//------------------------------// // A Mystery Just Waiting to be Solved! // Story: The DisQord Continuum // by ZoidbergIsBestPony //------------------------------// A Mystery Just Waiting to be Solved! "Captain's Log, Stardate 44161.3: The Enterprise has been ordered to the Horsehead Nebula to investigate a rather unusual system. Observation probes dispatched to the area have been recording events that appear to defy many of the laws of physics as we currently understand them. One of this system's unique features consists of a planet whose natural satellites in orbit appear to be a miniature sun facing opposite to a single moon. They appear to be in geosynchronous orbit, yet every half-cycle, an unidentified object launches from the surface, reverses the location of the sun, while a second object appears to control the moon in a similar fashion. Sensors have detected a Class M environment capable of supporting life. Signs of intelligent life on the surface have been discovered as well. These life forms appear to be a pre-warp society of quadrupeds. In this regard, I have reminded the crew of the Prime Directive, and while we are investigating, we must take every precaution to prevent the contamination of their culture. Especially for non-humanoids, any accidental first-contact could result in disastrous consequences. Commander Riker has been tasked with putting together an away team to visit the surface discreetly and investigate some of these phenomena. I have granted the use of low power cloaking devices for individual and ground site protections." * * * "Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned that friendship is important even for ponies you don't always want to be around. When a friend is sad for a long time and is no longer fun to hang around with, you need to be an even better friend and be there to help them never feel alone until they've fully healed. Sometimes 'Leave me alone!' is actually a cry for help from a friend who feels so lonely, they honestly believe they should be alone. And nothing could be further from the truth. Patience and understanding are needed to maintain a long lasting friendship. On a different note, I received your letter from Spike about the disappearance of Discord's statue. This greatly concerns me. I have not witnessed any strange events that would suggest he has been freed, however I shall hop on the very next train to Canterlot and investigate as soon as I arrive. I've told my friends about this incident, and they've all agreed to join me and help solve this mystery together. (Pinkie Pie has even packed her Sherlock Hooves hat, magnifying glass, and bubble-pipe!) Don't worry your majesty. We'll get to the bottom of this. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle" * * * "Come on ponies! Where going to miss the train!" Twilight called over the noise bellowing from the steam engine. "Hold ger britches there Twi. I'm a comin'," came the voice of Applejack from the end of the platform. Soon everypony was making their way towards Twilight and Spike, whose mind had just left his body and floated over toward Rarity, who was styled in her latest "Canterlot-worthy" ensemble. Today she dawned a more Victorian style dress with blue sapphires and green emeralds. She sported a matching umbrella to keep her out of the sunlight. As Spike's body started to float after where its mind had already departed toward, Twilight quickly used her magic to keep Spike from floating away, giving a little smirk and a roll of her eyes as she did so. Rarity was followed by Pinkie Pie who, as usual, was so hyper that she was jumping and bouncing while humming to herself. Twilight could not quite place the tune, but had long since learned it is best not to ask Pinkie Pie what she is humming. Rainbow Dash was purposefully stalling so she could race to the front at the last second, before the rest of the gang got inside the train. Fluttershy was still issuing orders to her animal friends when the whistle started blowing loudly from the train. "All Aboard!" the conductor shouted. "Fluttershy we need to go now!", Twilight yelled. "Now you make sure not to go near that bear cave again, little birdies," Fluttershy continued. "He's just starting to go to bed for the upcoming winter months, and your singing is keeping him awake." Twilight turned to Spike. “Okay Spike, remember to feed and take care of Fluttershy’s animals for her. Dr. Hooves has agreed to look in on you from time to time, though sometimes his timing can be rather… erratic. Just be good and don’t overwork yourself. You are a baby dragon after all.” The train was starting to pull away from the station. "FLUTTERSHY!!!", Twilight bellowed. "Oh dear, oh dear!" Fluttershy started chasing after the train, but the engine was already picking up steam. She quickly fell behind. She was never able to flap her wings past 2.3 wingpower. "HELP! ...", she cried, "I mean... if you could... if you want to." With a roll of her eyes, Rainbow Dash flew out to meet Fluttershy and give her the extra boost to catch up to the train as it pulled further away from the station. "Thank you Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy sheepishly muttered once she was safely aboard the train. "I... um... needed to... that is..." "It's fine Fluttershy, just save it," Rainbow Dash retorted now moving away from Fluttershy's quiet apologies and over toward Twilight, who was waiting for everypony to gather so she could go over the details of the situation. "Okay ponies. Princess Celestia has requested our help to investigate the disappearance of Discord's statue. So far there have been no reports of chaos in Canterlot or Ponyville, however that does not mean that Discord has not returned. Discord's statue disappeared two nights ago from the palace statue garden. The guards on duty have been questioned, but did not see any trespassers on the grounds. Our job is to look for any signs the guards may have missed and, if necessary, find and stop whoever is behind this, even if it is Discord himself!" At those words, simultaneous expressions of fear from Fluttershy, determination from Applejack, indifference from Rarity, excitement from Rainbow Dash, and laughter from Pinkie Pie appeared on everyponies' faces. "The princess has granted us permission to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, just in case they become necessary during the course of this investigation," Twilight continued. "Our first task when we arrive is to obtain the elements and keep them with us at all times." At that comment, Rarity's ears finally perked up. "Oh how lovely! It will be the perfect companion to my outfit. I will probably attract the eye of every colt in Canterlot!" Rarity's eyes sparkled the same diamond shape as her element. "NO!" Twilight quickly rejected. "We must keep our element on us at all times, but we must also keep them a secret so they do not attract any unnecessary attention. Do I make myself clear?" Rarity's eyes quickly returned to normal as the rest of her face fell into a frown upon hearing this news. "Don't be sad Rarity," Pinkie chirped. "If Discord has returned, it could mean more cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain! And ooh! What if he makes chocolate ice cream snow flakes for the winter? We could have an ice cream snowball fight! Hee hee!" As Pinkie continued to ramble on about which dessert weathers she would like to see, the train rolled on up the mountain pass and into the station at Canterlot. "....And gum drop hail too! Ohh! We're here guys!" she shouted looking out the window. She hopped along the car to the exit and continued right through to the station. The other ponies were just grateful that Pinkie finally stopped talking and followed her out into the square. * * * "Captain, the away team has finished establishing a small base of operations just outside a smaller village," Lieutenant Commander Data began reciting, in his usual matter-of-fact way of speaking. "Intelligence has reported the name of the planet is Equestria and the town, Ponyville. The society appears to be built on three main subspecies; winged, horned, and neither. They are a monarchical society whose ruler appears to be a hybrid of the three subspecies." As Data continued his report, the captain struggled to remain focused on the details. Even as fascinating as encountering a non-humanoid race of quadrupeds was, Data never failed to explain it in the dullest possible way. The captain was very used to this by now, however he still couldn't help sometimes flashing back to his academy days with Professor Kfetch whose lectures were likened to having to listen to warp engine coils for three hours just to hear when the two second variance in the alignment occurred. The Enterprise had been in orbit for seventeen hours now and thus far witnessed a world that seemed to be in perfect balance with the complete chaos of its physical anomalies. It seemed where mother nature should have played the biggest roles, members of the community were fulfilling those duties in her place. For daylight and nighttime, the royal family themselves would rotate the sun and the moon around the planet. The Enterprise could not determine how they were capable of reaching high orbit without a ship of some kind, let alone how they could breathe or reposition the orbiting satellites single-handedly. On the surface, the 'winged ponies' were observed to have direct control of the weather, causing it to rain or snow when needed to water crops or even provide a sunny day to enjoy. The 'regular ponies' appeared to be the food growers and tradesmen. But the most peculiar phenomena observed were the 'single-horned ponies' who are able to levitate and transform objects with no discernible technology to accomplish said tasks. As Captain Picard reviewed this info in his head, he shuddered at the thought of the natives’ ability to manipulate matter at whim with no observable technology. To date, he had only encountered a small handful of beings with similar capabilities; one of which happened to be the Q Continuum. Q would play with the universe like it was his own personal playground and toy with the lives of innocents on mere whim. The captain quickly drove that thought from his mind as he had realized Mr. Data had finished his report. "Thank you Mr. Data," he said, reaching for his communicator badge. "Picard to Riker". "Riker here Captain. Go ahead." "Commander, have you been able to determine if the power of the single-horned members of the species stems from any form of energy source?" Picard had been anxious to see if there had been any developments specifically in that area. "Not yet sir. Geordi has setup several dozen cloaked sensors around the village to try to detect various energy outputs and wavelengths, however they haven't been able to detect anything out of the ordinary. Counselor Troi is assisting to see if there is an emotional connection to the phenomena that might tie it to the beings themselves rather than technology based." Captain Picard was a little disappointed to not hear better news, but that would never show on his face. "Very good Commander. Keep me apprised of any developments. Picard out." Turning to his Security Chief he said, "Mr. Worf, I'll be in my Ready-Room. You have the bridge." "Aye Sir," came the reply as he took his station in the captain's chair. Picard headed off the bridge to the Ready-Room, making a straight line for the replicator. "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." He issued the order to his personal replicator. At once, his favorite tea for relaxing materialized; steam rising from the cup as though it has just been freshly brewed. Taking it back to his desk, he sat down and breathed in its gentle aroma before taking his first and only sip. A voice from behind him whispered in his ear, causing every hair on the back of Picard's neck to stand straight on end. "Good evening Jean-Luc. Always a pleasure to see you again."