Epilogue
Epilogue:
“Commander, officers who fail to take proper care of the ships Starfleet entrusts them with are not exactly... popular with Command.”
There was a pause, before Admiral Quinn continued.
“Nor are those who break the Prime Directive, or commit Starfleet to assisting a planet of pre-warp pastel ponies.”
The admiral was a hard man to read. Delilah couldn’t tell if he was working up to the official notice of her court marshal, or...
“You claim to have discovered magic, Commander. If not for the records you brought back...” he slowly shook his head. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Admiral, I have nothing to say that I did not include in my reports.”
---=={***}==---
After she woke up, Delilah had to decide what to do with the Orion prisoners, and the members of the gryphon band; they found themselves in something of a limbo, between at least three legal systems. In addition, there was the Orion Frigate captured in working condition that needed to be dealt with. In the end, the decision was made that the Starfleet crew members would assist the ponies in securing the prisoners, as well as the crash site of the U.S.S. Judges until a starship could be sent to collect them.
As for the gryphons, and the captured ship, O’Niel had decided to throw the problems at each other.
---
“So we’re in agreement.”
Gilda and Zephyr nodded, the female gryphon giving a summary of the deal. “We get the ship, we work with Starfleet, we stay away from the planet long enough for Equestria and the Gryphon City-States to develop technology.”
“And in return, we’ll help train you in how to use the ship, and how to operate on the fringes,” the Starfleet Commander replied. “We’ll have an insurance policy in the ship systems, in case you renege on the deal.” Seeing the sour looks on the faces of the gryphons, Delilah continued, “It’s more so I can sell it to my own command, than any real distrust. Anything else?”
“Two month warning of canceling the agreement at convenience,” Zephyr added. “In accord with our traditions, no alliance is complete without an exit process.”
Delilah nodded. “Contingent on turning the ship over to Starfleet.”
---=={***}==---
“I’d authorize your court marshal, Commander, if not for several critical factors. Firstly, those ‘ponies’ were able to put together a working warp-drive starship. They used it to deliver to Starbase 114 a diplomatic message, requesting closer ties between their nation and the Federation.”
“Secondly, given that the war with the Klingon Empire is likely to be a long one, even if we need to build them up, they are positioned to be valuable allies. Even if we didn’t help them, their rich dilithium resources would let them buy the technology they want from the Ferengi or the Cardassians.”
“And lastly... you made the right calls on the ground, the right calls when it mattered. You were ambushed, bushwacked even, and will need to be more careful. But you upheld the spirit of the Prime Directive, and brought most of your people back.”
“Starfleet can’t afford to throw out officers who just have bad luck O’Niel, but you’ll have to pay your dues for your mistake. For the moment, Starfleet endorses your actions, and we will be calling on you to lead a mission to find any of these ponies, including this national hero ‘Fluttershy’ that may still be in captivity. You’ve got a week of leave while we find a ship suitable to the mission. Any questions?”
“Just one; have the natives given a name for their world or star?”
“I believe,” the Admiral checked a datapad, “They call the system ’Vividiorque.’”
“Vivid. Fitting. Thank you Admiral.”
---=={***}==---
“Free! Free again to spread beautiful cha- ‘Tia dear, why are you looking at me like tha- Starfleet.”
“Starfleet,” the solar alicorn confirmed, telekinetically putting down the hull fragment that bore the chevron-on-oval logo.
“I was hoping for one more round before it ended, but... Orders were set in the beginning for this,” the dragonequis noted, his tone deflated yet resigned.
“And when were you one to follow orders, to meekly submit yourself, even to yourself?”
A note of surprise entered his voice, “Are you, champion of order, suggesting what I think you are?”
“I find myself unwilling to let it all end, not while we have the means to preserve it.”
A long laugh came from the dragonequis. “Celestia my dear, it will be worth forfeiting to watch you do this... to be at discord with yourself.”
“Then you agree?”
“To help in your little deceit? Yes. But what of the others? I know Nightmare Moon had her turn just before mine.”
“My sister has agreed. I haven’t spoken to the others yet.”
“Well, I’d love to see if you can talk them into postponing Armageddon. But how will you deal with the other consequences of contact?”
“I’ve given my faithful student a ‘nudge’ in the right direction, and begun diplomatic approaches, on and off planet.”
---=={***}==---
As Delilah walked down the corridor to her temporary quarters, she let a smile show on her face.
As far as anyone else knew, she was entitled to that smile, for having dodged a bullet that could have killed her career. Further, she had brought a new civilization to the Federation; perhaps a whole new world, if Princess Celestia could convince the other nations to join with Equestria. The natives would make fine members in Starfleet, their natural magical abilities having the potential to tip the balance with the Klingon Empire. The natural resources of the planet were nothing to sneeze at, either, and would help them afford to upgrade their technology from basic warp systems to the Federation standards.
Oh yes, everyone knew that Delilah had reasons to be happy, but they didn’t know all of the reasons.
They didn’t know how the Elements of Harmony might prove to hold the key to eliminating the Borg threat, if not forever, at least for years to come.
And if Delilah could make that happen, it might give Third Optic a second chance.
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Wheeee! I finished my first epic fan fiction! Now I can-
Why are you all looking at me like that?
Look, while I admire your devotion to tradition, please put down the torches and pitchforks.
While I’m saving stuff for future stories, I will officially say that Fluttershy was NOT lost aboard the Orion Frigate destroyed back in the first chapter. I’ll go further and say that she survives, and will take part in future stories (if I write any) in this series.
No promises that I’ll write them. While even aside from the ominous and deliberately obscure foreshadowing above, there’s also the more natural plot progression, such as investigation into the Valda Group of the Orion Syndicate, and the quest for Fluttershy. On top of that, there will be room for side stories that would cover how Equestria, and Vividiorque as a whole, join the Federation. If you’re interested in writing one of those stories, please contact me.
Now, I’d like to thank some people who made this story possible and more fun for me to write.
First, the following people at Multiverse Crisis Mush the place where the character Delilah came from:
Maya’s player, for letting me borrow her despite his lack of interest in MLP. Having her available made developing Delilah in the text much easier.
Rainbow Dash’s player, for giving me a great reason for Dash to be in Cloudsdale (and near the weather factory no less!) the day of the attack.
Red’s player, for the massive compliment of saying that this was the first MLP thing he ever bookmarked, wanting to read the rest of it.
And I’d like to thank my readers here at FimFiction!
The number of you that followed the story helped me see that something I was writing just to please myself had appeal to others, which may have been the only thing that could make me finish this story.
And particularly those that commented on the chapters, who helped me see that the time I invested thinking about the setting/world-building wasn’t wasted, making for a better story even if it wasn’t all explained in the text.
Bravo. Very interesting crossover fic.
Very nice...
2383869 Well, time for a decent review, no?
As always, let me get what I did not like out of the way first...
The largest thing I dislike about the series, ironically enough comes at the end. The idea that the Equestrians could build a warp-drive is absurd to me. They are a species lacking basic aeronautics, they have no space tech at all (especially since the two griffins with the Orion ship were ordered to avoid Vividiorque for the time being) and even their level of industry seems non-existent in canon. So the idea that they could whip together a ship seems silly to me. Now I will admit that in Star Trek: First Contact Cochrane seems to have done just that, however, I will remind that his ship was actually a modified ICBM, built largely using preexisting materials from an industrial society.
Equis...sorry, Vividiorque (Nice name choice BTW) does not appear industrial - save for a few examples.That out of the way, I must comment that the OC Star Trek characters seem...interesting? Perhaps this is just because I have never played Star Trek Online, my only exposure to Star Trek is the various series and movies. Sometimes it turned me off, others it just seemed odd, but most of the time it was enjoyable. It was nice to see a strong female Captain (akin to Janeway) that wasn't a blatant ripoff, as so many OC's are! While the supporting cast was both somewhat familiar and yet, equally foreign to the seasoned Trekie...
Now that I've got that out of my system...
Why do I love this series? Well, I think its rather simple. Unlike so many crossovers that require a suspension of disbelief, this paring seems to present itself naturally right out of the gate. I can easily see the Orions taking an interest in the magical ponies and having Orion slavers raiding Cloudsdale. Plus, personally, anytime I can see/ read of slavers getting their due, it is a win for me! Then, the whole scene(s) with Rainbow Dash in the brig just works so well! Again, her character seems captured very well and I did not once find myself wondering if that was really how the character would react.
Continuing, you've spun a tale that is reminiscent of so many episodes in the series, with both Starfleet and the natives working together, after an alien race (in this case the Orion slavers) interfere in the world's natural order. Yet at the same time, I find myself hard pressed to find a captain that struggles with the prime directive quite as Delilah does - this again, only strengthens my (positive) feelings about this work.
In the end, what you bring to the table is an interesting and believable version of events that sets the foundation for continuation in this crossover-universe. While this piece does have moments where polish could/ should be done, over all, the complete story is a fun, enjoyable read that is both reminiscent of the original work(s), while not feeling like a carbon-copy ripoff of either. Thus, I find you guilty of being a adept author and a capable storyteller, and as such, sentence you to continue!
Until next time, mon Capitaine...
hmmm Gilda, Zephyr and all the others of the little group have a ship..... needs a name. I'll comment more later.
Thumbs up!
Hmmmm....
So Celestia/Discord/Luna and other powerful being knew about StarFleet before first contact.
From their talking, I'm guessing the whole 'Taking turns' is 'Taking turns to be the badguy'. Probably to help prepare the mortals for eventual first contact?
The talk of "postponing Armageddon" is worrying, and my first thought was they had all agreed to get the worlds civilizations to space faring capabilities, then initiate an Armageddon situation on their home planet to force them into space.
Unless they were talking figuratively, then he could be referring to the 'Armageddon' of the other immortals not getting their turn as the badguy. Or that Celestia is going to jump ahead to take her turn.
Honestly, out of all the Hooks you've dipped into the water, the one involving the immortals intrigues me the most by far. I've always been a massive sucker for the 'Chess game of the Gods' trope.
2385014
Maybe they achieved warp field through magic instead of technology? Unicorn/Alicorn-powered warp drive!
In TNG, "The Traveler" does show Wesley how warp fields can be manipulated by the mind to go to/in seemingly impossible places, so unicorn warp would not be the first time where warp fields are created or altered via non-technological means.
2383869
Well, I've put down the pitchfork, but I still have my crowbar...
...
You have left too many unanswered questions, so you are obligated to release a sequel! I mean come on! You need to write at least one more fanfic. It doesn't have to be as long as this one, but just answer some of the questions left unanswered here!!! PLEASE!!!
2386957 I...but...you...
Touché, mon adversaire, touché.
2391255
Another thought: the most common elements in a given environment are quite likely to make their way into the world's biology. On Earth, one of the most common elements is iron and it ended up being the oxygen carrier in most animals' blood. Since this version of Equestria is rich in dilithium, I wonder where it might work itself into in Equestrian biology... blood? Unicorn horn? Pegasus wings/feathers/muscles? Earth-pony skeleton/muscles? Skin/Coat? All of the above?
Researching "magic" might end up finding out that the so-called magic is actually nothing more (or less) than biological affinity with dilithium with some ponies having higher concentrations and more control than others!
2394031 Iron is also a major ingredient in thermite. I don't see people igniting like a human torch... That suggestion is silly and highly implausible.
2386957
Yeah, I'm going to say it's pretty much this. Ponies (and they don't have to be unicorns) have a MUCH higher ratio of individuals able to manipulate warp fields, than humans do. Still, that leaves them with only a handful so capable...
2394031
This applies more to dragons (and some rare diamond dogs) than to ponies. Dilithium isn't THAT common, so only those that seek out gems for snacks get any useful concentrations, long enough to evolve abilities related.
2394899
Dilithium: The other vitamin D!
Puts it on par with the loads of other stuff we find trace amounts of in the human body without necessarily seeking it out for our diet.
Part of the reason I suggested the dilithium-enhanced biology is because some elements/compounds often substitute themselves to the stuff biology would normally pick. For example, uranium has similar biochemical properties to calcium so people who are unfortunate enough to ingest/breathe uranium end up having some of it metabolized and locked in their skeleton.
What I had in mind: with magic involved, dilithium could have a tendency to affix itself to body parts that get frequent and intense magic focus on, progressively enhancing them much like muscle-building. No need to eat large amounts, it accumulates over time and regular use/training helps with making it stay put.
Well that was interesting ride.
Following is my opinion so no need to jump the gun; I don't like when story does half ending and opens even more questions, prefer the ending of certain story to have satisfying "click". Sure there will be a sequel, but opening new questions and dramatic things can be started in prologue of the new story.
2400489
You've got a valid point there, and I've read a published novel that I thought ended a chapter or three too late. Set up some sequel hooks, sure, but don't dwell on them overlong.
I'll agree that the ending isn't the strongest part of my story. As I've mentioned before, this is my first long story that even HAD an end, and I'm still learning as I go. I just thought it needed to be said that Fluttershy was still missing, as she hadn't come up much in the story since chapter 2.
2385014
The name was chosen for political reasons; sure, Princess Celestia controls the rotation of the planet, but things will be easier for her if she doesn't rub others noses in that fact.
As for capacity for shipbuilding, remember that Equestria has a managed atmosphere and biosphere. (See, Cloud Factory, Winter Wrap-Up) They are a very organized people, and are putting effort into their warp drive project akin to that the US put into making an atomic bomb in World War 2.
How they intend to shift from government only starships to getting private industries involved will be the subject of a later story, with the tentative title "Equestria Trek: Luna's Race"
Oh shit, you're from MCM. That's hilarious.
I was wondering when I'd see someone I potentially knew, even if I only played there for like five minutes. I figured it'd be someone from M3 first.
2472755
*slow headtilt*
I started at M3, way back in the day, when I played Fusion Phoenix. I've come a long way since...
2472762 Top Man / Solder at your service.
Oh, and Guest 2 on MCM right this second ;)
2474551
critical, specific, actionable comments like this one, and hope to see more. Raat is Bajorian, I can add that in passing... As for what all these characters look like, if/when I add it, such details would go into chapter 2, where there's a meeting of the top officers of the ship.
I
Well the story as a whole was good
but I did not like the ending to the story it seemed more as a chapter ending 
So i agree digiz you shouldn't put more questions before the prologue of the new story. 
It was good read and I hope you find the character you need for your second story because I'm looking forward to it. 
If you still need a character send me a PM. I have many from STO or other stories of mine if you need ponies. 
Well hope to hear from you soon, again a very enjoyable read.
2383869 okay, that ended well. kudos to that my friend!
Shall I watch/look for a sequel?
2732139
I've got some notes/plans towards the immediate sequel, The Search for Fluttershy, but I'm not promising that it'll happen until I can get the plot more fully fleshed out.
Well written and mostly well thought out plot - however other than a few lines in the end NOTES - nothing about what happens to fluttershy, and you've out right stated that there may not be a sequel.
For this reason I can't give it the full rating I would like to.
Leaving a story open like that is always indicative of a sequel - without it, you ((In theory) should put what happens with Fluttershy.
Overall a good read.
/ 5
hi hi
An enjoyable read. I think my favorite part was Bindalla's exposition on science and Pinkie Sense. That's something that so many people didn't catch about Pinkie Sense and you hit it right on target. Science is observing and using those observations to predict, while magic is something you choose.
It also gets points for not shoehorning Q and the borg into the center stage. Its nice to have a more, how can I put this... a more under the top sort of adventure.
I'm gonna have to echo the opinion that the ending did leave something to be desired though, but I suppose I can understand why not all the loose ends are getting wrapped up.
If I ever come across a Captain Delilah, I'll have to buy her a drink.
4027183
I've got an explanation for the Pinkie Sense, actually. I don't know if it'll ever come into focus in the story, but there's something real happening...
It's great to hear that people are still finding, reading, and enjoying this story. :)
I'd like to say that your metaphor is spot on: trying to include such 'big' elements in such a 'small' story wouldn't have worked because they wouldn't have fit comfortably. But in a way, that ties into your complaint; this story didn't have a complete ending because I meant it to be an introduction to a longer narrative series, building up to stories big enough to hold more epic.
And yeah, Delilah's a fun character. :) I hope to write more of her adventures.
First of all, let me say that I'm very sorry. I won't even pretend that I know how to write reviews but I still want to tell you what I think about this story since my opinion seems to differ from those expressed in the comments. Some of the things I'm about to write are unpleasant so you might wanna consider reading it when you have an appropriate mood.
This story is a conveniently compact basic plotline in a genuinely Star Trek style.
And this is exactly the reason why I can't say I like it... Let me express what I feel after reading the story in one go:
1.) Your captain is slightly overpowered but still a decent character indeed. Apart from her, there are no really well-developed characters in this story (nor human nor ponies). This might be mostly due to the short length of the story and it's fast pace, which still is not an excuse for not spending a few more lines for developing and APPLYING character's personality traits. And we don't get any real reactions or valuable actions from any of the officers apart from that awkward "I don't wanna loose you scene". It could have been compensated by getting rid of several of "unnecessary" characters and spending more attention on the ones that truly matter. Like you could have zoned out that pony guard and narrowed the number of officers so that their personalities could be better developed and their interaction with the captain more defined and consistent.
2.) The plot line itself is kinda childish. Sure, the griffon leader had kinda-sorta a valid reason and Orion slavers and their intentions are written well enough. You even managed to destroy a protagonist's ship and kill several people from her crew (as well as several ponies)... BUT none of the really important (or at least somehow defined\introduced) characters were even hurt or experienced any real mortal danger or difficulties! And even if someone got hurt or killed no one gave a buck... I mean come on, almost 20 people plus the same amount of ponies killed, around 30 ponies abducted and there is completely no impact on the characters or the story itself. Everyone seemed to just conveniently forget about it. We Didn't even get a single word about how worried or saddened the rest of the Mane6 have been when Dash and Fluttershy disappeared. EVERYONE FORGETS ABOUT FLUTTERSHY UNTIL THE PROLOGUE, THE HELL!? =\
That childish plot lines are the reason why I can't enjoy the Next Generation series.
3.) Almost no emphasis on what ponies really did in the fight apart from Applejack and that guard who (as it stands of now) is a completely unnecessary OC whose introduction took up valuable space from the overly brief story... I mean, come on, wasn't there supposed to be a whole air group who should have attacked from the main entrance? I can't recall they had any part in the fight though they should have been a decisive factor (what I understood, first group should have been a surprise attack to swiftly secure the hostages while the air group would strike from the main entrance and clear the area). We never got any explicit descriptions of what that group did.
4.) Was there at least a single valid reason for giving an alien ship to a bunch of extradited criminals? Besides, after it was captured, it belonged to the Starfleet and as such, the gifting procedure couldn't be carried out by the captain alone. It just fells SOOOO FORCED (I guess it was kinda needed for the sequel but since there is no sequel it counts as a major flaw and SERIOUS suspension of disbelief).
5.) The decisive factor why I wrote this comment was this phrase in the comments "Unlike so many crossovers that require a suspension of disbelief, this paring seems to present itself naturally right out of the gate."
So let's talk about suspension of disbelief:
a. Captain personally escorts a creature of an unknown species to the holodeck without any security (as far as you wrote in the story). This may be due to her capability of mind reading but still...
b. Not informing anyone about what they found and where they were heading. Probably because it was "not within the mission objectives" and such...
c. Captain surviving and getting only a single bone broken after the fall from the higher levels of the atmosphere even though the force was enough to rip the whole deck off the ship mid-flight (and that's not even talking about the impact on the landing). Yeah... Celestia again? (BTW, I never doubted that she'll survive. So it was really kinda obvious)
d. Even though I like to believe in various organizational miracles that Twilight is capable of, in my opinion their rescue mission was a bit too successful and overly perfect. Maybe someone from the pony group could have been at least slightly injured in the process to make it a bit more realistic or some sort of other problem could occur...
e. Not using shuttle to call for reinforcements instead of endangering local species. I guess they preferred to try and save 50 equestrians and risk been KIA (with no one finding them again to help equestrians since the Orion could try to hide their trace). They could have at least tried to inform someone before going on a possibly suicide mission (basing on captain's speech that they will make a difference in any case whether they survive or not).
f. Gifting an alien ship to a bunch of criminals in some unknown to me way and for completely unknown reasons.
On the further note, some of the places were written a bit vague or with an over the top optimism. Seriously... at the end your villain turns out to be an unknown griffon without any personality and a bunch of unnamed Orion slavers. Everyone else is utterly good. (Minus the deaths and this story can be passed as a children's story).
On the positive side: some typos were present but there were only a few of them and they were really minor. I din't have any problems with the ending since it was just like an end of a 2-parter plot line: they always leave you hanging. And I don't find it that hard to believe that ponies managed to build a warpdrive "ship" (maybe more like a manned probe but whatever).
Don't think that I hate this story, I won't even go as far as giving it a downvote. I just decided that I needed to get the things that bothered me out here in case you actually come around writing a sequel since no one seemed to say anything. I hate to be the one sounding like an asshole but that is what I feel after reading this story and I thought that by reading this you might improve something if you ever decide to continue writing. Good luck and PM me if you get the sequel done!
4770937
Holy bleep, this thing is still attracting new readers?
First off, I'd like to thank you for putting in the time to write a review comment so long and in-depth, and a comment like this, that highlights what you don't like has a lot of value to an author wanting to improve. Also, you did hit on a number of the places where I thought I could have done better than I did, particularly when it comes to fleshing out and developing the rest of the cast... and yeah, action scenes are one of my big weaknesses.
As for the suspension of disbelief issues... A couple of them seemed to come from things I hadn't explained as well as I thought I had. (Mind you, it's been over a year since I seriously looked at this thing) In some other cases I think it came from how I didn't want the world building to overwhelm the flow and narrative.
Anyway, thanks for the well thought-out feedback.
4776149
"Brevity is the soul of wit." - William Shakespeare
Well i like the storie, it is true it have some things, but i like, i also love small stories, because it is more dificult do small fics than long ones, thanks for sharing, nice storie
5472553
Well DELILAH was certainly surprised!
As for HOW she survived, it can be chalked up to a lot of luck, and a lot of good design on the part of Starfleet's Shipyards; while the Judges had an exterior that looked like a pre-Federation starship, under the hood it had the latest technology of one of the most advanced civilizations in the Milky Way.
Princess Celestia's intervention kept the ship from being vaporized completely when the fuel core failed, which meant all they had to do to survive was de-orbit without getting killed... but even with only local emergency power, the ship's systems were able to put up enough shielding that it wasn't completely melted by the atmospheric breaking. After glowy plasma death wasn't on the table, emergency "confetti" systems activated, allowing the ship to fall apart in a controlled fashion, structural integrity fields prioritizing keeping compartments intact over keeping them together. This meant that the mass decreased as surface area increased, which lowered the terminal velocity of the tumbling pieces. While the main hull went one way, the bridge went another, and design philosophies for escort class ships, favoring shields over armor, meant that the hull was relatively light for its volume and toughness. The last of the bridge's emergency power went into the Inertial Damper just as the fragment hit the trees, lowering the forces Delilah experienced to less than 100g; survivable, but not pleasant.
So... is there perchance a sequel to this marvelous story going to happen any time soon?
Will the scene with Discord be explained in the sequel? Do the Q's end up in latter episodes of TNG with some sort of agreement to avoid any place the Federation goes?
Dude when will u write the sequel to this thing
ok i can say this is a interesting story and a rather good read.