//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - The Upgraded Horn // Story: Dadonequus Discord (Book 2) // by CrazedLaughter //------------------------------// You slowly stand up as you brush off both your mane and your childish annoyance at Discord. He just gave you an awesome sounding gift, so you could overlook his little trick this time. But was he being truthful? Or was it really just a lie, with the punchline being yet another slam on your head. You hold up your horn, and eye it closely. “Hm, looks the same…” Then again, you doubt he was going to make any visual changes while it was off your forehead. “In that case…” You plop the horn on your head. But as usual, when it’s out of charges, it keeps it’s Sombra form, complete with the “Dark Magic” effect. And while you usually would have called it a trick right there and then, you decided to give Discord the benefit of the doubt. “Ok, Discord, let’s see if this works…” You look around, and spot the drawers of your dresser. Those would be a great way to test the horn. You aim your horn at them, and try to focus on opening them all. You remember that you wasted a charge on telekinesis before, on Snips and Snails. So, in theory, you should be able to get this if the rules of the horn still applies to chaos and not actual unicorn magic. The drawers, one by one, began to glow a sickly green. Woah, it was...It was actually working! You started to feel excited as drawers started to open and close at the mere will of thought. You began to smile joyfully as you then started to open and close them to a latin beat you had in your head. Holy shit, This was incredible! While you were creating the beat, you focused on your blanket, and brought it towards you in a way that made it compress and stretch into the shape of a woman’s torso. You then began to dance with it as the beat played on. “Ratata! Rambaba! Ariba! Ari-..Wait…” Suddenly the drawers stop and the blanket drops and folds onto the ground when you realize something. “I can manipulate reality twice a day, so why is this so great? God, I must have looked like a childish idiot.” You take the horn off your forehead and head towards the portal door. You open it to Fluttershy’s cottage and step through it, coming face to face with her front door once more. Looking at it, and then up at the moonlit night, you realized that showing it off to Fluttershy would probably make her smile. Yeah! She probably would find it cute! That’d be a great way to open up your visit. So you put the horn back on your head, stand tall, and knock on the door. “Aunt Fluttershy! Are you there? It’s me, Anon!” Luckily for you, it seemed she was still up. It wasn’t that late, but she did have somewhere to be tomorrow. “Anon? Oh! Let me get the door for you!” She said as she rushed to let you in. As the door began to open, Fluttershy’s adorably smiling face was waiting to greet you. “Good evening, Anon. I’m actually so so...so…so...so...so” She suddenly looked white in the face as she gazed at you. “Aunt FlutterAGH!” Suddenly, you receive a face full of wooden door as she slams it shut on you, knocking you flat on your ass. “Ow! What in the…” As you rub your forehead, you notice the dark aura emanating over you. Right, she rarely ever saw you with the horn on without charges, perhaps she never really has, you couldn’t remember. But it did make sense that she would have been skittish to see you like that. No need to be upset, Anon, it's gonna be ok. You get up to knock on the door to let Fluttershy know what’s up, but she had already opened it before you could approach. It seems she had already realized what she had done nearly as soon as she had done it. She was looking down at you with apologetic eyes. “Anon...I’m so so so so sorry, I didn’t realize you were wearing your horn.” She steps out, cautious that you could be angry or upset, and sits just outside the door, her voice becoming more sad and squeaky. “A-are you alright?” She really did feel terrible. She had heard how loud the thud of the door was against your hard head, and the sound itself was enough to make her regret her rash decision. How could you be mad at an adorable face like that? You do a cute flip, give her an adorable grin, and trot and skip over to her with pride. “Didn’t even feel it, Aunt Fluttershy. And even if I did, it doesn’t matter, I know it was a mistake.” You then nuzzle your head under hers, and embrace her in a hug. “So don’t cry, ok?” “Anon…” She holds in her tears, smiling warmly as she hugged you close. After the hug, she looked to you, retaining that smile as she gave your nose a peck. “There, just in case you needed a fix for your booboo” You giggle at that, and waggle your tail as you look to her with your classic adorable grin. “Awww, Aunt Fluttershy, you know I’m a lot tougher than that now. Erm…” You look behind her. Through the threshold of the door, you could see she had all her bags in order and ready to be moved out. It was quite a bit to carry, so she obviously was going to have help to move them when she was ready. But it still made you worry, you look back to Fluttershy with a growing frown. “Ummm, Aunt Fluttershy, I know I forgot to ask, but are you going to be at my wedding thing next week? I know you’re gonna be busy with that breezie thing, and you know I won’t hold it against you if you do miss it. But, you know...I was just kind of wondering if you were gonna be there anyway.” Fluttershy’s expression became lost as she looked to the side, she held her breath for a moment as she thought of what to say to you. “Hmmm… Anon, I know you won’t hold it against me. But I really do want to be there. To see you so happy with your little marefriend. I want to be able to have a glimpse to what your beautiful future will be like. And as your Aunt, it is my duty to be there.” She then let out a lamented sigh “...Just like it’s my duty to help settle this dispute.” “Aunt Fluttershy, come on!” You look at her with a cheerful smile “Don’t get upset! If you miss it, you miss it, it’s not that big a deal. What you’re doing is much more important! I’m not even saying that either, you know that I can understand that the safety and stability of Equestria is super important!” You give her nose a gentle boop, your smile becoming more warming as you gaze at her “Really, I already know you’re going to do your best to get back. I even have this feeling Dad would immediately teleport you to where you need to be the moment he got wind that you were done. Aunt Fluttershy, please don’t be sad about it, don’t wrack your brain over it. You need to focus so you can get your job done, ok?” You gave her the sunniest smile you could to try and cheer her up. She holds you close, and nuzzles her head upon yours as she lets out a little giggle. “Oh, Anon, you’re so mature and understanding. I’m so glad to have you as a nephew! And, hehe” Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hoof as she had herself a silly little giggle “And your marefriend will be so glad to have you as a husband too! I just have this feeling you two will make quite the pair. But oh, look at me” Fluttershy felt a little embarrassed “Thinking far ahead like that. You’re both still very young, you won’t be really married for quite some time. You better not grow up to be a little heart breaker now.” Fluttershy, in her heart, had faith it’d work out. She had no fear, despite her thinking of it as a cute crush, that the love between you and Diamond would never die. “Aww, come on, I won’t. I’m one loyal guy!” Perfectly loyal...Mostly...Kinda Mostly… Dammit, you suddenly felt like someone out there was judging you. Could anyone really blame you for finding a ton of these mares cute or sexy? Still, the thought of Diamond being a little older, oh baby, she’s gonna be so damn hot. But before you let your mind wander to such things, you hop away from Fluttershy and begin to jump about, excited. “Oh, Aunt Fluttershy! Do you want to see what my horn can do now? Dad gave it an upgrade!” “Oh, he told me he was going to do that. Sure! I’d love to see what it can do now...erm...He didn’t exactly tell me what it’d be though.” She looks left and right nervously, then back to you “It’s not to make things explode, right?” Heh, that’s adorable that’d she think that...Kinda scary too. “Nah, just watch this…” You look around, you needed something to move around with your….oh, you got it. “Where’s Angel, by the way?” “Oh, erm, he’s up in the room, asleep. Why?” Fluttershy asked, curious. This has been a long time coming. “Oh...nothing, just watch.” You focus, and you focus hard, trying to imagine Fluttershy’s bed and the little rat that was on it. You didn’t hate him, he could be cool, but it was time to even things up with him. You struggled with your thoughts, hoping that you nabbed something as you feel a pull on your forehead. Did you nab him? Well, as you look up to see Fluttershy let out a quiet gasp, you felt you were on the right track. You look to where she was looking at, only to see a sleeping Angel, hovering just above the rug. “Anon, couldn’t you already do something like this? And, please be careful with him, please” Fluttershy said, circling Angel, ready to catch him at a moment’s notice...Dammit, you really wanted to let him drop. Maybe next time. “Yeah, but see how my eyes are still like Sombra’s?” You ask her “Mhmm, doesn’t that mean your horn has no magic at all?” “Well, besides the magic it uses to do this effect, yeah. But now? I can use telekinesis and a barrier whenever I want! I haven’t really tried a barrier yet, but I think it’d be as easy as telekinesis, speaking of which.” You sigh, and gently place Angel on the couch without disturbing him. Whatever, maybe it would have been too rude to drop the ass while he wasn’t expecting it. “There we go.” “You have so much control, Anon.” Fluttershy tilts her head cheerfully, happy and proud of your use of magic. “Erm, actually, I’d like to see if you could use that barrier spell too. You know how I am, knowing you have ways to stay safe always puts me at ease.” “I could try. Probably is just as easy as having a thought about it. In fact, let’s give it a real test drive. Toss something at me, Aunt Fluttershy” Fluttershy shakes her head, she didn’t like the sounds of that. She didn’t want to risk hurting you, barrier or no. “Oh no no, let’s not do that. Just seeing it would be enough for me.” “Well, how do we know how effective it is without testing it? C’mon, Aunt Fluttershy! It’ll be alright, promise!” You felt pretty confident, If you can do telekinesis, then the barrier spell was going to be a cinch! “Mmmmm…” Fluttershy looked down, shifting her eyes left and right as she gave it some thought. She knew you were right. How could she even know if it’s a good enough spell to protect you without a proper test? “...Ok…” Fluttershy walks over to her sofa, and takes a single pillow while avoiding waking her rabbit. She walks back towards you, and grabs the pillow with her wings, looking oddly determined as she starts to swing it around like a mace “I’ll give it a good swing, Anon. If this barrier is really good enough to protect you, then you don’t need to worry, you won’t be hurt one bit!” Was she serious? Did little ole Fluttershy even think she could hurt you with a fucking pillow? You had to hold in a giggle, you didn’t want to insult her. Alright then… “Ok, when you’re ready, Aunt Fluttershy” You bent down and wiggle your butt, aiming your horn directly at her and preparing your barrier spell. “Ok...Here...I...GO!” Fluttershy swings to the side, bringing the pillow down for a sideways smash. It was actually quite impressive, given the speed it was going. “BARRIER! ACTIVATE!” You let out, not only to sound like a cool badass, but to focus on creating the barrier. However, before the last second the pillow hits, you see that the barrier magic doesn’t actually create a barrier, but rather an impenetrable shield three times your size directly in front of you. But that wasn’t where the pillow was coming from... “GYAH! Om-...Oh wait...Never mind.” The pillow hits your side, but it really doesn’t do anything. HOLY SHIT! YOU DIDN’T END UP HITTING YOUR HEAD THIS TIME! THANK GOD FOR FLUTTERSHY NOT BEING THAT STRONG! When Fluttershy swung, her mane ended up in front of her eyes, blocking her view. When she brushed it back, she looked around, then back down at you to see the illuminated barrier, green in color, in front of herself. “Oh, it worked. Yay!” She cheered, ignorant to the fact that she actually hit you. “Yep, I dunno if it’s supposed to be that way though. Dad said it’d be a barrier, but it looks more like a shield. It’s kind of cool though, it’s big enough to guard my front.” You start looking left and right, causing the magical shield to turn with you “Oh...That’s cool, it follows my head movemenGAH!” Then you looked down, causing the shield to spark a bright green shine when it touched the floor, releasing a small blast that sends you backwards into the wall and causes the shield itself to deactivate. “Anon!” Fluttershy rushes over to you, picks you up, brushes off your face with her feathers, and puts you down. “Are you alright?! Speak to me!” Well, the miracle couldn’t last forever. What was that? Three in the last fucking hour? “I-I’m fine, erm… I guess I better master using the spell a little better, huh?” Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as she gave you a quick gentle hug “Anon…” She let you go, and gave you a long worried look “Maybe if you do practice it again, you should wear some padded clothing, and some padded leggings, and a helmet, and some strong horseshoes, and protective goggles…” She went on like this for a little while. If she wasn’t so loving, you’d find it annoying. But sheesh, you were better than that when it came to magic. Just don’t look directly down, easily remembered. There wasn’t much to the visit after that. You and Fluttershy talked a little more about her trip, but it was pretty boring to actually hear about. Sure you cared, but damn, it was all cutesy politics bullshit. She also spoke to you about your training tomorrow. She wished you good luck, to stay safe, and do your best. You know, typical motherly stuff. And with a yawn, and a promise to come back as soon as she can, and of course the usual hugs and goodbyes, Fluttershy wishes you a goodnight. She did have to be up soon after all, and you didn’t want to keep her up for too long. You left Fluttershy’s cottage. You had hope in your heart that she’d be there for your “wedding”, it wouldn’t be show appropriate if someone like her missed it, after all. You head to the stream by her little bridge, and look into the water. “Uhh, how am I supposed to do this? Same way?” Well, what else could you do? So, with little hesitation, you give it a shot and jump into the water, trying to focus on a portal. It doesn’t work. You end up in the cold water, it’s icy chill piercing your coat, causing you to shiver and shudder. Even as you crawl out and shake yourself off, you couldn’t help but chatter your teeth due to how chilly you felt. “G-g-g-oddammit, w-w-what went...wrong?” You look back at the water, confused and bewildered “He s-s-said it worked the same, right?! S-s-s-so why? W-what..D-do I have to shoot a laser or s-s-...” And just as you say it, your horn fires a laser into the water, revealing a portal to your room. Your right eye twitches as your coat begins to warm up, then produce steam “Oh...That was the answer...WHY COULDN’T YOU FUCKING TELL ME THAT, DISCORD! HOLY SHIT!” You were red with anger. Really?! Now it requires a fucking laser opening...thing?! Why not just keep it the same! Holy fuck! That’s so damn dumb! “I swear to fucking god! When I...I…” You look around, again, who were you talking to? “Yeah…” You shake your head at your own foolishness “Nobody there...Ugh, why am I angry anyway? Just like with the freaking shield, I should have tested for some differences before hopping in. Right, ok, got it! Just meet up with Discord...And hope things go ok” And with that, you jump into the portal.