Chapter II- Oath

AN: Hey bronies and pegasisters! Welcome to Chapter 2! Things escalate from here on out as D Anomaly's plan comes out and the struggles unfold. Also, there will be even more surprising turns of events and things you didn't think I had planned. But for now... enjoy!

Chapter II: Oath

Anomaly was sitting on a stone. He was thinking the last few minutes. While he initially had the compulsion to go forth, the nagging thoughts in his head kept him from going. He surveyed his surroundings.

Nothing around but Canterlot Castlegrounds and a bucket of water somepony left. Anomaly looked into the bucket and paled.

It was him… right?

He was no longer the man he used to be… he is Anomaly! The new master of chaos! The one who would bend this world to his whim… right? No… but the spirit was Discord… least until he took a vacation…

When would he be back?

Would he ever come back?

Was he stuck here?

Anomaly stared at his reflection some more before slapping the water away. It didn’t matter. He will make the best of this situation. Deciding that simply teleporting would be boring, he decided on a different approach.

He let a little caterpillar crawl onto his arm before taking it and inflating it like a balloon. The caterpillar grew onto it was about the size of the large Wiggler from the Super Mario Sunshine series. Anomaly got on his new companion before putting on a mask and spray-painting themselves with water.

Because water’s like transparent paint, so painting something with water will turn you transparent. Least he hought so.

“You need a name. I think I will call you… Duke of Crawlington,” Anomaly said as the Duke was looking around. He then pointed to the palace. Duke crawled his way there before oozing up the wall. Anomaly decided to observe the situation. His jaw dropped.

Good thing the Duke caught it.

As Anomaly put his jaw back, he replayed the events in his head.

Princess Celestia lost… against Queen Chrysalis.

Anomaly looked through his deck for the Queen ‘s card… “Oh come on, Hasbro! Nothing?” Anomaly muttered in frustration. However, he was snapped from his thought process when something or rather someone slammed into him. He rubbed his head in annoyance as he glared at the brave Changeling who tried to attack him.

He pulled a net out before catching the critter and taping him to a clipboard.

“All right, you changeling, time to find out what makes you tick,” he said as he unzipped the petrified creature. The changeling was now terrified. This strange bipedal being was doing feats that defied conventional sense.

“Uh huh… mhmm… parasitic nature…” Anomaly mumbled to himself. The Duke had fallen asleep stuck on the palace wall. As the new spririt of chaos continued to play Operation Changeling Addition, he heard what sounded like giant houseflies ramming into windows.

He looked up to see the Changelings almost break through the barrier. Finished with his game, he untaped the Changeling. He held it as it tried to struggle away. “What to do with you?” Anomaly said. Anomaly put the changeling in a jar, having holes in the lid to allow him to breathe. “I am going to have fun with you, my subterranean insectoid friend,” Anomaly said as he stuck the jar to the side of the Duke.

Okay, enough foreshadowing, back to the matter of hand.

Anomaly wiped the slime from the clipboard.

“So… the Queen disguised herself as Cadance and siphoned off of Shining’s love for his bride. The power was strong enough to defeat the Princess. He saw Twilight and the others head to get the Elements of Harmony.

He had to be careful.

One wrong move and he would end up as their second victory. He saw the swarm head toward them.

“Well, I better wait for the swarm to capture them,” Anomaly said before he made a giant bugzapper appear on the castle. As the changelings flew to it, they got shocked and fell to the giant net placed below.

“I wonder where Luna is…” Anomaly said before he thought of a plan. He smiled to show his sharp teeth. He had an idea.

An ingenious idea.

He took out parchment and a pen and began writing a note for Princess Luna. She and her guards would be able to help qualm the invasion. She could fight the Queen and then Twilight and the others save Celestia and the two take her down. He hoped Luna would not go Nightmare Moon though.

He was clearly villain enough.

Once he finished writing the note, he folded it into an origami chicken and watch it fly over near an open window where Spike was.

And who said chickens couldn’t fly?

Spike was shaking. There wasn’t much he could do. Princess Celestia was trapped in a giant chrysalis, Princess Cadance was trapped by slime while Twilight and her friends went to get the Elements. Spike could not help but look down in shame.

Twilight was right. They fell for right for the trap. They were too busy with the wedding to notice the imposter’s quirks. He hoped she would be all right. Spike then saw something nearby.

It was an origami chicken… with writing. He walked over quietly to pick it up and read it.

“Princess Luna,

We need your help! Cadance was revealed to be the Queen of the Changelings, pony-like bug parasites that feed off of love and can shape-shift. The Queen, Chrysalis, was strong enough from feeding off of Shining Armor’s love to beat Celestia.

Help save us!

-Somepony,”

He sighed in relief.

'Awesome idea. Some brave anonymous pony wrote this note and placed it near me for me to send it to her' he thought before he made the note vanish to Princess Luna with his breath.

Anomaly just watched his plan unravel before seeing the changelings trying to knock the bugzapper off and free their dazed comrades. Anomaly just rolled his eyes.

“Duke of Crawlington, attack the pests please,” D Anomaly said. The caterpillar proceeded to spit blobs of slime at the changelings.

‘So… what happened once Luna and Celestia beat Chrysalis?’

‘ThE tHiNg Is… I dOn’T pLaN oN tHeM wInNiNg…’

‘Then what is the point?’

‘AlL pArT oF tHe PlAn…’

Anomaly paused as he clutched his head and shook it. Was he having a conversation with himself? Or was with the other side? He could tell one was the remaining part of himself that wasn’t affected by the power and the other was the manifestation of his insanity and usage of the power.

Problem was…

He can’t tell which one is him and which one was the other him…

“Come on, get a hold of yourself…” Anomaly said to himself. The Duke made a slight cooing sound as he looked up at his master. His big eyes were filled with worry.

Anomaly smiled slightly.

“I’m alright…”  Anomaly said before he hesitated. ‘I hope…’ he muttered so quietly he even wasn’t sure if he heard it.

Anomaly was broken from his gradual slipping of his sanity to see the changelings drag in the Mane 6.

Looks like he is needed on set.

Anomaly made his way in and lied down on the ceiling, upside-down. Once he saw Twilight, he stretched his arm and picked her up.

Twilight was trying to struggle from the hold the changelings had on her. She saw Cadance’s look. She had failed them. She also looked in horror at her mentor being encased in the cocoon. She then felt a warm hand wrap around her and lift her up. As she was being lifted, she noticed her body becoming transparent…

She was now face to face with Anomaly, who had a smirk on his face. She glared at him. She was very much upset right now. He could have stopped this and yet he didn’t… not without asking a hefty price.

”Well Twilight… you’re out of luck,” Anomaly said as he resting on the ceiling and holding Twilight. “Shut up…” Twilight said quietly.

“Celestia is beaten and in the cocoon. Your friends are captured, Canterlot is in chaos and in a matter of hours, these love parasites will leech off of all the love and plunge Equestria and beyond into chaos…” he continued.

“Shut up! Shut up!” Twilight said as she sobbed. In a moment of guilt, he held her much like a parent would a child.

“What can I do?” she said when she calmed down.

“Remember what I said? No freebies. However, there is still the pact. You still have the chance to join me. Because let’s face it, what other choice do you have left?”  Anomaly said with a toothy grin.

“I… I…” Twilight began mumbling as she was thinking. She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right in some points. While she and her friends were getting the Elements, nopony apologized. She hasn’t felt this helpless since… Discord. She felt his hand wipe her tears away as he looked at her. Would she really…?

“THOU SHALL PAY FOR THY INTRUSION, CHANGELING QUEEN!” a familiar booming voice said. Twilight smiled and so did D, but for different reasons. While Luna’s Guards began assisting Celestia’s Guards, the princess herself stood in front of the Changeling Queen, looking quite surprised.

Before Chrysalis could say anything, Luna launched herself and delivered a painful left hoof right in the Queen’s face.

“Nice shot,” he commented as he saw the Queen get Luna off and kicked her away.

Luna fired beams of pale blue energy at Queen Chrysalis who dodged and fought back with her own green energy beams. Unlike Celestia, Luna was not taking chances. One hit and she was done for.

Twilight could only watch the showdown with trepidation. Luna was barely dodging the attacks. Queen Chrysalis was not giving her any chance to try and free Cadance or Celestia.

Before long, Luna began glowing blue and had a very angry expression. She looked like she was to become…

“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight muttered in the slightest whisper. Oh no, oh no, oh no! Twilight muttered to herself. D simply watched the scene with a smirk.

“Nightmare Moon too? Well oh well, Equestria seems doomed…” he muttered as he continued thinking. Twilight would not leave her friends behind. She was so caring… she was a good friend.

“Look, take the deal for your friends. Do it for Cadance, Shining, the Princesses and your friends…” he told her. Twilight stopped her silent panic attack to absorb his words.

He was right. She wasn’t sure about much right now, but she knew D was the only hope Equestria had.

She would do it for Celestia and Luna…

She would do it for Shining and Cadance…

She would do it for Spike and her parents...

She would do it for her friends…

For the sake of everypony…

“Please… Anomaly… I-I’ll take the oath…” Twilight Sparkle said as she resigned to her fate.

Anomaly simply smiled. His plan worked perfectly.

He knew Luna wouldn’t stand a chance against Chrysalis, at least without becoming Nightmare Moon. How that fight would fare he didn’t know, but Chrysalis had her army so she would have lost eventually.

He just needed Twilight to realize what the only option she had left was.

“We’ll work out the details later, but I will say you I will not force you to do anything against your will. In essence you will be my… assistance? Fledgling? Follower? Companion?” Anomaly said before another quick flash of blue light reminded him of the cataclysm at hoof.

Anomaly bit his thumb. When he saw it bleed, he looked shocked. Instead of being the familiar crimson, it was a multitude of colors. It was thick, bright and multi-colored... Each drop was a different color and it shimmered. He shivered…

He wasn’t human…

Not anymore…

While Twilight did not see the blood, she did see the lone tear escape down her new master’s eye. When he faced her, she saw something….

Fear…

Loneliness…

Sadness…

There’s something not right with him… and he knows it, Twilight said before she let out a squeak. He was about to draw on her cutie mark. He snapped out of his trance to notice.

“Oops… sorry about that. Was in a haze,” Anomaly admitted before he began drawing a symbol on her other leg. It was kinda like a second cutie mark though this instead serve to show…

She belonged to him.

Anomaly finished before pressing his two fingers on it and a warm sensation flowed over Twilight. He removed his fingers so she could look at the mark.

It was a yin-yang symbol, but both halves were empty. Also, instead of there being contrasting dots, there were two different symbols. One was an outline of a pentagon and the other was a simple gold-colored apple with letters she couldn’t understand. Anomaly looked at it and glared…

It wasn’t done.

He then drew a triangle so that the circle would be in. The triangle was a regular triangle facing right, so it resembles the letter D.

Anomaly smiled, that was better.

Twilight looked at the mark and retained her upset look. He looked at her and tried to reassure her with a smile. Twilight managed to give a half-hearted smile back.

“All right then. Let’s go save everypony then…” Anomaly said as he grabbed the shadows and surrounded himself with them. He put Twilight Sparkle down.

“Twilight Sparkle, are thou all right?” Princess Luna said suddenly, which prompted Queen Chrysalis to blast Princess Luna to the wall.

“All that’s left is you,” Queen Chrysalis said as she stood above Twilight Sparkle. For the first time since this mess happened, Twilight Sparkle was calm and not worried.

“HEY CHEESE LEGS!” a voice broke out, unfamiliar to everypony but Twilight and Cadance. Cadance smiled.

Thank you for coming… she thought as she saw the shadowy figure land. She and Twilight could not help but giggle at the nickname he gave the Queen.

Queen Chrysalis tried to process what was happening. This shadowy figure came and insulted her.

“How… HOW DARE YOU?!” Queen Chrysalis yelled before she launched a green beam. D Anomaly just moved his head calmly and dodged it.

“All right, time to end this game…” Anomaly said as he held a glowing hand out of his cloak of shadows while Twilight’s horn began glowing.