//------------------------------// // Chapter X- The Magic of Renewal // Story: The SinEater of Equestria: Cataclysm // by DVB //------------------------------// Chapter X- The Magic of Renewal Golden Star and Star Silver walked on the bridge established to check on Anomaly. It has been around two weeks since he settled in Equestria. Despite that, he kept mainly to himself, either teleporting himself directly to the homes of his friends or remaining in his castle and doing what he calls ‘preparations.’ “I wonder if we checking on him has to do with the fact he is kind of a hermit,” Star Silver asked his brother. Golden Star himself did not know, though he surmised that to be the most likely answer. “From the observations we made, he seems to be afraid of rejection,” Golden Star explained. Star Silver nodded. While he grown used to the human, he figured that it would take a while for everypony else, even in Ponyville to grow accustomed and considering that was where Discord’s main rampage site was located when he escaped, it was no surprise he was being cautious. Beyond continuing to be guards of the unicorn division, they were also giving the rank of Anomaly Watcher, a friendly term for an observer of their new resident. As such, they would occasionally talk to him. They entered the gates to see Anomaly writing using a pen. Unlike most ponies who used quills, he created a nifty pen. “Hey guys, take a seat,” he told them before they went and took their spots. “We are here to learn about how your interactions with the townsfolk have been,” Golden Star asked him. “I haven’t communicated much with the townsfolk to be honest. I have been content with staying here in my stronghold for now. However, I predict I’ll have to make an entrance eventually,” Anomaly explained to them as he looked. Anomaly had spent much of his time in the Clockwork Castle. He has a fascination with clockwork, despite not being good at making them by hand. It helped he could could animate the mannequins to teach him. Beyond that, he had his own projects. Mainly, he was preparing himself for his ultimate project. The Changelings spent most of their time sleeping, as they were trying to conserve energy. They seem to survive off of heart-shaped cookies Anomaly makes. Considering he makes them with love, it seems to serve as a basic substitute for the short run, prompting him to finish the preparations. Ever since the Changeling invasion, new protocol was being administered and he had a say. Having found an old book, he looked on how these things fed. It wasn't pretty. It looked like they were swallowing someone's soul, according to the drawings, Besides his research, Anomaly began to train himself. He feared the day when Discord would come and take the reality-changing powers, so he began taking advantage of the powers to give him changes Discord couldn’t take away directly. These included learning how basic carpentry, wood-working and smithing. It also served as an outlet for the nervous energy he got. He also learned how to defend himself. He relied on using a stick like a staff, mainly because it seem to be the easiest thing. Regarding the various activities he had done to hone his mind and body, he conversed with the Star Bros. “Fascinating activities, Anomaly. However, we must cut our visit short,” Golden Star said as he levitated his dishes to the sink. “Yeah, the Princess is having delegates from Saddle Arabia coming over. I heard her student, Twilight Sparkle is in charge of preparing a show for them. Perhaps you can assist them,” Star Silver added before the stallions bid him farewell. Anomaly began thinking. While he would like to spend time, he wondered if he should. Why was he so worried? When did he be so paranoid? He wasn’t Batman… not even with his reality-warping powers. He wasn’t worthy. He began making his plans. After all, he needed to have legitimate blueprints for his stronghold and he would need a great deal of ponies to take care of the place if he ever lost his powers. He wondered how his friends were doing… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle was practicing for her big show she had prepared for Princess Celestia and the Saddle Arabia ponyfolk. She was levitating some of Fluttershy’s animal friends for the show, much to the anxiety and worry of the pegasus. However, Spike was currently doing his best to reassure her. The Mane 6 along with Spike, were happy that their lives returned with a sense of normalcy. D dropped by occasionally and he promised that the next time the girls came, their sisters could come. He always wanted to meet the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He even heard a new member joined through Applebloom’s cousin, Babs Seed. He found them endearing, though quite naive at times. They didn't seem to understand how Cutie Marks work. Besides that and Pinkie’s discovery of a magic pond, not much was happening. The animals fly through the air in the infinite shape and a few other shapes. Twilight noticed that her magical skills have begun increasing at a faster rate, a growth attributed to her connection with the benevolent Chaos being. “Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight. Princess Celestia's going to love it,” Spike complimented her while he and the animals comforted the frightened Fluttershy. “Thanks, Spike. I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia. I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment,” Twilight proclaimed with pride. Suddenly, a familiar rainbow blur pounced on her. “Twilight! Come quick! It's an emergency!” Rainbow Dash told her with worry all over her face. The four friends went on over to Ponyville, where a crowd had formed to see what new trouble arrived in the town. A hooded and cloaked pony had been terrorizing a few ponies, currently with Rarity. The pony shot a crimson beam at Rarity, forcing her into a colorfully tacky dress, a vile thing in the eyes of fashionistas, such as the Element of Generosity. Rarity gasped before she yelled “You beast! This shade of brown should only be used for accents!” Rarity then fainted onto Applejack who began carrying her away alongside Pinkie Pie. “ Come on, Applejack. We've got to get her into a nice, soothing pink. Stat!” she proclaimed before Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arrived. “What's going on here?” Twilight asked. “Well, well, well. If it isn't... Twilight Sparkle,” a familiar voice said as she lifted her hood off, revealing the menacing turquoise pony. “Gasp… Trixie!” Twilight said with a suspicious tone as she glared at Trixie. “What's she doing here?” Spike as he glared at her. “You call that great and powerful?” Rainbow Dash demanded of Trixie, showing off the example of Trixie’s bullying. Trixie’s response was her eyes glowing a bright red momentarily before shooting another crimson beam at Rainbow Dash; the result was one of Rainbow Dash’s wing to much larger than the other, rending Rainbow unable to fly properly. Snips and Snails commented on Rainbow Dash’s misfortune before Trixie turned to them and also zapped them. The result was their horns being fused together. Snails ran and attempted to shake off Snips, but to no avail. “Stop picking on my friends, Trixie!” Twilight demanded. “You and I have some unfinished business,” Trixie began as she faced Twilight Sparkle. “My magic's gotten better since I was here last. And I'm going to prove it! Me and you. A magic duel. Winner stays, loser leaves Ponyville forever!” Trixie proposed to a disapproving Twilight. “Forget it! I'd never make a deal like that!” she answered before she turned away. “Hm, your choice,” Trixie said before she targeted Spike. She caused him to stretch and fold into a ball, where he was helplessly bounced around, much to Twilight’s rage. “Trixie, put him down! Why are you doing this?!” Twilight asked her as she used her magic to free Spike. “Why? Because you humiliated me! After you showed me up with that Ursa Minor, I became a laughingstock! Everywhere I went I was laughed at and ostracized. I even had to take a job on a rock farm just to earn a living! A rock farm!” Trixie ranted as she used her magic to recreate a video of what has happened to her, including ending up on the Pie Rock Farm. “Hey! You're lucky a rock farm would take the likes of you!” Pinkie Pie angrily replied, offended at the insulting nature Trixie was implying. Trixie responded by recreating a cursor from a computer and deleting Pinkie’s mouth, rendering her unable to talk, much to her sadness. “Now I want revenge! And I'll just keep casting spells 'til you agree. Well? What do you say?” Trixie teased. Twilight looked at her friends being tormented and decided enough was enough. “Alright, Trixie. Let's duel!” “Excellent,” Trixie proclaimed before turning everyone to normal, albeit keeping Pinkie Pie mouthless. “If I lose, I won't set hoof in Ponyville again. But if you lose, you're the one banished from this one-horse town!” Trixie proclaimed, much to the shock of the Mane 7. Twilight simply prepared herself as do did Trixie. The air was filled with tension… ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anomaly watched the duel with interest and slight worry. He had summoned an enchanted mirror to check on his friends and saw Trixie return with a vengeance. Anomaly got a bad feeling from the strange looking trinket holding Trixie’s cloak. He decided to watch for now. However, he realized the time to remain in hiding was running out. He would have to make an appearance to Ponyville sooner or later… “May I be cowardly or just overly cautious?” Anomaly asked as he turned to face Iaiunus and Elder. The two looked at one another from their locations before facing Anomaly with puzzled expressions. The Lord of Crawlington responded with a strange humming sound. Anomaly sighed as he looked at the mirror to see how the duel was doing. He clenched his fist to focus. -------------------------------------------------------------------- “DRAW!” Trixie launched the first spell; she shot a red beam toward a nearby fruit cart and barrels, hurtling it to the sky. Some ponies ran way, although one tripped. She was saved by Twilight’s levitation of the objects and setting them back down. Twilight sighed in relief before she saw Trixie levitate several large pies and flung them at her. Twilight countered by summoning a Parasprite to devour them. It then burped out a new one, which Twilight made it along with the original vanish to avoid a calamity like last time. However, Twilight looked to see a large snowfall land on her, which she melted. She then took the initiative and launched her own spell on Trixie, giving her a large handlebar mustache, to the amusement of her friends. Trixie huffed, but she summoned scissors to remove the mustache. She smiled. Time for her trump card. She had Snips and Snails step forward before she blasted them with the familiar red blast. However, it then turned into a swirling mist before revealing a foal Snips and elderly Snails. Twilight gasped in surprise. “An age spell? But… how can you do an age spell? That’s only for the highest level unicorns,” she stated in shock. Trixie smugly rubbed the amulet with her hoof before looking at it. “Well Twilight, give up?” she asked, confident that Twilight wouldn’t be able to do so. Twilight herself wasn’t sure if she could do so, but she had to try. For her friends. She took a deep breath and began focusing as hard as she could, her horn leaking magic. The two former colts began levitating into the air to try and perform the age spell. “Come on, Twilight, you can do it,” Spike said, voicing the confidence her friends had in her. Twilight continued to try, but all the practice with Fluttershy’s animals had tuckered her out. She began lowering on her legs as the two colts were being lowered. ”Who do you think you are, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight’s clenched eyes opened to hear the voice of Anomaly in her head. ”You’re one of the Elements of Harmony. You’re Celestia’s student. You and your friends beat Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and Sombra! Don’t lost to this bragging cheater. Go and win this! Anomaly’s voice echoed in her mind. Twilight felt her magic coming back to her. She couldn't give up, not know. The mark she had of Anomaly began glowing under the applied makeup on her leg. Her friends were with her. She had the magic of friendship on her side. Snips and Snails began glowing once more and were lifted up. A familiar vortex appeared around them as Trixie looked appalled and Twilight’s friends amazed. The vortex cleared, revealing the restored Snips and Snails. Twilight was exhausted. She wiped the bead of sweat on her brow and smiled. Her legs were wobbling slightly and Spike went over to help her in case she fell. She did it. She performed one of the most difficult spells a unicorn could do it. When she remembered her friends, she felt her magic grow stronger... Thanks to them, she is developing into the best unicorn she can be. Trixie couldn’t believe it. How? How?! HOW?! She had the Alicorn Amulet. With it, her magic soared to that of the highest levels of a unicorn. And yet, her power was rivaled by that of Twilight Sparkle, who did out of raw talent. It wasn't possible. “It’s NOT possible! How did you do that?! I have the Alicorn Amulet! My power should have surpassed yours!!” Trixie proclaimed, her calm and smug demeanor shattered by this turn of events. “That explains it. How you were able to do the spells. You used the Alicorn Amulet to amplify your own magic. That also explains the different colored aura of magic,” Twilight said as she finally took notice of said amulet and remembering Anomaly’s words. “You meant she used some weird looking piece of jewelry to boost her power?” Rainbow Dash asked, also surprised. “Figured somepony like her couldn’t beat somepony like Twilight in magic by herself. So she got some fancy ancient artifact to boost her power,” Applejack voiced. “That also explains the change in the color and strength of her magic,” Rarity realized. “Unfortunately, looks that even wasn’t enough to beat Twilight. I knew you were awesome, Twilight, but this takes the cake. You’re now one of the highest level of unicorns,” Spike proclaimed as her friends came over and congratulated her. Twilight smiled and blushed at the praise. She was happy that she accomplished this. She also needed to thank Anomaly for the little boost that was needed as well as restoring her magic back to normal levels. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in joy, but muffled noise was only what came out. Twilight promptly restored her friend’s mouth. “That means that Trixie is a big cheater and she loses the duel!” Pinkie pointed out. The group of friends faced Trixie, only to recoil in shock. A permanent magic aura of a diabolical red shade surrounded Trixie. “I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!” Trixie seethed from the mouth as the amulet was glowing and her eyes also shifted to red. “GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! THIS IS MY TOWN NOW!!!” she said before caving into maniacal laughter. Fluttershy shrunk back in fear as the others also backed up. “I-I think that amulet is making her really upset,” Fluttershy pointed out. Trixie then released a shockwave of red magic, flinging Twilight out of town and heading toward the Everfree Forest. “And to make sure nopony gets any funny ideas…” Trixie said, the expression on her face resembling an evil version of Twilight during the Want it, Need it incident. She then created a large glass dome over Ponyville. The others tried to rush out, but they were electrocuted upon hitting the barrier. The group of friends stared out, hoping Twilight was okay. “What do we do now?” Fluttershy asked as Trixie began to take over the town. Spike was thinking, until he remembered something. “We call a friend,” Spike said before he led them to the library. The friends barricaded themselves in before Spike wrote a quick letter and sent it to the mightiest being they knew outside the Princesses. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Anomaly watched the duel and was angry. He was proud of Twilight’s spell, but shocked at Trixie’s breakdown by the Amulet and mad from Twilight being launched. Before he could do anything further, he received the letter from Spike, requesting for help with Twilight. It mentioned she flew in the direction of Everfree Forest. Anomaly placed the letter away before he left Elder in charge of the stronghold. He snapped his fingers and teleported to the Everfree. He ended up at Zecora’s hut, where the surprised zebra was pulling in an unconscious, but undamaged Twilight Sparkle into her hut. “Goodness me, how did she end up in this condition? I fear it is a cause of great suspicion,” Zecora asked Anomaly. “I’ll tell you inside,” Anomaly said as he carried Twilight into a cot before he sat down and explained to Zecora. She was preparing something for Twilight for when she awoke. It wasn’t long before Twilight stirred from her slumber and Anomaly finished the story. “This tale of woe upsets me so. No wonder you’re dour, it’s an abuse of power,” Zecora said in reaction to this. Before more could be said, Twilight’s moaning from the pain got their attention. “No longer must you be a fretter, for now you are feeling better,” Zecora said as she gave Twilight some tea to help her. “I told her what happened. Good job on the age spell. However, I don’t anyone expected for her to flip out, though I think that amulet has got something to do with it,” Anomaly added as he gave Twilight a comforting smile. “What do I do though? My friends and all of Ponyville are probably suffering under Trixie’s hooves,” Twilight said as she tried to calm down with the tea. “I mean, I was able to pull off the age spell, but Trixie is out of control right now and I don’t think I can go horn to horn like how she is,” she explained. Zecora took a sip before she smiled at her. “If you train with me, so good you'll be, I'll show you the way to make sure she won't stay,” Zecora stated. “You'll train me in magic? But I barely beat her last time and now she’s lost her marbles,” Twilight said. “When it comes to magic, it would be tragic if somepony licked me, especially Trixie,” Zecora reassured her. “You really think I can beat her?” Zecora nodded and Anomaly simply smiled at her. She recalled his words from moments before. “Okay, when do we start?” -------------------------------------------------------- “You think he got the letter?” Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow Dash. “Beats me. Maybe the dome is stopping the message from being delivered,” Rainbow Dash replied quietly. “Silence! Continue, hanging those banners!” Trixie proclaimed to them. The two along with Cloud Kicker proceeded to hang the banners that bore her likeness, courtesy of the threatened Rarity. All of the town has become enslaved under her rule and dark clouds loomed inside the dome. Trixie's sanity had been plunging since her defeat. Her mare was in disarray and she had a kooky look in her eye. She looked even zanier than Twilight did during the 'Want It, Need It,' fiasco. “Hurry up with that throne!” she yelled at the Cakes, who were currently making a large elaborate throne of sweets. “And you! How long until my apple sauce facial?! Trixie demanded from Applejack, who was currently preparing said apples. “Forget it, Trixie! I ain’t doing nothing until you bring Twilight back home,” Applejack stated defiantly as she crossed her forelegs. “Oh really?” Trixie then aimed a dark red/black beam at the nearby bushel of apples. They glowed and a shimmering sound was produced before the apple was now turned to stone. She then aimed her horn at Apple Bloom who was currently scrubbing the place down along with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Get the message?” she asked to a horrified Applejack as she lowered her horn. “All right, I’ll do it, I’ll do it!” Applejack stated as she began pressing the apples quickly, in fear of what Trixie would do. “The ol Trixie may have been a blowhard, but she wasn’t evil or crazy like that fancy amulet is making her,” Applejack told Rarity, both were shivering at the heinous threat Trixie had made. “Dance for me!!” Trixie began firing erratic beams to make Pinkie Pie dance and dodge too. “This isn’t fun at all,” Pinkie said, her poofy mane down at the cruelty of it all. “Ponyville is being ruined and Trixie is growing crazier and crazier with that amulet on her,” Rarity said as she was sewing. She winced at the needle poking, but continued, afraid of what Trixie would do to Sweetie Belle. “Somepony has to help us,” Rarity proclaimed quietly. ------------------------------------------------- Anomaly surveyed the situation with a disturbed look on his face. Zecora was currently training Twilight. She was balancing on one leg while Twilight stood on the water and levitating orbs of water. "No noise, no sound, no din, no fuss, must interfere with your focus. Unlearn what you have learned, only then can victory be earned,” she recited before she did a double take on what Anomaly’s mirror was showing. Zecora was quite horrified by the fact Trixie would threaten the fillies. Twilight herself caught a glimpse which broke her concentration. “Oh Celestia! We have to do something now!” Twilight proclaimed, beginning to hyperventilate from all this. Zecora began to calm down Twilight, though worry was clearly present on her face as well. “How am I supposed to beat that amulet? My magic's not good enough!” Twilight said as she was trying to calm down. Anomaly and Zecora were quiet and trying to think of what to do. “The situation has grown dire, and the time is down to the wire,” Zecora mumbled before she paused and she reached an epiphany. She then faced the two with a smile. “Twilight Sparkle, much work have you done. You learned all of my lessons; all but one. If Trixie's tricks have you in a fix, you must nix your magic and use the six.” “Nix your magic, use the six... Nix your magic, use the six! Use the six, that's it! Zecora, you're a genius!” Twilight said before she faced Anomaly and stated the plan. Anomaly smiled as he tapped his staff on the ground and summoned a familiar box. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie had been hearing commotion on the outside of her barrier. She had Snips and Snails drag her bed over there. When they questioned the lack of wheels, she treated them with a nonsensical and conspiracy-ridden rant on how the ‘wheel’ was out to get her. This had been going for half an hour. Her tirade was interrupted by the loud tapping on the dome. She turned to see Twilight Sparkle and a zebra stand there. Surprising her most was the strange clothed bipedal being behind them. “What's the matter, Twilight Sparkle? Not enjoying your exile?” she sneered at Twilight. “I beat you, even when cheating and you threw me out,” Twilight said, taking note on how the Amulet was burying itself into Trixie and the wild look that Trixie had on her. “Nonsense! Now leave or else!” she said as her horn glowed. “Okay, I had enough of this. Let us in,” Anomaly said as he stepped up. “What can you do?!” she said mockingly at Anomaly. Anomaly smirked. “ This” He tapped his staff on the dome. A shockwave shattered it and the force blew the clouds away. Snips and Snails were blown into the bed while Trixie was blown out of it. All of Ponyville felt the power and they peeked from their locations to grasp the newcomer. “W-who are you?” “My name is Anomaly… and I am the Guardian of Chaos” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ponyville was where Discord first appeared. His torment left many ponies afraid of him though besides all the madness occurring and making life difficult for them, they were not scarred as say the Crystal Ponies by Sombra. Nevertheless, they were surprised to see a new spirit of Chaos, a benevolent one nonetheless. Trixie herself heard about Discord, but remained unaware that Twilight was one of the ponies who defeated him. Even with the Alicorn Amulet, the fear she felt over the vast magic he had showed. She then recovered and put on a façade. “You are going to challenge me?” she demanded, the amulet and her eyes glowing. “I would want to, yes. But I don’t need to. However, you need to be defeated and more importantly, what is needed is the method,” Anomaly said before Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Spike and Applejack went over to Twilight, checking that she was all right before thanking Zecora for helping her. Twilight then opened the box and familiar trinkets also appeared on the mares. The Elements of Harmony. “True magic… it doesn’t come from the amulet. It comes from the heart,” Anomaly began before letting Twilight take over. “You see, Trixie. I used to be afraid of you, but I realized it was the amulet I feared. To be honest, I am afraid for you. That amulet has turned you into a monster,” Twilight explained before the six friends began floating. “I was like you… I didn’t have any friends and I was obsessed over magic and studying. Then I came to Ponyville. I learned about honesty, loyalty, generosity, kindness and laughter. All those things make something wonderful… it makes friendship. And that comes to the most important lesson I learned…” The amulets began glowing and began syncing. In desperation, Trixie tried to shoot a beam, but an invisible aura absorbed the blast. “Friendship is Magic!” The girls’ eyes glowed before releasing a large rainbow that soared through the air and crashed onto Trixie. Her red glow was over taken and she began shouting. Red and black smoke emitted from the alicorn amulet before something seemed to have been burnt off. For an instant, the amulet was now changed from black and red, to gold and blue. No one took notice, although Anomaly stretched his hand to put it away in a box. The rainbow then folds onto Ponyville and restores the town to normal. The friends all hug one another and a crowd cheers. Trixie wakes up and looks at Twilight. “That’s where real magic comes from, Trixie. From having friends,” she says. Before anypony could say anything, a mint green pony pounces on Anomaly. “Bipedal, hands like a monkey, primate-like structure… you’re a human. You are real! I always knew!” Lyra said as she shook the self-conscious Anomaly. “Yeah, that’s me,” he says nervously. Bon Bon stepped forward and looked amazed. She was well-aware of her friend's eccentric interest in the bipedal beings, but to see one here, flesh and blood, it was truly a surprise. “Lyra has been waiting ever so much to meet someone like you. And you came in to help save our town,” Bon Bon stated. Soon, the crowd began to surrounding Anomaly, asking him questions, giving him thanks and so on. As the Mane 6 did their best to control the crowd as well as help set up for the delegates from Saddle Arabia, an ashamed and repentant Trixie slipped away. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “If there is anything we can do for you, we will be happy to assist in any way,” Mayor Mare proclaimed to Anomaly. A short award ceremony was being held, mainly while everypony was prepping for the arrival of Celestia and her guests. “Thank you, ma’am. And to everypony, I am well aware that you all suffered in one way or another from Discord. While he may never come back, there is always the chance he can. I will do my best to protect you and everypony else alongside my friends,” Anomaly proclaimed to the other ponies, who cheered in response. The entire party went smoothly. Twilight’s show with the animals was even better and all of her friends helped pitch in. However, all were mildly surprised at the fireworks display. When they turned to Anomaly, he shrugged his shoulders though he looked to the direction and saw from an abandoned cottage a blue horn disappear. When the festivities died down, the group decided to see. Inside, they saw a very shameful looking Trixie. “Everypony… I wanted to say… I’m sorry for everything,” she said as she was hiding behind cobweb-laden sofa. She was quite afraid. After all, her acts were nothing short of horrendous and even she felt vile with herself as she recalled everything she did under the amulet’s control. Beyond that, the rainbow wave also allowed her to see her past behavior for how it truly was and it compounded her shame more. She was by no means a bad mare, just a mare who made some bad decisions and allowed them to consume her. “I was hoping… that someday… you could forgive me…” she said before she hid across the sofa. Before the girls could say anything, Anomaly shooed them out of the cottage. Trixie peaked and Anomaly gave her a comforting smile, enabling to smile for a split second on her own. The group looked at one another in silence as they walked away from the lone cottage. The ponies wondered why their strange friend did this, but in Anomaly's mind, this was something they needed to mull over. "What do we do about Trixie? I'm not sure if her staying in town is a good idea," Applejack said as they were walking. Even if they didn't have a grudge against her personally, the other townsponies might. "Forgiving her would be a difficult task," Rarity worded carefully. Trixie was by no means a bad pony, but her nature rubbed on them the wrong way. "She did make a really big mess of things. I mean, can we trust her?" Rainbow Dash asked in her hushed but blunt manner. Anomaly faced them. "Well, everypony deserves a second chance. Not to mention that she was obviously not herself," Anomaly said. "He's right... it was kinda like when Discord brainwashed you..." Spike pointed out. The girls shivered. The faint memories they had when they were not themselves were things they didn't like to ponder about. “I think we should discuss this tomorrow. We should head to bed,” Twilight proclaimed. "I'll walk all of you home," Anomaly offered and began doing so. He looked up at the night sky. One by one, he dropped them off before he vanished back into the strange building he called home. Anomaly walked past the enormous sleeping caterpillar. Anomaly then looked where the Changelings were held. Most were asleep. Others were looking at their reflections. Anomaly looked at them as he tried to figure them out. They appeared to have some form of individuality, but it appears that they did little outside of looking for their next meal. Furthermore, Anomaly wondered what Chrysalis was attempting to go forth. If she suddenly became the most powerful being in Equestria, then what? The ponies would eventually die from starvation, dehydration, suffocation or loss of will to live. Furthermore, the sheer panic it would cause would cause the love to drop out. Even if they did succeed, the other nations would have learnt from this and no doubt try to avenge Equestria or at least end the Changeling race. Based on how Chrysalis was surprised on beating Celestia, she really didn't seem to have a full grasp of the situation. No doubt she would try harder if she attempted once more, but she still seemed to lack the whole picture. Anomaly wondered what to do with them. Despite having power at his fingertips, he had no real clue how they functioned or if they had limit. Anomaly also noticed there was a lack of books outside of Equestria here in the libraries. In fact, not many ponies seem to know what laid beyond. Anomaly prepared to sleep. There had to be something done with Trixie and he had no idea what was coming up next. However, Anomaly nodded off to enjoy the current peace.