing against his badge once more. “Bridge, the object has returned to an inert state. But I recommend placing a level one forcefield around cargo bay two for the time being.”
“Copy that, Commander,” a voice emerged from the badge. “Resume the transport.”
“We’re ready, let’s get this thing out of here.”
The team returned to the undamaged transport enhancers, enabling them all. They all began to pulsate brightly and with a subtle humming sound. Then, with the lock-on achieved, blue particles shot up around the statue base as it vanished from view, rematerialising back up in the USS Enterprise’s cargo bay.
“Transport complete, we’ll pack up here and then return to the ship. La Forge out.”
“Captain’s Log, supplemental. The Enterprise has received its unusual package, and I have ordered us to set course of Vulcan at warp six. I must admit to being sceptical as to this… statue’s importance, but the show provided for our recovery teams was most telling indeed. Now I am presented with a security concern, the previous activation was far more volatile than previously observed by Starfleet personnel. Just what have I brought onto my ship? And will it prove more dangerous than we yet realise…?”
The Enterprise cruised steadily along at warp speeds, leaving Earth far behind as the ship carried its delicate cargo towards those who would be more suited to examined it and its anomalous properties.
Not that the crew were just going to leave it sitting pretty in their cargo bay. The protective forcefield had been reduced from surrounding the entire cargo bay to simply surrounding the statue base itself. The science division aboard the Enterprise has also sat up a makeshift lab around the strange artefact. Various personnel in both gold and blue uniforms tended the various equipment set up on tables, each one monitoring the statue base for any further activity of interest.
Captain Picard stood among them, observing the strange thing curiously. Commander Data was present, and he had even invited their resident counsellor along. Being a betazoid, they were curious whether she would be able to sense anything from the artefact.
“Nothing,” Deanna informed them regretfully. “Whatever is happening, it is not caused by any sort of thinking and feeling being. And if it is, I cannot currently detect them.”
“I didn’t think so, but it was worth a try,” Picard said to her. “Mr Data, has there been any further activity from this artefact?”
“None sir, it has remained dormant ever since we brought it aboard the Enterprise.”
“Well, keep a close eye on it,” Picard commanded the Lieutenant Commander. “We shall give it a few more hours, then if there are no more incidents I will have us increase our warp factor. We should be at Vulcan within a week.”
“Aye sir.”
“Captain Picard,” a voice came in over the ship’s intercom. “There is a message for you from Admiral Jamerson.”
Picard raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with Data. “On my way.”
Wasting no time, Picard departed the cargo bay and left the statue base behind. He headed directly to the nearest turbolift, and had it ferry him directly to the bridge. The thing about turbolifts is that they didn’t just go up and down, but rather went in every single direction while ferrying its passengers to and from the differing sections of the ship. It took no time at all to bring the Captain to the ship’s bridge, the doors hissing open to reveal the spacious and welcoming space beyond.
“Captain, you have a communication from the Admiral. It had been transferred to your ready room,” Mr Worf informed Picard on sighting his commanding officer. “It is priority one.”
“Priority one? What could possibly have happened in past couple of hours…?” Picard wondered to himself, heading directly to the doorway into his personal ready room.
The terminal on his desk was chiming, indicating that someone was attempting contact. He passed his pet fish and various ornate trinkets, sitting down at the desk and shifting the terminal so it was firmly in front of him. He tapped a key on the LCARS display, and the live image of Admiral Phillip Jamerson emerged.
“Jean-Luc, sorry for the interruption but a situation has arisen that simply cannot wait.”
“So my crew tells me,” Picard replied. “We only just left Earth Spacedock, is this related to the object sitting in cargo bay two?”
“Potentially, but that is unconfirmed,” the Admiral stated. “An anomaly has been detected just barely on our side of the Romulan Neutral Zone, and its erratic readings match those given by the statue base recovered from Canterlot. Your new orders are to divert course and investigate, the last thing we want is the romulans getting twitchy over something like this. I have already sent the exact coordinates to your helmsman.”
“I understand Admiral, but don’t you think this is just a little irregular?” Picard remarked. “A strange object is found emitting even stranger readings. Then, immediately afterwards, an anomaly opens up next to Romulan space?”
“All I can ask is that you be careful, Jean-Luc,” the Admiral responded. “Jamerson out.”
And just like that, the Admiral’s image cut away and was replaced with the symbol of the United Federation of Planets. With a grim look, Picard arose from his seat and emerged back onto the bridge, Wesley Crusher looking up at him as he went.
“Sir, we have received coordinates from the Admiral.”
“Set a course, Mr Crusher,” Picard ordered, moving towards his chair and sitting in it with authority. “Maximum warp, engage!”
The Enterprise slowed a moment as it performed a calculated turn mid-warp, before speaking up to its safest maximum speed. It streaked forth, heading directly towards the neutral zone.
The journey to the Romulan Neutral Zone wasn’t as short as the hop to Vulcan, and many days passed with no activity from the object in cargo bay two. Likewise, there was no change in the anomaly detected near the neutral zone, and as of yet there was no sign of romulan intervention. The latter point was good, as a romulan ship on their side of the neutral zone was never going to be a good thing.
During those days the crew had gone about their duties as they always had done, though the question and mystery as to what was linking the neutral zone to the thing in their cargo bay remained.
Observation of that object had remained constant, though had quickly become known as something of a bore. There wasn’t much joy in looking at the composition of marble all day every single day, but there was no mistake at what it may have been capable of. That fact was just enough to keep the crew on task during the whole ordeal.
At least until the entire team on duty vanished in a flash of white light, appearing in their individual quarters all over the ship.
The statue itself, previously quiet, then began to light up once again. Unlike before, however, where the energies were once unstable they were now controlled and confined to a single surface on the cube shaped statue base. A vortex materialised dead centre, expanding as, if one were to squint, a lavender equine shaped lifeform could be seen getting closer and closer. The figure seemed to glow, shift, and then twist into something more… human.
Then a woman, approximately in her late twenties and in full green coloured Starfleet attire, tripped out of the portal and barely used her long-neglected hands to stop her face planting the hard metallic flooring.
“Ugh, I forgot how strange that felt…” Princess Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself, shakily getting to her feet as she examined her environment. She froze. “Wait… this isn’t Canterlot High!”
As she began to take note of her predicament, her arrival certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed up on the bridge.
“Captain, intruder alert in cargo bay two!” Worf urgently informed the Captain, silencing the alarm coming from his console.
“I have also detected an energy spike coming from that location,” Commander Data added in, examining his own console at the very front of the bridge. “It matches previous readings from the artefact.”
“Bridge to cargo bay two, report!” Captain Picard said aloud, getting no response. “Data, lifesigns in cargo bay two?”
“Only one. Human, but…”
“But?”
“The readings read human, but they also seem… confused. Like something is not quite right with that analysis.”
“Did it come from the object?” Commander Riker enquired.
“Unknown.”
“Mr Worf, assemble a security team and follow me to cargo bay two, erect force fields,” Picard commanded, shooting up from his seat. “Number One, you have the bridge. Deanna, you come too. I would like to know exactly who it is we are dealing with.”
With the orders given, the crew all scrambled to have them fulfilled. Meanwhile, Twilight was simply observing the cargo bay, some understanding coming onto her features.
The Princess crouched down, placing a hand on the deck plates as she closed her eyes in concentration. She felt the subtle vibrations coursing through the structure all around her, vibrations which were extremely familiar to her.”
“A starship, then,” Twilight muttered, opening her eyes and standing back up in small awe. “They made it out here, then. Oh Sunset, did you ever live to see such wonders?”
Twilight turned again to the statue base, once more seemingly inert. Though she knew the portal within was still open, and would be so long as her journal remained connected to the mirror on the other side. A mirror connected to Sunset Shimmer’s own, still somewhere out there in the wide galaxy she now found herself in.
She could also see her reflection in the surface of the statue base. She looked older than previous visits, and yet far younger than she felt she had any right to be. He blue and pink hair was pristine and done up into a neat bun, her largely hairless and light-coloured skin was equally as unblemished. She also wore an unfamiliar uniform severely unlike the previous outfits she had found herself in.
“Hello again,” she said to her own reflection.
Minus the glasses, she could easily imagine that she looked exactly as her counterpart did in the years following their last encounter.
Then the cargo bay doors opened up, a moderately armed security team pouring in. They all wore yellow coloured uniforms, the only exceptions being the woman and balding man at their head. Twilight’s eyes were drawn particularly to the tallest of the obvious security team, who was definitely not human.
The security team spotted her immediately, surrounding her quickly and orderly. Their weapons were not yet raised in her direction, but their grips told Twilight that that detail could change in an instant. Yet she didn’t flinch away, standing undaunted before them, and yet as unthreatening as possible.
“Hold your weapons, I mean no harm,” Twilight addressed the humans.
The balding male, the leader most likely, stood at the head of the group with a cautious look on his features. “I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. You may wear a Starfleet uniform, but the manner of your entrance throws doubts upon that fact. And I know you are not of my crew.”
“You’re right, I’m not,” Twilight admitted, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to end up here. The statue used to be outside a school.”
The team shared a few glanced, the Captain looking at her with a new curiosity.
“A school? What do you know of that?”
“A great deal I would imagine,” she replied. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a friend.”
“Sparkle?” Worf remarked in disgust, clearly having no respect for such an odd name.
“Mr Worf,” Picard scolded, but keeping his attention on the intruder. “The team that was in here has been reporting in from their quarters across the ship. How did you achieve this?”
Twilight narrowed her eyes in confusion. “I saw no team on my arrival, the room was empty.”
Picard seemed doubtful, and his eyes turned to the woman standing next to him. Twilight’s eyes too turned to that woman, and she swore she could feel the presence of another within her own mind.
“Don’t do that,” Twilight warned, the presence being immediately blocked as the woman gasped in surprise.
“Deanna?” Picard said in worry.
“I’m okay,” Deanna assured the Captain. “I sensed no deception, but… she is far more ancient than she appears. And I can no longer feel her emotions.”
Picard looked back at Twilight, a frown on his face. “What are you?”
“A friend,” Twilight repeated her earlier statement. “I am… not from around here.”
“She comes from somewhere else,” Deanna confirmed. “At least that’s what I felt before I was thrown out of her mind.”
“You are an unknown entity and an intruder on my ship,” Picard stated warningly, receiving little reaction from the Princess. “How can I know you are not responsible for what is happening near the neutral zone? For that matter, if not you then who else could have displaced my crew?”
“Who else?” an arrogant voice remarked from atop the statue, all eyes turning towards it immediately. “Come now Picard, must you always be so untrusting of others?”
The figure atop the statue was a mismatched amalgamation of many different animals, and all but one individual seeing him did a double take at the sight.
“Discord!” Twilight shouted up at the creature, irritation in her voice. “Did you know that the statue had been moved?”
“But of course, I know everything!” Discord remarked, eating an encyclopaedia with a specific glance towards Worf.
“You know this… person?” Picard asked Twilight, slightly disturbed by the familiar voice it spoke in.
Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course she knows me, Picard! Did you truly think you were that special?”
With a flash, Discord vanished from the top of the statue base as a simultaneous flash appeared between Twilight and Picard. From that flash emerged an equally arrogant man wearing a red Starfleet uniform.
“There, does this answer the obvious?”
“Q!” Picard shouted, enraged.
“Q?” Twilight parroted, looking at the trickster questioningly.
Q waved a hand of dismissal. “Oh, Q… Discord… What does it matter? I’m me, and that’s all there is to it.”
“What game are you playing this time, Q!?” Picard demanded to know, clearly unamused by the Avatar of Chaos’ antics. “Are you responsible for all of this?”
“For that?” Q asked, gesturing towards the statue base. “Oh no, you can thank old Mr The Bearded for that little hole in the universe.”
“It’s not a hole, it’s a portal,” Twilight corrected him.
“Same difference. Yours is just less fun, unlike that little problem of yours, Picard,” Q remarked, meeting the Captain’s piercing glare. “Oh, whatever awaits you at the edge of the neutral zone? You should be thankful that I sent an expert to aid you.”
Picard looked towards Twilight, who in turn was looking at Q with a bewildered expression.
“Me? Discord, what exactly have you done?”
“I told you earlier, Princess. Nothing at all. Mostly.”
“Princess?” Worf repeated, heavily bemused by the whole situation. “Captain, I do not think we should trust anything he says.”
“I’m fully aware of that, Mr Worf,” Picard replied, approaching Twilight and Q further without losing an inch of his suspicion. “Ms Sparkle, how do you know this man?”
Twilight folded her arms, adopting an expression not so dissimilar to Picard’s as she regarded the Spirit of Chaos with a glare of her own.
“He’s… a friend. Even if he doesn’t act like it,” Twilight stated. “I’ve known him for a very long time. And any explanations would be nice right around now.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Q replied smugly. “Now I expect you kids to get long, I do know that is your speciality, Twilight. Try not to get lost across the quadrant in a wrecked ship again, and have fun.”
And then, in a flash, Q vanished. Twilight leapt forward to where Q had just been standing, looking frantically around for him in extreme annoyance. The Starfleet crew, meanwhile, continued to observe.
“Discord! Get back here you useless draconequus!”
After a few moments of seething, Twilight took a breath to calm herself. She would be having a great many words with Discord when she got back to Equestria, but for the time being she had another matter to attend to.
“My apologies, Captain,” Twilight said to Picard. “I should have known he had some ulterior motive, he always does.”
“What do you mean? Just who and what are you?”
Twilight considered her response for a moment, but decided that lies about her origin would be counterproductive.
“My name if Princess Twilight Sparkle, one of the rulers of Equestria. The portal I just came through leads to my home. In a nutshell, I was expecting to end up on Earth and not here on this starship. It was Discord, the one you call Q, who convinced me to visit again.”
“Visit? You just wanted to… visit?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. I came here once, a very long time ago. I wanted to see what had changed over the years. I have no hostile intent.”
Picard regarded the Princess a moment, before motioning for security to stand down. He didn’t need Troi’s powers to see her sincerity.
“Thank you,” Twilight said as all the security barring Worf exited the cargo bay. “Now… what’s this about a ‘neutral zone’?”
“That can wait a moment,” Picard replied. “You are an alien from somewhere no man has gone before. And I am curious… what exactly is Equestria?”
The senior staff of the Enterprise were all gathered in the briefing room directly behind the bridge, accompanied by their guest. Said guest stood up as the rest sat in their seats, her hand outstretched and glowing a purple aura as the image of a lavender alicorn stood regally on the table between the officers.
“Fascinating,” Data commented, observing the image of Twilight’s true self. “Starfleet has never encountered a fully evolved sapient lifeform of equine decent before. In fact, your profile matches depictions of unicorns spanning back to ancient earth art and literature.”
“Where do you think that came from?” Twilight said with a small smirk.
“It’s something I would have dreamed about as a little girl,” Deanna Troi remarked fondly. “You are most beautiful.”
“I do not see what is so enchanting about a purple horse,” Worf dryly commented.
Twilight gave him a deadpan look. “I recently destroyed a starship by myself, in just a spacesuit.”
That got Worf’s attention. “Is that so? Appearances aside, are you a… warrior?”
“I would hope not,” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “But I am charged with leading my people, and to help defend them where necessary.”
“Beautiful and deadly,” Troi commented, a little amused. “It’s nice to see a ruler not afraid to get their hands dirty.”
“Hooves, Counsellor,” Data corrected.
“You said your people are recently warp capable?” Geordi La Forge asked, getting a nod in return. “If what you say about your abilities is true, I would love to learn more about your engines.”
“Never mind the engines,” Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher remarked. “I want to know how it all works on a biological standpoint. I can’t say I believe in magic, but such energy manipulation is still interesting to think about.”
“One man’s magic is another man’s science,” Captain Picard pointed out. “You must have created marvels with such an ability.”
“You should see the Crystal Empire,” Twilight, switching the image of herself to the mentioned city. “Yes, that is real crystal.”
“It reminds me of Farpoint Station,” Commander Riker commented. “Before it left with its lover, anyway.”
“And you said it took you two thousand years from your birth to get warp drive?” Picard enquired.
“It did,” Twilight confirmed. “With our magic, we had everything we needed on our own world. We entered something of a medieval stasis for a thousand years before I was born, and all advancements after that were dreadfully slow. Not anymore though, I managed to kick our scientists into gear eventually. I designed our first FTL ship.”
“But two thousand years?” Picard questioned again. “You said you visited Earth in the twenty first century.”
“Ah,” Twilight said in understanding, sitting back down at the table. “The portal was closed until recently. Without that connection, time progressed faster for our world. Different universes, our time is not generally relative.”
“Their Equus may be an alternate Earth, but one very far departed from our own,” Data clarified. “Unlike universes directly parallel to us, like the Mirror Universe encountered by Captain Kirk. Tell me, did you ever pinpoint an area of divergence in our worlds?”
“To find an overall divergence would be impossible, the landscape of our whole galaxy could very well be different from your version,” Twilight stated. “But if I had to pinpoint a specific place for Equus compared to Earth, it would be the extinction of the dinosaurs. Evolution diverged dramatically from that point.”
“And this school from hundreds of years ago was fully aware of its existence?”
“Yes, though that wasn’t the first crossing I don’t think. The whole school agreed to secrecy, nobody wanted any undue attention from the American government.”
“People were extremely paranoid back then,” Riker noted. “And everyone had guns.”
“We didn’t want to create an interdimensional incident,” Twilight confirmed. “And eventually I stopped visiting. My time was taken up by my duties… and now my friends are long gone.”
“I’m sorry, that must be very hard for you,” Deanna Troi said sympathetically.
“I’m fine. I’ve had two thousand years to cope,” Twilight responded. “But I’ve told you all the basics about Equus, the ES Harmony and the Equus Space Program. So, what’s this about the neutral zone?”
The crew shared glances, but given the situation they had little reason to hide anything from the alicorn in human form.
La Forge arose from his seat and approached a computer console just behind the Captain’s seat at the table. He activated the display, bringing up the image of what appeared to be a bright multicoloured cloud in space.
“This was taken by our long-range scans,” La Forge explained. “It appeared not long after your portal was rediscovered in Canterlot. Except this is far bigger, and the energy readings are far more erratic.”
“And… it just appeared out of nowhere?”
“We don’t know how it happened. It’s located right on the edge of the zone, not too far from a small nebula also along the border.”
Twilight looked at the gathered readings, concern radiating off of her. “That’s magic alright. A hole in the universe, ours bleeding into yours.”
“How do you know its not the other way around?” Riker asked.
“Because your world hasn’t had magic since the portal’s last closure,” Twilight explained. “If its here, then it is because its coming through from our world into yours. Something similar happened back then, when the statue was damaged and then magic bled through. It caused all sorts of havoc until it was finally cleaned up fully.”
“How could that happen? Is Q responsible?”
“I don’t think so,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “He wanted us to meet for this very reason, I think. I’m not sure his powers would even be able to affect an anomaly like this.”
“If he can’t fix it, he might intend us to do it instead,” La Forge surmised.
“I agree,” Twilight stated. “But again, what is the neutral zone?”
“A no man’s land between Federation space and that of the Romulan Star Empire,” Data explained. “Neither side is allowed inside, not since the war the early United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire fought against one another.”
“We’re worried this may cause an incident with them,” Picard added in. “If we get you to the anomaly, could you close it?”
“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “I would have to take a closer look. And I may need the Enterprise’s help.”
“The ship is fully equipped to deal with a large variety of scenarios,” Data noted. “I’m certain we will have what you need. I imagine that would be Q’s belief as well.”
“Then it seems our course has been decided for us,” Picard mused, just as the beep of the intercom interrupted the meeting.
“Sir, we are on approach to the neutral zone.”
“On our way,” Picard replied to the personnel on the bridge. “Princess, would you care to join us?”
“Of course,” Twilight replied, getting up with the others as they piled out of the briefing room and onto the bridge.
The crewmen already there were relieved, and the officers all took their individual stations. Data at the operations console, Worf at tactical with La Forge manning the engineering displays behind him. Picard and Riker took their chairs with Troi sitting to their left, leaving Doctor Crusher and Twilight standing near the captain’s chair looking towards the viewscreen.
The ship decelerated as it exited warp and returned to impulse power. It cruised steadily through space, slowing before coming to a complete halt not too far from the border to the Romulan Neutral Zone.
“Captain, the anomaly is on sensors,” Data reported.
“On screen.”
The viewscreen switched over with a beep, the bright spectral anomaly appearing before their eyes. It twisted and turned within itself, rampant magical energies sparking out dangerously as the anomaly appeared to slowly be expanding outwards. If were to squint, they could see the stars of another place and time beyond.
“Captain, the energy output is off the charts,” La Forge reported. “It has grown significantly since our scans.”
“Its growth is accelerating,” Data interjected. “If this continues, it will cross into both sides of the neutral zone within three days.”
Picard’s eyes were drawn to Twilight, the Princess looking at her own hand as purple energies danced between her fingers.
“Princess Twilight?”
“I can feel it,” Twilight responded. “I can feel the anomaly reaching out to my own magic. The closer we get, the more unstable it will become. More powerful, but more uncontrollable.”
“Are you alright?” Picard asked in concern.
Twilight stopped examining her hand and offered Picard a small smile. “I will be fine. But I ask we not get any closer for the time being.”
“We won’t,” Picard assured her. “Now, what are our options?”
“More data is required,” the android at operations reported. “I will run a high level multiphasic scan, but it will need twelve hours to complete. I might also ask Princess Twilight to help us adjust the sensors based on her peoples’ own.”
Twilight walked up to the android and looked over his shoulder at the console.
“It won’t be a problem. I can show you how to add in a couple new variables and compensate for any interference.”
“Make it so,” Picard ordered, only for a small alarm from tactical to cut him off.
“Captain!” Worf shouted in alarm. “Romulan warbird decloaking!”
“Red alert, shields up!” Picard ordered, rising from his seat and walking forwards a few steps.
The viewscreen shifted, the sight of a large green vessel shaped vaguely like bird of prey. A green light could be seen forming at its very front, before the obvious torpedo was fired directly at them.
The ship jolted from the impact, alarms blaring as the various panels around the bridge began to flash red. Twilight grabbed onto the back of Data’s chair to steady herself, looking more irritated than scared.
“Well, they seem as friendly as a gaecha.”
“Mr Worf, lock on weapons and stand-by,” Picard ordered. “Open a channel to that ship.”
“Channel open, sir.”
“Attention romulan vessel, this is Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise. You are in violation of treaty and have performed an unprovoked attack upon this vessel. Disengage at once!”
It only took a moment, but the romulan ship responded in audio only.
“USS Enterprise, your Federation’s activities in this area are violation enough for us!” the voice of the romulan sub-commander addressed them. “Your creation of the subspace anomaly near our borders is an affront to us.”
“The Federation did not create the anomaly, we were sent to investigate and fix the problem,” Picard replied truthfully.
“Federation tricks will not be tolerated. Leave, or be fired upon.”
“Hold on!” Twilight spoke up, standing next to Picard at the centre of the bridge. “This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, representing the Equus Space Program. My people are not a part of the Federation, and Captain Picard speaks the truth.”
“The Romulan Star Empire does not recognise this ‘Equus Space Program’. Leave now.”
“There is no need for hostilities. Friendship is something that-” A beeping marked the end of the communication. “Did they just hang up on me?”
“I believe they did,” Picard said in amusement, though it was short lived as the ship was once again rocked by a heavy impact.
“Shields at ninety percent!” Worf reported.
Picard made his way back to the captain’s chair, sitting down and staring out at the viewscreen. “Target their weapons, fire at will!”
Energy built up along a strip atop the saucer, a bright orange phaser beam shooting forth and hitting the warbird. It was followed by two more, one atop the saucer and one below it, each one hitting against the other ship’s shields. The Enterprise continued to fire as it turned away from the warbird, which fired another torpedo and four bolts of plasma energy at the Galaxy Class ship.
Sparks flew up from one of the consoles on the bridge, the structure shaking from yet another strike.
“Shields at eighty percent. Their forwards shields are equally drained.”
“Reroute power to the aft shields,” Picard commanded.
The Enterprise fully turned its back to the warbird with the shields there strengthening. Two more bolts of plasma hit the ship as the romulans pursued. The Enterprise fired several more phaser beams, followed by a spread of five photon torpedoes from the aft launcher. They all hit the warbird, the phasers and first four torpedoes hitting the forward shielding directly and causing it to flicker and die. The final torpedo got through, hitting the warbird in a flurry of fire.
“Direct hit,” Worf reported. “They are attempting to reorientate themselves to cover their exposed hull.”
“Stay with them, take out their weapons.”
The Enterprise made to keep up with the warbird as it tried to cover its weakened areas, and it seemed as though they were going to be unsuccessful as a few of the Enterprise’s phasers hit their mark.
“Captain, two more warbirds are on sensors and approaching fast.”
Now Twilight looked concerned. “Three on one, forgive me Captain but those don’t seem like favourable odds.”
“No, they don’t,” Picard grimly agreed. “Disengage, full impulse.”
Riker looked towards Picard oddly. “Impulse, sir?”
“We can’t allow these romulans to interfere with an anomaly of which they have no understanding,” Picard pointed out. “Let them pursue us away from it.”
The Enterprise stopped firing, quickly arching away from the other ship and speeding away as fast as its impulse engines would allow. Two more ships warped into the system moments afterwards.
“All three warbirds are moving to pursue,” Data reported.
“Keep as much distance between us as possible,” Picard commanded. “Now, we just need a way to keep the romulans occupied while we double back to the anomaly.”
“There is the nearby nebula we could potentially hide ourselves in, only a few hours away at warp.” Data reported. “As long as we continue to stay next to the border, I believe the romulans will pursue us.”
“It would be pointless,” Worf objected. “They would be waiting for us to emerge.”
Twilight’s eyes scrunched up for a moment, before they quickly brightened in a ‘eureka’ moment. She rushed up the side of the bridge to where Geordi La Forge was manning a console, addressing the engineer urgently.
“I think I can solve that problem, do you by chance have any kind of holographic technology and shuttles aboard this ship?”
“We have both, why?” La Forge asked.
“I’ll explain as we’re working,” Twilight promised, leading a confused La Forge towards the turbolift. “Captain, head to that nebula. We’ll make sure those ships don’t follow us out again.”
Picard shared a look with his first officer, but conceded to the Princess’ request.
“Alright. Helm, set a course for the nebula and engage!”
The Enterprise dropped out of warp, the nebula directly ahead. As planned, the ship continued on at full impulse until the cloud completely shrouded them and all power signatures the romulan ships may have been able to detect. Those warbirds dropped out of warp not far behind them, just in time to see the ship be completely submerged. They began to spread out, hoping to catch the Enterprise when it made to exit.
Meanwhile, in the shuttlebay, La Forge and Twilight were both crouched next to a bulbous piece of technology sitting in the passenger compartment. They were placing several previously removed panels pack into place, until only one was left open.
“It's now or never,” La Forge commented. “Do it.”
Twilight nodded, her hand glowing with power as she allowed a few strands of her magic to enter the machine and spread throughout its systems. Its lights began to blink lavender, and she then replaced the final panel.
“All done,” she stated. “Set the controls.”
La Forge stood up and entered the cockpit, beginning to program in some directives for the shuttle to follow.
“It will enter its maximum warp factor along the edge of the neutral zone the moment its free of the nebula, and with the falsified signature the romulans should give chase,” La Forge remarked. “How long will your powers keep the projector displaying the Enterprise? On its own it cannot hold such a large image.”
“Well since its ties into the shuttle’s warp core, I’d say a couple hours,” Twilight replied. “And that’s only because of the power boost that anomaly is giving me. I’d be able to keep it going indefinitely if I stayed aboard, but you still need me on the bridge.”
“Well, the autopilot is engaged and readying for launch. The projector will fire up the moment it leaves the ship. Ready?”
“Ready,” Twilight confirmed. “Let’s get off of this thing.”
La Forge followed Princess Twilight out, the shuttle doors closing tightly up behind them. They moved a safe distance away from the small ship, and then watched as the shuttlebay doors began to slide open. Only the forcefield around the now open space kept them from being blown out into space. The pink horizon of the nebula existed beyond, spanning all around them.
The shuttle’s engines fired up, the landing gear retracting as it gently began to lift up and hover in place. Then the impulse engines lit up a bright red, sending the shuttle moved swiftly out of the bay and into open space. It moved a short distance away from the Enterprise before moving around and matching its course and speed through the nebula. The officers on the bridge saw the shuttle launch, slowing the Enterprise down and causing the ship to slowly turn back the way it had come from. The shuttle continued on a little more as it had been, before the shuttle vanished from view. Instead, the image of the Enterprise appeared in its place, its proportions identical as the real thing albeit with a slight lavender tinge you would only see if you stood next to it with a magnifying glass. It looked like the real thing, the readings it was giving off did nothing to dissuade that fact.
The ‘Enterprise’ exited the other side of the nebula, immediately being sighted by the warbirds who sped up to intercept. But their course around the nebula was still longer than going directly through it, even if it was considered a ‘small’ nebula. The ship they were chasing jumped to warp before they could reach it, and they all reunited and jumped after it.
“And there they go,” La Forge commented. “Though, we have less than those couple hours you mentioned. The romulans will catch up to the shuttle, its slower than we are. It won’t take them long to figure out what we’re doing after that.”
“Then we better hurry back, and think of something before they return,” Twilight replied, hitting her own combadge. “Twilight to Picard, the romulans are away.”
“So we saw, good work. Return to the bridge.”
Twilight replied in the affirmative, she and the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer rushing out of the shuttlebay and towards the nearest turbolift to the bridge.
The Enterprise exited the nebula where it had entered, quickly jumping to warp back towards the anomaly. They raised their speeds all the way past their safest maximum speed, all the way to the upper most of warp nine the Enterprise was capable of achieving. It would do a number on the engines, and wouldn’t last long, but they needed as much time as possible if they wanted to figure out a way to close the anomaly before the romulans returned.
Time simply wasn’t on their side.
Twilight and La Forge had returned to the bridge immediately, though the engineer left not too long after to keep an eye on the warp core. The speeds they were going were not recommended for long periods of time, and the ship gave the occasional shudder of protest. Dr Crusher too had returned to her place in the ship’s sick bay, helping tend to those injured during the fight against their romulan attackers.
Running from a small fleet of enemy ships as fast as their own could go. The story of Twilight’s life. Or at least the past year.
As they made their approach to the anomaly, they had no doubt that the romulans had since caught up to and likely destroyed the shuttle. They would be heading back to the anomaly at maximum warp, but they were still a good few hours ahead of them.
But not nearly enough time for Data to do his long scan. Whatever they had to do, they had to do it quickly.
“Exiting warp,” the helmsman reported, the ship rapidly decelerating a short distance from the anomaly.
“Bring us to out previous position by the anomaly and bring us to a full stop,” Picard ordered as he once again regarded the anomaly on the screen. “Have there been any changes to the anomaly during out detour?”
“I’m not sure, Captain,” Data replied, looking at his readout in confusion. “The energy output seems largely the same, though I am detecting a small variation coming from the very centre of the anomaly. Perhaps now would be a good time for those sensor recalibrations?”
Captain Picard turned to Twilight expectantly.
“I can do it,” Twilight confirmed, hopping up to one of the consoles at the back of the bridge and getting to work. “I just need to program in some of the standard mathematical equations to calculate the basic magical properties according to Equestrian science. It’s all rather simple, I learnt it all when I was a foal.”
Data watched her progress, looking on with interest as some of the sensor readings began to clear up and register in a more understandable way. “Fascinating. The colouration of aura is a simple difference of point zero zero one on the-”
“Mr Data,” Picard interrupted.
“Sorry sir, initiating another scan,” Data stated. “I must note that these equations seem extremely complex, unlike the Princess’ words to the contrary.”
“I was a very studious child,” Twilight defended. “But you should now get clearer readings from the anomaly.”
“Confirmed,” Data said. “The anomaly is definitely being produced from the other universe, acting like a funnel for magic to enter our own.”
“Can you detect the cause?” Riker enquired.
“Negative, sir,” Data responded. “Though I can detect some debris on the other side. Some of it is metallic in nature, ship wreckage most likely. There also appears to be an asteroid field in the area.”
Twilight looked away from her console and towards the viewscreen, something resonating in the back of her mind. “Asteroid field…?”
Then she doubled over.
The entire ship shook from an unseen impact, red alert being automatically sounded as sparks flew across the bridge.
“Report!” Picard shouted, gripping his chair tightly.
“The anomaly is expanding exponentially!” Data reported in alarm. “Sir, something is being forcibly dragged through from the other side!”
“Captain!” Worf alerted, directing attention to Twilight.
Picard stood up to see the issue. The Princess was on the floor, lavender magic swirling about her erratically as she breathed heavily in attempt to get it under control. She was obviously in pain.
Picard touched his combadge. “Bridge to Dr Crusher, medical emergency!”
Another shockwave hit the ship, the impact sending Picard falling back into his chair. The view of the other universe through the portal began to widen, and something was definitely moving through it.
“I am detecting a ship emerging from the anomaly,” Data informed them, just as one final burst of magic came from the downed Princess.
Four lavender hooves slowly centred themselves, lifting their owner until she stood up unsteadily. She stood a head taller than any of those around her, her wings fluttering as she realised what had happened. The crew looked at her in shock, examining her ancient lavender eyes and the ethereal mane blowing in an unseen wind.
“The barriers are collapsing,” the alicorn muttered, eyes looking up towards the viewscreen just as the emerging vessel came into view.
And Twilight knew that ship very well indeed.
It was comprised of a large rounded saucer section with a bridge module directly in its centre, six spherical habitation modules running down along each side. At the back of the ship stood two proud nacelles, one slung under the ship and the other towering high above. Lights flickered erratically as it drifted slowly towards the Enterprise, clearly having lost its own engines during their rough and involuntary transit through the anomaly. A name was written on the saucer, sitting valiantly before the bridge as a badge of honour and prestige.
The ship came to a halt, thrusters coming back online and steadying it again. And so the two vessels sat facing each other, uncertain of what was going to happen next.
“It’s the ES Harmony.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Of Enterprising Men and Ponies: Part 2
Last Time On Star Trek: The Next Generation
Four lavender hooves slowly centred themselves, lifting their owner until she stood up unsteadily. She stood a head taller than any of those around, her wings fluttering as she realised what had happened. The crew looked at her in shock, examining her ancient lavender eyes and ethereal mane blowing in an unseen wind.
“The barriers are collapsing,” the alicorn muttered, eyes looking up towards the viewscreen just as the emerging vessel came into view.
And Twilight knew that ship very well indeed.
It was comprised of a large rounded saucer with a bridge module directly in its centre, six spherical habitation modules running down along each side. At the back of the ship stood two proud nacelles, one slung under the ship and the other towering high above. Lights flickered erratically as it drifted slowly towards the Enterprise, clearly having lost its own engines during their rough and involuntary transit through the anomaly. A name was written on the saucer, sitting valiantly before the bridge as a badge of honour and prestige.
The ship came to a halt, thrusters coming back online and steadying it again. And so the two vessels sat facing each other, uncertain of what was going to happen next.
“It’s the ES Harmony.”
And Now For The Conclusion
Two ships stood facing one another in space, each similar is design aesthetic and yet vastly different at the same time. The vessels were of similar lengths, and equally as imposing. The anomaly crackled behind the recently emerged vessel, its expansion coming to a halt but not reducing even an inch.
On the bridge of the Enterprise, Dr Crusher and her medical team were piling onto the bridge in search of the casualty. However, Twilight simply flicked a wing to send the bewildered medical personnel away, feeling completely fine now that the forced transformation was complete.
Twilight slowly trotted down from the back of the bridge until she was planted squarely in front of the viewscreen. Picard got up from his captain’s chair and stood alongside her, looking up at the alicorn in concern.
“Are you quite alright?” Picard asked. “You certainly look different.”
“This is me,” Twilight explained, her eyes not leaving the image of the ES Harmony. “The barriers between our worlds are breaking down. The portal’s power to disguise my appearance has failed, and I have thus reverted to my natural state.”
Picard nodded in understanding, now also turning to examine the other ship. “This ship, you know it?”
“It’s the ES Harmony,” Twilight said in the affirmative. “It’s one of ours. Our flagship, the first and what was until recently our only warp capable starship. The Celestial Class of ship is getting the upgrade and the ES Shining Armor has also been launched. The Harmony itself was getting underway again, after an extensive refit, just as I was stepping through the portal to this universe.”
“Data, analysis?” Picard enquired of the android.
“The ship is of similar dimensions to the twenty third century Einstein Class of starship,” Data reported. “It appears to be of similar power and armaments too.”
“The refit upgraded everything about her,” Twilight said proudly. “A sharin by the name of Xal helped incorporate the new technologies.”
“She is antiquated in comparison to modern Starfleet designs, despite her size,” Data made sure to add in, causing the Princess to pout a little. “She is no match for the Enterprise.”
“Neither were we for the gaecha…” Twilight muttered in annoyance. “I’m not the only thing that’s going to get a power boost from the anomaly, the ship uses extensive magical properties within its technology. From weapons to the engines, they will all be getting an overcharge.”
“So it becomes more powerful the longer it soaks up the anomaly’s energy?” Picard questioned, Twilight nodding in the affirmative. “And how will it affect the Enterprise’s systems in comparison?”
“The opposite,” Twilight replied. “Your vessel does not use magic of any kind. As such, the energy from the anomaly will cripple your systems. It’s how we defeated our hunters aboard the Harmony.”
“Move us to a safer distance, full reverse,” Picard commanded the helmsman, who set the Enterprise to steadily reverse away.
“Sir, if that vessel is responsible for the anomaly, then we can’t let them soak up that energy until they are a match for our own weapons,” Worf noted to the Captain.
“They wouldn’t do that!” Twilight objected. “I know the crew, Captain Iynx is both capable and moral. She wouldn’t randomly open up a hole into another universe!”
“Perhaps, like us, they were sent to investigate?” Data suggested.
Worf looked down at his console as it lit up. “Sir, the other ship is hailing us.”
Picard glanced at the Princess, before turning back to the viewscreen. “Very well, let’s see what these people have to say for themselves. On screen.”
Worf complied, and a moment later the view of the Harmony shifted the that of the bridge. The Starfleet crew could immediately see its resemblance to the tradition bridges seen on their own ships. Round, the helm sitting at the front with the captain’s chair sitting directly behind it. The tactical console sat behind the captain’s chair to the right, the science console likewise to its left.
The helmsman was a grey coated earth pony with a black mane. His eyes were green in colour. Behind tactical sat an equine figure that wore a black uniform, albeit he lacked any fur on his grey coloured body and had rather bony facial features with sharp looking points at the end of their ears.
The one sitting in the captain’s chair, however, was clearly not equine. In fact, she looked like a mix between a large cat and a bird of prey.
“Fascinating,” Data said in interest. “Her physical profile matches that of an old Earth mythical creature, a griffon.”
If the Captain of the ES Harmony had any response to that comment, it was lost as she sighted the alicorn with wide eyes.”
“Princess!?” Captain Iynx stated in surprise, one that was shared with the rest of the bridge crew. “What are you doing on that ship?”
“I would surmise that she entered this alternate reality ahead of us,” Xal noted, sharing Data’s interest in the situation. “The obvious synthetic lifeform mentioned mythical creatures. Well, these people look not at all unlike one I read about in the Harmony’s database, ‘humans’.”
“Wait, humans!?” the officer at the helm, Nimble Star, blurted out. “The portal… she actually did it.”
“I took your advice after all, Lieutenant,” Twilight confirmed. “My apologies for missing the ship’s relaunch.”
“Think nothing of it, your highness,” Iynx replied. “The moment we got out of dock, we received reports of an anomaly emerging from the asteroid field where we fought the gaecha for the last time.”
“So it is there…” Twilight muttered.
Iynx’s eyes left the Princess, landing on the balding Captain of the Enterprise.
“This is Captain Iynx of the ESP Starship Harmony,” Iynx introduced herself. “Who might you be?”
“I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise,” Picard greeted in turn. “We were also investigating the anomaly. Your Princess has been assisting us in this matter.”
“Right, I thought that might be the case,” Iynx replied. “We just arrived, and got sucked in before we could so much as scan the damned thing.”
“It’s acting like a funnel from our universe into this one,” Xal added in. “Though our entry appears to have widened it. It should be possible to traverse back into our own reality now.”
“Might I ask something?” Twilight interrupted. “The ship may be faster than it was, but how did you get to that asteroid field in the small amount of time since I arrived here?”
“We were on course, but had only just started the journey,” Iynx replied. “The new warp drive would only have taken a short time over than the two months it took when the ship was busted, but we didn’t need to. Something flung us straight to the field, we have no idea what.”
“I do…” Twilight half-groaned. “Discord. He set this whole thing up, all so that we could fix this anomaly.”
“Of course, he is never around to say more than a few cryptic messages,” Commander Riker commented sourly. “How typical.”
“Very,” Twilight agreed with a frown, before offering Captain Picard a brighter smile. “Well, I’ve seen your ship so… how would you like to see mine?”
Picard regarded the Princess with curiosity. “What do you suggest?”
“We beam over to the Harmony and go to the briefing room,” Twilight suggested. “Our senior staffs can meet and greet, and more importantly we can combine our efforts to seal the rift shut.”
“No objections from me,” Iynx stated in agreement to the arrangement. “I’ll summon the rest of the Harmony’s senior officers. We’ll be prepared to receive you as our guests.”
“Well, I think that it shall be our honour,” Picard responded positively. “Signal us when you’re prepared.”
Iynx nodded, and the communication between the two ships was cut off. Picard returned the Princess’ smile, and then returned to his captain’s chair.
“Well then, Princess,” he addressed Twilight. “It seems we can finally commit first contact between our people the right way.”
“Anomaly excluded,” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “But as the Princess of Friendship, I can hardly wait.”
The ES Harmony, Conference Room
“I approve of the new insignia,” Twilight said, looking at the displayed symbol on the screen. “Though I most note a similarity to the insignia of this world’s Starfleet.
The screen was showing a black delta badge with a golden border around it. Centring the delta was a stylised image representing the four main Equestrian alicorn princesses. Red and blue wings represented the two royal sisters, a starburst represented Twilight Sparkle at its very centre and then up above that was the image of a crystalline heart.
The entirety of the Enterprise’s senior staff was aboard. Picard, Riker, Data, Worf, Troi, La Forge and Doctor Crusher all sitting along one side of the conference table. The other side held Captain Iynx, Xal, Nimble Star, Silver Wrench and Geneser. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat at the head of the table, looking down at both sides.
“Very similar indeed,” Captain Picard noted, observing the insignia with interest. In turn, the staff of the ES Harmony looked towards his own combadge. “Ours dates back to the early Federation, it appears that despite the differences our two timelines are proceeding on familiar paths.”
“Ugh, thinking about the mechanics makes my head hurt,” Nimble Star complained under his breath.
“I could give you a rundown on all the latest theories, Lieutenant,” Xal commented to the earth pony.
“I’ll pass,” he deadpanned in return.
“I’ve never seen this design before,” Twilight noted, ignoring the tangent. “When was it commissioned?”
“Today practically,” Iynx explained. “Created to honour the relaunch, and our return home. We thought you would be there to see us off.”
Twilight had the decency to look a little guilty. “My apologies, I suppose my distraction was too great.”
“Another universe in its entirety,” Chief Medical Officer Geneser said, the zebra shaking her head. “Our trip was never going to go quietly.”
“Forgive me if this is a misinterpret, but that rhyme almost sounded deliberate,” Troi noticed, looking towards the zebra curiously.
“Indeed it is, you have excellent ears,” Geneser replied. “A long tradition of zebra culture, right next to the seers.”
“I couldn’t imagine having to speak in rhyme, especially not all the time,” Riker commented, ignoring his own slight rhyme.
“Believe me, trying to get her to trip up is her biggest berserk button,” Chief Engineer Silver Wrench said knowingly, shooting a smirk at his other half. “I’m not kidding. Zebra martial arts involves pressure points. Her being a doctor only helps that.”
She only gave him a bemused glare in response.
“We actually have species like you back on Earth,” Picard noticed, the scientific explorer within him making many notes. “Zebras and ponies both.”
“While griffons are but myths,” Princess Twilight noted. “Our world has a vast mix. I’m aware of your versions from previous visits. Seeing an Earth horse for the first time was… disconcerting.”
“Such difficulties would be expected, the culture shock could only be described as massive in scale,” Data extrapolated in an attempt to be helpful. “But perhaps not here, in the depths of space where such things are not so apparent.”
“Yet I’ve encountered new things, unlike the last time I was here,” Twilight noted, not hiding her glance towards their resident klingon. “We’ve only just encountered alien species from our own universe as it is.”
“Yes, your Princess informed us of your recent battles,” Worf stated in appreciation of such tales. “They would make fine songs.”
“Songs of war, a warrior culture,” Captain Iynx said with an inch of familiarity. “Griffons used to be proud warriors like that. We still are to an extent, but not as much as we were in the past.”
“I am… sorry to hear that,” Worf replied. “Might I ask, what happened to change you?”
“Some king lost a stupid idol,” Iynx replied. “The Empire lost its capital to ruin, and never really recovered. At least until some ponies showed us a different way of thinking.”
“In hindsight, the map made the right choice,” Twilight said idly to herself. “Still, things turned out for the best in the end.”
“I suppose they did,” Iynx conceded. “Not that there may be an Empire much longer, if the talks of planetary unification go through.”
“The ESP was already a step towards that,” Twilight responded. “I believe they will. We have to be, now that we’re dealing with other civilisations among the stars.”
“It would allow for a stronger negotiation process with my people,” Xal agreed. “The alicorns have already proved they can handle such an affair, if what I have read in your databanks is any indication.”
“I don’t suppose you will be willing to part with some of your data, in return for some of ours,” Doctor Crusher suggested, stepping into the conversation for the first time. “At the very least what both sides can afford to share. I, personally, am quite curious to your medical practices and biological data.”
“I could assist,” Geneser said, doctor to doctor. “So long as the Captain does not have me desist.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed,” Iynx informed them. “So unless the Princess says otherwise, I’ll have some of my people work up a transfer.”
“Well, Captain?” Crusher looked towards Picard expectantly, not unlike the way a wife would look at her husband while asking for something.
“Oh, I’m sure we can work out something. Perhaps not starship design, but Federation history and, yes, medical data.”
“Maybe engineering specs, if they’re willing to trade those too,” La Forge added in.
“I’d show you the engine if you just asked,” Silver Wrench commented with a small shrug. “Just don’t touch anything. I put a lot of work into keeping it from breaching.”
La Forge gave a small chuckle. “I can sympathise.”
“But for the moment, enough about cultural exchange,” Captain Iynx interrupted, looking towards Picard with a serious glare. “What’s happening on this side of the portal? We detected some minor damage to the Enterprise.”
Picard gave a sigh, sitting forwards and cupping his hands together. “There is a civilisation called the Romulan Star Empire, and we have a… troubled history with them. They blame us for this anomaly, and fired upon us. They may appear again soon.”
“They blame you, but the fault may be ours,” Twilight noted grimly, her wings fluttering a little. “Or more specifically, mine.”
All eyes turned to Twilight, giving her looks that held a question. Twilight, for her part, looked regretful but resigned to the fact.
“I don’t know for sure, but… Captain Iynx, on the other side is the same asteroid field where we destroyed the gaecha, correct?”
“Right. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“It can’t be a coincidence,” Twilight replied. “Maybe it’s a gut feeling. Maybe it’s that smug smile on Discord’s face. But either way, I may have been the cause during that final conformation.”
“You did seem alarmed back aboard the Enterprise,” Picard observed. “What did you do?”
Twilight sighed. “The enemy outnumbered us four to one. Not to mention their superior technology. But we had a way to level the playing field.”
“There was a magic infused asteroid, extremely unstable and… with unknown qualities,” Xal continued the explanation, putting the pieces together for himself. “The Princess wished to study it, but there wasn’t time for more than a cursory examination before the battle.”
“And why was this significant?” Riker enquired.
“From our research, magic only exists in the region of space around Equus, and is produced by the planet itself.” Xal demonstrated, reaching a hoof out to a cup on the table and somehow picking it up without fingers. “I did not have such abilities before encountering these people. I do now.”
“Wait, so are we going to develop these abilities?” Crusher asked in slight alarm.
“No,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “Neither myself nor Sunset Shimmer ever discovered the mechanics of magic in this world. That is simply because magic should not exist here. At all. This reality doesn’t know what to do with it, so the consequences are varied. Those who have been infused with it directly may develop some specific abilities, albeit not as varied as the stable magic back home, but you should not develop any at all from our presence alone.”
“Then we’ll have to be careful,” Riker stated. “I take the meaning of ‘varied’ as potentially deadly consequences. Not everyone will become the new Superman.”
“Indeed,” Twilight confirmed. “My old friends gained helpful abilities, but one… person got turned into a reality destroying maniac by a massive infusion of magic.
“You don’t see that in the history books,” La Forge muttered.
“But back to the anomaly,” Picard spoke up. “Magic only comes from your world as far as you know, and this asteroid was within that region?”
“Just barely, new magic really,” Twilight replied. “The field spreads over the many millennia. Definitely an area of research. But the point is, non-magical based ships are vulnerable to that very energy. We destroyed the asteroid so that the magical blast would cripple the gaecha, while powering the Harmony to new heights. Not unlike what the anomaly will be doing to our systems as we speak.”
“It IS the same magic, if you’re right,” Nimble Star noted.
“I’m sure I am,” Twilight replied dryly. “But the magic being unstable and unstudied, I knew it could have unforeseen consequences. Though I never imagined it would punch a hole in the universe.”
“Believe me, anomalies start to happen,” Riker joked. “We’ve had a few ourselves.”
“But we need to find out how to close it,” Picard said to all those gathered. “If we don’t it shall only grow. And then our relationship with the Star Empire will be the least of our concerns.”
“I agree,” the Princess of Friendship stated with a nod. “With both our ships, data collection should be easier. Especially if we do it from both sides.”
“If we return to our ship, we can coordinate our efforts,” Captain Picard replied with approval, before adding: “And while we do that, I see no reason why we cannot continue to talk on behalf of our worlds.”
Twilight smiled. “Of course.”
And then the intercom beeped, a voice coming in from the ES Harmony’s bridge.
“Captain, three ships have just jumped out of warp. Their shields are raised.”
Riker looked at Picard, worry in his eyes. “The warbirds.”
“They’re early. Princess, we need to go back to the Enterprise.”
Twilight nodded, a grim look on her face. “I understand. I have stay with my subjects, hurry to the transporter room."
Picard nodded in turn, and with a motion her quickly led his people out of the conference room towards the nearest transporter room. With an order, Twilight also had her own subjects pile out of the room and move in the opposite direction towards the bridge. Iynx stopped as Twilight made to leave herself, however, engaging the intercom and giving a reply to the bridge.
“This is the Captain,” Iynx spoke, her voice severe. “Combat alert.”
The turbolift doors swiftly slid open as Captain Picard, Commander Riker and Deanna Troi all walked onto the bridge. They said nothing until they all sat in their respective seats at the very centre of the bridge, Picard looking sternly at the viewscreen ahead of him. Worf and Data followed them out, also taking their respective stations while relieving their stand-ins. Panels along the walls flashed red, accompanying the alarm signifying red alert.
“Report.”
“The three warbrids are on an intercept course, Captain,” Worf announced to the bridge. “However, they are not running at their maximum speed.”
“They are scanning the Harmony,” Data interjected. “I believe they are holding off until they have analysed the threat.”
“That’s not going to last very long,” William Riker noted. “Mr Worf, tactical options?”
“Our shields and weapons are powered and ready,” the klingon informed them. “The Harmony is also giving off greater power readings than when they first appeared.
“The anomaly,” Riker surmised.
“Hail them,” Picard commanded.
A few button presses later, the image of Captain Iynx reappeared on the viewscreen. Much like the bridge of the Enterprise, red flashes were accompanying their own red alert equivalent. All personnel were at their station, and Princess Twilight Sparkle stood to the side of the captain’s chair.
“Captain, what is your status?”
“Shield and weapons are all online,” Iynx replied to the other captain. “On top of that, the anomaly has given us that boost. We’re back to a similar level as to when we fought the gaecha.”
“Greater, since the ship has since undergone a refit,” Xal added in. “But this is definitely the same magic as the asteroid.”
“Data,” Picard addressed the android. “How much have their systems been improved by the anomaly?”
“Previously their systems were closest in comparison to an old Einstein Class starship,” Data recounted. “According to these readings, they are now more comparable to a late twenty third century Constitution Class.”
“An improvement, but still not a match for those warbirds,” Riker pointed out. “What about the anomaly itself? Don’t those energies affect our starships differently?”
“You are correct, they drain power rather than give,” Princess Twilight confirmed. “But that WILL include the Enterprise.”
“Sir, if we can lure the warbirds in,” Worf suggested.
Then the bridge shuddered aboard the Enterprise, outside the ship a green flash striking against the shields.
“Sir, the warbrids have opened fire on us!” Worf then announced. “Minor fluctuations in shield frequency, no damage.”
“Well, aren’t you in a pickle,” Q remarked as he flashed into existence, leaning along the wooden railing besides the three central command chairs. “Up at arms, Jean-Luc! ‘Give them what for’, isn’t that what old British pilots used to say? Then again you were born in Paris, not that the accent would give it away.
“Q, get the hell off my bridge!” Picard commanded crossly, just as there was another impact. “We have no time for your games.”
“Oh, have it your way,” Q replied, vanishing in a flash.
Only for another flash to appear on the bridge of the Harmony, a mismatched creature appearing from it and giving all those presents an overly gleeful smirk.
“Hello there, young Sparkle-butt!” Discord greeted, giving the two-thousand-year-old alicorn a noogie. “On another adventure I see!”
“Discord!” Twilight shouted, equally as cross as Picard.
“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just enjoying the show,” Discord dismissed, summoning up a lounger and some popcorn. “You have an anomaly to close. If you can shake the big green death birds.”
“Sir, the warbirds are entering their optimal firing range!” Worf stated from the bridge of the Enterprise.
“Think fast…” Discord said dangerously, giving a small chuckle.
“Put us between the Harmony and those Warbirds,” Picard commanded, knowing they could take more of a beating than their ally. “Target the weapons on that lead ship and fire.”
As the Enterprise began to turn and head into position, the video feed on the viewscreen cut out to instead focus on the incoming ships. However, the audio feed between both vessels remained intact.
“Xal, have our torpedoes also hit that target. Meanwhile, have our phasers target any torpedoes they throw at either us or the Enterprise,” Iynx ordered, before looking directly at Nimble Star. “Nimble, keep us within the anomaly’s area of effect. We need to drain this thing for all its worth.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The Enterprise got into position, immediately taking several more plasma bolts into its shielding. Several of the Galaxy Class ship’s phaser strips lit up and unleashed their power at the lead ship, focusing fire on their forward shields in an attempt to make a hole. Meanwhile, the Harmony backed off a little bit and yet dipped below the Enterprise ever so slightly so that they had a limited line of sight. The forward torpedo tubes lit up as the orange coloured projectiles streaked forwards and joined their power with the Enterprise’s phasers. The lead warbird let off a few torpedoes of its own at the Enterprise, but in response the phaser turrets of the Harmony lifted up and swivelled around to see their targets. Blue beams shot outwards, annihilating the plasma torpedoes before they hit their targets.
“Good to see the phaser upgrades are working,” Iynx commented. “Didn’t realise they changed the colour.”
“Iynx, please admire the bug guns in your own time,” Twilight mirthfully scolded. “Are we making any progress on that lead ship.”
“Their shields are weakening, but have not yet collapsed,” Xal reported, targeting another set of torpedoes and firing. “The Enterprise has sustained several direct hits, but they are thus far intact.”
“Keep it up, but watch for-” Iynx began, before a strong jolt cascaded through the ship and sparks flew across the bridge.
Twilight’s wings flared in an effort to steady herself, and she looked around the bridge in alarm. “What was that!?”
“One of the flanking vessels is targeting us with their forward weapons array,” Xal reported, getting damage reports. “Shield at ninety percent. The shields won’t take many hits like that.”
“Nimble, pattern Alpha Three,” Iynx commanded, looking out of the viewscreen at the attacking vessel.
The warbird fired another bolt of plasma in their direction, though the Harmony sharply rotated as the attack skimmed passed their hull and was lost somewhere within the anomaly. The ship then turned sharply, fired several more torpedoes and a few phaser beams at the lead warbird before retreating further behind the Enterprise for the moment. The Enterprise itself fired another volley of both phasers and torpedoes at the lead warbirds, its shield flickering violently from the impact as they started to buckle.
And then the two flanking warbirds began to move off, away and then adjusting course around the two defending vessels.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Worf shouted in small alarm. “Two of the enemy vessels are breaking off, they are moving to out flank us. If they get behind us, the Harmony will be vulnerable.”
“Captain,” Data spoke up. “This course of action will lead them extremely close to the anomaly.”
“They’re still unaware of the detrimental effects,” Commander Riker noted, a small smirk on his features. “They hit that thing, we may not need to worry about that.”
“Did you get that, Captain Iynx?” Picard asked to the other ship.
“Loud and clear,” Iynx responded. “If the gaecha are anything to go by, they’re in for a nasty surprise. Keep them off of us as long as you can until then though, that initial volley gave us a scratch or two.”
“I understand, Captain. Stand-by.”
“It’s not going to work,” Discord then commented, tutting in disapproval.
“And why is that?” Twilight shot back at the Spirit of Chaos.
“Because of them.”
Right as Discord gestured to the viewscreen with his talon, several flashes appeared among the stars as several green objects sped to a halt. Three more warbirds then began to move towards the battle, accompanied by five smaller vessels that sped ahead at a far greater rate.
“Captain, three more warbirds and five birds-of-prey have just jumped out of warp,” Data informed Captain Picard. “They are all on an intercept course.”
Picard sighed, looking at the incoming vessels thoughtfully. “Alright. What are our new options?”
“They are moving to cut off all vectors of escape,” Worf reported. “We only have one way to go.”
“Through the anomaly,” Picard finished for the tactical officer. “Princess Twilight, could we survive the journey?”
Aboard the Harmony, Twilight tilted her head a moment in thought. “I believe so, though you will be extremely vulnerable heading through. I recommend turning off as many systems as possible so they don’t overload.”
“Captain, this will leave us defenceless,” Worf pointed out, not liking the idea.
“It appears we don’t have a choice,” Picard noted, albeit also not entirely keen. “Make it so.”
The Enterprise have a sharp turn alongside the Harmony, and then the two vessels began to make directly for the giant energy filled hole in space. The ES Harmony took the lead, the USS Enterprise coming up behind it as several of the ship’s visible lights blinked out. Romulan ships moved to intercept, seeing the Enterprise’s shields and weapons go offline as they fired their own weapons. A small flurry of strikes flew over the Enterprise’s bow, barely missing the ship. One torpedo nearly made contact, only for a blue phaser beam to disintegrate it.
“Helm, take us in,” Picard ordered, watching as the anomaly quickly filled the entire viewscreen.
Two birds-of-prey moved passed their larger cousins and pulled up alongside the Enterprise. However, their shields suddenly imploded and they were knocked off course as if in a panic. Their condition was not helped one had its impulse engines blow out but a phaser beam from the Harmony, and the other had a nacelle sheared clean off by a separate strike.
But things were not exactly rosy on the Enterprise. Several consoles blew out, the structure shaking as warnings began to display from all over the ship.
And yet they continued, moving on forwards as their pursuers wised up and began to pull back. The damaged birds-of-prey limped back on whatever propulsion they had, simple thrusters for one of them. The two fleeing ships crossed through the event horizon, completely surrounding by crackling blue energies that spread over the hulls of both vessels.
And then they could see stars again. But for the crew of the Enterprise, they were very alien stars indeed.
They had emerged into a ruined asteroid field, and they kept on moving until they were completely clear of its effects. Then, steadily, both ships came to a complete halt. Both had taken damage, and both needed to take stock and repair.
And then there was the matter of the grinning trickster on the Harmony’s bridge.
The ES Harmony and USS Enterprise were stopped alongside one another, their bows facing the anomaly as if waiting for any sign of pursuit. None came, however, and the two vessels of exploration were left in relative peace.
But things were anything but peaceful inside one of the Enterprise’s holodecks, where Discord had saw fit to snatch up the captains of both vessels as well as Princess Twilight.
“What are you playing at, Discord!?” Twilight looked furiously down at the Lord of Chaos, once again in his human form. “And could you not be of any more help?”
“Now where would be the fun in that?” Q replied simply, waving a hand of dismissal. “Why would I ever deny you such a wonderous team building exercise?”
“People have been hurt, this is no mere exercise,” Picard rebuked. “Can you truly not close the anomaly?”
“Oh, I’m sure you would love to know about my weaknesses, wouldn’t you Jean-Luc?” Q replied with a shake of his head, but relented. “But it’s true. My powers bounce off the anomaly like Twilight being presented with quesadillas.”
“So much for the all-powerful Discord,” Iynx dryly commented.
“Watch it, turkey,” Q shot back, eying the griffon with annoyance. “Unless you want to become a piñata. I’ll bring the treats!”
“I don’t scare easily,” Iynx replied with zero amusement. “So, you can’t close the portal. Why not help us out with those ships?”
“I could pop them back to Romulus if I so wished,” Q admitted. “A simple task. But really, do you want them even more riled up? They’d just send an even bigger fleet. And maybe not just to the anomaly.”
“So, what is it you would suggest we do?” Picard asked.
“We do still need to research closing the portal, so for now that should be our priority,” Princess Twilight answered for the Spirit of Chaos. “Getting you home, and dealing with the Star Empire… We will have to cross the bridge when we come to it.”
“We could send a call back to Starbase Alpha. Get more ships,” Iynx stated. “We may need them, unless we find a way to negotiate with them.”
Twilight nodded. “Indeed. And you, Discord, I suppose you shall continue to watch us?”
“Every step of the way,” Q confirmed, before vanishing in a flash of light.
Iynx groaned. “I’m not sure I like the idea of that guy looking over our shoulders.”
“Though I am loathe to admit it, he is not without a point,” Picard conceded. “The issue with the anomaly has greatly complicated matters with the Romulan Star Empire. We went through but a skirmish, but who knows how much more would convince their government to resort to open war.”
“I imagine that would be devastating to all sides,” Princess Twilight grimly noted. “But now there’s a fleet of ships on the other side of the portal. The moment we return they would try and tear us apart. Especially after we disabled those ships on the way through.”
“If they haven’t already called for more reinforcements,” Picard added with an equally grim tone. “And the longer it takes for us to act, the more the anomaly shall grow on our side. The more it grows, not only does it pose a danger but the more irritable the Empire shall become.”
Twilight gave a remorseful sigh. “I must apologise, Captain. Had I realised what the consequences would have been, I never would have destroyed the asteroid.”
“From what I have heard, you couldn’t have known. And you were short of tactical options,” Picard replied in understanding. “But whatever the case, now we can only look to what happens next.”
“I’ll return to the Harmony in the meantime,” Captain Iynx informed them. “I’ll send in a call to Starbase Alpha, have the ES Shining Armor sent out to assist. It’ll take a few days to arrive though, even with a fully functioning warp drive.”
“Better than the couple months it took us,” Twilight said with a small amount of mirth. “Do it. Another ship on our side couldn‘t go amiss.
Iynx bowed her head. “At once, your highness.”
Captain Picard and Princess Twilight watched Iynx exit the holodeck, the arch’s door closing up behind her. After the griffon had departed, the two turned to face one another again.
“At the very least, we can both get full scans of the anomaly in peace,” Picard finally stated. “Then it’s a matter of working through the data to find a weak link we can exploit.”
“I do have a few ideas about that,” Twilight replied. “At the very least, it will most likely require a ship on either side of the anomaly. And certainly magic, I’m not sure non-magical means will have much effect on it. I mean, the Harmony and Shining Armor could both do it…”
“But that would leave one of you trapped in our world,” Picard pointed out.
“The crew could leave through the portal in your cargo bay, but yes, the ship would be stuck.” Twilight sat on her haunches, running a hoof stressfully though her ethereal mane. “The best scenario would be to have the Enterprise do it. But, well, you know how magic reacts to you…”
“However, this is all but speculation,” Picard said, taking a glance around the holodeck. “Computer, construct a recreation of the anomaly that exists near to our present location.”
The entirety or reality around them seemed to shimmer like static, before the gridded space was replaced with the depths of space. Rocks floated all around them, and up far above was the anomaly itself. Picard and Twilight seemed to be standing on nothing at all, though they could both feel the actual floor beneath them.
Picard looked up at the anomaly. “And whatever we do, it won’t matter if we cannot pass through without being destroyed.”
Twilight hummed, looking around the holographic projection with a small amount of awe. “Computer, now add the USS Enterprise and the ES Harmony. Duplicate the Harmony and replace its nameplate with ES Shining Armor.”
The room shimmered again, and the image of a Galaxy Class ship and two Harmony Class vessels popped into existence next to the anomaly.
“Like us, the Shining Armor would be empowered by the energies of the portal. The more exposure, the better,” Twilight stated, pointing a hoof at the replicated vessel. “But even with that we’re still outnumbered on the other side of the portal. And your ship would still take a beating from the trip.”
“Fighting isn’t the answer,” Picard agreed. “It would only make matter worse even if we could defeat our foe. No, we need some way to get them to withdraw.”
“The question is how,” Twilight continued on. “They didn’t believe us during our last verbal contact. I don’t think that will change anytime soon.”
Picard looked up at the anomaly thoughtfully, ideas forming behind those authoritative eyes of his. “Princess, could the anomaly be interacted with in… other ways.”
“Other ways?” Twilight said questioningly, frowning at the Captain. “What are you thinking?”
“The romulans have always withdraw from situation that are inherently unfavourable to them, they don’t like not having all of the cards,” Picard explained. “As it is now, they have the numbers to overwhelm us if we returned, and they know it. But what if we were able to create an unfavourable situation out of a favourable one?”
Twilight’s frown deepened, and she looked away from the Captain back up towards the anomaly. Then her eyes lit up in realisation, calculations running in her head as she considered what would need to be done to make the idea a reality.
“Something… could be arranged,” Princess Twilight stated. “I would need to talk to my people, run through the simulations. But one question, wouldn’t this make them even more hostile against the Federation in the long run?”
“Oh, I’m sure I can mitigate the damage,” Picard responded, dismissing the holographic projection around them and allowing the exit to reappear before them. “But this plan is a risk, but perhaps our only viable option.”
Twilight gave him a nod of confirmation. “In that case, I’ll make preparation. It may take a few days, plenty of time for the Shining Armor to arrive. Would that be all?”
“I believe so,” Picard said. “Mr Data will make those scans, we’ll keep you posted.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Twilight stated, approaching the exit and allowing it to slide open. With one hoof into the hallway, however, she turned her head and gave the human a small smile. “Despite the dire situation, I am glad I met you. “It’s been… interesting.”
Picard allowed himself a low chuckle. “We’re explorers. Finding the unknown, despite the danger, is the reason we’re out here.”
“For that, I can relate.”
Twilight then exited the room entirely, walking down the hallway towards the closest transporter room. Picard left shortly behind her, going in the opposite direction for the nearest turbolift to the bridge.
Captain Picard sat in his ready room, looking out of the small window of transparent aluminium. Outside he could see the glow of the anomaly spread all around them, alongside the two starships pulled up alongside the USS Enterprise. Placing down his cup of Earl Grey tea, he pressed a button on his terminal and began to speak.
“Captain’s log. The ES Shining Armor has completed their rendezvous with the Enterprise and Harmony. Our scans of the anomaly are long finished, the crew of Captain Iynx has been hard at work devising a solution to our predicament.”
Picard sighed, sitting back in his chair with his fingers locked together. “A plan is forming, though I hope it doesn’t come too late. The anomaly has continued its expansion in the past few days, and I can only imagine the situation on the other side. As I make this log, Princess Twilight in conferring with the Captain of ES Shining Armor about their role in the upcoming action. We are awaiting a hail from them ourselves, to know what must be done to end this madness.”
And as Picard waited, the Equestrians of the ES Harmony were hard at work to find that solution. With Princess Twilight on the bridge, Captain Iynx and Chief Engineer Silver Wrench were in the ship’s main engineering. Before them stood the vast warp core, stretching back most of the deck. Silver Wrench was manning the central console, the Captain looking in over his shoulder.
“What do you mean it’s bleeding?” Iynx questioned.
“The anomaly’s magical signature is near identical to that of the asteroid we destroyed, the scans of both ourselves and the Enterprise confirmed it,” Silver Wrench explained. “But it’s unstable, and its power is bleeding outwards into their universe. This is the source of the hole, and why its expanding in their world.”
“And? How do we stop it from ‘bleeding’, as you say?”
“The effects of the anomaly, much like the asteroid it once was, empower all other magic it comes across,” Silver Wrench continued. “But magic will be consumed by it if attempting to directly affect it, which is why Discord can’t close the thing.”
“So in other words, we can’t use magic to close it.”
Silver Wrench tapped a button and brought all sorts of equations onto the screen, a rather smug look on his muzzle. “Wrong!”
Iynx gave him a deadpan look. “You just said magic won’t affect it. What changed in the last few moments.”
“I’ve conferred with both the Princess and Xal, and they agree,” Silver Wrench stated. “Magic won’t affect it… with the sole exception of magic operating at the exact same frequency as the anomaly.”
“So it can only be affect by the same type of magic.”
“In short, yes,” the stallion confirmed. “We have to feed it.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
Silver Wrench chuckled. “At a glance, probably. But its magic is bleeding out at an ever-increasing rate as it is, eventually the thing might breach the warp barrier. But if we bolster the magical energies, they may reinforce themselves and stop bleeding out as they have.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Iynx interrupted. “It’s spreading because it's essentially bleeding its magic into their world. Giving it more energy would reserve that?”
“Stitching the wound,” Silver confirmed. “That’s what our projections show. However, there is some speculation whether it would simply stabilise it and stop its spread or close it completely.”
“I think either would be good at this point,” the Captain noted. “Could we calibrate our phasers to the right frequency?”
“They won’t pack enough punch by themselves,” the Chief Engineer said with a shake of his head. “To give it enough quickly enough before it just bleeds back out again, we’d need to fire magic infused tachyon pulses at the anomaly with the frequency an exact match for the anomaly itself. On both sides of the portal.”
Iynx frowned. “Silver, that would trap either us or the Shining Armor on the other side.”
“I think the Enterprise could do it,” Silver explained. “With some modifications. I’m not sure how stable it would be, but we could provide at least temporary protection around their deflector dish. Pretty sure it’ll burn it out though.”
“Make sure to talk to La Forge before touching his ship.”
“I’m sure Princess Twilight will brief their Captain,” Silver replied. “Still, it’s moot if we don’t get rid of those guys blocking our way.”
Now it was Iynx’s turn to smirk. “I wouldn’t worry about that, we’ve already though of a good bargaining chip.”
Silver Wrench gave his captain a questioning look. “Ok?”
Iynx departed the station, heading away from engineering.
“You’ll see.”
“Are you certain that the deflector dish can handle it?” Commander Riker asked as he stood in the Enterprise’s own engineering alongside Captain Picard, La Forge and Princess Twilight.”
“The Harmony’s Chief Engineer provided enough material for the modifications,” La Forge explained. “My people are installing some secondary shield relays around the dish, tying it directly into the core for power. We’re also diverting power to the core’s containment just in case, but it’s going to require several decks to be powered down.”
“But it will work,” Princess Twilight assured them. “I’ve also looked over it. The dish WILL be burnt out by the strain of both the magics in the pulse and the new generators, but at least it won’t create a core breach.”
“And your own modifications?” Captain Picard asked.
“The Harmony and Shining Armor are both being attuned for the pulse. It will be ready. Two from our end and one from yours should be enough to allow the anomaly to close itself up.”
“Or at least stabilise,” Riker noted.
“There is the possibility of it remaining open afterwards, permanently.”
“And if that happens?”
“Then we have a long political battle head of us,” Captain Picard noted. “I imagine the Star Empire would want a starbase on our side, as would the United Federation of Planets.”
“Just like Deep Space Nine orbits the Bajoran Wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant,” La Forge pointed out. “A direct link between two universes would become a hotbed of activity.”
“We’d certainly set up an outpost,” Twilight added in. “A part of me would be eager for that outcome, but I must recognise the potential dangers as well.”
“We cannot know until the act is done, however,” Picard interjected. “When will the pulse be ready?”
“Six hours,” La Forge said. “Maybe less, with help from their engineers.
“Very well. Keep us posted.”
“Aye, Captain.”
La Forge departed, calling over a few engineers to accompany him down to deflector control. This left the two senior officers of the USS Enterprise alongside Princess Twilight Sparkle, examining the schematics on the large table-like engineering console.
“It’s going to work,” Princess Twilight finally said. “All the calculations are on the mark.”
Riker scratched his beard. “I just hope our friends on the other side will respond how we want them to.”
“From what Captain Picard has told me of them, they will.”
“There is always an element of unpredictability,” Picard mused. “But we know what we must do, and we must make sure it does not fail. A great many things may depend on it.”
“And if the portal remains open?” Twilight asked. “What is your personal position on it?”
Picard though it over for a moment before giving his answer. “It is a complicated matter, Princess. But, I think there would be a great deal of exploration for us if it were so.”
“We’ve barely scratched the surface around our world. But I’d lie if the prospect wasn’t at all exciting,” Twilight admitted with a small smile. “The scholar in me never did really die off. Hm, maybe one day there will be a more reliable way to effectively explore other realities.”
“It’s certainly been hypothesised by a great many in the past, though never achieved beyond… accidents,” Picard replied. “But your ‘magic’ certainly is close.”
“Starswirl the Bearded was one of a kind, I wouldn’t know where to start in recreating those portals of his. He took that knowledge to his grave.”
“There was a ship, long before our time, that came closer to unlocking that potential than any other in Federation history,” Picard recalled. “But war complicated matters, and the device itself was too dangerous and unstable. It was eventually shelved, spending decades buried in the deepest recesses of Starfleet databanks. Even now access to the specifics are all but impossible to find.”
“Maybe one day,” Twilight stated. “I might even live to see it.”
Red alert blared around the bridge of the USS Enterprise, the ship itself moving into position before the great anomaly with the Harmony and Shining Armor flanking either side of the large vessel. They crawled towards the hole in space on half impulse power, shield already raised. The modifications to all three vessels had been completed, and they were all prepared to play their part.
“Helm, all stop,” Picard commanded. “Are they ready?”
“ES Shining Armor signals that they’re standing by,” Worf reported. “ES Harmony is hailing.”
“Put them on speaker.”
Worf complied, a beep indicating the opening of ship-to-ship communications.
“Captain, we’re diverted power ready for the pulse. Are you ready?” Princess Twilight asked from the bridge of the other ship.
“Mr Data?” Picard said questioningly towards the android.
“Power is being diverted to the deflector,” Data reported. “Other non-essential systems are being powered down in preparation for the journey through the anomaly. I estimate only moderate damage, but we should not prolong our journey more than it is required.”
“Well, you heard him,” Picard said to the alicorn. “We await your move.”
Over on the Harmony, despite not being visually shown, Twilight nodded to the Captain of the Enterprise. She then turned her head and looked towards the griffon in the captain’s chair expectantly.
“Xal, launch the probe,” Iynx ordered. “Let’s make sure these guys get the message.”
“Probe is configured and reading green,” Xal confirmed. “Firing in three… two… one…”
The ES Harmony’s forward torpedo tube flared as a small object launched from it, quickly propelling itself towards and into the anomaly. It’s systems being of ESP design, they were bolstered by the magical forces rather than hindered. It gained strength as it made its way to the other side, and the signal made its way back to the three vessels behind it.
“Signal received,” Commander Data reported. “The Romulan fleet has indeed gained reinforcements, as has the anomaly spread significantly. I predict that in precisely-”
“Is the probe in contact with the lead warbird?” Picard interrupted the android, cutting to the chase.
“Affirmative. They are scanning the probe.”
“Hail them.”
“Channels open,” Worf informed the Captain. “ES Harmony is also hailing the lead ship.”
“We’ve been received,” Twilight confirmed to the crew of the Enterprise. “Now’s the time, Captain.”
“Attention, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise,” Picard announced to the listening romulans, standing briskly up from his chair. “You have fired upon us in an unprovoked attack, and now the anomaly before you is spreading across the neutral zone. Hostility is not out intent, and we wish to solve this incident cooperatively.”
“And this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, representing the planet of Equus,” Twilight added in. “Our space lies beyond the portal, and we only wish to stabilise it before further damage can be done.”
A few tense moments of silence passed by, all present holding their breaths as they waited to see if the alien commander would respond to their message or have the probe destroyed. Finally, their patience paid off.
“Captain Picard, Princess Twilight,” a male voice responded. “I am Sub-Commander Tobek, of the Warbird IRW Deception. We discovered the USS Enterprise within proximity of the anomaly which now invades our space, Federation trickery will not be tolerated.”
“It’s no Federation trick,” Princess Twilight assured them. “The fault is mine. I caused the asteroid inadvertently through my own actions against a powerful enemy. I wish to correct my error, and my world bears you no ill will.”
“Is that why you crippled two starships, and eliminated much of their crews?” Tobek asked angrily.
“All due respect, Sub-Commander,” Picard spoke up. “But your people fired first. Loss of life is extremely regrettable, but your hostility facilitated our defence against you!”
“Then we have little to discuss.”
“We can close the anomaly,” Picard insisted. “Allow my ship passage, and we shall ensure it goes no further.”
“Your demands are denied,” Tobek informed him in an almost mocking tone. “Do you take me for a fool? We shall not allow you to finish your work.”
Picard glanced back at his first officer, before looking forward again with an incredibly stern expression. “If you fear we wish to expand the anomaly further, we do not need to be on your side for that.”
“Torpedoes armed,” the klingon at tactical reported.
Much was the same over on the Harmony.
“Photons are locked onto the portal,” Xal confirmed to Captain Iynx and Princess Twilight. “ES Shining Armor has also locked weapons.”
“This is Captain Iynx of the ES Harmony,” Iynx finally addressed the Sub-Commander. “The anomaly is bleeding into your space, and this wound was created by a really big explosion. Our three ships have all locked torpedoes, modified to the write output, to widen the wound.”
“What is this!?” the Sub-Commander demanded to know.
Over on the Enterprise, Picard allowed himself a smirk. “Sub-Commander, I’m sure you have realised the anomaly’s detrimental effects. Should we fire, the sudden increase in the anomaly’s size would claim your ships before you could avoid it, disabling you.”
Tobek’s sudden silence was rather telling.
“Withdraw and allow us through to close the anomaly,” Picard requested amicably. “Or we disable you, close the anomaly anyway and then return to Federation space while you repair your ships. I’m certain that your superiors would be understanding of your mistake.”
Silence once again ruled the day, though it only lasted so long.
“…You have an hour,” Sub-Commander Tobek informed them. “But should you betray us, the Enterprise shall not survive.”
“Noted,” Picard replied, signalling for the transmission to be cut.
On the Harmony, they were all able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“The probe’s readings indicates that they’re warping a short distance away,” Xal reported.
“Good, let’s get this done with,” Nimble Star commented. “Enough excitement for one day.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Iynx said with a grin. “I quite enjoyed that.”
Twilight shook her head in apparent disapproval. However, she couldn’t hide her own smile. “Captain Picard, you’re in the clear.”
On the Enterprise, Picard retook his seat before answering. “Understood. Good luck, Harmony.”
“Helm, chart a course through the anomaly,” Commander Riker commanded.
While the Harmony and Shining Armor remained static, the Enterprise began to move forward once more. They quickly began to approach the anomaly, gaining as much speed as they could in a short distance. And then, just as they were about to hit the anomaly itself, they cut all engines and lets momentum carry them through.
With their systems down, the damage inflicted was noticeable but minimal. Twilight Sparkle watched from the bridge of the Harmony as the USS Enterprise disappeared from view, though contact was retained due to the probe previously sent through.
And they saw readings that confirmed the ship’s emergence on the other side, using thrusters to turn the vessel around and face the anomaly.
And the, coordinating, all three vessels powered up and launched their tachyon beams towards the anomaly. For a moment it showed no signs of responding, but then a secondary wave of energy coursed down the beams and were absorbed into the anomaly hungrily. The entire thing began to distort and swirl in an immense cloud, shifting and changing before all of their eyes.
And then, after but a few minutes of exposure to the beams, the entire anomaly began to close in on itself.
And when all was said and done, the anomaly was gone, empty space replacing it.
One Week Later
It had been a week since the anomaly between two realities had arisen at the Romulan Neutral Zone. As predicted, the Enterprise’s deflector dish had burnt out. While the ship had been thus left unable to go to warp, the Sub-Commander had kept true to his word and departed the scene without another word as the Enterprise limped back into Federation space on impulse power.
Their Chief Engineer had the dish repaired in no time, however, and soon the ship had been able to move back into friendly territory safe and sound.
This just left the issue of the statue in their cargo bay, but they wouldn’t have to discuss that just among themselves. And they had expected as much, fully prepared for when the intruder alarm sounded from that specific room.
And as Captain Picard walked into the cargo bay alongside his first officer, he was unsurprised by the seemingly human woman in a Starfleet uniform that awaited.
“Captain,” Twilight greeted, offering the human a smile. “I suppose we won’t be exploring other realities after all.”
“No, but the Star Empire has swept the whole incident under the rug,” Picard replied. “Everything has been returning to normal on our side.”
“And on ours. Iynx and her crew are eager to get back out and do some actual exploring. I wish I could go with them, but alas I have duties to perform.”
“So, I take it you came back for a goodbye?” Riker asked knowingly.
“Something like that,” Twilight replied. “I’d also like to know what you’re doing with the portal.”
“That’s up to Starfleet Command,” Picard noted. “But I imagine it will go to some scientific outpost for further study. We still have to transport it to Vulcan, as originally ordered. We are quite overdue.”
Twilight chuckled. “So I imagine. And I’m sure that I shall return someday, but until then…”
Twilight held out her hand, which was promptly shaken by both Picard and Riker in turn.
“…it was a pleasure meeting you all.”
“And you, Twilight Sparkle,” Captain Picard replied. “And I believe there is an old Vulcan saying that is suitable for this occasion.”
“Oh?” Twilight said questioningly. “And what’s that?”
Picard smiled. “Live long and prosper, Princess.”
Twilight returned the smile. “And you, Jean-Luc Picard.”
As Twilight stepped on through the portal, returning to her usual shape and familiar crystalline surroundings, she had a rather irritating sight awaiting her.
“You and I need to talk,” Twilight said sternly to the unrepentant Spirit of Chaos standing by the door.
“Why? It all turned out for the best, don’t you think?” Discord said coyly. “You got to meet new friends, explore strange new worlds, and save the universe as we know it. All in a day’s work, Sparkle.”
“And you couldn’t have told me BEFORE I arrived about what was going on?” the Princess asked with a raised eyebrow.
Discord chuckled to himself. “Oh come now, Princess. That wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.”
With Princess Twilight safely back home, Captain Picard and Commander Riker had been able to return immediately to the bridge of the USS Enterprise. As they stepped off of the turbolift, everyone was already ready and waiting for their order. They each walked down the side of the bridge, taking their respective seats at the centre of the bridge.
“Mr Data, report status,” Picard commanded.
“All decks report ready,” Data replied. “We may proceed to warp.”
“Well then, shall we be underway?”
“I just hope that they can swallow your report,” Riker stated in amusement. “After all, we met a winged unicorn.”
“Alicorn,” Troi corrected. “And space is full of beautiful creatures, inside and out. I don’t see why this is any different.”
“I’m not sure they’ll see it that way.”
“The final frontier is a very large place, Number One,” Picard said to his old friend and first officer. “And we haven’t finished exploring it yet. Helm, set course for Vulcan at warp 7.”
“Aye sir,” the helmsman confirmed, inputting the command into his console.
Picard sat back in his chair, looking out of the viewscreen and into the field of stars beyond.
“Engage.”
The Enterprise adjusted its position, making a small turned and lining itself up before coming to a dead halt. And then, after a few moments, the two nacelles lit up a bright blue as the entire ship jolted forwards to warp speed.
Two ships. Two crews. Two worlds. Similar, and yet very different. And each one continued their missions to explore strange new worlds. Seeking those new lifeforms and civilisations.
Where no one had gone before.
Author's Note
