The Red Horn

The crystal castle that stood in Ponyville looked rather odd. The buildings in Ponyville were down to earth. Ponies would gather around the castle and look at it in awe. Lately, no pony stopped by to gape at it. The lights inside the castle were off. The windows and doors were shut up. There was a note on the door. “Princess Twilight Sparkle will not be returning to Ponyville.” Was written on the note.

Ponies asked the rest of mane six on Twilight’s whereabouts. The girls wanted to tell the other ponies but they were kept in the dark as well. Rainbow Dash would reply, “Why don’t you go ask Princess Celestia?”

Of course, many wrote letters to her. Celestia would reply that Twilight was fine. Her subjects knew Celestia wouldn’t lie to them, but most were in doubt. Without further ado, letters from around Equestria kept coming. Endless letters piled up in Celestia’s room. There were so many letters, Celestia shoved all of them in her library.

Luna also got bombarded with letters. She didn’t reply to them, but she told an announcement for every pony to hear. She had to use a radio transmitter to tell her announcement. Some Cantorlot ponies could even hear her from the outside the castle.

“My fellow subjects of Equestria. Fear not and doubt not that my sister and I are keeping bleak news from you. I would tell all of you what happened to Princess Twilight Sparkle, but she wouldn’t want me to do that. She loves all you so much, that she is willing to isolate herself from other ponies. If Twilight were here, all of us would be in great danger. Instead of questioning or looking for Twilight, thank her for her great sacrifice.” After delivering her message, Luna felt awful.

The Princess of the night had the right to feel awful. Many ponies took her message the wrong way. Ponies around Equestria made a memorial around the castle in Ponyville. Foals nailed, glued, or taped goodbye letters and drawings on the outside castle walls. Some placed flower wreathes around the castle. Other’s burned candles and Derpy placed a box of muffins in front of the castle door. For some reason, she thought Twilight was still alive. She thought the young Alicorn was hiding in the castle.

The only ponies that didn’t add anything to the memorial were Twilight’s closest friends. Spike didn’t add anything either.

“Should we tell them that Twilight is still alive?” Rarity asked in a hush voiced.

“No, it would only make things worse.” Applejack replied.

“I wonder if Twilight still remembers us.” Pinkie Pie said. Her mane was still flat and her coat was still dull.

“Wherever she is, I know she’s safe and sound.” Fluttershy said in a cheerful tone. The other’s smiled at her, but they felt uneasy.

It was raining all over Equestria. The co-workers at the weather factory made a very big rain cloud. They tried to condense it, but the stubborn cloud remained large. The co-workers had no choice but to set the cloud free. Whether it was raining or not, Twilight wouldn’t leave the cabin. The only times Twilight went outside was to graze, drink from the pond, and urinate. The only things Twilight brought with her was a picture of her friends and the book Celestia gave her.

Twilight sprawled out her body on the wet floor. Old bowls and cups she found were scattered on the floor. The roof leaked and they caught the falling rain drops. The bored Alicorn flipped over on her left side and watched the water ripple in the cups and bowls. Her horn still throbbed and she didn’t know why. Ever since her horn changed, her other appearances changed as well. Her coat grew a couple of shades darker. It was a dark shade of palatinate. Her mane, including her highlights, faded to black. Her wings stretched wider. The tips grew sharper. Her height even increased. Her body became even curvier. When Twilight went to sip from the pond, she glared at her reflection. She thought she was looking at Nightmaremoon. The only thing that didn’t change was Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight glared at her saddle bag. She grimaced as the black aura removed the book she brought with her. She flopped the book in front of her and flipped it open.

Introduction

Many ponies believe that the story called “The Balance of Magic” is just folklore. But “The Balance of Magic” is as real as you and me. This true event is the reason why dark magic exist. If you haven’t read the story, I will tell it to you.

In the beginning of Equestria, an Alicorn named Statera gave birth to the first unicorns. The Alicorn had a colt and a filly. The colt had a pure white coat and horn. The horn possessed magic that was good. He would stop famines, heal wounds, and bring peace with his horn. Since he was good and his coat was white, he was called Angelus. The mark on his flank was a light teal heart. His sister had a coat the color of charcoal. Her horn was the color of charcoal when it was heated. The magic in her horn was evil. She created floods, set forest aflame, and even killed ponies with her magic. Since she had a heart made of stone, she was called Lamia. The mark on her flank was a red heart.

Every pony seemed to love Angelus. Even their mother favored him. Lamia grew envious of her brother. She wanted him dead.

While her brother was healing the ill, she teleported right in front him with big eyes.

“Brother, brother, a young filly had fallen ill in the woods. I commanded her to mount my back, but she refused, for she fears me. Please brother, come to her aid. She doesn’t have long.” Lamia pleaded.

The two unicorns raced into the forest. Angelus and Lamia wondered around searching for the “filly”. While they wondered, Lamia casted a sleeping spell on Angelus. Angelus collapsed to the ground. As she cackled, she trampled all over her brother. She ripped his horn out of his head and flung it into a shrub. She stomped on her brother’s neck with such great force, his neck snapped in two. Lamia spat on Angelus’s corpse and trotted away.

When Lamia got back to her castle, she found her mother glaring down at her.

“Lamia, do you realize what you have done?” Statera exclaimed.

“Mother, I did not realize you were watching. Please forgive me. My heart is as cold as stone. Envy had gotten to me…” The daughter of Statera said with a bow.

“Silence daughter! I felt the balance being tempered with. You do realize that you and your brother are balance? In order for there to be evil, there must be good. Since your brother is gone, you must perish as well.”

Her mother pulled the red horn right out of her daughter’s head. She left her daughter to bleed to death.

After Lamia’s death, Statera gathered her son and daughter’s horns. She dispersed her son’s horn all over Equestria. When the horn’s dust landed on ponies’ foreheads, a horn grew. As for Lamia’s horn, Statera buried the red horn within the mountains…

The red horn glowed bright and hot. Twilight paused in her reading. The horn let out more sharp pains. Twilight stood up. She pressed her hooves against her face and grinded her teeth. Without even knowing, the horn blasted at the book. The book was nothing more than burned papers.

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the burned book.

“Did, did I do that?” she whispered.

***

It had been raining for three days straight. No foal played outside. Birds and small woodland animals took shelter in trees. Ponies had to gallop to get around, they didn’t want to stay out in the rain. But, every home was warm and dry.

Fluttershy’s cottage was swarming with animals. The yellow Pegasus flew here and there tending to animals. She dried off animals, made sure everyone had something to eat, and kept checking a chipmunk’s temperature. Discord curled up on the couch and watched her work. He eyeballed the new guest that decided to stay with them. The guest in the corner, was a small purple dragon snoozing in his bed.

“Why is he here again?” Discord bellowed as his magic spun the pictures on the walls.

“I know your upset Discord, but Spike is welcome here. He’s living with us until Twilight returns.” She said calmly.

Discord sighed and made bubbles appear around animals that sneezed or coughed.

“You know, I think Twilight got possessed by something.” Discord said in a low voice.

“What makes you say that?” Fluttershy said while filling up food dishes.

“That’s what happened to that King Sombra fellow. He didn’t always used to be a power hungry crystal pony.”

Fluttershy flew in front of Discord. She hopped onto the couch and sat right by his head.

“How do you know?” she replied with wide concerned eyes.

Discord took the Pegasus under his big lion arm. Fluttershy blushed.

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to know. I can be nosy sometimes.” He said flattening his ears.

Fluttershy glance at the floor and then to Discord.

“Do you know what happened to Twilight?” she asked almost turning red.

Discord shook his head, “I’m afraid what I said was only a theory…”

Spike’s blaring snoring interrupted the draconequus.

“Why couldn’t he live with Applejack? Or maybe Rarity, he likes Rarity doesn’t he?”

Fluttershy giggled and nestled up against the warm draconequus.

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was outside bucking apple trees. There weren’t even buckets below to catch the apples. They landed on the muddy ground. Big Mac trotted over towards his sister and watched her buck the trees. She bucked them so hard, they seemed to bend.

“Applejack, why don’t ya come n’side? Yer gonna catch somethin.” He said.

“I’m fine Big Mac.” Applejack replied annoyed.

“No, yer not fine. Listen to yer big brother, Twilight can get through this. She’s been through worse.”

Applejack stopped bucking. She tossed her hat off her head and threw it on the ground.

“If any of us were in trouble, Twilight would go through anything to git us out of a fix. I can’t stand it! Here I am buck’n apple trees when I should be sav’n my friend!” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Big Mac marched over towards Applejack. His sister hunched over and trembled. Her brother wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Applejack’s cheek pressed up against his red coat. His coat smelled like hay and apple cider.

“Don’t beat yerself up. I had to watch ya beat yerself up when ma and pa passed away. I don’t want ta see ya suffer’n again.”

Applejack pulled away from her brother. She glared at her trampled on hat. She picked it up and tossed back on her head. She staggered back to the house with Big Mac following close behind her.

Usually when there’s a thunder storm, Rainbow Dash flew above it. However, she wasn’t in the mood to fly above the clouds. She wanted the cold rain to hit her coat. She wanted the thunder to boom all around her. The storm matched her attitude none the less.

“If only we were more accepting. If only we could understand…” Rainbow fought back the tears and kept flapping her wings. The wind whipped at her wings and mane.

“But, we will find a way to save you Twilight.” Dash burst through the gray clouds. She was covered in water when she made it to the other side. She shook herself off and soared above the storm cloud.

Two days passed. The skies were clear and cloudless. Some areas were flooded, but that didn’t get many down. Twilight’s cabin was drenched from the inside out. It smelled like moss and damp mold. The bowls and cups overflowed with rain water. The roof still leaked, but only small droplets fell. Twilight didn’t notice. She hadn’t been herself lately. She mumbled to herself about world domination and then peace. It was like Twilight was arguing with herself. Twilight stayed indoors without food or drink. She didn’t dare to step a hoof outdoors. However, getting some fresh air would’ve been the best for her.

She rocked herself in a corner of the cabin. She sat on top of a pile of leaves. She caressed her tail. Her dark mane was unkempt. Dark circles formed under her eyes. Her eyes faded from scarlet to moderate violet.

“I-I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship.” She said in a low voice. She quivered and her the red horn glowed even brighter.

“N-no, I am Queen Twilight. Queen of Destruction. Queen of evil. Queen of Hell.” She said in an eerie voice. Her eyes turned vivid scarlet. The princess shook her head and glared at the toppled over cups and puddles. For a moment, her vision doubled.

“N0, no! I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship. My friends…” her rounded eyes. “Who are my friends?”

Twilight blew air out of her lips and waved her hoof in the air. Her eyes faded back to scarlet, “Don’t be silly. I don’t need friends. I only need to rule Equestria…”

Out of nowhere, Twilight’s own hoof smacked her across the face. Her right eye got caught in the crossfire. Her eyes went back to normal. Her cheek was red and puffy. Her right eye had a pink tint in it. The skin around it was a little swollen.

“What am I rambling about? I need friends. That is what I stand for…”

“NO, you are the Queen of a living Hell! Embrace it, this what you need! You don’t need friends, they’ll only slow you down.” She roared to herself. The whites in her eyes faded to green. Her irises turned scarlet. The purple smoke appeared at the sides of her eyes. Like fire, her flowing black mane whipped back and forth. She stood and marched to the center of the cabin. She knocked bowls and cups out of her way.

“As Lamia’s heir, I will rule Equestria in her place. But, unlike Sombra, I won’t start with a weak and meaningless Empire. I think I’ll start by terrorizing Cantorlot.” Twilight let out a blood curdling cackle. While she laughed, her teeth formed into fangs.

Twilight bowed her head and breathed heavily. Only her irises went back to moderate violet. Her ears flattened and tears formed in her eyes.

“No this isn’t me...”

Twilight couldn’t hold it in anymore. Her moderate violet irises faded to scarlet. She grew a foot taller and her wings sharpened. She rose above the floor. The black, engulfed in green and purple, aura shot out of her horn. Once it touched the roof, the cabin detonated. Wood planks and splinters scattered all over the forest. The vixen in the shed huddled up and trembled. Her kits trembled by her belly. Deer jerked their heads up and glared at the Alicorn in the sky. Smaller woodland creatures scurried away from the angry Alicorn.

The evil Twilight studied her surroundings. She saw the abandoned village and sighed.

“Well, it looks like this place is useless to me.” She said in a very low voice.

   She soared higher into the sky and paused. She gathered all of her magic into a sphere. The sphere looked like a miniature sun. The sphere grew larger and larger. Deer and moose galloped away. Smaller animals took cover under logs and fallen trees. A mother bear and her cubs darted for their cave.

Once Twilight’s sphere was the size of a bus, Twilight flung the sphere away from her. The sphere exploded inches off the ground. Some younger trees bent back from the blast. Older trees were uprooted. All off the leaves turned to dust when the heat hit them. Innocent animals were set aflame. The vixen and her kits were the closes to the sphere. They and the shed disintegrated in mere seconds. Animals that were exposed to the heat melted were they stood. Their fur disappeared. Their eyes balls melted out of their sockets. Long flaps of skin hung from their bodies. Their bodies were so charred, their heads fell off. The grass turned black and disintegrated. The barren village crumbled to the ground.

After that horrifying 10 minutes, the forest was nothing but a barren waste land. The trees were nothing but burnt twigs sticking out of the ground. The sky faded from bright red to steel gray. The ground was gun metal gray. Charred animals looked like black sketches on the ground. A fawn staggered in the middle of it all. Its skin peeled off its body. Blood dripped from its head. The fawn wailed and collapsed to the ground. A robin landed on the ground. Her wings were burned. Her chest was covered in blood. The village and the cabin ceased to exist.

Twilight lowered herself to the ground. She gazed at her dead surroundings. She felt heavy, her heart felt heavy. She quivered and her legs buckled. She groveled in the dirt and sobbed.

“W-what have I done? Why did I do this? No one is safe, I need to lock myself up!”

Without thinking her plan through, Twilight darted towards the sky.

***

          A big dark green cinder block was tucked in the mountain. It was sitting on a concrete display. Barbed wire fence surrounded the block like building. Towers stood by the corners of the fence. The place was known as The Asylum for Hazardous Ponies. Equestria culture believed that jails did not reform anypony. They put criminals in asylums to reform them. However, they used the same procedures as humans did in the 1900s and late 1800s.

Twilight’s stomach turned when she hovered above the building. Images of electric chairs and lobotomies raced through her mind. Twilight exhaled a shaky breath and landed near the gates. Two guards, with dark gray coats and lifeless faces, glared at Twilight as she blasted the gate open. She trotted towards them with a stone cold face.

        “Princess Twilight Sparkle, out of all the places, you chose to come here?” one of the guards bellowed.

The princess kept trotting.

“…Your highness, what happened to your horn and the rest of you?” the other guard said in a frightened voice.

Once Twilight was front of them, the guards felt like colts going up against a mountain lion.

“I have no time to argue! Lock me up and throw away the key!” She said in a booming voice.

Twilight found herself in a long dark hallway. Dimmed, buzzing lights flickered above her head. Ponies banged on their cell doors and peered through the small windows to get a glimpse of the princess.

“My apologize Princess, but you’re going to have to share a room. The asylum is full…”

“I don’t care about that, just lock me up!” She hissed.

The guards led her to a cell on the other side of the building. This side was secluded from the other ponies, because these ponies were very dangerous. Twilight and the guards stopped in front a cell. The foam colored door had scratches on it. One of the guards took out a set of keys and unlocked the door. The other guard poked his head into the cell.

“Myra, you’re sharing this room with a very special guest. If you lay a hoof on her, you will be severely punished.”

Myra used her horn to carve a sad pony face in the wall. She had an olive green coat with a tangled dark mahogany mane. Her cutiemark was the female symbol. Her spice colored eyes rounded at her guest. She smiled a sinister smirk at Twilight.

“Oh, I’ll be nice. Don’t worry…”She said coolly. She licked her lips and trotted towards the princess. Twilight glared at her.

The guards felt uneasy, but they knew about Twilight’s condition. They left two ponies in cell. Two more guards appeared in front of their cell, just in case Myra did something awful.

Inside the cell, Twilight slumped on the gray foamy floor. There were two beds in the room. The mangled bed, on the left wall, was obviously Myra’s. The one on the right wall was covered in dust. There were no pillows on it either. The lights were dimmed and the periwinkle walls were covered in hoof prints. The smell of mercury and rubbing alcohol added to the insane atmosphere.

Twilight tried to remain calm. But Myra wasn’t helping. She circled around the princess. She gently nudged Twilight’s palatinate flank. She even went as far as to nibble the princess’s ear.

“Myra, what are you doing?” she said in a dull voice.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable your highness.” She said with a chuckle. “I find you to be quite attractive.”

Twilight sighed, “Please don’t bother me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Oh please Twilight, I’m not afraid of the consequences. Do you want to know why I’m in here?”

Twilight lowered her head and glared at the floor. Myra wrapped her arms around the princess. She buried her cheek in Twilight’s black mane.

“I’m in this nut house because I raped so many ponies. The only ponies I raped were mares and fillies. I started out with fillies. Oh Celestia, they had nice flanks. They were so cute! Better than any stallion or colt’s flank. But, I grew tired of filly flanks. So, I bumped it up a notch. I raped my older sister, I raped my cousins, I raped my female peers, and I even raped my high school teacher. But then they caught me. They gave me some pills and electric therapy. And guess what? I am still craving flank!”

An emerald green aura pinned Twilight to the plush floor. Dark magic sparked out of Twilight’s horn, but she had to remain calm.

Myra strolled over to Twilight’s backside. Once she was right in front of what she wanted, she fondled with Twilight’s mare garden. Twilight bit her lip, Myra moaned. Myra kissed the princess’s flank. She did this again. The third time, she licked the flank. Taking in the salty taste of Twilight’s coat.

“They shouldn’t have put you in her Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The olive green unicorn moaned.

Twilight nearly yelped when she felt Myra’s horn slide in and out of her privates. The dark aura leaked out of Twilight’s horn. Purple smoke appeared around her eyes. Fangs seeped out of her mouth. Twilight completely lost it.

“You have no right to humiliate me.” Twilight said in a deep voice.

Myra couldn’t comprehend what happened. The cell was covered in razor-edged black crystals. The unicorn backed away from Twilight.

Outside the cell, black crystals sprouted from underneath the guards. They smashed them against the roof. Large crystals burst out of more cells, smothering, crushing, or stabbing anypony that stood to close. The crystals made their way outside. They knocked over the towers and crushed the fence. The mountain turned into a giant black crystal.

Twilight protected herself in a black forcefield from the falling debris. For some reason, she protected Myra. The dark green walls collapsed. The floor crumbled underneath them. A giant black crystal became their floor.

Twilight stopped the sprouting of black crystals. The forcefields disappeared. A cold wind nipped at Myra’s coat. She glowered at Twilight.

Twilight stood like a statue. Her mane whipped in the wind. The white stars on her cutiemark faded away. The raspberry colored star faded to black. Before Twilight could do anything, Myra teleported off the mountain. She found herself in a black crystal infested forest. Poor animals were trapped inside the crystals. Myra leaped over the crystals and tried to gallop away.

But, a black magic aura pinned her to the ground. She felt an evil presence behind her. Twilight hovered over the unicorn with an eerie grin on her face.

The next thing Myra knew, she laid on her side sobbing. Her slit and flank burned with pain. Twilight huddled next to Myra. The vile Alicorn wiped the tears off of the unicorn’s cheek.

“Don’t cry Myra,” Twilight said sweetly. “Pay back is nice isn’t it?”

Myra wept even harder and buried her face under her hooves. Twilight got up and trotted away from the sodding unicorn.

“While you think about what you’ve done, I am going to pay Celestia and Luna a visit.” Twilight vanished into thin air.

Myra laid on the crystal ground, dazed and scared.