The girls raced through Ponyville’s streets as fast as their bipedal forms could carry them, trying their best to move with haste in their foreign bodies. While it was true that many situations had been similar throughout their adventures in Equestria, recalling the Poison Joke among other things. The alteration had nonetheless them a bit thrown for a loop. Discord’s antics never seemed particularly sinister, but this path seemed all the more treacherous. Evil intent may not be present, but Twilight could only wonder; which was worse? To fight against a defined threat, or to struggle against a powerful enemy which holds neither direction nor predictability?
Pinkie belted a remark about Discord not even having the decency to bring back the chocolate milk rain clouds, leaving the others shaking their heads. The Captain of the Enterprise, running alongside the formerly equine ponies asked the girls about their remaining friends. Applejack explained that while Rainbow was an excellent flyer, it was anybody’s guess as to whether or not she’d be able to help Fluttershy in time. “Discord is a dangerous creature, Captain.” Twilight added. “If he really is anything like your Q, then you already know that our resistance very well may be futile.”
The Captain gave a short grunt of a laugh, the cause of which Twilight and the girls did not understand, and which Picard did not bother explaining at such a time. Spike mused about what Picard would be able to do to help. He didn’t intend to sound as abrupt as he had, but Picard understood the general message. “To be honest, my dragon friend, I’m not entirely sure. Normally, I’d have my phaser. It’s a kind of weapon with various settings. Everything from a mild stun to… more potent blasts. In your world, even if I had my weapon, I am unaware of the entirety of your customs. I presumed to let you lot take the lead in this mission.”
Some of the other ponies felt the answer a bit over their heads, but Twilight being the well-learned bookworm she was, translated in layman’s terms. Rarity called up from just behind the Captain’s shoulder. “So, Captain Picard? If this Q fellow and Discord are working together, what should we do about Q? Discord is dreadful, yes, but we don’t know anything about how to handle this horrendously indifferent Q you’ve described!” He recognized the possibility of Q and Discord actually being one and the same. He’d mentioned before that on different planets and across different cultures universe wide, Q had taken a veritable legion’s legion of shapes and incarnations to scour the galaxy.
“Well, Miss Rarity…” Picard began, finding the words coming short. To be honest, he had been focusing on the idea that Q and Discord were the same, but if they were in fact two similar, albeit utterly individual entities? The possibilities were endless, and in such a way as to make the Captain’s head spin. Continuing to move at an accelerated pace through town, Picard continued. “I’m actually not sure. Their combined forces could be too great a threat for us, or the safety of your world. Heaven forbid they found reason to fight one another. Assuming of course they are separate.”
Rainbow Dash rocketed high above the rooftops of the town, zipping through the sparse clouds, eyes locked on the horizon. Fluttershy’s cottage wasn’t far, and with the knowledge of the Six, she knew Fluttershy would be in trouble. The girls, Spike, and the Captain weren’t far behind ultimately, but Dash’s superior speed via wingpower kept her rapidly and repeatedly disappearing over houses and storefronts, until she had vanished in the distance. The tree line had been growing slowly nearer, and appropriately, it wasn’t terribly surprising when Dash was forced to slow down just enough to be able to navigate the foliage, and come to a halt in front of the cottage door.
The trees were thickening before the small squad of humans, plus one dragon, as they hurried down the path. Each of the girls were breathing heavily from the running, having not been accustomed to heavy exercise in the human bodies. Appropriately fit though they were, relative to their normal pony nature, the sheer exertion in bipedal form was wearing heavily on their stamina. Equine physiology was naturally suited for running long distance and at lengthy intervals.
Dash thundered upon the porch, knocking heavily on the door with her hooves. An audible gasp echoed from inside the home, followed by Dash calling Fluttershy’s name. The intensely reserved Pegasus sheepishly opened the front door, nervously scanning the area around Dash. “Rainbow Dash?” Her frail voice hummed. “What’s going-“
Rainbow Dash cut Fluttershy off, sprinting inside the doorway, slamming it shut behind them. “No time! Has anything weird happened here yet?” She zipped beside Fluttershy, peering out the window to keep watch for the others. Fluttershy cautiously approached the window, eyeing over Rainbow’s shoulder. “Weird?” Fluttershy repeated, concerned for Dash and the animals more than anything. “No. What’s going on?”
“You gotta stay with me.” Dash stated abruptly. “Discord is-“ Shockingly enough, it was then Fluttershy’s turn to cut off Rainbow Dash. Typically unusual unless something of enough importance or danger was present, Fluttershy remained the same conservatively spoken pony. “DISCORD?” She erupted. “Oh my! We have to talk to Twilight!”
“I know!” Rainbow answered. “The others already know! We’re the only two who haven’t… um…” Fluttershy looked very confused, and for very good reason. “The only two who haven’t what?” Fluttershy pondered aloud. Rainbow yanked as many curtains shut as she could, and waited by the door. The sound of footsteps clattering across the ground drew progressively closer with every second. “You’ll see.” Rainbow finished, a touch of nervousness shadowed on her own tone as well.
Several raps came from the door, to which Dash yanked it open, allowing the group to be seen. Fluttershy released a tiny scream of fright from being immediately startled by the appearance of the simian creatures. Dash prevented her from fleeing into the rest of the house, and during this brief struggle, if it could be called such, the timid Pegasus noticed the emblems on the uniforms of her friends.
“Rarity? Applejack? Twilight?” Her voice transitioned into curiosity, though she remained at a distance. “What’s going on? Why do you look like that?” Twilight led the others in, closing the door behind the Captain with some degree of modestly amused difficulty with her human hands. Twilight directed Fluttershy to listen to the Captain, after a brief introduction to their new friend and their shared situation.
Fluttershy’s eyes remained wide, reeking of utter fright at the concept of essentially two Discords on the loose. “What can we do?” she could only meekly question in response. Rarity and Applejack pondered the situation with one another, while Fluttershy, Twilight, and the Captain spoke amongst themselves. Pinkie and Spike hung surprisingly quietly over their shoulders, lending a theoretical, if not entirely unthought-of idea. Pinkie mused the idea of The Mirror Pond, which was seemingly ignored entirely by the group.
Fluttershy took note of Lyra’s hands finding themselves perpetually pestering Rainbow Dash’s mane, tail, and wings. Ever the odd fascination with the bipedal form, Lyra couldn’t help was examine the pony body from the human perspective. She had been so quiet that the other had all but forgotten that she was even still with them. “Lyra, do you mind?!” Rainbow exclaimed, trying to ignore the irritation. The curious girl threw her hands behind her back, forcing herself to stop with an apologetic, albeit not entirely sincere smile.
Twilight spoke directly to the entire group, even catching Captain Picard by surprise by the direct and well-spoken leadership. “Alright, all we have to do is get to the Elements of Harmony. With any luck, we’ll be able to put Discord back into stone before he makes this place any more hectic than it already is!” The Captain understood the general idea of the Elements at this point. During their travels between Ponyville and Canterlot, as well as a few words during their transitions on foot in the town, Twilight and a couple of the others had enlightened him briefly on the subject.
Twilight asked Fluttershy to fetch some paper and a quill, to which the little Pegasus hurried off into the adjacent room without hesitation. “Spike, I’m going to need you to send a letter to the Princess. She has to know what’s going on!” Twilight directed. Spike hopped to the floor, taking the quill and paper Fluttershy had rapidly retrieved. He scurried onto the nearby couch that rested in the room, while the other remained standing to discuss the matter at hand.
“With Discord still loose, it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again!” Rarity emphasized. Applejack followed with direct words of concern. “Even if he learned from last time, he still loves chaos like a bumblebee loves flowers! If we give him too much time, he’ll come find us on his terms!”
“Spike, you get that letter sent yet?” Twilight asked the young dragon, to which there was no reply. “Spike?” She added, turning to the couch. Instead of a baby dragon, a small purple monkey-like animal sat upon the cushions, eyes staring with utter contempt. “SPIKE!” Twilight shouted, the others turning to see what had become of their scaly young friend.
“Discord’s here!” Pinkie cried out, clutching onto Fluttershy, while the Pegasus tried awkwardly to do the same with the humanoid Pinkie. “Spike is a monkey!” Rarity spoke, peering closer at the tiny purple ball of fur. That infamous voice called from somewhere around the house while the group remained in an uproar. “A monkey?” It didn’t exactly sound like it was coming from inside, but to place the source would be a nearly impossible task. “I thought that’s what you all kept referring to yourselves as this whole time.”
“Discord!” Rainbow Dash accused. With a shining column of vertical light, a new human figure appeared in the room with them. The brown haired man stood, wearing an red Star Fleet officer’s uniform, similar to that of the Captain. “Q.” Picard spoke with spite. The girls attempted to maintain a semi circle around the new figure, but at Twilight’s discretion, they kept a cautious distance. If this was indeed the Q the Captain spoke of, then they would need the utmost vigilance. However, if it was an illusion of Discord being used as a ploy against Captain Picard, then they would be more easily prepared for the situation.
“You know, you are certainly a curious man, Jean-Luc.” Q began, walking around the room, ignoring the presence of the girls, nor the Pegasus ponies, all of whom were staring him down. “No matter what the situation, you always take the road of diplomacy and friendship over violence.” Picard’s face wrinkled ever so slightly with an expression of stress. “One doesn’t need to resort to violence and trickery when he doesn’t get his way, Q. Put an end to these charades at once! You’ve had your fun, now let us all be!”
Q strode before the Captain, placing a hand on his shoulder, which Picard shrugged off in pure irritation. “What are you talking about Picard? You refer to your presence here in Equestria? Or the little dragon fellow?” He placed his hands on Rarity’s shoulders from behind, and leaned in closely. “By the way, he’s a Loris.” Q continued his rounds, Fluttershy taking a moment to look over Spike’s fluffy form, before looking at the stranger.
“All of it, Q!” Picard roared, unapologetic. “We’ve all had more than enough of your games!” A most disdainful scoff burst from Q’s lips. “Oh Picard. You still haven’t learned anything about me? For all the places you’ve been and all the races you’ve met, you still don’t know a thing about me?”
“I know enough. At best, you help us out of convenience or whimsical curiosity.” Captain Picard huffed. “I’ve seen enough of you to last a lifetime, even at your best.” Q narrowed his eyes before rolling them with exaggerated intent. Twilight and the others remained silent, save for a momentary outburst to demand all of their return to their normal bodies. Q answered them with stunning revelation. “Oh yes, I could do all this for you, but then you wouldn’t really learn anything, would you?”
“Q, what on earth are you…” Picard started, before realizing that the Pegasus ponies standing behind the entity from the Continuum were now in fact humans. Appropriately, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wore pastel yellow and sky blue Star Fleet uniforms, pocked with their cutie marks when the Star Fleet badge would rest. Q turned around to see what the Captain and others were staring at. Eyeing the girls in their new human bodies, Q returned his eyes to the Captain, and only muttered in response. “Well now. Isn’t that curious?”