//------------------------------// // Harmony // Story: Equestria's first warp drive // by CCC //------------------------------// A small shuttlecraft, drifting alone in space, about 54 hours travel from the Ferengi ship at warp six; about a week's travel at warp four Two humans sat in cramped conditions, waiting. One rested, lying back on a bunk and reading a data pad; the other paced back and forth. “I shouldn't have taken Celestia's offer.” said Captain Anderson, suddenly stopping his pacing. “Don't see how that would've helped.” shrugged Trent. “Six mares and one stallion wouldn't be warping straight into the maw of the Borg right now if I hadn't.” insisted the Captain. “Yes, they would, they'd just be doing it real slowly in a shuttlecraft instead.” pointed out Jorge. “Or the first other ship going their way. Hey, I wouldn't be surprised if that lot would try it in an airtight crate.” “We'd still have our ship.” continued the Captain. “Celestia's paying us double the value of the ship for this.” noted Jorge, calmly. “If we can trust her.” said the Captain, starting to pace again. “Meh, she seemed on the level to me.” said Jorge. “And now we're hoping a Federation ship picks us up before the Borg figure out we're back here, helpless and defenseless...” Jorge shrugged. “Federation's on their way.” he said. “...and this has all gone political.” continued Captain Anderson. “I hate political.” “It was political from the start.” said Jorge, tapping the datapad to view the next page. “It started out as a simple courier gig.” grumbled Captain Anderson. “Now seven more people are going to get captured by the Borg and it's all my fault.” “They knew the risks.” pointed out Jorge. “And it's not like we could've done much to stop them, in any case.” Captain Anderson nodded gloomily. It had taken them only three seconds to be teleported into the shuttlecraft and off the ship after he'd agreed to Celestia's proposal... * * * Fifty-five hours, ten minutes, and seventeen seconds after Red Dawn was assimilated, the Borg drones on the formerly Ferengi ship detected an approaching disturbance in subspace. It was very streamlined, and approaching at warp six; but was otherwise unremarkable. The Borg hivemind took a brief moment to regret that its ambush was not yet in place. It had not considered the possibility that the Federation ship might have somehow been made significantly faster. Fortunately for the Borg, there had not been enough regeneration chambers for all on-board drones to use at once; the Borg were forced, therefore, to regenerate in shifts. Which meant that most of the drones were up and about when the small Federation trading ship zoomed past at a warp factor its engine should not have been able to produce. “Almost there, girls.” said Twilight. “Somepony give Flim a call? I've got to set up a delicate teleport in a minute...” Rarity put her hoof in her mouth and let out an earsplitting whistle. There was a clatter of hooves and Flim appeared in the doorway. “Something up?” he asked. He glanced over the six mares; they'd all managed to stay awake so far, but it had hit some of them harder than others. Rainbow Dash and Rarity seemed to have noticed it least, some sort of internal fire filling in instead of sleep; Applejack and Twilight were still standing, at least; Pinkie's mane had started to deflate somewhat; Fluttershy looked on the brink of collapse, her legs trembling under her. “Yes.” said Twilight. “We're -” She paused to interrupt herself, muttering something under her breath that sounded a lot like “- see space as the thing that's moving, correct for warp -” and then, suddenly, the seven ponies abruptly vanished. Without the Elements of Harmony acting as a seperate focal point for the warp bubble, the warp bubble began to oscillate wildly. The ship dropped speed from warp six right down to warp three without reducing the power flowing through the warp core, then began to shudder as the internal stresses overwhelmed the structural integrity fields. Fifteen minutes later, the warp core breach alarm began to sound. There was no-one left on board to hear it. * * * “- here.” said Twilight, as the seven ponies appeared on board the Ferengi ship, in the midst of several Borg drones. “Wha'now?” asked Fluttershy. “Slee?” she tried, hopefully. “Not yet, dear.” said Rarity. “First we save our sisters. Then we sleep.” “Righ.” muttered Fluttershy. “Just got to find them first.” said Twilight, powering up a shield(1) against the strange half-machine bipeds. “We are the Borg.” said the nearest bipeds. “You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.” “D'you think these are those 'Ferengi'?” asked Dash. “No,” said Flim firmly, “these are not the Ferengi. They had bigger ears. Oh, no, wait, there, that one in the back, he looks a bit like a Ferengi. Oh, except they didn't have all those bits of armour stuck on them.” “L'ks like Nigh'mare Moo'.” volunteered Fluttershy, incoherently. “Li'l bit.” she added after a moment. “They look like trouble to me.” stated Flim, nervously. “I do hope they can't get through your shield.” Then the crowd of Borg shuffled aside, allowing an equine shape to step forward. “You will be assimilated.” said Sweetie Belle, stepping forward – and right through Twilight's shield, as though it wasn't there. “Join us. Resistance is futile.” “Sweetie!” Rarity stepped forward, only to be stopped by Twilight's outstretched hoof. “Not Sweetie anymore.” said Twilight, firmly. “Nightmare Sweetie. Places, everypony! Harmony!” Rarity nodded, and stepped back into formation. And the Bearers released the power of the Elements of Harmony against the Borg. * * * Loyalty The Borg hivemind bears loyalty only to itself. This is not true Loyalty; this is mere self-preservation. The Element of Loyalty flared brightly. Kindness Kindness requires empathy; empathy requires the ability to properly understand that other being have feelings, and to act on that understanding. The Borg consider feelings irrelevant; their own and anyone else's. The Element of Kindness flared brightly. Laughter No fully assimilated Borg drone has ever been known to laugh. Even freed drones have a severe laughter deficiency; after all, is not Laughter irrelevant? The Element of Laughter flared brightly. Honesty Whatever else one may say about the Borg, they have never been less than honest about their intentions. They announce their plans to assimilate before they begin to do so, and they do no more than they promise. The Element of Honesty flared only dimly. Generosity The Borg do not give. The Borg only take. Every gift the Borg have ever given, they have taken back, they have intended from the start to take back; along with the person to whom they gave the original gift. The Element of Generosity flared extremely brightly. Magic The Borg do not have friends. The Borg admit only the distinction between Borg drones and creatures that have not yet been assimilated. The Element of Friendship flared brightly. ***H*A*r*M*O*N*Y*** By a five-to-one majority, the Elements acted. A rainbow flew from the Element-Bearers, arcing into the air and striking Sweetie Belle directly, wrapping around her; then Twilight's shield acquired a rainbow sheen, and sped explosively outwards, filling the entire ship. And where the rainbow shield passed, the Borg drones were released; their implants vanished, their nanoprobes disappeared, their connections to the Hivemind were severed. Every former Borg drone on the ship stood stock-still for two point three seconds, then collapsed, suddenly unconscious; the Element-Bearers collapsed as well, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who staggered but managed to stay on her hooves. She stumbled towards the sleeping former drones, to one little orange-and-purple shape that had been sneaking up behind Twilight's shield. “Sc't.” she muttered, poking the tiny pegasus with one hoof. “Said – was c'ming. Now'm here, Sc't.” She wrapped one forelimb gently around Scootaloo, and then collapsed into unconsciousness. Flim, the last one standing, looked around at all the sleeping ponies and aliens. “Well.” he said. “That wasn't exactly what I'd expected...” (1) Her brother's design, naturally