Where Nopony Has Gone Before

by Kane Magus


The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 8 – The Calm Before the Storm

“Are you truly Discord?” asked Celestia of the burgundy pony standing before her.  She walked in a slow circle around him, studying him, and then looked over at the statue which was still lying on the floor in front of her throne.
Pony-Q nodded.  “I am.  However, as I said, that was only a guise that I took during my previous time on this world.”  He glanced up at the “screen” left behind by the female Q.  “And now, since we seem to have some time, I suppose I can explain some things to you.”
“Please do,” said Celestia.  “I am all ears.”  She, Luna, the Bearers of Harmony and their wards, and the human were all gathered around them.  “And you can also explain whatever it was you were trying to say before your… friend showed up.”
Pony-Q looked up at Celestia and said, “There are some things that I will say only to you and you alone in privacy.”  He glanced around at his audience.  “But I can lay out the bare facts right now.  I am called Q, a member of the Q Continuum.  Well, former member, at this point in time, I suppose I should say.  Several million years ago, in my relative youth, I happened across this world.  Since there were no sapient creatures on the planet at the time, I fashioned for myself a body made up from parts of various creatures that could be found here.”  He gestured toward the statue.  “That body right there, in other words.  And for eons I watched this world grow.  Soon, in my reckoning of time anyway, ponies became one of the dominant forces on the planet.  As such, I decided to start interacting with you.”  He smiled wistfully at Celestia.  “I’m sure you know the rest of that story.”
“She may,” said Riker, “but I don’t.  Q, you’re claiming that you lived on this world for millions of years?  We can hardly tolerate you for mere days at a time.  I have to say that I feel sorry for you ponies if you had to put up with him for that long.”
“No, it wasn’t a pleasant time, true enough,” said Luna darkly.
Twilight, being the only one among her friends to have built up the nerve to speak at all so far, given the circumstances and the presence of both Celestia and Luna, said, “Well, I’d be lying if I claimed that I wasn’t interested in hearing this story.  All that we knew until now is that Discord was an old enemy of yours and that you had banished him to stone at some point in the past using the Elements of Harmony.  But… what is this about you loving Discord?  That… that can’t possibly be true… can it, Princess?”
Celestia had a pained look in her eyes.  “Someday, Twilight Sparkle, I may indeed tell you the whole story.  But that day will not be today.  Suffice it to say that things were… a bit more complicated than I initially led you to believe.  With that said, however,” she said, turning back to face Pony-Q, “your imprisonment, both times, was entirely justified.  You might have been charming and gentle at first, but by the end you were nothing but a disgusting, despicable, evil creature.  Chaos incarnate.”
All of them, especially Riker, expected Pony-Q to take umbrage at this.  Instead, he merely hung his head.  “I don’t disagree with that, at all,” he said.  “And believe me, if I had everything to do over again, I would change how I behaved.  In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret.  The only reason you captured me this last time, or at least my body there anyway, is because I was feeling guilty and allowed it to happen.”  Despite his conciliatory feelings at the moment, Pony-Q still smirked at the expressions that appeared on the faces of Twilight and her friends as he said this.  “What?  Did you honestly believe that even your Elements of Harmony, legitimately powerful though they are, I’ll admit, could actually hold a candle to the power of a Q?  Sorry, but even when Celestia and Luna used them on me several thousand years ago, the only reason they were successful then is because the Continuum itself stepped in and blocked my own powers.”  He looked up at Celestia and Luna, whose expressions now mirrored those of the Bearers.  “But Celestia, I…”  He swept his gaze around all of the other eyes that were on him and then shook his head violently.  “Bah, I don’t care if I do say this in front of everypony.  Celestia, I never stopped caring for you.  Not once.  Even at the height of my villainy, and there is indeed no better word to describe my behavior than that, there was always a small part of me that was being flayed alive by what I was doing to you in my madness.  And surely you recall what happened in the immediate aftermath of the original incident with Night Mare Moon, even if you haven’t discussed that with anypony else.”  Luna looked at Celestia with surprise at this, but the Sun Princess didn’t meet her sister’s eyes.
The long, awkward silence that followed this statement was finally broken when Celestia cleared her throat and averted her eyes from Pony-Q’s own.  “Be that as it may,” she said, “I still don’t know if I can trust you, Discord.  Or… should I call you Q?”
“Whichever you prefer,” said Pony-Q, shrugging.  “Either is fine by me.”
“I’ll call you Q, then.  The other name brings up far too many unpleasant memories,” said Celestia.
“But… also some pleasant ones as well?” said Pony-Q, hopefully.
“Discord… Q… whoever you are,” said Celestia.  “Please don’t.  Not now.  Just… just tell me why you have come back again, after all this time.  Is it safe to assume that you are the reason why there are humans here?”  She glanced at Riker, with whom she had exchanged the briefest of introductions only a few minutes ago.
“Yes,” said the burgundy pony, “they’re here because of me.  As for what I was going to tell you before that… witch stuck her nose in my business, however… it doesn’t matter any longer.  At least, it doesn’t while the Borg are here, anyway.”
“So who or what are these… Borg?” asked Luna.
Pony-Q turned to Riker and said, “You want to take this one, or shall I?”
Twilight cleared her throat.  “Actually, I might be able to answer that, at least in part.  I was reading about it in the library up on their ship.  From what I understand, the Borg are a race that is part machine and part biological creature.”
“Ooh, like Mr. Data?” asked Pinkie Pie.
Twilight shook her head.  “No, they’re not like Mr. Data.  He is an android, a full machine created in the likeness of humans.  The Borg, on the other hand, are made up of creatures that began their lives as fully biological creatures, at least until the Borg… um, what is the word, Mr. Riker?”  She glanced up at him, managing to keep her sudden (and, to her, still infuriatingly inexplicable) blushing to a minimum for the time being.
“Assimilate,” said Riker ominously.  “You see, the Borg care about one thing and one thing only.  They strive for perfection.  As such, they roam the galaxy, looking for other species and their worlds.  When they find them, they forcibly take their technology and incorporate it into their own.  In the process, they also abduct members of that species.  These unfortunate souls become what we call Borg drones.  They are stripped of all of their individuality.  Everything that makes them unique is robbed from them, and they become part of the chorus of the unified mind that is the Borg Collective.”
“That’s sounds terrible,” said Rainbow Dash, shuddering unconsciously.  “I can’t even begin to imagine what that would be like.”
“Let’s hope that you never find out,” said Riker.  “While I’ve never seen non-humanoid Borg drones personally… well, I don’t want to alarm you unnecessarily, but if and when the Borg learn about the abilities that the ponies on this world possess, I fear that they will stop at nothing to try to gain that for their own use.  And once you’ve been assimilated into the Collective, that’s pretty much it.  The only person known to have been assimilated by the Borg and then successfully recovered is… Captain Picard.”
The long silence that followed this was finally broken by Twilight as she said, “So… what can we do?  How do we stop them?”
“You don’t,” said Pony-Q, in a matter-of-fact manner.  “Oh, sure, you can try to resist them for a time, but they will win in the end.  Resistance, as the Borg themselves say, is futile.  The only reason the humans were able to defeat them when they invaded Federation space, after a single Borg ship had wiped out almost forty of their starships, was through sheer, blind, stupid luck.  I seriously doubt such circumstances will present themselves this time.  Oh, and before you even get the idea into your head, let me just say right now that you’re not going to be able to friendship your way out of this predicament.  Your Elements of Harmony might be able to deal with some of them, but you will be overwhelmed.  Celestia and Luna might be able to take out several of them each before the inevitable occurred, as well.  And this, of course, assumes that the Borg don’t immediately adapt to your magic somehow.  I don’t know if it’s possible for them to do so, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.  When they come, they will come in numbers.  If I still had my powers, of course, none of this… would… even be… an… issue…”  Pony-Q had just happened to be looking in Pinkie Pie’s general direction as he was saying this, but then his eyes suddenly focused in on the pink earth pony directly.
Pinkie Pie glanced back and forth at her friends and said, “What?  Why is he staring at me?  Is there something stuck in my teeth?”
Pony-Q walked over to her and began tilting his head back and forth, as though studying her intensely.  “Yes… it just might work,” he muttered to himself.  “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”  He walked in a slow circle around her in much the same way that Celestia had circled him earlier.
“What are you talking about?” asked Twilight.  “Why the sudden interest in Pinkie Pie?”
Without turning his head to face her, Pony-Q said, “Twilight Sparkle, you once wanted to know how her Pinkie Sense worked, right?  Well, give me a bit of time, and I might very well be able to answer that question for you.  Come on, Pinkie Pie, let’s you and me go for a little walk.  We need to have a very important little chat.”
Pinkie was a bit hesitant.  “Can’t you say whatever you want to say in front of everypony?  You’re… you’re not going to declare your love for me next, are you?”
Pony-Q gave her a lopsided grin.  “Pinkie Pie, my dear, if what I’m thinking actually pans out, I just might.  But there are some things I need to talk to you about that I’m not sure I, or you, want anypony else to hear about, at least for now.  I don’t want to get anypony’s hopes up or unnecessarily alarm them until I know for sure that I’m right about this.  Please, just humor me for a little while, if nothing else.”
“Hold on just a dang minute,” said Applejack.  “Why should we trust ya alone with one of our friends, especially now that we know yer Discord?”
Pony-Q sighed.  “First of all, I mean Pinkie Pie no harm whatsoever.  Second of all, even if I did, I currently have no powers aside from those granted me by this feeble earth pony body.  I don’t even have the innate strength that all other earth ponies possess.  I’ll be frank,” he said, glancing briefly at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had, along with Spike, simply been watching and listening, completely overwhelmed by what all had been going on since they’d beamed down, “even one of you little fillies could probably kick my rump if it came to some sort of physical altercation.  Ugh, seriously, I wish now that I had given myself an alicorn body.  Anyway, third, and most importantly, if I’m right about this… well… like I said, I don’t want to get anypony’s hopes up prematurely.  But I really do need to talk with Pinkie Pie in private about this.  You’ll all just have to trust me, as difficult as I know that may be.”
 “Well… okay,” said Pinkie.  “How about we go to the statue garden?  Now that that big ugly statue of Discord isn’t out there anymore, it’s a much nicer place to be!”  She looked at Pony-Q and, at the expression on his face, said, “Oops, sorry.”
Pony-Q looked down at the statue.  “You know, now that I look at it myself, that thing was kind of an eyesore, wasn’t it?  Powerless though it may be at the moment, I think my pony form here is much more pleasing to the eye, at least.  What do you think, Celestia?”  He turned and looked up at the Sun Princess, who just frowned slightly and rolled her eyes in response.  Pony-Q shrugged and started walking toward the outside exit, with Pinkie Pie at his side.
At their departure, Celestia turned to Riker.  “So, Commander Riker, I believe that you, my sister, and I have quite a bit more to discuss concerning this situation.  I would also like to speak with your Captain as well, at his earliest convenience.”
Riker nodded.  “That can easily be arranged.  If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll see if I can contact the ship.  I’m sure you’ll agree that speaking directly through this ‘window’ created by the Q is not ideal.”  He glanced up at the aperture, which was now moving to follow Pony-Q outside, and then stepped away from the group and tapped his combadge.  After a moment, he turned back to Celestia and nodded.
Facing the other ponies, Celestia said, “My little ponies, while you are here, please make yourselves at home.  For the time being, my sister and I have a lot to deal with, given the circumstances, but if you have any problems, don’t hesitate to let us know.”  With that, Celestia and Luna moved over to where Riker was standing.
Twilight Sparkle found her gaze lingering on the human, her cheeks starting to burn once again.  This time, however, she quickly shook her head in frustration and tore her gaze away.  She’d been trying for the past two days to identify what these feelings were or what was happening to her and it was increasingly bothering her.  Finally deciding that she just couldn’t continue to try to deal with it by herself, she turned to her friends.  “Guys,” she said hesitantly.  “Um, I realize this may not be the best time for this, but I… I have a… little problem, and I need somepony to talk to.”
Rarity smiled and said, “I was wondering how long it would be before you finally broached this subject with us.”
Twilight tilted her head.  “What do you mean?  You don’t even know what I’m going to ask about.”
“Oh, but I think I do, Twilight dear,” said Rarity.  “But don’t let me rush you.  I know that this is a… delicate matter for you.”
Twilight looked around at all of her friends.  They were looking back at her intently, waiting for her to speak again.  She kind of felt like a bug under a microscope and suddenly wondered if bringing this up might not have been such a good idea after all.  She glanced back at Riker, felt the heat flush her face again, and said, “Okay, but not right here.  Let’s… put a bit of distance between us and him… them.  I meant them.  Us and them.”  She started to walk away, with the others following her.  After they’d moved safely out of earshot of Riker and the princesses, she turned to her friends again.  “Girls, I… think that Q may have done something to me.”
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy looked concerned, but Rarity simply chuckled slightly.  The Crusaders and Spike merely watched in confusion.
“What makes you say that, sugar cube?” asked Applejack with concern.
“Well,” said the purple unicorn.  “There’s something wrong with me.  I don’t know what.  But it only happens when… when I’m around Mr. Riker.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  It happens whenever I think about him as well, even if he’s not around.”
“What is it that happens?” asked Dash.  “You’re not sick are you?”
Twilight shook her head in frustration.  “I don’t know, honestly.  It’s just that whenever I look at him, I feel kind of faint.  My heart starts beating faster, all the blood rushes to my face, and I lose concentration.  I… I can’t describe it any better than that.  It’s very frustrating.”
Applejack, Dash, and Fluttershy looked at each other, realization setting in.
“Is it a bad feeling, darling?” asked Rarity, although she already knew the answer.
“Well, that’s just it,” said Twilight.  “I can’t say that it feels bad at all.  In fact… it feels kind of… wonderful, really.  It’s… well… it’s actually rather embarrassing how good it makes me feel.  But… I’ve never felt anything like this before, and it’s more than a little frightening as well.  What can it possibly be?  Do you think Q put some kind of curse on me or something, before he lost his powers?  We already know that he tampered with our minds in other ways to block our memories of Discord, after all.”
Rarity shook her head.  “I’m going to tell you what I think you are experiencing.  I’ve been watching you since the humans first arrived, and I’m pretty sure I’m right.  Just please don’t take this the wrong way or become offended by what I’m about to say.”
“Well, what is it?” said Twilight, when Rarity paused as if considering how exactly she wanted to say whatever it was she was about to say.  “If you know something, please don’t leave me in the dark!”
“All right, I’ll just give it to you straight.  I… believe you have… um… a bit of a crush on the good Commander, dear,” said Rarity.  “All the signs are there.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock.  “A… a crush?  You mean, like… you think I… like Mr. Riker?  Like, like like him?  Like… in the way you like a special somepony?  Like that?
“Well, I have to say, that is sorta how yer, uh, symptoms sound to me,” said Applejack.  “I think Rarity’s right, Twi.”
Twilight shook her head furiously.  “No, that… that can’t be it!  He’s a… and I’m a… ewww.  You can’t possibly think that I… I mean… that doesn’t even make sense!
“Love sometimes doesn’t make sense,” said Fluttershy softly.
I-it’s not love!!!” Twilight shouted, and then cringed when other nearby ponies looked in her direction.  She quickly glanced over at Riker and was relieved that he hadn’t heard her outburst.  Turning back to her friends, she said, “I’m really sorry, Fluttershy.  I didn’t mean to shout at you.  But, it… can’t be love… can it?”
“You have been kinda actin’ like how Miss Cheerilee and Big Macintosh acted when we mixed up that Love Poison,” said Apple Bloom.  “Well, okay, maybe not quite that over-the-top, but still…”
“Yeah, even we’ve noticed that much,” said Scootaloo.  Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement with her friends.
“But…” said Twilight.  “I… How…? Why…?”  She stumbled over to the nearest chair and plopped down in it.  “I… I have a crush.  On a human.  That’s just so… so… weird.”  She sounded like it was the end of the world.  “Do you think I’m weird?”
Spike said, “What’s so weird about that?  It’s not any different than me and-” He suddenly clapped his hands over his mouth, blushing furiously and looking everywhere but at Rarity.  He knew that the gorgeous white unicorn already knew how he felt, ever since the incident where he had grown huge and rampaged through the town, and he knew that Pinkie and Twilight already knew because he’d flat out told them, and he knew that Photo Finish, of all ponies, knew because Twilight had blurted it out later after he’d told her, even though she’d promised to keep it secret.  But he was certain that none of the other ponies knew about his crush on Rarity, and he intended to keep it that way.  He failed to notice the subtle smirks that Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared, or the warm smile that Fluttershy was bestowing upon him, or even the giggles of the CMC.
Rarity decided to spare Spike any further embarrassment.  Instead, she walked over next to Twilight and patted her softly on the back while the purple unicorn sat slumped over on the chair.  “Come on, darling, it’s not so bad.”  She glanced over at Riker, who was still conferring with Celestia and Luna and, presumably, Captain Picard as well.  “I must admit, I do find him quite the charmer myself.  It’s perfectly understandable that one might develop feelings for him like you have.”
“Yes, he… is rather handsome… for a human,” said Fluttershy.  She blushed more than a little bit herself at this admission.
“It’s gotta be the beard,” said Applejack, also looking at the human in an appraising manner.  “What do ya think, Dash?”
“Meh, his beard isn’t nearly as cool as Worf’s,” said Rainbow Dash with a shrug.  When the others turned to look at her, she shook her head and waved a hoof.  “Before you even start, no, I do not have a crush on Worf.  He’s way cool and all, but… no.  Just… no.”  She shook her head again and rolled her eyes.  “I have to admit though…  Mr. Riker is rather easy on the eyes.  I can see why you’d fall for him, Twilight.”
Twilight raised her head out of her hooves and turned to her friends again.  “But what do I do about this?  What can I do about it?”
“That depends, darling,” said Rarity.  “What do you want to do about it?”
“I… I don’t know,” said the purple unicorn.  “I have no idea how to handle something like this.  It’s completely outside of my area of experience.  I mean, sure, I’ve read the occasional romance novel or two.  Who hasn’t?  But… I never expected anything like that to ever happen to me, especially not with a human.  I am completely unprepared to deal with this, so I really need your advice, you guys.”
“Well… do you want to tell him how you feel?” asked Fluttershy.
“Or do ya want one of us to?” asked Applejack.
Twilight’s only audible response to this was a slight squeak, accompanied by a vehement shaking of her head.
Rarity sighed and said, “Twilight, dear, I hate to break it to you, but I’m fairly sure that he’s already well aware of how you feel.  In fact, I know that Counselor Troi knows how you feel, and she has most likely let him know about it, even if he hadn’t already figured it out on his own.”
Twilight closed her eyes and slumped back in the chair, letting her head rest against the back of it.  She brought a front hoof up to one of her temples and started massaging it.  “Oh no, you’re right.  She’s a Betazoid, and they can read minds.  Of course she already knows.  Oh dear…”
“Technically,” said Fluttershy, “Deanna, er I mean Miss Troi, can only read emotions, not full thoughts, given that she’s only half-Betazoid.  She mentioned that to us at the party while you were talking to Mr. Riker.”
Twilight opened one eye and fixed it on the yellow pegasus pony.  “That’s still just as bad,” she said.  “Argh.  I’ve been… I’ve been mooning over him the entire time, haven’t I?  I’m such a foal.  It’s just… it’s just that he’s been so very nice to me… us… to us, that I…  I… Oh… I feel so ashamed.”  She completely covered her face with her front hooves, trying to hide the fact that it was almost entirely red at the moment.
“Twilight Sparkle,” said Rarity firmly, “there is absolutely nothing for you to feel ashamed about.”
“That’s right, sugar cube,” said Applejack.  “Ya can’t help who ya fall in love with, now can ya?  And there ain’t a thing wrong with that.”
Twilight slowly lowered her hooves but kept her eyes closed.  “I… I suppose.  It’s just… well, like I said, I’ve never felt like this before with anypony else.  I mean, I’ve occasionally daydreamed about what it might be like, in the abstract, but the reality of it all is just… it’s just so… so confusing.  Not to mention terrifying.”  She opened her eyes and sat up straight.  “I wonder…”  She looked over at Riker and the others again.  This time, however, her eyes were upon Celestia, rather than Riker.  “I wonder if this is how it was with the Princess and Discord.”  The other ponies shared somewhat uncomfortable looks with each other as Twilight went on.  “You guys heard the same thing I did.  That female Q said that the Princess wouldn’t have been able to break out of the spell that had been put over all of us if she didn’t… didn’t still have… feelings for Discord.  It boggles my mind to think that they…”  She shook her head.
“Uh, so are you comparing Mr. Riker to Discord?” said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight looked at Dash sharply.  “Of course I’m not!  Discord was horrible!  Mr. Riker is… is…” She trailed off and looked down, embarrassed all over again.  She shook her head again and said, “But yeah, if this is how the Princess felt about Discord, and still feels even now to some extent, well… I guess we can’t say that even he is all bad, can we?  Wow… I… never thought I’d be talking about Discord like this, you know?”
“Speaking of Discord,” said Spike, “He and Pinkie Pie have been out there for a while now.  I wonder what they could possibly be talking about.”


“So what do you want to talk to me about?” asked Pinkie Pie, as she and Pony-Q aimlessly meandered their way around the statue gallery.
“Pinkie Pie,” said Pony-Q.  “I am going to ask you a few questions.  It’s okay if you can’t answer them, but I want you to take me seriously and at least try to answer them, please.”
“Okie dokie lokie,” said Pinkie cheerfully.  “I’ll do my best!”
Pony-Q nodded.  “Thank you.  This is very important.  Okay, first of all… your Pinkie Sense.  You claim that you have no direct control over it, correct?”
Pinkie nodded.  “That’s right.  It just kind of comes to me at random.”
“Hmm,” said Pony-Q and then nodded.  “What would you say if I told you that I could help you gain direct control over it?”
Pinkie Pie slowed her pace a bit as she thought about this.  “I would probably say that you’re crazy.  But then again, I’ve seen what you can do as Q, and I’ve seen what you were able to do as Discord as well, so… who knows?  Maybe you could.  By the way,” she said, looking back and forth as she spoke, as if to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on them, “I just want to tell you that despite all the other mean things you did as Discord, I was a huge fan of your cotton candy chocolate milk rain clouds.”
Pony-Q grinned.  “Yeah, those are pretty great, aren’t they?  Well, what would you say if I told you that I could teach you how to make them yourself?”
Pinkie’s eyes widened at this.  “Really?  You can do that?  But… I thought you said you didn’t have your powers anymore.  Wait…”  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “You aren’t trying to trick me into joining the Q the way you did Mr. Riker, are you?”
“As you just said, I don’t have my powers any more,” said Pony-Q.  “And even if I did, I wouldn’t need to do that.  Pinkie Pie, I want you to listen to what I am about to say very, very carefully.  You already have the power.  Not that of the Q specifically, of course, but you possess a power very similar.”
Pinkie Pie’s mouth hung open at this.  “Okay, now I know you’re crazy.  Or maybe you’re just trying to play some kind of prank on me.  Is this the part where you yell ‘You just got Punk’d!’ or ‘Smile, you’re on Candid Camera!’ or something?”  She started looking around again to see if she could find any hidden cameras.
“Pinkie Pie, this isn’t a joke or a prank,” said Pony-Q.  “It’s much, much better than that.  I am telling you that you, right now, already have a power nearly on par with that of a member of the Q Continuum, and you’ve had it your whole life.  All you’ve lacked is awareness of it and mastery over it.  I believe that I can help you with both of those things, even despite lacking powers of my own at the moment.”
The pink earth pony stopped and stared at the formerly omnipotent entity.  “You’re really serious, aren’t you?” she said.  “You really do think I have these powers.”
Pony-Q nodded.  “Hear me out.  Think back to some of the things that have happened to you in the past.  For instance, think back to your birthday last year.”
Pinkie frowned.  “I… I’d rather not, actually.  I was… kind of a big dumdum that day, and… well… it would be better if I don’t dwell on that too much.”
“I apologize,” said Pony-Q.  “I didn’t mean to dredge up bad memories, but I only want you to focus on a single part of that day.  Or, you know what, forget that.  There’s another day when the exact same thing happened.  Remember the day when Rainbow Dash’s friend Gilda came to visit?”
Pinkie narrowed her eyes.  “And that’s another day I’d rather not remember.  I just wanted Gilda to stop being such a grumpy grump and be friends with all of us, but it blew up in my face.  I feel bad that Dashie lost a friend that day, to be honest.  I hate the thought of anypony losing friends like that, even if they’re grumps like Gilda.”
Pony-Q sighed.  “Again, I apologize.  But here’s what I’m getting at.  At a point on each of those days, for whatever reasons, Rainbow Dash was trying her absolute very best to get away from you, right?  And yet, you were able to keep up with her.”
“Uh huh,” said Pinkie with a nod.  “What’s your point?”
The formerly omnipotent entity raised an eyebrow.  “And that doesn’t seem a bit strange to you?”
“Why should it?” asked Pinkie, shrugging her shoulders.
“Rainbow Dash,” said Pony-Q, “is the fastest pony in the world, right?”
“Yep,” said Pinkie with a nod.  “Even without the sonic rainboom to help her, she’s still the fastest pony ever.  I bet she could even whup the Wonderbolts in a race.”
Pony-Q clicked his tongue and said, “And yet, despite all that, you, a simple earth pony, were able to chase her and keep up with her.  Not only that, but you were able to actually be at the places she fled to before she even got there herself, some of which, I might add, were places that only a pegasus could easily reach.  Again, this doesn’t seem unusual to you at all?”
Pinkie tilted her head to the side.  “Well, when you put it like that… it kind of does seem a bit weird.”
“Okay, how about in the Everfree Forest?” asked Pony-Q.  “You laughed at those tree monsters and they disappeared, just like that.”
“That’s… not weird at all.  Is it?” asked Pinkie.  “Besides, I’m not the only one who did that.  All of my friends were able to do that.”
“Only because you convinced them of it first,” said Pony-Q.  “You were the one who decided that laughing at those things would be what it took to defeat them, and it worked.  That’s not enough to convince you?  Then here’s another example.  Remember the time when Fluttershy became a fashion model?  Remember how Twilight Sparkle knew that Fluttershy hated it and that Rarity was jealous of it, but neither of them wanted to tell the other and both made Twilight promise not to tell as well?  Remember how, every time she was just about to break her promises, you would pop up out of nowhere and stop her?  Like from within a bowl of sponges, or out of an apple cart?  That last time, when Twilight blurted out Spike’s secret at the end, you appeared to her from within a mirror.  Pinkie Pie, you can’t look me in the eye and tell me that appearing to another pony from the inside of a mirror is something that normal ponies can do.”
Pinkie Pie stared at Pony-Q with wide eyes.  “I… I don’t know.  I never really think about that sort of thing.  I just do it.  I… okay, you’re starting to really make me sound like some kind of freak here, and I-”
“One more example,” Pony-Q interrupted her, trying to drive his point home.  “It’s a fairly minor one, but still an example.  I’m just going to say it right out.  Pinkie Pie, the amount of sweets that you eat on a daily basis would straight up kill any other pony.  Stone dead.  That is not an exaggeration in the slightest.  Derpy’s obsession with muffins, or Soarin’ and his taste for pie, or even Princess Celestia’s penchant for cake… none of them hold the slightest candle to you.  For instance, think back to that ridiculously huge cake-éclair-donut-mousse monstrosity that you guys put together from the leftovers of the entries to the National Dessert Competition.  Remember that?  Remember how you inhaled that entire gargantuan thing in a single bite?”
“But… I just have a sweet tooth, that’s all,” said Pinkie, a bit defensively.
“You even ate the blue ribbon,” said Pony-Q drily.
Pinkie shook her head. “I don’t eat all that much more than other ponies.”
Pony-Q just looked at her, saying nothing.
 “Okay,” admitted Pinkie, “maybe I do.  But… that doesn’t mean I’m some sort of freakish reality warper like you are, er… were, does it?”
“And don’t even get me started on that whole ‘breaking the fourth wall’ thing, because quite frankly that terrifies even me,” said Pony-Q.
“What do you mean?” said Pinkie Pie, in utter confusion.  “I have no clue what you’re talking about with that one.”  She paused and then looked around at seemingly nothing at all.  “Oh… wait… hold on, are you talking about all of my friends there on the other side of the-”
“Stop!” said Pony-Q.  “STOP!  Don’t even go there.  Let’s just say that, yes, I am indeed referring to your friends on the… other side… and leave it at that.”
“They’re watching us right now, you know,” said Pinkie Pie.  Again, she turned her head around and looked at seemingly empty space.  She grinned and winked.
“Yes.  I know,” said Pony-Q, glancing in the same direction that Pinkie was looking and then quickly averting his eyes.  He let out a shuddery sigh.  “I’m sorry, but I just find it very creepy.  Be very thankful that you haven’t seen some of the things that I have seen.  But, yeah, like everything else, it’s yet another example of your powers.”
Suddenly, a few feet away, they heard the tell-tale tinkling sound of transporter beams.  A few seconds later, Human-Q was standing next to them.  “I didn’t miss anything did I?  I saw you talking to Pinkie Pie on the view screen and I’m here to help.  This, by the way, is an absolutely brilliant idea, if I do say so myself.  Have you mentioned the fourth wall yet?”
“Yep, just did,” said Pony-Q.  “But she doesn’t seem to believe me when I tell her that she really does have powers like mine.  Er… ours.”
“This is very weird,” said Pinkie Pie.  “You guys have the exact same voice.  And since I now also remember it as the voice of Discord, it’s even weirder.”
“You’ll get used to it,” the two Qs said simultaneously.  They looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, that was a little bit weird, yeah,” said Human-Q.
Pony-Q turned back to Pinkie Pie.  “Anyway, surely you’ve experienced other little things that clued you in to the fact that you’re simply not like other ponies, right?”
Pinkie shook her head in frustration.  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, really.  It’s just that… well… I don’t want my friends to think of me as some kind of weirdo.  No offense, but I don’t want them to think about me the same way everypony seems to think about you.  Especially Discord you.  The humans seem to think that you’re nothing but a nuisance as well.”
“Pinkie Pie,” said Human-Q.  “There’s nothing wrong with being different, or having abilities that others don’t have.  They dislike me because, well… I’ll be frank.  Being a Q is all I know.  Having powers like mine, when I have them anyway, is just my nature.  I… sometimes have trouble relating to mortal creatures because of it, and they to me.  It’s not unlike how you would deal with something like an amoeba or whatever.  Sure, you can study it easily enough, but it’s very hard to relate to it, you get me?  You, on the other hand, have lived your whole life as an earth pony.  And, unlike when Riker was given the power of the Q, you’ve already had all of these powers your whole life as well, even if you haven’t been able to directly control them.”
“Still,” said Pinkie, “my friends don’t know that.  If I were to suddenly start doing crazy things like you, they’d get really annoyed with me.  Even now, behind my back they’ll say ‘Oh, that’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.’  They think I don’t hear them say it, but I do.  I don’t want them to be even more irritated by me, or worse, scared of me.  I don’t want to lose my friends!”  She had the beginnings of tears in her eyes as she spoke.  “I… these powers you say I have.  Deep down, I know you’re telling the truth, and that scares me.  I don’t want to be different from anypony else, not anymore than I already am.”
Human-Q and Pony-Q shared a look, and then Human-Q said, “Okay then, let’s talk about something else for the moment.  Surely you remember the time when the so-called ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie came to Ponyville, right?”
Pinkie Pie furrowed her brow.  “Sure I do.  I was there for the show when that big meanie pants Trixie made fun of my friends.  But I don’t see what that has to do with what we’re talking about here, though.”
“Consider this,” said Pony-Q.  “Twilight Sparkle spent that whole day worrying about how you guys would be angry at her for having more magic than anypony else, and that you’d think she was nothing but a big show-off like Trixie.  She was afraid to even admit she had it, let alone use it, for fear that she’d lose her friends.”
“But… but that’s just crazy talk,” said Pinkie indignantly.  “We’d never hate Twilight for her magic.  That’s part of who she is, after all.  It’s her special talent.  And she saved the whole town from the Ursa Minor later that night.  I saw the whole thing!  It was amazing!  We were so proud of her!”
“Right you are,” said Human-Q.  “That’s exactly how it ended up with Twilight when she used her magic to return the Ursa Minor to its cave.  Everypony, with the exception of Trixie, was happy about the whole thing.  Now… just imagine how they’ll feel if you were to use your own powers to save the entire planet from the Borg.”
Pinkie pondered for a bit and then shook her head.  “But… I’m different from Twilight.  She has control of her powers.  I don’t.  I can’t even control my Pinkie Sense.  And I have no idea how I’m able to keep up with Rainbow Dash.  I just… do.  And the trees in Everfree… I was just remembering what my Granny Pie used to tell me as a filly.  And the mirror thing… I… can’t explain that one at all.  As for the sweets… I just really, really like sweets.  I never thought there was anything weird about that.  Even if I really do have these powers that you say I do, I don’t have a single clue how to use them.”
“And that’s where I come in,” said Pony-Q.  “Er, where we come in.”  He glanced up at his human self, who grinned back down at him.
“Yeah, being in two entirely separate and disconnected bodies is taking a bit to get used to,” said Human-Q.  “But never mind that.  It may actually come in handy for this.  So, Pinkie, what do you say?  Will you let us teach you how to use your powers?”
Pinkie nodded slowly.  “If… if you really think you can, then…” She grinned.  “Okie dokie lokie.  I’m game!  When do we start?”
Human-Q looked up at the “window” that had followed them out to the courtyard.  It was currently showing the tops of Picard’s and Worf’s heads, as the captain was looking in on the status of the Borg ship once again.  It also gave them an excellent view of the tactical display as well.  “It looks like the Borg are still sitting tight for the moment, which is what I expected.  If I know the Borg, and assuming this slab of meat called a brain is not failing me entirely, I calculate that it will still take them several more hours to finish their self-diagnostic, before they start looking outward again, and after that, unless we just get really unlucky, it still should take them a bit more time to notice us here, so… I think we can at least wait until morning to start.  It’s rather dark out here right now, after all.  And I’ll be honest, I’m starting to feel the effects of that terrifying thing called ‘sleep’ overcoming me.”
Pony-Q yawned mightily.  “Huh, same here.  I really hope ponies don’t sleep any differently than humans do.  It’s bad enough remembering how it was as a human.  So, are you going back up to the Enterprise now?”
Human-Q shook his head.  “The only experience I have with human beds is with the one that was in the brig.  I think I’d rather try my luck with pony beds… or perhaps a gravel pit.  Let’s go see if we can convince Celestia to lend us a room here at the palace.”
“Sounds good,” said Pony-Q.  He turned back to Pinkie Pie and said, “Okay, so first thing in the morning, we’ll get started in teaching you how to use your powers.”