//------------------------------// // Chapter 49 - Battle For Ponyville Finale. // Story: Ark: Friendship is Survival // by Pomp-Neigh //------------------------------// The loud sounds of clanking shields and swords that strike against the metallic makeup of numerous Corrupted Avatars sound off, accompanied by the warcries of Equus’s defenders and the unsettling moans of infected entities. All while the titanic form of the infected hydra can be seen combating against several flyers with energy projectiles being unleashed upon the multi-headed titan in tandem. Amongst the masses waging war on ground level, Tempest Shadow is locked in combat with the imitation of the Storm King. The two circled each other after parting from their recent conflict, with each combatant going clockwise and counterclockwise.    The purple unicorn’s Tek Armor supported her current stance as she stood on her hind legs while wielding a Tek Sword with her forelimbs. But her helmet has a notable uniqueness as the remnants of her broken horn is covered, yet what’s present there gave the impression that something could protrude outward. Tempest needed no words to express her disdain towards the entity before her, but her face could certainly do all the talking, even though it is hidden behind a blanket of hexagons. And with a roar, the broken unicorn charged forth. The avatar before her beats on its chest before spreading its arms and running towards its opponent as if to grapple with the unicorn mare. The arms of the imitation close in on Tempest, but with a grunt, the unicorn hops into the air as the ‘Storm King’s’ appendages meet nothing where she once stood. The unicorn falls back down to the earth, adjusts her blade as she takes aim, lands on the imitation’s right shoulder, and plunges her blade deep into the entity’s joint region. The entity starts to thrash about in an attempt to get her off it, but Tempest smiles vibrantly before keeping her grasp on her blade and jumping off towards the rear section of the imitation. Because of the size difference, the unicorn couldn’t meet the earth, and she struggled as she tried to pull her opponent to the ground.  “Alright then!” She roared as the jetpack on her back fired up and aided the unicorn’s efforts. She’s able to bring down the ‘Storm King’ as the biped falls onto their back. “I’m not done with you yet!” Tempest exclaims as she moves towards the imitation’s legs and grabs onto the left appendage. “This is for ‘using me!’” Tempest roars out yet again, and with the enhancements of her armor and support of her jetpack, she raises the entity over her head before slamming it down behind her. But the unicorn doesn’t relent as she once again lifts the entity and repeats the process. However, as the imitation’s form nearly crashes into the earth, the entity breaks apart as the metals and energy that make up its body separate and dance around her. And her Tek Sword falls to the ground as a result. “What?!” Tempest exclaims, but the sound of clanking metal and sizzling energy makes itself known from behind the unicorn mare; she turns her head to the source. “Oh, buck m-” The unicorn is batted away by the ‘Storm King’s’ forearm and is sent skiing across the dirt a few feet away.       “Nnngh!” She struggles with gritted teeth as the imitation’s steps can be felt approaching her while she lies on her back within a mound of built-up sediment. The steps stop as the behemoth stands above her, to which she turns her gaze upward and coughs. “Heh, if this is about me turning you into a sculpture and knocking you off that balcony, well,” She raises her head and chest region with the aid of her forelimbs while her face is revealed, no longer being concealed by the blanket of hexagons. “I’m NOT sorry! And I’d gladly do it again, you sad excuse for a king!” The king raises their left leg before bringing it down upon Tempest’s chest region, forcing her back to the floor as she lets out a painful exclamation. There the imitation’s foot remains planted, although the unicorn’s armor does provide some protection and absorbs some of the force being applied. Tempest coughs and a small trail of blood escapes her muzzle. But the unicorn sports a pained smile before looking up to the ‘Storm King’ once more. “I-Imagine calling yourself the Storm King,” She coughs again, followed by a chuckle, “And you can’t even make your own storm. I’d-I’d keep laughing,” Another cough, “If it didn’t hurt so bucking much.” The imitation roars out before lowering itself, grabbing onto Tempest’s chest plate with its right hand and lifting her while growling in tandem. “I-I’m the only storm between us,” The unicorn remains defiant as she’s being lifted. “Our enemies cowered in fear when our forces approached - not because of you, but me.”  The imitation holds her high in the air, although its elbow remains bent as it brought her face-to-face with it. “Because at the end of the day, I am Tempest Shadow…” She continues, raising her hind legs in unison. “And I am the storm that is approaching!”   Tempest grits her teeth and her jetpack’s thrusters pulsate as she bucks herself away from the ‘Storm King’ with a resulting shockwave - courtesy of her Tek Boots. The resulting wave creates a generous spacing between them, and the unicorn capitalizes on this by raising her head up high. An artificial blue horn made of phasing energy protrudes from the top of her head, and with a series of electricity gathering around the fake horn, Tempest takes aim, roars out, and unleashes a relentless wave of sparks and lightning.  The imitation is seemingly turned into a conduit as Tempest’s assault causes various malfunctions within the Corrupted Avatar. But something stuck out to the unicorn mare as the entity seemed to be in overload.  “And when there’s an overload,” Tempest comments, her eyes widening, “An explosion always follows!” Tempest acts quickly, and her thrusters go to work as she charges forth and activates one of the Tek Armor’s capabilities as Lyra Heartstring’s mechanized voice comments: Superspeed engaged.   Tempest wraps her forelimbs around the ‘Storm King’s’ stomach region before lifting them upward and into the air with the aid of her jetpack. Her face becomes concealed behind a blanket of hexagons via her helmet, and as she tries to get the entity away from her allies, who fought their own battles around them, she takes note of the giant hydra nearby and smiles. ……….  Daybreaker floats above the hydra as her breaths become more challenging to intake. All while the forms of Nightmare Moon, the Wonderbolts, Derpy, and Blueblood - of which the duo had joined the fighting, along with other flyers from various species all continued to battle the multi-headed behemoth. In addition to Attack Drones and the ranged attacks of Stryders. The sun alicorn takes another deep albeit struggling breath and growls before diving towards the hydra with a spiral of flames gathering all around her. She intends to crash into the behemoth like a meteor, but this suddenly stops alongside her gathering prowess. “What?!” She roars out. “M-my powers! T-they’re- GRAUGH!” Daybreaker’s attention had diverted, and an incredible force of physical prowess crashed upon her as one of the hydra’s heads slammed into her backside with its chin. This sends the alicorn spiraling into the earth below, followed by a small crater as a cloud of dust is thrown up into the air. Daybreaker laid there for a brief moment with closed eyes and a pained gritted expression before opening her orbs, only to see the same head that had struck her now in the process of a lunge. The beast’s haunting maw with rows of flesh-rendering teeth and patches of the lavender infection is parted, ready to clamp down upon her with ravenous results. “Not today, sister!” Nightmare Moon bellows as she grabs onto the sun alicorn and tosses them away. The lunar Guardian attempts to dodge in turn, but her right wing and foreleg are caught within the edges of the hydra’s jaw, which had clamped shut. Nightmare Moon roars out in a fit of pained torture as the serpentine head carries her away for a time, her form dangling as she tries to resist.  “LUNAAAA!” The downed sun princess roars out, followed by another cough as the air seems to be resisting her attempts to fill her lungs. And as the forms of Derpy, Blueblood, the Wonderbolts, and other flyers attempt to aid the lunar princess, the loud exclamation of Tempest Shadow beckons to them all with the aid of her helmet. “GET AWAY, NOW!!” Those in attendance turn their gaze toward the unicorn, and the other heads of the hydra take notice of Tempest’s actions. More accurately, what the armored mare had held within her forelimbs and pushed towards it with her thrusters.  But it’s already too late for the infected titan as Tempest spins in place and hurls the Storm King’s overloaded imitation towards the base of one of the hydra’s heads - the same head that had Nightmare Moon’s struggling form held within the edge of its maw. A loud explosion ensues, followed by the deafening roars of the other heads of the hydra.  The head that had swooped away the lunar alicorn stops immediately before falling down to the earth, the local area quaking in response to its girth as a cloud of dust kicks up in tandem.    Daybreaker, despite the pain pulsating throughout her entire form, gets onto her hooves and stampedes towards the fallen hydra head. However, she could hear conflict rage on behind her again as the remaining heads of the entity combat several flyers once more.   “Luna!” The sun Guardian shouts, standing before the hydra-head. “Where are you?!”  No response is garnered, and the white alicorn takes flight, although she coughs along the way as the air progressively feels thinner. Daybreaker flies over the head and observes the opposite side, to which she lets loose a gasp as she sees her sister’s form dangling from the head’s closed maw. She acts quickly and lands on the lower jawline of the head before trying to part the beast’s maw with raw physical might in hopes of setting her sibling free. “Tartarus, damn you!” She roars out, gritting her teeth as she pushes against the jaw and tries to pry it upward. But a sense of lightheadedness overtakes her before the alicorn loses consciousness and stumbles down to the earth. Now splayed on her back, Daybreaker could only extend a forelimb towards her sibling. It became harder to breathe with every passing moment, and as her vision darkened, a sudden object appeared in her view as someone had shoved their helmet onto her muzzle, allowing a surge of oxygen to fill her lungs. “Haaaaaugh!” She breaths in greedily. “Hang on, princess,” Comments a helmetless Tempest. “Take steady breaths, nice and easy.” “L-Luna,” Daybreaker starts, pointing her forelimb towards her sibling. “Save, Luna…” “They’re already on it,” Tempest responds as two other individuals hurriedly fly over to the hydra’s head.     Both Derpy and Blueblood float before Nightmare Moon’s dangling form, her chest is barely rising, but signs of life are still present. Blueblood quickly takes off his helmet, although he intakes a large breath of air before unequipping the apparel and placing it over ‘Luna’s’ muzzle. The duo agreed to keep the helmet fastened onto Nightmare’s muzzle while they, themselves, began to share Derpy’s helmet. The pegasus would take a breath within the helm before passing it onto the white unicorn. However, the duo couldn’t help but pity ‘Luna’s’ current state as her wing and leg remained trapped within the dismembered head’s maw. “H… how did you know to do that?” Daybreaker inquires as she passes Tempest’s helmet back to its owner. Tempest takes a breath from the apparel. “I’m no tech specialist, and you and your sister bolted out of the throne room before Megan could explain it. But these helmets are equipped with some sort of oxygen production. Don’t ask me how it works, but we should be grateful it does… for now.” Tempest takes another breath before passing the helmet onto the alicorn. “I can hold my breath for a bit.” “Is there a limit to these?” The alicorn inquires after inhaling.  “Sadly, there is,” The broken unicorn answers as she turns her gaze skyward, “And if we don’t fix this ‘sky issue’ soon enough, everycreature here will face the same problem.” ………. The aerial forces of Equus’s defenders continue to strike at the infected monstrosity. But then, the remaining heads of the entity rise as to where the base of the severed head’s proportion begins to pulsate. A lavender aura surrounds the beast, and the severed head starts to regrow itself during this process. However, a horrifying result occurs from this: The weapons and armor that the large force had relied upon began to fail throughout the entire battlefield. And those who still possessed ammunition within their weapons, such as Tek Rifles, needed to use them cautiously. This also applied to their armor as Element usage warning signs became plastered on their visors. Sadly, this wasn’t easy due to the fact that infected entities and Corrupted Avatars still attacked them in tandem.  Many lives are taken, both on land and in the air. And among the forces who fought on ground level, Prince Rutherford takes note of their current circumstances and shouts: “Retreat! Fall back to pony town!” The yak prince then turns towards his fellow yaks, “We yaks use strong bodies to help friends escape.” “We shall help you,” Chief Thunderhooves comments as he and a number of his buffalo prepare for a charge. “Let us go together like a strong river through a great canyon.”    “Yak like way buffalo think!” Prince Rutherford proudly exclaims. The earth starts to rumble as the unified force of yaks and buffalo charges forth, meeting their foes head-on while beckoning those who lacked such physical might to fall back. Their enemies managed to pick several of their numbers off, but they still plowed forth with unwavering resolve. And the last thing anyone could see of these yaks and buffalo was the large number of enemies that swarmed them.  ………. Amongst those who retreated, Sunset Shimmer’s shoulder cannon blasts away infected entities that gave chase to her and her allies via a relentless barrage of plasmic projectiles. “Keep going!” She roars out as Iron Will and Queen Amira run alongside her while Autumn Blaze and Silent Gorge are behind them. “Has anyone seen Gallus?!” Iron Will inquires. “He flew ahead while transporting Limestone Pie,” Queen Amira responds. “And the red pony, Big Macintosh, had also traveled with them.” Silent Gorge remained silent while a look of determination was plastered on the buffalo’s features. Autumn Blaze looked over her shoulder, and what she sees causes the kirin to stop her retreat and turn in place. “Woah!” She shouts before extending her right forelimb as she takes notice of a flying metallic entity. But most notably, it wasn’t Starlight Glimmer and her Voidwyrm.  “Look at that!” Her words cause several bystanders to halt in place, as do Sunset Shimmer, Iron Will, Silent Gorge, and Queen Amira. Together, they witness the metal titan approaching the hydra and its allies via a set of thrusters.  [KTHOOM] The new arrival lands in front of the infected titan with its knees bent forth before standing at its full stature. The mecha spreads its arms apart, and two large blades protrude from either hand. The hydra roars out in defiance. “You!” Its heads shout in unison.  “Nĭ hăo,” The voice of Mei-Yin responds from the MEK. It then turns to the flyers present, “Leave this area immediately. Do NOT come back to aid me.” The flyers of Equus nod in response, despite their shock at this new metallic being, before adhering to Mei’s request. Within the MEK’s cockpit, Mei-Yin sat on a large black chair with her hands resting on her knees. Her eyes are closed, but a device is strapped onto the back of her head, followed by the voice of Diana.   “Alright, gorgeous. Cerebrum controls are all yours, now go kick that thing’s ass!” The mecha rolls its shoulders and jumps in place before kicking off into a full-on sprint towards the hydra with its blades at the ready. The hydra’s heads lunge towards the mecha, but the MEK spins in place and severs two heads before jumping into the air.  The remaining two heads look skyward, and the necks of their severed cohorts dangle wildly while the MEK’s thrusters keep it airborne above the monstrosity. Then, another series of lavender auras manifest all around the hydra. But rather than regenerate the other heads, the two remaining heads gather a series of purple sparks within their opened maws.  Two beams of purple energy are let loose from the abomination, which soon makes contact with the MEK. Although this wasn’t entirely accurate, and moments before the attack had made its mark, a reasonably large disk had disembarked from the mecha’s back, forming a dark green shield of transparent hexagons that ultimately created a globe around it.   The protective shelling approaches the hydra steadily as the behemoth’s beams of energy struggle against the barrier. The globe finally approaches the hydra before breaking away, followed by two large blades that slice the remaining heads clean off of their elongated necks. The hydra’s movements instantly halt in place, and as the entity tries to regenerate itself yet again, Mei-Yin wills her MEK to grab onto the monstrosity’s tail. However, before she could enact her plans, many Corrupted Avatars began to jump onto the MEK. The recognizable forms of King Sombra and the Pony of Shadows began to assimilate themselves into the mecha, causing a haunting purple virus to slowly travel from the legs of the MEK towards the upper portions and the cockpit.  “M… get out… n…” Diana’s words become fragmented in response to the phenomenon, causing the device that attached itself to the back of Mei’s head to fall off in tandem.   Mei-Yin is quick to decipher her current situation and slams her hand on a large round red button with a square-shaped surrounding and the words ‘EJECT’ present just above it. She crosses her arms as her seat is then jettisoned out of the cockpit, hurling her high into the air before a parachute is erected from her seat. “So that’s what they’re capable of,” Mei assesses as she observes her former MEK being overtaken by the Avatars. “I’ll need to remember that.” The woman then takes notice of a giant wyvern with a similar makeup to her former MEK unit approaching her. And as she prepared to face this entity as a possible opponent, her caution was slightly put at ease as she noticed the draconian’s rider, who waves their forelimbs. “I’ve got you!” Starlight Glimmer exclaims. Mei nods in response before detaching herself from her parachute and chair, leaning forth and free-falling as a result. Starlight quickly wills her Voidwyrm to fly downwards and catches the falling human, who lands professionally behind the unicorn mare. “Hey there!” Starlight greets. “I saw what you did back there during one of my passes. What do you say we team up and finish this?” “No,” Mei responds, causing Starlight’s ears to flatten against her head. Mei sighs, “I meant that we shouldn’t give those Avatars a chance to touch this Wyvern.” “Oh, uhm, actually, it’s a Voidwyrm!” The unicorn declares proudly with a raised forelimb. She laughs awkwardly as Mei stares at her with a raised eyebrow, unamused.        “S-sorry.” Mei turns her gaze downward, “I never could’ve anticipated that those entities could possess my MEK like that.” Starlight follows Mei’s gaze and spots the reason why the human refused to attack with the Voidwyrm: a bipedal mecha with lights of luminous lavender and virus-like scars covering its body. Complete with two purple blades of phasing energy. “Oh. Luna, damnit…” The unified struggle of several individuals sounds off as they try to pry the severed hydra-head upward—all in an attempt to free the lunar alicorn who remained trapped.  “One more push, together!” Tempest exclaims as she, Blueblood, and Derpy prepare to act after taking another breath from Derpy’s Tek Helmet. All the while, Daybreaker hovers beneath her sibling and rests their body on her back to offer some form of comfort while breathing via Tempest’s former Tek Helmet. A far better scenario rather than leaving the dark alicorn there to dangle. The former trio pushes together once more and manages to pry open the hydra’s maw. But rather than both of ‘Luna’s’ appendages slipping out, only her wing does so as her forelimb remained firmly in place. And as Derpy leans her head down to take a look within, she gasps at one of the teeth that lined the upper portions of the beast’s jaw being embedded within the alicorn’s foreleg. “Oh, no! She’s stuck in there because of a tooth!” “Lovely,” Tempest comments. “Nnng, I-I can’t hold it up for much longer,” Blueblood states before he gives in and releases his grasp, which causes Tempest and Derpy to do the same. “Speak to me, my little ponies!” Daybreaker shouts from below after placing the Tek Helmet over Nightmare’s muzzle. “One of this monster’s teeth is keeping Aunty Luna locked in place,” Blueblood responds. The sun alicorn’s eyes widen before her gaze falls downward, “Leave us,” She says. The trio above her take on shocked expressions. “You can’t be serious, au-” “I said: leave us!” The alicorn bellows before meeting their gazes. “There’s no reason for you all to die with Luna and me. After all, it is our duty as Princesses of Equestria to die for our subjects,” She turns back to her sibling, “Just as it is my duty to fall alongside my sister.” “B-but, Aunty Luna wouldn’t want that!” Blueblood tries to reason. ‘Celestia’ chuckles. “True, but she knows how stubborn I can be,” She looks up to them once more and narrows her eyes, “Nephew, you and Derpy have Dinky to take care of. And as for you, Tem- no, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, you have so much to offer for everycreature. Now please, all of you… go.” Blueblood is about to protest, but the haunting groans of encroaching infected entities and Mei Yin’s former MEK, a fully regenerated corrupted hydra and Avatars, make their presence known. The unicorn’s eyes shift towards Derpy, then Tempest, and down to ‘Celestia.’ “I’m so sorry, aunty…” He said with closed eyes and a hesitant expression. The trio departs as they run in the direction of Ponyville. However, Derpy ensures that they each get a breath from her Tek Helmet before tossing the apparel to Daybreaker, who nods in understanding.  The sun alicorn straps the apparel onto her muzzle and makes doubly sure that ‘Luna’s’ is secured, “I’m gonna have to leave you hanging for a bit, dear sister,” She says before lowering herself to the ground. “Tch, terrible pun. I know.” After a brief moment, an ensemble of infected entities and several Corrupted Avatars began to surround the alicorn, although Mei’s corrupted MEK and the hydra are stomping past her location. ‘Celestia’s’ enemies roared and steadily approached her, but the sun princess simply rolled her eyes with a scoff. “Spare me your intimidation displays, and come at me!” She warcries. Her hooves dug into the earth and kicked up dust clouds as she stampeded toward her foes. An infected buffalo careens towards her, but the alicorn hops into the air with a flap of her wings and lands on top of it.   “Raaaaaarhh!” She bellows as she grabs the buffalo’s ears and pulls on the appendages. As a result, the entity began to turn in tandem with the ear she pulled on - the left ear to go left, and vice versa. She steers the buffalo into other infected horrors with the force of a freight train. And much to her sorrow, even her corrupted, beloved ponies as their forms fly over her head. But her determination remained firm as she continued to plow through the infected with her makeshift mount.  Suddenly, ‘Celestia’ felt the ground rumble, and the entity responsible for it ran toward her: a Corrupted Avatar in the shape of a chimera.  The imitation leaped into the air as to bite at the alicorn with the tiger’s head. But Daybreaker hurriedly pulls the buffalo’s ears upwards and causes the entity to rear back in response, its head striking into the belly portions of the chimera, which causes it to stumble. But the snake that makes up the imitation’s tail lunged at the alicorn during this and managed to bite into her left foreleg.  She roars out in pain before the snake lifts her into the air and off the buffalo as the buffalo itself runs away. The serpent spins around like a lasso before loosening its bite force and sending the alicorn aloft; towards the direction of ‘Luna’ and the severed hydra head she dangles from.  Daybreaker skis in the dirt and builds up a small mound, but her ever-present determination to defend her sister wills her back onto her hooves, despite the pulsations of pain traveling across her body. Remarkably, the helmet strapped onto her muzzle never detached itself during the commotion, and after she takes one more greedy batch of air, she tears the apparel off and tosses it away. Daybreaker puffs out her chest, stares her enemies dead in the eye - the now recovered chimera imitation at the forefront alongside various infected and other avatars - and lets loose a primal roar. Her fangs are fully displayed during her performance, and her tongue rests at the bottom of her opened maw. If ‘Celestia’ were going to die, she would ensure they’d hear her final dying roar. Many of Equus’s denizens can be seen retreating into Ponyville’s depths, passing by a plethora of Attack Drones, Stryders, and Defense Units.  “Damnit!” Lyra Heartstrings exclaims, positioned on her own Stryder with lights that match her golden aura. “Those things can compromise mechas!” The unicorn can see her allies fleeing the recent battle on the outskirts of Ponyville - bordering the Everfree Forest. She takes note of the recovered hydra, its’ fellow infected, the Corrupted Avatars, and another large behemoth made entirely of futuristic metals and technology: Mei’s MEK Unit. All of whom are proceeding towards Ponyville unhesitantly. Her eyes shoot wide open in realization, her gaze shifting and scanning all of her Stryders and the mechas that aided her allies. She then closes her eyes in concentration. -Discord!- She screams internally. -If you can hear me, please, you need to hurry!- -What do you think you’re doing?!- The Overseer seethes in response. -You’re draining whatever’s left of the Element still present there! You need to buy us more time to-- “We don’t have time!” The unicorn screams outwardly. “I’m serious! If you saw what I’m looking at-” Lyra’s words die in her throat as several scenarios play out before her eyes: A Defense Unit curls itself up and rolls towards infected entities before uncurling itself. Its four legs carry the mech towards the first encroaching opponent - an infected abyssinian - before its arms punch away at the zombie-like foe in rapid succession.    The flying Attack Drones would unleash a relentless barrage of energy projectiles similar to those fired from Tek Rifles, turrets, and other ranged weaponry of the same composition. Both in the air and on land, these mechas aided fleeing survivors and continued the fight in their stead.   However, things took a turn for the worse when these mechs combated Corrupted Avatars. Much like Mei-Yin’s former MEK Unit, these machines also became corrupted as the Avatars assimilated themselves into these entities. And most horrifyingly, they’d turn on their former allies, even cutting or gunning down several innocents in the process.    Lyra’s vision became hazy via the tears forming in her eyes. Her mind raced for battle strategies and any practical way to fight off their foes, with the only solace being that if they could just hang in there for a bit longer, Discord and his party’s action could bear fruit. But the unicorn’s thoughts are cut off as a large presence descends upon her from above. “Shit!” She exclaims with widened eyes as she hurriedly jumps off of her Stryder. As the unicorn rolls and tumbles on the ground at a safe distance, Mei-Yin’s former MEK Unit lands on the back of the Stryder, grabs onto it, and seemingly injects the same ‘virus’ that plagues the MEK itself. The golden lights on the Stryder turn to lavender, and what results can best be described as a mounted mechanical knight on its equally mechanized steed. Lyra stares hauntingly toward the scenario while lying on her stomach region. And as her allies who remained passed her, the unicorn gritted her teeth with a growl and performed the only thing she could think of at that moment. “All Stryders, engage that MEK!” In response, every remaining Stryder starts to stampede towards the mechanized cavalry as their heads begin to morph and take shape. A phasing horn of considerable length is now present on each equine mecha, ready to swipe away at the MEK upon approach. But upon spotting these equines, the mounted MEK raises its arms and calls forth two of its purple phasing blades in either hand. Its corrupted Stryder lets loose a mechanized ‘neigh’ and rears back before running towards its foes. Two of Lyra’s Stryders attempt to cut away at their foe from either side as their opponent traversed through the middle. But the MEK parries their attempts with both blades before the wrists of its hands spin around at high speeds and decapitate the equine mechas, their remaining forms skiing across the land as the corrupted cavalry continued onward.    One-by-one, the mounted MEK continued to make short work of the Stryders. And after dispatching the final Stryder on the battlefield, it turns its gaze toward the direction of Twilight Sparkle’s Castle. But then, at that moment, Lyra’s head began to pulsate as if an earthquake had gone off within her psyche. But this ‘earthquake’ also spoke in a strange, alien-like language.  -ꂟꏹꌚꋖꋪꂦꂖ- “Wh… what…?!” She cries out as she grabs onto her head with her forelimbs, and this phenomenon nearly crazes her expression. “H… how in the… wh-what in the…” The unicorn’s thoughts are interrupted by thunderous steps as the corrupted knight charges forth and towards another direction with its blades ready to tear asunder. The knight’s steed carries the duo like a freight train, smashing through a handful of Ponyville’s structures before entering a large clearing before the crystalline castle.   The monstrous knight lifts its lavender phase blades into the air as its steed draws closer and closer to its objective. A mighty rumbling ensues as the MEK’s blades slam into the crystalline walls of the castle, carving off several portions of the material in the process. The MEK continues to relentlessly cut away at the crystal castle, causing the structure to shake with every action taken against it. And as the corrupt knight prepares to impale its blades with a built-up thrust, a sudden shockwave erupts from the castle before the castle itself starts to glow with multicolored energy. A beam of multicolored light fires up into the sky before exploding outward and covering the entire Ark within a transparent dome of hexagons. However, a certain purple coloration remains etched into the crown.  Then, the forms of both Cadence and HLN-A began to float out of the castle’s rooftop but still within the rainbow beam of energy. HLN-A is positioned just above the alicorn’s head while the pink Guardian rose higher and higher with her forelimbs crossed before her chest. Cadence’s eyes remained closed, and as the duo reached a certain point in the air, the alicorn’s eyes shot wide open as she spread her limbs apart in either direction.  In response to her actions, the three distant Obelisks began to illuminate with their appropriate coloration of auras. A beam of red, green, and blue fires rapidly towards Cadence and HLN-A soon after, seemingly forming a connection with the duo as a beautiful light show ensues for a brief moment before a pulsating wave of energy is let loose from them both. This wave travels outward like an explosion and expands to every corner of Equus. And although it does not affect survivors, it completely eradicates the infected and any surfaces that harbor the corruption. As for the Corrupted Avatars, these entities are sucked towards HLN-A regardless of how hard they tried to resist. From the locality of Ponyville, many bore witness as the infected hydra sizzles away due to the phenomenon. And as for the corrupted MEK Unit and Stryder that had sieged Twilight’s castle, the Avatars that had possessed them are seemingly exercised - forcefully pulled out of their shells as the recognizable forms of King Sombra and the Pony of Shadows are pulled up and into HLN-A. The nations and kingdoms that border Equestria also witnessed the phenomenon as infected entities are vaporized in Abyssinia, Saddle Arabia, Zebrica, Yakyakistan, the Dragon Lands, the Crystal Empire, and many more.  With one final pulse of blinding lights of multiple colors, the Equus installation became a shining beacon within the darkness of space. And soon enough, the phenomenon of the auroras ceases, and everything returns, albeit arguably, to ‘normal.’ But one thing remains: the installation is still moving toward Earth. Present. Mei-Yin Li takes a breath as she finishes her tale, standing at the precipice of the small flight of stairs that gave access to the thrones of Canterlot Castle’s throne room. Both Discord and Lyra stood at her side, but Megan Williams had noticeably vanished during the tale - much to the worry of Lyra.  At the bottom of these stairs are some of those who survived the conflict, among which a stunned Shining Armor looks down to the floor in regret. “But, then, how did Cadence remain trapped within Twily’s castle?” He questions after raising his head.  “That’s because of all those Avatars that HLN-A has trapped within them,” Discord answers. “Each and every one of those things tried to influence HLN-A’s actions. So as a safeguard, Cadence agreed to hold them captive in my place.” “In your place?” The white unicorn inquires with slight anger. “You mean to tell me that you let her take the fall for you?!” “Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist, sonny!” Discord scolds before crossing his arms. “For your information, I agreed to act as the jailor until we could appropriately get rid of those Avatars, but HLN-A brought up a very valid point.” Shining Armor remains silent, expectingly awaiting the Overseer’s coming words.  “You see,” Discord starts. “Those things are capable of implanting themselves into various technologies - AIs, mechs, you get the gist,” He places his lion’s paw onto his chest region, “I fall under that category. Therefore, Cadence - being made of flesh - wouldn’t be as vulnerable to those things as yours truly.” “That’s funny,” Tempest Shadow comments from amongst the crowd, King Thorax and Pharynx standing alongside her with her remaining Storm Beasts behind them. “You look pretty ‘fleshy’ to me.” “Of course I do,” The Overseer responds. “What you all see before you is my ‘My Little Pony’ form,” He grins, “But this isn’t even my final form.” ………. During this time, Mei-Yin leans into Lyra. “Where did Megan go?” She asks. Lyra sighs with closed eyes. “She’s been avoiding a certain subject, and she’s been acting rather strange as of late… It worries me.” Mei-Yin places a hand to her chin in thought. “And this was after she combated this Grogar persona?”  Lyra nods, opening her eyes. “That’s what puzzles me the most. I’m familiar with this Ark’s origins, not to mention all the fond memories I have of Megan’s parents, who were also my own, in a sense. Not to mention Santiago and Uma,” She sits on her flank, “But… my memory is vague in regards to Grogar. I know that he’s a vessel for the King Titan, but how did that even happen? On top of that, I had no idea Grogar was even trapped in the first place. And even Discord seemed surprised by that.”       Mei remains silent, turning her gaze towards Discord and everyone else present. “You should confront her about this,” She responds. “And I recommend you do it sooner than later.” “... I-I,” Lyra stutters. “I know, but I also feel that-” “I have no time for excuses,” Mei interjects, garnering Lyra’s stunned gaze. “What’s happening between you two is similar to what transpired between Diana and me. I won’t go over the full story, but I’ll tell you that if you don’t go to Megan’s aid, you’ll miss your chance to help her,” A smile crept onto the edges of Mei’s mouth, “Just as Diana did for me.” “B-but what if-” “Then be stubborn about it, like Diana was,” Mei interjects. “If she tries to push you away, you force yourself forward and help her whether she likes it or not. Tell me, what is your true relationship with Megan?” “She’s, well, it’s complicated, but…” Lyra responds before happiness becomes plastered on her features. “She’s my mother, my sister, my friend, and sometimes, I can’t help but feel like I’m her mother,” She chuckles, “As I said, it’s complicated.” A moment of silence ensues between them, save for the words of Discord in the background. “Then what’s stopping you from getting out of my sight and going to her?” Mei inquires, although it sounded more like a demand rather than an inquiry. Lyra instantly takes notice of Mei’s meaning, and with an affirmative nod, she fires up her horn with a small giggle. “You know, in your own badass kind of way, you’re very sweet, Mei,” The unicorn states as she vanishes via a teleportation spell, earning a grunt from Mei in turn. ………. “So, to recap,” The Overseer starts. “I’ve been working quite diligently in restoring the Ark to its normal state, or as normal as I can get it. Element and oxygen levels are replenished, thanks to the reserves we’ve kept in Sunset’s simulation.” “My simulation?” A familiar voice calls out, followed by Sunset Shimmer’s form walking towards the front of the crowd. “What do you mean by that?” Discord shifts his gaze towards her. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Sun-Butt upstairs?” “Don’t change the subject,” The unicorn scolds. “What did you mean-” “We’ll discuss that at a later time, Bacon-Mane,” The Overseer interjects. But upon noticing the angered expression on Sunset’s face, he sighs in frustration. “Look, right now, we all need to cooperate,” Discord said.  “Oh, yeah, and you’re doing a fine job at that so far,” Sunset dripped with sarcasm.  “You’re lucky that sarcasm is one of my favorite programmings,” Discord responds. “But right now, we must work together - build some trust while moving forward. And I’ll start us off by showing you what I really am.” A series of murmurs and inquiries sounded off amongst those in attendance, save for Mei-Yin. But these are all silenced as Discord’s form literally breaks apart into a series of technological sparks, particles, and shapes. These then travel to a location just above the thrones of the alicorn royalties, and they begin to combine together. Several gasps and awes of wonder escape from the crowd, and after a few more moments, a large diamond-shaped entity with hexagon particles floating all around it is on full display for all to see. “I am Overseer zero, zero, four,” The entity comments, still attaining Discord’s voice with a slight mechanized touch. “And I am among the first of the Overseers ever to be created.”       Shock and stunned silence were all that remained in the throne room.  “Overseer zero, zero, four…” Mei-Yin comments, breaking the silence while also garnering the Overseer’s attention. “That implies there are three others who came before you. And if that’s the case…” “Well put… Beast Queen.” Mei’s eyes widen before narrowing suspiciously. “How do you know that alias? I never revealed it to you.” “No, you didn’t. And before you say it, no, HLN-A never told me, either.” “Then how do you know?”  The Overseer chuckles. “You’ve met my sister unit once… or was it actually Gaius Nerva who’s met her? It’s been a while, so my information is a little off, and that’s assuming Megan unlocked every last shred of my memories or Engrams.” The gears in Mei-Yin’s mind put it all together. “Then, the Overseer on The Island…” “Exactly. Now you’re getting it,” Discord responds. “Her name is Minerva, Overseer zero, zero, one. Let’s just say that it’s not a coincidence that a Roman Centurian was arguably that Ark’s most prominent figure at the time. Minerva can be quite... bias.”    -INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND- It’s currently 6:23 pm on the Ark as the late afternoon rays of the sun offer their last illuminance before nightfall inevitably arrives.  A small gathering of Dodos wanders about without any signs of intelligence along the far western coast of the island. One of these birds began to peck randomly at grains of sand; its attention so completely focused on its current task that it bumps into a bipedal entity, who lays on the beach on its stomach region. The bird’s actions cause the individual to stir awake before they lift themselves off of the sand slowly and steadily. The Dodo blankly looks up at the biped - who scratches a metallic implantation on their left forearm before looking around to survey the area. The entity then looks down upon the bird, and a thought comes to it before expressing these thoughts with a gesture and a grunt.