The Tale of the Two Horned Pony- Chapter 2

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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…
 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by superspyro3000
Found a way to disable the bold font ^^;