//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Star Trek 7: The Equestrian Frontier // by Graviton //------------------------------// Chapter Two By Graviton, the geekiest pony in the galaxy "Spock, please tell me you aren't serious.". Those were the first words out of James T. Kirk's mouth when Mr. Spoke told hem he had found a unicorn. "Why would I deceive you, Captain? To keep information a secret when it would benefit from being released is completely illogical." "But how could it match up with a TV show from 300 years ago?" Asked Kirk, desperately grasping at straws. "The sensors must be broken." "That is impossible, Captain." Replied Spock cooly. "According to the diagnostics check I ran the sensors are functioning at about 103.247% of their regular efficiency. These readings have a 99.8% chance of being correct, especially with the new, more accurate sensor array." "Well, there's only one way to find out." Replied Kirk. "I'll assemble the landing crew, you prepare the shuttle." In Sickbay, Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy wasn't happy. When the Enterprise hit the wormhole the resulting jolt nearly gave him a heart attack, as well as jostling up some of the crew members. Now he had to clean up all the broken bones from the ship's gymnastics team, who had been in the middle of a particularly difficult maneuver when the wormhole struck. "How's it going?" Asked Captain Kirk as he walked into Sickbay. "Jim, would you mind telling me what that tremor was and why we had no warning? I was filing some paperwork after the jolt and the whole gymnastics team crawled in here!" "Long story short, we discovered new planet." "Well, that's good, right?" Asked McCoy, his tone lightening a little. "Well, according to the long range sensor scan the planet is inhabited by unicorns." Kirk replied. McCoy thought for a moment, and then grabbed his tricorder and grinned. "Well, I can't have you all going down there without a fully qualified doctor, now can I?". With that, he let Doctor M'benga take over on the gymnasts and walked down the hall to the shuttlebay. "Somehow" muttered Kirk, "I thought that would be harder." When Kirk reached the hangar the rest of the landing party was already there: Spock, Dr. McCoy, Uhara, Chekov, and Sulu. "What took you so long?" Teased McCoy. "Old age finally getting to ya?" "I believe you would know the answer to that, as you are several years older than him." Spock replied, managing to keep a straight face. "Of all the smartasses in the galaxy..." Began McCoy, before being cut off by Kirk. "Let's try and enjoy this. I mean, how long has it been had since took some good old R and R? Plus, a large amount of energy keeps us from using the transporters, so we get to see the sunrise from the air! When's the last time we did that?" McCoy just grumbled, and they all filed into the shuttlecraft. They were aiming for the edge of a large forest area, but as they descended at a leisurely Mach .8, a large blip appeared on the screen. "Captain, there is an external object heading straight towards us at Mach .9! Shall I begin evasive action?" Asked Spock. "What is it? Is it organic?" Asked Kirk, worried that it might be an old-fashioned missile. "I cannot attain the data, Captain. This shuttle is not equipped with class III sensors in the back." "Evasive maneuvers! Get us on the ground NOW!" Kirk said urgently. Almost instantly, the ship dropped to the ground, with Spock masterfully engaging the thrusters just inches above the ground. "I have readings now, Captain. That object was not only organic, but also a life form.". And the whole crew looked up to see a streak of rainbow running across the sky. Fluttershy was busy tending her garden. It had been a long day, and tending the garden was how she relaxed. She was just about to harvest the carrots for Angel's lunch when a rainbow streak neary crashed into her. "Fluttershy! Remember that huge monster in the sky?" asked Dash breathlessly. "Um...yes" replied Fluttershy timidly, heart still beating fast from when Rainbow had surprised her. "I think it just gave birth! It's back opened, and a big metal box flew out! I tried to follow it, but it landed right in the forest! Wanna come look for it?" "Um, why don't you go do that? I'm busy here. I have to make Angel's lunch and help a bluebird who broke her wing..." Fluttershy trailed off. She was deathly afraid of the forest, because of all the monsters. "What if the baby whatever-it-is needs help?" Dash coaxed. "Oh all right." said Fluttershy. "Let me go get my medical bag." "Great! I asked the others to meet us at the crash site. They started a half hour ago, so let's get a move on!" And with that, the two friends spread their wings and took off into the forest. As Kirk and his crew emerged from the shuttle, they squinted in the warm sunlight as they took in their surroundings. "Mr. Sulu, you and Mr. Chekov start disguising the shuttle with these branches.. Mr. Spock, do you have a fix on our location?" "Yes, Captain." Spoke replied cooly. "We are in the middle of the large forest, 3.5 miles northeast of our original target, with the Enterprise currently orbiting right over our heads. The nearest civilization is about nine miles southwest, and we should be able to initiate contact with the locals before the sun goes down." "Exellent. We should probab-" Kirk started, but stopped when he saw the thing that had wandered into the clearing. It had the head of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. And it looked hungry. Kirk quickly drew his phaser, set it to KILL, and then fired 8 shots in rapid succession, 3 to the head, 5 to the body. As the beast keeled over, Spock's sharp Vulcan ears (no pun intended) picked up a minuscule "Eep" from a nearby bush, and proceeded to pick up the trembling yellow pony inside. "Captain, I appear to have found a lifeform resembling that of the unicorn, but with wings." he said as he ran his tricorder over her. "There appear to be several more in nearby bushes.". Suddenly, a rainbow colored blur hit him in the chest, nearly making him fall over. The rest of the crew began to unholster their phasers, but Kirk stopped them and approached the cyan blur attempting to knock Spock over. "Spock, I would recommend that you put the yellow one down." Said Kirk, worried that the cyan pony who had stopped moving long enough to give him the death stare would start breaking bones. Spock put down the yellow pony, and the pony finally stopped thrashing. She walked over and started comforting the shaking yellow pony. "Fascinating. These two pony/bird hybrids would clearly die for each other. How did you know?" "Um...I watched the whole series before we left." He replied sheepishly. The rest of the crew struggled to hold back smiles, and Spock's eyebrow shot up. He was about to reply when one of the ponies spoke up. "So what exactly are you?". Kirk turned around slowly. "Did that pony just talk?"