Twilight's Castle, After the ES Harmony's Return

It had been almost another month since the Harmony returned, and the refit was complete. The ES Harmony was due to leave later that day, continuing its voyages. The official meeting with the sharin was soon to come. However, the concept of new life and civilisations had sparked a long dormant curiosity within the Princess.

And so here she was, standing in the library.

The mirror portal was still. The machine surrounding it had been activated, and Twilight had been pleasantly surprised to find the book still allowed it to open after over two thousand years of inactivity.

She was debating to herself whether or not to enter, a curiosity invaded her mind she could not chase away. Her conversation with the ES Harmony’s senior officers kept playing in her head.

Twilight hummed. “Perhaps I should have a look through on our return, see how they are doing. Not all humans were exactly… friendly. But with humans like the friends I knew I think they found a future for themselves.”

“Space travel like us?” Nimble suggested.

Twilight nodded. “Perhaps. Who knows, they may have met other races and created alliances with them.”

Iynx raised an eyebrow. “What, like a Federation of sorts?”

Her thoughts were banished from her mind as a flash of white light heralded the appearance of a certain Spirit of Chaos.

“Discord,” she said in greeting.

“Sparkle-butt, whatcha doing?” Discord said with childlike glee.

Twilight silently glared at him.

“Oh don’t be like that,” he rolled his eyes. “I just wanted to come see you after that terrible ordeal you went through, quite the trip you had, hmm?”

“You could say that,” Twilight responded. “But we made it through.”

“Yes, like a true captain you led them through it all,” Discord complimented. “Reminds me of some others I know through that portal. Let’s hope Miss Griffon can live up to you.”

“Through the portal? You’ve been?” Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But of course, several times. Some of the people there are quite entertaining, when they don’t punch you in the face that is.”

“You got punched?” Twilight suppressed a grin. “How did somepony manage that?”

“Well someone did, it is a rather long story.”

“I can only imagine,” Twilight said mirthfully. “I wonder what is happening on Earth right now…”

“You’re thinking of visiting, are you not?” Discord asked.

“I am.”

“You should go,” Discord said in encouragement. “Your friends are long gone but aren’t you curious to what humanity has done with themselves?”

“What’s with that knowing look?” Twilight asked cautiously. “What have you done?”

“Me? Nothing. Mostly.”

“Mostly?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later, so go on already! New horizons await and all that.” Discord encouraged further.

Twilight sighed. “I must admit ever since Nimble Star started that conversation back aboard the Harmony, I have been curious. Alright, one quick look at Canterlot High and then home again.”

“If you so insist,” Discord said as he crossed his arms. “Though, I suppose we shall see.”

“If something happens I’m holding you personally responsible,” Twilight warned, though with a slight grin.

“Get in line,” Discord smirked.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and then walked through the mirror before anything could distract her. The mystical object's surface shimmered as the portal was travelled through, and then was still again.

Discord grinned wider, and in a flash his usual appearance was replaced with another he had fondness for. A smug looking human male in a black and red uniform, a combadge pinned onto it with four pips lining his collar.

“Oh, I do so love to watch fireworks,” Discord said as he sighed in bliss.

With another click of his finders, the surface of the mirror shifted once more, this time displaying an image upon its surface. An image showing a sight he was quite familiar with, and one Princess Twilight Sparkle would also come to know.

It was the image of a ship, traveling on impulse power through the depths of space. A ship with a name that held the same prominence as ‘Harmony’ did in the ponies’ native reality.

A ship bearing the name Enterprise.

Earlier on, in another place

“Captain’s log, supplemental. The USS Enterprise has been ordered to return to Earth Spacedock by one Admiral Phillip Jamerson, though the reasons for this lengthy diversion have not been explained to me. All that I and my crew have been informed is that the task ahead is one of great scientific interest, one linking to our planet’s own past. I would be lying to say my curiosity hasn’t been piqued, and now time will tell the true significance of this mysterious assignment.”

A vast starship moved gently through space on impulse power, the majestic orb that was planet Earth growing ever larger as they made their approach. Earth Spacedock too was coming into sight, various other Federation starships moving in and out of the dock as well as the vast shipyards surrounding the gigantic space station.

The ship itself wasn’t small, but even it was dwarfed by the spacedock. The name USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D was etched into the hull in various locations, most dominantly atop the wide saucer section atop the ship. The Enterprise was Galaxy Class, easily the largest starship in the Federation at the time with a compliment of over a thousand souls aboard. The flagship of the entire federation fleet, the Enterprise had the luxury of being the first ship called when any significant discoveries were found and required Starfleet regulation.

And it seemed this was one of those occasions.

As the ship began its final approach to the dock, those manning flight control within the station remotely took control of the Enterprise away from the helmsman and guided it through the two great doors leading inside. Two other starships were already in the dock, an Ambassador Class and a New Orleans Class starship respectively, aging in comparison to the Galaxy Class of starship. The Enterprise cast a shadow over both the other ships as it was carefully guided into position, coming to a full stop as the airlock extended out from the port until it latched onto one of the Enterprise’s own exterior hatches.

“Docking complete,” one of the bridge officers, a unique android by the name of Data, informed the balding and stern-faced man sitting in the captain’s chair. “All readings normal, the crew is clear for departure onto the starbase.”

“Very good, Mr Data,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard stated, standing from his chair and adjusting his uniform. “Number One, we don’t want to keep the Admiral waiting.”

“This must be important to call the Enterprise all the way home,” Commander William Riker noted, getting up to join his commanding officer as they approached the turbolift. “What do you think they found?”

“Something that doesn’t waste our time,” the tactical officer, a klingon by the name of Worf, muttered to himself sarcastically as the Commander and Captain passed.

“Statistically speaking, it is highly likely that they would not have called us specifically if they were not certain that it was not ‘a waste of time’,” Data commented matter-of- factly, earning a glare from the klingon in turn.

“Well, there is only one way we can find out,” Deanna Troi, the ship’s counsellor, stated from her own seat directly left of the captain’s chair. “We’re explorers, we live for the unknown.”

“Transporter room,” Picard commanded the turbolift, not commenting on his senior staff’s ongoing banter.

The doors slid closed, obscuring the bridge from view before moving to ferry its passengers across the ship towards their requested destination.

“Mr Worf does have a point,” Riker commented as the turbolift kept on moving. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been led on a wild goose chase. Or would it be a wild targ hunt in Worf’s case?”

“Doubtful, Mr Worf would enjoy such an activity,” Captain Picard noted. “But the Admiral was quite clear on its importance.”

“I just wish they were more forthcoming with us.”

“We shall discover the truth soon, one way or another,” Picard pointed out, the turbolift doors opening to reveal the ship’s hallway beyond. “And if this is, as you say, a wild targ hunt, then the Admiral and I shall be having a long talk indeed.”

Picard exited without another word, Riker following on wordlessly albeit with a small smirk on his features.

The walk to the transporter room was a short one from the turbolift, the darkened room with a single large glowing pad being manned by a single crewmember at the console opposing the transporter itself. The Transport Chief gave a nod to the Captain and the Commander as they walked up the steps onto the pad, each taking their respective place on the device.

“We’re locked onto the transporter room closest to the Admiral’s officer,” the Transporter Chief assured the pair. “We’re all clear, ready when you are sir.”

“Thank you,” Picard replied, bracing himself for dematerialisation. “Energise.”

The Chief nodded again, engaging the transporter and then shifting some elements of the display upwards that elicited a beeping sound of confirmation. Blue particles lifted around the two men on the transporter, their molecules being taken apart and transported to a second pad a little ways away.

Their materialisation on the opposing pad was swift, and soon they were once again on the move through the various hallways beyond, this time on Earth Spacedock as opposed to the Enterprise. The corridor led out onto a large promenade, a stylistic fountain splashing in the centre. Facing outwards from the fountain was a large window giving a breathtakingly beautiful view of Earth, and directly opposite that behind the fountain was a door labelled to be the Admiral’s office.

Many people walked on through the area. Most were Starfleet personnel going about their jobs. Some were alien dignitaries on a tour. A few were simple visitors to the starbase admiring both the fountain and the view.

And one of those people in the crowd was staring directly at Picard, an easily recognisable man with a telltale arrogant smirk on his lips.

“Captain?” Riker placed a hand on Picard’s shoulder as he attempted to get a closer look at the man, the Captain looking back at Riker for a moment before attempting to locate the man again.

But he was gone.

“It was nothing,” Picard dismissed, although concerned by what he momentarily thought he saw. “Come on Number One, the Admiral.”

They walked passed the fountain and approached the doorway, chiming to make their presence known before being admitted by the sole inhabitant within.

“Captain Picard,” Admiral Phillip Jamerson greeted, standing up from his desk to shake the Captain’s hand. “And Commander William Riker, if I am not mistaken.”

“Yes sir,” Riker confirmed, also shaking the Admiral’s hand.

“I am sorry we had to pull you away from your assignment at Heldar III, but a rather perplexing anomaly had arisen,” the Admiral stated, sitting back down in his seat while motioning for the others to sit opposite him. “It truly has us quite puzzled.”

The admiral was an aging man, grey hair and wrinkles covering much of his face. Yet he sat at his desk with a straight back and a confidence in his posture, hand resting on the table with fingers interlocking.

The Captain and Commander Riker sat down in the two chairs provided, giving the Admiral a quizzical look.

“You made its importance clear, but I am curious to know why all the secrecy was necessary,” Picard said to the man. “Any light you could shed on this matter would be most appreciated.”

“I’m sorry for the secrets, truly. But we thought it best to keep it relatively quiet for the time being,” the Admiral explained, collecting a few PADDs and shifting them so the others could see their screens. “Now, what do you make of this?”

Picard and Riker looked down onto the images they were being shown, sharing glances containing equal confusion.

“All due respect sir,” Riker began. “But what is so important about a slab of marble?”

The images showed various angles of a marble square base to a statue that had long since gone. It sat within a darkened warehouse, dusty but otherwise intact. Remains of a wooden crate sat scattered all around, likely the container that had previously held it.

“This slab of marble was found in a warehouse in the city of Canterlot, up in Northern America,” Jamerson informed them. “It apparently dates back to the twenty first century, when the city was still rather small in size. The warehouse was largely untouched and abandoned ever since World War Three decimated the Earth, shifting through various owners ever since first contact with the Vulcan High Command.”

“So what changed?” Riker enquired.

“Not long ago, strange energy readings began to be detected within that warehouse. As such a small team was dispatched to investigate,” the Admiral stated. “There wasn’t much of interest inside, mostly old antiquated school equipment from the old Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy. But the energy reading eventually led them to this one large crate with that statue base inside, and the readings were… troubling.”

“Troubling?” Picard said questioningly.

“Yes. We couldn’t identify them,” he explained. “The team had reported it… well, glowing on several occasions. Strange auras surrounding it, before completely disappearing. And yet all tests performed on the damn thing showed it to be nothing more than a solid rock. No power source, nothing. The energy readings faded, and then they returned, before fading again. All quite baffling.”

“You said the warehouse contained school equipment?” Riker asked. “Is there any record of this thing back before first contact?”

“Records from that time are sketchy at best,” the Admiral responded. “But a few decayed newspaper clippings found inside did mention strange lights and other such things. Nothing concrete, but enough to add to the mystery. We don’t know if this is some kind of special anomaly, or if the statue might be some kinds of unheard of alien technology. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“And something like this was just… sitting in front of a school?” Picard said incredulously. “And never noticed?”

“Maybe it never raised enough eyebrows. Maybe the school was hiding something. Whatever the case may be, I want the Enterprise to transport this thing to the Vulcan Science Academy for a more thorough inspection. Hell, feel free to perform however many tests of your own on the thing. Whatever can be done to uncover what it is and what it’s doing on Earth.”

Riker looked a little worried. “Is it dangerous?”

“Not as far as we can tell. I will leave the details of its transport to your own discretion, Captain.”

Picard considered for a moment, and then nodded in the affirmative. “Have it ready for transport up to cargo bay two. I’ll have my people set up the necessary monitoring equipment, and have Mr Data devise a few tests to run.”

The Admiral sat back in his chair, sighing. “Thank you, Captain. It might be the case that all it does is give a little light show, but we would like to know for sure what it is we are dealing with.”

“Of course, Admiral,” Picard confirmed, standing from his chair with his subordinate following. “We will transport your mysterious statue base. If there is anything to be found, we will make it so.”

“Everything seems normal,” Commander Data affirmed, taking readings from his tricorder as various personnel from the Enterprise moved throughout the area. “My scans are unable to detect any anomalous readings.”

He and the other crew members stood in the middle of a vast cityscape, Canterlot stretching out all around them. The warehouse was definitely among the least developed area of the metropolis, having been largely untouched and left to rot ever since its abandonment a few hundred years prior. Now, however, the rusted doors had been opened wide and the object of interest within had been dragged carefully out onto the tarmac beyond. That marble statue base was in broad daylight for the first time in many long years, and the crew had wasted no time in making initial scans of their own while planting transport enhancers in a circle around it.

“Well, something about it has Starfleet Command worried,” Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge noted, working on the transport enhancers along with his engineering team. “They wouldn’t have us doing this otherwise.”

“Can your visor not detect anything our tricorders cannot?” Data enquired of the blind man.

La Forge looked up at the object quizzically, adjusting something on the side of his visor as he glanced up and down its entire surface.

He then shook his head. “Not a thing. As far as it can tell, it’s a rock.”

“It is a rock,” Data confirmed. “Specifically, a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals. Calcium carbonate to be exact.”

“Thank you for the trivia, Data,” La Forge remarked in sarcastic amusement. “But I’ve never known a completely normal rock to cause the federation flagship to be recalled to Earth before.”

Data twitched his head in thought. “It is highly likely that it is having its anomalous properties concealed through undetectable means. Either that, or perhaps it is an effect that comes and goes at irregular intervals.”

“Well this thing has no power source, that’s a certainty,” La Forge pointed out. “As an engineer, I can see no way for this thing to produce any kind of reading in the first place. It’s not even radioactive.”

“I’m afraid I cannot give you an answer at this time,” Data apologised, equally confused as his crewmates. “But perhaps there might be some type of spatial rift responsible.”

“Spatial rift?”

“I am just hypothesising, Geordi,” Data explained, putting away his tricorder. “Should it emit any reading during transit, I suggest we are ready to capture all data possible.”

“That is the general idea,” La Forge confirmed, looking to the side as one of his team informed him that the statue base was ready for transport. He gave the other engineer a nod, tapping on his delta combadge to contact the ship. “La Forge to Enterprise. The object is ready to-”

Then a loud crackling sound caused all eyes to shift back towards the statue base. Where before it had lied dormant, empty and normal, it now began to take on a purple glow on one side as multicoloured and highly unstable energies sparked out dangerously around them.

“La Forge to bridge! We have activity down here; the object is emitting some kind of unidentified energy!” La Forge urgently informed the Enterprise, much of the away team scrambling to a safe distance as he scanned it with his visor. “I’m picking up all sorts of readings, but I can’t make heads or tail of any of them!”

“Geordi!” Data shouted in alarm, tackling the engineer to the ground and a bolt of energy shot right through where La Forge had just been, striking the ground behind him before dissipating.

Then, as quickly as it began it also came to an end. The lightshow began to die down, before vanishing completely. All activity ceased, and the marble statue base became inert once more.

Data looked down at Geordi, the latter staring at the statue base in astonishment. “It appears that Starfleet’s assessment was not incorrect.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” La Forge commented as Data helped him back up to his feet, pressing against his badge once more. “Bridge, the object has returned to an inert state. But I recommend placing a level one forcefield around cargo bay two for the time being.”

“Copy that, Commander,” a voice emerged from the badge. “Resume the transport.”

“We’re ready, let’s get this thing out of here.”

The team returned to the undamaged transport enhancers, enabling them all. They all began to pulsate brightly and with a subtle humming sound. Then, with the lock-on achieved, blue particles shot up around the statue base as it vanished from view, rematerialising back up in the USS Enterprise’s cargo bay.

“Transport complete, we’ll pack up here and then return to the ship. La Forge out.”

“Captain’s Log, supplemental. The Enterprise has received its unusual package, and I have ordered us to set course of Vulcan at warp six. I must admit to being sceptical as to this… statue’s importance, but the show provided for our recovery teams was most telling indeed. Now I am presented with a security concern, the previous activation was far more volatile than previously observed by Starfleet personnel. Just what have I brought onto my ship? And will it prove more dangerous than we yet realise…?”

The Enterprise cruised steadily along at warp speeds, leaving Earth far behind as the ship carried its delicate cargo towards those who would be more suited to examined it and its anomalous properties.

Not that the crew were just going to leave it sitting pretty in their cargo bay. The protective forcefield had been reduced from surrounding the entire cargo bay to simply surrounding the statue base itself. The science division aboard the Enterprise has also sat up a makeshift lab around the strange artefact. Various personnel in both gold and blue uniforms tended the various equipment set up on tables, each one monitoring the statue base for any further activity of interest.

Captain Picard stood among them, observing the strange thing curiously. Commander Data was present, and he had even invited their resident counsellor along. Being a betazoid, they were curious whether she would be able to sense anything from the artefact.

“Nothing,” Deanna informed them regretfully. “Whatever is happening, it is not caused by any sort of thinking and feeling being. And if it is, I cannot currently detect them.”

“I didn’t think so, but it was worth a try,” Picard said to her. “Mr Data, has there been any further activity from this artefact?”

“None sir, it has remained dormant ever since we brought it aboard the Enterprise.”

“Well, keep a close eye on it,” Picard commanded the Lieutenant Commander. “We shall give it a few more hours, then if there are no more incidents I will have us increase our warp factor. We should be at Vulcan within a week.”

“Aye sir.”

“Captain Picard,” a voice came in over the ship’s intercom. “There is a message for you from Admiral Jamerson.”

Picard raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with Data. “On my way.”

Wasting no time, Picard departed the cargo bay and left the statue base behind. He headed directly to the nearest turbolift, and had it ferry him directly to the bridge. The thing about turbolifts is that they didn’t just go up and down, but rather went in every single direction while ferrying its passengers to and from the differing sections of the ship. It took no time at all to bring the Captain to the ship’s bridge, the doors hissing open to reveal the spacious and welcoming space beyond.

“Captain, you have a communication from the Admiral. It had been transferred to your ready room,” Mr Worf informed Picard on sighting his commanding officer. “It is priority one.”

“Priority one? What could possibly have happened in past couple of hours…?” Picard wondered to himself, heading directly to the doorway into his personal ready room.

The terminal on his desk was chiming, indicating that someone was attempting contact. He passed his pet fish and various ornate trinkets, sitting down at the desk and shifting the terminal so it was firmly in front of him. He tapped a key on the LCARS display, and the live image of Admiral Phillip Jamerson emerged.

“Jean-Luc, sorry for the interruption but a situation has arisen that simply cannot wait.”

“So my crew tells me,” Picard replied. “We only just left Earth Spacedock, is this related to the object sitting in cargo bay two?”

“Potentially, but that is unconfirmed,” the Admiral stated. “An anomaly has been detected just barely on our side of the Romulan Neutral Zone, and its erratic readings match those given by the statue base recovered from Canterlot. Your new orders are to divert course and investigate, the last thing we want is the romulans getting twitchy over something like this. I have already sent the exact coordinates to your helmsman.”

“I understand Admiral, but don’t you think this is just a little irregular?” Picard remarked. “A strange object is found emitting even stranger readings. Then, immediately afterwards, an anomaly opens up next to Romulan space?”

“All I can ask is that you be careful, Jean-Luc,” the Admiral responded. “Jamerson out.”

And just like that, the Admiral’s image cut away and was replaced with the symbol of the United Federation of Planets. With a grim look, Picard arose from his seat and emerged back onto the bridge, Wesley Crusher looking up at him as he went.

“Sir, we have received coordinates from the Admiral.”

“Set a course, Mr Crusher,” Picard ordered, moving towards his chair and sitting in it with authority. “Maximum warp, engage!”

The Enterprise slowed a moment as it performed a calculated turn mid-warp, before speaking up to its safest maximum speed. It streaked forth, heading directly towards the neutral zone.

The journey to the Romulan Neutral Zone wasn’t as short as the hop to Vulcan, and many days passed with no activity from the object in cargo bay two. Likewise, there was no change in the anomaly detected near the neutral zone, and as of yet there was no sign of romulan intervention. The latter point was good, as a romulan ship on their side of the neutral zone was never going to be a good thing.

During those days the crew had gone about their duties as they always had done, though the question and mystery as to what was linking the neutral zone to the thing in their cargo bay remained.

Observation of that object had remained constant, though had quickly become known as something of a bore. There wasn’t much joy in looking at the composition of marble all day every single day, but there was no mistake at what it may have been capable of. That fact was just enough to keep the crew on task during the whole ordeal.

At least until the entire team on duty vanished in a flash of white light, appearing in their individual quarters all over the ship.

The statue itself, previously quiet, then began to light up once again. Unlike before, however, where the energies were once unstable they were now controlled and confined to a single surface on the cube shaped statue base. A vortex materialised dead centre, expanding as, if one were to squint, a lavender equine shaped lifeform could be seen getting closer and closer. The figure seemed to glow, shift, and then twist into something more… human.

Then a woman, approximately in her late twenties and in full green coloured Starfleet attire, tripped out of the portal and barely used her long-neglected hands to stop her face planting the hard metallic flooring.

“Ugh, I forgot how strange that felt…” Princess Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself, shakily getting to her feet as she examined her environment. She froze. “Wait… this isn’t Canterlot High!”

As she began to take note of her predicament, her arrival certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed up on the bridge.

“Captain, intruder alert in cargo bay two!” Worf urgently informed the Captain, silencing the alarm coming from his console.

“I have also detected an energy spike coming from that location,” Commander Data added in, examining his own console at the very front of the bridge. “It matches previous readings from the artefact.”

“Bridge to cargo bay two, report!” Captain Picard said aloud, getting no response. “Data, lifesigns in cargo bay two?”

“Only one. Human, but…”

“But?”

“The readings read human, but they also seem… confused. Like something is not quite right with that analysis.”

“Did it come from the object?” Commander Riker enquired.

“Unknown.”

“Mr Worf, assemble a security team and follow me to cargo bay two, erect force fields,” Picard commanded, shooting up from his seat. “Number One, you have the bridge. Deanna, you come too. I would like to know exactly who it is we are dealing with.”

With the orders given, the crew all scrambled to have them fulfilled. Meanwhile, Twilight was simply observing the cargo bay, some understanding coming onto her features.

The Princess crouched down, placing a hand on the deck plates as she closed her eyes in concentration. She felt the subtle vibrations coursing through the structure all around her, vibrations which were extremely familiar to her.”

“A starship, then,” Twilight muttered, opening her eyes and standing back up in small awe. “They made it out here, then. Oh Sunset, did you ever live to see such wonders?”

Twilight turned again to the statue base, once more seemingly inert. Though she knew the portal within was still open, and would be so long as her journal remained connected to the mirror on the other side. A mirror connected to Sunset Shimmer’s own, still somewhere out there in the wide galaxy she now found herself in.

She could also see her reflection in the surface of the statue base. She looked older than previous visits, and yet far younger than she felt she had any right to be. He blue and pink hair was pristine and done up into a neat bun, her largely hairless and light-coloured skin was equally as unblemished. She also wore an unfamiliar uniform severely unlike the previous outfits she had found herself in.

“Hello again,” she said to her own reflection.

Minus the glasses, she could easily imagine that she looked exactly as her counterpart did in the years following their last encounter.

Then the cargo bay doors opened up, a moderately armed security team pouring in. They all wore yellow coloured uniforms, the only exceptions being the woman and balding man at their head. Twilight’s eyes were drawn particularly to the tallest of the obvious security team, who was definitely not human.

The security team spotted her immediately, surrounding her quickly and orderly. Their weapons were not yet raised in her direction, but their grips told Twilight that that detail could change in an instant. Yet she didn’t flinch away, standing undaunted before them, and yet as unthreatening as possible.

“Hold your weapons, I mean no harm,” Twilight addressed the humans.

The balding male, the leader most likely, stood at the head of the group with a cautious look on his features. “I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. You may wear a Starfleet uniform, but the manner of your entrance throws doubts upon that fact. And I know you are not of my crew.”

“You’re right, I’m not,” Twilight admitted, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to end up here. The statue used to be outside a school.”

The team shared a few glanced, the Captain looking at her with a new curiosity.

“A school? What do you know of that?”

“A great deal I would imagine,” she replied. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a friend.”

“Sparkle?” Worf remarked in disgust, clearly having no respect for such an odd name.

“Mr Worf,” Picard scolded, but keeping his attention on the intruder. “The team that was in here has been reporting in from their quarters across the ship. How did you achieve this?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes in confusion. “I saw no team on my arrival, the room was empty.”

Picard seemed doubtful, and his eyes turned to the woman standing next to him. Twilight’s eyes too turned to that woman, and she swore she could feel the presence of another within her own mind.

“Don’t do that,” Twilight warned, the presence being immediately blocked as the woman gasped in surprise.

“Deanna?” Picard said in worry.

“I’m okay,” Deanna assured the Captain. “I sensed no deception, but… she is far more ancient than she appears. And I can no longer feel her emotions.”

Picard looked back at Twilight, a frown on his face. “What are you?”

“A friend,” Twilight repeated her earlier statement. “I am… not from around here.”

“She comes from somewhere else,” Deanna confirmed. “At least that’s what I felt before I was thrown out of her mind.”

“You are an unknown entity and an intruder on my ship,” Picard stated warningly, receiving little reaction from the Princess. “How can I know you are not responsible for what is happening near the neutral zone? For that matter, if not you then who else could have displaced my crew?”

“Who else?” an arrogant voice remarked from atop the statue, all eyes turning towards it immediately. “Come now Picard, must you always be so untrusting of others?”

The figure atop the statue was a mismatched amalgamation of many different animals, and all but one individual seeing him did a double take at the sight.

“Discord!” Twilight shouted up at the creature, irritation in her voice. “Did you know that the statue had been moved?”

“But of course, I know everything!” Discord remarked, eating an encyclopaedia with a specific glance towards Worf.

“You know this… person?” Picard asked Twilight, slightly disturbed by the familiar voice it spoke in.

Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course she knows me, Picard! Did you truly think you were that special?”

With a flash, Discord vanished from the top of the statue base as a simultaneous flash appeared between Twilight and Picard. From that flash emerged an equally arrogant man wearing a red Starfleet uniform.

“There, does this answer the obvious?”

“Q!” Picard shouted, enraged.

“Q?” Twilight parroted, looking at the trickster questioningly.

Q waved a hand of dismissal. “Oh, Q… Discord… What does it matter? I’m me, and that’s all there is to it.”

“What game are you playing this time, Q!?” Picard demanded to know, clearly unamused by the Avatar of Chaos’ antics. “Are you responsible for all of this?”

“For that?” Q asked, gesturing towards the statue base. “Oh no, you can thank old Mr The Bearded for that little hole in the universe.”

“It’s not a hole, it’s a portal,” Twilight corrected him.

“Same difference. Yours is just less fun, unlike that little problem of yours, Picard,” Q remarked, meeting the Captain’s piercing glare. “Oh, whatever awaits you at the edge of the neutral zone? You should be thankful that I sent an expert to aid you.”

Picard looked towards Twilight, who in turn was looking at Q with a bewildered expression.

“Me? Discord, what exactly have you done?”

“I told you earlier, Princess. Nothing at all. Mostly.”

“Princess?” Worf repeated, heavily bemused by the whole situation. “Captain, I do not think we should trust anything he says.”

“I’m fully aware of that, Mr Worf,” Picard replied, approaching Twilight and Q further without losing an inch of his suspicion. “Ms Sparkle, how do you know this man?”

Twilight folded her arms, adopting an expression not so dissimilar to Picard’s as she regarded the Spirit of Chaos with a glare of her own.

“He’s… a friend. Even if he doesn’t act like it,” Twilight stated. “I’ve known him for a very long time. And any explanations would be nice right around now.”

“What would be the fun in that?” Q replied smugly. “Now I expect you kids to get long, I do know that is your speciality, Twilight. Try not to get lost across the quadrant in a wrecked ship again, and have fun.”

And then, in a flash, Q vanished. Twilight leapt forward to where Q had just been standing, looking frantically around for him in extreme annoyance. The Starfleet crew, meanwhile, continued to observe.

“Discord! Get back here you useless draconequus!”

After a few moments of seething, Twilight took a breath to calm herself. She would be having a great many words with Discord when she got back to Equestria, but for the time being she had another matter to attend to.

“My apologies, Captain,” Twilight said to Picard. “I should have known he had some ulterior motive, he always does.”

“What do you mean? Just who and what are you?”

Twilight considered her response for a moment, but decided that lies about her origin would be counterproductive.

“My name if Princess Twilight Sparkle, one of the rulers of Equestria. The portal I just came through leads to my home. In a nutshell, I was expecting to end up on Earth and not here on this starship. It was Discord, the one you call Q, who convinced me to visit again.”

“Visit? You just wanted to… visit?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. I came here once, a very long time ago. I wanted to see what had changed over the years. I have no hostile intent.”

Picard regarded the Princess a moment, before motioning for security to stand down. He didn’t need Troi’s powers to see her sincerity.

“Thank you,” Twilight said as all the security barring Worf exited the cargo bay. “Now… what’s this about a ‘neutral zone’?”

“That can wait a moment,” Picard replied. “You are an alien from somewhere no man has gone before. And I am curious… what exactly is Equestria?”

The senior staff of the Enterprise were all gathered in the briefing room directly behind the bridge, accompanied by their guest. Said guest stood up as the rest sat in their seats, her hand outstretched and glowing a purple aura as the image of a lavender alicorn stood regally on the table between the officers.

“Fascinating,” Data commented, observing the image of Twilight’s true self. “Starfleet has never encountered a fully evolved sapient lifeform of equine decent before. In fact, your profile matches depictions of unicorns spanning back to ancient earth art and literature.”

“Where do you think that came from?” Twilight said with a small smirk.

“It’s something I would have dreamed about as a little girl,” Deanna Troi remarked fondly. “You are most beautiful.”

“I do not see what is so enchanting about a purple horse,” Worf dryly commented.

Twilight gave him a deadpan look. “I recently destroyed a starship by myself, in just a spacesuit.”

That got Worf’s attention. “Is that so? Appearances aside, are you a… warrior?”

“I would hope not,” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “But I am charged with leading my people, and to help defend them where necessary.”

“Beautiful and deadly,” Troi commented, a little amused. “It’s nice to see a ruler not afraid to get their hands dirty.”

“Hooves, Counsellor,” Data corrected.

“You said your people are recently warp capable?” Geordi La Forge asked, getting a nod in return. “If what you say about your abilities is true, I would love to learn more about your engines.”

“Never mind the engines,” Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher remarked. “I want to know how it all works on a biological standpoint. I can’t say I believe in magic, but such energy manipulation is still interesting to think about.”

“One man’s magic is another man’s science,” Captain Picard pointed out. “You must have created marvels with such an ability.”

“You should see the Crystal Empire,” Twilight, switching the image of herself to the mentioned city. “Yes, that is real crystal.”

“It reminds me of Farpoint Station,” Commander Riker commented. “Before it left with its lover, anyway.”

“And you said it took you two thousand years from your birth to get warp drive?” Picard enquired.

“It did,” Twilight confirmed. “With our magic, we had everything we needed on our own world. We entered something of a medieval stasis for a thousand years before I was born, and all advancements after that were dreadfully slow. Not anymore though, I managed to kick our scientists into gear eventually. I designed our first FTL ship.”

“But two thousand years?” Picard questioned again. “You said you visited Earth in the twenty first century.”

“Ah,” Twilight said in understanding, sitting back down at the table. “The portal was closed until recently. Without that connection, time progressed faster for our world. Different universes, our time is not generally relative.”

“Their Equus may be an alternate Earth, but one very far departed from our own,” Data clarified. “Unlike universes directly parallel to us, like the Mirror Universe encountered by Captain Kirk. Tell me, did you ever pinpoint an area of divergence in our worlds?”

“To find an overall divergence would be impossible, the landscape of our whole galaxy could very well be different from your version,” Twilight stated. “But if I had to pinpoint a specific place for Equus compared to Earth, it would be the extinction of the dinosaurs. Evolution diverged dramatically from that point.”

“And this school from hundreds of years ago was fully aware of its existence?”

“Yes, though that wasn’t the first crossing I don’t think. The whole school agreed to secrecy, nobody wanted any undue attention from the American government.”

“People were extremely paranoid back then,” Riker noted. “And everyone had guns.”

“We didn’t want to create an interdimensional incident,” Twilight confirmed. “And eventually I stopped visiting. My time was taken up by my duties… and now my friends are long gone.”

“I’m sorry, that must be very hard for you,” Deanna Troi said sympathetically.

“I’m fine. I’ve had two thousand years to cope,” Twilight responded. “But I’ve told you all the basics about Equus, the ES Harmony and the Equus Space Program. So, what’s this about the neutral zone?”

The crew shared glances, but given the situation they had little reason to hide anything from the alicorn in human form.

La Forge arose from his seat and approached a computer console just behind the Captain’s seat at the table. He activated the display, bringing up the image of what appeared to be a bright multicoloured cloud in space.

“This was taken by our long-range scans,” La Forge explained. “It appeared not long after your portal was rediscovered in Canterlot. Except this is far bigger, and the energy readings are far more erratic.”

“And… it just appeared out of nowhere?”

“We don’t know how it happened. It’s located right on the edge of the zone, not too far from a small nebula also along the border.”

Twilight looked at the gathered readings, concern radiating off of her. “That’s magic alright. A hole in the universe, ours bleeding into yours.”

“How do you know its not the other way around?” Riker asked.

“Because your world hasn’t had magic since the portal’s last closure,” Twilight explained. “If its here, then it is because its coming through from our world into yours. Something similar happened back then, when the statue was damaged and then magic bled through. It caused all sorts of havoc until it was finally cleaned up fully.”

“How could that happen? Is Q responsible?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “He wanted us to meet for this very reason, I think. I’m not sure his powers would even be able to affect an anomaly like this.”

“If he can’t fix it, he might intend us to do it instead,” La Forge surmised.

“I agree,” Twilight stated. “But again, what is the neutral zone?”

“A no man’s land between Federation space and that of the Romulan Star Empire,” Data explained. “Neither side is allowed inside, not since the war the early United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire fought against one another.”

“We’re worried this may cause an incident with them,” Picard added in. “If we get you to the anomaly, could you close it?”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “I would have to take a closer look. And I may need the Enterprise’s help.”

“The ship is fully equipped to deal with a large variety of scenarios,” Data noted. “I’m certain we will have what you need. I imagine that would be Q’s belief as well.”

“Then it seems our course has been decided for us,” Picard mused, just as the beep of the intercom interrupted the meeting.

“Sir, we are on approach to the neutral zone.”

“On our way,” Picard replied to the personnel on the bridge. “Princess, would you care to join us?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, getting up with the others as they piled out of the briefing room and onto the bridge.

The crewmen already there were relieved, and the officers all took their individual stations. Data at the operations console, Worf at tactical with La Forge manning the engineering displays behind him. Picard and Riker took their chairs with Troi sitting to their left, leaving Doctor Crusher and Twilight standing near the captain’s chair looking towards the viewscreen.

The ship decelerated as it exited warp and returned to impulse power. It cruised steadily through space, slowing before coming to a complete halt not too far from the border to the Romulan Neutral Zone.

“Captain, the anomaly is on sensors,” Data reported.

“On screen.”

The viewscreen switched over with a beep, the bright spectral anomaly appearing before their eyes. It twisted and turned within itself, rampant magical energies sparking out dangerously as the anomaly appeared to slowly be expanding outwards. If were to squint, they could see the stars of another place and time beyond.

“Captain, the energy output is off the charts,” La Forge reported. “It has grown significantly since our scans.”

“Its growth is accelerating,” Data interjected. “If this continues, it will cross into both sides of the neutral zone within three days.”

Picard’s eyes were drawn to Twilight, the Princess looking at her own hand as purple energies danced between her fingers.

“Princess Twilight?”

“I can feel it,” Twilight responded. “I can feel the anomaly reaching out to my own magic. The closer we get, the more unstable it will become. More powerful, but more uncontrollable.”

“Are you alright?” Picard asked in concern.

Twilight stopped examining her hand and offered Picard a small smile. “I will be fine. But I ask we not get any closer for the time being.”

“We won’t,” Picard assured her. “Now, what are our options?”

“More data is required,” the android at operations reported. “I will run a high level multiphasic scan, but it will need twelve hours to complete. I might also ask Princess Twilight to help us adjust the sensors based on her peoples’ own.”

Twilight walked up to the android and looked over his shoulder at the console.

“It won’t be a problem. I can show you how to add in a couple new variables and compensate for any interference.”

“Make it so,” Picard ordered, only for a small alarm from tactical to cut him off.

“Captain!” Worf shouted in alarm. “Romulan warbird decloaking!”

“Red alert, shields up!” Picard ordered, rising from his seat and walking forwards a few steps.

The viewscreen shifted, the sight of a large green vessel shaped vaguely like bird of prey. A green light could be seen forming at its very front, before the obvious torpedo was fired directly at them.

The ship jolted from the impact, alarms blaring as the various panels around the bridge began to flash red. Twilight grabbed onto the back of Data’s chair to steady herself, looking more irritated than scared.

“Well, they seem as friendly as a gaecha.”

“Mr Worf, lock on weapons and stand-by,” Picard ordered. “Open a channel to that ship.”

“Channel open, sir.”

“Attention romulan vessel, this is Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise. You are in violation of treaty and have performed an unprovoked attack upon this vessel. Disengage at once!”

It only took a moment, but the romulan ship responded in audio only.

“USS Enterprise, your Federation’s activities in this area are violation enough for us!” the voice of the romulan sub-commander addressed them. “Your creation of the subspace anomaly near our borders is an affront to us.”

“The Federation did not create the anomaly, we were sent to investigate and fix the problem,” Picard replied truthfully.

“Federation tricks will not be tolerated. Leave, or be fired upon.”

“Hold on!” Twilight spoke up, standing next to Picard at the centre of the bridge. “This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, representing the Equus Space Program. My people are not a part of the Federation, and Captain Picard speaks the truth.”

“The Romulan Star Empire does not recognise this ‘Equus Space Program’. Leave now.”

“There is no need for hostilities. Friendship is something that-” A beeping marked the end of the communication. “Did they just hang up on me?”

“I believe they did,” Picard said in amusement, though it was short lived as the ship was once again rocked by a heavy impact.

“Shields at ninety percent!” Worf reported.

Picard made his way back to the captain’s chair, sitting down and staring out at the viewscreen. “Target their weapons, fire at will!”

Energy built up along a strip atop the saucer, a bright orange phaser beam shooting forth and hitting the warbird. It was followed by two more, one atop the saucer and one below it, each one hitting against the other ship’s shields. The Enterprise continued to fire as it turned away from the warbird, which fired another torpedo and four bolts of plasma energy at the Galaxy Class ship.

Sparks flew up from one of the consoles on the bridge, the structure shaking from yet another strike.

“Shields at eighty percent. Their forwards shields are equally drained.”

“Reroute power to the aft shields,” Picard commanded.

The Enterprise fully turned its back to the warbird with the shields there strengthening. Two more bolts of plasma hit the ship as the romulans pursued. The Enterprise fired several more phaser beams, followed by a spread of five photon torpedoes from the aft launcher. They all hit the warbird, the phasers and first four torpedoes hitting the forward shielding directly and causing it to flicker and die. The final torpedo got through, hitting the warbird in a flurry of fire.

“Direct hit,” Worf reported. “They are attempting to reorientate themselves to cover their exposed hull.”

“Stay with them, take out their weapons.”

The Enterprise made to keep up with the warbird as it tried to cover its weakened areas, and it seemed as though they were going to be unsuccessful as a few of the Enterprise’s phasers hit their mark.

“Captain, two more warbirds are on sensors and approaching fast.”

Now Twilight looked concerned. “Three on one, forgive me Captain but those don’t seem like favourable odds.”

“No, they don’t,” Picard grimly agreed. “Disengage, full impulse.”

Riker looked towards Picard oddly. “Impulse, sir?”

“We can’t allow these romulans to interfere with an anomaly of which they have no understanding,” Picard pointed out. “Let them pursue us away from it.”

The Enterprise stopped firing, quickly arching away from the other ship and speeding away as fast as its impulse engines would allow. Two more ships warped into the system moments afterwards.

“All three warbirds are moving to pursue,” Data reported.

“Keep as much distance between us as possible,” Picard commanded. “Now, we just need a way to keep the romulans occupied while we double back to the anomaly.”

“There is the nearby nebula we could potentially hide ourselves in, only a few hours away at warp.” Data reported. “As long as we continue to stay next to the border, I believe the romulans will pursue us.”

“It would be pointless,” Worf objected. “They would be waiting for us to emerge.”

Twilight’s eyes scrunched up for a moment, before they quickly brightened in a ‘eureka’ moment. She rushed up the side of the bridge to where Geordi La Forge was manning a console, addressing the engineer urgently.

“I think I can solve that problem, do you by chance have any kind of holographic technology and shuttles aboard this ship?”

“We have both, why?” La Forge asked.

“I’ll explain as we’re working,” Twilight promised, leading a confused La Forge towards the turbolift. “Captain, head to that nebula. We’ll make sure those ships don’t follow us out again.”

Picard shared a look with his first officer, but conceded to the Princess’ request.

“Alright. Helm, set a course for the nebula and engage!”

The Enterprise dropped out of warp, the nebula directly ahead. As planned, the ship continued on at full impulse until the cloud completely shrouded them and all power signatures the romulan ships may have been able to detect. Those warbirds dropped out of warp not far behind them, just in time to see the ship be completely submerged. They began to spread out, hoping to catch the Enterprise when it made to exit.

Meanwhile, in the shuttlebay, La Forge and Twilight were both crouched next to a bulbous piece of technology sitting in the passenger compartment. They were placing several previously removed panels pack into place, until only one was left open.

“It's now or never,” La Forge commented. “Do it.”

Twilight nodded, her hand glowing with power as she allowed a few strands of her magic to enter the machine and spread throughout its systems. Its lights began to blink lavender, and she then replaced the final panel.

“All done,” she stated. “Set the controls.”

La Forge stood up and entered the cockpit, beginning to program in some directives for the shuttle to follow.

“It will enter its maximum warp factor along the edge of the neutral zone the moment its free of the nebula, and with the falsified signature the romulans should give chase,” La Forge remarked. “How long will your powers keep the projector displaying the Enterprise? On its own it cannot hold such a large image.”

“Well since its ties into the shuttle’s warp core, I’d say a couple hours,” Twilight replied. “And that’s only because of the power boost that anomaly is giving me. I’d be able to keep it going indefinitely if I stayed aboard, but you still need me on the bridge.”

“Well, the autopilot is engaged and readying for launch. The projector will fire up the moment it leaves the ship. Ready?”

“Ready,” Twilight confirmed. “Let’s get off of this thing.”

La Forge followed Princess Twilight out, the shuttle doors closing tightly up behind them. They moved a safe distance away from the small ship, and then watched as the shuttlebay doors began to slide open. Only the forcefield around the now open space kept them from being blown out into space. The pink horizon of the nebula existed beyond, spanning all around them.

The shuttle’s engines fired up, the landing gear retracting as it gently began to lift up and hover in place. Then the impulse engines lit up a bright red, sending the shuttle moved swiftly out of the bay and into open space. It moved a short distance away from the Enterprise before moving around and matching its course and speed through the nebula. The officers on the bridge saw the shuttle launch, slowing the Enterprise down and causing the ship to slowly turn back the way it had come from. The shuttle continued on a little more as it had been, before the shuttle vanished from view. Instead, the image of the Enterprise appeared in its place, its proportions identical as the real thing albeit with a slight lavender tinge you would only see if you stood next to it with a magnifying glass. It looked like the real thing, the readings it was giving off did nothing to dissuade that fact.

The ‘Enterprise’ exited the other side of the nebula, immediately being sighted by the warbirds who sped up to intercept. But their course around the nebula was still longer than going directly through it, even if it was considered a ‘small’ nebula. The ship they were chasing jumped to warp before they could reach it, and they all reunited and jumped after it.

“And there they go,” La Forge commented. “Though, we have less than those couple hours you mentioned. The romulans will catch up to the shuttle, its slower than we are. It won’t take them long to figure out what we’re doing after that.”

“Then we better hurry back, and think of something before they return,” Twilight replied, hitting her own combadge. “Twilight to Picard, the romulans are away.”

“So we saw, good work. Return to the bridge.”

Twilight replied in the affirmative, she and the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer rushing out of the shuttlebay and towards the nearest turbolift to the bridge.

The Enterprise exited the nebula where it had entered, quickly jumping to warp back towards the anomaly. They raised their speeds all the way past their safest maximum speed, all the way to the upper most of warp nine the Enterprise was capable of achieving. It would do a number on the engines, and wouldn’t last long, but they needed as much time as possible if they wanted to figure out a way to close the anomaly before the romulans returned.

Time simply wasn’t on their side.

Twilight and La Forge had returned to the bridge immediately, though the engineer left not too long after to keep an eye on the warp core. The speeds they were going were not recommended for long periods of time, and the ship gave the occasional shudder of protest. Dr Crusher too had returned to her place in the ship’s sick bay, helping tend to those injured during the fight against their romulan attackers.

Running from a small fleet of enemy ships as fast as their own could go. The story of Twilight’s life. Or at least the past year.

As they made their approach to the anomaly, they had no doubt that the romulans had since caught up to and likely destroyed the shuttle. They would be heading back to the anomaly at maximum warp, but they were still a good few hours ahead of them.

But not nearly enough time for Data to do his long scan. Whatever they had to do, they had to do it quickly.

“Exiting warp,” the helmsman reported, the ship rapidly decelerating a short distance from the anomaly.

“Bring us to out previous position by the anomaly and bring us to a full stop,” Picard ordered as he once again regarded the anomaly on the screen. “Have there been any changes to the anomaly during out detour?”

“I’m not sure, Captain,” Data replied, looking at his readout in confusion. “The energy output seems largely the same, though I am detecting a small variation coming from the very centre of the anomaly. Perhaps now would be a good time for those sensor recalibrations?”

Captain Picard turned to Twilight expectantly.

“I can do it,” Twilight confirmed, hopping up to one of the consoles at the back of the bridge and getting to work. “I just need to program in some of the standard mathematical equations to calculate the basic magical properties according to Equestrian science. It’s all rather simple, I learnt it all when I was a foal.”

Data watched her progress, looking on with interest as some of the sensor readings began to clear up and register in a more understandable way. “Fascinating. The colouration of aura is a simple difference of point zero zero one on the-”

“Mr Data,” Picard interrupted.

“Sorry sir, initiating another scan,” Data stated. “I must note that these equations seem extremely complex, unlike the Princess’ words to the contrary.”

“I was a very studious child,” Twilight defended. “But you should now get clearer readings from the anomaly.”

“Confirmed,” Data said. “The anomaly is definitely being produced from the other universe, acting like a funnel for magic to enter our own.”

“Can you detect the cause?” Riker enquired.

“Negative, sir,” Data responded. “Though I can detect some debris on the other side. Some of it is metallic in nature, ship wreckage most likely. There also appears to be an asteroid field in the area.”

Twilight looked away from her console and towards the viewscreen, something resonating in the back of her mind. “Asteroid field…?”

Then she doubled over.

The entire ship shook from an unseen impact, red alert being automatically sounded as sparks flew across the bridge.

“Report!” Picard shouted, gripping his chair tightly.

“The anomaly is expanding exponentially!” Data reported in alarm. “Sir, something is being forcibly dragged through from the other side!”

“Captain!” Worf alerted, directing attention to Twilight.

Picard stood up to see the issue. The Princess was on the floor, lavender magic swirling about her erratically as she breathed heavily in attempt to get it under control. She was obviously in pain.

Picard touched his combadge. “Bridge to Dr Crusher, medical emergency!”

Another shockwave hit the ship, the impact sending Picard falling back into his chair. The view of the other universe through the portal began to widen, and something was definitely moving through it.

“I am detecting a ship emerging from the anomaly,” Data informed them, just as one final burst of magic came from the downed Princess.

Four lavender hooves slowly centred themselves, lifting their owner until she stood up unsteadily. She stood a head taller than any of those around her, her wings fluttering as she realised what had happened. The crew looked at her in shock, examining her ancient lavender eyes and the ethereal mane blowing in an unseen wind.

“The barriers are collapsing,” the alicorn muttered, eyes looking up towards the viewscreen just as the emerging vessel came into view.

And Twilight knew that ship very well indeed.

It was comprised of a large rounded saucer section with a bridge module directly in its centre, six spherical habitation modules running down along each side. At the back of the ship stood two proud nacelles, one slung under the ship and the other towering high above. Lights flickered erratically as it drifted slowly towards the Enterprise, clearly having lost its own engines during their rough and involuntary transit through the anomaly. A name was written on the saucer, sitting valiantly before the bridge as a badge of honour and prestige.

The ship came to a halt, thrusters coming back online and steadying it again. And so the two vessels sat facing each other, uncertain of what was going to happen next.

“It’s the ES Harmony.”