Far Beyond Equestria

“I still can’t believe you guys did it!” Sweetie exclaimed. The back of her neck was starting to hurt from the constant staring at the barn’s high ceiling.

Apple Bloom laughed. “I told you we liked it.”

Sweetie smiled as she finally brought her head down. Her neck muscles thanked her. “I’m glad. I guess in winter we will see if I was right about the snow.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Will you stop?” she groaned. “It will work.”

Sweetie sighed. “It should. According to the angle…” she trailed off as Apple Bloom shot a sharp look her way. “It will work!” she added with a confident nod.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” said Apple Bloom with a grin.

Sweetie returned her grin while playfully bumping her flank against Apple Bloom’s. “This was fun. Thanks for convincing me to sneak out.”

“It doesn’t have to end so soon. We could go to Pone Dance Haus,” suggested Apple Bloom as she returned Sweetie’s flank bump with one of her own.

“That does sound like fun. And… it’s probably where Scootaloo is anyway.”

“Good,” said Apple Bloom. “You still know how to have fun.”

“We have fun.” Sweetie smirked.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Apple Bloom chided.

Sweetie flashed her best innocent smile.

“Sweetie…” Apple Bloom groaned.

“Ugh, fine.” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Just because I go out a little less to get better grades doesn’t mean I don’t let my mane down. I’m trying to get into a good university.”

“Oh okay,” said Apple Bloom, sounding unconvinced. “But you could still get good grades and go out with us more often.”

“It’s a matter of scheduling. It’s hard to coordinate—” Sweetie broke off at the sudden howling noise. The wooden planks in the barn creaked.

“It’s the wind,” said Apple Bloom with a dismissive wave of her hoof. She frowned as the howling became louder. “Was there a storm scheduled for tonight?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Nope. I read the weather report this morning.”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “It could be a rogue wind storm from the Everfree. Remember that crazy one a few seasons ago?”

“Yeah, that was scary. Let’s get going before it gets worse. I’d hate to get hit by a rogue lightning bolt or something,” said Sweetie.

“Let’s wait for it to blow over,” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie eyed her as Apple Bloom’s face twitched trying to suppress a smirk. She couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing. “That was so lame! Oh, my, why am I laughing at this?”

“Because I’m hilarious,” Apple Bloom replied. “I should do stand up.”

They both looked at each other for a second. “Na,” they said in unison and giggled again.

“But seriously, the weather ponies will get it out of here pretty quickly,” Apple Bloom assured.

“Oh this is fun,” Sweetie replied. She wrapped her forelegs around Apple Bloom. “I missed hanging out with you all so much.”

Apple Bloom returned the hug. “Sheesh, Sweetie, you were sick what? Four days? Five?”

Sweetie rested her head on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “Three, but Rarity wouldn’t let me come over for another day. Then my parents,” Sweetie sighed, “thought I should stay locked in my room for an extra day after that. It was a very boring time with very little sleep.”

“Yeah I kinda figured it was something like that,” said Apple Bloom. “Hey, Sweetie, what do you reckon that is?”

“What?” Sweetie broke her embrace with Apple Bloom only to see her staring at the barn door. “What?” she asked again.

“I thought I saw—” A bright blue light flashed through the gap between the barn doors. “Something,” Apple Bloom said.

“Was that lightning?” asked Sweetie.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “No thunder—hey where are you going?”

“Come on, let’s see what’s going on out there!”

“Sweetie Belle, ugh! I swear,” Apple Bloom shouted as she followed after her towards the barn doors. She pushed past her and pushed the bar doors apart.

Sweetie’s jaw dropped at the sight before her. An eerie silence fell over the orchard as Sweetie walked out of the barn. Swirls of light and clouds circled the sky as it bathed the orchard in an unnatural blue light. A beam of pure energy shone in the center, blindingly bright.

“Sweetie!” Apple Bloom’s voice echoed. “Get away from that thing!”

A high-pitched note played with a constant pulse in her head. She stood there, frozen, no longer in the orchard, no longer in Equestria. She was nowhere. She was floating through a void. Only lights twinkling in the distance like stars gave her enough light to see herself.

Sweetie awoke with a gasp. Her head was throbbing. She found herself staring at a familiar set of lights above her. She knew where she was.

“Don’t move,” said a familiar voice. “Your body has been through severe trauma.”

Sweetie wasn’t sure she could move if she wanted to. She felt frozen in place on her side. A thick blanket covered her. Julian Bashir was behind her, pulling on her hind leg. It didn’t hurt; it tingled. Sweetie smiled as she set her head back on the pillow.

“Whainquestria happened,” she mumbled.

“Sorry?” asked Julian. His voice was far away.

Sweetie tried to speak again, but found it difficult to form words with her mouth. She felt so light and had difficulty focusing.

“Ask me later,” he said. “You have quite an unusual cocktail of drugs in your system. You weren’t supposed to wake up at all. But… Your unique physiology makes it difficult to find the right medications. I had to get… creative. Now, please try not to move and relax.”

“I’m in good hooves,” Sweetie mumbled.

“That’s right,” said Julian.

Sweetie drifted in and out of consciousness. What was happening she couldn’t tell. She remembered seeing Julian in a red gown that covered everything except his eyes. She couldn’t be certain that was real as she also moved in and out of the void.

When she finally came to, she found herself lying on the same bed. The blanket had been replaced with a lighter one. She felt good—really good. A goofy smile crept across her face as she sat up. Her head seemed to float on a cloud as she slumped back into the bed with a laugh.

“What did you do to me, Julian?” she sang out.

Sweetie heard footsteps approaching from behind. She rolled over to face whoever was approaching.

“Looks like you’re feeling better,” said Julian.

“Uh-huh,” said Sweetie with a wide grin.

“Maybe feeling a little too good,” he muttered. He waved his tricorder over her. “Looks like a few drugs are still present.” He pressed a few more buttons. “Hmm. Well, it’s being metabolized, but at a slow rate.

“Our normal medications wouldn’t have worked on you. I had to concoct a few so I could operate.”

Sweetie smiled as she rocked her head from side to side. “Operate on me? Why?”

“Your right hind leg was shattered. You had several bruises and cuts, and you had a serious concussion.”

“My leg broke? I don’t remember that,” said Sweetie. She looked at herself. Everything looked fine.

“You were already unconscious. After you hit your head, your shield fell. A pretty heavy piece of rubble fell right on your leg. There was nothing I could have done to stop it.

“I put you into a coma to protect your brain functions; then I put you into stasis to prevent any further internal bleeding. I triaged several patients. Then I got to work on you. Figuring out what was going to work for you was the hardest part. “

Julian sat down in a chair next to Sweetie. He looked exhausted. His forehead had a sheen of sweat on it and his eyes drooped with heavy bags under them.

“Thank you,” said Sweetie. She reached over to Bashir, wrapping her forelegs around his shoulders, hugging him tight. She nuzzled into his face before pulling back.

“Really,” said Julian, looking slightly flustered. “I ought to be thanking you. If you hadn't done that shield, we both wouldn’t be here.”

Sweetie smiled. “I can’t believe I was even able to cast it with how hurt I was. Something in me said I could do it though…

“So what happened anyway? Why did everything start exploding?”

Julian shook his head. “You will have to ask Jadzia or—” Julian yawned, “or anyone who was at Ops. I had my hands full.”

“You need rest,” said Sweetie.

“I just need a minute to catch my breath. I still have a patient,” he said looking at Sweetie with a warm smile.

“And you did such an amazing job. I don’t know any doctor who could do this! My leg isn’t even in a cast! It’s fully healed. What sort of ma—technology could do that? I don’t know.

“But, I do know that you won’t be able to do these things when you’re exhausted.”

Julian smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. “You are absolutely correct.” He stood up and set a hand on her shoulder patting her. “You would make a good doctor, you know.” He scanned her again with his tricorder. This time he moved it very slowly from her head down to her hindquarters.

“Me? A doctor?” Sweetie laughed a little. “What are you doing?” asked Sweetie as she watched him work. “I thought you were going to get rest?”

Julian smiled. “I’m giving my patient one last exam before I discharge her from the infirmary.”

Sweetie watched him move around the infirmary checking various screens. Some of them displayed graphs and chemical compounds, but she couldn’t tell what they were referring to. She couldn’t imagine studying medicine in this environment, but she was certain she could advance medicine in Equestria quicker than any pony in history with a few days of study under Julian.

“This is interesting,” he said quietly. “Sweetie, your horn… does it hurt?”

She didn’t feel anything. She fired some green sparks out of her horn as a quick test. “It feels fine, why?”

“It’s the most curious thing,” Julian said as he walked back over. “It had several micro fractures in it when you were first knocked out. The nerve endings were very complex; far more complex than I thought. I couldn’t think of a way to repair the damage. Except now it’s completely healed. Everything looks like it did when I first examined you.”

Sweetie shrugged. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never had an injury to my horn. I never experienced feedback to a shield spell like that either. But… I never used it to block heavy objects falling on me.”

“Hmmm, I want to perform a quick test on it if you don’t mind.”

“Um, okay,” said Sweetie.

Sweetie’s eyes crossed when Julian reached for her horn with his hand. Her whole body twitched as his fingers ran the length of her horn. She shuddered. “Yep! Everything is good!”

Julian quickly pulled his hand away.

Sweetie was breathing heavily as her body tingled. She gave Julian a questioning look. “I-I guess I should have told you before… unicorn horns are very sensitive.”

“I was aware of that. That’s why I was gentle,” said Julian. “Clearly I wasn’t gentle enough.”

“No, you were.” Sweetie’s face went bright red. “Unicorn horns are sensitive.” She emphasized her last word.

“Yes I understand that—”

“No, you don’t,” Sweetie cut across.

Julian frowned. “What am I missing?”

Sweetie sighed as the heat in her face intensified. “We use our horns to channel magic. They also have a few… other uses too.” She hoped she wouldn’t have to elaborate further. Doing so would feel like she was telling on herself more than explaining pony sexuality.

It was Julian’s turn to look embarrassed. “I-I um… Sweetie Belle, please accept my sincerest apologies.”

Sweetie’s blush subsided to hints of red in her cheeks. “Don’t worry about it too much. You had no way of knowing our horns are… versatile.”

Sweetie rolled out of bed. She swayed a little, still feeling some of the drugs in her system. She hugged a rather stunned-looking Julian. “I’m not mad if that helps,” she said. He simply stood there motionless. “It’s okay, you can hug me back.” She giggled. Reluctantly, Julian returned her hug.

“So noted for future instances, but hopefully you don’t end up back here in critical condition. Perhaps in the future, you can show me the correct way to examine your horn.” He patted her back as she released him.

“It’s not something you’re able to do without magic. I don’t know exactly how it’s done either,” said Sweetie.

Julian shrugged. “Sweetie Belle, you are a never-ending enigma. One day, I will unlock all of the secrets… but right now I feel you are right. I need rest. Why don’t I escort you to Jadzia’s quarters on my way to my room?”

Sweetie nodded with a smile.

“Oh, and Garak stopped by and left this for you.” Julian pointed to two satchel bags beside her bed. They were made of a canvas material and bright white with pink stitching. The straps were also pink and fastened with a brass buckle. The center strap was white with pink piping on the edges and padding on the underside.

“Wow, this is really good!” Sweetie levitated it over her back. It fit her perfectly. She would never admit it out loud, but it was more comfortable on her back than the saddlebags Rarity made for her. “I’m not just saying that either. Ponies would pay a lot of money for something like this.”

“Speaking of enigmas… Garak is an interesting one. I love a good mystery and so does Garak. We fancy ourselves spies in our free time. On the holosuite, of course.” His tone shifted from whimsical to stern. “Anyway, I want you to rest for the rest of the day and light activity for the next few days. Your body went through a great deal of trauma.”

Sweetie nodded. She wasn’t tracking his story about Garak or spying. She was having trouble focusing. She felt fine, maybe a little lightheaded still. She wasn’t sure how much pain was being masked by the drugs still kicking.

“If you need to talk to someone about everything you’ve seen,” Julian continued, “I’m willing to listen. Or if you’d prefer a counselor, I know a few to recommend… your mental health is important too.”

It was something she hadn’t considered, and she had no idea who to talk to except Jadzia. It was sweet of Julian to offer that, but she wasn’t sure if she was comfortable talking to him that way. She certainly didn’t want to talk to a stranger. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She followed Julian into the Promenade. To her amazement, it wasn’t as damaged as she last saw it. The upper level had been repaired in the two places it collapsed. Most of the shops had reopened, and people moved about like normal. In the distance, she spotted Miles with a team working on repairing the damage to one of the shops.

A sense of dread fell over Sweetie as she realized a lot of time had gone by. She stopped and looked around. Everything looked normal, and that left her anxious.

“Julian,” she said, trotting to catch up to him, “how long was I out?”

“Almost four days,” he replied. “We had mass casualties. Some… didn’t make it.” Julian lowered his head.

Sweetie stopped as chills traveled down her body. People had died. She lost four days. How could everyone here simply go about their business again? “What could do this?” she said to herself.

“It never gets easier,” he said with a soft voice. “As a doctor, maintaining professional detachment is never easy. Especially in a triage situation… Medical school never truly prepares you for this.” He placed a hand behind Sweetie’s ears, brushing his hand through her mane.

Sweetie gave Julian her best sympathetic look. Neither one spoke as she followed him back to Jadzia’s room. She couldn’t help feeling this was all her fault somehow.

He let her into the room. Jadzia wasn't there. She thanked Julian one more time before the door closed. She placed her new saddlebags on the table and flung herself across the couch, stretching out. There was some stiffness in her hind leg as she stretched. Whatever Julian had given her was finally starting to wear off.

She pulled her hind leg up over her head, feeling the stretch. Then she pushed it away, fullying extending it. “Ooh, yeah, that’s gonna hurt for a bit.”

After her stretches, she went over to the food replicator. “Time to figure out how this thing works… How did Jadzia do this? Oh yeah.

“Computer, four pieces of toast with apple butter, one large salad topped with daisies, and a glass of cold water.” She was quite pleased to see she did it right when two plates and a glass of water appeared. “As long as I don’t have to actually cook anything…I think I like this thing.” She made a note to ask Jadzia how to teach it to make hay burgers.

After eating, she took a sonic shower, which helped her relax. She tried a few hair products, hoping Jadzia wouldn’t mind. One helped her mane stay detangled; it had a very sweet floral smell.

Feeling clean, smelling good, and hunger-sated, Sweetie decided to crash on Jadzia’s bed to clear her mind. It was much softer than the infirmary beds, and the blankets were cozy. She missed her bed. She missed having Apple Bloom to snuggle up with on a sleepover. She missed home.

It was quite some time before Jadzia came in. Sweetie lay there as she heard her moving around in the other room. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving her dirty dishes sitting on the replicator. She forgot which button to press to send everything back in.

The bedroom door opened, and Jadzia stood in the threshold. She had already changed out of her uniform and into a silky night dress. “Sweetie Belle? Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

Jadzia took a seat on the bed next to her. Sweetie welcomed her presence and inched closer. “Julian mentioned you would be sent home—back here today. How are you feeling? I see you had something to eat.”

“I-I don’t know how I’m feeling,” she answered truthfully. “Sorry, I left a mess. I forgot how to send it back into the replicator.”

“That’s alright. I will show you how tomorrow.

“You’ve been through a lot. You showed a remarkable amount of courage. Commander Sisko, Benjamin, wants to talk to you tomorrow if you’re up to it. Everyone is impressed by what you did. It was very brave.”

Sweetie felt a tear run down her cheek as her eyes watered.

“Hey, it’s okay, Sweetie,” she said.

“Jadzia… did I, did I somehow cause all of this?” asked Sweetie. Her heart was pounding as she tried to clear her eyes.

“No. You didn’t cause this. Why would you think that?” asked Jadiza. She sounded deeply concerned. “Sweetie, do you even know what happened?”

Sweetie shook her head. “No. But everything started exploding right after I teleported back to the lower level after talking to those two weird people on the upper level.”

“I assure you that was a coincidence,” said Jadzia.

A slight wave of relief washed over Sweetie. Her mind returned to the people who didn’t make it, to the bodies she saw on the floor. She felt sick thinking about it. She couldn’t get the image out of her mind. “If I didn’t cause this then who did?”

“Well, it’s not a person who caused this. At least we see no evidence of that.

“What happened was tetryon particles started building up around the station. We couldn’t figure out where they were coming from, but we figured out why they were forming around the station. In cargo bay two, where you showed up, was a large quantity of benomite crystals. They are rare and often used in quantum experiments. They also have a way of attracting subspace particles if they reach a certain intensity. That’s how you ended up here. These crystals pulled you out of subspace.

“Except we didn’t know that before accepting another order of benomite crystals. When I was called to Ops it was because the tetryon particles were building up again. We tried many different things to remove the particles. Miles O’Brien had the solution. A tetryon lightning rod. It would channel them all off into space and away from us. Except we didn’t have enough time to build it. They had reached critical mass. Unlike last time, when it was all confined in the cargo bay, they were everywhere. We beamed the cargo into space, away from the station hoping it would pull those particles away before they destroyed the station. Which it did… Unfortunately, they destabilized as they were pulled away.”

“Where were all of the tetryons coming from if these crystals were pulling them in?” asked Sweetie.

Jadzia shook her head. “We are still investigating that. But the good news is, we built Chief O’Brien’s tetryon lightning rod, so this won’t happen again. All charged particles will be fired off into space, far away from us.”

Jadzia rubbed Sweetie’s shoulder. “You had nothing to do with it. It’s the same anomaly that brought you here.” Jadzia took a deep breath as she continued petting Sweetie’s shoulder. “I forgot to set up a second bedroom for you. I was thinking I would partition part of the main room for you. It will get done tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Jadzia,” said Sweetie in a sleepy voice. “You don’t have to sleep on the couch.”

“Sweetie, that’s sweet of you. I will be alright.”

“Please,” said Sweetie. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Sweetie watched as Jadzia put a hand to her chest. “Okay. Just for tonight.” As soon as Jadzia had gotten into bed, Sweetie snuggled up to her, wrapping her forelegs around her, holding her tight. She let the tears flow as Jadzia held her in return. Once she started crying, she couldn’t stop.

“It’s alright,” Jadzia whispered. “Get it all out.”

Sweetie Belle was stretched out on a blanket. The breeze was refreshing on a hot summer day. In the distance, she heard the screams of excited colts and fillies playing in the lake. School would start soon, and Sweetie was already reading her copy of Advanced Magic.

“The easiest way to find Sweetie Belle is to find the only pony not having fun at the lake,” said a familiar voice.

Sweetie sat her book down. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had arrived. Both of them had brought towels and a picnic basket.

“I was only waiting for you two,” said Sweetie. Which was half true. She didn’t really want to do the picnic or go to the lake. She figured she could get some sun and read for a little if she got there early.

“Who brings a textbook to the lake?” asked Scootaloo. The very notion offended her.

“Our Sweetie Belle does,” answered Apple Bloom. “Come on, let's swim for a little and then have a picnic. I snuck some of the good cider out of the cellar.”

“Oh good!” Scootaloo grinned.

“You two go on ahead. I think I’ll stay here and get some sun.” Sweetie laid back, putting her sunglasses on.

“Ugh, just like Rarity. Doesn’t want to even get wet.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“Oh I get wet,” said Sweetie with a smirk.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both laughed.

“Geez, Sweetie, you still in estrus or what?” asked Scootaloo.

“Throw her in the lake. That will cool her off,” said Apple Bloom.

Before Sweetie could react both of her friends had taken her by the hind legs and dragged her towards the water. She kicked her legs in protest, but they were stronger than her.

“One soaking wet unicorn, coming up!” Apple Bloom shouted. Sweetie screamed as she was pulled into the shallow water.

Sweetie swung her foreleg, splashing both of them. They splashed back as they giggled. Sweetie grinned as her horn lit up. Two jets of water shot up straight into Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s face.

“Ahh! Sweetie! That’s cheating!” Apple Bloom cried as she shielded her face while splashing frantically.

“Shouldn’t have dragged me in here.” Sweetie grinned. She dropped the jets of water. Instead, she called up a huge column of water behind them. It rose above their heads and then came crashing down on all of them.

“Okay, that one was pretty cool,” admitted Scootaloo.

“How about this one?” Sweetie created thin walls of water around them. Water continued to climb up, droplets started to rain down on them.

“That feels nice,” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie released her spell and the remaining rain fell on them.

They swam around for a while. Sweetie continued using her magic to manipulate the water. She used a new spell she learned to push water away from her. After a few attempts, she sent a wall of water towards the sore. The wall curled over crashing back into the lake. Several large waves followed after.

“I should have brought a surfboard,” said Scootaloo as she rode the swells in the water.

“Picnic?” asked Sweetie. She was panting. Her legs felt heavy as she walked onto the shore. She shook, flinging water everywhere. She was happy she didn’t lose her sunglasses in the lake. Again.

“Yeah okay,” said Apple Bloom as she leaped out of the water. “Then we are swimming after.”

“You just want to get me wet again.” Sweetie winked.

Apple Bloom laughed while Scootaloo smirked.

“Maybe you two should take this to the barn later.” Scootaloo nudged Apple Bloom who rolled her eyes.

“Speaking of barns… Did Applejack review my idea?” asked Sweetie.

“She sure did. She seemed impressed.” Apple Bloom smiled. “I think they are going to do it.”

“Really?” Sweetie flopped onto her blanket. “That’s great news!”

Sweetie awoke with a smile and dry and itchy eyes. Jadzia was still there. She had rolled over and was facing away from her, but Sweetie was certain she was still asleep. With no idea if it was late at night or early morning, she lay there awake, thinking.

She believed what sent her to DS9 was a magical accident, but Jadzia made it all sound like a random anomaly. It was luck that they had those crystals that brought her here. Pure coincidence. She wasn’t sure she liked the notion of the universe being so… random. If Ponies were part of this universe, did that mean Celestia created order out of chaos in her small corner? How big was this universe anyway?

Sweetie rolled over to her other side to take the weight off her injured leg. As soon as she did, Jadzia rolled over too. “I didn’t realize you were awake.” She pulled Sweetie close to her, spooning her.

Sweetie smiled as she let Jadzia hold her. “I thought you were still asleep,” she muttered.

Jadzia ran her fingers through Sweetie’s mane. “You’re so soft and—did you use my hair conditioner?”

Sweetie hesitated. “I’m sorry. I should have asked. I wanted to see if it would help keep my mane from tangling.”

“You should have asked," Jadzia muttered. However, Sweetie could tell her tone was playful. “Since you smell so good and your mane is soft, I think we can overlook this infraction."

Sweetie grinned. Jadzia had moved from stroking her mane to petting her neck. She let the sensations lull her into a stupor.

“Is this what you ponies do?” asked Jadzia.

“Yeah, sometimes we like to snuggle. Don’t you?” Sweetie stretched, snuggling deeper into Jadzia’s arms.

“I think I do…” Jadzia replied. “My culture doesn’t have anything like this… not with friends.”

Music filled the room. Sweetie couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but she lay there letting the chant-like melody soothe her. “That’s pretty.” She hummed along with the melody; it was quite simple. “Oh, nice counterpoint.” Sweetie sang an octave higher.

“You have a nice voice. This is the Klingon victory song,” Jadzia said.

“Thanks,” Sweetie replied. She sang a few more notes as the melody repeated. “Why is it playing?”

“It’s my alarm, silly,” said Jadzia. “Computer, turn off the alarm.”

The music stopped, and the usual hum of technology filled Sweetie’s ears.

“Time to get up,” said Jadzia.

“Do we have to?” asked Sweetie with a groan.

“Yep,” Jadzia replied. “Come on, out of bed.” She threw the covers off and rolled out of bed.

Sweetie shivered at the instant coolness of having the covers so brazenly tossed aside and not having Jadzia snuggled against her. With her magic, she grabbed the covers and pulled them back over her.

Jadzia laughed. “That is a good use for that.”

Sweetie grinned. She sighed and rolled out of bed. “Alright, I’m up,” she said. “I’m hungry, and I want more of that coffee stuff.”

The rest of the morning passed quickly. Jadzia introduced Sweetie to a whole grain porridge and a Klingon coffee drink called a Raktajino. A rather bold-tasting coffee with lots of spices. She decided it was even more sensory overload than regular coffee, but she found it much tastier at the same time.

She brought Jadzia up to speed on her encounter with Garak and how she got the saddlebags from him. Jadzia didn’t say much except that Garak was a mysterious individual with knowledge of many topics; he was certainly more than a simple tailor. What really got Jadzia’s attention was Sweetie’s recounting of the strange person by the window.

“He disappeared?” she asked. Her face had a serious expression.

Sweetie nodded. “He had specific knowledge of our philosophy. He even mentioned Twilight. How could he know these things? Why was he so familiar?” she asked that last question to herself more than to Jadzia.

“There’s only one entity I know of who could appear and disappear like that and who could have knowledge like that. His name is Q. He is a notorious individual with seemingly unlimited control of space and time, and he seems particularly intent on causing chaos wherever he appears.”

“Chaos…” Sweetie mumbled to herself. Of course— “Discord!” she squeaked.

“Discord?” asked Jadzia.

“That’s what we call him. It was him, I know it! He might look like one of you here, but that voice… There's no mistaking it.” Sweetie bounced around. “This is great! He can send me home!”

“I see your world has had the pleasure of dealing with him too,” Jadzia muttered, ignoring Sweetie’s exuberance.

“He loves us ponies,” she replied. “Discord! Q! Whatever you’re called here. I know you can hear me!” Sweetie called out. “Help a filly out! Do it for Fluttershy!” After a long quiet moment, Discord did not appear. Sweetie deflated. “Maybe he doesn’t love us ponies…”

“I’m sure he does…” Jadzia hesitated. “In his own way. Q is not a well-understood entity. One thing is certain, though, they do not respond to our whims or demands. If he wants to talk to you, he will appear for you.”

Sweetie sighed. Jadzia was right, of course. Getting Discord to do anything usually involved Fluttershy. She was the only pony he truly loved. “He was a real terror in Equestria. Celestia and Luna imprisoned him for a while. He broke out…He was a terror again.”

Jadzia seemed extremely shocked by what Sweetie had said. “How did anyone manage to capture him?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Celestia is extremely powerful. She has to be to keep the chaotic magic in balance. She and Luna used the elements of harmony to turn him to stone. Then Twilight, my sister Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy used the elements to capture him again. Then he was given a second, or third, chance. Fluttershy reformed him. He’s still chaotic, but he no longer torments us ponies or anyone else.”

“And you’re sure this Discord is also Q?” asked Jadzia.

Sweetie shook her head. “No, not really. I know Discord can go anywhere and look like anyone. Maybe Q is another being like Discord. I’m not sure. It’s his voice though… that’s all I have to go on.”

“Q is also capable of those things. It’s something to keep in mind if he reappears.

“Let’s get going before we are late.”

Jadzia led Sweetie to a part of the station she hadn’t seen yet, a place called the wardroom. It was a very long room with several windows looking into space. In the middle was a conference table where several Starfleet people sat around. Sweetie recognized most of them. There was a rather peculiar person in a tan uniform with a face that seemed like it was carved from wax. He had a serious demeanor on his face that did not change when she entered the room, unlike the others there, who smiled at her.

“This shouldn’t take long. Commander Sisko will talk to you after this meeting,” Jadzia whispered as she strode toward the table.

Sweetie nodded and took to standing in the back of the room. She felt awkward there while everyone sat around a conference table. She wasn’t sure what else to do. She sat on her haunches and listened in on whatever this meeting was all about hoping not to draw too much more attention to herself.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Jadzia, taking the last available seat at the table.

“Jadzia! Aren’t you going to invite Sweetie Belle to sit at the table?” asked Kira.

“Oh, yeah. Sweetie, you can come over here,” said Jadzia. “There’s no need to hide back there.”

“Here you can have my seat, dear,” said Kira. “I would rather stand anyway.”

The chairs weren’t designed for ponies which presented a slight challenge for Sweetie to get into. She rose on her hind legs while placing her forelegs on the seat. There wasn’t enough room for her to jump up and turn around. Her face grew hot as she felt all eyes on her.

“Need a hand?” asked Kira.

Sweetie, not wanting to make this a bigger scene than it already was, panicked. She concentrated on her mark, envisioned herself rotating 180 degrees, and with a flash of pale green light she disappeared and then reappeared sitting in the chair facing the table.

“Quite impressive,” said the person in the tan uniform. He had a gravelly-sounding voice. “I’m Constable Odo, chief of security on this station.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sweetie replied. He gave her a curt nod.

“Alright, everyone,” began Commander Sisko, “let’s get started. Sweetie Belle, thank you for joining us.” He turned to Kira. “Major, do you have any information on that resonance frequency?”

“Traces of it have been detected in different sectors. Unfortunately, these sectors aren’t close to each other. No one can find a point of origin.” Kira took a breath before throwing her hand in the air. “I’ve never seen anything like this. The places it’s been detected don’t line up or give any clues where it’s coming from.”

“Alright, keep looking,” said Sisko. “Chief, how are repairs coming?”

“All major systems have been restored. All pylons and the docking ring are operational. All that’s left are the secondary systems on the Promenade,” said Miles. “Oh, and there’s one other thing. I heard from a friend of mine back on Earth that the ship that departed here six days ago went missing in the Badlands. It wasn’t destroyed. It’s just gone.”

“The USS Voyager,” said Odo. “I was looking into that too. It was going after Maquis raiders. It’s possible the ship was commandeered by the Maquis. Or badly damaged in the plasma storms.”

“I thought so too,” said Miles. “However what my friend told me was that there was a Vulcan science vessel only a half a light year away from the Badlands that day. They detected a massive wave of tetryons that swept through the Badlands.”

Sweetie perked up at the mention of tetryons. She wasn’t the only one. Jadzia too became very interested.

“Chief, are you saying Voyager was destroyed by a wave of tetryons around the same time Sweetie Belle appeared on the station in an explosion of tetryons? Asked Jadzia.

“There’s no evidence of Voyager’s destruction. They were in the Badlands chasing Maquis. Their shields were probably up. It’s possible the wave pushed them somewhere. They might simply be off course by a few light years. But yes it is a strange coincidence these two events involving tetryons behaving unusually are so close together.”

“I think there’s something bigger going on here,” said Julian. “We have a tetyron wave which cannot exist naturally. The resonance frequency that’s popping up all over the quadrant with no rhyme or reason. Tetryon bombardment a few days ago… it’s as if subspace itself is coming apart.”

“Not coming apart,” corrected Miles, “but there are large holes it seems.”

“Alright,” said Sisko, “Major, find out about this Vulcan science vessel. Any information you can get from them. Chief, see what else you can learn from these resonance signals after you complete your repairs. This concludes the briefing. We all have our jobs. Now we turn one last item before everyone is dismissed.” Sisko stood up and walked to the front of the room. He commanded so much presence as he walked.

“Attention to award,” he said in a stern voice. Everyone got out of their chairs, standing up straight. Sweetie quickly slid out of her chair.

“Sweetie,” Kira hissed. She beckoned her to come forward frantically with her arm.

She walked to Kira’s side only to be redirected to Sisko. She stopped right in front of him. Her heart was pounding. She gulped as she looked up at him.

“In recognition of our newest guest of the United Federation of Planets aboard Deep Space Nine, it is my honor and pleasure to present Sweetie Belle with the Starfleet Medal of Commendation for her heroic acts of bravery in saving the life of a fellow officer. Her actions led to the saving of the chief medical officer which prevented over fifty casualties and serious injuries during a critical moment. Sweetie Belle acted selflessly. Her actions were in keeping with the highest traditions in Starfleet and The United Federation Of Planets.”

Sisko presented her with a bronze medal on a blue ribbon with a white stripe in the middle. He hung it around her neck and then held out his hand.

Sweetie stood there transfixed. Her face was beet red. She stared at his hand, unsure what to do.

“You have to fist bump her hoof, Benjamin,” said Jadzia.

Sisko curled his hand up and Sweetie quickly bumped her hoof against it. She was very aware that she was shaking slightly. Her breathing was shallow.

Everyone clapped.

“Dismissed,” said Sisko. He turned to Sweetie with a softer expression. “Congratulations.”

“T-thank you,” Sweetie replied.

“Congratulations, Sweetie,” said Julian. “You have to be one of the only non-Starfleet persons to ever get such an award. It looks quite good on you too. I’m glad Starfleet agreed with me on this matter—”

“Alright, Julian,” Miles grumbled. “What he means is he put you in for the award.” He held out his fist and bumped it against Sweetie’s hoof. “Congrats, Sweetie.” Miles leaned in closer. “If Julian starts talking too much, can you use that trick of yours to send him back to his room?”

Sweetie let out a snort and giggled. Julian did talk a lot. She found him interesting and his accent was smooth as apple butter.

Everyone else came over to say their congrats. They learned quickly to fist bump her hoof. Last, Jadzia gave her a big hug. “It was hard to keep quiet about this.” She smirked.

There was a beep as a female voice sounded through the air. “Doctor Bashir, please report to the infirmary. There’s something here you need to see.”

Julian tapped the silver star on his uniform. “On my way.”

“How does that work?” Sweetie asked Jadzia.

“It’s the comm system in the station. With these comm badges, we are able to call anyone in the station who has one.”

“So it’s like a radio?” asked Sweetie.

Jadzia held up her hand in a sort of shrug pose. “Similar yes. The comm system is much more advanced than a simple radio. The computer can track the comm badges, and they can be configured to send out coded messages.”

“That does sound advanced,” Sweetie agreed. “So, what is the computer?”

Jadzia sighed. “I was afraid you were going to ask that.”

Sweetie grinned. “I know you can ask it to turn off the lights… and an alarm, and tell it to make food.”

“Yes, it can do those things and much more. I will explain it more tonight, but the quick definition is a computer calculates information at really fast speeds. It can do several tasks simultaneously, and it uses logical decision-making models to do those functions.”

“But how does it do that?” asked Sweetie.

“Math,” replied Jadzia. “Complicated math.”

Sweetie grimaced. “I had a feeling…”

Jadzia frowned. “I thought you liked math.”

“Eh,” began Sweetie, “I’m good at it, and I’m good at applying it, but like it?” She shrugged.

“Sounds like it comes too easy to you, “ Jadzia remarked. “Tell you what: tonight I will show you some basic computing and programming—”

Julian’s voice interrupted her from her comm badge. “Bashir to Lieutenant Dax. Could you and Sweetie come by the infirmary?”

Jadzia tapped her comm badge. “We’re on our way.”

Sweetie gave Jadzia a questioning look as she followed her out. Jadzia simply shrugged, and Sweetie took that to mean she didn’t know what Julian wanted either.

She was pleased she didn’t have to rely on Jadzia to guide her to the infirmary. She was finally getting the layout of the station. With her track record, knowing where the infirmary was located, was a good thing.

In the infirmary, Sweetie was shocked to see Odo and Commander Sisko there too. Sweetie felt apprehensive. They were talking in low voices, and Julian shushed them as soon as Jadzia and Sweetie entered.

“Ah good, Sweetie,” said Julian. He was unusually tense. The smoothness in his voice was gone; he spoke with trepidation. “I apologize for this. But you are the only one who can help us with… well… there’s no point in deploying any longer.”

She followed Julian past everyone else. The quiet was deafening. She swore everyone on the station could hear the soft clump of each hoof-fall. He led her to a bed with a thick blanket similar to the one she had been covered with not long ago. Like her, this blanket was covering someone.

Her heart was pounding. A new sensation was forming in her stomach as she got closer. She was not ready to see what lay beneath that blanket. She could not fathom why they needed her to see what was beneath it either.

Julian grabbed the blanket and pulled it back. Sweetie gasped and then let out an ear-piercing scream as she frantically backed away. “No!” she shrieked. “No!” she sobbed.

Julian rushed forward, grabbing her around the shoulders. “It’s alright! You’re alright! Take a deep breath. Look at me.”

Sweetie tore her eyes away looked into Julian’s eyes and nodded.

“Do you know who that is? Can you identify that pony?”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide with terror as she shook her head. “Don’t know,” she cried. “Don’t know him.”

“Come with me. Nice and easy,” said Julian. He gently nudged her forward. “I know this is very unpleasant. You are the only one here who can help.”

On the bed lay a brown earth pony stallion with a black mane and tail. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open. He was completely motionless. As Sweetie got closer she felt a coldness coming off him. But she knew from the second she saw him that he was dead.