//------------------------------//
// Menace 
// Story: Where Nopony Has Gone Before 
// by Kane Magus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7 - Menace


After the transport ended, Riker took a look around and was surprised to see that they weren’t anywhere that he had ever seen before.  “What the…?” he said and tapped his combadge, which responded with a low-pitched chirp that indicated connection failure.  “Riker to Enterprise!  Enterprise, come in!”
The ponies all looked around in confusion.  The room was full of other ponies who were looking at them, just as confused as they were, likely even more so.
“What are we doin’ in Canterlot?” asked Applejack.
“Not just Canterlot,” said Rarity, “but directly in the middle of Princess Celestia’s court!”  In fact, looking toward the throne in the distance, they all saw not just Princess Celestia, but also Princess Luna.  Apparently, the beam down had occurred just at the moment when Luna and Celestia were to make the change between Day Court and Night Court.  Both of the princesses were staring at the newcomers in as much shock at their sudden arrival as the newcomers themselves felt at being there. 
Suddenly, from within the group of ponies, there was a burst of activity.
“Hey, watch it!” said Rainbow Dash as something jostled her.  From out of the group that had beamed down, a familiar burgundy earth pony broke away from them and charged toward the princesses at full gallop.  His speed was astonishing and he had reached the princesses before the others even fully registered that he had been among them in the first place.
“Q?” yelled Riker.  “What the hell?”
Pony-Q glanced back and saw the others still looking after him in confusion, but he knew it would only be a matter of seconds before they gave chase, not that it mattered if they caught up with him, of course.  He had far bigger issues with which to concern himself at the moment.
“What is the meaning of this?!” said the Sun Princess sternly.  “Who are you?”
“Dear Princess Celestia,” said Pony-Q, not disguising his voice at all.  “Please do not be alarmed by my sudden appearance here.  I don’t know how much time I have and it is vital that I speak to you.  Luna as well.”  He nodded in the Night Princess’s direction.
Both Celestia and Luna widened their eyes in utter shock.  The voice of the pony speaking to them was unmistakable.
“YOU!” shouted Luna angrily.
“Discord?!” said Celestia in confusion.  “But… what…?  Why…?  How are you here?”  She turned her head and quickly looked out the window.  Outside, she could clearly see that the statue which, until this very moment, she had believed contained the soul of Discord was indeed still standing there, just as it had been ever since it had been relocated from Ponyville after Twilight and her friends had defeated him the last time.
“Yes, it’s me,” said Pony-Q.  “I am indeed the one you know as Discord, though that is not my true identity.  But I can’t explain all of that right now.  Please hear me out, as I have very little time.  You have to trust me when I say that I mean you no ill will whatsoever.  Just give me a chance to explain why I’m here.”
Luna was seething, and Celestia herself was tempted to immediately call for the guards, or else to teleport to the vault and gather up the Elements of Harmony again.  Indeed, she looked beyond this strange burgundy pony that was calling himself Discord and saw that the Bearers and their four charges (counting Spike) were running toward them.  She had no idea why or how they were here or what means had brought them here.  And… was that a… human among them?  What was going on here?
Pony-Q took their brief silence as permission to speak and said, “This is why I am here.  I’m sure you recall the old legends of humans and how they had visited this world in the past.  Well, I am here to tell you that those stories are indeed true, and that-”
“Q!!!” screamed a sudden, room-filling voice that none of them recognized.
None of them except for Pony-Q, that is.  “No,” he said in shock.  “NO!  It’s far too soon!  She can’t have found me already!”
Just before the throne, between where Pony-Q stood with the princesses and all of the other ponies, there was a burst of light and sound.  When it faded, there was what appeared to be a female human standing there.  She was tall and had flowing auburn hair.  She also had an extremely enraged look on her face.  The Bearers of Harmony and those with them ground to a halt some distance behind this new arrival.
The newcomer stalked toward Pony-Q and said, “I knew that you would come here sooner or later.  I’ve been watching you like a hawk, Q.  Did you really think your pathetic little trick with the transporter beams would fool me in the slightest?!”
Pony-Q sighed.  “It was worth a shot.  Listen, Q, I can explain everything if you’ll just hear me out and-”
“Ha!” said the female Q derisively.  “No, I don’t want to hear a word out of you, or anyone else, until I have had my say.”
Pony-Q opened his mouth to speak and, to his astonishment, found that he couldn’t speak at all.  He looked at the female Q in shock.  He glanced around at all of the others in the room and saw that they were being prevented from speaking as well.
“Bet you’re wondering how I’m doing this, aren’t you,” she said.  “Your little buddy’s pathetic attempts at distracting me were fruitless.”  Next to her was another burst of light and sound and when it faded away, there stood a grey earth pony with blonde mane and tail.  A stylized green letter ‘Q’ could clearly be seen on his flank.  Pony-Q glared at him in silent rage.
“Sorry, Q,” said Pony-Q2.  “There was nothing I could do.  She already had the backing of the Continuum on this one, I’m afraid.”
“Be gone!” said the female Q to Pony-Q2.  “I neither want nor need you here.”
Pony-Q2 glared at her for a moment, and then said, “Fine.  Just be wary that you don’t overstep your bounds here yourself.  You may have the Continuum on your side for the moment, but things can change.”  He then disappeared in a burst of light and sound.
The female Q smiled haughtily and said, “Fool.  I’ll deal with him later.  Anyway, Q, even though I do have the Continuum on my side here, your little trick of splitting yourself in half has worked in my favor as well.  Dividing your power like that is very, very unwise, don’t you think?”
Pony-Q ground his teeth in frustration, but could say or do nothing in response.  His powers were being completely blocked.  It was a feeling with which he had become aggravatingly familiar.
The female Q turned and waved her hand toward the ceiling.  In the air, several yards above everyone, a strange oblong, translucent, wavering window opened up.  Through this, they could see a view of Jean-Luc Picard and the human version of Q.  The two of them were just exiting out of the turbolift and arriving on the bridge.
“Yes, I know you’re up there as well, watching everything that goes on down here,” said the female Q.  “Well, now the tables have turned and everyone here will be able to see what goes on up there as well.”  On the “screen,” Human-Q and the other humans on the ship were staring out at them, in just as much shock as all of the others in the room, and with just as much inability to speak as well.
“Now then,” said the female Q, turning back to Pony-Q.  “Let’s get down to business shall we?”  She strode past Pony-Q and stopped directly before Princess Celestia.  “Ah…” she said, as she stared into Celestia’s eyes.  The female Q studied the pony for a several moments and then sneered in disgust.  “So you’re the pitiful pony trollop who has held my Q enthralled for so many millennia, are you?  Hmph.  I see absolutely nothing worthwhile at all.”  Both Pony-Q and Human-Q glared at the female Q with fury in their eyes.  Celestia, for her part, remained motionless.  She, like everyone else, couldn’t speak, and she didn’t want to antagonize a creature powerful enough to accomplish such a feat if she didn’t absolutely have to.
“Well then.  Here’s what is going to happen, Q,” said the female Q, turning away from Celestia with utter contempt.  “First of all, you are going to be stripped of your powers once again.  This ought to be very interesting, considering that you are currently in two separate forms simultaneously.  You want to be among both human and ponykind?  Fine.  Then you’ll do so as both a simple human and an earth pony.”  Both Pony-Q and Human-Q slumped as they felt their powers leaving them entirely, rather than simply being blocked.  They felt their minds splitting into two, and then couldn’t sense each other at all after that.
“And now?” the female Q continued.  “Now, I will reveal to these other ponies the secret that you have been trying so hard to keep from them.”  She ignored the pleading looks on the faces of both Pony- and Human-Q.  Turning to face the Bearers of Harmony and the others, she snapped her fingers.  In the air, a few yards in front of and above them, there was another burst of light and sound.  When it disappeared, the large stone statue of Discord floated there for a few seconds and then crashed to the floor.  It wobbled upright for a bit, and then toppled over.
Looks of sudden, horrible realization flooded into the eyes of all the ponies in the room, save for Celestia and Luna, since they both already knew who the burgundy pony had claimed to be.  That didn’t make this any less shocking for the princesses, however.  Pony-Q hung his head low, while Human-Q could be seen burying his face in his hands, which he then clenched into fists that were shaking with frustration and rage.
“Finally,” said the female Q.  “You will cope with this situation.  Let’s see how you like dealing with all of these ponies that you tormented, now that you don’t have your powers to torment them or even to protect yourself.”  The female Q sneered in his face and, with a wave of her hand, disappeared in a burst of light and sound.
Released from the power holding them mute, both Pony-Q and Human-Q cut loose with a loud, simultaneous, “&~%|(!*^$`+# YOU, Q!”  Pony-Q looked down at all of the ponies he had played with during his time as Discord.  They looked about as happy as he expected them to be, which is to say, not at all.  What he didn’t expect, however, was for them to all begin to advance upon him at once.  Even Twilight and her friends were slowly moving toward him, their eyes filled with what could only be described as black murder.  “Uh oh,” said Pony-Q.
Through the window to the Enterprise, which was still open, Human-Q could be heard pleading with Picard.  “You’ve got to get him out of there!  They’ll tear him apart!  I haven’t a clue what will happen if half of me is lynched by a mob of angry ponies.”
Picard raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, really?  I’ve a mind to beam you down there to join him, actually.”
“That’s not funny, Picard!” yelled Pony-Q through the screen.  He looked past the mob and saw Riker standing there.  “Riker!  Help me!  You can’t let them get me!”
“And why not?” asked the first officer, crossing his arms and assuming an indifferent posture.  “Seems to me like you brought this on yourself, wouldn’t you say?”
“I can’t believe I was actually going to let you join the Continuum, you ungrateful bearded troll!” shouted Pony-Q.  He spun around and faced Celestia and Luna.  “Please, help me,” he pleaded.  “I told you before that I’m not here to cause trouble!  You’ve got to believe me!”  He looked first at Celestia, then at Luna.
The Mistress of the Night merely grinned darkly and said, “You’re looking at the wrong princess, Discord.  I’ve never like you.  I’m more than tempted to join them myself, to be quite honest.”  She pawed the floor with her hoof as she said this.
Pony-Q knew that his only hope of salvation, slim as it was, lay with Celestia.  “Please, Celestia,” he said.  He hated the sound of his own begging voice, but he didn’t want to be strung up or torn apart by these ponies.  “You can’t let them do this!”  Celestia was glaring down at him angrily.  Pony-Q felt his chances slipping away by the second.  “Do you remember the apology that I gave you back in your chambers so long ago?  I was absolutely sincere, and I will repeat it now.  I am sorry for everything that I have ever done to you and your little ponies.  If you still feel even a glimmer of what you used to feel for me, then don’t let this happen!”
Celestia continued to glare at Pony-Q, and then shook her head, as though breaking herself out of a trance.  She looked at him again with confusion in her eyes, then up at the advancing mob.  She turned her head to see that even her sister was looking down at the burgundy pony with nothing but blackest hate in her eyes.  She turned again to the mob of ponies, who had by now reached the base of the ramp leading up to her throne.  She called out, “My little ponies!  Stand down.  I will deal with this matter myself, in a manner that I deem appropriate.”  Shockingly, the ponies continued to advance, not even heeding her words.  Celestia stepped forward and placed herself between Pony-Q and the approaching mob.  Using the Royal Canterlot Voice, she said, “I SAID STOP THIS AT ONCE!”  She unleashed a brief portion of her power, and a dazzling light blasted out of her horn, momentarily blinding everyone in the room and, through the “window,” everyone on the bridge of the Enterprise as well.
The mob halted at this display of power.  Pony-Q and Celestia looked around at all of the suddenly confused faces.
“W… w-what’s going on?” said Twilight Sparkle, who was the closest of the mob, being only a few feet away from Pony-Q and the princesses.  “I feel so… weird.”  Farther away, Riker was also blinking repeatedly and shaking his head, as if to clear it.  Picard and the others on the bridge of the Enterprise could be seen reacting similarly via the “screen” left behind by the female Q.
Luna shook her head as well.  “I, too, feel as though I’m just now awakening from a spell of some sort.  I was getting ready to tear that miserable wretch limb from limb.  I mean, it is true that I hate him as much as I always have, but even so, I wouldn’t have attacked him in the clearly pitiful state that he’s in now.  Tia, what’s going on here?”
Celestia looked back and forth between the mob of ponies, her sister, the humans, and the small burgundy pony cowering behind her.  “I don’t know,” said the princess.  “I remember everything that happened, but as soon as that female creature disappeared, I felt a sudden, nigh overwhelming force of wrath overtake me.”
There was a sudden sound like that of booming thunder throughout the chamber, and then the voice of the female Q could be heard resounding through the room.  “Hmph, so you have passed my test, Q.  Or rather, I should say you have failed it.  If that harlot of yours were not still harboring feelings for you, then she would not have broken free of the fog I placed over all of their minds, and your hideous pony form would have been torn asunder where it stands.  So, it looks like you get to survive.  Good for you, I suppose, though I would have been most interested to see what would happen if half of a Q were killed.  It must comfort you to know that she really does still love you, after all this time and even after every horrific thing you’ve done to her and all the others.”
Celestia’s face was bright pink with mortification at the words being spoken.  Pony-Q looked up at her, feeling happy at this revelation, but also extremely angry that the female Q was airing out the princess’s private feelings like this, not just in front of him, but in front of everyone.  He turned his eyes up to the ceiling and said, “Q, please, just listen to me!  You don’t have to do this!  None of this has anything to do with what happened between me and Celestia in the past.  That’s not why I came here!”
“Yes, just hear us out!” said Human-Q, from within the “screen.”
“SILENCE!  Both of you!” thundered the voice of the female Q.  “I have no interest whatsoever in your dissembling.  Save that for the mortals.  Anyway, as I was saying… fine, so you get to live another day.  Well, enjoy your time while it lasts.”
“Wait… what do you mean?” said Pony-Q, nervously.
“What have you done?” said Human-Q, equally as nervously.
“I have sent you a present,” said the female Q’s disembodied voice.
Just as she said this, Worf could be heard through the “screen” saying, “Captain, long range sensors are picking up something.”
“What is it, Mr. Worf?” said Picard.  “A ship?”
“Oh dear,” said Pony-Q.
“You didn’t,” said Human-Q.
“My present to you should be there before too long,” said the voice of the female Q.  “It’s in a very, very large gray metal box.  You’ll have to forgive me for leaving off the bow, however.  I just couldn’t find the time or interest in tying one onto it.”
“Please say you didn’t,” said Pony-Q.  “Tell me this is just a joke.”
“Captain!” said Worf, the urgency clear in his voice.  “It is a Borg cube!”
“She did,” said Human-Q, miserably.  “And if it’s a joke, it’s not funny at all.”
The voice of the female Q could be heard laughing as it faded away.



Up on the bridge of the Enterprise, Captain Picard stood next to Worf, studying the tactical display.  “What are they doing, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t understand it, sir,” said the Klingon.  “They’re just sitting there at the extreme edge of our long range sensors, completely motionless.  I would have expected that they would have already been heading in this direction.”
Q walked over to stand on the other side of Worf.  “The Borg, as you well know, Jean-Luc, are nothing if not extremely methodical about everything they do,” he said.  “If, as I suspect, that witch sent them here the same way I did your own ship, then the Borg are currently sitting tight and trying to figure out what is going on.  My guess is that they are running a complete self-diagnostic on all of their systems, which will take a while, as well as trying to reestablish contact with the rest of the Collective.  For now, we might have a little time to breathe, but as soon they complete that, they will detect this star system.  And then they will detect the Enterprise.  And then they will come.”
Picard turned to face Q and said, “I have to agree.  That is exactly what they will do.  However, I have a question for you.”  As he spoke, Picard moved away from the tactical station and headed back for his command chair.  “Who the devil was that woman down on the planet?  I have to assume she is a member of the Q Continuum, but why is she doing all of this?”
Q sighed, and followed Picard.  Standing alone next to Worf wasn’t somewhere he particularly cared to be, especially given that he no longer had his powers at the moment.  “That, mon capitaine, was Q.  She and I had a… thing, as you humans sometimes call it, at one point in time.  On again off again, and all that.  We’re currently deep into the ‘off again’ phase.  She, however, seems to believe, mistakenly I might add, that we are always in the ‘on again’ phase.  She’s very… clingy to put it as politely as I can.  Jealously can be a very, very ugly thing, especially when it’s entirely unwarranted as it is in this case.”
“So all of this,” said Picard, “is because of a lover’s spat between you and her?”
“I suppose you could say it’s something like that,” said Q, sighing deeply.  “I was hoping that I could talk to Celestia without her interfering, but obviously I was mistaken on that count.  It’s so very aggravating.”
“And what was that about you and the pony princess?” said Picard.  “That female Q said something about there being some sort of relationship between you and the princess as well.  Is that-”
“Picard!” said Q, glaring at the Captain.  “Don’t.  Not right now.  As I told you before, this is none of your business.”
“Q,” said Picard, his temper starting to flare.  “Because of this situation, there is now a Borg cube within my sensor range.  I believe that makes this very much my business, wouldn’t you say?”
“No,” said Q, “I wouldn’t say that at all.  Besides, I believe you have more important things to worry about than my… love life.”  Q made a face and muttered to himself, “There is that word again.  Despite everything, I still don’t understand it.”
“What do you mean I have more important things to worry about?” said Picard.
Q looked up at the Captain again.  “Why, how you plan to keep me from being assimilated by the Borg, of course.”
Picard frowned.  “How we plan to keep you from being...?  What?”
Q rolled his eyes and sighed again.  “Jean-Luc, I’ll be straight with you.  Existing as a Borg drone for a few decades or so wouldn’t matter to me a bit.  It would be a novel experience for me, among many other novel experiences.  Eventually the Continuum would figure that I’ve been ‘punished’ enough and would remove me from the Collective.  In the meantime, however, I cannot in good conscience inflict such a horror upon you and your species, or the rest of the galaxy, for that matter.”
“What are you blathering about, Q?” said Picard, in exasperation.
“Think, Picard!” said Q, poking himself in the side of the head with an index finger.  “Think!  When they turned you into that abomination known as Locutus, what happened?  Even with your meager human knowledge, the Borg were able to use that knowledge to annihilate thirty-nine Starfleet vessels, without taking a single scratch themselves.  Now, pause for just a very brief moment and think about this.  What would the Borg be capable of with the knowledge of a Q?  Even locked in this feeble human brain, the knowledge is still there.”
Picard blanched at the concept.  He stared at Q for a long while, and then said, “Q, I see your point.  However, with that said, in order to get at you in the first place, the Borg would have to disable the Enterprise, and even without your added incentive, I have no intention of allowing that to happen.  I’ll destroy the ship and you with her before I let that happen.”
Q had turned his back on Picard and was watching the view screen, which was still showing what was going on in Canterlot.  Q, in a voice that was suddenly filled with excitement for some reason, said, “Picard, it may not need to come to that!”
“What do you mean?” asked Picard, but Q wasn’t listening.  Instead, the former-omnipotent-entity-turned-human was staring intently at his pony self while the burgundy pony was currently deep in conversation with Pinkie Pie.
“Yes!  Why didn’t I think of that?!” said Q.  “Oh wait, I did think of it!  Way to go, Pony-Me!”  He brought his hand up and snapped his fingers.  After a second or two, in which nothing happened, he snapped them again.  Then, after another second or so, he turned to Picard and sighed.  “Ugh.  Jean-Luc, I’m going to need you to beam me down to the planet immediately.”
“And why should I allow that?” asked the Captain, crossing his arms.
“Simply put,” said Q, “my pony self has come up with a potentially brilliant solution to all of our problems, and I want to be down there to give him all the help I can, even if I am just a mere human now.”