//------------------------------//
// The Eclipse 
// Story: Chaos and Anarchy 
// by -Mazer 
//------------------------------//

	I’ve silenced the laughter…
Strengthened the greed…
Deceived the honest……
Made selfish the loyal…
Corrupted the kind…
Anarchy reclined against the back of Celestia’s throne. His ruby-red eyes were locked upon the large double doors that led into the chamber. And soon, he smiled,  I will put an end to the Magic.
He lifted the amulet up to eye level. “And when I do, your precious little Twilight Sparkle will die.” He threw his head backwards, howling with a maniacal glee. 


“We must return to Ponyville post haste!” Luna exclaimed as she bolted up the spiral staircase. “I fear that your friends are in trouble.” 
“Princess, can’t we just teleport there?”
“I do not wish to transport us into a situation of which we have no knowledge. For all we know, Ponyville is aflame. We could be teleporting into a situation most dire!”
Twilight tried her best to keep up with the Princess. Her lungs were on fire as she was not used to such strenuous activity but she did not let her discomfort slow her down. She kept the images of her friends in her head, using their faces motivate her to keep on going. Her legs were burning, her chest felt tight, but still she pressed on. “How can we be sure that Discord is telling the truth? He isn’t the most trustworthy spirit in the land. He could just be saying all this just to trick us.”
Luna shook her head as she ran. “If you were with my sister, I may be inclined to agree with you, but as it was me he was talking to, I must take what he said as the absolute truth.”
“What happened between you two?” Twilight asked.
“This isn’t the time or the place!” Luna snapped back. Twilight winced. “My apologies Prin - ”
“Cease your talking and conserve your strength! We are almost to the grand hall. From there we must race to the courtyard so that I can summon my carriage. We shall take it to Cloudsdale to seek out Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. As Rainbow Dash was the fastest flyer in the sky, it was only natural that she be in charge of rounding up the rest of their friends. Twilight just prayed that they got to Rainbow before Anarchy did.
“We are here,” Luna exclaimed as she jumped into the grand hall. “Guards!” she shouted, magnifying her voice so that the entire palace vibrated. “Guards! To me this instant!”
Not one stallion answered her call. Twilight’s shoulders fell as she tried to catch her breath. “Where is everypony?” she gasped. 
Luna examined the grand hall with a careful eye. “What is this?” She asked while approaching what looked to be a pile of rocks. Twilight glanced around the hall noticing that there were several such piles littered all over the floor. She trotted over to the nearest one, tapping a large chunk of stone with her hoof. It rolled towards her. She screamed. “Princess!”
Luna was at her side in less than a second. “No,” she whispered from between clenched teeth. “How could any creature be so cruel?”
What Twilight had thought was nothing more than a random chunk of rock was in fact, the petrified head of one of the palace guards. His eyes were wide, his mouth open in shock. He looked absolutely terrified. “Are these all…?” Twilight stumbled backwards, falling onto her rear-end.
“Yes,” Luna examined the other piles. “They are all here; the royal guards.” She bit down upon her bottom lip. “He has killed them. All of them.”
“No,” Twilight moaned. “We need to find the others,” she whimpered. “Before it’s too late.”
“Caution is no longer an option,” Luna replied. “We must teleport directly to Cloudsdale and find your friend Rainbow Dash.” She nudged Twilight close to her side. “Are you ready, Twilight Sparkle?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be…”
“Alright here we -” a loud crash interrupted the Princess. She looked down the hallway to see that the twin doors leading into her sister’s throne room had thrown themselves open. She lowered her head, pointing her horn towards the door. “Stay close to me,” she whispered to Twilight. Together they ventured into the throne room. As they crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut. Silver chains crisscrossed over the doors, sealing the room shut. 
“So,” A harsh whisper echoed. “We meet at last.”
Twilight pressed herself closer to Luna. “S-Show yourself!” She demanded.
“Why of course,” there was a clapping sound and Anarchy materialized upon Celestia’s throne. He was even more monstrous than Discord’s memories had depicted. He leaned forward, clasping his claws together in his lap. “You must be Twilight Sparkle,” He cooed while staring deep into Twilight’s purple eyes. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance.” His eyes flicked to Luna. “And the Mare in the Moon herself; you look absolutely divine.” He bowed at the hip, sweeping his arm over his head in a subservient gesture. “I am not worthy to be in your presence.”
“Where’s my sister?” Luna demanded. “We are not here to exchange pleasantries.”
“Oh, your sister is a lot closer than you think,” Anarchy grinned. He slipped a black amulet from around his neck and began to twirl it around a single claw. “She’s just, hanging around, as they would say.” He snickered at the joke. 
“Release her.”
Anarchy rose from the throne. “You are in no position to make threats,” He hissed, his eyes glinting. “If I remember correctly, you no longer carry the Elements of Harmony. That means you are nothing more than a pretty little pony with an elementary grasp on magic.” He grinned. “Why, if I were a betting spirit, I would bet my entire fortune that little Twilight here has more magic in her left hoof than you do in your entire body.”
Luna’s jaw tensed but she did not take the bait. “I shan’t ask you again. Release my sister or face the consequences.”
Anarchy’s grin faded. “You are no fun,” He clapped his claws together and the Elements of Harmony appeared mounted on the wall above the throne. Twilight gasped. Each one of the elements, save for her own, was cracked down the center. She felt her heart skip a beat. What did these cracks mean? Could it be that her friends had already been corrupted? Or worse: dead? “What did you do to my friends?” she demanded. “Tell me!”
Anarchy tilted his head. “Oh, I will do more than tell you.” He smirked. “I’ll show you.” He clapped his hands and the three of them were instantly transported into Ponyville Town Square. Twilight’s heart sank as she saw the remains of her once beautiful town. 
Whereas Discord had turned the town into a strange wonderland where the laws of nature and physics no longer existed, Anarchy had instead decided to level the entire town. Those buildings that were still standing were ablaze with a black fire. Ponies of all ages were running through the streets, their eyes dark with a strange light, their voices twisted and evil. They were screaming at one another, making threats, looting and fighting; these were not the ponies that Twilight knew and loved. These things were something else altogether.
“What did you do?” She cried.
“Do you like it?” Anarchy clasped his claws behind his back. “I call it: Eternal Darkness Number Eight.” He flashed his fangs in a toothy grin. “I find it quite lovely. Can you not see the emotion?” He placed a claw over his heart. “Can you not feel how much I suffered in making such a masterpiece? Oh, how I wish I had a gallery to show this off.” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “All that’s missing, however, is the inclusion of two little ponies.” He pointed his claw towards Luna. “One,” he whispered. He moved his claw over towards Twilight. “And two.” He laughed.
Luna moved so quickly that Anarchy didn’t have time to react. Using her wings to gain momentuem, she lunged towards Anarchy, thrusting her horn towards the center of his chest. His eyes grew wide as her horn penetrated his body, bursting out the other side. She ripped herself free, twirling around to kick both of her back hooves into his stomach, knocking him onto his back. Anarchy hit the ground hard, stunned.
“Tell me you vicious little cur how to free my sister or so help me, I shall sever your head from your neck and mount it upon my wall!” Bolts of lightning erupted from the sky as she shouted down at him. Her eyes had taken on a light blue hue, her coat turning from dark blue to midnight black. Twilight took several steps backwards as she witnessed the return of Nightmare Moon. 
“You…” Anarchy tried to crawl away from the angry Princess. “You little…” He began to cough. “How dare you…?”
“This is your last chance!” Nightmare Moon bellowed. Anarchy gazed into her eyes then, to Twilight’s horror, he smiled. “This shall be fun.” He clapped his claws, teleporting himself behind Nightmare Moon. “Princess! Behind you!” Twilight screamed but Nightmare Moon was already on guard. She dodged Anarchy’s claws, then turned around quickly to face him. Anarchy crawled towards her on all fours, his own horn pointed at her throat. He feinted to the right, thrusting forward towards her left shoulder. She was able to pull away from his horn but he took two more quick steps, sinking his teeth into her flesh. Her scream of pain caused the skies to blacken. Tongues of purple lightning cascaded through the sky, striking the ground with such ferocity that they left craters in their wake. She tore herself free from his bite before lunging forward to stab at his exposed neck. Flesh tore as she buried her horn half-way into his body. Her horn began to glow and a bolt of black and purple lightning blasted itself from her body and into the wound. Anarchy was blown clear across the square, smashing back-first into the remains of Sugar Cube Corner. Nightmare Moon did not let up on the attack. She reared up onto her back legs while concentrating every ounce of her magical energy into her horn. As her front hooves hit the ground, she fired off a blast of pure magic from her horn and into Anarchy’s chest. Twilight screamed as a dark purple explosion erupted on the spot, evaporating Sugar Cube Corner and everything in a twenty-five foot radius.
Twilight was shaking all over. If this was the true power of Nightmare Moon, than she considered herself very lucky that Nightmare Moon didn’t consider Twilight or her friends to be legitimate threats least they be vaporized as well. She hid beneath a chunk of charred rooftop, unsure if she should approach the fallen princess or not.
“Is it over?” Twilight called out in a rather meek voice.
“No,” Nightmare Moon snarled. “We can still feel his power.”
“Princess!” Twilight shouted but Nightmare Moon had once again anticipated Anarchy’s attack. She spun around, thrusting her horn into his stomach as he materialized behind her. This time, however, he didn’t react to the injury. He just stood there as if frozen in place. Nightmare Moon tried to wretch her horn out of his body but she was stuck.
“No,” Twilight gasped as she realized what was wrong. “No!”
Anarchy’s body went from flesh and blood to stone and concrete. The real Anarchy stepped out from behind the statue. “Hello Princess,” he whispered. He nuzzled his cheek against hers while whispering, “You lose.” He pressed his palm against Princess Luna’s chest. 
"Look out!" She teleported herself next to Nightmare Moon but it was too late. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as black flames licked the edges of Anarchy’s claw. He was staring deep into Nightmare Moon’s eyes, his lips parted in a sadistic little smile. Twilight tried to push the Princess away but as her shoulder touched the Princess’s flank, Anarchy expelled his magic. The black flames erupted against Luna’s chest, sending her bouncing across the square. She hit the ground once, twice, three times before landing in a pile of bricks and stone. All Twilight could see of the Princess was her legs sticking out from the debris. Her coat was blackened from Anarchy’s fire and blood trickled down the end of her hoof.
Anarchy turned his attention to Twilight. “One,” he whispered. He began to turn his claws towards Twilight. She should have teleported herself away at that very moment. She should have run away to collect her thoughts and formulate a plan of attack. She should have tried to organize all she knew about Anarchy to come up with some sort of weakness.
She did none of these. Instead she drove her back hooves deep into the ground. As the tears streamed down the sides of her face, she concentrated all of her magical talents into her horn. She felt her body tremble all over as she allowed her anger to take control. “Enough!” She screamed. A large boulder tore through the air, smashing Anarchy in the back of the head. As he fell forward, she caused the ground to erupt beneath him, smashing itself upwards into his stomach. He gasped in shock and pain; black gore spraying out from his lips. Without giving him a chance to recover, Twilight tore the ground out from under him, swallowing him up from the hips down. She turned the soil into stone to seal him in place before biting the amulet, tearing it free from his throat.
“You will never win!” She shouted into his face. 
“No!” He cried. “Don’t! 
She smashed the amulet upon the ground, shattering it into dozens of tiny pieces.
“You did it,” he gasped, eyes wide. “You actually did it,” He began to tremble from what Twilight thought was fear, but then he started laughing. “I cannot believe you actually did it!”
Twilight felt her anger begin to fade as terror gripped her heart. “What?”
“Do you honestly think that I would fall for such a cliché?” He cackled. “Oh, look at me,” he mocked. “I put the princess in a stone and the only way to free her is by breaking said stone! Woe is me! She has escaped and now she will destroy me and restore Ponyville to its former glory!” He began to hammer the ground with his fists, he was laughing that hard. “You fool! You fell for it!” 
Twilight was shaking now. “What? What did I do?”
Anarchy’s eyes grew wide. “You killed the princess, of course!” He was laughing tears. “That stone contained within it her life force!” He clapped his claws, teleporting himself in front of Twilight. "Don't you see just how beautiful this is? You, Twilight Sparkle, killing your own mentor; the mare who took you in, taught you everything you know and now she's dead by your hoof!” He cupped her cheeks in his claws to look into her eyes. “Look at those eyes,” He purred. “Look at how the fire dies.” He stroked a claw down her cheek. “Yes, now the realization hits that this was all planned out; the fight, the amulet, the death of the princesses.” He giggled softly. “All of this was for you.” He dropped her onto the ground while raising his claws over his head. “This is all for you!” He declared. “Everything that has come to pass was to get you to this specific time and place, Twilight Sparkle, just so that I could see that look in your eyes.” He shivered all over. “It. Was. Delicious.” He purred. He cupped his claw around his ear, his eyes half closing in a sick pleasure. “Do you hear that? That is the sound of your element shattering.”
And indeed, it was shattering. As Twilight Sparkles’ heart began to break, so did her Element. As the Element of Magic splintered, so did the other Elements until they were reduced to nothing more than bits of crystal and glass. As the final shard struck the ground, Twilight felt the final ray of hope leave her body. She fell to her knees and began to weep.
“I have won!” Anarchy screeched. “Listen up ponies!” He broadcasted his voice clear across Ponyville and beyond. “The time of peace and happiness has ended and the Era of Anarchy has begun!” 
Something soft and squishy smacked against the side of Anarchy’s head. He blinked then looked to his feet to see what exactly had struck him. To his surprise, it was a muffin. A single, blue-berry muffin with almonds. “What…the…” He picked it up and looked for the pony who threw it.
“You hurt my friends!” a pony shouted. He turned around to see a single gray pony with a messy blond mane and bubbles on her flank. “You cannot hurt my friends!” She screamed.
Twilight glanced up. “Derpy?”