Reunion
“Mr. Worf, I realize you’d like to get back aboard the Defiant and head for Deep Space 9 as soon as the repairs have been completed,” Captain Picard explained as they headed toward Docking Port B, “but I’m wondering if you’d consider coming back aboard the Enterprise briefly, to visit some old friends.”
“Old friends, Sir?” Worf asked, curiously.
“Captain Raymond aboard the Tecumseh has contacted me with regards to some refugees they’ve picked up just outside the Horsehead Nebula.”
“Horsehead Nebula…” the name was mulling around in Worf’s mind. “The ponies, Captain?”
“Yes, Mr. Worf: the ponies.” Picard repeated. “Captain Raymond has rescued several ponies, including one who asked for me. From the captain’s description, it sounded like Miss. Sparkle and her friends.”
Mr. Worf remembered their surreal experience on Equestria, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be involved in such a peculiar situation again. As he considered it, however, his memory of the “Fearsome Cute Warrior” came to mind. He would be interested in catching up with the one called ‘Fluttershy’ again.
Taking a sighing breath, he said, “The Defiant will be ready in another seventy-two hours… I will need to be back aboard by then. The Defiant is needed for the protection of Deep Space 9 from the Dominion.”
Captain Picard smiled. He had a feeling Worf would be interested in this excursion as he too was now looking forward to reuniting with one of the more intriguing and surprising species they’ve ever encountered.
Once they reached the docking port, Picard turned around and said, “Well since this is no longer a goodbye, I will leave you to make your arrangements, and I shall see you onboard within the hour.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Picard turned and boarded the Enterprise as he went to check on the status of his own repairs.
The U.S.S. Defiant and U.S.S. Enterprise were docked at Deep Space 4, as the damage to both of their ships had been significant in the attack on Earth by the Borg. Deep Space 4 was roughly half the distance from Earth to Deep Space 9 and was equipped with the latest weapons and technological research against the Dominion.
Their ships would be not only be repaired, but would also be receiving some additional resources to assist them against the Dominion. Should an outbreak of war happen to occur, which seemed to be more and more likely as time progressed, they would be ready.
An hour later, Lieutenant Commander Worf boarded the Enterprise and stepped off the Turbolift onto the bridge.
“Glad you could join us, Mr. Worf,” said Captain Picard.
Worf nodded in return and looked around for a station he could take. As he was no longer a member of the crew, his old position had already been filled in his absence.
Realizing his situation, the captain looked over toward his current head of security. “Lieutenant Kamala, perhaps it would be beneficial to gain some insight from an officer who has served as Chief of Security aboard this vessel’s predecessor for over five years.”
Lieutenant Kamala looked a little affronted, but hid it well. “Of course, Sir.” She stepped away from her station, allowing Worf to take over.
Captain Picard smiled slightly, before returned to his duties. “Mr. Data, are we cleared to leave space dock?”
“Yes, Sir,” Lieutenant Commander Data answered succinctly.
“Very well. Take us out, one quarter impulse.”
“Aye Sir; one quarter impulse.”
Sounds of the docking clamps being released echoed across the ship. From the port windows many families onboard watched as the ship slowly backed away from the station.
Once clear of the station and outside of the solar system, the captain gave the order.
“Set course for the Horsehead nebula, warp six… Engage.”
“Thank you for getting here so quickly,” said Captain Raymond as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Lieutenant Commander Worf, and Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge were beamed onto the transporter pad aboard the Tecumseh.
“Fortunately we were docked at Deep Space Four when we received your communiqué,” replied Captain Picard. “How are they?”
Captain Raymond gestured for them to follow. “I’ll take you to them now if you like.”
Stepping off the transporter pad, they followed Captain Raymond as he escorted them to sickbay.
“For the moment, most of them are fine,” Captain Raymond explained as they walked toward the Turbolift. “Since we weren’t sure of the situation, we’ve kept them under sedation until Starfleet provided guidance. I’ve been instructed to leave that to your judgments, Captain… There is one of them, however, that your doctor may want to have a look at. She hasn’t responded to any of our doctor’s treatments. Deck Five.”
Exiting the Turbolift, they reached sickbay where the ship’s Chief Medical officer was seated at his desk, analyzing the data. He stood as they entered the room. On the beds laid five sleeping ponies. Worf searched the room, but did not see Fluttershy amongst them. He did not let his disappointment show itself on his rigid expression.
“This is Dr. Ludvick, our chief physician,” Captain Raymond gestured.
“Which patient needs attention?” Dr. Crusher asked Dr. Ludvick, medical tricorder already in hand.
“This purple one over here,” he answered, walking over to the table. The pony was lying on a table, with a massive life support belt arched over her. All of her systems were being controlled by computer alone.
Captain Picard saw right away that it was none other than Miss. Twilight Sparkle. But something was different. Last he remembered, she was a ‘Unicorn’, not an ‘Alicorn’, if he remembered his terminology right.
“Her blood pressure is dangerously low,” commented Dr. Crusher, “and she has a extremely high fever." It looks as though her hypothalamus isn’t functioning correctly.”
“That was my assessment as well,” Dr. Ludvick confirmed. “But normal treatments proved unsuccessful.”
Dr. Crusher, having treated pony patients before, quickly realized the issue. “Captain, I believe she has been drained of those particles they use for their magic. In addition to their magical abilities, it also serves as a homeostatic mechanism within their bodies. Without it, the body is unable to regulate its basic functions.”
Both Captain Raymond and Dr. Ludvick glanced at each other in confusion. “Magic?” they both thought to themselves.
Captain Picard paused to think. “Can we awaken the other ponies? Perhaps they might know how to restore her particle imbalance. And maybe they’ll be able to explain what happened to them, exactly.”
The Tecumseh’s doctor nodded in approval. “As I said, the rest of them seem just fine; just needed a little oxygen after being trapped in that tin box for too long.”
Dr. Crusher set the gauge on her Hypospray to awaken them and began injecting the dose into each of them. Slowly, they all began to stir back to consciousness.
Applejack was the first to speak. “Where am I?”
“Miss. Applejack, was it?” the captain confirmed. “You are on board a Federation vessel.”
“Captain Picard? Gosh. I reckon we must of made it then.” She sat up, exploring her surroundings.
“Wow-wee! That was one heck of a dream! Where are we now? Wow this place is big. Ooh! Geordi! Worf! Captain! We found you! Yippie!” Pinkie Pie had apparently fully recovered and was very much awake.
“That was the worst-possible-way I have ever been forced to travel!” Rarity sat up rubbing her eyes to focus. Remind me to tell the princess that that ‘HoverCar’ of hers desperately needs to be remodeled for both design and comfort!”
“Listen,” the captain tried to explain. “Your friend, Miss. Sparkle, needs medical attention that is beyond our abilities. Can any of you help her?”
“What’s wrong with Twilight?” Applejack asked, getting out of her own bed and over to Twilight’s. “Rarity, you know a heck of a lot more about this stuff than I do. Why don’t you take a gander?”
Rarity came over to Twilight’s bed and looked. She did not look well at all. She was quite pale and sweating badly. Rarity placed a hoof on her forehead.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was magically drained.” Then it hit her. “Oh my! She said this new alteration to the time spell required a tremendous amount of magic. You must give her some of yours immediately!” She stared at the three Enterprise officers.
“That’s the problem,” Geordi explained. We don’t have any means of providing her with monoceros particles at the moment. Would you be able to give her some of yours? After all, you are a Unicorn, right?”
Rarity looked a little offended by that, but possibly mixed with embarrassment. “Twilight is far better at spell casting than I, I’m afraid. Now if you would like me to find some nice gems for you, I would be only delighted to oblige.”
“Please, give it a try,” Dr. Crusher insisted. “Your friend may die if you don’t.”
That hit Rarity hard. She glanced down at Twilight, who looked worse and worse by the second. She sighed as she tried to think how she could do this.
The tip of Rarity’s horn started to glow. She strained herself and held onto the bed as she struggled to pull as much magic as she could. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter until the entire room appeared dark by comparison. Leaning over Twilight, their horns touched. After a moment, Twilight’s horn started to glow. The energy left Rarity and moved off into Twilight as Rarity pushed with all her might.
Twilight stirred. Her eyes fluttered and gradually opened. The first thing she could see was Rarity, panting heavily over her. She looked extremely worn out.
“Rarity?” Twilight asked.
“Yes Princess Twilight. I’m here,” she replied.
Picard and Geordi exchanged glances. “Princess?” they thought together.
“What happened? Did we make it?” Twilight tried to sit up in the bed, but was still weak. Applejack gave her a hoof to help her up.
“Looks like you pulled it off there, Princess Twi,” Applejack said, “but we nearly lost ya in the process.”
Twilight looked around and spotted Captain Picard. “Captain Picard. Do we have you to thank for saving us?”
“Actually Miss. Sparkle, or is it Princess Sparkle now? It would seem a lot has happened since we last met. It was Captain Raymond here who rescued you. You’re currently aboard his ship, the Tecumseh. And your friend, Miss. Rarity, was the one responsible for saving your life.”
Captain Raymond smiled and bowed his head slightly.
Twilight smiled back and nodded. “Thank you for saving us, Captain Raymond.”
“Glad we could help,” he replied. Never in all his life had he imagined himself having a conversation with a pastel-colored pony princess who had supposed magical powers, yet there he was. He decided to let it go and pretend like nothing was unusual about the whole situation.
Turning to her friend, Twilight said, “Thank you too Rarity.”
“Oh, it was nothing, your majesty,” Rarity replied.
“Rarity, how many times have I asked you to keep calling me Twilight? And that goes for all of you.” She directed her statement to all of her pony friends, as well as the Enterprise crew.
“Sorry, Pr- Twilight.” Rarity corrected.
"How long have I been out?" Twilight asked.
"Two days," Dr. Ludvick answered.
Realizing she had already lost two days, Twilight's eyes opened wide. She sat up carefully, but as quickly as she could manage. She needed to get down to business.
“Captain Picard, we need to speak immediately,” she said with a most dire tone of conviction.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Dr. Crusher intervened. “Your blood pressure is still pretty low. I’d rather you remain in sickbay for awhile.”
Twilight didn’t have time to argue. “Then we’ll talk in here, but I need to speak with you now. It’s an emergency!”
Captain Picard approached Twilight and straightened his uniform. “Very well. What did you need to tell us?”
“Equestria is under attack a week from now!”
The captain looked over at Geordi and Worf to see if they were as confused as he. “I don’t think I understand. “Are you saying that your world is going to be attacked a week from now?”
“No it’s already under attack. It just…hasn’t happened yet.”
The captain remained as confused as before. Twilight realized she needed to more properly explain the situation.
“It all started three days from now…”
“That’s the last of them, I think” said Rainbow, hurling a net full of Tribblesprites onto the cart attached to Applejack. “I hope.”
“I hope so too there Rainbow,” said Applejack, pulling the cart away. “I don’t reckon we can handle another round of these critters.” She pulled the cart up towards the Everfree Forest.
Rainbow soared off to her favorite napping cloud. Applejack pulled the cart up past Fluttershy’s cottage on her way to the forest, Fluttershy was waiting for her with another puffball in her hands, purring.
“Get that thing in the cart Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled. She was in no mood for Fluttershy’s obsession with cute critters. Half of her apple farm was destroyed from those pests.
Fluttershy kissed the little guy just above his eyes. “Oh…be good little Furby,” she cooed to the original one of them she had found in the forest. She lowered him into the net and retied the knot.
“Make sure that knot’s good ‘n tight, now. Don’t want no more of ‘em escaping… again.”
“Okay, Applejack,” Fluttershy nodded. “They’re ready.”
“You swear there’re no more in your tree, in your chicken coop, in your yard, or any other place I may have forgotten to mention?” It was Applejack’s turn to give Fluttershy ‘the stare’.
Fluttershy blushed as she sunk lower. “No more,” she replied.
Fluttershy was a terrible liar. And Applejack knew it.
“Pinkie!” she yelled. From out of nowhere sprung a One-Pony-Band-Stand Pinkie Pie, suited up with every musical instrument in town, and even some non-musical ones.
“Ready!” Pinkie Pie saluted.
“Administer the test!”
As Pinkie banged, clapped, squeezed, chirped, and played her ‘Lemmings to Water’ ballad, the Tribblesprites began bouncing in time to the music, still harnessed by the net. After only a moment’s pause, the door to Fluttershy’s cottage burst open as another twenty of them bounced forth in a synchronized march.
Her face redder than a melon, Fluttershy whimpered, sheepishly, “Maybe I kept just one.”
“Mmm hmmm. Let’s go Pinkie. Mind helping me into the forest with the last of ‘em?”
Pinkie could not reply while playing, but gave an extra hard CRASH of her cymbals and started marching with the last of the Tribblesprites in tow.
Applejack began pulling the cart again and together, she and Pinkie paraded off into the Everfree forest. Fluttershy remained behind, mourning her loss. Angel was at the ready with a fresh ice tea to ease her thoughts, and cool off in the summer heat.
“Thank you, Angel,” she patted him on his head and took the ice tea. “You’re so thoughtful.”
Fluttershy went back inside her cottage to play with her remaining animal friends. Luckily, none of them were ultra cute, super-spawning, plagues of nature.
A few hours later, Fluttershy was feeding her animals dinner, when a strange noise and glow outside caught her attention. She peered out the window just in time to see three of the strangest creatures appear from out of nowhere in a green haze.
Fluttershy had never seen anything like them. They stood on two legs, with pale skin and no hair. The only way to describe their outfits was the complete collection of Rarity’s worst nightmares all rolled into one.
If she had to guess, they almost reminded her somewhat of the humans who visited them a couple of years back. But they looked a great deal scarier than Geordi, or even Worf. They didn’t look friendly at all.
She opened her door just a crack to get a better look at them. They appeared to be just standing around. Their movements were slow, stiff, and clumsy. Maybe they were lost.
Fluttershy debated introducing herself. They were pretty scary looking, but she had faced a dragon before, and nothing could be scarier than that. Though that was becoming more and more debatable the longer she stared at them. The door moved back and forth as her mind changed back and forth. Go. Stay. Stay. Go…
Finally, she took a deep breath of courage and pushed herself out the door.
“Um…hello?” Fluttershy quietly introduced herself. It was so quiet that it wasn’t surprising when they completely ignored it.
“Hello?” She called again a little louder, but they remained disinterested in her. She flew a little closer to them. “Are you humans?”
One of them twitched into a direct stare at her. Fluttershy jumped back in fright. When he did nothing else, she hesitantly approached again, though her bravery was rapidly depleting.
“Um, are you friends of Captain Picard or the Enterprise, maybe?”
That did it. The creatures all turned to face her. Before she could escape, one grabbed her hoof and two silver vines sprang forth injecting themselves straight into her arm.
“Ow! Let go! HELP!” she screamed.
Within seconds, her skin began turning gray, her eyes lost their color. Her individuality was drained away. Angel hopped out, furiously attempting to stop them, but they completely ignored him. His teeth did nothing to slow them down.
When it was finished, the vines retreated back into the creature's arm. It stood up straight and the three of them disappeared back into the same green haze they arrived in.
Fluttershy appeared to be in a trance. Angel jumped back and forth, tried smacking her upside the head, and anything else he could think of, but it was useless. She simply ignored the lower life form.
It wasn’t until Applejack stopped by for some advice on Winona the following day, that anypony realized anything was wrong.
Angel raced up to Applejack and tried to explain what happened.
“Howdy, Angel!” Applejack smiled as he ran up to her. “How’s Fluttershy doing after her loss?”
He turned stiff and rigid, raised his paw with his two ears popping out of it in two lines; showed himself suffocating; then zombifying. Applejack could not begin to translate what he was trying to say, but figured it meant she was taking it hard.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but maybe I can take her mind off it a bit.” She started walking again toward the cottage. She spotted Fluttershy standing just outside it.
Angel was digging his feet into the dirt trying to stop Applejack from approaching, but had zero success. He looked over at Winona who was clearly more aware of the situation then her master was.
“Hey Fluttershy!” Applejack called, running up with Winona by her side. “I wondered if you might have a look at Winona. She’s been acting a mighty bit strange lately; barking her head off nonstop.”
“Grrrrr.” Winona stared daggers at Fluttershy. “Bark! Bark!!!” she growled at Fluttershy in a defensive stance.
“Winona! What in the hay is the matter with you? It’s Fluttershy!”
Winona continued to bark angrily. Angel joined in pointing at Fluttershy in fear.
“See what I mean?”
Fluttershy looked as though she had not heard a word of the whole conversation. She looked pretty pale too.
“You okay there Fluttershy?” she asked.
Fluttershy twitched into a stare with Applejack, which caused even her to jump back, startled.
“Um… Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy straightened up and opened her mouth, slightly. What came out was not her voice. It wasn’t even a single voice. It sounded as though a group of ponies were speaking out of one mouth in unison.
“We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”