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.

Author's Notes:

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.