"Princesses! Come out here and face me!" Tirek's voice boomed, echoing off of the walls and making Anon cringe, "I have your husband." He added.

A few moments of silence followed, making the tension in the air somehow thicker than it already was. Anon nervously gulped as he glanced over to Tirek's massive form, his magic still keeping him firmly in place, several feet off of the ground. After nearly ten seconds of waiting, the titan grew impatient.

"Perhaps you'll move with a sense of urgency if I start pulling your prince apart, piece by piece." Tirek announced, turning to Anon.

Anon's eyes widened at the threat, and he struggled even harder in Tirek's magic to break free. Chrysalis pounded on the bubble she was trapped in, her eyes locked on Anon as she tried to reach him.

"Anon!" She cried.

Even Discord gave the centaur a concerned look as he turned to Anon.

"Now, do you really think that's necessary? I mean... they could be somewhere else for all we know. Don't you think killing our leverage would be a bit reckless?" Discord offered.

"And entering their hive wasn't? Besides, I'll put him back together... maybe." Tirek shrugged.

"Well, considering just how pregnant they are, I doubt Celly and Luna are going to be able to make it here any time so-" Discord began to reply, before Tirek turned on him.

"Did you say... pregnant?" He asked, his tone as threatening as the glare he leveled at the draconequues.

Discord nodded, "Oh, yes! They were both positively gravid the last I saw them. In fact, they're probably going into labor any day now, isn't that right, Anon?" He asked, resting his elbow on Anon's shoulder as if they were friends.

"Discord... shut your God damned mouth." Anon grunted, through grit teeth.

Tirek chuckled, a sound that both infuriated and scared Anon. After a few moments, the chuckle turned to a laugh, and then full on boisterous hysterical laughter. Anon stared up at Tirek, partly bewildered and partly disgusted as the massive centaur nearly fell over from his hysterics. Even Discord looked uncomfortable yet again, as Tirek struggled to compose himself.

"Um... what's so funny, exactly?" Discord questioned.

It took Tirek a few moments to calm down before answering, "Oh, this is just too rich. The two ponies who sealed me away in Tartarus over a thousand years ago... and now I can take absolutely everything from them!" Tirek threw his head back in maniacal laughter.

"Tirek, don't!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"You lay a fucking finger on them and I'll fucking kill you!" Anon shouted, but even he knew it was an empty threat.

Tirek paused in his boisterous laughter and leaned down to Anon's level, "As... entertaining as it would be to see you try, we have business to attend to. Now be a good little hostage and call for your wives to come save you."

"Go fuck yourself." Anon shot back.

Tirek sighed, "Well, my mercy has its limits." He announced, before his magic closed in on Anon, compressing his chest and limbs.

The air was forced out of Anon's already battered lungs as he struggled against Tirek's overwhelming magical strength, leaving him blue in the face as his eyes bulged from the pressure. After watching for only a few seconds, Chrysalis frantically looked up to Discord.

"Discord, you can't let this happen!" She cried, "Please!"

Discord frowned as he looked back and forth between the changeling Queen and the sizeable form of Tirek looming to his side. He glanced down at Anon, seeing the life quickly being squeezed out of him as Chrysalis continued to pound on the interior of her bubble.

"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't I just go bring them to you? That way, nobody has to die a horrible death." Discord suggested, glancing back and forth between Tirek and the human in a magical trash compactor.

"Now where's the fun in that? We just went on a wild goose chase into the changeling hive to find them, only to find their husband instead. Now they can come to me." Tirek replied.

"I get that... but you're killing him, Tirek." Discord pleaded.

Tirek looked down at Anon, seeing that his face was turning blue and he was visibly loosing consciousness. With a flippant sigh, he released the crushing force of his magical strength, allowing the human to gasp for desperately needed air.

"Are you going soft on me, Discord?" Tirek raised an eyebrow.

Discord breathed a small sigh of relief, "Of course not. I just don't want to kill creatures when the whole point of this is to take control so that they have to bow to our will." He replied.

Tirek rolled his eyes, "Very well. Go and find the princesses for me, then. I will wait here." He replied, much to both Chrysalis and Discord's relief.

"Anon! Are you alright?" Chrysalis questioned, pressing her hooves against the bubble.

Anon couldn't quite speak, so he opted to instead just nod his head as he fought to fill his lungs with air once more.

"Do be quick about it, Discord." Tirek said, crossing his arms.

Discord hastily nodded, "I'll be back in a jiffy." He announced, before disappearing with a pop.

"Dis-cord... don't..." Anon weakly called after him, still struggling to catch his breath.

Tirek snorted, "Why Discord has a bleeding heart for you and these equines, I will never understand," He sighed, "It matters not. Soon your wives will be standing before me, unable to flee or fight due to their bloated bellies and I will take so much satisfaction in robbing them of a life with their children."

At Anon's suddenly furious glare, Tirek laughed, "Oh, yes. That does make you the father then, doesn't it? Sorry about that. Nothing personal... at least, with you." He shrugged.

Before Anon could make a scathing reply, Discord popped back into existence before them both, a noticeable look of discomfort on his face. He idly twiddled his thumbs for a moment as if attempting to delay speaking to Tirek.

"Well? Did you find them?" Tirek demanded, quickly growing tired of Discord's sudden shyness.

"I-um... well... yes?" Discord hesitantly replied.

"Where are they!?" Tirek shouted, taking a step toward the draconequues.

"Well, they're in that southern tower, on the first floor... but it's magically protected with powerful wards. Of course, that was nothing for little ol' me, but there's-" Discord began, but before he could say more, Tirek suddenly dropped Anon with his magic.

The titan's horns lit up in orange, fiery magic as he reached out with his hands. A similar orange glow enveloped the entire southern tower attached the throne room, shaking the very foundation of the building. Anon fell onto his back as the ground around him rumbled and creaked under the intense forces acting on it. He stared up in awe, watching as the entire southern tower ripped away from its foundation. The throne room ceiling cracked and caved in under the immense shifting of material, dropping tons of stone and marble right on top of them.

Anon covered his head with his arms as the debris fell down on him, but he felt nothing. He glanced up, finding that the marble and stone simply disappeared just a few feet before hitting him, Chrysalis, Tirek, or Discord. He gave a quick glance over to the aforementioned draconequues, finding that he was simply holding up his hand. Small flashes of white light appeared all over his claw, timing in sync with the rubble disappearing above them.

Quickly whipping his head back to the tower slowly approaching them in an orange haze, breaking through the walls of the castle and destroying everything in its path, Anon felt his heart sink. Tirek set the base of the tower down just a few dozen paces in front of him, the action forming hundreds of cracks in the ground and nearly caving the floor in.

"Princesses! Come out now!" Tirek barked, focusing on the lone doorway.

Anon looked up to the doorway, a fearful expression on his face as he silently prayed that Discord was wrong, and his wives were long gone. Unfortunately, he didn't have to wait long, as Tirek quickly grew impatient. With a ferocious growl, Tirek reached out with his magic and ripped the door off its hinges, sending the wooden plank flying. What none of them expected, however, was for two thestrals to bolt out of the doorway at full speed.

Even before Discord could react, Dusk struck at Tirek, slashing at his throat. Tirek only barely managed to dodge the attack, but moving out of the way of Dusk only put him in range of Echo. The younger bat pony slashed at Tirek as hard as he could with his hoofblades, the sharpened steel cutting into the centuar's flesh nearly deep enough to reach his jugular. Unfortunately, This enraged Tirek so much that he grabbed Echo with one hand, syphoned the bat pony's magic, and threw him at the tower he'd emerged from.

Echo hit the wall hard, so hard in fact, that his armor bent and his bloodied hoofblades were flung from his forelegs, and he slumped to the ground with a groan. Dusk glanced over to his fallen comrade for a split second, but that second was all Discord needed to snap his fingers and imprison the night guard in a bubble. Dusk frantically fought to free himself, but Discord's magic simply made that impossible.

Tirek quickly approached, already beginning to syphon Dusk's magic. Once he was finished, the thestral collapsed to the floor and the bubble popped, leaving him laying uselessly on the once pristine marble floor of the throne room. He fought to lift himself up to continue fighting, but his strength left him immediately, forcing him to fall back to his side.

"Well, that was certainly a bit more of a fight than I expected." Discord muttered, oblivious to the furious look in Tirek's eyes.

"A bit? A bit!? Why did you not imprison them faster!? Why did you not tell me of two bat ponies!?" Tirek roared, one hand clasping the wound in his neck as his horns ignited in orange light.

The blood and wound on his neck swiftly began to heal, but the angry look in his eyes remained as he loomed over the draconequues.

"Well, that's what I was trying to tell you before you just went and brought the whole tower up here. That and-" Discord began, only for Tirek to cut him off by literally grabbing and forcing his muzzle shut to silence him.

"I've had enough of your incompetency. I believe it's time for this partnership to end. You helped me grow strong, but now you are of no more use to me." Tirek announced, before opening his mouth.

Discord's eyes widened in shock as his magic was syphoned from him, blue arcs of chaotic magical energy spilling from his eyes. It took much longer than any other creature Tirek syphoned magic from, but soon enough, Discord's magic was completely gone, taken by the centaur titan before him. With his new chaotic magic acquired, Tirek once more grew in size, his horns taking a devilish curve as he neared double Anon's height. Once he was finished, Tirek threw Discord aside, as if he was simply not interested in him anymore.

Discord weakly struggled to his knees, one hand holding the medallion Tirek gifted him not even an hour ago, "B-but... you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty. A gift from someone close to you." He pleaded.

"My brother who betrayed me. It is as worthless as he is." Tirek coldly replied, before turning away from the former god of chaos and walking toward the tower.

"Surely you saw this coming." Chrysalis muttered, looking over to Discord with a frown.

"I didn't... I truly didn't." Discord admitted, looking down at his medallion in shame.

Anon observed the interaction for a moment before his attention was pulled to Tirek as the centaur approached the door of the tower. Each step made the floor vibrate and shook the walls, making it that much harder for him to get to his feet.

Tirek soon arrived at his destination, the now comparatively infant sized doorway barely stood up to his waistline, and with a chuckle, he cracked his knuckles.

"Knock knock, princesses."

Tirek cocked his arms back before thrusting forward, punching two massive holes in the tower just above the door. As he pulled back, he grabbed the material inside, ripping the entire side of the tower apart and exposing the room the Princesses were hiding in. The sound of stone falling on marble and cracking the floor even more, deafened all of the occupants as the dust slowly cleared.

Only when the stones stopped falling and the dust settled, did a distinct sound echo out from that tower that made Anon's blood run cold. Two infant voices, crying as all newborn foals do, reached his ears. Anon stared in shock, at the sight of his wives and children as they were stared down by Tirek. Anon found strength suddenly filling his veins as he looked at his wives, their babies swaddles and held in there forelegs as they both looked up at Tirek, defiance in their eyes. Both Raven and Javelin glared at the imposing centaur, their horns both alight with their magic. Cadence and Twilight stood beside them, the ladder with her wings flared and ready for a fight as they waited for the inevitable.

What none of the expected, however, was for Anon to push himself to his feet and sprint forward. He grabbed one of Echo's hoof blades as he ran, his legs and hands moving faster than his brain could even process. The only thing he knew was that his family was in danger, and they needed him. He covered the distance between him and Tirek in a split second, moving faster than he'd ever moved before. Tirek turned his head toward the sound of Anon's footsteps behind him but the human was too quick, and before he could stop him, Anon was already on him.

Anon used the natural structure of Tirek's hindleg as a stepping stool to springboard his way up to the centaur's back, where he lunged forward, Echo's hoofblade in both hands. He thrust the blade into Tirek's neck as hard as his strength would allow, the act plunging the blade deep into the titan's neck, but not quite deep enough. Tirek wailed in pain as he ducked his head away and reached back to grab Anon. He stumbled away from the tower, both hands reaching over his shoulders to try to pry Anon off of him.

Anon pulled the blade out before plunging it back into Tirek's neck again and again. Unfortunately, Tirek managed to grab Anon's arm and threw the human off of him. Anon lost his grip on the blade as he sailed through the air, hitting the ground hard as he skidded away from Tirek, landing between the centaur and the tower.

"Anon!" Chrysalis cried in alarm.

Whether it was one voice or several calling out to him, Anon wasn't sure, but all he did know was that Tirek turned to face him, a furious scowl on his face as he used his magic to heal his wounds once more.

"So, you want to die first, is that right?" Tirek muttered, through grit teeth.

Anon ignored the monstrosity that was Tirek and looked over his shoulder to see his wives. Their eyes were wide with shock and fear, but the squirming bundles in their forelegs was all he needed to stand tall. As Tirek approached, him, he clenched his fists and prepared for the worst.

"Anon!" He heard the combined voices of all the ones who loved him call out to him.

"All of you, get out of here. I'll keep him busy." Anon replied, simply.

Before anyone could question the absurdity of Anon's order, Tirek charged toward him, his fist clenched and raised to strike. Anon followed suite, sprinting toward the titan as he cocked his arm back and prepared to throw the hardest punch he could muster. Time slowed to a crawl as the two fists soared through the air. Tirek's hand dwarfed Anon's, making the entire effort seem that much more futile. However, when they collided, Anon did not simple evaporate.

The force of their energy impacting sent a shockwave through the throneroom, shaking the walls and shattering all the remaining glass that wasn't already destroyed. Tirek found himself shocked at the fact that Anon was not only still standing, but actually managing to hold his ground against his assault. However, after a quick glance, he saw the reason.

The ring on Anon's finger glowed white hot as a shield of energy protected his hand from Tirek's might. Arcs of green energy shot down his arm and covered the right side of his chest like pulsing veins. Anon's shirt was torn asunder from the force of the energy being imparted on him, the entire right side of the fabric being reduced to nothing more than thin strips of cloth. Even so, Anon grit his teeth so hard that he nearly cracked one of his molars. Every muscle in his body fought to simply stay in place and not let Tirek's might blow him away. It felt like a freight train was slamming into him at terminal velocity, and his arm was the only thing keeping it at bay.

All around Anon, the ponies watched in awe, their eyes wide at the sight before them. The only thing that shocked them more, was when Anon spoke.

"Get... out of... here." He grunted, through grit teeth.

"Nonny!" Luna cried.

"We aren't leaving you!" Celestia shouted.

"Twilight! Jav!" Anon suddenly shouted, earning the full attention of the fear riddled purple alicorn.

Anon groaned as the arcane lines of energy seared into his flesh, burning where they'd once merely tingled before. The light of the emerald on his ring glowed brighter and brighter as it absorbed the cataclysmic amount of magical might pouring into it from Tirek's fist. All the same, Anon held his ground, the forcefield of white light between his and Tirek's fists being the only thing keeping him from total annihilation.

"Get... my... family... out of here..." Anon ordered, glancing over his shoulder to the small lavender alicorn and his best friend.

In that moment, the look in Anon's eyes conveyed everything she needed to know, and with a dutiful nod, Twilight turned on her hooves and galloped back to the rest of her fellow princesses, Javelin hot on her tail. Meanwhile, Tirek followed her eyes, his anger and power seeming to only grow as his end goal ran away from him. The only obstacle in his way was the willpower of a single man, and yet it was enough to hold him back for a time.

"Twilight, no!" Celestia screamed, tears clawing free from her eyes as her smaller counterpart levitated her and her foal into the air.

"We can't leave our husband! That ring won't hold! Save him!" Luna exclaimed, in much the same state as her sister.

"Twilight, we can't leave him!" Cadence objected as well, but even she was swept up in Twilight's magical grasp as the lavender princess gathered all of her fellow alicorns in her grasp.

"We have to go! Now!" Javelin responded, helping to corral the princesses and his fiancé.

"I... won't... let... him... past... me..." Anon grunted, through grit teeth, gaining the attention of everyone behind him, "So... go! Run! Get... out of here!" He shouted, with all the strength he had left.

Unfortunately, the ring could only hold out against the magical might of almost all of Equestria for so long, and as the seconds slowly ticked by, cracks formed in the emerald centerpiece. The leylines of arcane energy glowed white hot all over the ring, and the wayward lines of energy sprawling down Anon's arm, chest, and torso, similarly turned white hot as they were overloaded with magical power. Through it all, Anon held his ground, his resolve as unbreakable as the strongest of diamonds. Unfortunately, even that simply was not enough against Tirek.

With a horrible *crack*, the emerald shattered, and with it, the energy shield buffering Tirek's immense power from Anon. Within a microsecond, the power balance shifted massively in the centaur's favor, and Anon's mere mortal strength was absolutely no match for him. Tirek's fist collided with Anon's hard enough to shatter bone on impact and knocked the human away from him as his arm crumpled under the immense force.

Tirek's fist slammed into the ground with enough force to punch right through the marble and send an explosion of dust and debris flying in all directions, obscuring the views of everyone around him. The impact sent Anon flying back and away from the tower, and with a *crash*, he slammed into a set of ornate armor that was set up along the wall.

Chrysalis watched from her position in her bubble, her hearts breaking at the sight of Anon's body as he disappeared behind a cloud of dust. Tears spilled from her eyes as her lips trembled. She tried, desperately, to not believe what her eyes witnessed, but the image of Anon's mangled, bloodied body sent sailing through the air from the concussive force of Tirek's punch, simply replayed in her mind over and over again.

She was not alone, as the voices of Luna and Celestia rang out louder than even the sound of the impact, their screams filled with bloodcurdling anguish and fear. The two alicorns fought desperately to free themselves from their younger counterpart's magical hold, but it was no use. Even from her bubble, Chrysalis could see that their manes and tails no longer waved in an invisible breeze, and there was a clear tiredness in their eyes, even through their anguish.

Tears streamed down their cheeks as they fought, cried, and screamed for their husband, but as the dust settled, Tirek turned to face them. He casually inspected his hand as if he'd sustained a minor scratch during the fight and idly brushed it off before he stepped forward. Every hooffall sent a spike of dread through Chrysalis's hearts as she watched on, powerless to do anything to help or stop the centaur.

Twilight appeared to be struggling to control her magic as she desperately tried to control the two flailing alicorns, Cadence, and the two newborn foals in her magic as well as prepare a teleportation spell for all of them. Tirek happily took the available time to casually approach, them, cracking his knuckles as he smirked. At the sight of his smirking face, Luna's despair and anguish quickly turned to fury, and she screamed as she fought against Twilight's magic to attempt to beat Tirek to death with her own hooves.

Through is all, Chrysalis just watched, tears freely streaking down her cheeks and dripping onto the bottom of the bubble she was trapped in. She stared after the titan as he walked closer and closer, his victory all but assured. However, that visage was shattered as a voice cried out from behind him.

"Hey, Asshole!" The voice shouted.

A stone suddenly sailed through the air and slammed into the back of Tirek's head, making him wince. Everypony in the room went silent as they followed the stone's trajectory to see where it came from. Tirek turned around, a look of utter disbelief on his face as he saw the culprit.

After just a moment of searching, all eyes fell on the badly beaten form of Anon, as he struggled to stay on his feet. His right arm was broken and mangled beyond recognition. Blood dripped from his thoroughly crushed hand and the many new lacerations on his arm, all the way up to his shoulder. His entire upper chest and arm were black and blue, and his right eyes was swollen shut, but he stood tall all the same. With a defiant glint in his one open eye, Anon spit out a wad of blood and clenched his left fist.

"I didn't hear no bell..."

Anon is a badass. Change my mind.

Hope you guys liked that one. It was a LOT of fun to write and things will only get more intense from here. I hope you are as excited for it as I am.