//------------------------------// // Intermission: Recap // Story: DisQord Continuum 2: Friendship is Futile // by ZoidbergIsBestPony //------------------------------// Intermission: Recap While writing last week’s chapter, I found myself having trouble keeping track of my own storylines and side plots. (And I keep notes!) Since many of you have been following since the beginning over three months ago, I thought that you might appreciate a little “Where Are We Now?” recap chapter: Previously on DisQord Continuum... In the fallout from the attack of the Windigos, the origin species of the Borg Collective, a single memory databank, containing knowledge and information relating to pony magic, escapes the debris of the destroyed ship. Q had orchestrated the attack to eliminate the pony threat posed by their advancements in magic and technology. The science behind the magic, Monoceros particles, are the building blocks of what gives the Q their powers, which could one day be used against them. Having reduced the advanced pony race to a backwater planet millennia away from rebuilding enough to become a threat, Q removed every last trace of the debris, with the exception of the databank he did not see. This databank drifted across the stars for two thousand years until it was recovered and then assimilated by the modern day Borg. In search of this “pony magic”, the Borg set off to assimilate this powerful ability. By the time anypony had become aware anything was wrong, Fluttershy had already been assimilated. The rest of the Mane6 escapes to Canterlot. When the Borg invasion spread to Equestria’s capital city, Princess Twilight uses a modified version of Star Swirl the Bearded’s time spell to transport all five ponies, carrying their Elements of Harmony (even Fluttershy’s), one week into the past aboard the last remaining scout ship, saved from the days when ponies had traveled the stars. Their ship is picked up by the U.S.S. Tecumseh, which enables them to get in contact with Captain Picard and the Enterprise, fresh from repairs after their encounter with the Borg Queen three hundred years in the past, to warn them of Equestria’s pending fate. The consequences of the Borg’s successful assimilation of pony magic enables the Borg to enter and destroy the Q Continuum. Q, in a last-ditch effort to save the universe, creates a temporary universe-in-a-bottle: a one-week long static-warp bubble containing only 20,000 light years of the galaxy. With one-week remaining until the end of the universe, and only a few days before the Borg are expected to arrive, Q charges the Enterprise and the ponies from one week in the future (henceforth known as the Future5) to help him stop the Borg from succeeding. In doing so, the timeline would be altered enough for Q to grow the universe back from the confines of the warp bubble. Geordi, together with Q, developes the Borg Fighting Gun (BFG) to use against large groups of Borg that would be difficult for them to adapt to in any useful amount of time. When they make contact with the present Mane6, they proceed together to Canterlot to prepare for the invasion. While preparations are being made on the ground, the Tecumseh sets out to recruit available ships in the area, capable of reaching Equestria prior to the Borg arrival. Princess Celestia decides to recruit some help of her own. She offeres Chrysalis, who had been imprisoned after their last encounter, a chance to redeem herself and live freely. Chrysalis accepts the offer. Splitting their forces, the Enterprise leaves Data and Worf on Equestria to help with evacuation and military preparations (including distribution of the BFGs to the Equestrian guards), and bring the Future5 and Chrysalis onboard the ship. Picard crafts a plan for Chrysalis, as a changeling, to hide aboard the Borg cube and sabotage the ship from within. Of all the ships the Tecumseh is able to make contact with, only one does not arrive. The U.S.S. Magellan encounteres the Borg en route and is captured and assimilated. Through this, the Borg learn of the plot to stop them and recruit two extra cubes for support and increase their speed. One of the ships to respond and arrive was a Romulan Warbird commanded by Admiral Tomalak. He is not convinced by Picard’s explanation of why the Borg would want to assimilate a primitive pre-warp society and takes matters into his own hands. Kidnapping a random Unicorn from the surface, Lyra, the Romulans interrogate the pony into divulging information of pony magic. They discover that the horn is the source of the magic. They surgically extract Lyra’s horn and return her to the planet. Without any scientific basis to explain the existence of “magic”, Tomalak charges his Science Officer with learning and weaponizing its abilities. Without knowing the true science behind the magic, the scientist still manages to use technology to force the horn to absorb large amounts of magic until it bursts out, resulting in the target to shift out-of-phase, rendering it out of contact with the physical world. The scientist is confident this can be used to remove large sections of hulls resulting in breaches on enemy ships. As evacuations are made from Ponyville, the Apple Family resigns to stay behind. Applejack wants to stay and help her family, but Rainbow Dash, combined with Apple Bloom and Big Mac, convince her that her place is with her friends. Lyra, under Bon-Bon’s watch and care as she rebounds from the loss of her horn, joins the crowd aboard the last train heading for Canterlot. With the unexpected early arrival and extra reinforcements of Borg cubes, the defensive perimeter is utterly decimated. Those ships that retreated survive only because no Borg cubes pursued them. The cubes remain in orbit of the planet. The Romulan’s new weapon overloaded during the engagement and failed to fire as originally intended. Admiral Tomalak dismisses his Science Officer and promotes his next in line, who was more adept at researching the nature of pony magic. She is able to discover the Monoceros Particle (a.k.a. the Unicorn Particle). Meanwhile, with the arrival of the Borg, their first act is to kidnap Princess Celestia. As the oldest living pony in Equestria, she is one of two ponies old enough to have knowledge from the time when ponies understood science and magic together. She is assimilated not as a drone, but has the consciousness of the Borg Queen downloaded into her. She is transformed into the new Queen, Celestus of Borg. Captain Picard was injured in the attack and is near death. As Picard is sometimes capable of hearing the Borg in his mind, he is contacted by the new Borg queen while in a coma. He learns of her interest in the particle and her plans to rebuild a new universe through her view of perfection. When Picard awakes, he learns that Q had used some of his powers to save his life. In doing so however, he was forced to relinquish some of his grip of the universe sacrificing five percent it of it. Picard forbids him from doing something so reckless again, even if it’s to save someone’s life. Princess Luna takes the kidnapping of her sister personally and charges herself with finding and rescuing her sister. She wasn’t sure how she would do it, and she knew she wasn’t strong enough on her own. She askes the Mane6 to help and protect her. She needs to regain the power of Nightmare Moon without falling prey to its evil influences. They succeed in obtaining the power from the Reflecting Pool of Eternal Darkness Luna had last encountered as a little filly. While the Elements of Harmony prevent the power of Nightmare Moon from completely influencing her, its voice still carries in Luna’s thoughts. She must to fight to keep it at bay. While the first engagement with the Borg ended in disaster, there had been one small success. Chrysalis was successfully transported onto the lead cube. She is camouflaged as a Borg Drone and begins to explore the innards of the ship looking for key targets. For each red node (Power Waveguide Conduit), Chrysalis attaches a device that would, upon detonation, send a command to all Borg connected to the node to ‘sleep’ (enter their alcoves for regeneration). For each green node (Power Distribution Node), Chrysalis attaches a small explosive. Picard also gave her a small EMP device which, as a last-ditch / no way out alternative, would disable all drones and technology within the several yards of the device. Lyra and Bon-Bon spot Princess Luna, Princess Twilight and the rest of the Mane6 in the palace courtyard after they return from the reflecting pool. They explain to Princess Twilight of the disappearance of Lyra’s horn and ask for her help in getting her horn back. Twilight knows of no such magic and does not have time to research it in the library at present. Before Lyra and Bon-Bon could leave, a Borg drone materializes in the throne room. A guard quickly dispatches the creature with his spear as another guard bursts in announcing the start of the invasion. As of now, there are several concurring storylines: - Enterprise, DisQord, and the Fleet - Future5 - Romulan’s exploration of magic - Princess Celestia / Queen Celestus of Borg - Princess Luna / Nightmare Moon - Chrysalis and the Borg Cube - Mane6 and the Defense of Canterlot - The Defense of the Apple Family Farm - The Lyra and Bon-Bon Story I realized a little too late I may have spread myself a little thin here, but if you can keep up, all storylines will eventually come together. I hope this helps keep you in following the story and continuing to read! See you next week!