BiE Bonus Chapter: Anomaly


                                            =Bros in Equestria Bonus Chapter: Anomaly=


                                            >Year 880 in Equestria.

                                            >You and Mous stand in the carriage as it speeds down from Canterlot towards the Everfree forest on outskirts of good old Ponyville.

                                            >Today hadn't gone the way you had really anticipated.

                                            >Oh sure, it started simple enough. Wake up, feed the great-great-grandson, feed yourself, drop him off and prepare for your upcoming explorative trip, but today seemed intent to be different.

                                            >Mous had caught you on your way to the docks, apparently unable to find either Princess.

                                            "Did you check the doughnut place down the road?" you had asked.

                                            >The two of you went around the entire city looking for Celestia and Luna, eventually ending up at the Magisters Tower.

                                            >That's when you heard about it.

                                            >The experiment that was performed three weeks ago and the outcome of it.

                                            >And so like good royal problem solvers, you both jumped on a carriage and flew down to where you were told the Princesses were.

                                            >You come up over the crest of a hill and see a sea of white and glittering gold.

                                            >Well...the Princesses and half the royal legion, it seems.

                                            >The carriage lands and the two of you disembark, heading over to where you saw Celestia and Luna by the tree line.


                                            "How bad is it?" you ask.

                                            >Luna turns to you, her eyes full of worry as a nearby tree pops and fizzles over with static before simply disappearing.

                                            >"Bad."

                                            >You and Mous stare at the spot where the tree once was blinking. "Yeah...I can see that." he says.

                                            >You run your hand through your hair.

                                            >This is....new.

                                            "And all this was from that experiment?"

                                            >Celestia and Luna nod silently.

                                            >Mous grumbles next to you. "So how're we solving this new Princess?" he asks.

                                            >The other two monarchs in attendance wince at his choice of words.

                                            >"...What?"

                                            >Celestia shakes her head. "The filly in there...is not a princess, no matter what she looks like or what powers she has."

                                            >"Filly?"

                                            "So this is all HER doing?"

                                            >Celestia nods. "It seems the experiment last week had...repercussions it seems. Repercussions that are in that forest."

                                            >You and Mous glance between each other and the forest.

                                            >The trees, the ground, the air all seemed to have a static overlay over it. Sometimes you'd take your eyes off a rock or shrub for just an instant and it wouldn't be there when you looked back. Everything before you seems to change and shift and corrupt the longer you look.

                                            "What...is all this?"

                                            >"Her powers have manifested in ways we can't imagine, Anon..." Luna says.

                                            >Celestia steps forward. "The pony in that forest is something that should not be, and the land itself is resonating that sentiment. Her magic is violent and unpredictable, it's -erasing- whatever it touches. It may be confined to this forest for now, but it's only a matter of time before it spreads out over all of Equestria..."


                                            >Mous shrugs. "Got a plan?"

                                            >Celestia levitates a large crystal surrounded by floating smaller ones over to you. "That is the strongest siphoning spell we could muster. If the worst should occur, you need to use that spell on her."

                                            >Luna stamps her hoof on the ground. "Sister, no! The feedback!"

                                            >"Is only a failsafe in order to save the entire kingdom!" Celestia answers.

                                            >You pocket the spell. [spoiler][/spoiler]"We'll...try to work something out. What will you two do?"

                                            >"We will stay here...and try to stem the tide of this magic as long as we can." Luna says.

                                            "You ready man?" you ask Mous.

                                            >He bristles. "Either hurt the kid, do the impossible, or let the kingdom get eaten. No pressure."

                                            >You groan. You had to at least try.

                                            "Yeah...let's go."

                                            >You're not a step into the forest when Celestia says "Hold."

                                            >The two of you turn back and look at her.

                                            >"My friends." she begins. "The magic at play here is...unlike anything I've ever seen. It has even effected my sister and I to some extent."

                                            "So what does that mean?"

                                            >"It means her magic could even effect YOU two, despite your general immunity."

                                            >Mous groans. "So now we've got THAT to deal with too...great."

                                            >You sigh and trod into the forest.

                                            "C'mon man, not getting any younger..."


                                            >The two of you walk through the shifting and vanishing forest with your eyes front and your heads down.

                                            >The air here was...oppressive, like you could be winked out of existence at the slightest thought. It made it kinda hard to concentrate.

                                            >Shit, was this how normal people lived in your positions felt?

                                            >In time you come across a clearing with a singular broken tree trunk in it. What was curious was that there was no felled tree to go with it, just the trunk.

                                            >Upon closer inspection, the top part of the tree looked...torn off?

                                            "Hey, man, come check this out."

                                            >Mous stands off to the side. "Dude...listen."

                                            >You cock an eyebrow and put your hand to your ear, straining to listen.

                                            >From the tree trunk, near the ground, you could make out the sound of sniffling.

                                            >Mous walks over and the two of you kneel down and look underneath the trunk.

                                            >In a small hovel underneath the trunk, near the back, cowered a small cream colored filly. One with both wings and a horn.

                                            >Her horn however...it was shifting and static-y, like the forest itself but much more frequent and more intense.

                                            >"...Seems we found the source of all this. Mous says."


                                            >You lean into the hole a bit.

                                            "Hi there..."

                                            >"Go away!" she shouts as she swipes a hoof at you.

                                            >Behind you, the grass flattens and a small stream has the water inside it tossed out.

                                            >You and Mous glance between the filly, the stream, and each other with wide eyes.

                                            "Uhm...what's...your name, little one?"

                                            >She sniffs and looks up at the two of you. "E-Erroria."

                                            >You motion for Mous to sit down and you follow suit.

                                            "Well Erroria, I'm Anon and I used to be Grand Magister, this is my best friend in the whole world, Mous. Can you come talk to us?"

                                            >Erroria grips her head and winces. "N-no! I can't!"

                                            >You lean in a bit more, you had to help this kid and you were the best "expert" anyone had right now.

                                            "Come on, Erroria. It'll be fine, we'll talk a bit and help."

                                            >"No! Y-y-ou might get hurt!"

                                            >The static effect on her horn intensifies and fills the hole with a grey glow.

                                            >"Dude..."

                                            "...Erro-"

                                            >"I CAN'T!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, releasing the energy stored up inside her.

                                            >The magical explosion throws you and Mous back several feet and evaporates the tree with a loud "ZZZZAK!"

                                            >Mous coughs and rights himself. "What in pony hell was that!?"

                                            >"I'msorryI'msorry!"

                                            "*cough* Wait!"

                                            >You rise to your feet and stumble over to where Erroria is.

                                            "Wait..."

                                            >The tree that Erroria was hiding under was now gone, a crater in its place and her resting in the center of it.

                                            >Her horn didn't have the static magic on it anymore, you take that as a good sign.

                                            >You walk into the crater and kneel down next to the girl.

                                            "Are...you alright?"

                                            >Erroria shakily raises her head. "I-I think I'm ready to talk now, Mister Anon..."


                                            -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKJDK-jMZhQ-

                                            >Mous joins you and Erroria in the crater.

                                            "So...how did this happen, Erroria?"

                                            >You knew how it happened, but you needed to hear it from her.

                                            >She sniffs and rubs her face. "I-I just woke up one morning a while ago a-and I had a horn on my head! And only princesses are supposed to have horns with their wings!"

                                            >She continues. "Mommy said it was a blessing...a gift that meant I was gonna be a princess too!"

                                            >Erroria looks around at the crater and surrounding woods.

                                            >"Some gift." she says hanging her head.

                                            >"How did...all this start?" Mous asks.

                                            >Erroria lifts her head again. "I was able to cast little tiny spells when I got it...and then I was able to cast more spells later! All the kids at school thought it was so neat..."

                                            >She shuffles her hooves a bit. "But...then."

                                            >"I tried casting a spell to turn on my lights, just my lights! And..." Erroria looks around the crater "That happened..."

                                            >You rub her back.

                                            >"Anon? Ideas?" Mous asks.

                                            >You think for a bit.

                                            "The experiment...Last week there was an experiment on some of the leylines underneath Canterlot...One of the capacitors failed and the energy grew unstable and had to be dispersed into the air. We thought it dissipated harmlessly but..." You look over the filly on your lap. "I guess not..."

                                            >Erroria's head sinks. "So...what are you going to do now?"

                                            >You look to Mous. You both knew the surefire way to fix this.

                                            >But...she was a child.

                                            >Mous just shakes his head.

                                            "We...had a solution. But it's not a good one, so we won't use it."

                                            >She hangs her head. "You should..."


                                            >Both yours and Mous's heads snap down and look at the girl.

                                            "What?"

                                            >"Yeah, what?"

                                            >Erroria sniffs. "All the magic gets all bunched up in me and explodes sometimes...like what happened before."

                                            >The two of you rub your heads remembering the feeling.

                                            >"And...when that happens I can FEEL what's happening to the forest get worse..."

                                            >Her chest hitches and she curls up into a little ball. "And...I'm afraid about what'll happen if it keeps going..."

                                            >Erroria's voice wavers a bit. "S-so if I'm the reason all this is happening, you shouldn't be afraid to do what needs to be done to save everyp0ny else!"

                                            >Her horn begins to glow with static again as she collapses onto the ground and speaks between sobs. "I'm n-nothing...not a Princess or anything...just...some MISTAKE!"

                                            >...Ouch, poor kid...

                                            >You and Mous both instinctively reach down and pet her head.

                                            "Erroria...no..."

                                            >"You're important, Erri, don't think otherwise."

                                            >She shakes her head as her horn glows. "I'm just an accidental alicorn who's gonna hurt a lot of ponies..."

                                            >"Says who?" Mous says.

                                            >Erroria blinks and looks up at him.

                                            >"Who says that you have to hurt ponies? Who says -you- can't fix this?"

                                            >You grab Mous by the shoulder and drag him away.

                                            "Dude, what?" you whisper.

                                            >"Well it's better than fuckin' killing her!"

                                            >...Goddamnit.

                                            >You return to Erroria.

                                            "Okay! This is what we're gonna try and do, sweety. You're gonna change all this back and I'm going to walk you through it!"

                                            >Mous gets behind Erroria. "And I'm gonna be here cheering you on!"

                                            >Her horn was glowing brighter and brighter as the magic built up inside her. "Wh-what?" she stammers out.

                                            "It's okay, Erroria! We're gonna help you here!"

                                            >You hope.


                                            >Night's fallen.

                                            >You and Mous and leaving the forest now.

                                            >The nice and normal forest.

                                            >Mous has Erroria in his arms leaning against his chest as the two of you break the tree line.

                                            >A dome of purple magic encases the entire forest, Celestia, Luna, and the royal legion behind it.

                                            >"Is it done?" Celestia asks.

                                            >You nod.

                                            "It's done..."

                                            >Celestia and Luna's horns glow and the dome recedes, allowing them to approach you both.

                                            >The Princesses see the filly in Mous's arms and frown. "Did you...use the spell?" they ask.

                                            >You shake your head and turn Erroria's head to them. Her eyes were wide and hollow as she stared unmoving into space unfocused.

                                            >The Princesses wince. "What...happened?"

                                            >You sigh.

                                            "Erroria's magic was the result of the experiment with the leylines we did...it was also what was causing the forest to change as it was."

                                            >Luna glances at Erroria's eyes. "What...happened?"

                                            >You run your hand through your hair.

                                            "I...talked her through redirecting her magic back in on itself, it made a magical vacuum effect that-" you snap your fingers "-sucked all the magic back in on itself."

                                            >"And...the girl?"

                                            >You grimace and look to the catatonic filly.

                                            "...A side effect, it was either that or kill her."

                                            >The Princesses hang their heads.

                                            >Mous walks over to one of the legion officers. "See that this girl is taken care of...get her some help."

                                            >The soldier winces a bit and flies off into the night.

                                            >"You stayed with her and helped her, Anon...that was very kind of you."

                                            >You pinch the bridge of your nose. [spoiler][/spoiler] "It was the right thing to do."

                                            >You needed this fucking trip, man.

                                            >Mous walks over with his own thousand yard stare and sits on the carriage to take you both home.

                                            >You walk over and sit next to him.

                                            "We tried, man..."

                                            >"That's what makes it hard..."

                                            >The carriage lifts off back into the sky.

                                            >Not a word was said as you flew back to Canterlot.

                                            >Not a word.