The white form of the solar princess raced around a corner, just a split second before a ball of green flame whizzed past, searing her ethereal tail. Her armoured hooves clacked loudly on the marble flooring as she strugged to regain her momentum. Behind her, a black head peeked around the corner, accompanied by the sound of hooves on the floor. The creature was covered in black chitin, with a pair of diminutive fangs poking out from under her lip. Framed by her greasy-looking teal 'mane' was a crooked black horn. It was Queen Chrysalis; but last Celestia checked, Chrysalis didn't have glowing red eyes, or behaved so much like a zombie. The changeling moved in slow, careful steps, continuously charging her horn to deliver another attack. Her face was devoid of any emotion; no grin of triumph, no snarl of rage.
Celestia's instincts screamed at her to fight back, to light her horn and engage in a proper duel, but she couldn't. Not with the anti-magic field surrounding Canterlot. The field prevented anypony with a horn from tapping into their inner magic. Because changelings had no innate magic, they could still function so long as they had a source of magic they could leech off of. But where is she getting that magic from?! Celestia wailed internally, pressing herself against the wall to escape another fireball. Flight was also out, but not because of the field. Her initial confrontation with the mind-controlled changeling had burnt away the feathers on her left wing. Fighting Chrysalis hoof to hoof had also failed, as Chrysalis simply shielded herself.
Another turn, another fireball. How long is this corridor?! Celestia wanted to scream. Again, Celestia heard the sizzle of an oncoming attack from Chrysalis, but this turnoff was blocked by a spear-wielding griffon, again with those red eyes. Celestia's eyes widened and she whirled to press herself against the surrounding marble, but not fast enough; now, her right wing was set ablaze. She immediately started running again, desperately flapping her wing in an attempt to put out the flames. A quick glance behind her revealed that the griffon hadn't joined in the chase. What? If he hadn't been there to fight me, then what was he guarding? Last I checked, there wasn't anything of importance down tha- Before she could ponder any more, she heard the now-familiar hiss of a faireball. Again, the turnoff was blocked (by a changeling this time,) and Celestia had to press herself against the wall.
Now acutely aware that she was being herded somewhere, Celestia ignored the turnoffs entirely. She began to recognize this as a main corridor. Someone or something was waiting for her in the throne room. Luna was in there! Celestia realized, and picked up the pace as much as her quickly-tiring hooves would allow. Thrice more she dodged fireballs, each escape getting more nd more dangerous, when she finally burst out into the throne room. Looking back, she noticed that Chrysalis had stopped, now simply swaying in place like a drunkard, and she stopped too, panting and shaking.
"Ah, you must be Celestia! How nice of you to join us. We were starting to get lonely in here." The voice rang out with an eerie synth tone, like six beings speaking at once; it sounded vaguely feminine. Celestia turned to see who had spoken, and was horrified by what she saw. It was a draconequus, but certainly not Discord. Her head, like Discord, was like that of a cavepony, but lacked the beard and bushy eyebrows. Atop her head, she had the horn of a minotaur and the antler of an elk. Her mane was long and white. Her eyes were blood red; one being that of a cat, the other that of a pony. Her abdomen was dark grey, and attached to it were a dragon's foretalon, a sea serpent's flipper, a griffon's wing, a thestral's wing, a cloven hoof, an eagle talon, and a scorpion's tail. She grinned, revealing two long fangs.
"You look like a wreck, my dear! Let me fix that for you."
With a snap of her talon, all of the damage on Celestia was repaired. Scorched hair grew back and the burns underneath healed, but most importantly, the damage to her wings was undone. Celestia inhaled sharply, and in slight desperation, tried to light her horn. No luck.
"Gasp! Were you trying to attack me? After I healed you? Here I thought you little ponies valued peace and harmony and kindness!" the creature on the throne cried in mock offence. Celestia only glared back.
"Who are you, and what do want?"
"You don't know?! My, that's embarrassing. My name is Anarchy, queen of chaos! As for what I want, simple. I want to play a game."
"What game?"
"It's wonderfully fun! I scatter the elements throughout an alternate universe, I send in a group to find them and replacement bearers, then you come back and try to defeat me!"
"And if I were to refuse?"
Anarchy laughed. Loudly.
"Then you obviously have no idea what's at stake!"
Anarchy snapped her fingers, and above her appeared an orb of white aura, and Celestia gasped. Within, Celestia identified the Element Bearers, all unconscious and unharmed. But that wasn't what scared her. No, that was her sister, looking battered; her ebony coat stained red with blood in several spots. Anarchy chuckled.
"Now do you get it? Refuse, and none of these ponies shall ever leave this room in one piece. You, however, get to live on with the guilt. So, what do you say? Yes or no?"
Celestia continued to stare up at her sister, watching the uneven rise and fall of her chest. She knew she had to accept; she couldn't kill her sister, no matter what had happened between them. But how could she be sure of Luna's safety? What would stop this Anarchy creature from simply killing Luna when she was in that other world? If that was the case, then Luna would die no matter what Celestia did. But if Anarchy wasn't lying...
"I-I... Accept."
Behind her, Anarchy grinned.
"Excellent! These are your teammates."
Another snap, and two beings appeared in front of Celestia, all with those glowing eyes. She recognized them both; Discord, and Chrysalis. Celestia opened her mouth to express her disdain, to request partners other than the thing that had tried to take over Equestria and Discord, but Anarchy interrupted her.
"Ah ah, no backing out now!"
Anarchy snapped her fingers again, and Celestia felt herself go numb. Her eyes began to cloud over with red. She knew immediately what had happened, and, angry and fearful, tried desperately to break free. She failed. Anarchy made a downward slashing gesture, and a portal opened up in front of them. With no conscious input of her own, she began to walk towards the swirling redness, in perfect sync with her 'teammates.'
"Now remember, I'll-"
Whatever Anarchy was trying to say was drowned out as they all stepped into the portal.
