The Tale of the Two Horned Pony- Chapter 3

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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 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!” 
 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by superspyro3000