//------------------------------// // The Plan // Story: My Little Voyager // by pabrony //------------------------------// "-try working... what the?" Twilight said as she appeared in a huge room with a huge picture of moving dots, which she assumed represented stars, that took up literally half the wall space in the room. Her eyes widened at the amount of information she could learn by studying what she concluded to be some sort of map. She stepped down off the platform and made her way over to one of the consoles in the center of the room. Even though she couldn't read the foreign language on the displays, she attempted to make the map move to around to find a way to Equestria. Finding a button that had "ABC" on it, she pressed it in the hopes that a typewriter style keyboard would appear on the display. "Oh this is great!" she said as she clapped her hooves together in excitement. "Now to type in 'Equestria' and see if I can get a map back to there." Twilight typed in the name of her home in Equestrian but when she hit the button with an arrow on it, all that showed on the display was some sentence that continuously blinked with an accompanying beeping. With this search result seemingly ending in failure, she got back down on all fours and began studying the other displays in an attempt to learn more about where she was. A soft hiss was heard as doors to the galley opened for a pair of humans and the cyan pegasus accompanying them. The sound caught the attention of the three ponies already in the room who were telling Captain Janeway, Chakotay and Neelix about Equestria and their adventures. "DASHIE!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she tackled Rainbow Dash, causing them to roll through the doorway and crash into the wall opposite the galley. "Hi Pinkie," Rainbow said as she brushed the nonexistent dust off of herself. "Where are we?" "Oh. We're in a ship that flies through space but right now it's not flying because the people here, that are really super nice by the way, are looking for the people we found in Equestria that are like family to them because they've been together a really long time and they're trying to get home like we're trying to get home but not like us because they live in this dimension and we don't, so it's not completely the same but it kinda is," Pinkie explained before running out of breath. The Voyager crew members stared in disbelief as the pink pony took a deep breath, seemingly preparing for another extended explanation. However, before she could begin again an orange hoof covered her muzzle. "Ah think she gets th' idea, Pinkie," said Applejack. "Sorry 'bout that, folks." "Does she do that all the time?" Neelix inquired from the kitchen. "Only when she gets, um, really excited," Fluttershy squeaked out. "So is anypony else here or is it just the four of us?" Rainbow asked. "Discord's here," Applejack answered flatly. "Where?" Fluttershy asked, her attention piqued. "I had him escorted to the brig for the safety of the crew," Chakotay told her. Rainbow tilted her head to the side before asking, "The brig? Is that like a dungeon or something?" "The brig is a jail cell," Katherine replied. "Y'all saw how he appeared outta nowhere on th' bridge," Applejack fussed. "A jail cell ain't gonna hold th' likes of him." "Ooo! Ooo! You think he could help get us back to Equestria?" Pinkie asked as she hopped around the galley. "He's gotta want to go back too. Right?" "Bridge to Captain Janeway," came a page before anyone could answer. "Go ahead, Harry," Katherine replied as she tapped the arrowhead-shaped badge on her uniform. "Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but someone is attempting an unauthorized computer search in the Astrometrics lab," Harry replied. Katherine paused a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose before replying, "Send an unarmed security detail to investigate.” “Unarmed?” “Yes, Harry. I also would like you to scan for any equine life signs throughout the rest of the ship. If any more are detected, have them escorted to the galley. Any questions?" "No, ma'am. Bridge out." "It seems we may have more guests here than we originally thought," Chakotay said to Katherine. "Could Y'all excuse us for a couple minutes?" Applejack asked the two officers. The four ponies then moved to one of the corners to have a quick discussion among themselves. "If Discord's here then why are we still being sent here?" Rainbow wondered. "Ah don't know but Ah think he might be th' key ta gettin' everyone where they belong," Applejack replied. "Maybe we should, um, ask... him what happened?" Fluttershy quietly said. "Might not be a bad idea there, Fluttershy," Applejack said as she rubbed her chin with her right hoof. "If he's the reason everything happenin' th' way it is, hopefully, he can set it all straight." "So what are we waiting for? Let's go talk to him!" Pinkie said enthusiastically. Applejack and the others turned around so they could address the officers at the table four meters away. However, before they could say anything, the galley doors slid open again allowing another security detail, that was escorting Rarity, entry into the room. "Are you Captain Janeway?" Rarity asked Katherine. "Yes, I am," the captain replied. "My name is Rarity. I must say the hallways you have on your ship are very interesting, architecture wise. However at the same time, they are quite drab," Rarity told Katherine. "All that gray just makes this place depressing. I can really spruce them up if you like." Katherine and Chakotay looked at each other and let out a small chuckle before politely declining her offer. "Well if you happen to change your mind, the offer will still be here," Rarity said. "Thank you, Rarity. I'll keep that in mind," Katherine told her as Rarity joined her friends. Applejack and the others hugged Rarity one-by-one thankful for her safety. “So, did y'all happen to see Twilight on yer way here?” “Sorry, darling,” Rarity said. “She must still be in Equestria.” “Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's here on the ship,” Rainbow Dash told her. “Whatever makes you think that?” “Well, just before Y'all came in here, Katherine got some kinda call in midair telling her about an unexcused access in the Asteroid/Meteors Lab,” Applejack said. “Considering that Twilight is more curious than a cat, Ah'll bet ten bits that it was her in the lab.” Fluttershy squeezed her way into the ring of ponies. “Um, excuse me, um, girls. Are we, um, going to talk to Discord now or should we wait, um, for Twilight?”