//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: Corruption 
// Story: All Hail the Overlord 
// by TheAncientPolitzanian 
//------------------------------//

Pharynx slowly opened his eyes and shakingly raised his head. His breathing was labored. He was then tackled out of nowhere by an enemy soldier. He was held down surrounded by the other warriors who were all in similar positions, barring Flare and Gowland, who were pinned down by Dragons, rather than Changelings. 

"D-did we lose?" Pharynx whispered to Seaspray who was the closest to him.

"Yes, we unfortunately did," Seaspray quietly stated. He quickly glanced up at Pharynx's captor as she was absentmindedly staring at the Overlord, day dreaming. 

"Do you think to can transform and get us out of here?" Seaspray whispered back. 

"I can try," Pharynx replied before his horn and antlers shone and there were several popping sounds, then his head collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. "No good. Whatever that flaming guy did to me, it left me completely out of it." 

Seaspray gritted his teeth. "I would ask Shining Armor to do something too, but I don't think he wants to tempt fate." 

Pharynx nodded a little before he felt the Changeling on top of him shift her position. 

"The Overlord is so dreamy, isn't he?" she said as she stared at the tyrannical Changeling King.

"Careful Fibula, if Barxt or any other officer hears you, they could take that as Heresy." The Changeling ontop of Seaspray returned. 

"That kinda sucks," Fibula said as she suddenly grabbed Pharynx in a choke hold and squeezed down, suffocating him. "Ah well, You can't really expect someling like him to like us drones."

Pharynx struggled to breath as she continued to apply pressure, his hooves uselessly clawed at the cobblestone road he was pinned to. 

The other warriors stared at him in concern as he choked. "Stop it you senseless ruffians!" Gallant shouted to them as he chocked. 

"I agree with the gryphon," the changeling on top Seaspray said again. "You know the way Pharynx gets when someone else breaks his toys." 

'Fibula's' eyes widened and she immediately loosened her grip and sat up, still keeping Pharynx pinned. "No thank you." 

"Yeah, I thought so." The Changeling pinning Seaspray said before laughing. 

"We are so dead..." Flare said as he looked over at the Alternate Pharynx. 





The Overlord smiled as he stared his new captives in the eyes, one by one, savoring their fear. That is until he locked eyes with his Alternate Self. 

He smiled even more, barring his sharp teeth, before he started to advance on the colorful creature he shared a name, and likely a life with. He stopped half a foot away from him and kneeled down. He chuckled darkly when his Alternate Self started to trembled and shake, letting out a small whimper. 

"Oh, he's afraid. How cute." The Overlord said as he grabbed Thorax by the back of the head, and forced him to look him in the eyes. 

"Leave him alone!" Twilight shouted, but she was quickly shut up with a glare. 

"Can you taste it?" The Overlord asked his alternate self. "Can you taste the fear which chokes these inferior scum?" 

Fear. Fear was an interesting emotion to be sure. When a Changeling first tastes of it, it is bitter and sickening, libel to make them spit it out in waves, but after a while, usually the 3rd or 4th taste, the bitterness starts to waver, and it becomes a sour, sweet taste, like that of lemon candy, but it also becomes an addiction. 

Unlike love, fear and hate were easy to come by for changelings, but they were always told, in his Universe and the other Universe, to never eat it. It drives Changelings mad. It turns them violent, and aggressive, and he had proof of that of course. However, sanity was a good trade off for survival. 

"Answer me child." The Overlord said as he got closer to Thorax, practically touching foreheads.  

"You two are the same age." He heard somecreature say, but they were quickly silenced by a punching sound. 

The Overlord tightened his grip, cutting the back of Thorax's head with his metal claws, leaking cyan blood onto the ground. 

"Yes! I can taste it!" Thorax whimpered, pain evident in his voice. 

"Then you notice it to don't you." The Overlord stated with a smile. "Isn't it strange how not all this fear is dedicated to me and my soldiers?"

Thorax's eyes widened in realization, sadness and dread. He could indeed smell and taste, that some of the fear and hatred that choked the air, was dedicated to him and his brother. 

"Wh... what?" His voice was ripe with betrayal and pain. 

The Overlord sadistically laughed. "Yes, its horrible isn't it?" The Overlord let go and started to pace around the green Changeling, taking delight at his suffering. "You have done SOOO much for the ponies of Equestria, and the creatures of the other countries, and yet they still think of you as evil, they are still afraid of you aren't they." 

"That isn't true! Stop it!" Ember shouted at the Overlord with great rage. She struggled to get up, but was suddenly slammed into the ground by a armored claw. The Overlord grinned at the alternate Ember's sadism. 

The Overlord stopped behind Thorax and slowly opened his Alternate self's wing casing. "Oh, poor Changeling, you must be in so much pain. To think, that just because of me, all you have ever done for the world, will be forgotten. They might even attack you before you become like me, that will probably be their justification for the upcoming changeling genocide at least." 

Tears slowly fluttered down Thorax's face. Everything the Overlord was saying, was true. The others, they were afraid of him now. "You must be in so much pain right now. Here, let me help you with your emotional trauma."

The Overlord reached down and grabbed one of Thorax's purplish wings with a metal claw. "Ah the joy of having wings... I envy you, you know."

His metal talons pierced clean through Thorax's thin wing, causing him to groan in pain. "They say the best remedy for emotional pain, is distracting it which physical pain right?"

With one strong tug, The Overlord ripped the wing clean off causing Thorax to scream in primal pain and thrash on the ground. 

"NO!" Pharynx shouted in rage struggling against his captor. "LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE! 

The Overlord sighed. "Pharynx. Sic." 

The Alternate Pharynx turned to the warriors with murder in his eyes. He laughed viciously as he drew his swords. 

The flaming eyes of the Changelings, and the regular eyes of the dragons, pinning the warriors widened, and they immediately let go of their captives and fled into buildings or into the air. This allowed the Warriors to get up. They down the street as fast as their wings or legs could take them narrowly avoiding a pounce from the alternate Pharynx. 





Pharynx felt as through his lungs were on fire. It did not help in the slightest that he was already exhausted before he had started his run, meaning that he was the slowest in the group, even slower than Gowland. 

He was audibly wheezing, before he looked over his shoulder to see the alternate Pharynx, who was easily catching up to them. 

The alternate Pharynx laughed madly before he pounced towards the actual Pharynx.

Pharynx fell onto his back and raised one of his swords, in an attempt to defend himself, before there was a sudden clang and the alternate Pharynx was thrown away. 

Standing above Pharynx, after a successful shield bash, was Gallant. He helped Pharynx to his feet before he turned around and held up his shield and sword, aiming them at the enemy. 

"Move fellow knight. I will hold our enemy of while you make your valiant escape." Gallant said as the Alternate Pharynx pulled himself up and hissed. 

"Your funeral." Pharynx said before he started to run to catch up with the other warriors. 

Pharynx pulled up next to shining armor as the two ran. "Where is Gallant." Shinging asked as the two ran. 

"He said he was gonna hold him off." Pharynx replied.

"Oh no! He is gonna die!" Shining shouted, before an armored gryphon soared past him and slammed back first into a street lamp. He bounced off it and landed in the street infront of them, clearly wounded, judging by the way his wings weakly twitched like a grounded bird. 

"I guess he got off easily." Pharynx said as they kept running. Seaspray, who was in the front of the line, jumped over Gallant and kept running. Gowland on the other hand ran up to Gallant, and with a single head movement flipped the gryphon into the air, where he landed safely on Gowlands back. 

"Maybe we should fly away!" Flare shouted in response. 

"I don't know if this is new to you, but 2 out of the 6 here can't fly." Shining Armor desperately shouted as the turned the corner, causing the alternate Pharynx to overshoot an attack, and run race first into a pottery store. 

"Make that 3 of 6." Pharynx said as he stared at Gallant, to see that one of his wings was pointed at a completely unnatural angle. "His wing is definitely broken."

Seaspray looked down the street to see the city wall at the end. "I might have an idea! Follow me!"

"Follow you into a wall? No way!" Flare shouted. 

"I have an idea." Seaspray shouted as they kept going. 

A group of halberd wielding Changelings ran out and formed a spear wall in front of them. 

"Gowland take the front!" Seaspray shouted to the Yak.

The Yak nodded and did as ordered. He lowered his head and growled as he advanced on the spear wall. The ground shook underneath the wall, before he raised his head and smashed a hole clean through their formation, flinging armored changelings into the air. 

The group rushed through this new hole with gusto and sped towards the wall. The remaining 2 soldiers turned to look at the warriors as they fled, but were suddenly beheaded from behind by the alternate Pharynx, with a smile on his face.

"Shining Armor! I need you to destroy that wall with your magic! Now!" Seaspray shouted at Shining. 

Shining nodded, before he aimed his horn, and put all of his magical power into a single shot. The section of the white wall of Canterlot was blown away in front of them, revealing a sheer drop into a river on the other side.

"Ok! Grab onto me and jump!" Seaspray shouted as he prepared to jump. 

"Yak no swim!" Gowland shouted, the first words he had send since the 6 had met actually. 

"Just shut up and jump!" Seaspray said as he jumped. The others followed suit, grabbing onto him as they plummeted, sans Pharynx who merely turned himself into a shark as they fell.

Seaspray raised his rapier and grabbed onto the pearl at the bottom, causing all of them to disappear in a flash of white.

The alternate Pharynx jumped after them soon after with a roar. Just when he was about to hit the water, a huge dark blue and red sea dragon shot out of the water and snatched him out of the air like a grape. With one singular movement, he turned his head and spat the alternate Pharynx out where he face planted against the cliff face unconscious. 

Pharynx shrank back into the water and took the form of a Changeling with gills. He turned to the other warriors. 

Shining Armor, Gallant and Seaspray had taken on the shape of sea-ponies, although Gallant was unconscious and one of his back fins was broken. Gowland now looked like a manatee and was nervously looking around barely staying afloat under the water. Flare was the worse by far and was in the shape of an armored Grouper. 

Phaynx stared at them with a blank expression for a couple seconds before he spasmed a couple times a massive amounts of bubbles shot out of his mouth. 

"Is he ok?" Shining said as he looked at Seaspray. 

Then Pharynx wildly kicked his legs and pointed at them with his eyes closed. "I think he is laughing at us..." Seaspray replied. 

Flare looked down at the river bed and groaned. "How could today get any worse..." 

There was an incredibly loud whooshing sound that followed, and everyone turned their heads to see a waterfall. 

"That's how." Shining said, before they were all sent careening off the edge of said waterfall.





Ocellus, and the Changelings, most of whom were covered in bandages, that had come the gala looked at the viewing port that Discord had created. Horror, pain, sadness and rage were evident on their faces. 

"HOW DARE HE DO THAT TO KING THORAX!" A deep blue Changeling screamed, slamming his hooves onto the ground. 

"Why.... How could he be so cruel..." Ocellus whimpered with tears in her eyes. 

"Hey, its ok... I'm sure that they will... they will think of something to beat him..." Sandbar said, his face pale, and his voice worried. 

"Besides, don't changeling wings grow back." Gallus said trying to comfort her. 

"No..." Ocellus said as she began loudly weeping. "They don't." 

Spike looked worse off then most of the non-changelings. If he had the ability, he would have dived through the viewing screen and punched the Overlord as hard as he could, but it was clear that he would likely do more then make the Overlord stumble a little.

The Overlord, on the other end of the viewing port, laughed as the elements and other leaders stared at him in pure fear as he tortured Thorax. 

Ember, however, was in a pure rage. She struggled against her alternate self and roared, spewing fire out in random directions. "HOW DARE YOU!" She shouted. 

The Overlord looked at her and put a claw to his lips. He shushed her causing her to stop roaring and give him a look of pure rage. 

"If you keep roaring," The Overlord said as he grabbed Thorax's other wing. "You're gonna miss the best part."

The Overlord then ripped it of, causing Thorax to scream again, and his scream was joined by the other Changelings. 

This caused Ember to scream in rage and spew out more violet fire into the air. 

"Ember shut her up please." The Overlord said dryly. The alternate Ember grinned and nodded before she grabbed the real Ember by the back of the head. She lifted her head up, before slamming it into the cobblestone street as hard as she could, cracking it. Ember gritted her teeth as blood oozed from the large gash in her forehead. She growled as she stared the overlord directly eye to tearing up eye.

The Overlord let Thorax's wing coverings, which snapped shut. Thorax collapsed from the pain, and a pool of Cyan blood slowly formed underneath him. 

"Ah... I am having the time of my life right now!" The Overlord said as he walked away from Thorax. 

"You...." Thorax said slowly as he raised his head to stare at the Overlord. "You don't h-have to be like this..." He was whimpering and trembling, however he still put on a brave face. 

The Overlord stared at him and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" 

"You don't h-have to be like Chrysalis. The c-changelings in my world found a better way to live!" Thorax shouted.

At the mention of Chrysalis, the jeering laughter, and the cruel smiles of the Changelings surrounding the group immediately fell. Replaced by one of pure terror. They all immediately looked to the Overlord, and the ones nearest to him almost instantly turned tail and ran. 

The Overlord was shaking now. His dark smile had disappeared, and he had his best poker face in, but his right eye was visibly twitching, and his claws tensed, digging deep cuts into the road. "Say that again." He seethed through clenched teeth. 

"You don't have to be like Chrys-" Thorax started, but he was cut off by the Overlord teleporting close to him, and shoving a fist clean into his carapace. Thorax hiccoughed a couple times as he slowly looked down. 

There was a hole in his chest now, which was filled with his Alternate Self's fist. All the way up to the Overlord's elbow was now coated cyan, and cracks ran through Thorax's carapace like shattered glass. 

"NO!!!!!!" Came a chorus of screams from the changelings, who all burst into tears in almost perfect unison. Many clasped their forehooves to the sides of their heads, even more collapsed into a sitting position, unable to tear their eyes from the viewing port, no matter how much they wanted to.

Spike and Ember shared the exact same look of primal dread as they saw what the tyrant had done to one of their closest friends.

The Overlord then ripped his hoof out and Thorax collapsed onto his back. The Overlord was then on top of him, a look of rage which outweighed any the Elements or the leaders had ever seen on his face. He raised his right hoof and clenched it into a fist. He brought it down with all of his force into Thorax's face. Then he did it again. And Again. And Again.

"Don't. You. Ever. Compare. Me. To. HER!" He shouted as he continued his onslaught, delivering a punch after every syllable. 

"No..." Ember muttered quietly, tears streaming down her face. "Please stop..." 

After a few minutes of this, The Overlord calmed down and he stood up. 

Thorax was barely alive at this point, but the Overlord stared down at him with pure contempt in his eyes. 

Then he closed said eyes and sighed. "Terribly sorry, I lost my head for a second there."

He snapped his fingers and Thorax was consumed with scarlet fire. Less then a second later they died down, and Thorax was healed of his wounds, sans the wings of course. 

"You do strike me as slightly useful... Perhaps I can use you the same way that I use the same way I use my brother." The Overlord said as he reached down and picked Thorax up. 

The alternate Ember laughed loudly, before she positioned Embers head so she was forced to watch. "Oh I am going to love this!" She shouted.

The Overlord laughed before his claw burst into flame and Thorax started to scream and thrash. Veins of crimson shot through his body. 

The elements, and leaders screamed their disapproval but the Overlord just smiled more. After a few more moments, the Overlord dropped the now crimson and dark grey Thorax to the ground. 

Thorax spasmed on the ground for a couple moments before he slowly pulled himself and opened two flaming eyes. 

"Tell me." The Overlord said as he paced in a circle around his alternate self. "How do you feel?"

"I..." Thorax said, his voice the same as before. He smiled and giggled viciously. "I have never felt this good before!" 

The Changelings couldn't say anything. They were in pure shock. 

"This is... wonderful!" He said before he threw his head back and laughed. It was insane, nothing like the innocent laughs that he was known for. 

Ember couldn't say anything. "T... Thorax..." She stammered.