The Tale of the Two Horned Pony- Chapter 4

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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 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.”

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by superspyro3000
Added the illustration.