Pandora's Box

Matthew closed his eyes, visibly reining in the passionate anger coursing through him. With a supreme effort, he mastered himself, though there was still a sensation of raw aggression about him. He didn’t even open his eyes.
“I’d let us out of here. I think a part of me woke up in the real world, and you’re probably going to want to deal with it sooner rather than -”

The world shook as though a giant had lifted it up and given it a good wiggle, and a searing pain brought Matthew to his knees.
“...later.”

Back in the real world, it was pandemonium. Curious wasn’t sure if any ponies had actually died yet, because all he could hear was screaming. Lights were sporadically flickering and pulsing around the lab, and ponies were being tossed around helplessly like ragdolls. He’d managed to get off one gargled shriek to the princesses before something had clenched his vocal cords too tightly even to gasp and dashed him against his control panel. The siphon had now been completely deactivated, and the voice was laughing and relishing in their fear. It seemed to be letting ponies get close to the exits or to their communicators before either cruelly slamming them against the concrete floor or just dangling them in the air and crushing parts of them, like legs or ribs – nothing fatal, just painful – before dragging them back to where they’d started. They were trapped with some kind of vengeful spirit that they couldn’t even see, let alone fight. All Curious could do was pray for a miracle.

 

Anthony had only caught bits and pieces of Noire and Violet's conversation, but the parts of it he did hear sounded less than pleasant. He was about to snap out of his reverie and ask them about it when a wave of pain hit both him and Matt. When he recovered, he looked over to Violet.
"Yeah...sooner sounds good to me. I don't want to know what happens if we're disconnected from this world forcefully. I've seen Sword Art Online. It usually isn't pretty.
He then looked over to Noire with a raised eyebrow and pointed a hoof towards her.
"And once we get out of here, you and me need to have a little talk. I'm pretty sure you said something about sacrifices and that just isn't happening on my watch."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the real world, a small reconnaissance vessel-- one of many in Equestria-- was recording the events that were taking place in the Equestrian laboratory from inside the lab itself. It silently flew around the room, completely invisible to the naked eye and even most sensors because of the advanced cloaking technology installed on it. It transmitted these recordings through an untraceable signal back to its mothership, allowing its creators to see what was happening in real-time. When the unknown entity attacked the laboratory, it simply carried on its business as usual, watching from behind the scenes in the darkest corners of the room as a powerful being was tearing the place apart piece by piece.

It would have continued like this for quite a while longer if not for a very unfortunate mishap.

When one of the ponies was flung across the room at random, it slammed into the vessel and knocked it into a nearby wall with enough force to disrupt its cloak. The drone was temporarily revealed to everyone and everything inside the room; anyone who was looking would have seen a small orange, almost golden cross-shaped vessel with glowing blue highlights that seemed to have some sort of long, wavy fins flowing behind it. It almost sounded frantic as it beeped and buzzed, trying desperately to restore its power grid. It was able to do so in just a few moments thanks to the shield system that protected it from any major damage. Realizing that it may very well have been discovered in this brief period of time, its creators gave it the command to leave the facility immediately, which it followed right after its cloaking system was restored. The small drone disappeared into thin air and flew out of the facility, no doubt leaving any potential witnesses wondering if they had seen some kind of strange illusion.

 

Red screens popped up in front of Noire as violet cast her a deeply worried look. As the world continued to shake she let out an annoyed sigh.
"Whatever this is, it is disrupting things." Noire stood up on her hooves and gave a curt nod to Violet. "Severe it."
Violet closed her eyes and focused on the decoding spell. Her horn glowed as a slight thrum coursed through her veins. As she opened her eyes, they glowed a bright white as a black void opened sickeningly in the sitting room. The void swirled with dark purple streaks in a slow vortex.
"Step through and you will wake up in the true reality." Noire snickered a little at that. "There we can take care of whatever is going on and then set out like we should have in the beginning."

Gaelix simply vanished from the room. He blinked and was standing up in his personal facility. Dropping into the chair he spun a few times before looking at the computer screen. Things were definitely not going well. He saw as the feed from the main facility showed. Glancing at the vat that held Noire's clone, he almost missed the small camera vanish into nothing. Playing back the footage, he was able to pause the out of focus camera and see exactly what the device was.

"You're going." Violet said sternly.
"This is my home."
"Do you want to feed? I know a few junior members of the staff that are expendable."
"Can I even move? How far gone am I?"
"You aren't beyond recovery. If you move soon." Violet said, coming to stand next to Noire. "Or we can put you in Gaelix's clone."
Noire's look was baleful as she looked into the peaceful darkness. As Violet watched her sister for any telltale signs, she realized the smaller mare was trembling.
"It's okay." Violet said putting a leg around Noire. "You don't have to come back." Noire turned and looked hopefully into Violet's eyes. The portal slid beneath the two of them and they fell inside. Noire let out a scream.

BAM
Noire jolted into consciousness with a violent contraction of every muscle in her body. The room around her was dark aside from the slow strobe of the orange emergency light. Pushing herself up with her forelegs took a momentous amount of effort that she hadn't ever expected. She'd looked into atrophy when the matrix was first built up around herself, but had never actually thought about it. So this...!! Noire slammed back into the mattress as fire erupted across her body. She heard herself screaming weakly in a hoarse whisper.
It took all the energy and motivation she had to drag herself, painfully falling, out of the bed. Crawling to the wall was part one, though there were no hoof holes. Thankfully the wall was made out of soft material that was easily damaged. Noire kicked a makeshift ladder into the wall and stood herself up. Resting her weight against the wall, she took an unsteady step forward and almost fell to the floor again. After several steps, her legs did buckle beneath her and she had to drag herself back up.
Panting and dripping sweat, Noire finally made it to the heart of the chaos. It took a second for her mind to recognize the powerful aura that permeated the room, practically blinding her right eye with it's volume. The color of the shimmer hue was sickly dark green that warmingly embraced her with its need. She stood there, her body deciding what to do with this powerful emotion. Her mind overloaded in the moment and she stood frozen as the waves of seduction rolled over her, causing her body to heat up at an alarming rate.

Violet made her way on unsteady legs down the dark corridors. her head throbbed painfully as it normally did after a long period of immersion in the virtual world. It didn't take her long to wind up in a part of the facility that she was unfamiliar with.

"Tell me your name?" Gaelix said.
"Neon." The Beige pony stared blankly at him.
"Good girl." He said, patting the pegasus on the head. "And what did I wake you up for?"
"I am a weapon. That is my purpose. I am your assistant of Chaos. And together we will take the throne, in the name of your parents."

 

Anthony slowly opened his eyes in the real world for the first time in quite a while. His vision was blurry, his entire body felt heavy and he was far too disoriented to do anything for the moment. After about a minute of this, his vision started to come back into focus and his mind was starting to adjust to being back in his original body. Well...his original, currently pony-fied body. He groaned a little upon the realization.
"Yep...still a pony...not sure what I was expecting, but I'm still a little disappointed."
He let out a small sigh-- more like a whimper-- and tried to stand up. "Tried" being the key word here because not only was he still not used to his new form yet, he has to get used to this new body after it's been trapped in a tube for who knows how long. His lack of coordination with four limbs got the better of him and he promptly slipped and fell back onto the floor of the now open chamber.
"Uuurrrrggghh."
He made a noise that sounded something like a bear that had been prematurely woken from hibernation. He sat there for a few moments, staring at the exit that was only a few feet away from him but still seemed so far away. His face contorted as he focused himself in another effort to stand.
"Alright. This time for sure!"
With a great deal of effort and a lot of grunting and groaning, Anthony got back on his hooves and was now proudly standing tall-- at least as tall as a pony could be. He still felt very sluggish and drained and he could only walk slowly, but he could at least get around the facility without any problems now.

Just then, he heard a voice calling out to him again. But this time there was no pain at all and he could hear the voice clearly. It was a male's voice; calm and reassuring despite its sense of urgency and filled with a deep sage-like wisdom that reflected in his every word.
"Can you hear me? Please, if my voice is reaching you, try to respond. You have the capability to do so."
Anthony looked around the room to see where the voice was coming from but he didn't find anything. In a way, it wouldn't have made sense if they were in the room. The voice felt...closer, as if it was coming from inside his mind. It said that he had the ability to respond, so on a hunch he tried to "send his thoughts" back to where the voice came from.
"So, this is kinda weird. Wait...I think I know you. You're the one who was trying to warn me back when I was in the virtual world, aren't you? Who are you and how'd you get in my head?"
Through their link, Anthony could sense the great feeling of relief coming from the owner of the mysterious voice.
"Khas arashad, you are alive and well! Given the time, I would gladly explain in full everything that has transpired. But there is much to tell and no time for any of it; for now I ask that you put aside your questions and follow my lead."

He was a little hesitant after what had happened in the virtual world.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I've already been stabbed in the back once today. Trust is kind of a touchy subject for me right now."
"An understandable sentiment after what has been done to you. Yet the only evidence I can give of my sincerity is my word, the word of a stranger though it may be, that I have nothing but good intentions towards you and your companion. If that holds any value to you, I swear on my honor, my life and everything that I hold dear that I am trying to help you."
He had to take a moment to think about this. Whoever this person was did try to help them before and...well, just because the Equestrians turned on him, doesn't mean this person will. Not only that, he could almost feel their sincerity through this mental bond. He had the sense that whoever this person was, they were trying desperately to reach out to him and help him. He nodded to himself and thought up a reply.

"Okay...I'll take that word of yours for now. So, what should I do first?"
"Many thanks, my Terran friend. Our first priority is to reunite you with your companion; in this perilous situation I want the two of you to stay together as much as possible. I will guide you to where he is awakening."
"Hold up, you know where Matt is?! Man, you should've started off with that! Where is he, exactly?"
Just a few seconds after he said this, he noticed a strange flying object in the room. He flinched and let out a gasp. He probably would have jumped too if his body had the strength for that.
"Do not be afraid. That small vessel you see is called an Observer; it is one of the three reconnaissance drones that we sent into this facility. It is usually invisible but I have decloaked it temporarily so that you can see it. Please pardon the indiscretion; it has been watching you ever since you entered this facility. Such a measure was necessary in order to ensure your safety."
"Okay...kinda uncomfortable, but I guess I can see where you're coming from. And did you say it can turn invisible? That's amazing...and probably really useful for a recon ship."
"Indeed. Now, if you would, follow that Observer and it will lead you to your companion's chamber. It will cloak and decloak as needed to avoid detection from anyone else. We do not wish to expose the Equestrians to our level of technology, though we may have already failed in that regard."
"So you guys have got some kind of Prime Directive deal going on? Yeah, that makes sense."
Anthony then looked up to the Observer.
"Well...lead on, little guy."
With a quiet beep, it flew out of the room and towards the room Matthew was in.

When Anthony made his way to Matthew's room, the Observer stopped directly in front of it and cloaked, disappearing from sight in less than a second.
"So, I guess this must be it."
In the time it took to get to this room, he felt more of his strength coming back to him and he was starting to get used to walking on all fours. He was hoping he wouldn't have to bust down the door, but he thought he could probably do it if he absolutely had to. Hopefully.
"Okay. Let's try this the civilized way first."
He tried opening the door and to his surprise, it actually opened.
"Hey, that works just fine for me!"
He opened the door and stepped inside, frantically looking around the room.
"Matt! Are you in here?!"

 

Matthew was on his knees, his form replaced by that of the silver-blue stallion he had become. As he got up, his eyes flashed dangerously - only to soften and cool at the sight of Anthony. It was clear he was in terrible pain, his muscles clearly having suffered greatly from both lack of use and the seemingly accelerated siphoning process. Beneath that pain though burned a fierce pride that refused to wait a second longer than needed to fully recover.
"Anthony," he growled, his vocal cords still rusty. "You... alright?" He pushed his way out of the tank and staggered towards him, steadily growing more composed. "Didn't think we could be hurt... shame to see I was wrong."

 

Anthony had a worried look as Matthew made his way towards him, looking like he could collapse at any second. But he seemed to be getting stronger with every step so it looked like Anthony wouldn't have to catch him, much to his relief. He shook his head and replied grimly.
"Yeah, no kidding. This is the first time I've honestly felt vulnerable since we got these powers."
He grimaced, seeing clearly that Matt was in a good deal of pain. Anthony still had some aches and pains of his own, but even when he first got out he was in better shape than Matt.
"Man...looks like you got it even worse than I did. Somehow. I guess they liked your energy more."
He smiled weakly and raised a hoof.
"But hey, I've got a little bit of good news, finally. That voice in my head finally got through, he showed me how to get here!"
There was an awkward silence for a brief moment as he realized just how strange that must have sounded. He cleared his throat. "Wow, phrasing. Uh, let me try that again--"

As Anthony was just about to explain, the Observer that was stationed to Matthew's chamber decloaked right in front of the two Terrans.

Anthony's face lit up and he pointed to the decloaked vessel.
"That, right there! That's called an Observer. The voice that was trying to reach me in the virtual world is controlling those things, they're some kind of unmanned recon drone. One of those showed up where I was and showed me the way here. I don't know who they are, but someone out there is trying to help us out and they used telepathy to talk to me."

After Anthony finished explaining, the Observer made a few beeping sounds and started to float out of the room. It hovered just outside the door facing the hall that led towards the control center of the laboratory.

Anthony watched the Observer closely as it left the room, then looked back to Matt.
"Hey...can you get around alright? I think the little guy wants us to follow him. Wherever he's going, it's probably somewhere important."

 

Neon stared intently into the corner, her face neutral. The small thing skittered around there, its every attempt to flee blocked by one of her hooves. It went right, blocked. Up and to the left, blocked. Then it ran up the join between the two walls. It slipped beneath the flat surface of Neon's hoof. Letting out a dismayed sigh, she watched it skitter away up into the rafters.
"Papa, what are you doing?"
"I'm doing research," he replied for the hundredth time. He hadn't expected he'd have to raise a fully grown pony to help him. If only Noire had come to me! As it stood now, her constant questioning and "Discoveries" were going to drive him to murder.
"Paaapaaa!" Neon wailed. He cast a glance to where she was sitting in the corner playing with a spider.
"Yes. Neon."
"Papa, why did Crawly run away?"
"Spiders can't think the way we do," came his bored answer. "All they can do is fight or run away from things. Since you're so much bigger than it, it's afraid of you."
A look of dawning realization spread across her face. Suddenly she erupted into the air with a bizarre frenzy of hyperactive energy. Gaelix watched as she spun around in circles for a while before hitting the wall and dropping to the floor.
"You okay?" Neon sat up, her head lolling comically. "Alright come with me. It's time to begin your training."
"Okay Papa," Noire chimed.

-------------------------------------------

Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAP! Violet screamed in her mind as she wandered aimlessly through the - obviously abandoned for quite some time - sub levels of the matrix facility. For maybe the hundredth time she opened a door leading to a decaying room. Every single one was set up the same: one bed, a desk with some kind of computer, a safe in one corner, and some shelves. The only room that was different appeared to be some kind of medical room.
"GAHHHHHHH!" She screamed aloud. Her voice echoed through the empty corridors.
BANGBANGBANG
Violet froze as the sound seemed to come from all around her. It came again, three loud bangs and something that sounded like a metal on metal grinding. Louder this time, closer. Backing into the room, she closed the door with her magic then let her illumination spell collapse. In the near darkness she waited for whatever was making the sound discover her.

-------------------------------------------

Noire leaned heavily against the doorway as she watched the chaos before her. Gaelix would like this. She thought as she spotted a surviving security camera in a corner. Another wave from the creature... presence...entity... Thing crashed on top of her. The power of the raw emotions dropped her to the floor. As another wave rose up, the nauseatingly sweet taste of corruption filled her. The familiarity with her own aura reverberated heavily inside of her, causing parts of her brain activating that she wasn't fully certain of. Slowly an emotion bubbled up inside of her as she dragged herself across the floor. It took her until the was 3/4ths of the way to the thing as it flitted around the room; the need to possess.

 

Matthew shook himself, looking like he was waking up properly. There was a strange absence to his mind he couldn't quite place, though he knew exactly what it was. "Yeah, I can walk. Whatever that thing is, I can feel it's pointing us in the right direction." He slowly cantered out of the door, adjusting to movement as a quadruped. "Let's... ughnn... go."

 

Anthony nodded, though he still looked a little uneasy at the thought of Matt walking around in his condition. He decided to take things slowly for now. It would be better for him as well, since he was still getting used to walking on all fours just as much as Matt is. They wandered around the eerily empty halls for a while in silence until Anthony turned his head towards Matt spoke up.
"Do you think we missed something here? This place is deserted...that seems kinda weird for a project as important to them as this."

The mysterious voice spoke again; this time it could be heard by both ponies.
"That is because this facility is under attack. By what, we do not yet understand; we can only discern that she is a powerful entity possessed by an unholy fury."

Anthony stopped in his tracks, his eyes open wide in shock.
"Wait, what?! And you were about to lead us right towards it?! It's not like we can fight much of anything right now!"

"You misunderstand, I do not wish for you to do battle. Rather, we believe that this being-- whoever she may be-- can only be stopped by your companion. For it was he who summoned her to begin with, be it willfully or unconsciously."
He knew this because of the footage obtained from the Observers and the scans taken by his command ship that had analyzed her power from orbit.

Anthony gave Matt a curious look.
"So...what's he talking about?"
Just then, they heard a loud scream echoing down the halls. Anthony recognized it instantly and his heart sank.
"Crap, that's Violet! Move now, ask questions later!"
He ran as fast as his new legs could take him towards the source of the scream. He very nearly tripped on his own hooves a few times but he managed to keep his footing. Even though he was scared of whatever was waiting for him down this hall, he couldn't bring himself to ignore Violet's scream, even after everything that happened.

 

It was odd, she thought, looking up at the being made of of pure emotion. The colors of it were a sinister green that changed into a varied hue of orange to red as it spread out through the room. Noire was held enraptured by the being. Something about it was burning around her. It was part of her. As she watched the aura she put out writhe and entangle with this unknown presence, the two were identical.
This is part of me. Where did I lose it?
Noire watched it for a while more, gathering her strength. The pattern, she could see it now. Everything had a pattern to it, no matter what it was, no matter how inconsistent. All that mattered was the time taken to watch and note. With one burst of power she threw herself into the air and grabbed it by the leg with her mouth; the single fang digging in. Instincts took a hold then and Noire began feeding. It was oddly reminiscent of drinking through a straw. The aura merged seamlessly with her own, almost as if it wanted to be absorbed by her.
The surge of power erupted through her body; healing, strengthening, reforming. A horrible feeling bored out of her head as a crooked horn shot out from her skull. She blinked her eyes as they were filled with blood. The right side of her body spread to her left as the corruption completed. As she screamed her mind realized that she was now standing taller than the other ponies in the room. Couldn't be completely sure though, what with them flying all over the place and now falling painfully to the ground.
Noire kept screaming as something else welled up inside her mind.

-------------------------------------------------

"Papa." Neon said, her voice frail.
"It's going to be okay." He said tersely, busy throwing the mixture together. He had known awakening Neon without Noire's soul could cause accelerated decay, but he hadn't expected anything this fast. As he dropped in the final ingredient - timber wolf sap - he put the concoction through the centrifuge and waited.
"Papa." The voice was a whisper.
The centrifuge completed with a quiet ding and he grabbed the vials and emptied them into an IV bag. It was no difficulty placing the IV. Squeezing the bag in his paws pushed the fluid into Neon at a faster rate. The pegasus began to writhe on the table.

--------------------------------------------------

Violet watched the creatures stare at one another as her lungs burned from holding her breath. She had no idea what these, these.... Things were. They were like Changelings, but monstrous. As if some kind of giant lizard or bear had been converted. If they found her, she doubt she'd survive the encounter, mentally cursing herself for backing herself into a corner.

 

The pressure in Noire's head was like her mind was trapped in a vice, slowly closing in and remorselessly crushing what was left of her consciousness like iron melting in a hot forge under the hammer.


Something new, something very unfamiliar to Noire brushed against her, just briefly, and for a second the pain ceased completely. Everything was clear to her, and galaxies and moons and planets and alternate realities and separate dimensions and unicorns and changelings and humans and everything above, below and in between became exposed to her. In that second, Noire was no longer bound by her form. She was a goddess, a cosmic force, something that reality itself trembled to accommodate – and then the touch ceased, the mind walked past her, and the overwhelming agony forced itself back into the forefront. The voice was that of a kind and sweet maiden, asking after a friend – “Take my hand, Noire. I will make it stop, I promise. Let me show you bliss and love. Let me love you. Love me.”

Matthew seemed to have some difficulty processing the scream, and he fell to his knees for a second. “G-g-rrrar...” He looked up and there was... something in his eyes that hinted that inside, something was missing. A lock had snapped, there was a break in the chains. Something wasn’t right about him anymore. Nonetheless, he charged after Anthony, letting him lead the way.

 

Love...
It beat through the pain crushing her slowly and ceaselessly into oblivion.
Let me Love you...
"Love... me..." Noire whimpered in horrible agony, her body convulsing in the mess on the floor. The crush was getting closer and closer to the center of her mind. That small, spherical bastion of peaceful throbbing was rapidly shrinking.
"No no no no no!" She whimpered pathetically, hooves vainly trying to massage the pain away. "Make it... stop... Please!"

Noire reached a hoof out of the swirling pool of sharp things she was drowning in.

 

Anthony followed closely behind the Observer, at least until it cloaked once again. The reason was abundantly clear. Further down the hallway, there was a group of strange creatures lurking about. They were quadrupeds, but these were certainly no ponies. It was a vicious looking creature with large, jagged teeth, horns sticking out of both sides of its jaw and two long appendages each having an enormous scythe-like claw attached to the end. In other words, these creatures were clearly born predators. Anthony recoiled at the mere sight of them.
"What...are these things?!"
He wanted to yell this out loud, but he managed to keep it to himself.

"Adun save us...we have made a grave miscalculation. The Zerg are here on this world!"
This time the voice spoke to Anthony only. His tone clearly showed his shock and horror.

"Does that mean you know what they are?"
He spoke quietly rather than just thinking as he still wasn't used to telepathic communication yet.

"Indeed, I have the misfortune of knowing exactly what these abominations are. But as I said before there is no time to explain. I know that I am asking much of you, yet no other option remains as you will most certainly not be able to overcome this threat on your own, given your condition."

"Can't really argue with that...so, what do you have in mind?"

"We must merge together...you experienced something similar to this while you were in the virtual world, when my first attempt at communication failed. In essence, we can link our minds together, allowing us to share thoughts, memories and even power. In this case, I will give you the power needed to destroy those creatures. So I ask you, as absurd an idea as it may sound at the moment...allow me to personally guide your steps."

Anthony stood there silently for a moment. It was subtle, but Matt could probably notice that he was trembling.
"Wow...you weren't kidding. That is asking a lot."
He looked at the creatures again, the "Zerg" as they were called. They would notice the two ponies before long. In fact, one of them was looking their way now...
"Okay...do whatever you've gotta do!"

"My thanks, friend. Now...clear your mind. Relax and allow my thoughts to intermingle with yours. Let me see the world through your eyes."

Anthony closed his eyes and remained silent for a while. Suddenly, his eyes went wide open and his red irises were now a bright blue. He spoke in his own voice, but the way he spoke made it sound as if someone else entirely was speaking.
"Uhn ore'ki atum. Our minds are as one."
His voice was loud and commanding. A blue light began to flow from him, surrounding him and enveloping him in an aura of power. Both of these things immediately caught the attention of the Zerg and without hesitation, they charged towards the ponies.
"Oblivion awaits you."
It wasn't so much a threat as a simple statement. That statement would soon be proven true as Anthony's horn began to shine brightly. He raised his horn and almost immediately after, what look like a large sphere of lightning appeared around the Zerg, tearing them apart as they tried to run through it. In just a few seconds, the half-dozen Zerg in the room were annihilated, leaving only roasted pieces of their carcasses. When it was all over, Anthony stumbled forward and clutched his head as his eyes returned to their normal color.

"Hah...hah...well, that was...intense. Give me a minute...just need a sec to...get myself back together."
He shook his head, seeming to be more or less back to normal now. Then it occurred to him why they went this way in the first place and he had a worried look on his face once again.
"Oh...Violet!"
He moved around the hall, calling out loudly.
"Hey, Violet! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?"

 

The blue light filled the window as both creatures turned towards its source. Violet screwed her eyes shut as the lightning blinded her temporarily. It only lasted a few seconds, but she was still blinking away the afterimage when Anthony called for her.
"I-In here!" She called out, extracting herself from her hiding place beneath the rotting bed.

She opened the door and stuck her head out, fully prepared to pull it back in and slam the door shut. But aside from Anthony and Matt, the hallway was devoid of any life. A sigh of relief escaped her as she stepped fully out of the room and took several deep breaths. Her lungs still ached slightly from going so long without breathing.

Though she was grateful for the save, Violet didn't feel comfortable standing close to the two of them. Not after what she'd done. Despite her nonchalant demeanor, the act of betraying and murdering so many weighed heavily on her, just as it did to Noire. They both were pretty ready to help out, even after what had been done to them. But do I deserve it?
"How... Did you find me down here?" She asked them. "I don't even know what part of the facility I'm in."

------------------------------------------------------------------

Gaelix grumbled as he put his lab space back together after Neon's rampage. The clone was sleeping the fit off in his bed while he worked. The serum had worked as expected. The transformation was sudden and violent. Neon had acted without any conscious thought, which was something he hoped could be worked on. The best part was that it would extend her lifetime for hundreds of years. She wouldn't live as long as an alicorn, but she'd outlive any regular pony.
He let out a grunt as he accidentally bumped his freshly bandaged wound into a corner of a table. Blood slowly began to discolor the white fabric. There was a serious question to consider. Whether this whole thing was worth it with a pawn that he couldn't control.

 

Suddenly, Noire was back in control of her body. The pain... was gone. There was no more crushing, no more intense sensation, and there was a new clarity to everything she saw – as though she could just reach out and poke every atom of everything in creation. In fact, there was a new feeling inside her – a warm, lovely feeling, as though she’d sank into a perfectly hot bath and was playing with the bubbles. She felt... complete. Like something she didn’t know she’d been missing had finally slotted into place.

The voice spoke in her mind. “So beautiful, isn’t it...? I love you, Noire. You are so amazing.” There was what can only be described as a mental cuddle and a kiss on the head. It was at this point Noire suddenly became aware of something that she had never felt before, deep inside. Underneath the contentment she was feeling, there was something... new. Something she’d never felt before, though the closest comparison she could reach was the hunger for emotions she’d known before. This feeling was... it was like she had become a machine, and the strange churning grinding whirling and ravenous thing inside her was her engine. It needed fuel. It needed...

“Carnage,” the voice whispered. “Destruction. Chaos. Deconstruction, disintegration, annihilation, the end of all things, Noire. Let me love you.”

Matthew walked right up to Violet and before she could react, he’d nuzzled her hard. It was rough, it was intimate, and there was no hesitation, no pause. He looked up at her, and checked her for injuries. “Good,” he said curtly, and after giving the bodies of the Zerg a swift once-over, he turned to look back up the hall. “Come on. We’re not done here.”

 

Anthony nodded and looked over to Violet.
"Like he said, we've gotta keep moving. We'll explain what we can once this whole thing is cleared up, but right now there's something even worse than Zerglings running around in here."
He looked in the same direction as Matt. Just then, the Observer decloaked once again and started making its way to the room that Noire was in. Anthony smiled confidently as he looked up at it.
"Looks like the little guy picked something up again. Let's keep moving!"
He followed closely behind it, feeling a little better about their chances of survival with their new mysterious friend helping out.

As they were walking down the hall, the voice called out again. This time, all three ponies could hear him.
"Tread carefully, my Terran and Equestrian allies. According to our sensors, the creature you are looking for seems to have merged with one of the Equestrians in this facility. I believe you know her as Noire Grimm."

Anthony's eyes went wide at the mention of her name.
"Wait...Noire ran into that thing? The creature that's destroying the lab?!"
He let out a gasp.
"Hey, quick question! Can that Observer move any faster? We've gotta get there, NOW!!"

At his request, the Observer picked up speed and Anthony ran to keep up with it, his face showing a look of grim determination.

 

Violet felt herself growing warm as Matt pulled away. The sudden and unexpected gesture of affection left her confused and wanting more. Memories from when she and Noire were young bubbled up in her mind; the grin on Noire's face, the blood matted into her coat and mane, the look in her wide eyes. Matt's touch had elicited those confused feelings of excitement stemming from fear and death. But at hearing the words the mystery voice spoke, all thoughts of that nature were abandoned.

"We have to find her!" She said, her voice still panicked as her heart fought to slow itself down.

Remembering the decrepit condition she'd last seen her sister in, Violet's heart fluttered with worry. She had no idea what the thing that was ravaging the facility was. Perhaps more of those... Zerglings, as Anthony had labelled the insectoid monsters. There was no way Noire could survive an encounter with them in her condition. Even if she'd managed to feed and restore herself.

She set off at a gallop, but had to pace herself not to lose Matt and Anthony as they were still adapting to their new forms. Her growing agitation was visible in bizarre spasms as Violet twitched or made odd gestures as she pranced around waiting for the group to get to her sister. The grim discovery of Noire's corpse fueling her.

------------------------------------------------------------

For a small while Noire basked in her emotion of contentment. It didn't take long for the Voice's words to bring a wide smile to her lips; a smile she hadn't felt for years. The thoughts of carnage, of destruction filled her and she couldn't hold back the bubbling brook of her mirth.

"So this is feeding!" She cried out with laughter, an oddly seductive echo to her voice. "No wonder the Changelings destroy all in their path. How could I deprive myself of such joy."

She quickly set about the carnage portion of the checklist given to her. The destruction part, for this area at least, had been crossed out with enough force to cut the word from the page. Coming upon the first dazed pony, she knelt down beside it.

"Hello, little one," She said soothingly. "Allow me to help you. You've taken quite a tumble by the looks of it. You must be in terrible pain. I can take it all away."

The pony looked up, blood in his eyes blurring his sight. He saw what appeared to be an alicorn standing above him. The female voice offered help, a way to end the pain. He raised a shaking hoof towards his savior, "Princess... help me..." croaked the stallion.

"Of course," came the purr from Noire's throat.

Her horn glowed, the noxious magic swelled within her and she slowly enveloped the pony in her aura. Then using her new expansive knowledge of levitation, tore the pony into strips of still twitching meat. Delicious blood splattered her shiny black carapace, soaking the short insect like fur that covered it. The hot liquid splashed right into her face and she closed her eyes to protect them. Sticking her tongue out - feeling like it was acting of its own accord - Noire licked some of the blood into her mouth.

"Truly deliciousss," She said with ecstatic pleasure. "I'd forgotten this taste."

So she began working through the other ponies that were close to hoof with a lustful vigor that would make Dracula and Vlad envious.She relished the constant encouragement the entity now inside of herself gave her with each murder. She stood atop a mare, younger than herself who must have been a new apprentice. A piece of rebar stuck from her chest and her breaths came in wet wheezes. One had eye been destroyed by the gem shard that jutted out from the socket. The pitiably look of the doomed mare made a part of Noire's now black heart flutter. She wanted to help the young thing; nurse it to health and then slowly cut it until it spent its life locked away in a small room cutting itself and thanking Noire for it.

The thought brought a pleasurable shudder across her entire body. Looking down as the mare mewled in agony, a hoof reaching out in an attempt to ward off the nightmare visage of the newly minted Queen. Noire leaned her head down close to her flank and gave it a small lick. The filly's cutie mark was of three lines of binary code arranged in a 3 x 3 block. A follower after her own heart, in a way Noire mused. This would have one day been a companion of hers inside the virtual reality that was her world. But out here... What good was she?

So taking a hold of the nearest rock of appropriate size, roughly a good sized softball, Noire began the process of breaking the young mare into an appetizing red paste. Now if only there were noodles handy.

Moving on she caught a glimpse of herself in a shattered monitor. Revulsion erupted across her face as she saw what had come of her form. On one hoof, she knew she was now a Queen Changeling. She held power equivalent that of an Alicorn Princess. But the questionable sexual good looks of a Changeling. Not particularly unappealing, but the alien form gave Noire an unsettled feeling deep in her gut. With time she knew she'd adapt but for now...

The change tingled slowly across her body as the black hide gave way to a soft orange coat. Feathered wings replaced the fragile chitin. The jagged horn seemed to vanish as her mane regained its vibrant colors and her eyes returned to normal. The only thing suggesting of her altered form was her new regal height and narrowed snout borrowed from the Princess' own good looks and the two fangs that remained curving out from her upper lip.

I love you. Noire thought as she continued on through the debris towards what she hoped was a pony with an as yet unbroken neck.

 

The voice kissed Noire’s thoughts, a tingle that rippled. “I love you too. Now you have to be careful, Noire – don’t gorge yourself before you’ve learned to chew.” The constant sensation inside her had lessened considerably, the drumming beat of blood drips becoming quieter and less... there, like she’d filled up. But even now, she could feel it beginning to return. Slowly, gradually. But inexorably. A need for the fire to be fed.

“In a moment,” the voice licked her ear, “your friends and Violet will come. You can kill two of them if you like, but the silver one has to be a pet. Otherwise he’ll take me away when he goes...” A sad face flashed through Noire’s mind’s eye. “But I don’t need to tell you this, Noire. You’re so brilliant. I love you so much, you beautiful pony.”
The more blood Noire spilled, the more lives she ended, the more pleasure she took in her rampage, the more complete she felt. As though this was her life’s calling, this was her true nature. Everything she’d been made for in one gorgeous crimson surge of screaming.

The door burst open and Matthew, Anthony and Violet ran inside. The stench of blood was so thick it almost clogged the lungs, and bodies were strewn about the place like confetti at a wedding. It was absolutely horrific, a war zone straight out of a nightmare. Matthew didn’t even pause, now almost galloping through the ruins of the lab, heading straight for the upper control centre. He sucked in a deep breath and bellowed, in a voice that shook with barely-suppressed fury, “IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”

At the sound of the yell, a sudden stab of fear pierced Noire’s heart. “My baby’s come to take me away...” the voice swooned in her head. “We can’t let him lie anymore, Noire. Love me, and make him love me too like I love him. All three of us can be perfect, together.” The insatiable need in Noire suddenly spiked, feeling like a sharp bout of painless indigestion.

 

The scene laid before Anthony shook him to his core. He fell to his knees, trembling and muttering under his breath.
"No...this isn't real...she couldn't have. Right? She didn't..."
As much as he tried, he couldn't deny the evidence that was right in front of him. He was told that the creature merged with Noire. Now Noire is standing alone in a room of slaughtered ponies, apparently unharmed and covered in blood. It was easy to assume the worst right from the start. Even so, Anthony still couldn't fully bring himself to accept it. He closed his eyes and tried speaking to the mysterious voice.
"This...this isn't what it looks like, right? I mean...maybe she's being controlled. Right! That thing possessed her and it's controlling her thoughts, it made her do this! It's possible, isn't it? Isn't it?!"

The voice hesitated to respond. Even if it wasn't obvious in the way he spoke, he could feel Anthony's sorrow through their link. Even now, he wanted to believe in Noire. The voice replied to Anthony so only he could hear.
"That...I cannot say. I know only that they have merged together, I cannot discern whether Noire still has control over her actions. Though if it is any consolation, I would venture to say that her thoughts are at very least being corrupted in some way. Yet I cannot say to what degree."

Anthony slowly picked himself back up. He was still shaking, but he seemed a little more composed now.
"Alright...fair enough."
He turned his gaze in Noire's direction. When Matt screamed out a name he didn't recognize, he simply kept his gaze locked on Noire to see how she would react.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the Crystal Castle, the seat of power for the Crystal Empire, King Somber Shield and his wife Cadence were going about their royal duties as usual. It had been some time since Shining Armor became Somber Shield and despite the initial fear and rejection by the crystal ponies, things were now fairly peaceful in the empire as he proved to be a competent, though perhaps a bit harsh and quite ambitious ruler. However, even after their war with Equestria, King Somber's lust for power was as fierce as ever.

A member of the royal guard entered the main chamber, trotted up to the throne and knelt down in front of King Somber.
"Greetings, your majesty. Pardon the interruption but there is a matter that requires your immediate attention."

Somber narrowed his eyes, glaring harshly at the pony as if to warn him that this had better not be a waste of time.
"I would hope that this is a matter of the utmost importance. Anything less would certainly not require my personal time and attention."

The guard slowly raised his head up.
"Of course, of course. In fact, I would not have reached out to your highness unless I thought it would be a great mutual benefit to the both of us. I had originally planned to use the Queen to carry out my plans, but I find that her methods have become...problematic as of late. Hence my need for a suitable replacement."
His eyes flashed pale green for an instant.

King Somber could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. But his intimidating glare, now spliced with the slightest hint of curiosity, never faltered in the slightest.
"Who are you? For that matter, what are you?"

In a flash of light, the guards stationed inside the throne room all reverted to their Changeling forms. The "guard" who was directly in front of the king took on a different form, that of a jet black and pale green unicorn whose eyes glowed faintly. His voice, now deeper and much darker, echoed throughout the chamber.
"I've had many names throughout the millennia. The Changeling race refers to me as the Prophet of the Xel'Naga; I suppose that would do."

 

"I thought you stopped this when I pulled you away from Military Science." Violet said idly in a detached voice. She looked around at the corpse strewn room with only the feeling that she should be disturbed by such things. The regret that she wasn't was barely a feeling. Run through a war of atrocities and seeing your own species torn to shreds was nothing.

"One never truly stops asking questions," Noire informed her sister. "You always want to know what happens. And since everyponies homeopathy works a bit differently you have to run so many experiments before you get data that's usable."

"You know the difference right now, don't you?"

Violet had begun discretely drawing her magic together for a quick incapacitation. It was hard to stop her horn from glowing but she remembered what Charlie and Franky had told her and thought of her horn like a burnt out light bulb with the electricity still flowing. Keeping her face neutral, she kept the conversation going.

"There's never any difference," was Noire's reply. "Whether its Changelings, Ponies, Griffins, Diamond Dogs, Dragons. Some must be sacrificed for the betterment of all of them."

"Sacrifices don't make things better for the others," Violet sparred. "It only helps you learn how to better kill them."

"How to heal them."

"You always did call it that."

With that coy smile on her face Noire looked at Matt. The way she looked at him showed her undisguised lust. With a beat of her wings she stood before him. Looking down into his eyes she let their foreheads touch. Her invisible horn pressed against Matt's mane. With a gentle motion Noire began to rub her forehead against his,

"You understand what I'm saying, right Matt?" Noire made eye contact with him, her eyes had a pleading in them that begged him to be with her. She broke the look and rubbed her neck against his, pressing her body close to his.
"I love you." She breathed in his ear.

Violet waited as her magic creeped closer and closer to being strong enough to hold her sister. Something had happened to her, whatever that thing that had possessed her had changed her somehow. The beautifully normal pegasus could only be the result of one thing, complete corruption by her Changeling DNA. If that was indeed the case, was that even Noire anymore? It could simply be a drone using the memories from the host. Whether it was Noire or just a drone adapting to the situation, they'd both know the trick she was about to pull.
That was because Charlie and Franky had taught the whole squad how to defend themselves against it.

------------------------------

"So what ya godda do here is dis," Franky said in his Manehattan drawl.

He spun back to Charlie and waited.

"Three, two, one," The unicorn counted down in the same thick accent. In a sudden blur of motion Franky jumped into the air and when he landed rolled forward head over hooves crouched beneath Charlie with a blade pressed into his throat. "The important part is to move as fast as you can when you start feeling that 'rope' pulling your legs together."

"Earth ponies like me an Forest Dweller got our work cut out for us closin tha distance. Pegasi got it a bit easier with yer three dimensional movements. The hardest part is knowin when the spell is cast on ya. It's a subtle feeling you needta learn. The best casters can make it feel like anything. But once it's cast, it's only on that one spot. Which makes it tough for middl'a combat." Franky explained after he put his knife away.

Picking up when his partner paused Charlie spoke, "It's more of an assassination move. Or for kidnappin. Just as Franky was sayin it don't always feel like a rope, some ponies are quick when it comes to casting. They can drop multiple snares around ya ta make sure you don't get away. Those ones are gonna get ya one way or another.
"Us unicorns got it easy though. You feel tha spell grapplin ya, jus focus on tha guy's horn and break it with your levitation skill. Ya guy's got it?"

The squad had nodded and begun practicing. The mobsters were old pros ready to give their new buddies a helping hoof.

-----------------------------------------------

Violet began dropping the snares in a grid around Noire. Then she boxed her sister in. Noire would still be able to get through if she was fast enough. So for final insurance she dropped the final snare right in front of her. As long as Matt didn't move to far he'd stay free. Violet just needed Noire. If Matt happened to get himself caught she could always free him.

"What's inside of you?" Violet asked seriously.