The Rise and Fall of Chaos

Chapter 1: The Return

“Many years we have spent imprisoned in this hell. Now it is our time to rise up and claim what is rightfully ours. Are you ready?” “Yes, I'm ready.” “Good. There is no turning back now.”

It was a quiet night in Ponyville. Not a single sound could be heard aside from the quiet chirping of crickets. Everypony was snug in their beds, unaware of the powerful evil that would soon invade their happy little town.

Well, almost everypony. Up in the palace, Princess Celestia was awake and pacing, a strange feeling of dread filling every fiber of her being. There was a certain tension in the air. As to why, she was unsure. She stopped pacing and looked out the window, staring at the stars. She couldn't quite place it, but something seemed a bit off. Were the stars glowing red?

“No, that's just silly” she said to herself.

“Really now? I don't think it's very silly at all, my dear” said a mysterious voice.

Celestia gasped and began looking around the room. “Who's there? I demand you to show yourself!” There was the slightest hint of fear in her voice.

“Aww I'm crushed, princess! I thought after all these years you would still remember my voice. No love for former subjects, hmm? I see how it is...”

“No, I do know that voice... but it can't be... Goatroth?”

In a flash of brilliant green light, a shape suddenly appeared before Celestia. It looked like a pony, but he had the head of a goat. His face was twisted into an evil grin. Celestia stared in disbelief at the pony that now stood before her. How could he have come back? It wasn't possible. No one escapes from the underworld!

“It's me, princess. I told you when you banished me that I would be back. Let me guess, you didn't believe me? Pity. I always keep my promises.”

“Yes, I remember.” Celestia continued, shakily “you said 'wait for my return, on that night you shall see blood spilled on the very stars themselves, and then...'”

“And then you will pay for what you have done to me!” Goatroth said, interrupting the princess.

Goatroth reared his head back, and two points of green energy appeared on his horns. They began to snake out, approaching Celestia. Before they could hit her, however, a streak of lightning flew between them, causing his evil magic to disperse. Goatroth snapped his head around and looked at the source of the magic. His smile widened when he saw who had cast it.

“Princess Luna! So good to see you! I'm glad you could join our little party” said the demented pony.

“Goatroth,” sneered Luna, “how did you escape your imprisonment? Our spell should have held you there indefinitely!” She then added “and what happened to your head?”

“Be careful sister,” warned Celestia, “he seems different somehow. His power... I've never seen anything like it. It feels like pure evil.”

“Oh you don't know the half of it. Look, I'm starting to get bored, so I think I'll just go ahead and...”

Before Goatroth could continue, the two sisters started to cast the very same spell that locked him away in the underworld all those years ago. Beams of brilliant white light shot out of their horns and met each other in mid-air. Goatroth looked on and yawned. As the combined point of light began to make its way towards him, a wicked smirk appeared on his face. The magical spell hit him with enough force to shake the entire palace right down to the very foundation, and with a light so blinding that almost nothing else was visible for a few brief moments. When the light faded and the shaking stopped, Goatroth was left standing there, completely unfazed. The princesses gasped in horror.

“My turn.”

“Luna, run!” Celestia shouted at her sister.

They both immediately turned and ran away from the demented pony. Celestia knew the only way to stop him now was to use the Elements of Harmony, but she wasn't sure she could get to Twilight and her friends in time to warn them.

Goatroth's voice spoke inside their heads, “Where do you think you're going?”

In an instant, the princesses vanished and reappeared directly in front of Goatroth.

“How very rude of you. You didn't let me have my turn. Your insolence must be punished!”

Before they had a chance to react, Goatroth shot two beams of green light at the shocked sisters. They froze in place, looks of absolute horror on their faces. Goatroth snorted and walked over to them casually.

“Not so high and mighty now, are we?” he said with a chuckle. “Oh how I've waited for this day! Not only do I get to send you to the very same hell you banished me to and take over your entire kingdom, I also get to torture your fragile little minds at the same time!”

It wasn't entirely clear whether they could hear him or not. They were both absorbed in whatever horrible images their minds were being subjected to.

“Hmm yes well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I do have a kingdom to run! Have fun in the underworld, ladies.”

Green wisps snaked out of Goatroth's horns towards the princesses. They expanded to form into two huge blobs of green energy, and enveloped the princesses entirely. After a few seconds they completely vanished, not a single trace remaining.

Goatroth let out an amused chuckle and made his way to Celestia's former throne room.

***

Goatroth sat down on what should now rightfully be called his throne and pondered what to do next. His dark dream had finally been realized. He had cast down Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, banished them to the same hell they had banished him to ages ago, and took over as the ruler of Equestria. Where to go from here?

“I know, I shall make an announcement, proclaiming my rule!”

Using his dark magic, Goatroth tapped into the minds of every single pony in Equestria, forcing them to wake up or to stop what they were doing and pay attention.

“Greetings, citizens of Equestria! This is your new lord and ruler Goatroth speaking. Princesses Celestia and Luna have had an... accident, and as such are no longer capable of ruling this fair land. Out of the goodness of my heart, I have agreed to take over in their stead! From now on you will all swear your allegiance to me... or die.”

Twilight Sparkle couldn't believe what she was hearing. What happened to the princesses? Who was this guy? Did he just threaten everypony with death? All she knew was that she had to act fast if she was going to get to the bottom of this. She made her way outside to look for her friends, only to find they were already on their way to her house.

“Twi, what in the world is goin' on here?” asked Applejack.

“I don't know, but...” started Twilight, but before she could continue Goatroth spoke again.

“Oh and one more thing. As of today, I am officially striking ALL of Equestria's laws from the books! The only law from now on is that you must obey my every whim, or suffer the... consequences. Punishment will be at my discretion! Have a nice day!”

The six friends gasped in unison.

“What are we gonna do?!” said Rainbow Dash. “We can't just let this creep take over like that!”

“Girls, I have an idea.” Twilight said with a smile as she walked back in to her house.

Her friends followed, a little confused but interested in what Twilight had to say.

“After we beat Discord,” Twilight began as she was digging through a pile of books, “Princess Celestia decided it would be best to keep these here with me, just in case. Keeping them in the palace was just too obvious, and no one would ever think to find them here!”

“Darling, what in the world are you going on about?” asked a flustered Rarity.

“These!” shouted Twilight as she opened one of her books to reveal the Elements of Harmony neatly tucked away within.

Pinkie began bouncing around. “Ooooh does this mean we're gonna go on another adventure? I love adventures!”

“Uhm, well Pinkie... if you call hopping on the next train to Canterlot to stop an evil maniac from taking over Equestria an adventure... then yes. Yes, we're going on an adventure.” Twilight said with an audible sigh.

“Well,” began Applejack, “what're we waitin' for? Let's high-tail it over there and give this pony what's comin' to him!”

“Yeah!” the others exclaimed.

Then Fluttershy added “maybe...” while looking at the floor.

“Come on, there's no time to waste!” shouted a determined Twilight as she ran out the door.

The others followed, trailed slowly by a hesitant Fluttershy. When they all got outside, they slammed into Twilight, who was standing still. Applejack was about to ask her friend why she stopped, but after taking one look at Ponyville she knew why. The scene that greeted the six heroic ponies was pure chaos in motion. Much of the town had sunken down as if the entire ground just collapsed from underneath it. What wasn't sunk was filled with ponies running about, desperately trying to get away from their own shadows it seemed. Fires raged all over the town, entire buildings were reduced to rubble then re-built by invisible forces over and over again, and the sky was blood red.

“This... complicates things a little” said Twilight as she stared at the chaos before her.

“Oh, well, it looks like we can't get to Canterlot, so I guess we can just go back inside and...” Fluttershy began before Rainbow interrupted her “Oh come on Fluttershy, you can't bail on us now! Stop being such a chicken and let's go!”

“Hey now, there's no need to be talkin' like that, she's just a little nervous!” shouted Applejack. The two girls met face to face and began staring angrily at each other.

“Girls, that's enough!” Twilight said as she pushed the two apart. “Don't you see what's happening? This Goatroth guy is causing the entire town to go crazy, and it's starting to affect us too! We have to remain calm and focused or we'll never beat him!”

“Shoot, you're right Twilight. I'm sorry Rainbow.”

“Me too... and I'm sorry for getting mad at you Fluttershy. Twilight's right, we need to stick together. But... how in the heck are we gonna get past all this anyway?”

“Well...” began Twilight, “I've been working on perfecting my teleportation spell a little. I'm not certain but I should be able to get all of us as far as the Canterlot gates.”

With that, Twilight began focusing all of her magical powers, creating a bubble around herself and the others. Within a minute, they had vanished, and reappeared directly inside Canterlot's gates. Twilight nearly collapsed with exhaustion after pulling off such a huge feat, but Applejack caught her before she hit the ground. Canterlot seemed a bit better off than Ponyville, but not by much. The ground hadn't caved in and nothing was on fire, but there wasn't a single pony in sight. The girls were noticeably shaken by how quiet it was, given the horrors of the scene they had just left. They composed themselves and quickly ran towards the palace gates.

“We made it!” gasped Twilight, between breaths. “Now let's get in there and...”

She was interrupted by the royal guards. They pushed her back with force, almost making her slam right into her friends.

“Halt! No one gets in to see Lord Goatroth without a prior written invitation!” said one of the guards.

Just then, the sound of thunder pierced the sky, and a voice spoke.

“Let them in. I'm sure they won't cause any trouble for me. They should know by now what will happen if they do.” boomed the voice of Goatroth, seemingly from the heavens themselves.

The girls walked in to the palace, unsure of what they would find within. They were greeted by a luxurious red carpet, extending all the way into the throne room. Guards were lined up on both sides of the carpet, standing at attention.

“Please, do come in. My guards won't harm you, I promise.”

Somehow, his voice wasn't too reassuring. The girls pressed on regardless. When they reached the throne room, the pony they saw sitting in the princess' throne was a shocking sight. He had the body of a pony, but the head of a goat. His fur was as black as night. He had a cutie mark that was glowing red, much like his eyes. None of the girls could recognize what the mark was, except for Twilight. His mouth was twisted into a wicked grin that sent chills up each of the girls' spines. He seemed to have a faint aura around him, a sort of hazy green glow, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

“Welcome to my palace, my beloved subjects! What can I do for you on this fine day? Oh, and do make it quick. Time is fleeting.” Goatroth's voice had an almost ethereal quality to it, as if he wasn't quite from this world. He stared at the necklaces the ponies were wearing, and the crown on Twilight's head. He instantly recognized what they were, and realized why they had come here.

“What have you done with Celestia? And Luna?” demanded Twilight.

“Well now, aren't you the rude one. I graciously invite you into my home and this is how you repay my hospitality? Such manners...”

“Cut the crap Goatroth! Tell us what you've done to the princesses right now!” screamed Rainbow.

“Fine. If that's how it's going to be...” said Goatroth, rising from the throne. “Then I guess we'll just have to skip the pleasantries.”

He sauntered over to the girls, keeping his eyes fixed on the Elements as he did.

“I have sent your beloved princesses to the very same prison they banished me to, over a thousand years ago. They will remain there and rot for all of eternity. You'd better get used to having me as a ruler my dear ponies, I don't plan on going anywhere. Of course, if you're not satisfied with this, I could always send you to stay with them...”

“You're not sending us anywhere, Goatroth,” Twilight calmly explained, “because we have the Elements of Harmony!”

“Gasp! Oh no, what ever will I do? The Elements of Harmony! How will I ever measure up to their immense power?!” Goatroth said in a mocking tone. “Please. I am the embodiment of Chaos itself. Your mistake, young ones, is that you're comparing me to your previous foes. Oh yes, I know all about them. You faced Princess Luna, or Nightmare Moon as she preferred to be called, when she had slightly more power than she does now. You also faced a being known as Discord.”

He inched closer to the girls and began speaking in hushed tones.

“Can I let you in on a little secret? Discord was nothing but a flim-flam artist. He was a madman who had been driven to insanity by the pure Chaos he tapped into. His 'powers' were nothing more than mere parlor tricks and illusions.”

His voice started rising.

“You faced a has-been princess that was locked away inside a rock for a thousand years and a circus clown. I am none of these things! What you see before you is not a puppet of Chaos... I AM CHAOS!”

As he shouted the last word, the entire palace shook, as if the walls themselves were frightened by the intensity of his voice.

“If you think your precious little Elements of Harmony can even come close to matching my power then by all means, give it your best shot! But I warn you, if you try and inevitably fail, I will not hesitate to break you apart from within, piece by piece!”

Surprisingly enough, it was Fluttershy who spoke first.

“That's it, you're going down!”

The other girls looked in shock at Fluttershy. They hadn't expected her to act so bravely, especially after Goatroth's frightening tirade. They quickly turned their gaze towards the demented chaotic pony and stared at him with determination.

“Alright, this is it!” shouted Twilight as she sparked the Elements to life.

The girls began to rise up, their necklaces glowing with pure magical energy. Each necklace began shooting bursts of magic at Goatroth, hitting him directly. He seemed completely unfazed. Twilight's eyes began glowing as she pushed all of her magic into her crown. A huge wave shot out at Goatroth, enveloping him entirely.

“Oh ow, oh no, it hurts so much! Please stop!” shouted Goatroth.

A blinding flash filled the room. When it faded, Goatroth was left standing, staring at the girls with a deadpan expression. He began to laugh, very quietly at first, but within seconds his laughter had reached nearly deafening volumes.

It was the only sound that could be heard for miles.