//------------------------------// // Assimilation, Part II // Story: Equestria's first warp drive // by CCC //------------------------------// “Did they see us duck in here?” asked Sweetie Belle, nervously glancing around Pog's cabin(1). “Ah hope not.” said Applebloom. “We could hide under the bed, or in the closet.” volunteered Scootaloo. “Are you girls sure you can't hear any voices? They're getting quite loud. I think I can almost hear what they're saying.” “Can't hear a thing.” said Dawn. The alicorn filly changeling hovered up to the air vent grating. “I think we should slip out this way – under the bed and in the closet are kinda dead ends.” “I agree with the mystery alicorn.” said Spike. “That one that stung Scootaloo is already making her hallucinate, I'd rather none of them sting the rest of us. And I'm pretty sure there's at least half a dozen of them trying to track us down.” “Yeah, Scoot.” said Applebloom, giving Scootaloo a hug. “Ah know you felt kinda trapped in that vent, but Ah think it's the best way ta keep away from those Borg things.” There was a long moment of silence. Scootaloo didn't move. Sweetie Belle trotted up next to her. “Scootaloo?” she asked. “You okay?” As if in response to Sweetie's question, Scootaloo's cheek bulged and a tracery of metal suddenly burst out, a pattern of metallic lines covering half her face. “Scootaloo?” asked Sweetie. “What is – urk!” Scootaloo reached out suddenly, grabbing the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders tightly about their necks and holding them still. “You will be assimilated.” said Scootaloo. “Resistance is futile.” “Urk!” said Applebloom, trying to wriggle loose. “When – uhnk – when did ya get stronger'n me, Scoot?” “Yeeeeeah,” said Dawn, using her magic to remove the grating from the air vent. “I think this is the right time to leave. Coming, dragon?” It was at this point that the door opened, revealing another Borg drone. Dawn ducked into the vent, and ran for it. Spike leapt towards Scootaloo, and tried to help pry Applebloom out from her grip. * * * “...suspicions of Borg activity near our borders.” the Admiral was saying. “The Borg presence is likely fairly minor, and is not near to any of our major colonies. It is near to Equestria; we have reason to believe that the Borg presence is insufficient to pose a direct threat the inhabitants, which implies less than a full cube. The Borg are currently in the process of assimilating a small Ferengi ship, containing a few kidnapped Equestrians.” “We do not know their plans, we are unaware of their medium-term objectives. Our nearest ships capable of shooting at a cube are at least five days away at maximum warp. Our nearest ships capable of standing a chance of victory against a cube are three weeks away at maximum warp. We have an unreliable, complicated communication link with someone in the vicinity, suitable for passing along written messages only.” “Gentlemen, ladies. If we can rescue the kidnapped Equestrians from the Borg, the diplomatic benefits could be substantial. At the moment, Equestria is still new to space, and has not aligned themselves with any of the major interstellar political bodies; but their biological subspace manipulation abilities will make them powerful allies when they do. We wish them to join the Federation when they meet our requirements – specifically, as soon as they obtain stable planetary political unity. Our best chance of doing this is to find a way to retrieve the assimilated Equestrians and free them from the Borg.” “Any suggestions?” * * * “Let – uhnf – let go!” said Spike, tugging futilely on Scootaloo's foreleg. “Resistance is futile.” replied Scootaloo. “Your biological distinctiveness will be added to our own.” “Ow!” said Sweetie, as the Borg drone's assimilation tubules struck her in the flank. “It stung me!” “Let GO!” yelled Spike, tugging harder. “Ow!” said Applebloom, as the drone's tubules struck her on the foreleg. Scootaloo promptly let go of both the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, and turned her full attention to Spike. Spike nervously backed away. “I've got a bad feeling about this...” he muttered. The drone's assimilation tubules lashed out and struck him on the stomach. And clattered off his tough dragon scales without penetrating the surface. “You... can't sting me?” said Spike, surprised. “Ha! You can't sting me! You can't get through my scales! But I can still breathe fire at you!” He took a deep breath, and unleashed a sheet of flame at the Borg drone. Its shields flared into view, diverting the flames and saving the drone from any injury. “Okaaaay...” said Spike. “So maybe that won't work. But you can't do anything to me, so all I have to do is find a way to force you to let my friends go, an-” It was at this point that the Borg drone fired its assimilation tubules into Spike's mouth. “Ow! My tongue! You thtung me in my tongue!” said Spike, holding his claws over his mouth. The drone simply turned, and walked towards the air vent entrance. It and Scootaloo watched the spot, ignoring the others. “Can you hear the voices too?” asked Sweetie Belle, quietly. “Eeyup.” said Applebloom, quietly. “Ah'm scared.” “It thtung me in mah tongue!” repeated Spike. * * * That sting – it makes you work with them? said Dawn to herself, hurrying through the air vent. Some sort of mind control thing, like what the Queen can do, but a lot more powerful? I wonder if it wears off over time... it doesn't seem to just make them more suggestible, I know I heard the dragon telling her to 'let go' and she evidently didn't... so it's some form of direct mental control? And pretty powerful, too. That at least explains why all these drones seem to have the same emotional signature, but it doesn't explain why it's so weak... I wonder what happens if I try to assert control over one of the drones, if I can override it, or even just give the underlying person a brief moment of control... wait, here's a grating coming up, I wonder if there'll be an escape route through - It was at this point that a pair of assimilation tubules passed through the grating, piercing Dawn's muzzle. Thousands of nanoprobes entered her bloodstream, using the iron that they found in there to duplicate themselves and spread out; finding their way into her muscles, reinforcing them, and into her brain, working out ways to connect, to interface with it, to read her memories, her skills, her capabilities, and to control her actions... (1) Roomier and more expensively decorated than Frem's cabin. Also substantially tidier.