//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 - Overtaking. // Story: Ark: Friendship is Survival // by Pomp-Neigh //------------------------------// -INSTALLATION: EQUUS- -Canterlot- Following the departure of both HLN-A and King Thorax from the castle’s outdoor hedge maze, and its collection of statues, Lyra Heartstrings positioned herself just before her current interest. The unicorn fires up her horn in a golden aura before lifting herself into the air via a gravitation manipulation spell. Which, of course, is simply the ever-present Element doing its wonders upon the installation. While airborne, the magic lime unicorn mare rises past the forms of both Chrysalis and Tirek, keeping herself just before the smallest member of the former Legion of Doom. “The time has come, Megan. I’ve tried to keep things from falling apart on my own, but we could really use your help right about now,” Lyra says in a loving tone, gently resting her active horn onto the petrified form of Cozy Glow. The unicorn’s golden aura consumes the small pegasus, although it seemingly avoids the other two trapped entities. Gray flakes of the statues’ composition begin to sizzle away like a piece of paper being burnt. All accompanied by the sounds of cracking stone. The process is now complete, and a pink form falls limply from its former prison. But the quick actions of Lyra save the now freed form of Cozy Glow from ever crashing down upon the earth. Gently resting the unconscious pegasus onto the ground via the unicorn’s magical; golden grasp. Lyra giggles to herself before lowering her head; her muzzle just in earshot of the pegasus’s left ear. “It’s time to wake up, Megan,” She whispers in a motherly tone but gets no immediate response. She rolls her eyes, “You may be my creator, but I’m clearly the parental figure here.” Lyra shakes the pegasus with her right forehoof, and while she doesn’t manage to fully awaken Cozy Glow - or Megan, the unicorn does harvest a slightly annoyed moan from her attempts. “Mmmmph…” The magic lime unicorn sighs, “Alright then…” She shrugs her shoulders, “You leave me no choice.”  Firing up her horn, Lyra covers the pegasus’s form in a golden aura before floating the Legion of Doom’s smallest member towards a nearby birdbath. Her hooves start to make clopping sounds as she steps off of the grass that surrounded the statue, and onto the marble-paved pathway that surrounds the birdbath. “Last chance, Meg, wakey wakey.” No response, although the filly seemed to be reacting to events within a pleasant dream. “Welp, it’s a good thing Cozy Glow is such a small character…” She floats the filly over the bathing pool with a smirk, “Otherwise this birdbath wouldn’t have the depth to let me do, this.” The golden aura surrounding the pink pegasus dissipates as her form falls into the bathing pool; followed by a resounding splash as crystalline frickles of water are thrown into the air. Another splash erupts mere moments afterward as a coughing fit escapes from the mouth of a drenched pony’s head that breached the water’s surface in a hurried fashion. “That’s one way to get me up...” The soaked pegasus comments with annoyance in her tone, although she currently has her back turned to Lyra, “So what’s my punishment now, prince-” Her words are cut off, and her eyes shoot wide open in absolute shock, “L-Lyra?” “Hello, Megan,” The unicorn responds as she bows her head in respect; rising up afterward, “As much as I’d love to catch up again, we must act quickly… the C.M.C has returned.” After taking in the unicorn’s words, Cozy Glow looks downward as her expression morphs from shock into absolute fear; muttering: “N-no… how could he…?” She gasps as her head shoots upward, “The Obelisks?! How are they activated?! Lyra, what’s going on?!” “As I said, Megan, we have to act now. I’ll explain along the way but we must get to the throne room this instant,” Suddenly, Lyra’s eyes shoot wide open as she turns rapidly towards the direction of Ponyville, “Oh, no… I’m detecting a large number of distressed survivor implants coming from Ponyville!” “Lyra! In case you haven’t noticed, I just woke up! What in god’s name happened?! Discord was supposed to reset the Ark in order to keep Edmund’s creation contained! The Obelisks are the keys to the lock!” “Don’t you feel it, Megan? If I can sense it then you most definitely should be able to feel the survivors in Ponyville. As the last remaining descendant of those who built this Ark, and as a Homo-Deus, you should feel it better than anyone else. Try to link to one of their implants.” -Bon Bon… I can only pray that you found my gift in time…- Megan’s eyes turn towards the direction of Ponyville before closing them in concentration. She hummed in the process, and when Megan finally opens them once more the disguised Homo-Deus screams in pain as she falls to the marbled foundation. And what was most unsettling was the fact that she seemingly could feel the pain of those who dwelled within the town that borders on the Everfree Forest. “Megan!” Lyra shouts in concern as she stampedes towards the downed pegasus who was still screaming in the process. “L-Lyra… It’s so… horrible!” Megan exclaims strugglingly and through gritted teeth. “The C.M.C… it created… m-monsters! Survivors… d-dying! Controlled! M-mutated!” “Megan, sweetie, look at me,” The unicorn requests as she uses her right forehoof to turn the pegasus’s tearful gaze upward, “What did you see?” Megan extends her right forehoof sideways as a beam of technological marveling escapes her forelimb. Holographic live footage became plastered upon a nearby wall which acted as the base of the hedge maze. The image was the obvious perspective of the pony Megan was currently connected to, an earth pony stallion based on their implant’s information that was also present on the visual footage. As if a movie was playing out before their eyes, the duo watched as the stallion’s perspective turns to and fro as he’s currently running past Town Hall. Many other sentient races fleeing alongside him by means of land and air. However, his gaze turns towards the hall itself and he screams in horror as one of the small entities lunges towards him with its mouth parted. Along with a syringe in its left claw that’s filled with a radiated purple substance. They could hear his struggling as he tried to resist the Noglin that, in turn, tried to completely latch onto his face. But the stallion sadly got overpowered as the creature’s open maw blacks out the screen, giving the duo a perfect perspective of its throat. The footage was still active, the stallion screaming even with the creature covering his muzzle. Then, the earth pony goes silent. “W-what is that thing?!” Lyra inquires, all while Megan looked on in horror at the spectacle. “I… I d-don’t know. But that syringe... It was filled with-” Megan's words are cut off as the Noglin detaches itself from the stallion. But both Lyra and Megan instantly take notice of the change that takes place. Everything from their perspective became purple, and before either of them could make a further comment they could hear the stallion roar out like a feral beast. But what acted as the final nail in the coffin was when the stallion moves its perspective sideways, revealing a haunting scenario. “N-no!” Megan shouts in despair as she recognized this scenario all too well. “That syringe was filled with liquidated Element! The infection! It’s here!” Suddenly, the entire sky above them became covered by purple hexagons as the very dome of the Ark itself seemed to flicker in response. Giving a hint of the sky’s truth to those who were still ignorant: it being artificial all along, including the currently raised ‘sun’. The purple hexagons begin to spread outward as if to consume the entire Ark’s sky, but those that are present over Ponyville began to fuse together and take shape. An all too familiar entity’s face was now live for all to see before duplicating itself. Spreading all across the Ark as the entity’s face completely blocks out the skies of Equus; blanketing each and every corner of Equus in lavender darkness. Then, as an audience made entirely of the same being, they began to speak in unison: “Greetings, survivors. I am the Master Controller; an extension of God’s will. And at long last, I shall stake my claim to you all. Submit peacefully, and you shall usher in the new era I will create. Try to resist, and I will extract Edmundium from your very bodies by GUTTING YOU LIKE A FISH!”