In the dreamscape, Luna did her usual round. Chasing nightmares away, reassuring scared ponies and making sure that everypony in general was having a good night. However, her mind couldn’t help but gravitate towards the one pony she wanted to find amongst all the dreams, Anarchy. Knowing his name, she should be able to locate his dream and yet, she found nothing. Could it be that Anarchy is just an alias? Or maybe he’s just not asleep at the moment. The latter makes sense considering criminals tend to be active at night.
Luna did leave somepony in particular for last as she knew she’d spend much more time in her dream. Much to the alicorn’s surprise, there was, at no point in the night so far, any problem coming from Olive’s dream.
A first, and a sign that things were in fact, improving for her. The filly’s dream wasn’t anything too different from the previous ones, of course after the princess’s involvement. A grassy field in the dead of night, with beautiful starts shining in the dark sky. It felt... angelic, peaceful.
Hiding behind the trees, Luna observed how Olive was doing. The filly was rolling around in the grass, chasing after colorful fireflies and simply staring at the sky. She looked at peace and Luna couldn’t help but smile, a smile that didn’t last long once she remembered all the things that this little one had endured at the hooves of...
“Welcome back, nighthawk. I’ve been expecting you.” The unnatural voice caught her off-guard. Now that she paid more attention to his voice, she could hear two distinct voices in his words. One sounded like a normal stallion, albeit a bit maniacal while the other one was deep and demonic in nature. Anarchy stood still mere inches behind her. “So happy you could join us for tonight.”
“Us?” Luna questioned. “You mean you and Olive?” She took a step back, preparing herself for the worst.
“Yes! Yes, me and- wait, no!” Anarchy sounded genuinely confused as he lifted a hoof and pointed behind the alicorn. “I meant me and my good ‘friend’ Strong Hoof over there.”
Confused, the midnight blue alicorn looked over her shoulder and was stumped to see nothing but trees behind her as opposed to the grassy field the filly was playing in earlier. Worst still, Strong Hoof was also mere inches away from her face, his mouth drooling as it stood wide open.
“Off with your head!”
“No feast for now I’m afraid!” Anarchy shouted as he smacked his friend in the face. Luna was stunned at the sheer speed on display, the unicorn was almost as fast as an earth pony. Not only that, but he drew blood from an earth pony almost twice his size. Something fishy was indeed going on with this dream. What’s most bizarre is that this nightmarish creation that lives in Olive’s mind is acting independently of her. Normally, the nightmare only forms around their victim to torment them. They don’t hide in the dark to chat with her.
“But the princess must pay.” The big stallion responded, adding an ungodly amount of emphasis on the word ‘pay’.
“Don’t be such a baby. Patience is a virtue, remember?” Anarchy said, waving his hoof around the earth pony’s face. “You’ll get everything you want in due time.”
“This dream belongs to Olive. You shall not mess with her dream further.” Luna firmly stated, smashing a hoof down to get their attention.
“Olive who?” Anarchy said, looking genuinely confused which only angered Luna even more. “Ah! You must be talking about my little darling!” He tapped his head with his hoof in a gesture that said, ‘why didn’t I remember her sooner?’.
“What kind of father doesn’t even remember the name of his own daughter?” Luna asked, her voice sounding almost like a growl.
“The kind that doesn’t need them anymore.” He stated in a disinterested voice. “Oh, and let’s not forget the kind that has been betrayed. She’s been a real party pooper as of late.” His grin contorted into a sly smile. “Good fillies listen to their daddies. I‘m afraid Olive doesn’t qualify as a good filly anymore.”
Calm down, he’s just trying to get a reaction out of me.
“So anyway, you’re here to avenge my daughter?” Anarchy said, feeling not threatened in the slightest. “Why doesn’t anypony want to avenge me? I call bias.”
“More than that,” Luna answered. “I’m here to make you pay for the torture you’ve inflicted on Looking Glass.”
Anarchy grinned. “I’ve been hearing rumours about how you can pull other ponies into dreams. If that’s true then; can you bring Looking Glass here?” Luna raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“’Cause if you bring him here, we’ll have the whole family back!” The stallion exclaimed, throwing his hooves out in the air excitedly. “Oh oh! We can make a friendship album. You know, the kind where we take commemorative pictures?”
Anarchy paced around the lunar princess who made sure to always have an eye on him no matter where he went. “We can start off by doing one with you and Looking Glass. Then, one with me and you. Then one with me and Looking Glass, and then one with the spiked bat!”
Luna gritted her teeth, feeling her veins about to bust on her forehead. No! I shall not let him get to me. Hitting him would only start a fight. As much as she wanted to smack him across the face, the lunar princess knew it was best to let him ramble on and on. With enough luck, he’d slip up and reveal something important. She shook her head and regained her calm demeanor. “How can a nightmare have control of a dream? The dreamer is the one in control.”
“I’m feeling very weird right now.” Anarchy responded. An answer that doesn’t sounds complete.
“What do you mean?” Luna pressed.
“I feel as though I'm real, yet, I’m not.” The stallion bucked a nearby tree, caught a falling apple and ate it. “I can think unlike other entities in this dream, I can taste this delicious apple and lastly, I can hold a conversation with you without needing the presence of my dear darling. That’s... impossible, right?”
The alicorn closed her eyes and sighed. This stallion is formulating his answers in a cryptic and taunting way, but she can tell that he doesn’t know how he’s even doing it. As she opened her eyes, Strong Hoof was strangely missing.
“Oh, but that’s not important right now. You came to me with other questions in mind, didn’t you?” Anarchy said slyly, forming a golf course in the dream. “Ask away.”
The lunar princess thought back to the other night and how she was unable to destroy Anarchy in that dream. This conversation so far has shed a bit of light on why he was truly indestructible. And now, the disturbing incident at Ponyville General all but confirmed that the filly had strange and mysterious powers locked within her. At that moment, Luna understood it all.
“A part of you is stuck within Olive.” She stated.
Anarchy held a hoof to his chin, thinking. “Hmm, that does explain a lot of things, actually.” He smacked the golf ball with his club, admiring his beautiful strike. “I still don’t know how I pulled it off. It sure wasn’t a part of the plan!” He cackled.
“What plan?” Luna asked menacingly.
“The plan to replace every foal’s Heart’s Warming present with coal, Luny.” He said with a serious look on his face, a far cry from his usual attitude.
“Wh-What?”
His serious façade cracked immediately, and he busted into laughter, rolling on the ground. “C’mon! Don’t tell me you thought I was serious!? That I was going to dress up as Grogar to ruin Hearts Warming?”
Luna looked somewhat tired of this charade.
“Oh no you didn’t!” The sinister stallion took a while to calm himself down. “In all seriousness, did you really expect me to generously tell you, my plan? Huh, tough luck, Luny.”
“Why must you insist on calling me Luny?” The alicorn asked, growing tired of hearing this nickname. “I’ve never met you before and yet you act as if we're friends.”
“I know much about you, and you should know much about me. You’re just afraid to think too much, to remember.”
Anarchy told her, twisting his neck upside down as far as he could as he approached the princess. “You’re scared to slip up.”
Luna chuckled. “You certainly have charisma, but no amount of lies and deceit can trick me. I know you for what you are; a rotten pony with no heart.”
“I do have a heart, a black heart to be exact.” Anarchy formed a fiery black heart with his magic. “It means I do things with the intent to hurt and destroy, not to love and tolerate. Well, I might have too much tolerance considering my line of work.”
The alicorn glared. “You seem to take pride in your cruelty.” she said, every word sounding angrier.
“I don’t take pride in my cruelty, Luny. I enjoy it!” He awkwardly tilted his head off to the side. “What I take pride in, is what I’m about to do... soon enough.”
Luna’s eyes winced as she trotted closer to the anarchist. “And just what are you going to do? I suppose it’ll somehow involve my sister and I? Tell me!” She commanded, but even the royal Canterlot voice couldn’t put a single dent in the stallion’s attitude.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you, nighthawk. You see, that’s a surprise and surprises aren’t meant to be spoiled.” Anarchy popped a few confetti for a looney effect.
“We have other ways of getting information.” Luna threatened.
“Ah yes, we know.” Anarchy chuckled, his sinister face darkening. “We know you all too well.”
Her other ways were mostly a lie. They only had one good option, the dreamscape. Unfortunately, there are many, many ponies in Equestria and those who dabble in criminal activities often find ways to mask their dream to look as innocent as the average pony. From their conversations alone, the princess could tell that this stallion was insane. Insane but, terribly intelligent. His cocky and giggly attitude came from this very intellect. Now, she could cross threats off the list. She had to find something else to make him spill the beans.
“Thinking about other ways to be a good detective?” Luna roused herself, surprised at how long she was thinking. “How cute. You know, if what you want is a fun hero-villain dynamic, I can be a good candidate for your new arch-nemesis.” He said as dreamy visions of the Power Ponies formed around them alongside their villain. “We do have history.” He finished in a menacing, whispery tone.
“We... don’t.” refuted the alicorn, raising an eyebrow. Even she was unsure if that was true. She never saw this unicorn before, or did she?
“Oh, Luny, just give it some time. Perhaps I can jog your memory a little?” The stallion swayed from side to side, looking amused. “I’ve often heard stories of ponies regaining lost memories after taking a strong blow to the head. Maybe I should test out if it’s true.” He raised a hoof in the air, but Luna was faster. One smack across the face got him to stay put.
“Your style of comedy humors us none.” Luna lit up her horn in preparation. “You will surely find another pony who’ll share your sense of humour in the dungeons.”
“Oh, but I do know of a special someone, look...” He turned around and shook his flank around. His cutie mark sprung to life and began cackling maniacally. “Meet my biggest fan! He’s been there since day one, a truly devoted fan I gotta admit. I mean, I don’t know many fans who’d like to sit on their idol’s flank all day.”
The alicorn gave him a disgusted look. That’s got to be one of the few times a pony has brought their own flank to life in the dreamscape. The other ones she’s met were, not quite as charismatic or even as civil as this arch criminal, strangely enough. At least, Anarchy wasn’t a pervert. He’s just insane.
“Okay then, I see that my humour just isn’t cutting it for you.” Anarchy frowned, his eyebrows seemingly crushing his eyes thanks to their big size. “I know!” His ears perked up. “How about I show you my other talents? Starting with my culinary skills. Let me show you the delicacies I've cooked over my career.”
The forest around her shifted into a nicely lit kitchen. It was also quite big, so there were not really inside a house kitchen. Briefly looking around this new area, Princess Luna recognised it as the kitchen of the great Canter Hotel in Manehattan, an hotel reserved only to the richest of folks in the city. Now, it was remembered as one of the city’s biggest tragedies. All that remains since are its ashes.
“Ever heard of French cuisine?” Anarchy suddenly came back wearing a chef’s outfit. “They’re known for their delicious and very healthy meals. So inspiring! I know, so that’s why I’ve dabbled in their cuisine, learned to cook some myself.” He tapped on the floor, causing many ingredients to suddenly pop into existence.
“What in the whole wide world of Equestria are you doing?” Luna couldn’t help herself but wonder what was going on inside his head. This stallion seemed like the living definition of randomness and insanity.
Anarchy tapped the floor once more and a chair slid by, hitting Luna in the back. The alicorn fell into the seat that slid out of the kitchen and into the dining hall.
In said dining hall were multiple rich ponies eating peacefully, chatting as calm music played in the background. This looked like just another day for this hotel, save for the fact that an arch criminal was cooking French cuisine in the kitchen.
Straps suddenly sprung out of the wooden chair, each locking Luna’s limb to her seat. Surprised, she tried to pull herself out of the straps to no avail. They were much sturdier than they appeared. Well, there’s always a teleportation spell. The princess was about to cast her spell but stopped.
This was ultimately just a dream; she was in no real danger so why shouldn’t she play along with Anarchy’s twisted game? Maybe she’ll learn something important, a slip up of the tongue or an intentional clue left for her.
The door leading to the kitchen busted open and Anarchy strolled out, lifting many plates in the air with telekinesis. He gleefully trotted up to the restrained princess and placed down the plates.
“Bonjour, beauté.” He said in a perfect French accent. Sadly, her knowledge of the language had all but vanished over her thousand-year banishment period. As such, she could only guess what he said. “We have made some special orders for you.” He must have caught on to her lacking knowledge of the language for he didn’t drop the accent.
“Special orders for me?” Luna gave him a sly smile. “How awfully generous coming from a pony with a history or murder and destruction. The same could be said for your proficiency in the French language.”
Anarchy smirked. “Wait till you see this five-course meal, ma chère.” With his magic, he lifted one of the covers up. “Des cuisses de grenouilles.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
Ignoring her question, he lifted another cover. “Poulet au vinaigre.”
The alicorn didn’t understand the bizarre shape, the strange texture of the food on her plate.
“Onto the next one.” The unicorn said happily. Lifting the cover, he chuckled. “Ragôut de lapin.”
Suddenly, the memory of the meeting earlier tonight flashed in the princess’s mind. More specifically, the knowledge that Anarchy and his supporters were avid meat eaters, cannibals. Without knowing French, Luna deduced that these meals were most likely made from animals. Her eyes briefly widened upon the thoughts of the butchered critters used to create such atrocious meals.
Anarchy quickly took notice of her horror and grinned from ear to ear. “Et maintenant, princesse. La pièce de résistance.” At first he chuckled. Then, it turned into laughter. Afterward, it turned into maniacal cackling as he slowly lifted the cover. The wait was agonising for the lunar princess.
Luna’s heart sank, her eyes wide open. Her breath had stopped right as her jaw dropped.
On the final plate lied... something else entirely. It had a crystal white coat, a fading mane with dying twinkles, a bloodshot eye staring right in her soul with a terrified expression. Luna found herself staring at what was left of her beloved sister. “Mange ma belle. C’est l’heure du souper.”
Her heart was now pounding with rage and indignity, her hooves shaking with righteous anger and impatience. The powerful straps couldn’t hold her any longer as they snapped into millions of pieces. For a moment, Anarchy’s smug expression dissipated, replaced with shock. “Oh shit, I’m in danger!”
Princess Luna pounced on the demented stallion, knocking him to the ground. She brought down one hoof on his neck, slowly crushing it as her eyes shot daggers into his own. “Enough games! I won’t let you hurt anypony else! I won’t let you win!”
“Pl-Pl-Please, Luny! I’m so sorry I’ve been a horrible pony!” Anarchy begged; his smile finally gone. “I-I-I don’t want to spend my entire life rotting away in Canterlot’s dungeon! I-I'll tell you everything!...” In a horrible flash, his sly smile returned as he held out one hoof, showing a detonator in it. “or not.”
Pressing it, a loud sound startled the alicorn as the entire earth rumbled, making her lose her balance and subsequently; letting go of the arch criminal.
The entire dining hall had gone up in flames, the rich ponies were now frantically running around and screaming, looking for the nearest exit.
“Look, I’m sorry things didn’t quite turn out right in the end, but I promise I’ll get you a better wedding ring for our next outing!” Lighting up his powerful horn, Anarchy cast a new wave of fire to strengthen the power of the explosions.
Princess Luna remembered the tragedy that had occurred in this hotel. The whole place had gone up in flames, and the explosions outside were all rigged to form a very particular shape, a smile. “So it was you. You were responsible for this tragedy!” Luna shot the stallion glare.
“Yes, it is rather sad and disappointing...” Anarchy admitted, showing signs of regret. “I could have done it so much better, but at least it got the job done.” An even greater grin formed on his face. “The city was in fear.”
“It won’t be for long.” Luna said confidently. “We will stop you.”
Anarchy had a genuine look of confusion on his face. “You and who? The stone faced detective? Poor guy can’t even crack a single joke at parties! Life without laughter, that’s no way to live!”
The hotel rumbled again; another explosion echoed in the distance. The sound of the screaming ponies caught the evil stallion’s attention. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot what I was supposed to be doing. Well, let’s see if you can stop this operation. That’ll be a confidence boost if you can!” Teleporting away, he left Luna in disarray.
On the bright side, this nightmare will provide some good exercise for the lunar princess who is admittedly a bit past her hay days. A millennium spent absent from her line of work would eventually catch up to her.
Galloping down the corridors, Luna saw the stallion’s dreadful face appear through the monitors in the hall. The video quality wasn’t the greatest, this technology was new after all, but it was reserved only to the richest of ponies.
Unsurprisingly, a pony like Anarchy couldn’t resist to utilise it. He does have a certain liking to theatrics.
“Quick, Luny! Somepony’s about to get stabbed!”
The alicorn doubled her speed and quickly turned upon reaching the end of the corridor only to feel something sharp flying into her mid-section. It was a knife!
“Oops! I meant to say; YOU’RE about to get stabbed!”
Luna cursed the stallion under her painful breaths. Despite being in a dream, the sensation of pain felt all too real. Every pull she made on the knife gave off a sensation of burning in her stomach. A burning that was more powerful than the undying flames of Tartarus.
“Hang in there, this will only last a few seconds! I know you can do it!” Anarchy encouraged through the speakers.
“I don’t... need your cheering.” Luna muttered through her clenched teeth.
“Oh, okay then. Didn’t mean to hurt your precious feelings.”
Finally, the knife was pulled out. The gaping wound didn’t bleed much, well it actually wasn’t bleeding at all. Most likely caused by this lunatic. The alicorn thought as she closed the wound with magic.
A second knife flew in her direction, and this time, the princess saw it coming. She knocked the sharp object out of the way and noticed a pegasus flying outside, knives in mouth.
“Let me introduce you to a friend ‘o’ mine! This pony right here never misses the mark! Yeah, he’s, uh, he’s pretty cool.” Anarchy blared through the speakers, sounding thrilled.
The pegasus outside spat out another knife at the lunar princess, who caught it midflight with telekinesis and chucked it back to sender. The knife lodge in the stallion’s throat and he plummeted in the abyss below.
“Hey hold on now; I thought princesses do not kill?” Anarchy said, scratching the top of his mane. His voice sounded interested.
“We do not kill indeed.” Luna smirked. “This pony’s not real after all. Therefore, not a kill.”
“Ooh, I love me a sassy mare.” Anarchy returned the smirked. “Let’s see what else you can do when you’re unrestrained.”
Two mares popped up from a nearby door, slamming their hooves against the floor. Princess Luna dashed towards them at an impressive speed and hopped above them. Then, she landed on one of them, smashing the mare on the floor. The other one didn’t have enough time to react to the alicorn’s next move as two hooves unpleasantly met her face. The resulting impact launched her through the windows.
“We are on the seventh floor of the hotel currently. A fall like that would be rather deadly for a unicorn.” Anarchy stated, taking a sip from his cup of coffee. “Admit it, Luny; you just want to let it all out. Be unrestrained from morality and laws. You want to be like me, yet you deny it.”
“I wish not to be as vile as you!” Luna shouted. “Right now, I want nothing more than to smack that smug grin off your face for what you’ve done to Olive and Looking Glass!”
Anarchy looked rather bored. “As they often say; never two without three. Very well, let’s see if you can resist the temptation to kill me... at the top of the hotel.” He tossed his cup away. “You can fly through the window and skip everything else; I won’t mind.”
The alicorn took a brief glance outside. Everything seemed normal, but with a stallion like him, better to not take any chances. She chose to run all the way to the top.
“Oh, how did you know I booby trapped the sky?” The sheer surprise in his voice brought some much-needed joy to the lunar princess.
At this point, there should be only three floors left before the rooftop, which means...
“I’m here to kill you!”
Out of nowhere, Anarchy jumped from around the corner, horns charging as his whole body took on a fighting stance. His bloodlust shook Luna’s to her very core. His vindictive gaze gave off an eerie feeling of familiarity. He was about to strike her down whe-
“Nevermind.” He ran off to the nearest window and latched onto a rope. He cackled as he watched the surprised alicorn try to reach him to no avail.
As he disappeared into the night sky, Princess Luna saw a blimp flying towards the hotel at an alarming speed. Reacting quickly, she teleported herself further in the hallway, barely missing the loud explosion and the new wave of fire engulfing her previous position. The crash has severely damaged the hotel, exactly like how it went down according to the newspaper. Anarchy truly is dedicated to recreating the night of the tragedy.
The rest of the trip towards the roof was negligeable. Nothing of note happened, which could only mean that the stallion was preparing something for her at the top of the hotel.
And indeed, he was, once she bucked open the door, she found herself in complete darkness. The sky was barely illuminating the environment.
Luna carefully trotted forward, constantly looking around herself. Nothing happened. Nothing... until she was blinded by powerful lights coming from the front. Then, jazz instruments began to play as Anarchy stepped into the rain, his chef’s attire replaced by a nice suit and a top hat.
Take me on home, to, Manehattan
Never alone, in, Manehattan
Anarchy ruled, it was wild!
But through it all, nopony ever smiled...
Jokes on them, I made many friends so
Look who’s laughing now!
Deep in the Everfree Forest
I killed my girls, so... cathartic
That was the night they let us down!
And then we all put 'em down
That’s when I knew, I've made a beast out of myself
Hey, look who’s laughing now!
Luna felt completely lost amidst the music. Anarchy was dancing around her, singing a sinister song with such an upbeat tune.
I’m stuck in her head and I'm laughing. Ha!
I messed with her head and I can’t stop laughing.
I left behind my mare and I can’t stop laughing.
What else can I say?
Now I’m part of her.
The music slowly came to an end as Anarchy raised a hoof to her, staring at her in anticipation.
“What? No applause? No encore? Oh boy, aren’t you a tough crowd.”
Luna kept an unamused look on her face. “It’s getting late. If you don’t have anything else to say, then I shall insist we throw down.” Fury burned in her eyes, and Anarchy loved to see it.
“I just want to see how tasty you are.” Anarchy pounced on the lunar princess, his mouth wide open.
The alicorn was quick to react, dropping on her back waiting for him to land on her. Once her hooves met his body, she threw him away and he landed right on his head. Before he could react, Luna fired a powerful beam of magic.
The shot passed through him, engulfing the stallion in a powerful ray of destruction. A dark mist suddenly weaved around the beam, eventually forming the shape of Anarchy. With a slight chuckle, he fired a beam of his own. His eyes shined green as dark magic shot out of his horn.
Luna’s instinct screamed at her to get out of the way. Just in the nick of time, she teleported away. Reappearing to the right of Anarchy, the dark stallion quickly took notice of her and threw out a mighty kick.
The alicorn barely dodged the first one, and struggled just as much to gather her bearing as more kicks were thrown her way. Time slowed down as she got to observe the unicorn’s attack. He wasn’t flailing his leg around, no, his attacks were precise. They were aimed directly at either her face, neck or her legs. He was going for maximum damage. He didn’t just know how to kill, he knew how to fight a martial arts expert.
Luna herself wasn’t at the top of her game. These past few thousand years have damaged her fighting abilities. She just hoped she still had enough skill to overcome this powerful apparition. Unfortunately, she wasn’t fast enough to dodge his sweeping attack.
Falling on her wing, Luna groaned as she tried to get back up. Not fast enough, Anarchy pounced on her, pressing his hooves down on her neck as he opened his mouth. He was strangling her! Trying to take her strength away so he could feast on her body.
Using her alicorn body as an advantage, the lunar princess thought quickly and wrapped her wings around the stallion’s hooves. She pushed them away as hard as she could while her forelegs were keeping his jaw at bay. Anarchy started to look surprised as he found himself losing this battle of brute strength.
One punch across the face, one headbutt, the stallion lost his grip on Luna. Pushing him away, she bucked the evil pony in the face, knocking a tooth off. As he was struggling to shake off the daze, Luna let out all her anger on him.
Striking his face, bucking his ribs, blasting his body away with magic. She threw everything she had at him. The stallion reacted strongly, frowning and yelping in pain. After the meeting, this sight felt cathartic.
Suddenly, Anarchy shot a beam in her face, blinding her temporarily. He turned to smoke and reformed right on her back, latching onto her neck and torso with his legs.
“If it doesn’t work the first time, try again!”
Anarchy tightened his grip around Luna’s neck, cackling maniacally as blood dripped down his massacred face. The alicorn struggled to keep herself standing, the weight of the stallion slowly pushing her down to the cold wet ground.
Then, Luna smirked. Casting another spell, Anarchy was surprised to find himself falling down to the ground. Looking up, he saw Luna standing over him, still smirking. He kicked the princess in the face, only for his leg to pass through her.
“Intangibility. An incredible defensive spell.” Luna informed.
“But it lacks offense.” Anarchy got back on his hooves. His bruised and bloodied face healing until it looked crystal clean.
“Care to try again? I can do this all night.”
The effect of the spell wore off, but none of the fighters moved. Staring each other down, they were waiting to see who would make the first move. Anarchy slowly lowered his head, still keeping his eyes on Luna. He only stopped when his horn was directly facing her eyes. Luna gasped.
The unicorn thrusted his head forward, with Luna barely managing to evade impalement. However, that was only a mere feint as Anarchy bit her front leg, latching onto it with all of his might.
Luna screamed in pain as she bucked the stallion’s head in an effort to ward him off, to no avail. Anarchy lifted his head, forcing Luna to kneel before him as she felt her bones cracking under the weight of the monstrous pony’s jaw. Fear coursed through her body as the pain felt all too real. In that moment of desperation, Luna struck him in the eye with her horn.
He finally let go of her leg and fell down, laughing. “You preach true justice, Luny, but in the face of fear, your instinct takes over. You may not want to kill, but I can push you to kill me.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Luna gritted her teeth, holding her injured leg close to her body. “Had we fought out of the dreamscape, you would have lost much sooner. Her fears empower you in this realm.”
Anarchy frowned. “You don’t have to remind me. You’re stronger, faster, and better at magic.” His frown turned into a grin.
“Not for long. I still have much room to grow myself.” His grin grew wider, spanning to his eyes. “It won’t be long until I show the world the monster still lives inside you. Be seeing you, nighthawk.”
The first rays of sunlight beamed through the curtain, casting strong shadows in the royal bedroom. Princess Luna groaned as she woke up from this bad trip in the dreamscape. She felt tired, numb.
Exiting her bed, she shambled out of her room. Her stomach was crying out for cake, she’ll think about what happened last night after her belly is full. Trotting down the hallway, she wondered why she struggled to walk properly.
Then, a piercing scream snapped her out of her tired state of mind. Luna turned around and saw one of the castle’s maids, screaming in horror at her. A terrible pain engulfed her leg and as she looked down, she saw a trail of blood coming from her bedroom.
Shocked, the alicorn lifted her leg and saw a large bite mark, bleeding profusely.