//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Nature Be Dark and Scary! // Story: Fires of Friendship and Ice of Hatred // by Super Ponyman //------------------------------// (Twilight's Castle, Library) The old golden oaks library in Ponyville was once the home of Twilight Sparkle, it was a haven of knowledge and literature that entertained ponies of all ages with exciting novels, educated ponies with the various history books, and even was a large part of history. That all changed when Lord Tirek decided to blow it to pieces with a Horn Hyper Blast, but this was a big mistake, as it only strengthened Twilight's resolve to blow Tirek away. Eventually with the help of Celestia and Luna, Twilight rebuilt the Golden Oaks Library inside of Twilight's castle, and she was overjoyed when it was completed. It held volumes upon volumes of magic tomes, scrolls, even the Friendship Journal. Twilight Sparkle was currently reading up on a profile that Spike wrote down about her friend and partner Burning Star to try and find out more about him and possibly find a way to cure his overloading magic levels. She found the volume on Burning Star and began to read it. "Burning Star" "Background" "Also known as the Alicorn of Fire, the Black Alicorn, and The Lord of Fire. Burning Star's past is shrouded in secrecy and he never speaks of it, always diverting the subject to something else." "Appearance" "Burning Star is an Alicorn Stallion with Jet Black Fur and Wings, a Fiery Red mane and tail, reddish orange feathers on his Wings, and dark blue eyes. He is about 2.5 meters tall and weighs about 87 Kilograms. He is much heavier than Celestia and Luna, but this is due to being a Stallion. He is immortal due to being an Alicorn, but appearance wise is is roughly 25 years old, five years older than Twilight!" Twilight kept reading, noting down Burning Star's Age, height, and weight. "Powers" "Due to being an Alicorn, Burning Star possesses mastery over magic and can fly at a top speed of Mach 3 when he ignites his wings and uses his fire powers in a manner similar to rocket propulsion. He is strong enough to lift and throw objects as large as a dragon while they are in a greed growth state, which can weigh as much as 45,000 tons. He also can harness the forbidden spells of Dark Magic due to his training under the Shadow King, Sombra (See King Sombra's Profile for more) "Burning Star's most unique ability is his ability to master Pryokinesis, or control over Fire and Superheated Plasma. He can spew fire from his mouth like a dragon, blast fireballs from his horn, and create many other fire-based attacks. Unlike Fire Magic, Burning Star's powers are natural and only rely on his stamina." Twilight Sparkle noted down the key points about his powers, even though it's easier to observe them. She continued to read, "Weaknesses" "Burning Star's fire abilities are weakened in the rain and water will extinguish his fires, and he can exhaust himself by overusing his fire powers. A Lack of Hydrogen in the air can render his powers unusable." Twilight Sparkle didn't notice her shadow extending and King Sombra emerging from it. The Shadow King walked up behind Twilight's chair and said in his deep voice, "I see you are reading about my former student, Twilight." Twilight Sparkle jumped out of her chair in fear as King Sombra suprised her from behind, earning a laugh from the Shadow King. Twilight Sparkle shouted at him, "Don't do that! I'm already on edge enough without Burning Star being a ticking time bomb that could incinerate this world, you almost gave me a heart attack." King Sombra pulled up another chair and began to speak to the lavender Alicorn, "Speaking of my student, have all of his... ugh, old friends arrived yet?" Twilight nodded, "Sea Breeze and Iron Steed have arrived, we are waiting on Fluttershy and Celestia to return from the Ghosts Den in the White Tail Woods." For the first time in 1,000 years, King Sombra went white with fear, "Wait... the Ghosts Den! Twilight, please tell me you're joking." Twilight Sparkle raised and eyebrow, "Is there a problem with the Ghosts Den, Sombra?" King Sombra rushed over to the bookshelves and began to hastily look for something, Twilight watched on in curiosity. King Sombra finally pulled out a dark gray book with a red binding on it, the title read "History of Equestria, Volume 7, Everfree Forest." King Sombra opened up the book and began to read, "The Ghosts Den is a place where Ponies can encounter the Ghosts of their past and overcome their doubts and fears. It Is also a supposed home to the dark life form known as the Pony of Shadows. Approach the cave with extreme caution." Twilight went wide eyed, "Wait a sec, Pony of Shadows?! As in that beast me and my friends fought alongside Starswirl and the other Ponies of Legend? I thought we beat that thing?!" King Sombra shook his head, "Twilight, The Pony of Shadows lives, since I encountered it on my way here. It offered me immense power, but I rejected it and it got angry at me. I had to seal it away in the Ghosts Den, since I knew no pony would ever go there. Celestia and this... Fluttershy are in grave danger!" Twilight Sparkle put a hoof over King Sombra's mouth, "Don't worry, Fluttershy and Celestia are perfect capable of dealing with the Pony of Shadows, besides... This is Celestia we are talking about." "What could go wrong?" (White Tail Woods, Ghosts Den) Fluttershy and Celestia flew through the trees of the White Tail Woods, it was unusually dark for this time of day, the White Tail Woods were known as an odd place... but this was truly weird. Celestia said to the timid Pegasus, "Fluttershy, are you sure you know where we are? My sun cannot pierce this unnatural darkness, for some reason the trees are obscuring the sunlight. Do they normally do that, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy landed and shook her head, "No... they don't. Usually the trees are not this large as well, oh dear, something's wrong! W-what do we do?!" Celestia landed and put her wing around the cream colored Pegasus, "It's alright, Fluttershy. Nothing out here is going to hurt you, if they try... may Faust help them." Suddenly, a ghost white stag appeared out of nowhere. It was the Spirit of White Tail itself! The spirit said, "Welcome, Element of Kindness and Princess of the Sun." This is a unexpected visit, To say the least..." Celestia bowed her head and said, "Greetings as well, White Tail. The Alicorn of Fire known as Burning Star is currently overloaded on his Fire Magic, we are searching for a unicorn known as Thorn Horn, do you know of him/her?" White Tail nodded, "I do, he has inhabited these woods for a long time, although he is not himself at the moment. Something... Dark has overtaken him, and he has altered the Forest to suit this entity's needs." White Tail pointed to the cave, "He is in there, he seems to be expecting you two..." The two ponies approached the cave's entrance and Celestia shouted into the cave, "THORN HORN! Are you there? We have come to ask for assistance from you!" A shrill and familiar voice responded, sending Chills down Celestia's spine. "Hello Celestia, I have been expecting you for a few days now. Now, prepare to meet your end along with your little Pegasus friend! A black and purple flood erupted from the cave, taking shape into two pony shaped masses, Fluttershy stepped back in fear as her alter ego, the fearsome Flutterbat, appeared in front of her. It hissed and snarled. Another mass landed in front of Celestia, taking shape into Celestia's worst nightmare, The Terrifying Alicorn known as Daybreaker! Fluttershy, with unexpected bravery, stepped forwards and said, "Your illusions cannot fool us, Phantom. Come out and face us like a real Stallion!" The two apparitions vanished and the black mass that created them emerged from the cave, making Fluttershy immediately regret the decision to call it out. The black mass took the shape of a massive Alicorn, it was charcoal black with white streaks running across its body. It's mouth was full of sharp teeth and its eyes were a blazing red. It was the Pony of Shadows! The dark entity roared, "Now Celestia, I will drown you in- Before he could finish his sentence, he was smacked in the head by a tree branch, then another, then another. The pair of ponies heard a voice from the trees, "Why did you have to go and wake him up?! I just got finished putting him down when you two came along and messed it up!" Fluttershy watched as a Lime Green Stallion with a dark green colored mane flickered into view from the trees. He had camouflaged himself to avoid detection by Celestia, and it worked. Fluttershy saw the Unicorn's cutie Mark, a Circle of Thorns with a Maple leaf in the center, She concluded that this must be Thorn Horn, the Master of the Earth Element! The Pony of Shadows screamed in pain as it was smacked about by thorny vines that sprouted up from the ground, before being flung back into the cave with a large thud. Thorn Horn spoke into the cave, "Now you sit there and stop being a Edgelord for crying out loud!" Celestia walked up to Thorn Horn and said, "You must be Thorn Horn I presume?" Thorn Horn's body flickered before revealing that Thorn Horn was not a stallion, but a Mare! Fluttershy smiled, "You do not have to put up illusions, Thorny, it's just me." Thorn Horn turned to Fluttershy and reverted back to a Stallion, saying "As I live and breathe, Fluttershy! I been wondering when you would wander back into my neck of the woods." Thorn Horn noticed Celestia, "Oh, Hello Princess Celestia. Do what do I owe the occasion of having not only one of the Elements of Harmony visit my forest, but royalty as well?" Celestia stepped forward and said, "We are here to ask for your assistance, Master of Earth. Do you know of a pony called Burning Star?" Thorn Horn's eyes went wide, "Yeah I do! He is one of my oldest friends, why do you ask about him with concern in your voice? Has something happened to him?" Fluttershy cut in, "Yes. Burning Star is overheating in a similar manner to an Ifrit... can you help us cool him off before he explodes into a firey inferno?" Thorn Horn chuckled, "Of course, Flutters. What do you need me to do? Should I prepare some Frost Herbs? Gather up some Mystic Spring Water? Oh so many options to choose from to treat his illness..." Celestia interrupted Thorn Horn's conversation, earning a glare from the unicorn. "We don't have time to decide on what is best! We need some sort of solution, anything." Thorn Horn snorted out, "Wow, for royalty you sure are rude." Celestia opened up a portal and jumped through, Fluttershy did the same, with Thorn Horn close behind her. White Tail appeared again and said in its echoing voice to Thorn Horn, "Remember to tell them of the Windigos, my protégé..." Meanwhile, the Pony of Shadows clawed its way out of the cave and started to speak again, "Damn you Thorn Horn! I swear that I will-" White Tail used its powers to smack The Pony of Shadow back into the cave, it then said to it "WILL YOU SHUT UP!"