45. Sanguilacrimae
The Crystal Empire lied in the north of Equestria, surrounded by a wasteland of endless snowstorm. Nopony ever came to this part of the country before the empire mysteriously returned from its 1000 years disappearance. To go there, they all took the train. After all, who would be stupid enough to get there on hooves? The travel is too perilous for any pony.
But not this mysterious stallion. A daredevil that feared nothing, not anymore. He marched through the frozen wasteland of the north, unfazed by its challenges. The freezing wind howling was nothing but a warm breeze to him. The snow was but a minor inconvenience to his balance. The snowflakes couldn’t obscure his visions. The path ahead was perfectly clear. Under the greenish light of the now transformed moon, he cantered gleefully.
Arriving at the entrance to the empire, the stallion noticed there was no snow inside, but grass. The empire was contained within a magical dome that protected the crystal ponies from the fury of the elements outside. Stepping out of the snow, he looked back out of simple curiosity and was shocked by the hoofprints he left behind. As he took some steps forward, he was surprised to hear just how different the sound of his hooves was.
The small clopping was instead replaced by a low and deep thump. The bones inside his body rattled with every move he made. It felt... funny.
They were big, certainly much bigger than what he was used to. He had to face the facts; he was no longer an average sized stallion. Lifting his black hoof, he admired the strength that emanated from it.
He's never felt this good before, never was he this unchallenged by nature itself. In the dark sky, he could make out the silhouette of the crystal castle. That’s where he was heading, hoping to make some new friends.
Strolling through the crystal empire, he noticed something rather odd. There was nopony outside. At night, you’d expect there to be nopony out in the streets, but he knew that a city never truly sleeps much less an empire. There will always be a few roamers outside, but not here. Perhaps he missed an important order?
Ah, in the windows of the houses. There are ponies inside! The few crystal ponies who left their blinds open screamed in horror as they saw him moving in the streets, shutting themselves in. Continuing his route, he could see mothers comforting their foals in some houses, fearfully glancing at his direction.
Was there something on his face? Oh yes indeed. Raising a hoof to his face, he wiped a strange liquid that poured from his face. It was blood, lots of blood. Blinking, he could feel it below his eyes. Strangely enough, he didn’t panic, merely wiping it off on the floor before continuing his route.
This time, he started moving in a strange pattern. Rounding corners, switching entire neighborhoods, he moved as if he was trying to evade an unknown pursuer.
Eventually, he made it to his destination. The Crystal Castle was just in front of him, not even two steps away. It was the first time he ever went to the Crystal Empire, what an exciting adventure! There’s nothing quite like discovering a new place, this feeling of adventure was long lost upon him, now reignited by this crystal land.
Stopping for a moment, he raised his head to stare at a Crystal Heart hanging above the entrance. Shining as bright as the moon, it got him worried. Just what the hay was that thing supposed to do again? He only vaguely remembered it was supposed to cast King Sombra away.
Hesitantly, he approached it. Nothing happened, good. Not wanting to tinker with it, he made a beeline to one of the doors, and entered.
“So, what did Prince Shining say?”
Patrolling the hallways of the Crystal Castle, two royal guards stopped before a stained glass, staring in the distance.
“Uh, shouldn’t you know? You were there.”
The unicorn yawned. “I know but... I didn’t get much sleep last night, I couldn’t concentrate on the meeting.”
His pegasus friend rolled his eyes. “That’s the third time these past few weeks. If you keep this up, you’ll be punished heavily. Essentially, he mentioned that the curfew was extended to sundown. Only we royal guards are allowed to go out at night, but only for patrol. That’s pretty much the jist of it.”
“They’re that scared of him?” The unicorn asked, sounding a little worried. “I mean, for all we know he’s just a smart unicorn with a scary appearance.”
“Yeah, but he roughed up Looking Glass.”
“... Who?”
The pegasus blinked. “I don’t really know. I heard Prince Shining mention that he’s a detective working for an agency. He became a hero after defeating a notorious crime lord. That’s all I know about him.”
“Just because he defeated a national hero doesn’t mean he’s super powerful. For all we know, he could have just been lucky.” The unicorn yawned again, wishing his shift would end already. He glanced at the clock behind him, disappointed that it was only midnight. He had six hours left on his shift.
The pegasus noticed his partner’s disinterest and frowned. “Last I heard, he was on the moon. Exactly like Nightmare Moon. I don’t like this one bit...”
A door slammed just a few corridors, startling them. “That was one of the entrances!”
“Let’s check it out!”
Galloping to the source of the noise, they couldn’t help but feel like they were making a big mistake. As they saw what entered the castle, they realised that their gut was right. What was standing before them was no pony. It towered over them, shining like a crystal pony but only its head and tail.
Scared, they pulled out their weapons, a sword and a lance. The unicorn with the lance poked around with it, hoping it would discourage the monster from getting closer. The pegasus with the sword wished they could run away, but that... thing... it was too close. They had no other option but to engage in battle, hoping they could somehow best that monstrosity.
It was no manticore, no chimera, no minotaur, nothing they’ve ever handled before. Its roar was high-pitched, alien sounding even!
Dear Celestia, it moved! It jumped on the walls, its animalistic eyes locked on them. They were filled with malice, its gaping mouth outstretched, and in a split-second. It closed the twenty-meter gap in just one pounce and sank its teeth into their jugulars. No time to scream, the only sound that the castle heard were two crunches.
The guards closest to the lost two came to investigate. All they found were two headless corpses. Before they could alert anypony, one of the guard’s sword snapped from its hilt and rammed itself into his head. Another flew to the ceiling, crashing into the roof. His blood showered those below as something big landed on another poor soul, crushing him under its heavy weight.
As the giant beast raised its massive head before the terrified and confused guards, it roared.
A high-pitched, demonic scream alerted all the guards inside the Crystal Castle including Prince Shining Armor. Below that terrifying alien scream lied a more normal voice, albeit barely audible. All rushed to the source of the screams, finding nothing but two headless corpses and a strange trail of blood leading nowhere.
Confused and nervous, Shining ordered his troops to search the castle in groups and especially to protect Princess Cadance for this was likely an assassination attempt.
All the lights were turned on, the castle was on full alert. Guards running everywhere, searching every nook and cranny for the demonic assassin.
Shining Armor searched with two trusty royal guards at his side. Their opponent was either strong or really sneaky to have taken out two guards in quick succession. As they approached the kitchen, they heard a strange rumbling sound inside. Slowly but surely, they approached, hoping to catch the assassin by surprise.
The moment they entered; a strong gust of wind blew in their face. There was nopony inside, but some of the cupboards were left open. The food inside was gone, leaving a couple of half-eaten apples on the floor.
Shining Armor leaned towards the fruits, inspecting the teeth mark left in them. They looked like a normal pony’s teeth only much bigger. The wind whistled behind him and left behind two headless stallions. Blood poured down their missing head like a crimson fountain.
The door slammed shut, locking him inside with whatever was roaming. Alone in the dark, he backed up against the wall, preventing any sneak attack. The room was silent, he could still hear the commotion outside. Good, he can still call for back-up. The prince opened his mouth, but just before he could call for help, something landed on his muzzle.
Shining flinched, quickly touching his muzzle to see what just touched him. It was blood, crimson dark blood. Above him! Shining leaped out just in time to avoid whatever was coming from above. A loud thump echoed throughout the entire castle, cracking the floor.
Now face-to-face with the mysterious assassin, Shining lit up his horn to illuminate the figure in the dark. His eyes widened with horror. That was no pony... It looked like a ghastly beast masquerading as one.
It was twice his size. Two big eyes as black as the night with emerald pupils. They were so wide open, parts of its skull showed through them! Its dark green mane was spiky and messy, its many sharp edges fully crystallised, reflecting light everywhere. It had a horn too, a horn who’s covered its tip in hard crystals, protecting effectively its only weak point.
Underneath its eyes were bloody tears, streaming down its face and into its mouth. It had the teeth of a pony, only with sharp canines. The edges of its jaw were closed shut with ominous green crystals, locking his mouth in a permanent smile. Its tongue was a sickly green, in fact, everything about it looked disgusting or evil.
It was a strange mixture of flesh and crystal, unlike normal crystal ponies whose entire coat and mane was crystallised.
Its dark purple body was massive and bulky, leading to a dreadful cutie mark. A demented face with the symbol of anarchism in one of its eyes stared back at him, cackling manically as if it was alive. Grinning, the horrible beast spoke. Its voice was deep, demonic sounding with a strange melody accompanying it. All blended together to form a bizarrely harmonious voice.
“I am thrilled to finally change. Pleasure from what once was pain.
Terror...
Bitter...
MONSTEEERRRR!”
Taking one step closer to the light, Shining Armor finally recognised what the hay that thing was. Anarchy returned from the moon, and now he was here. The only real business he could have in such a place would be to...
“You’re no pony.” Shining clenched his teeth, trying to wash his fear away. Pleasure fused with pain; this triumph of the soul made him shiver.
Anarchy chuckled. “So, help me believe then, Shining! This IS the real me! Gaze upon this animal I have become! So come on then, come and try to tame this beast.”
On the other side, the rest of the royal guard gathered before the kitchen door, trying to open it. Quickly realising it was no use, they resorted to bashing it until it broke. Sadly, it’ll take some time, leaving their prince in a dangerous situation.
Anarchy laughed at their attempt to break open a crystal door. With just one buck, he could tear that thing apart. It was funny to see just how weak ponies were now, and fun to recollect what it was like to be as weak as them.
“So, Shining... Did you know I came across your pretty little sister plenty of times before?” Seeing the outraged look on the prince’s face, Anarchy laughed even harder, accompanied by his cutie mark.
“Y-You bastard! What did you do?!”
“Oh, family. What a wonderful thing to cherish, or so I’m told. I always hear people talk so much about how their family is a treasure, well.. I guess I’m no different. My family IS a treasure... you need a map and a shovel to find them!” Anarchy cackled, his eyes lighting up with an ominous emerald green that eerily reminded Shining of another foe, one that had taken advantage of him.
“What. Did you do.” He asked again, his voice lowering.
Anarchy teleported to the crystal door, blocking the only exit. “Oh, nothing much really. The last time I saw her, I was covered in blood under a rather harsh weather. Thankfully I had some bargaining chips, so she let me go. I wished I could have done more, but everypony has their limitations but not me, not anymore!”
“You’re overestimating yourself. I’ve seen greater beings than you fall apart.” Shining countered, narrowing his eyes. His entire body was prepped for battle should the beast make a move.
“Ah, are you implying I'm going to lose simply because I’m the evil monster who everypony hates?” Anarchy giggled, wiping the blood from under his eyes. “I’m not surprised, seeing as you’re cut from the same cloth as Princess Twilight. Oh, what a lovely little bookworm. You two tend to see the world in such a black and white perspective. Evil is bad, and so it will lose. Good will always triumph. Such notions are merely cliches born from the books you grew up with. It’s sad really to see a grown stallion still believe in such fairy tales. I will do you a favor and awaken you from your world of cliches.”
Shining kept glancing back and forth from Anarchy to the door behind the ghastly unicorn. It was a good thing that he kept on blabbering. Hopefully he can continue until his troops break open the tough door.
Anarchy trotted forward, forcing Shining to change his position to a less desirable one, cornering him as far as possible from the door. “You should know that evil has won before, countless times. Ponies just don’t like to talk about it because, you know, the winners write history. What they don’t like is written out of history, left to rot, lost to time eventually. But today, I will write history and make them all remember that their precious little comfort stories can’t save them!”
Sweating, Shining pressed for a question, knowing that Anarchy was about to go on another rant. “Just what is your goal? What do you want from us?”
Anarchy tilted his heavy head to the side. “I want to marry Nightmare Moon and live with her in eternal night. I’m only here to test my new body.”
Shining Armor blinked, his mind struggling to process what he had just heard. Marriage, that’s it? “All that chaos across Equestria, all these atrocious crimes just so that you can marry a monster? I assume that’s why you’re trying to become a beast and obtain the very power that turned Luna into Nightmare Moon. There's just one thing I don’t understand.”
Anarchy gave him a mocking smile. “Oh? What’s too hard to understand?”
“Where does anarchism fit in your master plan?” Shining Armor pressed his flank against the wall. There was no more distance to create. He was backed against the wall, with his only hope for reinforcement to come in time.
“Anarchism? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... I’m gonna be honest with you, it doesn’t fit at all! Nor does democracy which is what the others believe my true plan is!”
“...What?!”
Anarchy cackled. “They all believe democracy is the ideal solution to all their problems. Sadly, like with all other political philosophies, can be abused and turned into a dictatorship. Vote for who you want to take over the country. If all they desire is power, what will they do? Improve Equestria? Help those in needs? Maybe, but what they’ll truly do is keep the voters happy, and so they’ll stay in power. It’s best to leave Equestria in Celestia’s hooves and soon, in Nightmare Moon’s.”
Noticing the symbol of anarchism on his cutie mark, Shining Armor was horribly confused. His name, his identity... all a lie? How can it be? “Everything about you is a lie.”
The crystal door busted open. Guards poured in the kitchen, stopping just shy of charging into the ghastly beast that cornered their prince. “Come on... Everypony who have a way with words are just compulsive liars. I’m no different.”
“Get away from the prince!” One guard shouted, freezing the second Anarchy glanced over his shoulder.
“And now, your pretty wife is gonna die.” In a nanosecond, multiple beams shot out of his horn at lightspeed, moving around the area like flowing water.
Shining Armor teleported next to his troops, ready to shout his first orders when one of the beams suddenly slithered towards the second in command. Upon touching his abdomen, it crushed his rib cage as if an earth pony rammed a hammer in his ribs. And just like that, one of the bigger crystal guards fell.
The rest of the beams attacked the remaining ones, dropping them like flies.
Then silence fell. Out of the fifteen guards that rushed inside, only three remained and that’s including Shining among them. Before the prince could shout an order, Anarchy lunged to take a bite out of him. Shining Armor managed to dodge them all, noticing that the attacks were intentionally sluggish all the while the beast chuckled with each failed attempt. "Mother always said not to play with my food. It's a shame she's no longer around here to bless us with her wisdom. I made sure of that."
Then, at blinding speed, a large hoof smashed against Shining's chin, spouting blood over the two guards behind him. "Then again, I should probably listen to the mare from beyond the grave." His gaping maw opened wide, falling upon Shining's foreleg. The prince had saved his head from a gnarly fate, but now it would be shared to his leg. Taking advantage of the dark unicorn's momentary surprise, he fired a beam in his eye. The damage was small, but just good enough to free himself.
“Retreat! We must protect Princess Cadance at all costs!”
The monstrous Anarchy grinned, licking the prince's blood from his teeth. “Run, run, flee, flee! You cannot escape me! I’ll hunt you all down so that your blood may slake me!” The beast turned to smoke, flying after them at high speed. The plants that unfortunately were in his way decayed immediately upon been touched by the deadly smoke.
The small group ran past two guards who were running in the opposite direction. Shining Armor tried to warn them to flee, but it was too late. The smoke turned back into Anarchy, and he tore off their heads with one bite each before turning intangible again.
Princess Cadance appeared at the end of the hallway, searching around for her husband.
“Stay near me!” Shining shouted, stopping before her to cast a protective barrier. Just in the nick of time, the smoke smashed against the barrier, unable to find a single crack to slip through.
Unfortunately, it meant that the four ponies were now surrounded by an unspeakable evil.
Spinning around, confused, Princess Cadance stayed close to her husband, sensing danger coming her way. “Shining, what’s going on?”
The white unicorn gritted his teeth, keeping a close eye on the smoke. “It’s Anarchy! He’s returned to kill you! Stay inside the barrier!”
Cadance’s gaze focused, casting any fear away. As the princess of the crystal empire, it was also her duty to inspire confidence in her people. She can’t let this dark unicorn break her down. “Then we must fight back, push him out of the empire. Where are the rest of the guards?”
“They’re all dead! I don’t know about the ones outside or in the outer parts of the castles.” A guard helpfully answered, cowering before the dark smoke covering the entire barrier.
The alicorn’s eyes twitched, that was the last thing she wanted to hear in a situation this dire. The smoke around the barrier gathered in one spot, transforming back into the ghastly true form of Anarchy. His beastly eyes resting upon the tallest pony in this entourage, Cadance. He cleared his throat, a sly smile before he began doing what he always did best. “I wanted to sing this to Celestia, but I suppose a rehearsal wouldn’t hurt.” His horn lit up, and a happy yet slightly lonely and hopeless melody echoed through the empty halls of the Crystal Castle.
Remember the time when the country was mine
I yearned for my mare’s descent
This stallion would shine!
But you left my dream to rot
In the light of your pupil
And broke eight years of work
For that I am sure!
You deserve all the punishment you have in store
And all of the ponies that'll share your plight
From Cadance to Shining to you, Princess Twilight
This whole country is mine and I’ll settle the score!
I’ll clip Dash’s wings, snip Rarity’s horn
Then I'll buck Applejack to bits!
I’ll gobble up Fluttershy, bathe Twilight in acid
And beat Cadance with the Crystal Heart!
Tear and spread out Pinkie like she was confetti
And take out and wear Looky!
I’ll make you remember the stallion you forgot
For this beast was never gone!
Now I'm on a rampage
Against the crown!
I'll butcher Shining Armor, strangle that drunken clown!
Trash and crush Fancy Pants, Fleur-de-Lis I'll drown
Oh, if you've blocked my path... I'm taking you down!
For all my darkest devotions, it caused a mutation
It shattered my brillant mind, there's no explanation
But one thing's for sure, I'm settling the score!
So from Ponyville to Canterlot, I'll bring forth depredation!
Catching his breath, he pressed his face against the barrier. “So? Did you like it? I’ll admit rapping was never my specialty but hey, there’s always time to explore new horizons!”
“Everything you’ve just said is insane. We won’t let you kill anypony. This will end here, tonight.” Cadance bravely said, getting a giddy reaction from the beast.
“Think I’ve gone a bit crazy! Do you know what it’s like to be on the moon? Alone in the dark? The Nightmare’s little plaything, it pulled me apart. Puts me together again with some crystals like a monstrous pony, an abominable unicorn. But now... Anarchy is loose, and I have come for you all.” Dozens of beams shot out of his horn, pummeling the barrier with monstrous strength. It cracked under the pressure, threatening to break in a few seconds.
The beams kept on pouring in the dozens, without an end in sight. With how powerful Anarchy was now, it was reasonable to assume his mana far surpassed anypony in this castle.
“It takes a special recipe to cook a pony, let me show you...”
The entire barrier was now nothing but a bunch of cracks barely holding themselves together. Under the pressure, Cadance reminded the two guards left why she was chosen as the new ruler of the empire. “Listen to me, once the barrier breaks. Retreat and call for reinforcement. Shining and I will try to stall him.”
The barrier finally gave its dying breath, its broken pieces fading in the dark. “First, you tenderize the meat!” The two guards fled the scene as quickly as possible. They didn't get far, for a intangible sawblade sliced them both in half much to the horror of their rulers. The poor stallions didn't even have enough time to make two complete steps. In the dark, only the silhouette of their warm innards could be seen oozing out of their body. The delicious smell almost drove Anarchy into a starved frenzy. "M-Must keep it together. I... I still have some business with you two."
The couple could feel the burning hatred about to be unleashed, and the unmatchable power of the crazy unicorn. He had to be at least as strong as Nightmare Moon, the only pony that has bested Celestia in single combat!
“Up is down, down is up.” Before they could cast even a single spell, both Shining and Cadance began to levitate. In a matter of seconds, they crashed on the ceiling, now upside down. Their opponent was also stuck in the same situation. “What is science and physic to magic?”
Stuck in his spell, Cadance tried to break it, but was ultimately unable to. How can one dispel a spell if they don’t even know how to cast said spell?
Anarchy grinned, realising he’s got the upper case when it came to magic. “If you don’t know how to do it, well that’s a problem! You should learn to do more than fix broken relationships!” Casting another powerful spell, Anarchy shattered the roof, sending all three high into the night sky.
It was beautiful tonight, a beauty ruined by the repulsive appearance of the dark unicorn overshadowing the moon. He casted a flight spell to keep himself in place whilst Shining had to be picked up by his lover, or else he’d be falling into space. It felt weird to see the world like that. Space below them, and the Crystal Empire above them. The world as they knew it felt alien with that simple change in gravity.
Now out of the protective dome of the empire, the cold, harsh air surrounding the city froze their bodies. The wind roared, smashing against their faces as they expressed the full extent of their wrathful nature. They had to get back inside before they freeze to death. Anarchy, however, didn’t seem particularly affected. Turning around, he swiped the couple with his tail, a move that would be normally harmless had it not been for the sharp spikes at the edge of his tail slicing through their skin.
“So pretty... I never really got a good look at an alicorn's blood, but now I get the honor to drink some again from an older and prettier one. Don't forget to give me Princess Celestia's number afterward, Princess Cadance!” Under the greenish moonlight, Anarchy’s horn powered up. His face, now turning emotionless, sent a shiver down their spine. The coldness in his eyes clashed with the forced smile of his mouth. It looked so unnatural. This time, he was truly going in for the kill. "But I'm afraid the jokes end here. If you believe in any deities, start praying now."
He opened his jaw and shrieked.
Princess Cadance narrowed her eyes, lifting Shining Armor onto her back. “Together!”
“Give me your best shot.” Anarchy coldly stated, his massive grin gone.
In a gargantuan explosion of blue, pink and emerald light, three beams clashed above the empire, catching the attention of everypony below. The empire was on full alert, guards galloping everywhere, horribly lost as to what to do.
As the dust settled above, two small figures in the sky could be seen falling back into the city. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance landed gracefully, albeit tired. Looking up, they couldn’t see Anarchy anymore. He was gone, no longer flying in front of the moon.
“We... We couldn’t have got him that easily.” Shining muttered, keeping his eyes on the beautiful night sky. Then, in the corner of their eyes, something fell to the ground at tremendous speed, shattering the streets of the Crystal Empire. It rammed into Cadance, making sure she hit his mane. His sharp, and hard as diamond mane.
"I'm afraid not!"
"Cadan-!" The wind was knocked out of him by a giant hoof twice his size.
"I've heard enough."
Rearing his ugly head, Anarchy stared back at the princess of love, mildly impressed that she was still standing after all this abuse. Although, he went easy on her. It was just too much fun to break them slowly. After all, he had all the time in the world. Nopony was coming to save them anytime soon. “Fear... You are strong, rulers of the Crystal Empire, but I am beyond strength. I am the end, and the beginning... and I have come for you, Cadance.”
The Princess of Love communicated to her husband via a spell, her eyes focused on the powerful relic behind the gargantuan unicorn. “Our only hope is to charge the heart with hope. It will break him like it did Sombra.” Anarchy couldn't have heard it, but he would be foolish to not worry about the Crystal Heart.
As she whispered, Anarchy glanced around the area, finding a certain intrigue in the fountain nearby. Grinning, he levitated a stream of water in the vague of a snake, breaking the fountain into millions of pieces to extract all its water. “Ha ha ha ha! It's too much fun!”
The water snake cracked like a whip, lunging at Shining Armor. It formed a dome around his head, filling his mouth and nose with water. The white stallion tried to get it off with levitation, but the dark unicorn’s magic was stronger than his.
Horrified, Princess Cadance took off, blasting Anarchy from above. But even with all the magic beams thrown his way, the monstrous pony didn’t let go of Shining Armor, blocking them all with a simple magical barrier. Time was running out as Shining struggled to stand on all four. Oxygen was lacking, muscles weakening, he was slowly running on fumes.
With the last few seconds he had before passing out, the prince of the Crystal Empire focused all his attention on casting the one spell he knew could get him out of this difficult situation. With a bright flash of light, he teleported away from the water snake much to the amusement of his adversary.
“Still clinging on to life, aren’t ya?”
Cadance stared in the tired eyes of Shining Armor. Upon meeting hers, he nodded confidently. In that moment, she knew what that simple gesture meant, rushing to the Crystal Heart. He was out of commission for now, leaving her as the only pony capable of saving the empire from the jaws of the alien beast.
Anarchy was quick to catch on too, flying with magic towards her, barrelling through any obstacles as if they were made of cardboard. For being a unicorn, he was rather adept at flying and much faster than a speeding train!
Just before she could touch the Crystal Heart, Anarchy’s teeth sunk into her hind leg, dropping her to the ground just inches away from it. Now crushed under his hooves, she was too close for comfort, staring into the evil eyes of the beast.
The dark unicorn roared again. Baring his teeth like a mindless beast, he looked less like a pony. Stuck between two extremes, this unholy fusion of monster and pony sent a shiver down Cadance’s spine.
Anarchy swooped down to bite her head off, but Cadance pulled his back with telekinesis. A short-term solution, for he was much stronger than anticipated, able to resist her might with a bit of effort. Her eyes darted back to the Crystal Heart.
Nopony would be able to pull him off in time, there was only one option available in that situation. Cadance held Anarchy back with her hooves as the dark unicorn tried to push them out of his way. Freeing her magic, she redirected it to the Crystal Heart, filling the artefact with her special love magic.
Many fall in the face of chaos, but not this one. Not today...
Confused, Anarchy raised his head and that’s when he saw the reason behind his master’s words. He left in a heartbeat before the full might of the Crystal Heart could be brought down upon him. He’s heard of how it destroyed the powerful King Sombra. Not wanting to find out if the Nightmare was stronger than it, he teleported hundreds of meters away from the Crystal Empire just as the blast engulfed the city with its protective magic.
Finally gone, Princess Cadance panted, exhausted. Her leg was bleeding badly, but it wasn’t a severe injury thankfully. With her alicorn body, it should only take a day or two to be back in top shape.
“Cadance! Are you alright?” Shining Armor asked, worried sick.
The princess of love looked into his eyes full of sorrow. “I'm fine.” This didn’t feel much like a victory. Anarchy had taken much of their guards, and they only succeeded in making him leave. However, they had something more important to do now than to dwell on their losses. “Shining, you must send a letter to Celestia and Twilight as quickly as possible! We have no idea what he’ll do next!”
Reluctant to leave his wife injured like that, Shining hesitated. His eyes were still focused on her bleeding leg.
Cadance gestured him to leave. “Just go! I’m fine!”
Just then, a powerful blast of emerald magic smashed into the crystal castle, cleaving it in half. The top half fell on the market place, destroying who knew how many homes. Cadance gasped, her eyes wide open with terror. This was his parting gift, an entire neighborhood's worth of corpses.
Anarchy’s roar echoed throughout the empire. It echoed in the night like a siren, casting fear and confusion into the hearts of all crystal ponies that heard triumphant roar of the beast that slayed many of them tonight. The foals cried, grasping their parents for safety against the ominous threat that lied just out of their walls. The guards left alive dropped their weapon, questioning if they chose the right path all along. Being just a regular citizen might not be so bad after all. This was not happening... This was not happening.
They had to know it was all too good to be true. Sombra might be gone, but his ways were not. A new tyrant will come for them one way or another. They cannot escape their fate as slaves to a higher power.
Tonight was but a grim announcement of what to come and the bloody trail this new deity would leave behind.
Standing far from the empire, Anarchy stared down at the pitiful city that failed to offer much resistance. The chilly wind of the north was but a warm breeze to him. He remembered the times he thought the chill was too much for him to handle. Now, he laughed at nature’s wrath for there was nothing that could beat him. What doesn’t kill him, better run away.
There was no point in sticking around now. He’s made his point and got his answer. He was stronger than an alicorn, much stronger to the point that only a powerful artefact can push him back. Caution was still advised, and so he’ll retreat in the night to plan the final step of his lifelong plan.
Before he left, he decided to send one last message to the empire. Opening his gaping maw, he roared.
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I think I would have legit laughed, it was such a good joke
Anarchy's powers remind me a bit of higher vampires from the Witcher, but I doubt that was the inspo xD
Maybe I'll catch other references, I hope at least xD
Fantastic chapter btw
yikes !
and another thing, the boogiemare has nothing to this monster
very good chapter
I sincerely congratulate you on creating such a horrifying piece of fanart. I was legitimately scared the first time I glimpsed it.
11799778
Glad you enjoyed it! After spending so much time structuring it, I hoped it would have turned out well especially since it introduces Anarchy's final form. Now that you mention it, I can see the similiarities with the higher vampires from the Witcher. I only know the franchise from the third game by CD PROJEKT RED. As for the references, they are mostly music related. The biggest reference (the big meme) is in Anarchy's little song, it's my favorite meme from 2023. Search "Cursed Woody" or "shut up buzz im gonna kill you" for a good laugh.
11799999
Ay, glad it left an impression! I spent so much time tweaking and adding things to his design without overdoing it. I'm happy with the result, something that screams pure evil!
11799889
Anarchy is well on his way to become the new boogeymare! Going inside pony's dreams, even attacking them in their own imagination. He's a much bigger problem than before.
Sadly, like with all other political philosophies
can be abused and turned into a dictatorship (or is he saying the word in french?)
Nopony would be able to pull him off in time, there was only one option available in that situation.
A little disappointed to see that Anarchy turned out to be just a quacksalver, but I suppose that makes him a villain more attached to reality than fiction, but that is a revelation that was already seen a couple of chapters ago.
And really, now that it's unleashed, it's kind of a humorous letdown. When he said that about "fun" in "funeral," I said with disdain, "and now he's going to say that he put "laughter" into "slaughter" and, well, I didn't think I'd actually be right about that.
I assume, in a good way, that that was intentional.
11800373
Aye, that's fair criticism, I sorta felt like more could be done here. I'll edit this chapter and try to make Anarchy seem even more threatening, probably rough up Shining and Cadance, damage parts of the empire to emphasize his danger. Also change some dialogue to dampen the goofier parts of Anarchy. Though, in the end, he's a villain that's quite simply petty in motivation at the core so, he's bound to make some rather strange decision with all his newfound power.
Edit: That's done. I hope it adressed most of your problems.
We meet again anarchy
Im not afraid of you buddy
The stars may have freed you once
but they shall be your prison
Lets finish this buddy
Thats where you're wrong!
3 generations have gone through it before
And yet?
They STILL STAY STRONG
You wont win
firefly Its time
When Anarchy roasts his enemies with his own twisted version of A Lullaby for a Princess.
Oh... "summons green fire from his hands" that motherbucker!
Anarchy needs to calm down a little bit. He almost lost to a magic item. Until my knowledge Celestia never lost against the nightmare. The only person canonically that she lost to was chrysalis. But I love his villain energy and his overconfidence. Plus I don't understand why every villain thinks they're going to have a one-on-one fight. They can be running JJK on these guys.
11800540
I love Disney movies (the good ones at least) and especially their classic villains! As a tribute, I decided to partially give Anarchy his song which allowed him to more organically explain his motives. Well, now that you've read this chapter, you know what that blog post titled "Storm" was truly all about. (It was partially a lie!)
11800562
True, Celestia never lost against Nightmare Moon, she just used the Elements to defeat her which kinda implies that NM is stronger than her to some extent, and Anarchy is equal to Nightmare Moon in power. His only flaw is his overconfidence, which slowly grows with each victory. After all, when you never lose, you're bound to loosen up a little. Lastly, Anarchy only came here to test his newfound powers against an alicorn, that being Cadance since she's the furthest one from Canterlot, meaning the easiest to pick a fight with. If he wanted something else, he wouldn't be trying to have a one-on-one fight.