Chapter 2

The chosen one

“So, through the Everfree forest,” Twilight said as the group approached the deep woods. Fluttershy backed away a little, “Um, do, do we have to go through that dark forest?” AppleJack came up to the Yellow Pegasus, “ We all have to go in there and look for it together if were gonna find this so called pyramid of light.”

Fluttershy whimpered and gulped, “Can’t I please just stay here?”

That was when Cory stepped in. “Hey, look, were all here, theres not a thing in there that’ll get to yah if were with yah, right guys?” The ponies didn’t say anything, they just stood there and made unsure facial expressions. “It’s that bad huh?” Asked Cory. The ponies nodded their heads in unision.

Twilight spoke up, “But still, we’ve got to find that pyramid and the statue if were gonna be able save Equestria, let’s do this, together.”

Everyone agreed except for Fluttershy, who was still hunched over. Rainbow Dash flew over to Fluttershy and landed by her side, "Come on Fluttershy, like Twilight said, we need to work together, do you really want Equestria to be destroyed by those to, um, I forget their names, but come one! You HAVE to come with us!”

Fluttershy slowly got to her feet, still sobbing. “Ok, *sob* I’ll go”

“There yah go Fluttersy!” cheered Pinkie pie.

“Alright” Twilight said, “Now lets go!”.

The forest, even in the day time was erie, and gave you the feeling that you were being watched. However, it was daylight, and most of the monsters and demonic entities were resting, awaiting the night. But still, the dark forest gave the 6 ponies, even Cory a feeling of fear. The woods was getting thicker and darker, and the air was thick and humid.

Rarity screamed as A large Spider web seemingly appreared right before her face, “Ewww” she shuddered “Why must there be so many disgusting bugs?”

“Oh I dunno Rarity, maybe cause yer in a forest?” AppleJack replied.

“This pyramid better exist, or the princess is definitely gonna hear it from me” cringing at the sight of a large Stag Beetle crawling out of her way.

“Don’t worry Rarity” said Pinkie Pie as he held a large Stick insect, “These guys are harmless!”.

“Until one bites you, stings you, or even worse *gulp* crawls on your neck as you sleep” Rarity shuddered again at the thought.

“I think bugs should be the last of our worries” said Cory, “We’ve got to find that statue, and fast.”.

“Corys right” said Twilight “If we’re going to find it we’re gonna have to focus on what we came here for and only that. Despite her words, Rarity still did complain. When they came to a patch of mud, that’s when Rarity drew the line. “No, no way in Equestria am I walking in that disgusting mud!” Cory shook his head at the situation, but then lifted up rarity, carrying her over the muddy trail.

“Oh thank you Cory! How can I repay you for doing this most generous favor?” Rarity said. Cory stretched his arms, for a small pony she was pretty heavy, “It was nothing at all, right now we just need too get to the pyramid, now let’s go”.

The group finally made they’re way out of the forest, and could see a large mountain range. Twilight looked at the Mountains before her, “Well guys, looks like our search isn’t over yet, we’ve still got a lot of ground to cover.”.

The others groaned, even Cory rolled his eyes. As they walked through the crevice of the great mountains, AppleJack's ears perked up, "Hold up ya'll, I hear somethin..."

Pinkie looked around, "I don't hear anythi-"

"Shhhh! Just listen, you'll hear it." There was a sound, the sounf of flapping wings, and it was getting closer.

Suddenly a strange winged beast landed in front of them. It looked sapient, but had long claws, and an extended snout and a tail.

The group slowly backed from the creature, “What do you ponies think your doing walking around these mountains?”. The gnarled creature spoke, flicking out its tongue like a snake.

Twilight gulped and replied “Um we were just, searching for um, a, pyramid…” She began to shake and in fear.

The gargoyle only laughed, “Oh don’t worry, we always welcome the likes of you ponies” Saliva dripped down the monsters chin. “So um,” Twilight said timidly, “We’ll be on our way home now”. The Gargoyle laughed “Oh do stay, usually it’s a stallion who stumbles upon these parts, but the meats to tough for our liking, I hardly ever find a nice young tender mare,”

And with that the monster leapt at Twilight, attempting to rip her apart with his claws, but as soon as he could do so much as touch her, he felt a blunt and agonizing pain in his snout. It was Cory, delivering a powerful flying side kick into the monster, focusing all his power and kinetic energy into that one bone shattering kick. The force nearly caused Cory’s knee to buckle under. The monster fell onto his back, bellowing while holding it’s broken and bleeding snout.

“Run!” yelled Cory. As soon as they started running, the monster was hot on their heels, shrieking n anger, but instead of going after the ponies, he was more focused on Cory. As they ran, Twilight's horn glowed, attempting to teleport them with her magic. She strained, mustering all the magic she could, and teleported all seven of them away from the gargoyle.

The confused beast stopped in mid air, looking around as to where his prey had went. He roared in Anguish, that even the ponies could hear despite being far away from him.

“Cory,” Said Twilight, “You, you saved me, by the time I would’ve used my protection spell I would’ve already been dead, Tha-Thank you.”

AppleJack nodded in agreement, “He saved all of us, we all owe yah one sugarcube!”

“Yeah! And that kick was just pure awesome!” added RainbowDash, and with that the 6 ponies gave Cory a group hug. Cory blushed slightly, “Its nothing, I mean-"

“Look!” said Fluttershy in her soft little shout “I can see the tip of the pyramid, over there.” Everyone looked in the direction she was facing, and saw the glowing tip of the pyramid.

“I see it!” cried Pinkie Pie.

“Me too!” yelled AppleJack.

Twilight turned to her friends, “Let’s go guys, we don’t have a moment to waste!”

The seven travelers ran towards the light, passing through crevices, RainbowDash took flight and soared over the mountain. When the other ponies made it to the other side of the mountain, they found Rainbow staring at the pyramid. They were all in awe; the sheer beauty, the colors, everything about it amazed them.

“So um, isn’t there supposed to be a statue around here?” asked RainbowDash.

“Yes, I don’t see a statue” Fluttershy added.

“Perhaps.” Cory said “The statue is inside the pyramid!”

Twilight looked at the group, “Alright, we all go in there together, ok?”

“Ok!” the ponies announced together. “Wait!” Shouted Pinkie, “Where’s Cory?”.

The six ponies glanced around. “There!” shouted Applejack, “He’s runnin towards the pyramid!”

“Cory! Cory wait! Comeback!” shouted the ponies, but Cory did not listen, he kept going till he reached the pyramid. He placed a hand on it, only to have it go through it. The light was warm, and felt, welcoming of his presence, Cory ever so slowly walked into the pyramid. He had to squint because the light was so bright at first, but when his eyes adjusted, what he saw amazed him.

“Cory!” they all shouted, each one running into the pyramid. There they found Cory looking up, as if he was in a trance. “Cory” the all said as they ran up to him. “Cory, are you alright?” They heard Fluttershy whimper, when they looked at her they saw her point up to what Cory was staring at; there they saw it. A statue, easily 168 feet tall, of a giant sapient being. They all stared at the statue; it was enormous, largest thing either of them has ever seen.

Twilight, still looking up at the statue, slowly said “Ok, were here, but, how do we wake up a giant statue?”

“Hit it with a giant pillow?” Pinkie jokingly claimed.

“There must be some way..” Thought Twilight. The ponies conversed on what and how they should awaken the statue, while Cory stared at the statue, not once taking his eyes off of it. Suddenly from inside the pyramid, they hear a loud roar. And it sounded fairly close.. It was Golza, he was already making his way through the mountains, closing in on the pyramid.

“Oh no! They’re here!” shouted Twilight! The other ponies panicked, but Cory who finally looked away from the statue, he said to them “Lets go, we need to get out of here now! Follow me!” Cory darted towards where they came with the ponies following behind him. As they made their way out, there they saw Golza raise his head from behind the mountain, and release another ear splitting scream. He saw the ponies and the human fleeing from the pyramid, but paid them no attention, he came here for one and one reason only.

While the group fled from the pyramid, Fluttershy tripped, twisting her ankle on her front right leg. She let out a yelp of pain as she collapsed on the ground. Cory saw this, and dashed back to the injured yellow Pegasus. “Fluttershy, are you ok?”

Cory held Fluttershy’ss injured ankle as tears streamed down her face, “My ankle, Its twisted, I can’t run!” Fluttershy began to cry, covering her face with her left front hoof.

Cory wiped the tears from her face, and lifted her up. “There’s no way I’m gonna leave you here”.

Soon he caught up with the other ponies, laying Fluttershy down in a patch of soft grass. “You should be safe here, Don’t worry” he said to the group, but mostly Fluttershy.

With tears in her eyes, Fluttershy gave Cory a smile, saying “Thank you Cory, you, you saved me, again”. Cory smiled at her, “It’s what friends are for”.

They all turned their attention back to Golza and the pyramid. Golza unleashed a powerful energy blast from his forhead, dissolving the pyramid, revealing the statue. Moments later, the winged monster Melba arrived to assist her ally. Swooping down, she toppled the statue, causing it to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Twilight, Rarity, AppleJack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Cory looked in horror at what they were seeing.

“No! They’re not gonna get that statue without a fight!” yelled both Cory and RainbowDash, the two darted over to where the monsters were, with their friends yelling at them to come back.

Raindow Dash flew to eye level with Golza “Hey you! Leave that statue alone or I’ll!” Before she could finish her sentence, the monster swatted her away from his sight, sending RainbowDash crashing into the ground.

“Rainbow!” yelled Cory as he ran over to his friend. “RainbowDash, are you ok?” Rainbow Dash looked at him and said “Yeah, I’m fine, you, we need to protect the statue…” Cory cut her off, “Get back to the others, I’ll distract them.” As RainbowDash flew back to the group, Cory then felt something strange rise within him, soon, his body began to glow, he felt, alive, he felt, like he was, becoming.. Light. Turning into a bright light, Cory (Now and Aura of light energy) soared to the head of the statue and was absorbed into the Clear gem on the statues forehead.

Cory felt as if he was in a dream state, but at the same time, he heard someone calling his name.. “Cory…Cory…” is what the voice he heard say. Cory opened his eyes slightly, he was floating, his body was glowing with light “Where, where am I? Who’s calling my name?” He looked up and he saw a giant being, whose body glowed with light energy, giving off a pure aura.

Cory did not know if he should be afraid, or calm. “Who are you?” he asked. Then he heard the being of light speak to him once again, “I am the ancient protector of Equestria, one that you may call Ultraman.”

“Did you save me?” asked Cory

“I observed your bravery by sacrificing yourself to save your friends, I felt a similar personality with you. By uniting with you, I’ll be able to fight for a limited amount of time.” The being opened his hand, and a small item floated towards Cory, “I would like to borrow your strength. Use this, when you cannot protect precious lives on your own”.

When Cory grasped the small relic, he felt a surge of energy within him, and an overwhelming sensation of great power.

Golza walked over to the fallen statue, intending to crush it with his foot. He lifted his foot, but before he could stomp on the statue, he felt resistance against him. The confused Golza looked down at the statue, and noticed a blue light glowing on the its chest, then suddenly, Golza was pushed off of his feet as the statue rose up, awakened at last.

A blinding light glowed from the giant as it rose to its feet, making Golza and Melba stumble and fall back, with Golza letting out a shriek of great surprise. The light slowly faded, revealing the revived invincible Tiga warrior.

“Look!” shouted Pinkie Pie; “The statue, it’s alive!” the ponies looked in awe and disbelief at the sight before them.

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight said to herself, “The legend, it must be true…”

The statue, now Ultraman Tiga, went into his battle pose, eyes locked on his opponents. Golza charged at Tiga. Tiga leapt at Golza, landing a knife hand on the monsters head, then dealing a second one to his chest, making the monster rear back in pain. Tiga grabbed hold of Golza, delivering a series of powerful knee strikes to Golza’s chest while Melba charged at the hero of light from behind, only to have Tiga knock her down with a spinning hook kick to the neck. From behind, Tiga could hear Golza gathering energy for another beam. Tiga turned around and grabbed hold of the monsters head, preventing him from using his attack. Golza grabbed Tiga’s wrists, holding him in place as Melba took to the air and swooped down, using one of her wings to knock Tiga to the ground.

Tiga rolled away from the monsters, making distance between him and them. Golza unleashed his purple beam, but Tiga swiftly dodged it, as soon as he stood back up, Melba came in for another go at the giant. Melba got a few lucky hits on the warrior of light, but was clearly outmatched on his own. From behind, Golza unleashed another beam, striking Tiga in the back, making him fall to his knees. Melba swatted the warrior away from him, roaring in anger from the pain she endured.

Tiga stood on his knees, his eyes never leaving them. He knew at this rate he could not win, and suddenly the gem on his head flashed red. Tiga, bringing his hands up to his forehead, thrusted them downwards, making his body turn from silver red and blue to red and silver. The Ultra got back to his feet and charged at the two monsters. Golza unleashed an energy beam while Melba used her eye energy blasts, which Tiga simply blocked the attacks with his hands. Golza then charged at Ultraman but only to have Tiga ram his body into Golza, knocking him off his feet.

When Golza got up, Tiga wrapped his arms around the dreaded monster, squeezing him with all his might. Golza felt bones inside him splinter and break, but was then tossed over the ultras shoulder. Melba charged at Tiga, but took off flying before Tiga could lay a punch on the monster. Turning back to Golza, he saw the monster attempting to flee from the fight, but before Ultraman could stop him, Melba shot him in the back with her eye beams. The hero fell to his knees from the current shock from the attack, and turned to see Melba coming in for another attack.

The gem on the hero’s head flashed blue, thrusting his fists; his body turned a deep sky blue. Tiga with great speed leaped into the air, and drop kicked Melba in the head, knocking it to the ground. Tiga was about to fly off, thinking the battle was over, but he heard Melba get to her feet. Tiga, fast as lightning, gathered surrounding light energy into his arms, before throwing the radiated energy blast at Melba. Melba gave a shriek of agony before she exploded into thousands of pieces.

Tiga nodded his head, satisfied with his victory. Looking to the sky, the hero took off towards the sun. The Ponies stood there, still taking in the awesome battle that occurred before their eyes...

RainbowDash opened her mouth and said slowly at first, “That..Was…AWEESOMEE!! I mean did you see that! How he just used that one attack and just blew that guy with the wings to pieces like nothing! I wonder what he would’ve done to that other one if it wouldn’t have escaped!”

Rarity was just as excited as everyone else, “I think that giant has the most beautiful shades red and blue, my, just the way the colors go is simply goregeous!” The whole group was frantic about the event for a minute, but then realized; Cory was gone..

But soon over the field came Cory running, calling their names. “RainbowDash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, over here!”

“Cory!” yelled the ponies. They were all relieved to see him alive.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again!” Twilight said.

“How did you even survive, if that’s ok if I ask…?” Fluttershy said quietly

“Well, least we know were all ok, safe and sound.” Rarity said with relief.

While all the other ponies rejoiced over each other being alive and safe, and each and every one of them told Cory about the story of the fight between the giant and the two monsters. While this happened; Twilight sat down, and began to think. ”That giant, what is his name?” She said out loud. When I get back to the library I’m sure to do some research on him.” “Yeah, what is his name?” asked RainbowDash. All the ponies thought quietly for a moment.

Cory looked back at his friends. “Ultraman…His name is Ultraman… Ultraman Tiga...”

Later that night when Cory slept in the guest bedroom of Pinkie's house, he was slowly awakened, by what sounded like someone was calling his name. Cory slowly awoke, and almost jumped out of his skin. There near the front of his bed stood a tall humanoid figure. Its glowing yellow eyes were locked on him, and he had a blue light glowing from his chest. Cory was about to panic, but then realized who the being was.

"What, what are you doing here?" Cory asked.

It was quiet for a few moments before the Ultraman spoke, "It is time we talked."

Cory was curious, "Tell me, exactly, what are you?"

Ultraman walked over to the window, and looked upon the sleeping town, "I am the guardian of ancient Equestria. For centuries, I was the protector of ponies, unicorns, and Pegasi. When I am one with you, you will be able to fight as me, with the relic you obtain. Look, into your pocket."

Cory checked his right pants pocket, and then his left. He felt something, like some sore of sculpted metal. He pulled it out, and examined it. It looked like a small torch, at the top of it was an emblem that looked like the markings on Ultraman's chest. It was absolutely beautiful, with its silver and gold coloration's. On the one side of it was switch he could press with his thumb.

Cory was confused, looking over the the small relic. "What is?".

Ultraman nodded, "I give you, the Spark lens" .

"Spark lens," Cory said to himself. He could feel the energy that small relic gave off. But he had one major question, "But wait, why exactly me? I'm the only kind of person in this entire world, why not give it to a pony?"

Tiga looked back out the window, before slowly turning his head back to Cory, "Because you have showed more bravery than I could've ever asked for, from any being. Most fight to just for themselves, to so they can live for another day. But it was not entirely you, you wished to protect."

"And that is?".

Ultraman Tiga formed what appeared to be a wall of light with his hands. On there, Cory could see the six ponies he called his friends, all peacefully asleep. Fluttershy cuddled with her animals, Rarity with her blindfold snoring loudly, Twilight and Spike sleeping in their own beds. "Do you want them to be killed? Or would you rather fight to protect them, and the lives of others?".

Those ponies, the ones who made Cory feel welcomed in a world he has no knowledge about, a world where he is still lost, a place that is a complete stranger. Ones who showed him more care within one day than he ever received in his whole life back at, Home..

Ultraman glanced at Cory, the being of light could read his thoughts like pages on a book, "Now, do you see what I mean?"

Cory nodded, "Yes, I do."

Tiga nodded back, " Good. Remember," Ultraman pointed at the Spark lens Cory held, "Use it, when you cannot protect precious lives on your own."

Cory smiled, "I'll remember that, Ultraman Tiga."

Chapter 2, End

Ending theme: Brave love Tiga

Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Behemoth of the Mountain Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 22 Minutes