superspyro3000

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 6- The School of Friendship The next three days in Ponyville came and went, and to the surprise of many of the residents, there were no attacks, no sudden magical outbursts, nothing to report in any way. DualCore stayed in his new home, despite having none of his belongings. He contemplated escaping to pack up his Everfree Forest hut, but he was not risking it. He was not allowed to leave Ponyville, so he sat in his home, wasting away in his bed. His neighbors were okay with this. The house was rooted far enough away from them that you’d have to go out of your way to visit, and the Two Horned Pony wouldn’t even leave for food or drinks. Several residents whose homes were lifted by the brambles were hoping he starved to death before the school had its first day. Others were keeping their young fillies away from the house, as though it was haunted by ghosts. DualCore had no idea where to begin. His first day was the next morning, and he was totally lost. Late into the night, DualCore’s stomach was howling. Losing his powers also meant losing his ability to grow his own food. In the Everfree Forest, he had a way of growing his own fruits from above his hut. He used to live underground, but this allowed him to hide from the various predators. While he could use his powers to keep the wildlife at bay, he had to stay hidden in case anyone from Artax County found him. Now, here he lay- trapped in a new town, going to a new school, and completely unsure what would happen from here. One thing was certain- He needed to eat something, or he would collapse on his first day. Several loud pops could be heard from downstairs moments after DualCore closed his eyes. At first he turned on his bed, ignoring the sounds. He stared at the ceiling as the moonlight hit the stained glass hypnotically. His gaze was interrupted by another loud pop. He shot up from his bed so hard a spring came loose. He was face to face with a letter floating in front of him. DualCore clutched his chest with his hoof, and read the letter… “Dear DualCore, I apologize for interrupting you this late, but it’s come to my attention you have not eaten since we last met. I have decided to help you out. You have a big day ahead of you, and a long journey beyond that. Please don’t neglect your health. You will find that there are shops and restaurants across Ponyville. They will help you out too. Sincerely, Princess Celestia” DualCore was confused, but he hopped from his bed and rushed downstairs. Sure enough, there was a variety of fruits, flowers, and hay, all assembled at his table. His jaw dropped at the sight. He could barely process what he was looking at before he devoured several fat apples. There was no taste like it. DualCore was able to grow apples before, but they were always sour and small. These apples, on the other hand, were sweet, and roughly three times the size. He chowed down on a few of the dandelions, and he looked over at the letter Celestia sent him. The look of shock faded, and what remained was a faint smile. By the next morning, ponies and non-ponies alike were getting ready, heading over to Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship. The sun had barely tipped above the town, the night sky was still fresh, and Ponyville was waking up, ready to begin the day… That is, everyone except for DualCore. He snored ferociously, tossing in his bed. He was covered from head to hoof in his thin blanket, his curtains blocking out the windows. The light hitting the stained glass made the room more vibrant, but it could not wake DualCore up. Nothing could prepare him for the day ahead, but for the time being, he was sound asleep, lost in his latest dream. Across the outskirts, there was a pony approaching the house. She stomped in frustration. “They can’t do this!” She muttered to herself. “I never had any luck pulling straws! They set me up!” The sun rose higher still, and on the steps of DualCore’s house was Rarity. She had on her best dress for her first day of teaching, and her first impression of this house was one of sheer horror. The door had a broken window. The outer walls were cracked, and the roof had multiple blemishes. It had not been repaired from its entanglement in the brambles. “How could he live like this??” She asked herself in astonishment. She thought it could not get any worse until she peered inside. The walls were coated in thick dust. There were hoof prints that revealed the floors were coated too! Rarity let out a terrible shriek, and before she knew it, she was using her magic to pave a clear path to the stairs. Rarity may have been able to dust off the path to DualCore’s room, but having to jump the gap on the second story further upset her. DualCore’s bedroom, in Rarity’s eyes, was a shell of its former self. The dust that coated the first story was here too. This house was untouched for decades, and yet, the first pony to move in, in her mind, was not bothered to clean it up? This was the final straw. “Alright! It’s time to wake up!” Shouted Rarity as she threw the curtains aside. The morning sky shined right at DualCore’s bed, but he was still asleep. Rarity huffed. “Wake up!!!” She bellowed. DualCore screwed his face, and began to open his eyes. Rarity eyed him like an angry hawk as he came to his senses, and he yelled sharply and flew back, falling off his bed with a crash, tangled in the moth eaten holes in his blanket. “What are you doing here?! What do you want?!” He asked with a short breath, panting as he tried to get on his hooves. “Ugh, the nerve of you…” She scoffed angrily. The realization on her face devolved into a scowl of pure disgust. “How… do you expect to come to school… looking like THIS?!” Rarity was so angry she was red in the face, whether from her blood pressure or from embarrassment, DualCore did not know, but before he could say anything she ranted on… “I cannot believe you! You had three days to prepare yourself for your first day in this new school, and what do I come to? A disgusting house you never cleaned and you look like you have not bathed in Luna knows how long! Oh, look how matted your fur is! Your hair is so coarse it could shatter my combs! You are absolutely FILTHY!” Rarity raved and rambled, and at the rate she was talking, it would be nightfall by the time she was done. DualCore’s mouth hung open, unable to let a word in. He tried to prepare his horns, but once again, his magic failed to work. He had gotten used to conjuring his way out of problems before, but now he was stuck. “When was the last time you ever took a bath?!” Rarity finished. She stood lividly, waiting for a response as DualCore tried to say something. “7 years… But seriously, have you ever tried-,” DualCore suddenly stopped as Rarity exploded into a conniption fit. “7 YEARS?!?” she cried with more disgust than before. “I will not have this!! You are getting a bath, and you will not come to this school until you do! I will tell Princess Celestia I am BUCKING APPLES before I teach such a foul colt such as you!!!!” Rarity yanked DualCore in the air with her magic. The blanket flew off of him as he flailed helplessly. “Heeey!!! What is this?!?” DualCore freaked out as Rarity dragged her out of the bedroom. In her haste, she unfortunately forgot to mind the gap, and both of them fell straight down to the hallway. The both of them landed on their faces, sore with pain as DualCore got back up. “So this is your game, huh? You’re trying to snuff me out?!” DualCore flared. He was so flustered by Rarity’s gaul that his voice cracked. “Have you ever tried to bathe in the Everfree Forest?! No magic could filter the muck from those lakes!” Maybe this point could have come across, but Rarity shot upright, squealing in despair. She was now covered in the same thick dust that coated the floors. The despair quickly turned to anger again, and DualCore went quiet. “I just washed too!! Ooh, you are going to pay for this!!” Rarity whipped out her magic, carrying DualCore again. He protested as hard as he could, but nothing could be done. Rarity turned the faucets on his bathtub, and the water shot out ice cold. It was not long before it became hot, but Rarity, nearing her breaking point, dropped DualCore in the water, splashing the whole bathroom. DualCore coughed and sputtered, yelling incoherently as Rarity lobbed a bar of soap at his face. “You will not leave this house until you are SPOTLESS! I am not going anywhere until you are done, AND YOU BETTER BE DONE QUICKLY!! I have to wash off too!” Rarity seethed as the dust on her body shook with her. She sat outside in the hallway, talking angrily to herself, and DualCore, now submerged in the water, sat there without a word left. Never before had he met anypony as dangerous to cross as her. He conceded, sitting in the tub all hot in the face, but he had no idea what to do with the soap. Artax County had baths, but they did not use anything like this. He sat in the water, staring at this bar of soap. Rarity, who was losing her patience, tried to calm down. “It’ll be okay, Rarity…” She mumbled. “You don’t want to age a whole month in one morning…” She sat outside the bathroom, but was stirred by DualCore. “...Could you help me out?” He muttered loudly. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this…” Rarity stormed in, but it was with a slightly softer tone that she asked, “What do you mean you don’t know how soap works…? Did you ever learn how to take a bath?” DualCore shook his head. “...I lived in the Everfree Forest for 7 years, and my hometown didn’t treat baths this way.” Rarity was exasperated, but she rolled her eyes. “You are such a cave-pony…” She picked up the soap with her magic, and began scrubbing DualCore violently. She ignored his yelps of pain and kept telling him to hold still as she was almost skinning him with the soap. Like a potato peeler, the layers of dirt were coming off, turning the water a dark, murky brown. Rarity scrubbed down every single nook and cranny, and while DualCore was feeling waves of pain from how hard she was scrubbing, by the time they were finished, she could see the difference. His fur was now a much brighter shade of red than before, and the soap made him shine in the light. Rarity eyed DualCore over, and reluctantly sighed. “Fine, that will do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to wash up again!” She closed the door in a hurry as she set up her own bath. Even with his magic, this was an energy he dared not to challenge. As much as she made him furious, All he could think of was she may have had a point. He looked over at the hallway mirror, and was stunned. He looked far more bright than before, but he still needed to brush his hair. After Rarity finished with her bath, she came out with a brush and finished off her hair. “Could I borrow your brush?” Asked DualCore calmly. He was still annoyed at Rarity’s nerve, but with a look that suggested she was buying a new brush afterwards, she gave it to him. The trip to the school was deceptively long, thought DualCore. They walked from his house all the way to the mountains, where this school was built. Rarity was scouting far ahead, not wanting to say a word as DualCore timidly walked along. They were taking a straight path, as though Rarity wanted this to end as soon as possible. DualCore may have been much cleaner than before, but the more he thought it over, the more he thought how much he realized he was not used to living in a place like this, and even though he wanted to explain this, Rarity ignored him. He kept to himself for half of the walk, until finally the two arrived at the School of Friendship. DualCore expected a schoolhouse like the one in his old home town with a single classroom, but what he stared up at looked nothing at all like a school to him. “Are you sure this is the right place? This looks a little too nice to be a school… right?” DualCore asked nervously, looking around. The school did look nice. Better than nice. It was gorgeous! The walkway and steps were made of stone, and the school itself was surrounded by a thin pool of water, flowing onwards by the waterfalls that traveled around it. The entrance was revealed by splitting the center waterfall to each side. “Come on, you can sightsee after your classes…” Rarity huffed. After what happened, she did not want to look at DualCore again, but she continued. “You may wait in the entrance hall until further instructions… and don’t ever speak of what happened this morning!” She said quickly, walking into the school as she tried to catch up to her friends. DualCore followed, still unsure where his day was going to take him… The entrance hall was bustling with ponies, but also many other creatures. For a moment, DualCore was overwhelmed. Not even his hometown was this populated. He was not sure how to handle this first day, but after the fiasco he and Rarity were put through, he wanted to keep a low profile. The only thing that was not so bad was because there were so many ponies and non-ponies here, he was not the center of attention yet. Sure, there were some from Ponyville who stared at him, but it seemed that he did not have as big of a reputation here as he feared. However, he caught the attention of Twilight and her friends. Rainbow Dash still had another few days in her body cast, but she was able to remove the cast surrounding her head, allowing her to speak again. Fluttershy was reciting how she was going to introduce her class, but was cut off by the sight of DualCore. She had a plan in motion to handle him, and hardened. Trying to hide her distress, she looked back at her animal friends. Twilight Sparkle could not help but notice that DualCore looked brighter than before. The reason was apparent when Rarity whispered to her, “You owe me for the horrors I endured getting him here!” She did not have time to ask what happened yet, for she was supposed to greet the new students. Putting what Rarity told her to the back of her mind, she stepped up and brought everyone to attention. “Welcome to the School of Friendship. I am your head mare, Twilight Sparkle. Please follow guidance counselor Starlight to sign in and get your class assignments, and then we can show you to your living quarters.” She announced cordially to the students. DualCore looked over at Starlight Glimmer, who was accompanied by Spike. “Living quarters? I already have a house…” He thought to himself, but he was already halfway in the line when he bumped into another pony by accident. “Agh, sorry about that.” He said hurriedly. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m Sandbar. Aren’t you the pony who did that to Rainbow Dash?” He alluded to Rainbow Dash’s injuries, which were so severe she had to roll around in a wheelchair. Several of the ponies were signing her body cast, one was drawing her cutie mark on the flank. DualCore flushed. “Y-yeah, I did that.” He said quietly. Sandbar took a step back, and he looked over at the line to Starlight Glimmer. “You will not be a pony anyone will want to mess with, that’s for sure…” He said back with a weak laugh. DualCore’s stomach dropped. Starlight Glimmer was handing class assignments from pony to non-pony, and finally, it was DualCore’s turn. “Hello there, I was expecting you. Twilight Sparkle wanted me to give you this in addition to your usual assignments.” Starlight Glimmer was smiling at him, nearly unphased by DualCore, which took him aback. “Thanks… but I have no idea where to start from here, so do I start at signing in, or with living quarters?” Starlight laughed, but she caught her breath before replying, “You already have your living quarters arranged. However, since you are new to living in Ponyville, Princess Celestia and Twilight are making accommodations to make your time here easier.” “Oh, so I don’t have to worry about it?” Asked DualCore with a warmer tone. “Not as far as I know. Just enjoy your first day here!” Starlight moved on to the next pony in line as DualCore picked up his pamphlet from Spike, who upon looking at DualCore for the first time, handed his pamphlet and his additional assignments more hastily. “You know… you’re the second pony in Equestrian history to have 2 horns.” He said matter of factly, trying to be friendly. DualCore raised his eyebrow. “And who was the first?” He asked curiously. “Oh, just some pony Twilight read about…” Replied Spike, shrinking down a bit. DualCore skimmed through the class assignments, as Twilight Sparkle announced once more to the students and their parents, “Thank you all so much for supporting the grand opening of our school! I hope you’ll join us for Friends and Family day to see the amazing progress your students are making.” Friends and Family day? What was that, DualCore thought? His family was still in Artax County, he doubted his parents would want to see him again, and he had no friends either. Twilight Sparkle was watching DualCore carefully, and she could tell he was not grasping everything so quickly. He stood alone amidst the groups of ponies and non-ponies, as though he felt out of place. She turned to her friends for a short meeting before classes began. “So far, he has not caused any trouble… but keep your guards up just in case. Who is teaching his first class?” Twilight’s friends looked at each other, and Rarity shook her head. “Of course it has to be me… It was not enough that I had to baby him this morning!” Twilight felt sorry for asking, but the plan was laid out. Both for DualCore and the new school. “Everything will go according to plan.” Twilight insisted, taking out her massive EEA book. “As long as DualCore causes as little trouble as possible, we should be okay.” Unbeknownst of Twilight, he heard them. He knew from the start that he would have to face the same ponies he fought, but it was still awkward for him to imagine having to be taught by them as their student. In Artax, he remembered his teacher being like a gargoyle. Some of his classmates would spread jokes alluding to how old she was, such as one freckly earth pony who told his peers the Schoolhouse teacher settled there when Artax County was founded. These teachers had to be more or less around his own age. His time to think was cut short by the first morning bells. He followed the herd of ponies to the hallways. From there, he solemnly took his leave for his first class. (No picture yet, but I will update this chapter's illustration later in the week)

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 5- DualCore’s New Home The following evening, Twilight Sparkle and her friends met up in the throne room of the Castle of Friendship. The trial for the Two Horned Pony did not go as anyone planned, but Twilight knew that if Princess Celestia gave anypony a chance, then she had to have seen something no one else could. “Alright… So Princess Celestia has given us a new task. We have to teach this double horned pony what friendship is all about…” Said Twilight uncomfortably. “She believes that we can do it, but we need a plan. After what he’s done, I don’t know what could happen next.” She sat at her chair and used her magic to create a makeshift model of the school of friendship. Twilight Sparkle was so excited about having a school of her own. She was able to create a learning environment of her own for others to follow, but with the prospects of having to teach a pony like DualCore, her biggest dream was mixed in with a nightmare. She had not gotten over the big confrontation, but Fluttershy was especially shaken. She was staring out the window, watching a group of unicorns lifting an old house from the brambles. Her friends never saw her this upset before. Rainbow Dash muffled through her cast. Nobody understood what she was saying, but it sounded along the lines of “Count me out!” Rarity also spoke out, “How does Celestia think we can just reform him? We barely know who he is!” Applejack butted in too, “And he caused enough trouble already. How much would he take if we gave him an inch?” Pinkie Pie spoke next, “True, but what if deep down, he is actually not that bad? You know, maybe he is just in a shell, and we get to help crack him out of it?” “Pinkie Pie, we are talking about THE two horned pony! This pony is rumored to bring about the end of all friendship! And his actions don’t help! I just have to know… What does Celestia see in him?” Twilight sat with her hooves to her head, fishing for anything that could explain what was going on. Everyone stared at her. “Where did you learn about that…?” Asked Rarity with a shaky voice. Twilight, who was wrapped up in her thoughts, looked up. “About what?” She asked. “About this pony being the ‘end of all friendship’.” Said Rarity more clearly. Twilight flushed. She never told her friends about the passage on two horned ponies, and this knowledge only caused more of a panic. “So is Princess Celestia really going crazy?” Asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash muffled through her cast in agreement. Twilight, for a brief moment, became defensive. “Don’t say that! Princess Celestia has always known what she was doing…” Twilight became more distant saying this. There was a tiny pocket of doubt that grew in the pit of her stomach. She knew Princess Celestia had a reason to give him a chance, but was this really the right choice? “Alright then… Say this pony was not as bad as we thought…” said Applejack, getting Twilight’s attention. “If there was anyone who could help him learn what friendship is all about, who else could do it?” Rainbow Dash muffled again in disapproval, but Rarity interrupted. “I don’t think anyone would want to. After what he did, nobody would want to go near him.” “Yeah, and we may be the only ones to do it! If we have to, why not try our best?” Pinkie Pie tried to put a hoof around Twilight, but her neck brace got in the way, and she winced. Twilight was thinking it over, and it was not like this was never done before. Pinkie Pie thought the same thing. “Look at Discord. He was our enemy once, and then he was given a chance, and now he’s our friend!!” Twilight had to admit she had a point. “And Starlight Glimmer. She is our friend too, and she used to be our enemy!” This was also true, as Twilight could remember the time she tried to change Equestria’s timelines. Reluctantly, Applejack conceded. “Maybe we could try it out. After all, we are teachers now.” The thought of teaching DualCore still made her shutter, but the evidence was overwhelmingly on Pinkie Pie’s side. She was the only one willing to try it out, but this was not new. Pinkie Pie was always willing to make new friends, even if they’ve caused trouble before. Twilight sighed heavily. “Okay, okay… Here is the plan. We need to understand who he is, and what we can do for him. If we have to teach him, we need to start gathering what information we can get. It means we will have to spend time with him outside of classes, but if Princess Celestia has faith in him, then perhaps we can help him.” The plan was laid out, and Twilight and her friends came to an agreement… Everyone except Fluttershy. She continued to stare out at the old house. Twilight left her chair and joined her. “Fluttershy… are you alright?” She asked, trying not to sound too worried. “...I’m fine,” Said Fluttershy flatly. “I know you don’t want to do this, but maybe we are the right ponies for this task… We just have to try.” Nothing could change Fluttershy’s mind, but outside of leaving, there was nothing she could do. Without stirring from her spot, her ears drooped. “I’ll do it…” This was enough for Twilight to step away. “I’m not excited for this either, Fluttershy… But we can do this. I believe in you.” Twilight then looked over to all her friends. “I have faith in all of you! We can do this! This is our school! DualCore is just our newest student, and we will do what we can! Besides, this is an opportunity for us to learn about him. This may be the second pony in Equestrian history to have two horns! This is our chance to learn how he came to be, what he can do, and if he reforms, he won’t be any more trouble for us!” While Twilight Sparkle fought to find the silver lining in this situation, DualCore was left more confused than ever. He was sitting in Princess Celestia’s throne room, surrounded by her royal guards. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watched over him with sharp gazes. Luna in particular was showing much more interest with her stare, which made DualCore a little uncomfortable, but the silence was broken by Princess Celestia. “DualCore, I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Luna.” DualCore’s urge to say “Nice to meet you” was quickly burned away by the intimidating aura cast by the surrounding guards. “You are being moved to Ponyville tonight. There is a house that is available for you. It was recovered from your bramble attack, but I trust that you will refurbish it as you please.” Celestia’s unblinking glare also made DualCore uneasy, but he could not hold this back any longer. “Why are you doing this?” He asked timidly. “Because I know more about you than you think. And from my understanding, you have no friends. Banishing you or turning you to stone would do nothing but satiate an urge to punish. You have one chance to turn your life around. You will not be allowed to leave Ponyville, and you will be required to pass your courses in the School of Friendship.” “Okay… but what if they all just reject me? What if my teachers and those other students…” He trailed off. Thinking about this hurt, and trying to keep his composure, he hardened up before he could show vulnerability. Princess Luna looked to him with a touch more sympathy. “Thou doth naught to fear, young Twonicorn.” Said Luna with a voice more gentle than she is used to. “Ponies who hast done wrong are often given a chance to set things right here. Thou deserve a sporting chance.” Celestia nodded, her sharp look fading. “Yes, you will be able to redeem yourself, and I hope you use this chance to see what friendship is all about.” DualCore gaped at the two sisters with disbelief, but he chose not to argue. “Well, if I have to… I just don’t know if I will be able to… you know… make friends.” He admitted. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna smiled. “Did you know that my sister once had the same fear?” Asked Celestia. He could not remember who told him, but he could faintly remember the castle he raided. “So a battle did take place in that castle…” Celestia nodded. “Yes, and Princess Luna, who took the name Nightmare Moon, caused plenty of trouble for Ponyville too. You aren’t as different as you look. You can prove that by giving us a chance to help you. Of course, you can refuse, and I will go forward with banishing you, and you can live out your days in isolation.” DualCore weighed in the two options. It would be nice to get this over with and go back to living alone, but what if he could make a friend here? “What makes Ponyville different from Artax?” He asked suddenly. This question hung around Celestia’s mind for a short while, but she smiled. “Ponyville is far more diverse than Artax County. There are unicorns, Pegasus Ponies, earth ponies, and alicorns alike. Additionally, non-ponies are allowed to enroll in the School of Friendship too. You’ll be among dragons, yaks, changelings, and far more breeds.” After what felt like minutes, DualCore made up his mind. “Alright. I’ll go to this school.” It was settled. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna smiled. “Wonderful. Your first day of school starts in 3 days. This will give you a chance to make yourself at home.” The two sisters bowed DualCore from their throne as Luna called out, “I wish thou luck, young Twonicorn!” It was now midnight, and DualCore had been escorted by Celestia’s guards from Canterlot castle to Ponyville. The forest of briars that split the town in half was still standing tall over the village. The bridge between the town and the Everfree Forest was in shambles, and the houses in its path were still trapped above, almost too totaled to be salvaged. He could see that the wall of thorns went so far, it reached the castle he had just left. The pit of his stomach churned. A whole walkway was ravaged by the thorns, and a group of ponies were tearing it down as he walked past. He could not linger for long, for the royal guards had him chained. “KEEP MOVING!” barked one of the guards. Aside from the wall of brambles, Ponyville was much larger than Artax County, or at least from what he remembered. Many of these homes had multiple stories, and they had the same pink color scheme across each home. The guards eventually stopped at an old rickety shack far on the other side of the town. “Here’s your new home…” Said the guard holding DualCore’s chains. It looked like it was carried to another land by a twister. It turned out this house was the only one that was salvaged from the bramble forest. It had to be carried down by a group of unicorns, and then it was rooted back to the ground. DualCore said nothing, as he stared at this new home. It was bigger than his hut in the Everfree Forest, and it was also bigger than his childhood home in Artax. It had two stories, and a domed roof with stained glass. The house looked ancient, older than most of the houses in the distance. Without another word, the guards took their leave. DualCore realized something crucial that did not come to him earlier. What about his belongings? He ran to the guards as they flew off. “WAIT! WHAT ABOUT MY STUFF?” He yelled, but all this accomplished was making the neighbors far off look out their windows, wondering who was yelling so late. DualCore’s head hung low as he approached his new home. The stairway creaked loudly as he made each step, and he opened the door. The house had no living room. It had a kitchen combined with a dining room, a single hallway leading to the house’s only bathroom, and the second story. The floor of the second story was missing. Pieces of the floor had fallen to the hallway of the first story. This was obviously a problem, because the only bedroom in the house was on the other side of the second story. He climbed the stairs, which also made loud creaks with each step, and with a solid jump, he made it to his bedroom. The only good thing about this room was the stained glass from above made the room glow a beautiful blue color. Other than that, the room was empty, with the only piece of furniture being an old bed with its springs loose on one side, and a large paperweight on one of the legs. The closet held a pair of thin sheets and a pillow, but nothing else. DualCore was immediately regretting his choice of staying. How was he supposed to live here without his personal belongings? He did not have any of his books or his supplies, his room was mostly empty, and he assumed the cupboard in the kitchen was probably empty too. He was starting over from the absolute bottom. Not a coin to his name or two to rub together. With nowhere else to go, he slumped to his bed, and he stared out at the window. The curtains were open, and he could see more of his neighborhood in the distance. All of his deepest anxieties, his fear of being hated by everyone, his fear of possibly being bullied, and his powers no longer working, all ate at him until he couldn’t lie down. For as long as DualCore could remember, he used to use his magic as a way to keep the threats of the Everfree Forest away from him. Dating further, he could remember his last day in Artax County, but he still struggled to recollect his memories. This brain fog was as concerning as his new lack of powers, but without his magic, he had no way of protecting himself. His brain continued to paint countless worst case scenarios throughout the night. How he went to sleep, he did not know, but eventually he fell into an uneasy sleep. Far off into the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle was also stirring in her bed. Having a plan did not stop her from having anxiety over having DualCore as her newest student. She thought about the injuries her friends sustained. She thought about Fluttershy, and she thought about those last moments before DualCore could finish her off. All that reassured her was Princess Celestia was there for her, and if anything could go wrong, she was prepared. Twilight fluffed her pillow for the fourth time, turning her head on the coldest side and wrapped up in her blanket. “Princess Celestia believes in me,” she said to herself. “I can do this… I can teach him.” She kept saying this to herself, until she, too, drifted off.

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 4- The Trial Twelve hours passed since the battle in the Everfree Forest, and Princess Celestia was still taking in the damages. Several square acres of the forest was uprooted altogether, a twenty foot tall and nearly hundred mile wall of sharp brambles split Ponyville in two, and Celestia’s star pupil and her friends nearly died trying to stop the pony that caused it all. She sat in her throne room, contemplating all that had taken place. The culprit was still sprawled out unconscious, but now a solid pink barrier was conjured around him. Celestia’s niece, Princess Cadence, volunteered to restrain the Two Horned Pony. The throne room was filled with princesses from all across Equestria, royal guards, Celestia herself and her sister Luna, and lastly, Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Twilight was bandaged up in multiple places on her body, but her injuries were nothing to the ones sustained by her friends. Rarity and Applejack had broken legs and were wearing casts, Pinkie Pie had on a neck brace, and Rainbow Dash’s entire body was wrapped in a cast. Only her eyes were visible. Fluttershy, who was the only one that didn’t get injured in the battle, glared down at the pony. He had not gotten up yet, but deep down, she wanted for him to stay that way. The room may have been full of ponies gathered together, but the banter going on was low, as though many were afraid this pony would retaliate. The Two Horned Pony’s eyes flickered, his ears shook, and slowly, he was groggily regaining consciousness. It did not register to him that he woke up to his own trial, and at first, he was getting the morning crust out of his eyes. As the world around him gradually cleared, he realized he was trapped. He had no idea what to do. He froze in place, peering at face to face. He did not know any of these ponies, and in a state of growing panic, he turned tail. BAM! He collided with the barrier, which was as hard as a solid wall. His panic further expanded as the murmurs from the princesses and the guards continued. He could tell that he was in serious trouble, but he was having the worst migraine of his life. He was trying to remember what he could have done to get himself in this position, but nothing came to him. His brain was pulling blanks at the worst time. He had to escape, but his magic was not working. Was it the barrier, he thought? Regardless, he kept trying to make an escape happen, but all of his efforts failed. The room was silenced at once when Celestia stepped down from her throne. The royal guards bowed, as well as the rest of the princesses, and Twilight Sparkle. While her friends couldn’t bow, they did what they could… that is, except for Fluttershy, who stood with a look of blank fury. The Two Horned Pony could only guess that this was some powerful figure that he had angered, and that she was going to exact some form of divine punishment. He backed away, cornered by the barrier surrounding him. At last, Princess Celestia examined the pony. For someone who caused as much damage as he had, she expected this pony to handle his trial with dignity, but he was near shivering with fright. “What is your name?” commanded Celestia, her voice now void of the warmth and care Twilight was so familiar with. The pony said nothing. He could hear her clearly, but he was too scared to say anything. Celestia barked once more, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” He jumped and quickly blurted out the first thing in his head. “DualCore!” Celestia continued on. “DualCore, have you put together why you are here?” Timidly, he shook his head. The truth was he knew he lost his temper and sent a path of briars to stop some thieves, but the details were not clear in his mind. Princess Celestia analyzed DualCore’s every move, as though her eyes could see through him. “I think you do.” She said coldly to him. “Yesterday, you summoned a bramble wall that stretches all the way from Ponyville to the mountains near my home!” He tried to interject, but Celesia kept going, “And you had the nerve to attack my star student and future princess of all Equestria!” Every word DualCore ever learned was spilled over like a glass of milk in his head. He could not speak, even though he wanted to. He tried to use hoof gestures that went nowhere, and Celestia pushed on, “You even attacked her friends, and you deforested a chunk of the Everfree Forest! Explain yourself!” Frozen in place, he tried to talk, but he was suffocating from the pressure the room was putting on him. “I-I was trying to stop thieves from stealing something of mine!” he said almost defiantly. He couldn’t look Princess Celestia in the eyes. “And you accuse my star student of stealing?” she asked. DualCore nodded, and Twilight Sparkle intervened. “Princess Celestia, the real thieves were the Diamond Dogs.” she said firmly. “When I left you yesterday, they pushed me, carrying this book. Then that bramble wall sprouted and it tangled them!” DualCore could not believe that. “But why would these dogs want my spellbook? They aren’t unicorns! They can’t cast magic!” Said DualCore in a more collected tone. He thought he had a good point. Why would anyone want a spellbook if they could not cast magic themselves? Twilight shook in place, but replied, “Because that book had these jewels encrusted on the cover, back, and spine.” DualCore worked his brain raw to remember the crystals on the book. “Yeah, those are Pyre crystals. They are dug up from near the center of the Earth. They are said to contain magical properties, and they are so rare because they are so hard to harvest.” He did not realize it, but he made an argument against his own case. “Pyre crystals…” Celestia thought to herself, reviewing over DualCore on the spot. “Alright, where did you get this book?” She asked demandingly. He shook in a crumpled heap. “I had it for as long as I could remember... My parents had it on their shelf.” he bluntly replied. “Pyre crystals are most commonly used in tandem with dark magic. Nopony in Equestria has harvested them for hundreds, if not, thousands of years!” Celestia said back to DualCore, her voice booming across the throne room. “This book must be one that contains ancient powers to have to be containing its magic with Pyre crystals! Where is the book now?” DualCore faltered. He had no clue where the book was now! Twilight intervened again. “It vanished after Fluttershy saved me. It did this… this incantation on its own, made his horns glow, and disappeared!” It could not be true, DualCore thought. That spellbook was special to him, and it just vanished? He wanted to rise, he wanted more than anything to break this barrier and go find it, but the overwhelming feeling of the walls closing in on him kept him in place, more defeated than ever. “I will send my guards on a lookout for the book. This could be even more dangerous than we anticipated.” Said Celestia, maintaining an unwavering look at DualCore. “Where do you come from?” Her voice softened up slightly. DualCore, staring at his hooves, solemnly said, “Artax county…” “I beg your pardon?” Asked Celestia. “Artax County!” DualCore blurted looking at Celestia with wide, exasperated eyes. “Artax?” murmured the throne room. This was a strange answer to everyone but Princess Celestia, who was putting the pieces together. Artax County was an Earth pony village that maintained traditional values dating as far back as before Equestria was founded. How could any unicorn, let alone a pony as rare as one with two horns, be raised there? “B-b-because I didn’t know what magic was back then, and I couldn’t cast any magic, my parents convinced the village to let them raise me.” DualCore kept his hooves together and swayed, looking down at them. “I ran away from there long ago, and ever since, I’ve lived in that forest...” He said blankly, trying to choose his words carefully. The throne room’s murmurs grew again. This whole time, DualCore lived right under the snouts of every pony in Ponyville? The room buzzed with even more banter until Princess Celestia gestured everyone to silence. “So all this time, you have lived in the Everfree Forest. You were the one who raided my old home!” For a moment, DualCore did not understand, but then it hit him with the force of one of Applejack’s kicks. Princess Celestia looked very much like one of the ponies depicted in that abandoned castle! “That was YOUR house?!” For the first time since the moment Celestia first approached him, the two locked eyes. “Yes, that was…” Said Celestia stoically. “Was there any reason to take books from my study?” She stared intently. “The books I grabbed had these illustrations… and I wanted to paint the castle from my home, so I wanted to get mental images of the place…” He said, trailing off. He remembered going, but so much of his life suddenly became fuzzy since he woke up. Princess Celestia interviewed DualCore further and further, the whole throne room watching with their breaths held. All of the evidence was clear, but the longer the two interviewed, the more soft Celestia’s voice became. She was more calm, as this allowed her to get more information from DualCore. “Then why run away from home? Do you truly believe living all alone is better than a life where you could make friends?” DualCore turned bitter, looking as though his mouth was glued shut. “Yes!” he said coldly. “I tried to make friends, but ponies are cruel! They laughed at me, and they left me behind!” Hearing this, Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Was it probably because you were a unicorn living in Artax? I understand… The residents there even banned me from visiting.” DualCore looked back again at his hooves locked together. “Yeah… They hate magic. They see it as nothing but witchcraft, and a means to discredit the ponies who ‘built this world…’” He breathed heavily, scared of the possibility that he might never get to go back to his Everfree Forest home. He might be banished, or worse, sent back to Artax! He was so filled with anxiety the already cramped barrier was basically crushing him. “Tell me this,” Celestia ordered. “If you were given the opportunity to learn about friendship, would you take it?” This sounded silly to DualCore. He pondered what Celestia was playing at suggesting this, but he answered with a sigh, “Maybe… But why would you think I deserved such a treat? What makes you or any of these other ponies any different?!” Where this was going, nobody could figure out. Princess Celestia was thinking to herself, wondering what DualCore really wanted, and why he caused so much trouble. She was furious, but there was more to him than just what he did. He had a book that may have contained the very dark magic she sought to destroy. He was not against friendship at all, but was kept away from making friends due to circumstances beyond his control. Maybe, just maybe, he could be helped, but he needed proper guidance and a chance to set things right. Princess Celestia called the other princess to follow her, and they all huddled together at her throne. What they were saying was unintelligible, but what few thoughts DualCore had left were racing in his throbbing head. Twilight Sparkle stood by with her friends. The image of the pony moments before he fell haunted her. To her left, Fluttershy was borderline expressionless now. Was she dissociating? Maybe, but perhaps she was imagining what could be awaiting him after Celestia’s punishment. After ten minutes of hushed arguments between the princesses, Celestia had made up her mind. Many of the Princesses made expressions looking as though they had witnessed a grave injustice. Twilight and Fluttershy were getting closer, ready to finally watch this pony face judgment. “DualCore…” Boomed Celestia. “You have been found guilty of crimes of terrorism, assault, the use of forbidden magic, and the destruction of land and landmarks! As punishment for your charges…” DualCore tensed up more than ever. He felt as if the barrier imploded. He did not want to hear what would happen. He was begging, pleading for whatever was to come to him to do so quickly and painlessly. Celestia exchanged a look so sharp it cut DualCore’s barrier, and he took in a deep breath, “You will be attending Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship.” The next moment, there was chaos! The princesses expressed outrage. The royal guards spoke out in protest. Even Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn who for years had idolized Princess Celestia, was certain she lost her mind! Fluttershy’s disgust and shock was veiled by a hollow, distant look. Princess Cadence was taken aback so much that her magic broke, the barrier vanishing. DualCore had no idea what to do now, but his first instinct was to run. He bolted, bumping right into one of the guards. A reckless fit of panic had come over DualCore as he tried to conjure up some way out, but he was holding his breath for nothing. His magic failed again, and his migraine intensified. Cornered, he backed away from the guard. DualCore quickly found himself surrounded by guards. He was unable to escape the room or the deafening pandemonium going on. Celestia had to use magic to bring order back to the room. “I am sentencing you to community service and you will be attending classes in the School of Friendship!” Said Celestia more clearly. She stood by this choice, to the unpleasant surprise of every pony in the room. Strangely, Princess Luna was the only pony in the room to not protest. She gave DualCore a faint smile. Twilight Sparkle lept out ferociously. “I object to this!” she said defiantly. “What if he tries to retaliate?? Princess Celestia, with all due respect, I saw what he was going to do!! He had no remorse!!” Each remark was like a needle penetrating DualCore’s heart. He was no longer able to speak, but his face gaped stupidly. “Twilight Sparkle, please control yourself… We will discuss this after the room is cleared.” Said Celestia. No amount of protesting or convincing swayed Celestia’s judgment call for DualCore. Her decision was final. Now that the trial was over, the princesses made their leave. They were bewildered that a pony with charges as serious as his was not at the very least exiled to a land away from them. The majority of the princesses came to believe she was crazy. Some talked of banning the pony from traveling to their lands, and others considered appealing this trial. Only Twilight and her friends stayed around. DualCore was escorted away by the royal guards. Twilight Sparkle took off to Princess Celestia, pleading to reconsider his sentence. “This pony tried to kill me, and he almost pulled it off! Look what he did to my friends!!” She gestured to her to look at the injuries her friends had. “How could you possibly think this… this monster has any chance to reform?!” Princess Celestia let Twilight finish, and closing her eyes, she let out a heavy sigh, and said, “Twilight, this pony here is a mystery to all of us. I have the belief that he is much more than what he appeared to be.” She gave a comforting smile to Twilight as she sat back down at her throne. “You will be given an assignment. Your task will be to help reform him.” “WHAT?” shouted Twilight and her friends together. “You heard me right.” Said Celestia. “You will all be tasked with teaching DualCore the magic of friendship. This school is an opportunity for him to pay for his crimes, as well as to find a better life than the one with which he started.” Dumbfounded, Twilight stammered. “B-b-but what if he doesn’t?! What if he turns on us?” Celestia interjected again. “If he does I will banish him. However, I noticed something. Whatever happened to him after that fight, it must have taken away his magic… He nearly escaped, and no doubt if he had any magic, he would have.” “I-I really don’t know… but I can’t…” Twilight could not string the words she wanted to say together. “Yes you can.” Said Celestia with misty eyes. “You have all the capabilities and the friends you need to help you. Everything you’ve learned, it can be taught down to him too. Yes, what he did has upset me. I nearly lost you, but there is something to this pony that we must uncover. To do this, we have to put him on the right path. Twilight… He is not the only enemy of Equestria who was given a chance to reform. I believe that DualCore will benefit greatly from this opportunity. All he needs is the right guidance. And I trust that you are just the team to do it.” Twilight Sparkle’s voice had gone from her. It was true that she helped enemies in the past see the magic of friendship, but the fear of this pony in particular going on a rampage unsettled her. While not entirely convinced, she conceded. “Okay… I’ll do it. But I will need some help keeping a close eye on him!” Celestia nodded. “Of course. I will watch over him and make sure that he doesn’t cause any more trouble. If I suspect him of causing another problem, I will come down and banish him.”

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 3- The Two-Horned Pony A wave of anxiety swirled Twilight Sparkle on her way back home after her talk with Princess Celestia. She was imagining the possibility of her school being invaded, or worse, burned to the ground like the one Celestia saw years ago. Maybe she had it all under control, but what if this unique pony escaped? If they were on the run, Equestria would not be safe. Her school could run into trouble with the Chancellor if friendship wasn’t enough of a strategy to face the imminent darkness. From there, her mind wandered deeper into the wild possibilities, like falling into a rabbit hole. While Twilight experienced her domino effect of dangerous possibilities, one was rushing towards her. It was the Diamond Dogs, sprinting as fast as they could. They were scared beyond reason as they shoved Spike and Twilight Sparkle out of their way. “GET OUT OF HERE!!!!” said Spot in a panic. “HE’S AFTER US!! HE’S AFTER US!!” cried Rover. Fido was the furthest ahead, screaming like a lunatic. Twilight got up with a start. Shoving her to the wayside like that was uncalled for! She had to fly to catch up with them, and the first thing that caught her eye was the thing the diamond dogs were carrying. Fido was holding an old, foreboding looking book, adorned with dimly glowing jewels, and a symbol that looked like the letter I. This was not a typical book, Twilight thought. Before she could ask what the Diamond Dogs were doing with such a book, the ground shook violently. A low rumbling roar emitted from beneath Twilight’s hooves. Spike was below her, too afraid to move. In a split second reaction, Twilight had to fly to Spike, pushing him out of the path. Not a moment sooner, the reason why came through. An enormous wall of thorny brambles sprouted from the ground. It was growing rapidly. A forest of thorns! Within seconds, the brambles grew to about twenty feet in the air, the path stretching beyond Ponyville. Houses were uprooted, walkways were destroyed, and the wall of thorny growths glowed at the roots. Could this be the dark magic Celestia warned her about? If so, then her worst nightmares were already being realized. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew over to Twilight Sparkle, helping her back up. “Are you okay?” Asked Fluttershy timidly. “I’m fine,” said Twilight with a higher voice than anticipated. Rainbow Dash flew upwards to see how far the brambles stretched. “Wow… This has to be about a hundred miles!!” she said in amazement. Applejack and Pinkie Pie rushed to the others next. “Did you just see what grew? This looks pretty dark!” Said Pinkie Pie. “Who do you suppose did it? Chrysalis?” Pinkie Pie mimed Chrysalis’s mannerisms, but Twilight interjected. “No… I think this is much worse.” She followed the stretch of thorns, stopping at the Diamond Dogs, who were entangled by the growths so badly that they were stuck. The book they were carrying had fallen on the ground. The Diamond Dogs may have been trying to steal this book, but Twilight could not let them stay suspended in the air like this. With a blast of her magic, the brambles carrying the Diamond Dogs sank back to the ground, and they ran off to the side, abandoning the book they had tried to steal. This book was almost otherworldly to see, but as soon as Twilight tried to have a closer look, it glowed a bright orange, hovering along the path of the brambles. It was traveling to the Everfree Forest. “Come on! If we follow the book, we might see who made this wall of thorns!” Said Rainbow Dash, following the book. Twilight was alert, and followed suit. Her mind was traveling faster than ever. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight ran after Rainbow Dash and the book. It hovered far into the forest, until it became so dark they could not tell if it was still daytime. “Any ideas who we’re up against this time?” Asked Pinkie Pie as she imitated Nightmare Moon. By now, the group of friends visited the Everfree Forest many times, and the forest no longer scared them whilst they were together. Twilight’s friends exchanged possible answers, but deep down, Twilight knew. She kept her mouth tightly shut, hoping beyond hope that it was somepony else. Finally, a dark figure stood in the path, and the book was levitating to the pouch on his hood. It flew snug into place inside the pouch. The banter between Twilight’s friends halted so suddenly it was like they had all gone deaf. The figure stared at the ponies. He was about their size, but their expression was unreadable, Their eyes glowed a piercing yellow. “Why did you steal my book?” said the figure in a soft, but cold tone. “Stole?” asked Rarity in a haughty voice. “We did not steal this book, and frankly, I don’t even know why we would want it!” “Yeah!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “You have no right to accuse us of taking it!” The figure stood their ground. “You will watch your tone, or I will hurt you.” they said bluntly. The air was chilling by the minute. Fluttershy was cowering in place, hiding behind Applejack for support. Twilight, who was trying to regain her composure, stepped forward. “Who are you? Do you know who you’re talking to?” “No. I don’t tolerate thieves, and I won’t be talked down to by the ones who stole it.” said the pony, his voice rising. Rainbow Dash was getting angry. Pinkie Pie was no longer joking. Even Applejack was stepping back. “We did not steal your book!” Rainbow Dash yelled. The Figure’s face glowed from under his hood. He was definitely a unicorn. A vine sprouted from the ground, wrapping Rainbow Dash’s leg. She tried to break free, but she was thrown into a tree, landing with a crash! “Alright, you’ve asked for it!!” shrieked Rarity, firing a blast of her own magic. The spell stopped dead in its tracks, right in front of the book. The book created a force field around the figure, which expelled enough force to lift the hood from their face. The sight was enough to make Twilight Sparkle faint. The pony’s lifted hood revealed two horns, with long, unkempt brown hair surrounding them. The pony was a colt, his face contorted into a scowl as his yellow eyes shined from the barrier’s reflected light. Rarity’s spell was blasted off course, the barrier vanishing shortly after. The pony looked at his book, as though it was speaking to him. He replied with “Yes, master.” and he began to approach the Mane Six. “Don’t come any closer!!!” yelled Twilight, firing a spell far more powerful than Rarity’s, but the barrier returned, freezing her spell in place too. The Two-Horned pony lifted a hoof, and swung it, launching that spell away from him. “This is my book. Its magic only obeys me. If you take it, I will not hold back.” The pony said in a voice that shook the branches. “So you made that wall of thorns??” Asked Applejack, raring to kick this pony for his attack. “Yeah.” he said back, walking closer to them. Twilight charged her magic, shining the whole forest. A beam of energy struck the two horned pony directly, engulfing him completely within the blast. At first, he was knocked back, but the barrier stopped this spell too. With an ear splitting BANG, the beam got launched high over the Everfree Forest. This could not be possible, thought Twilight. That was as strong a spell as she could conjure! Making matters worse, the Two Horned Pony charged his left horn, which glowed gold over his long face, wrinkled in fury. All the trees around them shifted their leaves, shrouding what little light could pass through. The ground started to rumble again. Twilight and her friends expected another bramble, and sure enough, more sprouted. Fluttershy shot up in the air, avoiding the brambles altogether. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were caught, and the brambles began striking the ground side by side with immense force. Twilight sliced the brambles down with her magic, but her friends were now in a daze. Pinkie Pie was battered the hardest. She was struggling to stand upright, while Applejack caught a second wind, rushing down the pony, trying her hardest to kick him. The Two Horned Pony dodged each one, stepping back to get out of her range. Applejack then unleashed a final kick aimed for his head, which missed, because the Two Horned Pony hopped upwards, using his magic to propel him higher. His left horn glowed, and the tree to the right of him was unrooted. He swung the tree with his magic, and Applejack, failing to react in time, was shot aside, colliding with a tree with such a brutal impact that the tree was knocked over. He continued to swing the tree, but the others managed to avoid each swing. Frustrated, the Two Horned Pony lobbed the tree like a giant lance. Twilight had to teleport out of the way to dodge it. Rarity charged her horn, ready to strike the pony down, and she fired a flurry of beams. It was no good. The pony grabbed Pinkie Pie as she struggled to get back up, and he held her in front of him as she took each and every attack Rarity fired. He tossed her aside, his ire aimed directly at her next, broken by the faintest whistling sound growing from above. Rainbow Dash recovered from being thrown into a tree, and she was performing a Sonic Rainboom with the intent to attack him. He reacted before Rarity, using his magic to grab vines from the trees, and yanking Rarity closer to him. “Aah, let me go!! What do you think you’re doing?!” Rarity protested and shrieked, but the Two Horned Pony looked up, and teleported. Rarity fell over, taking the vines off of her right as the Sonic Rainboom collided with her. The blast was powerful enough to knock down every plant and tree within a mile of it. At first, Rainbow Dash was proud of herself, thinking she had taken down the pony, but realized quickly that the pony she rainboomed was none other than Rarity. Meanwhile the Two Horned Pony grabbed Rainbow Dash by the neck with a vine. She soared into the air at breakneck speeds, trying to shake off the pony, but the vine was traveling along her body, entangling her legs and torso. The Two Horned Pony was using his magic to hang onto the vine, concentrating hard on maintaining his grip as the two went higher and higher into the sky. Rainbow Dash was performing multiple flips and twirls, but nothing could shake this pony off, until the two began to reach the end of the atmosphere. Rainbow Dash was losing her breath, not from the vine, but from the lack of air. If she tried to fly any higher, she would pass out. This was the Two Horned Pony’s opening. He yanked down at the vine, catching Rainbow Dash with his hoof. “Nice trick…” Said the pony, also straining to catch his breath. He flipped Rainbow Dash below him, using his magic to swirl her around him. Faster and faster she spun as the Two Horned Pony plummeted closer to the forest again. “Is this how you did it?!” He asked sadistically, launching her straight down. The impact was not quite as big as the actual Sonic Rainboom, but it was enough to knock Rainbow Dash out of the battle. The voice in the Pony’s head interjected. “Your execution needs work. Her attack was more powerful, and she lacks magical ability!” The Pony shushed the voice, concentrating on his power to make a safe landing. With the help of the book’s aura, he stuck the landing. He was growing tired. Never in his life has he had to use so much magic at once. Twilight noticed this. She found a hiding place, charging up a barrage of magical blasts. There had to have been about a thousand of these being charged, all of them flying directly at the Two Horned Pony! He could tell Twilight was angry now. Afraid, but furious. It was time to channel in the power of the book again. Sure enough, he charged his right horn. For the pony, every second slowed down. The adrenaline rush hit. He began charging right into the blasts, Teleporting out of the way of each one. It was no use to jump over them. These balls of magic followed him, but if he could trick the magic by teleporting, he could cancel each one out. The plan mostly worked. From Twilight’s perspective, she saw the pony moving so quickly it was like 1 hundred of him were charging for her. A few of her magical beams hit his barrier, but he leapt in the air, charging both horns at Twilight’s face. She strafed backwards with her wings, firing several more balls of magic. The Two Horned Pony lifted vines and brambles, charging for her again. The beams hit his barrier, cracking it in places. He would not usually be so careless, but he had his target on sight. He was willing to strike now, even if it meant taking a few pot shots. The Two Horned Pony’s vines and brambles sparked and glowed with magic as he grabbed Twilight’s legs. Where Rainbow Dash was strong enough to fly away, Twilight was more focused on using her magic to destroy the brambles. This worked, but she was being outpaced by the amount of vines being thrown at her. He kept entangling her, until he had enough of a grip to hurl her into the ground. There was another deafening BOOM, and Twilight Sparkle, exhausted, terrified, and now too hurt to get away, struggled to break free. The Two Horned Pony made his way to the crater that formed, looking down at Twilight, his yellow eyes now glowing green. He was scowling worse than ever, his veins throbbing as the dark magic took its hold over him. It was all over. Twilight was defeated. Her friends were scattered about and collapsed on the ground. A single tear shined in Twilight’s eye and rolled down her shaking face. The two horned pony came to a halt. He looked into Twilight's eyes, and could see the tear drop down her cheek. His horns still glowed, but the dark aura began to fade when… CLUNK! A rock was lobbed right at the pony’s jaw, and just like that, he too collapsed, knocked out cold. From out in the bushes, Fluttershy stepped forward, a sneer of tenacity carried over her. It was she who threw the rock. Relief had finally come over Twilight Sparkle as she realized what happened. For a moment, she believed she was going to die. “Who… no, what is he??” she asked exasperated. Fluttershy stared down the unconscious pony. She was ready to throw another rock if he got back up. “I got him…” she said with a shaky voice. Never before had such a rage come over her. Twilight, who was ready to collapse herself, hugged Fluttershy. “Thanks… I really thought that was it for me.” said Twilight, breathing heavily. Fluttershy accepted the hug, but she was not responding. Her mind was racing. What was this pony truly capable of doing if he could easily defeat a princess and her friends by himself? To the left of the Two Horned Pony’s conked out body was the book. It was glowing again, and this time Twilight could hear the whispers coming off of it. It was casting a spell on its own. The Two Horned Pony’s horns glowed. Twilight and Fluttershy hopped backwards, and the book, now glowing a violent scarlet, vanished. There was no way to tell where the book went. Fluttershy and Twilight kept close, but the air warmed up again. The threat was gone. Princess Celestia landed in the middle of the field that was once a part of the Everfree Forest. The battle that took place knocked down every tree within the mile. Leaves, branches, and uprooted trees littered the place. “Are you alright, Twilight?” Asked Celestia urgently. Twilight was bruised up, but still standing. She nodded. “But my friends…” She directed Celestia to the spread of unconscious ponies around her. Of the fallen, Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked the most injured. Rarity was covered in debris, and her upper hooves were broken. Rainbow Dash, after being spiked to the ground, had broken legs, cracked ribs, and her overall condition looked critical. Celestia wasted no time. She used her magic to carry Twilight’s friends. “I will take your friends. You and Fluttershy handle him.” She ordered. “But Princess Celestia, he nearly killed me! What if he tries to attack me again??” Twilight panicked, but Celestia was already flying off. In the distance she called out, “You’ll be okay! I will make sure he doesn’t hurt you!”

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 2- Celestia’s Sighting Twilight Sparkle returned home after her last adventure. After the Storm King’s defeat, she and her friends noticed the map of Equestria grew significantly. There was potential to expand their reach when it came to teaching the magic of friendship to others. Even Tempest, a unicorn who was once an enemy, had declined an invitation to Ponyville to spread the word of the defeat of the Storm King. To Twilight, the next journey was clear. She wanted to build a school, one where ponies and non-ponies alike could learn the magic of friendship. What better way to expand the reach of Equestria than to extend her hooves to everyone? Princess Celestia was supportive of the idea, exclaiming it was a brilliant idea! Twilight was so enamored by her newest ambition, asking question after question, such as what time the school should begin, how students were to be seated, and so on. However, Princess Celestia was trying to ask for a moment to speak. Due to Twilight’s sheer excitement, it took a minute straight to calm the air. While it was exciting that she wanted to build a school, there was a serious report Celestia had to share, and she needed Twilight’s undivided attention. “Twilight, there was a sighting last night. One of the ancient dark magics I have wanted to stop since before I ruled Equestria.”, said Celestia, watching Twilight Sparkle with the same adoration. “I’m not sure if I had seen it correctly, but the pony who carried this power might have had two horns.” Twilight’s stupor dropped with a thud. She had just finished off one journey around the world, and now there was a possibility her newest school might be in jeopardy before it was even built. “T-two horns?” Stammered Twilight. Celestia nodded. “That can’t be right. Two horned ponies are not real. They don’t exist, surely!” As Twilight took in the news, Princess Celestia smiled once more. “I’m sure this is not going to require any action yet. You can focus on finishing your new school. If there is anyone who can run it well, it is you.” While Twilight was excited to run her own school, the image of a dark pony with two horns loomed in her mind. Who could this pony be, anyway? It couldn’t have been Tempest. She had learned the magic of friendship. She did not have a second horn, either. Could a two horned pony really exist? She had never seen one before, neither in the flesh or in a book. If this pony could perform dark magic that Celestia herself wanted to stop, then this could be another dark wizard. All she knew was she needed to get to reading. If Twilight had questions that no one else could answer, she resorted to her books. The next day, Twilight got busy as she read through a variety of books about famous and infamous creatures. Princess Celestia pitched in, handing her resources to help her with her school, including the EEA guide book. This guide book contained many strict regulations required to run a school. She had so much to do, from her presentation to get her school approved, to overseeing developments of the school, and not to mention she had to study up on the history of multi horned ponies. By the evening, she was so exhausted there was nothing she wanted more than to rest. She had no progress on finding a pony with two horns, but her school was, for the most part, approved, though the Chancellor interpreted Twilight’s school as a place to teach specifically ponies how to defend themselves against the darkness. This misunderstanding was not enough to stop the development of the school, much to her luck. With the school being built in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle wanted to oversee the project. The image in her mind of the double horned dark pony continued haunting her, causing her more than enough anxiety she was already enduring. Ponyville’s libraries had failed her, so she took a flight to libraries out of town. Her finds continued to come up short, and after Canterlot’s libraries failed her, it was clear where she had to go. Even though the two horned pony was sighted in the Everfree Forest, there was no way this pony was going to murder her in cold blood in Princess Celestia’s childhood home. It didn’t sound possible to her. At the Castle of the Two sisters, Twilight read through book after book, each one was no help to her, until finally, one single book had the answer to her long burning question. It was labeled as one of Princess Luna’s guides on dark creatures, and it was short, each description only taking about a page’s worth of information on each creature. Twilight skimmed through the book, and there it was. “The legend of the Double Horned Pony”. She read on… “In the earliest days of Equestria’s founding, one of the threats to the harmony of ponies was a two horned pony. She was considered the only one of her kind, and she had powers beyond the likes of the unicorns. Only a handful of unicorns aligned with her, but her intentions and origin are lost to time. The greatest mystery was how she lost her powers. In the midst of battle, the unicorns broke out in a war against the two horned pony, and her powers vanished. She was never able to recover from the loss, and all of the resources from which she learned the powers were lost as well. While the unicorns celebrated, nothing more can be confirmed of this pony’s whereabouts. After she vanished, there had not been a sighting of any pony with more than one horn. Few experts speculate the second horn was the work of a powerful, evil curse, but ultimately, for unknown reasons, this pony was able to escape without being recorded by history. There are rumors that another two horned pony could rise in the distant future. When that day comes, the magic of friendship could be lost.” Twilight took the book along with her on the way back home, but her hopes of finding potential information to save her from an attack were dashed. The single passage was not enough. She needed more information. Who this pony was, how she gained two horns, what she did to learn a magic so powerful. The only solace to be gained was the confirmation that a pony with two horns existed. How could such a rare pony make it through Equestrian history without even a single full page of her life, or her accomplishments? Something was off. By the dawn of the next day, Twilight Sparkle was run ragged, and in her opinion, she had nothing to show for it, other than the school of friendship’s near completion. The only thing she could think of doing from here regarding her search for two horned pony history was request Princess Celestia’s advice. She rushed to her castle, Spike tagging along. The princess looked to Twilight with her usual warm smile, noticing how tired Twilight was. “Have you gotten any sleep in the past night?”, she asked concernedly. Twilight attempted to reply, but was stifled by a powerful yawn. She was not ready to sleep, even with her body shutting down by the minute. “Princess Celestia, I found a report on a two horned pony. Why is there nothing about this? If multi-horned ponies exist, why isn’t there a shred of evidence in our history books?” Celestia looked at Twilight with her smile, and the two sat at her throne. “So my sighting the other day rattled you… Well, here is something to understand. There has not been a sighting of any pony in Equestria with more than one horn ever since the one during Equestria’s founding. I suspect this pony was capable of wiping the memories of ponies to prevent her knowledge from spreading, otherwise she would have been better documented.” Celestia peered over at her windows, holding her bright smile. “To tell you the truth, I think there is another pony with two horns in Equestria. There was a fire that broke out in this earth pony village many years ago. The fire that broke out was the result of the same magic I sensed the other day. Just like that sighting, I could only get a mere glimpse of the pony running away. I couldn’t chase after him because I had to rescue the ponies trapped in the schoolhouse.” Twilight Sparkle was overcome with questions about this. “But why would he set a school on fire like that? And if he was not an earth pony, what was he doing in that town? Didn’t that earth pony village ban unicorns and pegasus ponies? If you really saw a two horned pony years ago, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Question after question was fired, and Princess Celestia held out her hoof. “I assure you, if this pony makes their rounds again, they will not be alone. I have my eyes on them and their whereabouts. You have a new school to run, and you need your rest before you start teaching.” Warm as ever, Celestia gave Twilight an embrace with her wing and sent her on her way. On the way back home, Spike was joking about beating the two horned pony himself to save Twilight the trouble when she interrupted. “I’ve got too many questions left unanswered, Spike. This pony… Who was it? What kind of power do they have that’s gotten Princess Celestia’s attention? And if they’re lurking about, what if they cause a problem at the school?” Twilight thought that Princess Celestia was able to help put her mind at ease on the situation, but all she did was open up a multitude of questions, further driving her anxiety. “I’m sure she has everything planned out, Twilight. If they’re being watched now, I doubt they will be any trouble.” said Spike reassuringly. He bounced ahead of Twilight, giving her a bright, confident smile. It was not much, but it did help. Twilight calmed down, knowing well Princess Celestia would not just let a pony with dark powers on the loose, let alone one with two horns. Twilight and Spike took their leave, not knowing that trailing behind, something was running right into their path…

Hope everyone is doing alright!! I have moved houses the past month. It has been the most stressful, most frustrating, and the hardest thing I have had to experience in my life. This is why updates on the Duo story has been so scarce. While I'm still not entirely settled in, I do have things such as my studio set up, my portable studio has been updated, and I have plenty of sketchbooks and supplies to do more traditional works as well. Here is a piece I intended to do as a warm up, but the results came out far better than I hoped, so I gave it color. Updates to the summary, as well as the next chapter, are being worked on! If you want to read the first chapter, it's here: I will be back on in the following days, maybe weeks depending on when the weather will clear up (my new house has no protection from power surges due to the plugs having no ground, requiring adapters to plug in grounded plugs. That, and it storms every single day here.), and I hope to share more of this story. Part 1 is well on its way!

I appreciate the love! I don't have a fimfiction account yet, but absolutely! I'll post this story there as well! Thank you!

For context, this story takes place at the beginning of the 8th season of Friendship is Magic. I am posting this story chapter by chapter, so stay tuned for updates. Other than that, I hope that this years in the making story brings as much joy for you as it does for me! Chapter 1- The Raid The pitch black outskirts of the Everfree Forest were always bustling with the sounds of mysterious and fearsome creatures, and tonight was no different. The continuous chirps, hollers, and screeches just about polluted the dank landscape. It was some three hours before dawn when the noises that normally filled the dark forest were suddenly silenced. A figure was walking across, unphased by the darkness, or by the creatures lurking inside. If anything, the creatures this figure walked past ran off, hid from far away, or stopped making sounds. The figure wore a raven-colored hood, which covered his head, but the pony was most likely a unicorn from the way the hood stuck out. The hood also included two sleeves for the pony’s upper legs, and a large pocket upon their chest. In the pocket was what looked like a nestled bundle. The bundle seemed to be a book, with jewels glowing a dim scarlet, and a symbol shaped like the letter “I”. The book was glowing bright enough to light the way in front of this pony. Along their travels, the pony would hunch over, whispering to the book, and listening back to it, as if the book could speak back to them. “This place no longer exists, boy…” the voice droned in the pony’s head. “What you’re looking for was destroyed a long time ago. There is nothing left to find.” The pony scoffed, continuing his way. “You’re only saying that because you’re scared of being caught…” he whispered back to the book. The book’s scarlet light went out as quick as a candle. Now there was no light left to guide him. “I told you there is nothing here. Now go back!” the voice in his head commanded. The pony looked at the book with a raised eyebrow, and lifted part of his hood, and it was clear that this was no typical pony. He had two horns on his head, one horn on each side! With a smirk, he summoned a branch, and brought it to his left horn, lighting it on fire. The two continued on the path.”Geez, you are such a killjoy…” he spoke back, a little louder than he meant. What this pony was looking for was later revealed as the trees became fewer and farther between, and what faced him next was a rickety bridge, leading to the ruins of a large castle, deep in the forest itself. “There it is! A little beaten up, but standing. What did I tell you?” The pony gave another smirk, as he crossed the bridge. The voice in his head roared, “I am not asking you, I am commanding you. Leave this place!” The pony ignored the voice as he kept going. “Oh come on! Don’t be a baby! What’s the big deal about this place anyway? You don’t usually get this worked up over abandoned property…” The pony asked the book cockily. “This is the Castle of the Two Sisters… Surely you know of the two sisters in question?” The voice waited for an answer from the pony, but he said nothing. “Boy! I’m looking in your head, so you best not hide your answer from me!” The voice roared again. The pony looked down at the book and retorted, “I don’t know a thing about these two sisters! But whatever they left behind could be enlightening. Maybe some priceless paintings can be salvaged, or perhaps it could be revamped and we could make that our new home! You always told me you used to live in a castle before you were cursed!” The voice could not convince the pony to turn around, but he spoon fed the ignorant dimwit the origins of the castle and its owners. “The two sisters are princesses of day and night. The Princess of the night was jealous of the reputation of her sister, and with the use of dark magic, she tried to plunge the world to an eternal night. If you explore the abandoned remains, boy, you may find yourself in line with other thieves and plunderers who will try to take me…” The voice in this pony’s head was adamant to keep him from waltzing about this place, but he didn’t care. The two entered the ruins, finding a large foyer, illuminated by the night sky. The pony looked around, both for something to take home, and to take in the atmosphere. “There must have been an epic battle here long ago… This place is really beaten out of shape… Guess remodeling it will take some more effort.” The pony continued whispering to the book. The book glowed a dim scarlet once again, this time, it seemed to be looking around using the symbol as an eye. “Long ago? The last battle faced here must have been very recent. This place is under watched eyes, boy! Trespassing here will put us in more trouble than it’s worth!” The pony rolled his eyes, and with a glow of his aura, he was creating mental images of the foyer. “Hey, what are you doing, boy?!” The voice flared. “Can’t I keep a few mental images of this place?” The pony asked back. “Much of whatever was in this foyer has been snatched anyway…” The pony was looking at the platform that once carried the elements of harmony. It was this centerpiece that further convinced the voice in the pony’s head that this place was foraged before, likely more than once. The hooded pony and his book wandered all throughout this castle, and before it was time to go, he found a way to the castle’s library. Amazingly, there were books on the shelves that survived whatever had taken place long ago. He had hit the motherload. “Were the mental images not enough for you, boy? Must you resort to robbing this place too?!” The voice kept going, almost yelling at this point, but the pony shrugged. “Look, it isn’t stealing if nobody is around to own it. There could be all sorts of diamonds in this rough, and you can’t convince me otherwise!” He found one book without a title on the spine, and he tried to take it from the shelf, but as it got out partway, it jammed. No amount of force, physical or magical, was budging this book any further. “Ach! This one’s stuck… Hey, be a pal and help me out with this one!” He winced at his book, his magic not enough to pull the book out. “You are a complete buffoon if you think I will follow your command after all the ones I told you not to do that you ignored!” The voice argued back, the both of them not even noticing an entire pathway opening up beside them. They kept at it until the pony finally gave up, leaving the book and the secret tunnel behind as it closed back up. “Fine, whatever this book has, the world may never know!” He huffed, using his magic to gather the books he wanted. “But if it has a guide to ancient powers older than yours, it’s your fault I couldn’t take it…” The pony lifted his hood back over his face as he left the rubbled remains of the castle. He continued down the path and back into the dark forest, disappearing into the pitch black undergrowth, a trail of books following him tightly. Within the blink of an eye, he was gone. The creatures of the forest stayed put, hiding in case the hooded pony returned. One group of creatures, however, did not heed the subtle warnings of the timberwolves and insects to go away. The Diamond Dogs were following the trail set by the cowering wildlife. The group had caught a glimpse of the gems that adorned the book being carried, and they had set out to take it! Those jewels were rare enough to them that they were willing to absorb whatever risks or consequences that followed. “There he is!” Exclaimed Spot, one of the leaders of the Diamond Dogs. Rover, the second leader, interjected. “Did you see under his hood?” “Nah, who cares what’s under that?” Said Spot, hurriedly. “I just care about those Pyre Crystals! That book’s decorated with the rarest jewels in the world!” Rover followed along, but he was thinking to himself. Did that pony really have two horns? What if they were caught? Fido was not afraid of that possibility. “If he catches us, we could fold him like his book. He does not look that tough!” Spot was blinded, intoxicated by the prospects of having the world’s rarest gems in his hands. If this pony knew where Pyre Crystals were, his group could make him mine all the crystals they could ever want! They kept going, vanishing in the mist as they kept close to the floating books that trailed behind the hooded pony.

To @Samurai Equine, thank you very much for the hug!

Thank you so much for the cake!!!

I think the next one I will try and do is a shot of Chrysalis using the power of this spellbook to create a new army in a plot to destroy Equestria

I wanted to do some more story concepts, since it's been a while since the draft I was sharing had been updated. I'm still working on it, but with my workload being loaded for the past few months, I had to focus on completing my commission work. I've gotten a chunk of it taken care of now, but it may be a month or two before I have enough free time to type out a massive update to the story. For now, here is a concept that I wanted to share. I will share more of the book to the left of Tirek at a later time. For now, I felt like this was fun to draw, so enjoy. I will be making some more concepts soon!

Time for a new story update, as well as new concept art to share. Starting with the picture, I wanted to do a size comparison between Irae and another pony. I chose Princess Celestia since I don't think I have drawn her yet. I wanted the size difference to be similar to that of Dragon Lord Torch, but with Irae not always being on all 4's. He also wields a weapon, which I am going to call the Mountain Breaker. It can be used as a melee weapon, but its true power lies within its magic. It contains the siphoned magic of a hundred thousand unicorns. Once again, I will save the story details for later when I write it in my first proper draft. As for the story, updates have been slow lately due to my recent workload combined with a case of writer's block. This is something I'll overcome though. The story's been updated a bit as of November 19th. for the draft so far, you can read it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/189MIx4tszeVQK7xTBSOsw-5LailIcyGU_ZvgjpiHKFo/edit