[AiE] Disharmony - Part 12

>"~You have already lost.~"
>You are Anonymous.
>And you're watching your duplicate descend from the tower of the castle.
>Fucking slow fall magic bullshit...
>You'd been trying to mentally prepare yourself while he does this, but that goddamn voice in the crystal is a bit of a distraction.
>You're still ignoring it; it's just being annoying.
>As he's coming closer, you take note on his appearance.
>Apart from the different shirt, he's got his hair slicked back and his eyes have a dark ring around them.
>His face also looks like it's in a permanent scowl.
>What a faggot.
>Once he's within earshot, you start what will no doubt be an epic ‘back and forth’ of verbal conflict.
"Wow, you are just... radiating all sorts of ‘Douchebag’ right now."
>He just lets off a 'Hmph' before looking you over.
>"I had a feeling they'd pull you over."
"Really? And what made you think that?"
>"Logic. They fail with their most powerful weapon, and then decide to bring another me over to talk me down."
>He stops floating above you and drops to the ground a few feet away.
>"I had some doubts it'd work, mind you. I thought that could've been a lost cause considering I'm running this shit - other Anons might be doing the same in those other worlds."
"Yeeaah, no. You're pretty up there on the fuckwit charts, mate. I actually get along with everyone in the other Equestria. That's why you surprise me... Killing Fluttershy? What the hell?"
>"She was insanely annoying. Every day, never leaving me alone... Nobody else would believe what she did to me."
"What, the fetish-guessing? Dude, she liked you and she had a huge misunderstanding on how to approach that. How is that even remotely a reason to kill her?!"
>"It was an accident!"
"How the hell is it an accident to hold her by the neck against the wall while she begs for forgiveness, and murder her with magic right in front of Twilight?! The hell is wrong with you? No, wait! Better question! Why do you even have that fucking thing to begin with when it's so incredibly obvious that it's evil?!"
>He looks at the crystal in his hand.
>"You mean the voice? I've ignored that the whole time."
"Bullshit, dude! I know myself! I'm not a killer! I barely even like violence! If you're even remotely who I am, you would never have considered it!"
>"Oh, what the hell do you know?! Clearly your world is different if you're like that; you don't know what I've been through!"
"I know EXACTLY what you've been through!"
>"AND YOU JUDGE ME FOR IT?!"
"YES! You were crying like a bitch the whole time! I went through the exact same shit, but I turned it around and made the best of it! Hell, before I was pulled over here, I was having a nice chat with Celestia ABOUT my past, while sharing some doughnuts! We're practically bros now!"
>You turn to look at the Celestia is froze in stone.
"Seeing her like that... It makes me want to..."
>...
>...
>...
>"~You do not have the strength to defeat him, you are too weak to carry on.~"
>You look away from her.
>Seems like this crystal is just going to voice its opinion the second you start feeling angry.
>You'll have to ignore it and push through.
>"It makes you want to what?"
"...Whatever you did to Fluttershy. That seems fitting."
>"Heh. Good luck with that! We'll see how that goes after I do this!"
>His hand is raised and he doesn't even need a second before a large bolt of Sha Magic is sent hurtling towards you.
>Taking quick action, you shield your face with your arm as an instinctive reflex and erect a barrier around you.
>The bolt hits and you feel the impact of it travel around your barrier.
>Quickly assessing yourself in your head, you feel pretty fine.
>Protecting yourself like that might not wear you out as fast as you thought.
>Lowering your arm when you're clear, you notice him breathing heavily after his sudden outburst of rage, a look of confusion on his face.
>With a smug grin on your face, you hold up the hand to show the crystal fragment to him.
"How 'bout that. Looks like I can use it, too."
>He recognises it immediately.
>"I was wondering where that went."
>He stands up straight, looking at his own.
>"I'm betting you haven't had as much time to familiarize yourself with it as I have, though..."
>That's definitely true.
>You'll be playing defense a lot very shortly.
>He begins a slow walk closer to you, but you hold your ground.
>"I think I'll consider you a part of myself that I've always hated... one that I'll have no problem killing."
"Funny you say that. I considered you that as soon as I heard about you."
>He stops at arm’s distance away from you.
>"And after I've killed you, I'm going to find Twilight... mine AND yours… and then they're go-"
"You're not going to get near them. I'm ending this today!"
>The threats he's making of killing you and enslaving Twilight...
>You honestly have no idea whether he's being influenced by the crystal or not.
>If yours is anything to go by, he probably is.
>But then again... he could be telling the truth and just acting like a douchebag while ignoring it.
>Regardless of the reason, you need to stop him.
>"What exactly makes you think you can compete with me, anyway?"
"Well, apart from the fact that I've got plenty of negative emotion to power the crystal, if you consider the work I've been doing back in my Equestria, I'm fitter, faster, definitely stronger-"
>He cuts you off before you can finish.
>"Strength isn't everything."
>You crack a slight smile at him.
"It's enough."
>With a quick motion, you attempt to punch him in the face with your right hand.
>He predicted it, being you after all, and dodged, stepping backwards.
>Taking advantage of your mistake, he slaps the ground with his hand and a shock wave of Sha Magic is sent towards you.
>You put up a barrier, which does protect you, but the force of it blows your legs out from under you.
>Falling on your stomach, you shake your head, and look back up to him.
>He's just standing there with a shit-eating smirk on his face.
>You need to think on your feet, or this will not end well for you...
>...
>...
>...
>"~Give in to your fear.~"
>You blink.
>This stupid thing has no idea.
"I WILL stop you."
>Your duplicate raises an eyebrow.
>"You can try."


>Rising to your feet, you run towards him, fragment in hand and keeping a barrier around you.
>He reacts, throwing bolt after bolt at you.
>The most they do is slow you down ever so slightly… but despite the protection, every hit on the barrier is starting to feel like a shot of energy leaving you.
>While you're getting closer, he's trying to step away from you.
>He's too slow and you've caught up to him, grabbing his shirt.
>The hand you hold the fragment in is glowing, so you take that as incentive to punch him in the face with it.
>It doesn't work; your fist collides with his own barrier.
>You try a couple more times to no avail, and he's trying to pull your other hand off him.
>Then you realise... your other hand is through the barrier holding onto him.
>The barrier protects against magic and your fist is covered in it.
>The hand holding him in place isn't.
>With this in mind, you drop the fragment and quickly swing that hand around to punch him in the gut.
>He stumbles backwards out of your grasp and takes a knee, holding his stomach.
>You quickly recover the fragment on the ground and start moving towards him.
>He sees you coming and waits until you're close enough before he runs directly at you.
>With no time to move out of the way, he tackles you and manages to push you backwards. You attempt to stay on your feet as best you can.
>Your back comes in contact with a tree, the force of his shoulder in your torso knocking the air out of you as you're stuck between the two.
>He takes the opportunity to start punching you against the tree, delivering three blows into your side, stomach and the side of your face.
>While it hurts, it's not as bad as what you know you can do to him.
>Case in point on the work you do making you stronger: he's been playing around with magic for so long that it's like he's just flailing angrily.
>You block the fourth punch he tries to do by grabbing his wrist, forcing it down and making him come closer.
>Forcing his arm behind him, his other hand starts to glow in retaliation, so you quickly kick him in the back to push him away.
>He falls to the ground, but quickly rolls over to fire more balls of Sha Magic at you.
>Even with a barrier up, you don't take the chance at getting hit and run off to the side.
>Each ball hits something behind you, be it a wall, bush or tree.
>He finally fires one more right where you're about to step.
>You attempt to jump over the impact zone, but you fail and the force of the impact coupled with your own momentum knocks you to the ground.
>You recover quickly by rolling as you land, shaking the minor dizziness away.
>Licking the side of your lip, you suddenly realise you taste blood.
>Guess that punch to the face actually did do some damage because your lip is bleeding a trail down to your chin.
>You look over at evil Anon and notice he's started to float.
>Fuck, you forgot he can float around.
>That's going to make things a little more difficult for you because you can't reach him in the air.
>While overhead, he starts throwing fire balls of Sha Magic down at you like small meteors.
>You book it, keeping a barrier up, but heading to the safety of cover.
>As much cover as you can get, anyway, being in a garden and all; your only options are trees.
>Taking cover behind one, you stop for a second to catch your breath and wiping the sweat off your forehead.
>A tree isn't exactly going to protect you, so you need to think.
>You can't get to him while he's in the air, so you need to try and force him to the ground.
>How the hell are you going to do that...?
>...
>...
>"~You are weak.~"
>Piss off, voice.
>As a few more Sha balls of fire hit the tree and the surroundings, you look around.
>Over at the far end of the gardens, you see two purple heads poking over the wall.
>Well, so much for running.
>Though, honestly, if this were Twilight putting up the fight, you'd probably be close by to jump in when needed as well; can't fault her for that.
>You can't give her a reason to, though.
>You're doing this for them and the rest of this world, so you'd best make sure you win.
>...
>Heh.
>'This world'...
>Who knew you'd ever end up doing something like this...
>...
>...
>"~Your friends will abandon you.~"
>No they won't.
>Not as long as you're here to help them.
>Thinking it over... you're getting more tired each time the barrier is hit.
>Maybe it's the same for him, though he can probably take more hits because he's used to it.
>So you need to launch a magic offensive.
>You run out from behind the cover of the tree and immediately fire Sha bolts at the floating fuckwit.
>He puts up a barrier to protect himself, but he continues firing his own back at you, forcing you to keep running.
>You're draining too much energy doing this, so you make a break for it and take cover behind another tree sticking out from a flower bed.
>Panting, out of breath, you wipe your face with your hand again.
>This isn't going too well.
>"Just as I thought... your magic sucks! Your defense might protect you, but your offense is terrible! It's like I was getting hit with a kid’s blow-up hammer!"
>Well, fuck everything.
"I can say the same for you and your pussy punches!"
>"Maybe so, but this isn't exactly a fistfight!"
>Shit, he's right.
>You need an edge. You’re having trouble coming up with one, though.
>The environment is no help whatsoever. All that's surrounding you is fucking flowers...
>...
>Wait, what the hell?
>The ‘treebrary’, the plants and shit all over Ponyville, they were all wilted and dead from the lack of proper sunshine…
>Why are the palace gardens still full of life?
>...Magic, that's how. You don't have time to think about this.
>You're standing in a garden bed that comes up to your thighs; there are bushes right ahead of you lined against the wall and they go on for quite some distance.
>It’s ‘every stealth-action game ever’ time!
>You dive into the bushes, making sure you're not at an angle at which bad Anon can see you.
>If this goes great, then you can sneak around him.
>You pick a direction and start army-crawling that way.
>30 seconds or so pass and he's had enough.
>He floats under the foliage to get a good view of where you were.
>When he sees you're not there, he immediately moves back out to the open air and looks around frantically.
>"What, are you Batman now?!"
>You've managed to hit the end of your bush.
>There's another garden bed across a clearing that you could make a run for.
>Another tree sits in it that looks to be formed such that you could climb it with ease.
>Oooooh, a plan.
>You wait for Anon to face away from you before making a break for the other garden.
>Once you crawl your way completely out of view of him, you get to the tree and start climbing.
>The leaves keep you concealed and he's getting paranoid, floating around in all directions, keeping an eye out so he's not caught off-guard.
>He's only watching the ground, though.
>"Weren't you hassling me for being a pussy?! You're not exactly proving you have balls right now!"
>He's moving around too fast; if you fuck up the jump then you're wide open.
>Maybe hitting him with a strong enough blast of Sha can have him hold still long enough to find out where it came from.
>This is probably a bad idea, but you start concentrating hard.
>Celestia in stone... Twilight enslaved...
>...
>"~Your courage will fail.~"
>Now you're starting to feel like the more energy you use, the more this bastard will try talking to you.
>You've put dangerous amounts into this.
>You launch it at him while his back is facing you.
>It's a direct hit on his barrier and it nearly knocks him out of the air.
>While he's trying to rebalance himself, you take the chance to leap out of the tree, yelling like a madman just like in those stupid movies where the protagonist would scream for absolutely no reason in a surprise attack!
>He spins around at the last second as you collide with him, smacking him in the chest with your arm and grabbing the back of shirt with your other hand, making sure he comes down with you.
>He does and you both hit the ground hard.
>You recover quickly and get up, moving to his side with the arm holding his crystal.
>In desperate attempts to try and disarm him, you drop your knee on his forearm and slam your elbow at the base of his shoulder.
>He screams in pain, but he's still holding it.
>You try to pull his fingers away so you can make him release his grip, but his hand engulfs itself in the Sha flame.
>Burning your hand on his, he brings his other hand over to hit you in the back with a weak shockwave.
>It manages to dislodge you from his arm, and you’re knocked across the grass a small distance away.
>You immediately get back up to try and return to it, but he's up on his side and throws a massive Sha bolt at you.
>You shield yourself at the last second, but the force of it is too strong.
>The blast sends you sailing a few feet in the air; your barrier is fading and you feel the heat of the magic around you.
>You've flipped and rolled in the air once or twice and you land on your back 10-15 meters away from him, you can't tell.
>The landing was rough and you hit your head on the ground.
>Despite this, you're not in a terrible amount of pain, but you're dizzy as all hell.
>You try to make it back to your feet, but you fall back to your knees as soon as you do.
>Another Sha bolt passes insanely close to your head and hits you directly in the right shoulder.
"ARGHH!"
>"GOT YA, BITCH!"
>You fall back down, curled into a ball, holding your shoulder with your arm under you.
>It burns like a motherfucker, and a quick look shows you that the sleeve of your shirt has burnt away and your skin is blistering and bleeding while a little black and white smoke trails off of it.
>The pain is intense, but you can still move your arm a little bit.
>Breathing heavily and sweating hard, you look back up to see him walking slowly towards you, hand glowing and ready.
>He's breathing pretty hard as well.
>Maybe you're doing more damage than you thought.
>"Gotta admit... I didn't see the tree attack coming! Not bad!"
>You groan loudly in frustration.
>One arm out of commission isn't good.
>He grabs you by the collar of your shirt, forcing you to look up at him on your knees.
>"I'm gonna savor this! And I know, being the 'villain' and all, that doing so will come back to bite me, but I'm in such a good position right now that I can't help it!"
>You're still holding the crystal in the hand of your dead arm, so you attempt to fire a bolt at his face.
>It does nothing, his barrier is up and you're too weak to even make him flinch.
>"Just to prove the point that you never even had a chance against me, I'm going to toss you around for a bit. I know the Twilight duo is watching, so I'm hoping this will rid them of that hope they cling to!"
>You close your eyes, bracing for that...


>"~Death is close...~"
>Great, the whispers seem to have free reign in your head now.
>Not giving up in ignoring them, you do the only thing you can think to do...
>You spit in his face.
>A bloody glob of saliva runs down his cheek.
>Within seconds, he suddenly glows with unbridled rage and his eyes turn pure white.
>He knees you in the chest, knocking you back down on your knees and left hand, your right arm just kind of dangling.
>In your peripheral vision, you see his foot come into view as it makes contact with your ribs.
>You're rolled over in pain from the kick.
>Grunting with every breath you attempt to rise and you look up at him.
>"Pitiful."
>He raises his glowing hand in the air, and throws a powerful bolt on the ground next to you.
>The force of it is like an explosion, without the burning.
>It picks you up off the ground and sends you spinning through the air again.
>This is the longest distance you’ve been tossed yet.
>You land in a garden bed pretty damn close to the base of the castle, smacking your head on a nearby tree on the way down.
>The tree took a blow from your head connecting with it, but not quite as badly as you did.
>You feel a wetness trickling down your face and the vision of your left eye begins to cloud with red.
>Moving your hand up to feel it, you're confirmed to have a massive cut across that side of your head.
>Now you're going to be even more useless as your head loses blood.
>You make your best attempt to ignore it, but it's already affecting you as you get back up to your feet and move out of the garden.
>The world is spinning as you hold your head… You trip over yourself and fall over.
>"~You are already dead.~"
>Sure seems like it.
>"Look at you!"
>You look back towards your double.
>"You're absolutely beaten and bloody, yet you still keep trying to get up! Learn to fucking stay down!"
>Even if you start thinking he may be right, the principle in the matter is to do the opposite of what you're told, whether it comes from him or the stupid crystal.
>You slowly start crawling over to him, trying to buy time to stop getting dizzy.
>He can only look on in mocking disbelief.
>"This is almost getting sad to watch!"
>He moves over to you, just to look you over.
>He starts pacing around you in a circle.
>"Alright. I think I've had my fun... or maybe a little more."
>He looks around the grounds as he calls out.
>"Oh, Twilight, since I know you're watching...!"
>You glance over to the wall where you saw them.
>Purple heads appear to be lowered, but still somewhat visible to you.
>Not only purple heads... blue, orange, pink, white...
>Fucking awesome, they all came to watch you die.
>This was not a sight you'd want to leave them on...
>"I present to you, your final hope! The absolute LAST chance you had against me! The DEATH of the Anonymous from another dimension!"
>Fuuuuuuck...
>This is it.
>Well... whatever.
>It's been a good run, and at least you went out in a blaze of glory.
>"I HOPE YOU CAN LIVE WITH THIS ON YOUR CONSCIENCE, YOU PURPLE BITCH! BECAUSE OF YOU, SOMEONE DIES!"
>...
>...
>Fuck!
>"~You will be alone in the end.~"
>That's the biggest worry you've ever had...
>Someone feeling responsible...
>Having an entire situation weighing on them, and having it come crashing down...
>This is what started your depression in coming to Equestria...
>Your friends and family back home... things being unsaid...
>"~No one is coming to save you.~"
>Sorry, Twilight...
>You tried...
>"Nice to meet you, Anon. Unfortunately, our time together is done."
>He picks you up by the hair and pulls his glowing fist back.
>...A sudden *whump* is heard and through your half-bloodied vision, you see a purple blur charge into Anon.
>You fall back to the ground face-down as Anon is knocked a good few meters away.
>Raising your head, you see a purple pony with a dark blue head... and a hat...
>...
"Mare... Do Well?"
>…
>Wait...
>...Noooooo...
>Nononononononononononononononononononono...
>The mask comes off revealing a yellow head and pink mane.
>"H-hi, Anon... Are you okay?!"
"WHAT THE EVER-LOVING FUCK, FLUTTERSHY?!"
>"I, umm... I couldn't just s-stand by and be worthless... and I remembered what you s-said this morning... about S-Superheroes and wearing my old M-Mare Do Well costume... So I went to this world’s Fluttershy's home and found it..."
>Sweet fucking Jesus, this is not good!
>"Do, umm... do you like it?"
"THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE FUCKING TIME!"
>Anon #2 is sitting up, rubbing his face as he looks over to where you and Fluttershy are.
>"EVEN WHEN THE BITCH IS DEAD SHE'S STILL FUCKING ANNOYING ME!"
>He gets back to his feet and both of his hands start flaming black and white.
>Oh fuck!
>"I'LL MAKE SURE SHE FUCKING STAYS DEAD THIS TIME!"
>He launches an entire beam of Sha magic directly at her.
"Fuck!"
>You spring to your feet and stand in front of her with your arms out, erecting a barrier.
>The wave hits and forms around you.
>You're straining to keep the barrier up.
>The motivation of protecting someone is all that's fueling you, but it's not going to hold...
>"~You resist. You cling to your life as if it actually matters. You will learn.~"
"ARGH! FLUTTERSHY, YOU NEED TO FUCKING LEAVE! RIGHT NOW!"
>"B-BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?!"
"GO, GOD DAMN IT!"
>You can hear her whimpering, or crying; you can't tell which because you're focusing everything you have into this barrier so you don't die.
>Purple light fills your peripheral vision.
>Without turning your head, you know exactly what's happening.
>"TWILIGHT, TAKE HER AWAY!"
>The purple flash happens again, and you hope to holy hell that they're both not behind you anymore.
>You're drained now.
>The barrier weakens and you start getting blown backwards from it.
>You fall on your arse and start rolling.
>The blast begins to cease, and you drop your barrier.
>The strain you put into that has caused your head wound to bleed profusely.
>"~You cannot succeed. Your cause is hopeless.~"
>Fuck that shit.
>This is your second wind.
>It's a shitty second wind, but it's a second wind nonetheless!
>"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENED! I KNOW SHE GOT AWAY!"
>Thank god, you weren't too sure yourself.
>"ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH YOU, THAT YELLOW SLUT IS THE FIRST THING ON MY LIST! SHE'LL BURN LIKE THE OTHER!"
>You wince from the pain caused by your various injuries, but you manage to cough out a response.
"Not gonna happen..."
>Squeezing the fragment, you send bolt after bolt of Sha magic at him with your good arm, keeping your other held against your chest.
>He's blocking each of them with the barrier.
>This is proving useless.
>You're practically on your last legs as it is; there's not a whole lot more you can do...
>But if you don't do something...
>"~All of your friends are dead.~"
>...
"And there it is..."
>You put everything you have into a big ball of Sha Fire.
>With the mightiest throw you can muster with your left arm, it hurls toward him as he shields his face with both his arms and the fiery barrier.
>The blast of your fireball has burnt away the grass around him and replaces it with a black and white shine of magic that is slowly fading.
>As the scene settles, you take a knee, once again feeling drained.
>You look over to him and see that he's down on all fours, clutching his stomach.
>He coughs once and looks up at you.
>His nose is bleeding.
>Either something hit him in the face, or he strained ridiculously hard to protect himself with that barrier to the point that his head couldn't take it.
>He uneasily gets up, while you just fall back down on your arse.
>Moving towards you with a slight limp, his hand engulfs with magic.
>He's completely out of breath.
>"YOU... CANNOT... HURT ME... WITH THAT!"
>You've got nothing to chuckle about, but you do it anyway.
"Apparently I can."
>Because why not laugh in the face of the guy that's about to end you?
>He takes it personally and immediately slams the ground, sending a wave of Sha magic at you that you don't have the energy to dodge.
>You erect a weak barrier instead.
>It hits and you feel the impact, sliding backwards along the grass until the back of your head hits the wall.
>Apart from the wall collision, you're fine.
>You were expecting to be burnt to a crisp or something, but nope.
>You roll over a little bit to spit out the blood that's been dripping in your mouth from your lip and head.
>He's walking towards you again.
>If you've got a third wind in you, now is the time for it...
>You think about what will happen if you don't.
>...
>You die.
>"~You can never leave this place. There is no way home.~"
>The others will likely die.
>"~All that you know will fade.~"
>The Princesses remain in stone.
>"~Pay the cost of greatness.~"
>Twilight will be enslaved.
>"~Your arrogance compels you...~"
>The world suffers.
>"~Embrace your rage.~"
>...
>It's right.
>You stand.
>Your mind is completely on this.
>You NEED to stop him.
>Remembering what happened when you first touched the crystal, you squeeze it in your hand.
>You siphon EVERYTHING you can.


>"~Your allies think you are weak.~"
>You roar with bestial vigour.
>You glow a black and white aura that just explodes from behind you, practically engulfing you in Sha flames.
>Your vision primarily turns black and white as your eyes give off the same smoky effect.
>The pain from your shoulder and your head feels like it's vanished, despite the bleeding.
>Evil Anon has stopped dead in his tracks, a look of sudden worry on his face.
>He should be.
>He starts throwing Sha bolts at you...
>...
>They're moving slowly...
>Either you've messed with time, or you're so incredibly focused right now.
>You dodge each of them with ease.
>Feeling so full of energy, you put up a barrier and break into a full sprint towards him.
>He's still trying to throw the bolts at you.
>Not leaving anything to the barrier, you sidestep each one.
>He desperately slams the ground again, sending another wave of magic at you.
>You leap into the air over it.
>You leaped a hell of a lot higher and further than you thought you would, actually.
>Holy shit, you're fucking super charged!
>You're going to land pretty much right at his feet, and he's too slow to move.
>Time to go for style points.
>You land and take a knee, the fist of your right arm slammed into the ground right next to him, doing an Iron Man style ground pound.
>The sheer force of this creates a nova of magic and force around you and he's sent flying backwards.
>You know Twilight warned you about this, becoming unstable, but it's the only thing working right now.
>Noticing how everything around you is still moving slowly for your consciousness to comprehend everything so much easier, you see Anon still flying backwards a mere meter or two in front of you.
>You move up to his body in the air and grab his leg, pulling it back toward you.
>The slow motion reaction of his head turning to you… his fearful expression... it’s amazing.
>You release his leg and bring that same fist down on his face, slamming him into the ground, making him bounce and flip backwards from the nova he's still caught in the effect of moments ago.
>"~Eyes are the windows to the soul. Shatter them forever.~"
>Grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him up to eye level, he tries to erect another barrier.
>You punch him in the face with a non-magic hand, bypassing it.
>His nose starts pissing blood from the blow.
>Time starts to return to its normal speed as you only focus on hurting him.
>While he's dazed by the hit to the face, you notice the hand he's holding the crystal in.
>Grabbing his wrist, you put all your attention and efforts into disarming him.
>Your grasp is completely on his arm, trying desperately to pull his fingers off the crystal.
>He's made his other hand glow and is punching you in the kidneys.
>You're feeling every single blow, and it hurts like fuck, but you can't stop now.
>"~Kill him before he kills you.~"
>...
>Wait...
>That's exactly what's been holding you back.
>This crystal...
>That voice...
>It's...
>"~You should kill him. You must kill him.~"
"NOPE!"
>You throw your fragment in a random direction.
>The extreme rush of energy you were feeling is gone.
>Your vision returns to normal.
>Pain returns to your head and shoulder.
>You can't stop now!
>Fighting through the pain, you now have both hands freely grasping his arm, despite the battering your kidneys are still taking from him.
>With the extra force, you bring your knee up and slam his wrist down on it.
>Through his screams of pain, his fingers loosen and the crystal drops.
>That's it!
>You've done it!
>You quickly spin around and elbow him in the face with your right arm.
>He staggers backward and you kick that fucking crystal away as far as you can out of the reach of both of you.
>You turn to face him again. He lowers his hand from his face while trying to keep his other close to him.
"Now it's MY turn..."
>You're tired as fuck, but so is he, and as you previously established, you're fitter and stronger.
>Plus, he's probably got a broken wrist.
>Then again, you're also probably bleeding to death.
>Oh well!
>You move in.
>He tries to punch you with his right hand, but you block it with your left forearm.
>You attempt the same thing he did and he blocks it in turn, but you quickly jab him in the face with your other hand.
>He tries to kick you in the gut, but you block it with both hands, quickly bringing your right leg up to kick him in his side.
>Stumbling sideways, he recovers and kicks you in the side of your right leg.
>You flinch and he takes the opportunity to bring his fist into contact with the left side of your head.
>The contact has made your cut start bleeding again.
>Considering that a good excuse for a blood rage, you wait for him to try and punch you in the face again before ducking under it and bringing your fist up into his chin.
>The blow knocked him backwards and he finds himself in contact with a castle window.
>Not even considering the damage you'll cause, you get a running start to kick him directly in the chest, causing him to fall through the window and onto the floor inside.
>Must be like a royal dining room or something; the table in the center is massive.
>"AAARRGGHHH!"
>He gets up, full of rage, not paying attention to the bits of glass he's landed on.
"ENOUGH! IT'S OVER!"
>He doesn't listen and charges you, trying to get his right fist to make contact with your face again.
>You duck to the side, grabbing his forearm again with your right hand and using your left elbow to hit him in the side with enough force to send him into the closest wall.
>He bounces off of it, giving you a window of opportunity to punch him in the gut. The blow causes him to reel forward, exhaling the air you knocked out of him.
>Grabbing the back of his head, you move him over towards the large table and throw him onto it, his body causing it to split down the middle.
>You can tell he can barely move after the impact, but you pick him up by the shirt and throw him against the wall with the window you came through.
>He stops himself before hitting it, turning back around to face you.
>Putting his arms up to his head to block anything you try to do, you instead uppercut his gut again, forcing more air out of him.
>You grab his head and bring it down to knee him in the face, sending him back up where you grab his shoulders to bring him in for a head-butt.
>That was fucking dumb, but you don't dwell on the incredible pain in your face now as you shove him against the half of the window you didn't previously knock him through.
>He's all sorts of fucked up now, but he still has a determined look to beat you.
"You say all you wanted was for them to send you back home, but it's not gonna happen! Not like this!"
>With that, you pull your fist back and hit him hard enough in the chest that he's knocked back through the same window, ensuring you've broken as much of it as possible.
>He falls back out into the gardens and starts trying to crawl away from you.
>You step through the window and catch up, rolling him over and lifting him by the shirt.
>With what you're sure is an attempt to copy what you did, he spits in your face.
>Taking this as a sign to end it, you bring your fist down, colliding with the side of his face.
>The force of it makes his head bounce off the ground once before he's at a point where his eyes won't straighten and his head won't stop rolling.
>You stand, thinking you've knocked him senseless... which you have.
"You're finished... this world won't be living in fear of you anymore... no more putting up with your shit..."
>He blinks a few times before his eyes finally focus on you, lifting his head off the ground slightly.
>"We... do not... belong here. You'll never stop thinking that..."
>With that, his head drops and he's unconscious.
>Exhaustion finally overwhelms you and you drop as well.
>Sitting down next to him, you rub your head.
>You look at your sweat and blood-coated hand and almost pass out as well, but a blinking purple light in the distance catches your attention.
>Twilight must be trying to signal you.
>You wave it over lazily.
>11 ponies suddenly start jumping, climbing and flying over the wall over toward you.
>They slow down once they get to the grounded Anon, Twilight #1 moving to your side.
>"Are you okay?"
>You try to stand and she tries to help you up, letting you put weight on her back as you do so.
"I'll probably be pissing blood for a few days, but I'll manage..."
>All of them surround Anon #2 on the ground; you join the circle at his feet.
>He stirs a bit and starts to wake up.
>You'll have to knock him out better next time.
>He sits up and looks at all the faces around him, with what looks like regret.
>His eyes meet yours.
>"Just kill me and get it over with..."
>Every pony surrounding him turns to you, some with straight faces, some concerned and some slightly fearful.
>You don't break eye contact with him to look at them, but you know exactly what they're thinking...
"No... I'm not a killer."
>They relax for a second until you suddenly grab him by the shirt and lift him up.
"Right now I wish to hell that I was, but I'm not... I've got something else in mind!"
>He suddenly becomes worried as you look down at Twilight #2.
"Do you mind if I dish out my own form of punishment before we release the Princesses?"
>She shakes her head, slightly worried of what you'll do, but allows you to.
"Good. Do me a favor and find the crystals while I do this. Fluttershy, come!"
>You shove Anon #2 in another direction and Fluttershy, while confused and worried, follows.
>You're shoving him continuously to the other side of the gardens, out of sight of the others.
>Despite how he can't really fight back, you still despise him enough to keep hurting him.
>You kick his leg out from under him so he drops to a knee, then throw him against a tree and turn to Fluttershy.
>She looks almost horrified now.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to him... you are."
>Both her eyebrows rise as she listens.
"I know you like me, and I apologise for not returning those feelings. It simply won't happen between us. However, I offer you something just as good... another Anon. Do whatever the hell you want to him. No limits, no boundaries. Absolutely anything. He won't be fighting back."
>He gains a look of horror as Fluttershy looks down at him after considering what you said.
>You turn to look at him as you continue.
"Because if he even CONSIDERS fighting back, I can't promise that his ribs won't get broken."
>His eyes start to fill with tears, adopting a look on his face that is just begging you to not allow it.
>Unfortunately for him, you're all out of fucks to give.
>You'd like to say that now he knows how their Fluttershy felt, but that'll never be accurate.
>You proceed to walk away, giving Fluttershy's ear a scratch as you leave.
"Have fun."
>She still hasn't got any idea of what to think of this.
>"Uhm... Th-thank you...?"
>You smile.


>"What's Fluttershy doing? Where's their Anon?"
>You hear almost girlish screaming coming from where you just left.
>"OH DEAR GOD, PLEASE, NO!"
"...I'm almost starting to think that punishment was way too extreme."
>Almost.
>Twilight #1 looks away from where the screaming came from and back at you.
>"What... is she doing?"
"I have no idea, and I really don't want to know..."
>She could be doing... anything and everything to him that she suggested to you, or she could be giving him a massive lecture on how what he did was wrong.
>Both seem equally as bad.
>It's best not to think about it.
>You wipe some blood off your face again, and spit some more into the grass, before sitting down again next to Twilight #1.
>Clearly worried about your current state, she's about to say something before she looks off elsewhere.
>"Oh, there's Cadance and Shining!"
>You turn you head to where she's looking and see them entering the gardens, along with a few guards.
>Walking over to you, Cadance goes wide-eyed when she sees how you look.
>"Anonymous! Are you alright?!"
"Nup."
>They both start to get a good look at you to see if there's anything they can do.
>Shining Armour turns to Cadance.
>"I'll go get the physician for the Princesses!"
"Don't worry about it, do that later!"
>He stops at your request.
>You're just sitting there with a look of hate towards everything, so they don't particularly want to go against you.
>You turn to two of the guards.
"Your Anon is over that way with Fluttershy. Wait until she's finished and bring him back. I'm sure the Princesses will want to see him immediately..."
>They turn to Cadance, who nods at them and they leave.
"Is my eye swelling up? I feel like it's closing on its own..."
>Twilight #1 looks at it.
>"Yes. Your eyebrow is swollen and you have a black eye... and the eye itself is bloodshot..."
"Ah. That would probably be because of that head-butt..."
>You're approached by Twilight #2 and Pinkie #2, both dropping the crystal and the fragment in your lap.
>"Here they are. Are you sure you're able to do this now? You really don't look so good..."
>Applejack #2 comes to your side with a canteen of water.
>You take a drink from it before answering.
"It's fine. I'm a little worried about using them again, but the sooner I release them, the sooner shit goes back to normal and we can finally rest."
>"Why? What happened while you were using them?"
"Apart from what you saw, you mean? As I was using more energy and getting more tired, that voice was getting louder and harder to ignore... I'm just flat-out exhausted right now, so that's going to be annoying..."
>Both Twilights look to each other before Twilight #1 responds.
>"Then we'll just wait. You're not fit to do it right now, Anon."
"Nope. Fuck it. Doing it now."
>You rise to your feet uneasily, leaning on Twilight a little, holding both crystals in one hand.
>You move over to the Luna statue just because she's the closest.
>Before you do anything, you wait a few more minutes until Fluttershy comes walking back.
>Rainbow #1 moves up to her.
>"What happened?"
>The guards come and drag Anon into the area as well, and he looks absolutely broken...
>Fluttershy gives a slightly concerned look towards him before answering.
>"He started head-butting the tree profusely."
>Well... that settles it... you don't want to fucking know.
>You shake your head and turn to Luna.
>Remembering how you tried with Celestia, you're going to assume that doing the same thing you did with Cadance is necessary, but... to a far greater extent.
"Alright... here goes nothing..."
>Everyone just stands there, hopeful, as you place your hand on Luna.
>You concentrate everything you have, siphoning from the double source in your hand, trying to expel it through the other.
>Remembering everything that Anon did, as well as why she's like this...
>...
>...
>...
>"~Pluck their wings. Leave them broken.~"
"ARGHH... GOD DAMN IT!"
>You keep channeling into it.
>You can hear everyone behind you urging you to stop, but you don't.
>You're finishing this now...
>...
>...
>"~Do you dream while you sleep or is it an escape from the horrors of reality?~"
>You release the crystals from your hand.
>That's your breaking point.
>You drop to the ground, blood dripping from your nose.
>You're straining too hard for this, and a voice filling your head as you do so is only making it worse.
>However... there's a pair of dark-blue hooves in front of you...
>"ANONYMOUS! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
>Holy shit, you actually did it.
>And all it cost you was your mental well-being...
"Go talk to them..."
>You lazily point over behind you.
>Twilight #2 immediately runs up to her and hugs her.
>"Princess Luna! You're okay! Oh thank-"
"Heerruggghhh..!"
>You vomit at her hooves and fall to the ground completely.
"Oh... ha... told ya I was having doughnuts with Celestia…"
>You may have a concussion...
>Luna and Twilight move away while Fluttershy and Applejack #2 move to your side.
>"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WHAT'S GOING ON?!"
>Applejack #2 sits you up and gives you the canteen of water again while Twilight #2 explains to Luna.
>"Princess, I promise I'll explain everything later, but to make it quick, you've been imprisoned in stone just like Princess Celestia for 8 months! Anonymous had taken over and after getting extremely desperate, I turned to something I know that you or Celestia wouldn't approve of, but please believe me when I say that it was for the greater good!"
>You take a swig from the flask and spit it to the side.
"This water tastes like blood!"
>Applejack #2 wipes the blood away from your mouth.
>"That's 'cause you're still bleedin' pretty badly, Anon. Ya need ta' stop an' get checked."
"Nope... just gimme 10 minutes and we'll get Celestia..."
>Luna is looking at you in confusion.
>She tones down her voice to talk to Twilight again.
>"What is it that thou did, exactly, Twilight Sparkle?"
>She nervously points her to the other Anon, who is looking at her groggily.
>"What's this? Another Anonymous?!"
>"That Anonymous is our Anonymous, Princess. I... sort of studied the multiverse for months... and pulled over duplicates to help us..."
>Luna stares at her wide-eyed, and looks around, seeing the duplicates of the five ponies she knows, a Fluttershy, and you giving a small wave.
>"THOU DID WHAT!?"
>"I know, I know! Please, I'll explain myself to you and Celestia when we're finished here, but we need to let Anon over there recover so he can release her first!"
>She looks toward you and narrows her eyes, before turning and walking toward her sister.
>Moving away a few seconds later, she approaches the guards and the individual they’re hauling between them.
>"Anonymous... your punishment shall be decided when our sister has been released."
>He stares at the ground in silence, and Luna motions you to continue when ready.
>10 minutes pass and you stand back up.
>Still light-headed and rubbing your face, you pick up the crystals again and move over to Celestia while everyone follows you.
>As you look upon her stone form again, you turn back to Anon #2.
>You move over to him, wanting to make sure he's watching by grabbing his head and putting it under your shoe as you do this.
>Instead, you deliver a swift punch to the side of his head.
>"ANONYMOUS!"
"SORRY! It's just... Gah! Just looking at him enrages me! Every time I see him, I just... NEED to punch him! He's fucking tainted my name..."
>Shining Armour moves you away while the guards take a few steps back with Anon.
>Whatever, he's not worth it at this point.
>Taking a deep breath, you place your hand on Celestia, and repeat what you did with Luna...
>Thoughts that give you anger... Anonymous alone is enough to do that now...
>...
>...
>"~All should bow before you. Make them!~”
"SHUT! UP!"
>You feel your nose start to bleed again.
>...
>...
> All that you have accomplished, all that you have won, yet still you lick the shoes of princesses.~"
>You drop your arm, crystals falling to the ground.
>Your vision is blurred and your head is throbbing.
>You see a white blur in front of you as opposed to the grey one a second ago.
>Good... it worked...
>"Anonymous! What happened? What have you done?!"
>You start to lose balance, so you just throw your hand in any direction over your shoulder attempting to point at anyone behind you.
>Then you stagger off to the side and finally fall, landing face-down in the grass.
>Twilight #1, Fluttershy, Applejack #2 and Pinkie #2 come to your aid.
>You haven't quite fainted and you hear Twilight #2's voice.
>"Princess, I can explain everything..."


>Roughly four hours later, you're standing in the throne room looking out over Canterlot.
>A nice, sunny day...
>Celestia and Luna immediately worked to fix the transition of day and night, giving everyone two hours of nighttime before the sun rose again.
>The rejoicing of ponies could be heard all over... for the Princesses had returned.
>In the time that passed, you'd seen the royal physician to get your head stitched up and your arm in a sling for your shoulder.
>You also took the time to go with Pinkie #2 to the place where Fluttershy #2 was buried... a hill, populated by animals, with quite a view of the horizon.
>Cliché as fuck, but appropriate.
>You paid your respects by kissing your hand and planting it on her tombstone.
>Then you returned to Canterlot for what you're doing now.
>Celestia and both Twilights are at the other end of the throne room and you're listening in to what they're saying.
>"The crystal didn't sound familiar to me at first, which is why I freely let Twilight and Anonymous study it. That was a foolish mistake on my part, and for that, I am truly sorry. When I saw it and the magic that Anonymous had been using with it, I recognised it immediately."
>Twilight #1 questions her.
>"What is it?"
>"It originated from a powerful being that had been safely imprisoned by King Sombra. Ages ago, a great battle took place between the two, and Sombra was the victor... though the cost of his victory proved great. Its last act before its imprisonment beneath the earth was to corrupt Sombra into the tyrant you encountered when you traveled to the Crystal Empire."
>"Sombra wasn't always evil?"
>"No. He ruled the empire with as much care as myself and Luna do. Unfortunately, once he became corrupted, he went insane and turned on his subjects, enslaving them. You know the rest of that story. The crystal is either something forged by Sombra himself, or more likely just a piece of the prisoner. Simply being locked away doesn't rid the world of their influence... as we’ve all recently discovered.”
>Great, so you'd been hearing the voice of... whatever it is imprisoned in hell or something.
>No wonder it was telling you to kill everyone.
>"Why was Anonymous able to use it while we weren't?"
>"It's difficult to say... It powers itself through negative emotion, and given his history, there's plenty to gain from him. However, we all have negative emotions within us, and we can't tap into the magic. Perhaps it's in his physiology, or some form of adaptation to it. We may never know..."
>How convenient.
>Twilight #1 continues.
>"Well... while everything is returning to how it was, I can't help but wonder about the Elements of Harmony. Without Fluttershy, you're vulnerable to any form of attack. You can always call us back to help if needed.
>"Thank you, Twilight, but no. The knowledge of multiversal travel is too dangerous for anyp0ny to have… even Princesses like ourselves. When you are sent home, myself and Luna will be conducting a spell on our Twilight to extract the knowledge of it from her mind. It's nothing dangerous, but it specifically requires both of us. It's yet another uncommon spell that will need to be used...
>Twilight #2 bows in acceptance.
>"I will gladly take it."
>Twilight #1 continues to ask.
>"But what about your Element of Kindness? And the others? Your Twilight said that they were becoming damaged with what happened...
>"Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack still represent their Elements to the fullest. Twilight Sparkle's magic will regenerate quickly over the coming months, and Pinkie Pie simply needs time. I have faith that she will return to her true nature as the Element of Laughter."
>"... and Fluttershy?"
>"...While the her loss is regrettable, another Element of Kindness will show itself eventually. We will, of course, honour the memory of Fluttershy regardless. A statue will be erected and displayed within the palace for all to see."
>She deserves nothing less, yet so much more.
>"And what of Anonymous?"
>"He's currently being held in the dungeons. He's no threat to Equestria without the use of the crystals. He does keep pleading for me to find a way home for him. I'm unsure whether I should, given his actions..."
>A dungeon... everything he's done and he gets a dungeon.
>That's too good for him.
>His words keep echoing through your mind, though...
>Maybe you don't belong here...
"You know... I can't help but think he's right..."
>Being reminded of your presence, Twilight #2 answers.
>"About what?"
"I was feeling the exact same way as him those few years ago... I took that same journey to get over it. I stayed out there, but he came back with a crystal that led to him doing… all of that. All it would've taken was a single step in those ruins. A single step... and our Equestria would've been just as bad."
>Celestia moves to your side.
>"The fact of the matter is, Anonymous, that you DIDN'T do that. Minor differences aside, YOU remained pure-hearted and moved on from your past to help make a difference. Though there are similarities, they mean nothing when you look at what has happened recently."
"Even so... maybe he's right. I don't exactly belong to this world."
>"I'll repeat myself, Anonymous. You are pure-hearted, and you've made a difference. You have a place among us, even if you don't think so. Your friends will never tell you otherwise. Take heart in the fact that Equestria, both yours and ours, is lucky to have you among us."
>You let the thought sink in.
>Considering you nearly died for this world... sure.
>The world owes you; the least it can do is let you belong.
>"Anonymous... I must confess."
"Hmm?"
>"I'm conflicted. The punishment and sentence of our Anonymous is... difficult. I can't simply assign him life in the dungeons or banishment or anything of the sort without fully knowing the details behind his aggression. You say that there was a voice within the crystals attempting to influence you... yet he claims that he acted on his own free will. If that were true, then I find it difficult to fathom why he'd behave the way he did, when you wouldn't even consider it."
>That's something you're still fuzzy on.
>"When I banished my sister to the moon, it was because she had been overwhelmed by an evil force. The action was a judgement to keep Equestria safe at the cost of my loved one. I regret the action every single day, but were I faced with the situation to make that choice again, I may be forced to repeat it. Anonymous isn't like that, though. If the crystal was influencing him, then that evil force has already left and he will cause no further harm."
"What are you saying?"
>"...I'm saying... I'd like your opinion. What do you think the punishment should be for his actions?"
>Oh shit.
>You're now deciding the fate of another person... even if it's you.
>On the one hand, you don't think anything is too bad for him, he probably deserves worse.
>Not to mention it wouldn't be your concern at all after you return home.
>On the other hand...
>...
"I have absolutely no idea."
>"You don't have an opinion?"
"What I think seems pretty irrelevant since I'm from another dimension. I think he deserves torture just for the hell of it, but I absolutely refuse to make such a call. To be perfectly honest... I think he WAS being influenced by the crystal, but I can't exactly be sure. It might be best to just let him rot in the dungeon."
>"Is that what you truly believe?"
>You think about it for a while, sighing deeply.
"…Perhaps, given what he's done, he's simply a poor memory for Equestria, and a constant reminder of dark times. As much as I hate to say it, ridding your world of him might be something worth considering."
>She nods.
>"I'll continue looking for a way to send him home."
>It's too good for him.
>He can rot in the dungeons until then, but if she does find a way before he dies, then it's too good for him.
>At least you'll be able to sleep at night.
>Celestia speaks up once more.
>"Alright, I believe you've spent too much time within our world. We can't thank you enough for your help, but it's time that you were returned home."
>Thank fucking god.
>Twilight #1 bows again.
>"We were happy to be of assistance, Princess."
"Yeah... sure."
>You rub your shoulder.
>Twilight #2 moves over to you.
>"I'm very sorry for what happened to you, Anon. I can't thank you enough..."
>She rears on her back legs again and wraps you in a hug, which you return with your one good arm.
"Not a problem, Twilight."