Power Ponies 3: Perilous

by Epicdiscord214

Long Live the Negahorn

Princess Luna was pacing in her throne room hoping things will turn out all right. She couldn't stop thinking about her sister and friends. Meanwhile, Blue Comet was doing the same in a corner of the throne room.

Suddenly, she sensed a shock of yellow electricity growing in the middle of the room. A yellow orb of light flashed, and when it dimmed, the Power Ponies, Mighty Machines, Celestia, and others were standing there confused.

"Where are we?" Zapp asked.

"Sister!" Luna called. "You're back! And you got our friends back..." Her eyes caught Tartus. "...And then some."

"Twilight!" Blue Comet called out excitedly as he hugged his sweetheart.

"We're home?" the Shadow Blot asked. "Did the Negahorn really zap us back home?"

"The Nega-what?" Blue Comet asked. "Oh, and Timberwolf..." He held up Terry's metal claw. "I think this is yours."

"Finally!" Timberwolf said as he took and reattached his claw. "Glad to be right-handed again."

"Glad Comet managed to give you a... 'hand'!" Anar D chuckled

"Anar D?" Luna interrupted. "I... I thought you died! How are you alive?"

"Well, that's a bit of a long story." Anar D said.

"He'll send you a memo!" Tartus said. "Have you forgotten what the Negahorn is going to do?!"

"Hold on!" Luna called out. "Did I miss anything?"

Suddenly, a large quake shook everything. Everyone looked outside and saw a large, dark-purple tear forming in the sky. The tear then widened until a large, dark-purple dragon claw made of glowing light reached through. The rest of the body flew through until Canterlot was in the shadow of a purple dragon made of magic. In the center of the dragon's torso, the Negahorn matched its movements with her glowing eyes and Golden Apple.

"ALL HAIL THE NEGAHORN!" the alicorn cried out with a demonic, echoing bellow.

"What's that?!" Blue Comet asked.

"You want the long version or the short one?" Masque asked. "Basically, it's an evil Masked Matterhorn from a darker Equestria who wants to conquer this Equestria with a dragon made from all the magic she's stored up over the years."

"That doesn't make any sense." Blue Comet said. "What's the long version?"

"That was the long version." Dusk replied. "The short version is, we're doomed."

"The Wonderbolts!" Zapp cried out pointing at the flying heroes circling the dragon.

"Come on, ponies!" Heatwave called out to her teammates. "Let's bring this thing down!"

The Wonderbolts flew around the dragon blasting it with their powers, but the beast wasn't even fazed. They stopped when they saw that the dragon only grew slightly.

"My turn!" the Negahorn called. The dragon opened its mouth and a purple beam escaped from it. The Wonderbolts dodged by a hair, but when it hit the mountain behind them, the whole structure blew into billions of pebbles. Most of them were scattered across the area, and those that hit the dragon were disintegrated in a second.

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Rodan shouted. "Any form of magic or superpower we use will just get absorbed, and if we try to hit it, we're goners! How do we stop that thing?!"

"Okay." the Masked Matterhorn sighed. "Let me think. The Negahorn got her power from the Golden Apple and the Asteroth combining their power, which shouldn't happen."

"So we just have to separate the Negahorn from the Apple and the Asteroth." Tartus said. "But I don't see how that's going to be possible."

"Actually, there is a way to separate the power from the vessels." the Masked Matterhorn corrected. "However, I need to get close to her."

"That might be a problem." the Shadow Blot said. "That dragon destroys anything it touches."

"Not everything." Filli-Second said looking out the window seeing the heroes' failed attempts to stop the magic monster. "The Negahorn's right in the center of that thing and she's not being disintegrated."

Devastator looked alongside Filli-Second. "She's right. How is that possible?"

"It could be the fact that it's her own magic." the Shadow Blot hypothesized. "This evil Twilight can't be harmed because the magic recognizes her as its caster."

"Which means..." Princess Celestia said. "Only a Twilight can get through there."

Everyone looked at the Masked Matterhorn turning to her to save the day.

"It all falls to you now, Matterhorn." Tartus said as he placed his mechanical hand on the purple pony's back.

"Understood." the Masked Matterhorn replied. "I just need a distraction."

Everyone stopped looking at the Matterhorn and instead turned their attention toward Anar D.

"Who, me?" Anar D asked.

---

The dragon started its trek towards Canterlot. Inside, the Negahorn laughed maniacally.

"Yes! Today, Canterlot! TOMORROW, THE MULTIVERSE! I've always wanted to say that."

"Yoo-hoo!" a cheery voice called from below. The Negahorn looked and saw the Lord of Chaos holding a microphone. "Tell me, what do you call a dog that isn't housetrained? ...Spot!"

"What is this?" the Negahorn asked.

"Wow, you really are like my Twilight." Anar D said. "Anyway, do you know how it feels to be resurrected? ...It makes me feel alive!" His laughter was not shared with the Negahorn.

"I don't know which is worse," the Negahorn said, "The impending carnage or your jokes."

"Hey!" Anar D shouted. "There's no need to make this personal! Now, you're just being mean!"

"Of course, I..." the Negahorn said. She stopped when she sensed a disturbance in her dragon. She looked and saw her doppelganger swimming through the magic. "WHAT?! NO!"

The Negahorn turned trying to use the dragon to shake the Masked Matterhorn off. Suddenly, Dusk and Rodan were blasting their shadow and fire beams that stopped the dragon from spinning. Devastator swallowed a large amount of rocks until he blew a large beam of energy that stunned the dragon. Just then, the Negahorn had another crazy idea. She pointed the Golden Apple at the Masked Matterhorn toward her causing her to stop in panic.

"TWILIGHT, DON'T!"

It was too late. A bright light came from the Apple, but instead of an ordinary beam like before, the light glowed brighter and brighter much to even the Negahorn's surprise. Soon, the light was bright enough to cover the entire magic dragon and blinded most of Canterlot. When it cleared up, everyone looked back and saw the crater. There was no dragon and no Twilight. All that was left was the Golden Apple steaming with smoke coming from its side.

"Well, this feels familiar." Blue Comet said.

"Except we're not with her!" the Shadow Blot said.

"Where did they go now?!" Zapp asked.

---

Both Twilight's got their senses back to normal. When they got a clearer view of their surrounding, they found broken-down buildings and a vast nothingness of space in the horizon and sky. Streched across the sky, the stars were stringed with dozens of white streams. Some of those streams were even very close to the ground. The Masked Matterhorn then noticed the large wolf-print on the ground and the claw marks on the damaged buildings.

"What's going on?" the Negahorn asked. "Which world are we in now?"

The Masked Matterhorn looked at the streams connecting the billions of stars and came up with a hypothesis. "I... I don't think this is any world. I think this is the Limbo Zone."

"The what?" the Negahorn asked.

"It's sort-of the border-realm for every other world. If those streams are the bridges, then you can condiser this zone to be the water."

"How do you know that?" the Negahorn asked.

"Midan told me. He's the spirit that lives in the Golden Apple, much like how Atrum is the spirit within the Asteroth."

The sound of that sentence gave the Negahorn a hurting throb on the side of her head. "What's this?"

"That's Atrum, responding to me mentioning his name. He never told it to me, but Midan told me everything about the Relics of Creation. He also told me that neither he nor Atrum like how you're abusing both Relics."

"Last I checked, I only had one Relic!"

"No. You have always had another Relic; you just didn't know it."

"What? Where?"

The Masked Matterhorn sighed. "Inside you. You are the living vessel of the Relic of Darkness, the Asteroth."

The Negahorn fell silent for a second. "How can someone with my face be such an idiot?"

"Not quite the reaction I expected." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Nevertheless, it's true."

"The Asteroth, a shadowy force from your world, which can magnify a pony's powers and make them darker, is in me?"

"First of all, it's not even from my world. Secondly, you've never known it, but it's made you more powerful and evil."

"I never needed any magic ooze to decide my alignment!" the Negahorn argued. "I saw how evil was never going to rest! I left to seek tutelage from Tartus! I decided to conquer Equestria!"

The Masked Matterhorn then removed her mask. "Twilight, listen to yourself. This isn't what you always thought. This isn't who you are?"

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW ME!" the Negahorn raged in an outburst. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! NOT EVERYONE IS AS HAPPY AND INNOCENT AS YOU! WHY ARE YOU SO DETERMINED TO PROVE ME WRONG?!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE IDEA OF MYSELF BEING AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE FOR EVIL!" the Masked Matterhorn admitted loudly.

A moment of silence hushed between the two.

"So... that's it." the Negahorn said. "You're doing this because you think you might go through the same thing. Not just some act of righteousness."

"I admit it." the Masked Matterhorn said. "I'm not exactly a living angel. I occasionally have selfish reasons about some things, but I never let it cloud my judgment. I'm doing this for myself, yes, but doesn't make it the best reason. ...But that's no excuse."

"Matterhorn," the Negahorn said pulling off her mask, "You have nothing to worry about. Like I told you, we're two different Twilights. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Says you." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Look... I'll tell you what. You remember the Scientific Method?"

"Of course." the Negahorn said. "Observe, research, hypothesize, experiment, analyze, and conclude. Basic knowledge. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, you're evil. That's my observation. I've done extensive research on you and Equestria Perilous. And I've hypothesized that the Asteroth is the cause of your terrible deeds. The next thing to do is experiment. Midan gave me an incantation that'll separate any Primordial from their host. I just need you to let me say so."

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick to capture me? Or eviscerate me?"

"Because you know me." the Masked Matterhorn said. "And if you're right, and you're naturally evil... I'll surrender. You have my word."

"Really?" the Negahorn asked. She thought hard for a moment. "All right. Let's get this over with."

The two Twilight's approached each other and the good one placed her hoof on the other's shoulder. She then called out a set of rhymes.

"To wake. To sleep. To live. To fall

There's one force that runs it all

I call upon that force to split and divide

And remove the gifts and burdens that provide

For this vessel isn't worthy to hold

The power of an eternity old

Let this Primordial fly and soar

And be free from this body for evermore"

Suddenly, a black light emitted from the Negahorn's body. Her mouth breathed out black liquid-like smoke that clouded the air above their heads. When it was done, both Twilight's were amazed at the sight of the smoke taking the form of a male figure. His face was brighter than the rest of his body.

"Thank you, Matterhorn." it spoke. "It seems that fate just loves me being abused in these different Equestrias."

"So it's true." the Negahorn said. "Everything I've done, it's because of you?"

"Mostly. The Asteroth is merely another name of mine. My original is Atrum, the Primordial of Darkness. I couldn't form my own physical form in time, so I needed to get into one that already existed. Unfortunately, non-living objects wouldn't hold, so I had to find a living vessel, one that fully embraced the power I provide without losing who they truly are. But I can't anticipate whatever negative thoughts you already have."

"So... when I started to get impatient for the end of crime..." the Negahorn gasped.

"It kept me within you as you use my augmented gifts to conquer your own world." Atrum continued. "When Tartus gave you the Golden Apple hosting my brother, Midan, I wanted more than anything to escape, but that only made your actions worse."

"I'm..." the Negahorn whispered beginning to tear up. "I'm sorry. I'm... beginning to see clearly now."

"So... what now?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.

"Now, I must go to your Equestria and apologize to Midan." Atrum said. "Neither of us enjoyed all these months of abuse. I pay my respects, then I continue my search."

"But if you go into someone worse, this whole thing will start all over again somewhere else." the Masked Matterhorn said.

"I know." Atrum said. "All my applicants either lost or destroyed themselves. Hopefully, this cycle of misfortune will end soon. Besides, I think the two of you have bigger problems." The Asteroth then disappeared.

"What's that mean?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.

Suddenly, a quake shook the ground. The alicorns looked and saw the same purple energy dragon terrorizing Canterlot earlier. They stood in fear as they witnessed the wings grow on it. It began to fly towards one of the streams.

"That thing's still going?!" the Masked Matterhorn's asked. "Come on, Twilight! Call it off!"

"I can't!" the Negahorn cried. "That thing was made from my magic boosted with the Asteroth! Now that I'm no longer bound to it, it no longer answers to me! Now, it's going to go to one of those bridges and terrorize every world it comes across."

"We've got to stop it!" the Masked Matterhorn yelled. "Look, you've got this from the time I produced a magic dragon! You saw how I defeated it last time, right?"

"That won't work this time!" the Negahorn responded. "Like I said, that thing was made by both my magic and the Asteroth! I can't just stand up and take it back!"

"Well, I can't stop it!" the Masked Matterhorn added. "The magic that made that thing is stronger than mine!"

"What do we do now?!" the Negahorn asked. "Neither one of us is strong enough to stop that monster!"

That's when the Masked Matterhorn came up with a revelation. "You're right. Neither of us is strong enough. But... if we work together..."

"What?"

"Hear me out. You are me. You know how we both concentrate on our magic. If we both focus on my magic at the same time, the magic should be done twice as strong."

"That's crazy!" the Negahorn protested.

"Well, it's the only idea we've got. So, you wanna try it out? Be a hero for old times sake?"

The Negahorn smiled. "Let's do this."

The two Twilight's interlocked their horns and focused. Within a few seconds, a bright, purple light emitted from their connection.

---

The dragon was about to reach one of the streams before it was pushed back. The dragon regained stillness and caught sight at its attacker. It was a large, alicorn-shaped figure that looked similar to the dragon. At the center, the two alicorns interlocked hooves.

"READY?!" the Masked Matterhorn called.

"READY!" the Negahorn replied.

The magic-made alicorn had then clashed with the dragon. The alicorn pushed the dragon far from the streams and engaged it in battle. The two magic-made beasts exchanged blows until the dragon grabbed ahold of the alicorn's wings.

"WING-PULLING?" the Masked Matterhorn asked loudly. "REALLY? THAT'S JUST DIRTY!" The alicorn broke out of it and grabbed ahold of the dragon's wings. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?"

The dragon got free and fired its energy breath at the alicorn while the other magic-made beast fired a magic beam from its horn. The two beams clashed unleashing a huge explosion.

"LET'S GO!" the Negahorn shouted pulling the Masked Matterhorn out of their construct just in time. The explosion was a bit slower than normal, but a few seconds after the two Twilight's escaped the magic alicorn, the explosion managed to swallow both the alicorn and the dragon.

Suddenly, a rock blown away from the shockwave flew towards the purple alicorns and struck the Negahorn's wing hard. She managed to fall, but the Masked Matterhorn caught her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I don't know." the Negahorn said. "I can't fly."

Suddenly, a lightning bolt shot from the incoming explosion and hit the stream above the two. A tear-shaped image appeared revealing Canterlot still recovering from the dragon's attack.

"There it is!" the Masked Matterhorn cheered. "It's home! Let's go!"

The alicorn carried the other one up toward the portal, but a roar caught the Negahorn's attention. She looked and saw a purple claw escape the explosion and towards the two Twilight's. She panicked and grabbed squeezed the Matterhorn's hoof getting her attention to stop.

"What's going on?" the Masked Matterhorn asked before she saw the magic dragon still flying. "Oh, no. What now?"

The Negahorn looked down at the explosion still forming and sighed. "Let me go."

"What?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.

"You've got to let me go." the Negahorn said looking at the explosion. "I may not be able to control it anymore, but it's still connected to me. I can only think of one way to stop it, but you have to let me go."

"I can't just do that." the Masked Matterhorn argued.

"Listen, Twilight." The Negahorn pulled out her voice-changing visor and yanked it off her face. "I've done too much damage in the past three years. I never truly wanted this. I'm sorry for everything that I've done. But you... You don't have to worry about turning out like me. There may be more than one Twilight, but you are one of a kind."

"No." the Masked Matterhorn flew up getting really close to the portal. "I won't let you go."

The Negahorn smiled softly. "I know you won't. ...So I won't let you choose."

Suddenly, the Negahorn used her visor to push Twilight upwards releasing her counterpart. The Masked Matterhorn crosses the portal, and was staggered. She was found and cheered by her friends who were waiting for her.

"YOU'RE BACK!" Zapp shouted.

"Where have you been?" Saddle Rager asked.

"What happened with the Negahorn?" the Shadow Blot asked.

The Masked Matterhorn turned her head to the portal with her friends. She started to tear up when it closed.

---

On the other side, the Negahorn was plummeting towards the growing explosion. She cried for a minute, but she wiped her tears off her face. As the explosion looked brighter to her, she sang softly one last time.

"I have turned my home into a wasteland

I lost my way

All this mayhem and chaos isn't my path

No one deserves this much wrath

I forgot who I am

I am... a heroooooooo"

When she was done, she landed right into the explosion. The Negahorn slowly dematerialized, but she embraced it because she knew that up above, the dragon was losing its body as well. After a few seconds, they were both gone and the explosion ended leaving the broken down building untouched.

Author's Note:

And that's the end of the Negahorn... at least in my stories. Diablo Corps10 is going to continue her legacy after the Creation Saga.

The song featured at the end here is a parody of "Know Who You Are" from Moana. The incantation earlier is an original poem of my creation.

Comments

[Firestar Dragondell]

I love this!