The SinEater of Equestria: Cataclysm

A/N: Hey everypony! I bring thee Chapter 3. Now, as much as I would love to, I will not be able to do daily updates. While I will have more time during Thanksgiving Break, I also have my annoying school work to do. Anyway, matters become more interesting. Enjoy!

Chapter III: Reception

Queen Chrysalis was not happy. Not at all. Her plan went so well until Twilight came with the real Cadance. I mean, in the end, she beat Celestia and even Luna. Everything was going better than expected! Then Twilight returned with this… being! From what Chrysalis saw, he seem to be wrapped in strange black cloth, but it was weird because he had no shadow…

Was he wrapped in his shadow?

Twilight faced the Queen with righteous anger. Enough was enough. She looked around. Her friends were trapped in the chrysalis and thus could barely see the fight. The audience, including her parents fled the area in terror only to be tormented in Canterlot no doubt. Luna was out cold behind them and Celestia hung above them in her chrysalis. Her brother was still in a trance, Cadance was stuck in place and Spike was hiding, scared that Luna was defeated.

Enough was enough.

No more.

“So Twilight, how do you want me to do this? You want to deal the final blow?” Anomaly said as he looked to Twilight. Twilight looked to him.

“But you sa-,“ she began before he cut in.

“I know. However, I was thinking that I can give you the power to send them away or let me do it myself. Reason being is that I am thinking you would enjoy being the one to banish the changelings from Equestria and I will give you the boost you need,” Anomaly said.

Twilight looked at him with a mix of confusion and slight graciousness. It was nice of him to think of her… despite the odd circumstances.

“Okay then…” Twilight said before Anomaly nodded and began showering Twilight in a faint rainbow colored light. Twilight felt… energetic. She let the energy flow to her horn. Chrysalis stepped back as Twilight’s horn glowed bright and brighter.

“Wait, what are you-,“ she began saying before Twilight released the magic.

A pale magenta beam shot out and hit Chrysalis. The Queen was enveloped in a pink twister. Anomaly D grabbed Twilight and saw the twister exit the palace before going all over Canterlot and picking up all the changelings. Well, all the ones except those who were trapped in the net or jar held by the Duke.

“And that’s that,” Anomaly said as Twilight went to free Cadance. He watched the heartwarming scene of Cadance restoring Shining back to normal. “Twilight… I will see you later. Enjoy the reception and… this is our little secret,” Anomaly said as he crawled out the window and went back on the Duke of Crawlington. “I have plans for you, my friend… BIG PLANS…” Anomaly said as he faced the shivering changeling in the jar. With a wild grin, he tapped the Earl with his heel and signaled to head out. “We’re going to need a hideout until we can meet with Twilight…” he said. “Well, I suppose we can hide under her library. All we need is a way down under…” Anomaly said as he got off the Earl and drew a door onto the ground. He opened it and led the Earl inside.

11 minutes later…

“That was one crazy episode,” Anomaly said as they reached Canterlot. They were wearing outback hats. The changelings, the ones in the net, were now in a crate with holes. The one in the jar was sleeping and also with a hat.

“All right, Earl of Crawlington, you earned some rest. I will go check out the reception,” Anomaly said to his giant caterpillar before he began walking up the wall.

So now you have Twilight Sparkle…

…now what?

He needed to address the issue. He just wishes he knew if he was the one addressing it or the one who had the answer.

“Well, once the festivities are over, things will shift back to normal. One of the guards or somepony else will notice Discord is missing. Twilight will figure it out about me or at least suspect me being him in disguise…” he murmured to himself as he walking up the walls.

“Well, I will need to separate her from her friends. Shouldn’t be too hard…” Anomaly told himself.

And what of Celestia?

I’lL fIgUrE tHaT oUt LaTeR…

…And then what? You will have Twilight… but what of the others?

You may have broken them apart but…

I dOn’t know!

Then what?!

tHeN wHaT!?

Anomaly snapped out of it when he heard tapping. He looked around panicked. He saw he was standing on the window and saw who was tapping. He sighed in relief.

It was Twilight Sparkle.

Well…

Now was a time as good as ever… he guessed.

She opened the window and let him in.

“Thanks for… keeping your end of the deal,” Twilight Sparkle said as she saw him sit down. She looked at him. He looked… nervous. Reluctant?

There was an awkward silence that dominated the air.

“Uh… wedding cake?” Twilight offered sheepishly as a slice of cake on a plate levitated toward him. Anomaly happily took the cake and began eating, the food temporarily ridding him of the stress. Twilight observed Anomaly eat the cake. She found him fascinating. He was unlike any creature she has seen. He had some resemblance to a minotaur, but without any bovine features. Furthermore, he also reminded her slightly of a monkey.

“Twilight… we have to talk…” Anomaly began, but Twilight interrupted him.

“I know! I have so many questions? What are you? What’s wrong with you? I mean, I saw you look depressed or worried or something. Where are you from?” Twilight began to ramble though she blushed when she saw the anxious look he gave her at her barrage of questions.

“Twilight… there is no easy way to say this…” Anomaly began.

Meanwhile, with the others...

“Hey, I wonder where Twilight is?” Rainbow Dash said as she finished dancing with Soarin to talk to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “I dunno. She seemed kinda quiet today,” Appledash said as she approached them. “Where’s Rarity?” Fluttershy added. “She’s over there, dancing with Spike,” Pinkie Pie said in her usual cheery tone.

Yes, it was true. Spike was fortunate enough to be dancing with Rarity. Fancypants had been dancing with her though he invited the young dragon to dance with her while he enjoyed some refreshments.

“Well, she did save all of us from Queen Chrysalis...” Rainbow Dash began before looking a bit… nervous. “Yeah, ‘cause she was the only one who was suspicious of her when she was pretending to be Princess Cadance,” Applejack said. Spike and Rarity returned which simply added to the awkward silence. The six simply talked amongst themselves, trying their best to steer clear of the topic.

If only they knew what awaited Twilight and by extension, themselves…

“W-WHA-“ Twilight almost shouted, but Anomaly went and covered her mouth.

“Not so loud, don’t want to let anypony I’m here…” he told her.

“I-I mean… I have to leave Ponyville?” Twilight asked, her voice much softer.

Anomaly only nodded his head.

“I don’t understand…” Twilight said as she looks at him with wet eyes and a betrayed look that hurt him.

“Twilight. You made a pact with me. While I will not reveal anything now, the implications could be bad for the both of us. I don't want anything to happen to me or you!" he told her. "With your friends... I don't trust them," he added.

“But they helped beat Nightmare Moon,” Twilight argued.

“Yet all of you broke apart with Discord,” he countered.

“…But I got us all back together!” Twilight snapped back.

“Yeah… you. You may be a good friend… but what does that make everypony else?” Anomaly asked her. Twilight stopped to think about it.

“…They haven’t approached to apologize, did they? Your friends, your brother, your mentor…” he mentioned to her quietly.

Twilight didn’t want to believe it, but was he right?

No…

But…

“...You probably had a hard time hiding my mark from the others, right?” Anomaly added.

Twilight just nodded as she tried to process the information.

"Really, if they reacted like this over a misunderstanding here, imagine how it will be for something like this," he emphasized. I

Twilight struggled to find the words, but it was a lost cause. She didn’t know what to do. All she could do was do what he said… even if it hurt…

Twilight… I am afraid it has to be this way…” Anomaly said as he wiped the tears from her eyes.

“But… they’re my friends… and… I don’t know…” Twilight said as she lied down and covered her head with her hooves.

“Well... you may trust your friends, but... I really kinda don't,” Anomaly said as he picked up Twilight like an infant. "All of them are good ponies, but considering what happened now... the risk presented is too much," he elaborated.

“W-what about Spike?” Twilight asked him.

Anomaly remained silent as he briefly pondered.

“…I’ll let say your good-byes and good-nights…” Anomaly told her after she finished weeping. Twilight wiped her tears with a hoof as she nodded. She looked to the window to check her reflection and make sure she didn’t look sad… she then noticed the giant caterpillar and the captured changelings.

She turns to him with a confused and suspicious expression on her face.

“I want to experiment on them,” Anomaly told her. She stared at him for a few more seconds, trying to comprehend what that could mean. She simply shakes her and decides to get on with her task.

NiCe GoInG…

Shut up

I mEaN… tEaRiNg HeR fRoM eVErYtHiNg…

Shut up, shut up. ShUt Up!!

I mean… what do you EvEn WaNt HeR fOr…

Anomaly paused…

Why Twilight… was it because of convenience?

Wait… why…

Why her?

WhY dId I accept ThIS Deal AnYway?!

Anomaly covered his mouth as he looked at his reflection. He looked… mad. Not mad angry, but mad crazy. Deranged even. He signed as he leaned on the window and wiped the sweat off of his brow.

He knew he was losing it. Was that why he brought Twilight?

So someone could save him?

So he could drag someone down the madness with him?

So he couldn’t be imprisoned in stone?

Was he doing this of his volition?

Was he still him, was he corrupted or was he know a pawn in Discord’s game?

He didn’t even know for sure. He also didn’t know that Twilight witnessed everything.

Twilight had been trying to rehearse what to say or rather how so when she heard D Anomaly begin talking to himself. Her curiosity, enhanced by her memory of the prior moments, led her to observe the argument.

She was shocked to say the least.

She saw Anomaly arguing with his reflection. She could not hear him, but to her, it looked like he wasn’t even aware of it. From what little she could tell, he was arguing with some facet of himself… The frightening part was the reflection was arguing back.

“Anomaly… what is wrong with you? I need to find out what is tormenting him…” Twilight muttered to herself. She let out a breath as she remembered her task and tried to figure out what to do.

As Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were sharing another dance, Princess Cadance snuck some looks at Twilight. She was looking a bit upset. She wondered if it had to do with Anomaly.

While Cadance was grateful for saving the day, she could not help but feel something was off about him. However, she had other matters to attend to, if rumors were true. Meanwhile, she turned to her hubby, Shining Armor.

He was recovering from the spell the Queen placed on him. While she did snap him out of it, he still needed medicine to deal with the side effects and the fatigue. Well, the worst was over and now she could look forward to being with him.

Despite those happy thoughts, Cadance could not help but feel there was trouble brewing…

After the reception party

Twilight had finished saying good-byes to her friends as they left back for Ponyville. She told them she would be remaining behind to check on her brother and the princesses. She had snuck throughout the castle, which had more guards than usual.

Twilight could not help but recall the time travel fiasco and wished the spell was not a one-use one. However, with how easily she went through the castle last time mixed with the changeling invasion, it was no surprise. When she approached Celestia’s room, she saw there were guards rotating shifts. She wondered how she would enter.

A faint noise got the guards’ attention and they went off to investigate. Seizing the opportunity, Twilight unlocked the door and saw Princess Celestia sleeping. Twilight gulped before approaching the princess.

She looked at her mentor with wet eyes. She wasn’t sure if she will see her again. While Twilight knew her mentor would be worried sick, she was not sure what she would do. Nevertheless, she went over and hugged her mentor before hearing the door being opened.

On impulse, she went out the window, only to land on something squishy. She looked to see the giant caterpillar. She looked confused before seeing Anomaly on him. Twilight refused to face him, instead looking down on the giant caterpillar she was sitting on.

“I already bid my friends and the princesses farewell. I was wondering… could I go tuck in Spike one last time?” Twilight asked him. Anomaly just nodded before he looked at another window, at his reflection once more. He hissed at his reflection before he looked back in horror.

Freak

MoNsTeR

Anomaly sighed as he stopped his hand from shaking. “Earl of Crawlington, to Ponyville,” he told the giant caterpillar. The giant caterpillar began running ahead, dragging the exhausted changelings while the one in the jar was looking anxious. As they went on, Twilight had many questions, but she was heavily plagued with fatigue and too tired to question how her new master accomplished his miraculous deeds.

They arrived at the library. Twilight stopped and entered before looking at Spike, who was fast asleep. She just tucked him in as she wiped another tear away. Having been thinking about it, she would miss him the most. He, who been by her side since her youth. When she thought she lost her friends by Discord, she still had him. When she and her brother drifted apart, she had him. When she moved to Ponyville, she had him.

She lamented on the how much she owed the little dragon and just realizing how important he was to her. “There are so many things I wish to tell you Spike… but all I can say is I love you and I am proud of you,” she muttered before she kissed Spike’s cheek and exited the library and got back on Earl of Crawlington. As they began leaving Ponyville, she needed to ask just one question.

“Where are we going?” Twilight asked him. He had the caterpillar halt as he was trying to think. Twilight scooted closer to him to hear him.

“I don’t have the slightest clue,” he said honestly before he removed his glasses and began wiping them.

Twilight just face-hoofed.

”It’s going to be a long day tomorrow…” she thought to herself before she heard a murmur.

I’m sorry…

She looked around only to see Anomaly's reflection, faintly on his glasses, visible by Luna’s moonlight. She stretched her neck for a closer look.

I aM nOt A mOnsTeR… right? she heard faintly once more. She saw Anomaly's having a look of what was a mix of self-loathing and confusion.

A long day indeed… for the both of us… Twilight Sparkle told herself as she sighed before they continued heading toward the horizon.

Author’s Note: Well, that’s Chapter 3. I will probably do something regarding the battle with King Sombra. I have plans for him also. I will say it will involve the Changelings or more specifically, Chrysalis. Also, Season 3’s previews are revealing some VERY interesting hints of foreshadowing.

Now, the preview for Chapter 4!

”Princess Celestia! Princess Celestia!” The guard known as Star Silver announced as he ran toward the throne room, looking haggard, though not as much as Celestia.

“Brother, I apologize for this, but now isn’t the best time. Her highness’ pupil, Twilight Sparkle has gone missing,” Golden Star explained to his younger twin. He pointed his hoof to see the somewhat frantic looking Celestia.

“What?! Maybe it has a connection to the escape!” Star Silver said as he jumped around panicky.

“Who’s escape, Star Silver was it?” Princess Celestia said, trying to maintain her calm stature but looking very worried. Star Silver cleared his throat and waited a few moments to compose his nerves.

“Discord, m’lady. He is no longer in the Royal Gardens…”