//------------------------------// // Twilight of Borg // Story: Friendship Is Futile // by VaporingRat //------------------------------// Author’s notes: I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everypony that has read, thumbs up, commented, faved and decided to watch me. I didn’t expect for it to become popular and with fanart. **** Captain Shining Armour entered the throne room where Princess Celestia resided. He quickly made his way to the Princess before he bowed. “You wanted to see me, Your Highness?” Shining asked. “Indeed I did. Do you know when the recon team will return?” Celestia enquired. Shining rose from his bowing position and looked up at the Princess. “They should return in ten minutes, Your Highness.” Shining answered. “Good. When they return, send them and their carriage pullers to me immediately. Nopony is to speak to them before I do, understand?” “Yes, Your Highness.” Shining answered. He turned to leave, but the Princess spoke again. “By the way, have you received a letter from Twilight today?” Princess Celestia asked curiously. “Not yet, Your Highness. We were due to receive her weekly letter today, but I left our house before the mail arrived.” Shining replied as he turned back to face the Princess. “Is there something wrong?” “No, it’s just that Twilight was due to send me a stargazing report earlier today but it hasn’t arrived.” Celestia said. “I’m sure its nothing to worry about. I did tell her to only send reports when she has discovered something new.” Shining nodded and exited the throne room. After placing Princess Celestia’s orders with the current guards on duty, Shining quickly made his way home. After the battle with the Changelings and the wedding, Cadence and Shining armour had decided to live in Shining’s house. Shining stopped at the front door and unlocked it with his magic. He pushed the door open and entered his house. As soon as he had entered, he had seen the mail on the table. He quickly cantered over to it and began to check it for any letters from Twilight. “Shiny, you’re home early.” Cadence said as she trotted up next to her husband. He dropped the mail on the table when he found no sign of a letter from his sister. “Have we received a letter from Twilight today?” he asked his wife. “No we haven’t. Is something wrong?” Cadence asked with concern. “No, but Twilight didn’t send a letter to the Princess when she was supposed to, and her weekly letter hasn’t arrived. She might be in trouble!” Shining said in a sudden spell of realization and was about to dash for the door, but Cadence nuzzled her husband, distracting him slightly. “Maybe they’re lost in the mailing system. It has happened before.” “You’re right. Maybe I am overreacting a little.” “You’re not overreacting; you’re just a loving brother who cares for his younger sister.” Cadence said reassuringly. “Thanks. I’d better get back to the palace; Lightwing’s team is due back at any minute now.” Shining replied to his wife. They hugged each other lovingly before Shining left for the palace. **** Rainbow Dash flew gracefully through the air, doing some practise on some of her tricks. She dived, soared, rolled and did a spectacular loop around a cloud. She shot away from the cloud and streaked low across the field below, when something collided with her. The thing and Rainbow tumbled out of the sky and rolled across the field. At first, Rainbow thought that Derpy or some bird had flown into her by accident, but the thing turned out to be Fluttershy, who seemed to be in a great deal of distress. “Careful Fluttershy, you nearly broke my wing!” Rainbow said to the shy Pegasus. “I-I’m sorry…” Fluttershy replied weakly. Rainbow noticed that Fluttershy was disturbed by something, and decided to find out what. “Hey, are you okay? Did somepony say something mean to you?” the cyan Pegasus asked with concern for her friend. “N-no, there w-was this pony… he was wearing r-royal guard armour… and something grabbed him! It pulled him into the Everfree Forest, and did something bad to him! I could’ve helped him, but I’m too weak and cowardly and now he’s dead!” Fluttershy broke down in front of Rainbow, who comforted the Pegasus with a hug. “It’s okay; let’s go see if we can find him.” Rainbow said reassuringly, allowing her soft side to take a rare opportunity to help her friend. Fluttershy nodded and they flew off together towards the Everfree Forest. After several minutes, they were at the spot that Fluttershy had seen the royal guard. “I’ll go see if he’s still there.” Rainbow said to Fluttershy as she stepped into the bush. “Be careful!” Fluttershy weakly called out. “Don’t worry; nothing can harm the fastest flier in all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash called back as she entered the Everfree Forest. The forest interior was dark and deathly silent. None of the usual animals were around, and everything looked downright scary in the gloom. Rainbow made her way deeper into the forest, all of her senses on alert to detect any signs of danger. After ten minutes of wandering the forest, she entered a clearing, and gasped. In the clearing was a discarded helmet made of gold, like the ones the royal guards wear. She approached it, and picked it up with a hoof to examine it. On the inside of the helmet, she spied the royal coat of arms engraved at the back, meaning that the helmet was issued to a royal guard, but its owner was nowhere to be found. A twig snapping made Rainbow jump into the air, dropping the helmet as she took up a fighting stance. One of the bushes rustled, before Zecora came through, with saddlebags full of items from her home. “Zecora! You shouldn’t sneak up on ponies like that… not that I’m scared or anything.” Rainbow said in relief, before her braggish tone made a return, but it was false. “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing in here? For something evil lurks very near.” Zecora said as she looked around the clearing warily to make sure that they were alone. “Fluttershy saw a guard get dragged in here by something and I came to check it out. You haven’t seen anything, have you?” Rainbow asked as she nervously lowered herself to the ground. Zecora shook her head in response as she glared at something in a bush. Satisfied that nothing was in it, she turned back to the Pegasus and was about to say something when hoofsteps from deep within the forest began to echo around the trees. The pony and zebra stood still as the hoofsteps grew nearer, then they stopped. Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but Zecora quickly put her hoof in front of the cyan Pegasus to silence her friend. They waited in silence for two minutes, before the canopy of branches above them began to rustle. “Out of the forest, before it is too late! Otherwise, we may share the guard’s fate!” Zecora shouted to Rainbow Dash as a beam of red light pierced the darkness and fell on the Pegasus’ forehead. “Don’t need to tell me twice!” Rainbow replied as they ran from the clearing. Rainbow decided to match the same speed as the zebra shaman to make sure that Zecora was safe. Something followed them in the tops of the trees, keeping pace with its target. **** Shining Armour re-entered the throne room and bowed before Princess Celestia. “Your Highness, Captain Lightwing’s team has failed to return on-time. Shall I dispatch a search party?” Shining asked. “No. Give them another hour, then send the search party.” Celestia ordered. “Understood, Your Highness.” Shining said in response and began to leave when Celestia spoke again. “Have you received a letter from Twilight today?” the Princess asked. “No, she usually sends one today but we haven’t received one.” Shining replied, before Princess Celestia dismissed him. Sighing, she reassured herself that Twilight was fine. She had managed to hold out for a while during the Changelings invasion of Canterlot, and was sure that she could handle almost anything. **** Several minutes of running in fear from an unknown assailant, Zecora and Rainbow Dash shot out of the Everfree Forest. They stopped several meters from the forest’s edge, watching it for any sign of movement, but there was none. “I think we lost it…” Rainbow sighed in relief as she lay down on the ground to rest, closing her eyes. When Zecora didn’t respond, she opened them again, and found that she wasn’t in the field next to the Everfree Forest, but inside a dark chamber made of metal with green lights and occasional flashes. “Zecora? Is anypony there?” Rainbow called out. “RAINBOW DASH, ELEMENT OF LOYALTY AND CAPTAIN OF THE PONYVILLE WEATHER TEAM, YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.” A familiar female echoed throughout the chamber. Rainbow looked around for the source but found none. “I’ll give you resistance! Show yourself, coward!” Rainbow flew up two feet in the air, ready to fight off any evil. “RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.” The voice said again. Somepony entered the chamber silently behind Rainbow Dash and came closer. “You don’t scare me!” Rainbow said defiantly at the ceiling of the chamber. The figure as now right behind Rainbow, who was unaware of its presence. “Boo!” the figure on the ground cried out, making Rainbow Dash scream and dart across the chamber. The figure began to laugh. “That was just too easy!” Rainbow gave the figure a frightened look, before she recognised who it was. “Twilight?” “Hi Dash,” Twilight said with a smile. Rainbow returned to the ground, staring at Twilight with a mixture of fear and confusion. “What happened to you? You look… different.” Rainbow said as she trotted around her friend to get a good look at all sides. Twilight was different. She no longer had a mane or tail, and her coat was gone, revealing the pale, clammy skin and grey veins that occasionally showed beneath the surface. Her entire body was made of some kind of armour, except for her head, with flashing lights in some places. Her horn was encased in black metal with a small branch that connected the horn to an eyepiece over her left eye. “Oh, this is nothing. I’m fine.” Twilight said casually. “Where are we?” Rainbow asked as she glanced around the room. “We’re at the old castle in the Everfree Forest. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything soon, but first, let me show you to my new friends!” Twilight said happily. Ponies that walked on all fours and on their hind legs entered the chamber. Rainbow gasped at the sight of all of them, each slightly different. The six ponies on their hind legs looked the most horrifying, with their different appendages. She then spotted four Pegasi, two of them had their forelegs and hooves removed and replaced with limbs that had claw-like hands. The Unicorns looked similar to Twilight, but with different eyepieces. The Earth ponies seemed to be the same as the Unicorns, but without the horns. Twilight smiled warmly at her ‘friends’. “Rainbow, meet my friends. Some of them have come from very far away.” Twilight said as she gestured with a hoof at the crowd that circled them. “What are they?” Rainbow asked in slight disgust. “They, or rather ‘we’, are the Borg.” **** “Spike, could you please go and fetch some needles from upstairs?” Rarity asked as she was halfway through on making the wedding dress for some upper class couple in Las Pegasus. Ever since the royal wedding, Carousal Boutique had been flooded with orders from simple frocks to bridle dresses that could make go blind from the gems encrusted on their surfaces. Spike left and returned a minute later with some needles. Rarity grabbed them with her magic and began to start sewing the different parts of the dress together. “Thanks Spike. You’ve been a real help. Now, what did you want to ask me?” Rarity asked. Spike suddenly realised why he was here. When he had entered the shop earlier, Rarity had made him help her in creating a wedding dress. Because of his crush, Spike naturally went along without complaining. “Oh! I was going to ask you if you had seen Twilight today. She wasn’t home when I woke up.” Spike said. “No, unfortunately I haven’t seen her today. I’ve been far too busy on that dress so I haven’t left the Boutique all day. Maybe one of the others has seen her.” “Alright, I’ll go check out Sugarcube Corner.” Spike said as he turned to leave. “Oh I hope you don’t mind if I tag along?” Rarity asked as she quickly covered the dress with a cover and joined Spike at the door. “Not at all,” Spike said casually. ‘This is my big chance! Time for the Spikeinator to work his charms!’ Spike thought as he walked alongside Rarity. His dreams were shattered when Fluttershy came up to them. “Rarity, Spike! Something awful has happened to Rainbow Dash! She went into the Everfree Forest to find somepony that was dragged in there, but she hasn’t returned!” Fluttershy said worriedly. “Fluttershy darling, I’m sure that Rainbow Dash can take care of herself. She is after all the fastest flier in all of Equestria.” Rarity said confidently. “Thank Celestia Ah found y’all!” Applejack called over to the others as she came galloping up to them. “Zecora’s at Sweet Apple Acres goin’ on about monsters in the Everfree Forest an’ how RD disappeared into thin air!” “Oh no!” Fluttershy whimpered. “We’d best get Pinkie and Twilight immediately.” Rarity said. “Did Zecora say what these monsters looked like?” “Ah don’t rightly know, but from her description, they sound like Changelings!” Applejack replied. **** “What kind of a name is that?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, giving the Borg a wary glance. “You wouldn’t understand.” Twilight replied simply. The drones left all of a sudden, some returning to alcoves while others departed to do unknown tasks. “So… what do you want to do now?” “Go home.” Rainbow said. “I don’t like this place, Twi. It’s all spooky and stuff.” ‘And I’m scared…’ Rainbow added in her mind. “Are you sure you want to go back? We can offer you so much. You can be stronger than ever before, you could pull off all of your dangerous stunts and not get hurt, and you can go way faster that the speed of sound if you allow us to assimilate you.” Twilight’s offer sounded temping, but only for a second. “Thanks but no thanks, Twi. You can keep your fancy tricks. I’ll get by fine with pure, natural talent!” “Fine, I’ll send you back. I thought that one of my friends could at least appreciate the discovery that I’ve made…” Twilight said sadly as she turned away. “I’m sorry Twi, I do find all of this creepy, but your offer did sound tempting. Are we still friends?” Rainbow cane next to Twilight and wrapped a wing around Twilight’s body in a hug. In a swift motion, Twilight overpowered Rainbow Dash and forced the cyan Pegasus on her back on the metal floor. Twilight stood over her, a deadly glare in her eye, as she placed her left forehoof on Rainbow’s stomach to keep her still. “FRIENDS.” Twilight said in the weird voice from before as she raised her right forehoof near Rainbow’s neck. Two tubes shot out of the hoof and punctured the coat and skin of the Pegasus, sending the nanoprobes throughout her bloodstream.