⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Twilight and her friends dive toward the enraged unicorn, Pizza Pie, each armed with balloons filled with magic-blocking Smooze. Leading the charge, Twilight calls out, "Fire wave one!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash unleash the first volley, hitting Pizza Pie squarely. The balloons burst on impact, coating her in Smooze that oozes over her hooves and tail, sticking her to the ground.

"Now, fire wave two!" Twilight commands.

Twilight and Rarity hurl more balloons with their magic. Pizza Pie tries to counter, popping some balloons mid-air, but bits of Smooze still splatter onto her face, covering her horn and cutting off her magic completely.

"Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy get ready," Twilight says, teleporting her two friends a few meters away from Pizza Pie.

Pinkie Pie pulls her party cannon from her mane and aims it at her cousin. "Alright, Fluttershy you bring in the cakes, and I'll bring in the pain!"

"Um, Pinkie. . . . are you sure you know what you’re doing?" Fluttershy asks, uncertain.

"Of course I do!" Pinkie replies, confidently pulling the string on her party cannon. A cake flies out and smacks Pizza Pie directly, though she’s still struggling to move. "Quick, before she gets up, reload me with another Smooze cake!"

"O-okay. . ." Fluttershy stammers, retrieving another cake from the wagon and reloading. "How many cakes do we need to-"

"As many as we can!" Pinkie replies, firing another cake. Watching her cousin’s struggle, she whispers, "Cousin, stop fighting back. We're trying to help you. I'm trying to help you. Snap out of it!"

For a brief moment, Pinkie Pie’s voice seems to reach Pizza Pie. "P-Pinkie?" she murmurs, almost breaking free from her rage. But the moment fades as Rainbow Dash soars above her, hurling another barrage of Smooze balloons that land on her back, pulling her back into her frenzied state.

"Keep it up, Pinkie we almost got her!" Rainbow calls, looping back to throw more Smooze-filled balloons.

Twilight watches her friends, satisfied that the plan is going smoothly. "Great job, girls. Just give me enough time to recast my spell-"

"Twilight! Down here!"

She looks down to see Starlight, Trixie, and Discord waving at her. Twilight quickly flies down to them. "I’m so glad you're finally here! We need your-"

"What’s going on? Starlight interrupts. "How did Pinkie’s cousin get a unicorn horn?"

"It’s not an ordinary horn," Twilight replies. "Something strange happened, and now our Elements don’t work on her."

"The Elements. . . don’t work?" Discord’s eyes widen.

"Wait, how is that possible?" Starlight asks, bewildered. "The Elements are supposed to be the strongest magic you all have!"

"Look, we don’t have time to discuss this. Our Elements couldn’t stop her, so we’re trying to trap her with the Smooze-" Twilight explains urgently.

Discord’s expression shifts as a memory surfaces, his claw trembling slightly. "No. . . it can’t be. . ."

"Can’t be what?" Twilight asks, noticing his reaction.

Discord quickly looks away, feigning ignorance. "I mean, how could that be? Doesn’t make sense, even to me!"

Twilight eyes him suspiciously. "Well, can you help us stop Pizza Pie?"

"Is the Princess of Friendship asking for our help?" Trixie asks smugly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie never thought she’d see the day."

Discord clears his throat. "She meant me and Starlight the real experts in magic. No offense, dear."

"Don’t start with me, Discord," Twilight says sharply, holding back her irritation.

"Enough!" Twilight snaps. "Going head-to-head with her isn’t an option. We’ve tried it twice and failed."

"Oh, please," Trixie scoffs. "You’re talking to two ponies who outsmarted you and the Spirit of Chaos. We can handle one rogue unicorn faster than you can say-"

"Duck!" Twilight shouts.

Pizza Pie’s tail lashes out, breaking free from the Smooze, and swings dangerously close to them, smashing the wagon and Pinkie Pie’s party cannon. The Smooze covering her starts to boil off and rapidly evaporates until it’s completely gone.

"My cakes! My party cannon!" Pinkie runs to the rubble, distressed.

The group steels themselves as Pizza Pie advances, her eyes wild and unyielding.

"Wh-what are we going to do now?" Fluttershy asks, trembling behind her friends.

Rainbow Dash steps forward, determined. "I’ll buy us some time. You all regroup with Twilight."

"Now hold on there, Rainbow," Applejack says, grabbing her tail. "Twilight said to stick together."

"Applejack, we can’t let Pizza Pie keep tearing up Ponyville. Luring her out of town is the only way we can go all out," Rainbow insists.

"But-"

"Rainbow Dash is right, darling," Rarity adds. "We need to limit the damage. Let’s lure her out while Twilight comes up with a new plan."

"Look, look!" Pinkie grabs Rarity’s face and points. "It’s Discord, Starlight, and Trixie with Twilight!" She waves frantically. "Hey! Over here!"

"Finally, some backup," says Rainbow Dash. "I’ll go ahead and start luring Pizzazilla out of here. You all meet up with the others."

“Rainbow, wait!”

But Rainbow Dash was already airborne, flying straight toward Pizza Pie and then whizzing past her at incredible speed. Enraged, Pizza Pie turned and charged after her, leaving the other ponies behind to regroup with Twilight.

“Girls!” Twilight called, flying over to her friends. “What happened? Where’s all the Smooze?”

“It didn’t work, Twilight. . .” Applejack panted, catching her breath.

“Yes, darling,” Rarity chimed in, frustrated. “She just boiled it right off herself and destroyed the rest of our stash.”

Pinkie Pie stepped forward. “But Rainbow Dash said she’d buy us some time to come up with another plan!”

"What? Is she crazy?!" Twilight exclaims. "She’s already at her limit."

“B-But she’s doing her best to distract her,” Fluttershy said softly. “She trusts us to think of another way.”

“Trixie agrees with Fluttershy!” Trixie added with a boastful smile. “And now that we’re here, it’s time for us to handle the situation.”

“Not so fast, Trixie,” Starlight interrupted. “Twilight said their Elements don’t work on her. Using raw magic up front won’t be effective.”

“Excellent point, Starlight,” Discord nodded, casting a wary glance at Pizza Pie’s distant form. “We need to be cautious. (Given how much magic she’s been exposed to, who knows what she’s already learned?) If we rush in blindly, we’ll just give away our advantage, and we don’t want that, do we?”

“Cautious?” Starlight eyed Discord suspiciously. “(He’s been acting strangely since we got back. . .) But can’t you just overpower her like you did with King Sombra”

“No. She’d just counter I-I mean. . .” Discord stammered, quickly recovering. “As you said, raw magic won’t do. We’ll need a powerful spell and a clever strategy.”

Trixie pulls Starlight to her side with a dramatic flair. “Luckily, Starlight knows many strong spells and Trixie here is quite the strategist.”

“I was referring to myself, but fine,” Discord replied, rolling his eyes.

“Then it’s settled,” Twilight declared. “It’s up to you three. My friends and I will have your backs.”

The others nodded, agreeing with the plan. With quick thinking, Discord and Twilight used their magic to teleport ahead to meet Rainbow Dash just outside the village.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still on the run, Pizza Pie hot on her tail. She reached the edge of town, heading straight toward the towering crystal wall. With a burst of speed, she flew straight up the crystal structure. Pizza Pie halted below, watching, before beginning to climb effortlessly with claw-like extensions from her tail. Rainbow looked down and saw her gaining.

“Man, does she ever get tired?!” she muttered.

Elsewhere, Princess Celestia was swiftly approaching Ponyville with a platoon of guards at her side. Ahead, she spotted a crowd of ponies, led by Spike, all gathered just beyond the edge of the forest. She landed, and the little dragon hurried over, relief on his face.

"Princess Celestia! Thank goodness you’re here," he says with relief. "Twilight ordered everypony to evacuate to Canterlot."

“So I’ve heard,” Celestia said, glancing at the frightened ponies around her. “I’m relieved you’re all safe. Spike, can you explain what happened?”

"Well, Princess. . . you wouldn’t believe it," Spike begins, glancing anxiously at the gathered ponies.

Unnoticed, Princess Luna had followed her sister, listening closely from the shadows behind the trees.

“Pinkie Pie’s cousin is. . . a unicorn?” Celestia asked, stunned.

“Yes, I was surprised too,” Spike replied. “It’s been a week since it happened, and everypony was asking where she got her powers, but it just made her angry. She’s been on a rampage since then. Twilight and her friends are trying to stop her-”

“Wait, Spike. . .” Celestia rubbed her forehead, trying to process. “This Pizza Pie. . . what kind of magic does she possess?”

“I’m not sure, Princess. But it’s nothing like regular unicorn magic; it’s far stronger and more destructive. . .”

Hidden among the trees, Luna’s eyes widened as she whispered to herself, “Pizza Pie?” Troubled, she covered her mouth. “(This can’t be… she showed no signs of flaws during her transformation. If there were, why didn’t she reach out to me? Something must have happened. . .)”

At that moment, one of the villagers stepped forward, his voice filled with anger. “It’s true, Princess. That mare demolished our homes, ruined our harvest, and hurt innocent ponies!”

Other ponies began voicing their grievances, turning their frustration toward Celestia and Spike. The guards formed a line between the crowd and the Princess to calm the tension. Spike tried to pacify the crowd as Celestia’s ears caught a rustling sound behind her.

“(This is getting out of hoof. . . I need to stop it myself.)” Luna began to slip away, accidentally stepping on a branch. She flinched, then continued, but Celestia’s gaze had already locked onto her.

“Luna?” Celestia approached, her voice firm. “What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to stay with the mayor.”

“I-I know, but. . .” Luna stammered, avoiding her sister’s gaze. “Mayor Mare was just worried about the townsponies, so I thought I’d check on you too.”

“Everypony is fine, Luna. You didn’t need to come all this way-”

“Yes, you’re right. You’ve clearly got things under control. I’ll return to the castle and inform Mayor Mare of the situation,” Luna replied, turning to leave.

Celestia watched her go, suspicion growing. “Wait, Luna.”

Luna stopped, her face tensing as Celestia floated over to her.

“Is this the vision you’ve been having? The one that’s kept you up the past few nights?”

"M-my vision?" Luna stammers, glancing away nervously.

“Yes. You’ve been acting oddly ever since the social gathering. And, oddly enough, you went missing just as Twilight and her friends began searching for this Pizza Pie pony.”

Luna’s eyes darted away, and she broke into a nervous sweat. “S-Sister, let’s not waste time on such trivial questions. . . I must report back to the mayor-”

"Luna, please," Celestia says, her voice gentle. "If you’re hiding something, you can tell me."

“. . .”

“Don’t you trust your sister? Whatever it is, I’ll try to understand-”

“That’s just it, sister,” Luna replied, guilt in her eyes as she looked away. “You wouldn’t understand. . .”

“But, Luna-”

“Not without knowing what happened that night. . .” She hesitated, her voice barely a whisper. “The night we lost our good friend.”

Back in the conflict zone, Twilight and the others reappeared a mile outside Ponyville, readying themselves to intercept their Pegasus friend and the raging unicorn pursuing her. They braced as they spotted Rainbow Dash and Pizza Pie in the distance, with Rainbow desperately evading her cousin’s furious attacks.

"Alright, we're counting on your plan," Twilight said firmly, looking around at her friends. "Whatever it takes, don’t hesitate to try."

"My, my, Princess," Discord replied cheekily, though a hint of concern flickered in his eyes. "I haven't seen you this desperate it’s not like you… and all the more reason to be cautious."

"This is serious, Discord. We need to try every option we have."

Starlight stood next to Twilight, determination in her gaze. "If it comes down to it, I’ll use my old spell on her. I can try to remove Pizza Pie's cutie mark, and if that’s the source of her strange magic, it should stop her."

"Great idea, Sugarcube," said Applejack, nodding approvingly. "Haven't seen you pull that trick out since… well, you know. You reckon you need that fancy stick for it to work?"

"Oh, that?" Starlight chuckled, though her nerves showed. "That was mostly for show. I can do it without the stick, but I’ll need you all to keep Pizza Pie completely still while I cast it."

Pinkie Pie bit her lip, looking at her cousin with concern. "Are you sure that won’t hurt her, Starlight?"

Starlight hesitated before replying. "I don’t think it will hurt, Pinkie… I hope not."

"It won’t," Twilight said reassuringly. "And don’t worry, Starlight. We’ll back you up so you can focus on casting that spell." She turned to Discord. "Can you set a trap for Pizza Pie? Something that’ll hold her in place?"

Discord grinned, donning an exterminator’s outfit in a flash. "You’re talking to the right draconequus for the job."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will help too!" Trixie stepped forward, pulling a set of smoke bombs from her hat. "It takes a little misdirection to make a good trap work. I’ll provide cover while you ponies set the plan in motion."

"Nice thinking, Trixie," said Starlight, nudging her friend. "Even Rarity’s impressed!"

Rarity nodded approvingly. "Brilliant idea, darling! It’ll keep Pizza Pie from catching on to what we’re up to."

At that moment, the ground began to tremble with a rapid thundering of hooves. They spotted Rainbow Dash flying toward them at breakneck speed, with Pizza Pie sprinting behind, her horn glowing as she fired off bolts of magic in the pegasus's direction.

Twilight raised a hoof. "Everypony, get ready. Here they come."

The group held their breath, watching as Rainbow approached, her wings beating furiously. At the last second, Twilight teleported Rainbow out of Pizza Pie's line of sight, bringing her back to the group. Rainbow reappeared in mid-flight, still charging forward, only to realize she was now with her friends. She stopped, bewildered but relieved.

"Now!" Twilight shouts.

In a swift motion, Trixie threw her smoke bombs to the ground, creating a thick cloud that obscured the area. Pizza Pie halted, her vision blocked. She rushed forward, extending her tail like tendrils, but suddenly felt them caught in something firm. The smoke cleared to reveal her tails shackled to the ground with enchanted chains.

As she struggled, four canes shot out from the smoke, binding each of her hooves. Each cane was held by one of the ponies, straining to keep her pinned.

"Gotcha, cousin!" Pinkie Pie called, holding one cane tight with a worried expression. "I’m sorry, but this is for your own good."

Pizza Pie’s fierce eyes locked onto Pinkie’s, her anger mingling with a flash of sorrow.

Discord snapped his claws, and more chains emerged, securing her hooves in place. A cage formed around her, with iron bars rising up to enclose her fully. With a flick of his wrist, Discord added an extra layer of magic to keep the cage bound tight.

"There we are," Discord said, brushing off his hands. "That wasn’t so difficult, was it?"

"Don’t get too cocky now," Applejack replied, stomping a hoof on the cage. "We can’t let our guard down. Who knows what else she’s capable of?"

Twilight strengthened the bindings with her own magic, layering them with glowing chains of energy. "Starlight, are you ready with that spell?"

Starlight nodded, approaching the cage with a steady but tense step. She began to channel her magic, her horn glowing brightly as she concentrated. "Here goes. . ."

The others watched in anticipation as Starlight’s spell enveloped Pizza Pie, who struggled within the cage. Slowly, a shimmer appeared around her cutie mark as it began to peel away.

"It’s working!" Twilight said, her face brightening. "Keep going, Starlight!"

Pizza Pie, visibly weakening, continued to fight against her bonds, her eyes narrowing with desperate fury. She let out a growl, her body twisting as she strained to break free.

Starlight shut her eyes, pouring more magic into the spell. But suddenly, she felt a pull, as though her consciousness was being dragged elsewhere. Opening her eyes, she found herself in an endless black void.

"Where am I? Twilight? Discord? Everypony?" she called out, panic rising. She looked around, but there was no sign of her friends.

"Cousin. . . help. . ."

Starlight whipped her head toward the faint, desperate voice. "Pizza Pie? Is that you? Where are you?" She ran toward the sound, but an overwhelming weight pressed against her hooves, slowing her down. She glanced down, realizing she was walking through a pool of dark liquid.

Up ahead, she saw Pizza Pie lying on the ground, her form barely visible. "I’m here, Pizza Pie! Hold on, I’ll get you out."

As she reached out, Pizza Pie slowly tilted her head, a haunting grin spreading across her face. "There is no escape." Her form began to melt, slipping through Starlight’s hooves and merging with the darkness around them.

"Pizza Pie?!" Starlight gasped, taking a step back.

"[Κανένα ον δεν έχει έρθει τόσο κοντά στον οικοδεσπότη μου.]"

A deep, unnatural voice echoed in the void, and a monstrous figure loomed overhead, its eyes glowing with a cold, red light.

"[Και θα είσαι ο τελευταίος.]"

The creature’s mouth opened wide, descending toward her. Starlight screamed, mustering enough magic to break free. She jolted back to reality, her spell shattering, and stumbled back, unconscious from the shock.

"STARLIGHT!" Trixie exclaimed in shock.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✶✶✶⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

~ End of chapter 18

Author's Note

As more ponies are involved in the conflict all the more dangerous it gets. The unstable magic grows unpreditable over time and it's origin will resurface by one alcorns confession.