//------------------------------// // Star Knight's New Spell // Story: Star Knight and the Nine-Tailed Fox // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// With the end of the winter break appraoching, the day Star and Jonagold had to return to the academy was coming. In the second-to-last day of holiday, the royal family of the Light Kingdom boarded the Light Express along with Jonagold, who was invited by Star to sleep over in the castle before returning to the Enchanted Forest. When they arrived, the young Prince of the Light Kingdom tried to find Golden Paladin to talk about his feat of having broken the water balloon, but he wasn't in the kingdom. According to the other Generals, he and Heartbeat had gone on a mission given to them by the Lord of Order. The next day, along with Melody and Purple Smoke, the two friends crossed the border between the Enchanted Forest and the Pony World. Upon entering in the Enchanted Forest, the two young colts gasped to find it covered by snow and with the trees without their leaves, as they were accustomed to see its sunny sky and hardwoods. When they arrived to the academy, the two generals headed to the it, while Star and Jonagold tried to find Bramble and Gunter. "Have ya found them?" Jonagold asked Star. "Not yet" he replied. "Hey!" a voice called. They turned and saw Gunter coming down from the air and landing in front of them. "I'm glad that I found you" he said. "How were your holidays?" "Good" Star and Jonagold answered. "Mine too" Gunter told. "My great-uncle returned to Griffinstone and had told me about his journeys. I think my parents are tempted to take a little vacation too. But I can't blame them, after what happened before the winter break started." "What happen’d?" Jonagold asked. "Apparently, a prisoner who was already in the dungeons before my parents got married, escaped" Gunter told. "To be imprisoned in the dungeons for so long it is because he must have done something very bad" Star noted. "As far as I know, he was a former captain who tried to dethrone my great-uncle when he was still the regent king and steal the Idol of Boreas along with a monster who was an old enemy of my kind" Gunter said. "Apparently, your uncle, Star, helped stop them." "My uncle Shining Armor?" Star asked. "Thanks to his actions, the friendship between griffons and ponies was strengthened" continued Gunter. "He never told me about that" Star said. "But that griffon manag’d tah escape?" Jonagold asked. "And I thought that your safety was pretty tight." "And it is" Gunter replied. "But he had some help from one of the villains of the Lord of Chaos." That left his two friends, mainly Star, shocked. "Seriously?!" they asked. "Yes, I think his name is Rothbart" Gunter said. "I've heard of him" Star said. "It's an earth pony who managed to acquire magic and that is proficient with self-transfiguration." "But why would a villain of tha Lord of Chaos help that griffon escape?" Jonagold asked. "Ah don’t thinkit was because of the kindness of his heart. It's weird." That was a good question. "Hi, guys" Bramble’s shy voice greeted them, as the young deer joined the group. "Did you have good holidays?" "Yes, we had" Jonagold answered. "Gunter was talkin’ ‘bout his jest now." "How about you, Bramble?" Star asked. "It went well" he replied. "We got a lot of antler powder for when spring start. The only problem was the snow. I think it snowed more this year in Thicket." "It's not that bad" Jonagold commented, looking around. "We've seen places in Equestria that are completely buri’d on snow at this time of tha year." "Believe me, there was a bigger snow layer a few days ago" Bramble ensured. "Hey, why don't we put our stuff in our rooms and then we go for a walk at Leafgreen?" Star asked. The other three agreed and so they put their things in their respective rooms and went to Leafgreen, getting amazed with what they found. The small village, being covered with snow, looked like a snow globe. To take refuge from the cold of the snow, the four friends headed to a small inn that was crowded with ponies and deers. When they entered, the deers who were there, including the maid, who was behind the counter, made a bow to Bramble. "Wow, it seems ya can't go anywhere here without havin’ all of yer kingdom bowing" Jonagold commented. "My father is not only the King of Thicket, but is also the main authority of the Enchanted Forest" Bramble said. "I think it causes others to be very reverent." "I can relate with that" said Star. "My mom is the Princess of the Light Kingdom and the bearer of the original star seed. She is also quite revered wherever she goes and the same happens to me, even if I am a Jinchuriki." Star and his friends sat at a table and asked an apple juice to each one of them and, while they were drinking, Jonagold looked over Star’s shoulder and then told him: "Star, look." The young alicorn turned and then saw him. Golden Paladin has just entered the inn and looking around. When the General of Peace found Star, he approached him and greeted: "Hello, young colts." "Hello, Golden" the colts greeted. "You and Heartbeat have already returned from the mission that the Lord of Order gave you?" Star asked. "Yes, we did" Golden Paladin replied. "Prince Star Knight, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk with you… in private." Realizing that it had to do with his training, Star replied: "Okay." Turning to his friends, he said: "I'll be right back, guys." And Star got up and went with Golden Paladin to a secluded part of the inn and there the General said: "Apparently, you completed the first part of your training." "How do you know that?" Star asked, surprised. "Believe me, young prince, I have several ways to get to know what I want" Golden Paladin replied. "Now, I wonder if you could do a demonstration." Having said that, Golden Paladin invoked a water balloon that extended to Star. He then used his magic to get it and drive it to his hoof and made his magic start flowing within the balloon, starting to spin the water inside the balloon, and then used his other hoof to make the water spin in all directions until the balloon eventually popped. Acting quickly, Golden Paladin got the water with his magic and made it disappear. "Impressive, Prince Star Knight" Golden Paladin said. "With one of the hooves, you spin the magic and with the other you apply it. Tell me, how did you think of something like that?" "Well, the truth is I have to thank to aunt Rarity’s cat" Star said. “You see, at the Heart’s Warming Eve party at Golden Oak Library, I saw Opal playing with her ball, keeping knocking it back and forward, and I imagined if that ball was full of water and realized that the water would be moving back and forward too, in different directions. That’s when it came to me. My problema was that I was only making the water rotate, but only in one direction, but if it was to burst, I had to make the water rotate in a bunch of different directions until the balloon burst. When I figured that part out, the rest was easy.” Golden Paladin sketched a smile, as it seemed that Star was advancing pretty well in his trainings. “Very well, young prince, you have successfully completed the first step” the General of Peace said. "So what do I do now?" Star asked. "Maybe it's best we leave it for tomorrow" Golden Paladin said. "There's still things I need to do and you have to rest for the school day tomorrow." "Okay…" Star replied, a little disappointed. "Don't be like that, Prince Star Knight" Golden Paladin said. "You're doing pretty well. But we have to take it slowly. You don't want to rush things, otherwise the result may not be what you want." And with these words, Golden Paladin headed for the exit of the inn and left. Then Star headed to the edge of his friends, following Golden Paladin’s advice. The next day, the classes at the academy resumed. That day, Star Knight took lessons from Introduction to Practical Magic, where Professor Knotgrass began to explain how to do the magical manipulation. Although Star have already mastered the basics, he had to listen the class as if he don't know. The truth was even that bored him, but, even so, he could learn more about the subject more fully. Before long, the time of his class with Golden Paladin arrived. Arriving at the place where they train, Star found Golden Paladin waiting for him. "Prince Star Knight, I’m glad you're here" he said. "How did the return to school went after the holidays?" "It was okay" Star replied. "So, Golden, you know what will be my next step to master this spell?" "I think so" Golden Paladin answered. "Catch it." And, using his magic, Golden Paladin launched a rubber ball Star caught with his own magic. “A rubber ball?” Star asked. “I want to see if you can pop that one” Golden Paladin said. “And let me tell you that is more complicated than a water balloon.” Star turned to the rubber ball and started doing the same thing he did with the water balloon, however, when it came the time to blow, the ball despite having stretched a little, did not popped. The young alicorn realized that was really hard. "I think you understand what will be the next step" Golden Paladin said. "Now that we have a rotation, the next step is force. That object is solid, there is no water inside and is far more difficult to rotate your magic in there." “Yes, I can see that” Star agreed. “Well, it’s up to you to figure that out” Golden Paladin said. Star looked at the rubber ball. That step would be more complicated than the previous one, since it involved to focus a lot of energy. But he would not be intimidated. During the next few minutes, he tried to pop the rubber ball using the same technique, but trying to increase the intensity of his magic. However, the result was always the same. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pop the rubber ball. Then something weird started happening. Star's ability to control the flow of his own magic began to decrease, while fatigue was starting to invade his body. Even his hooves began shaking and minor burns appeared on them. When the tingling started to be too unbearable, Star dropped on his own hooves, leaving the rubber ball fall to the ground. He looked at his front hooves and saw them trembling and full of burns because he used them to transmit too much magic to the rubber ball. That was the moment he saw the burns healing quickly to keep a lighter shade and, finally, disappeared. "Is it everything okay, Prince Star Knight?" Golden Paladin asked, approaching. "It seems you've already exhausted your energy for the day. Maybe it's for the best if we continued this tomorrow. And, please, try not to train without being in these classes. At this stage, we have to be very patient." "Golden Paladin, can I ask you something?" Star asked. "You see, I had burns because of the training, but they simply healed just like that. How is that possible?" Golden Paladin took a while to respond, but then he said: "I think you know the answer to that, don’t you?" Looking to one of his hooves, Star knew what Golden Paladin meant and then said: "It’s Nine-tails." "Those who have the Nine-Tails inside have an ability to regenerate themselves and recover faster than regular ponies" Golden Paladin said. "It was the same with Heartbeat, although they are rare occasions where she got hurt." "Are all the Jinchuriki like this?" Star Knight asked. "Not exactly" Golden Paladin replied. "Every Jinchuriki acquires a different capability from their respective Tailed Beasts. For example, Chief Strongpaw, being the One Tail’s Jinchūriki, can control sand. But I believe that, today, we will stay at here. After all, you're already quite tired because of the practice today and you still have school tomorrow." And so Star returned to the Academy. During the next few days, Star continued to train. Although the snow have been replaced by heavy rains, that didn't stop him, what forced Golden Paladin to create a barrier around the area where they were so the young prince could train. After another failed attempts, Star began to feel the effects of the constant use of his magic through his hooves, feeling the trembling. Looking at his hooves, Star realized he needed more force to pop the rubber ball, as the force that he was using was not enough. But what if what he had was not enough? Suddenly, a great eagerness to surpass himself invaded him. Star picked up the ball and started to apply the maximum of magic he could. While he was applying magic, he struggled to make it rotate as fast as he could. It seemed that all these efforts would end up tiring him faster, but Star continued even so, without showing any signs of wanting to give up. Giving it all he had, the young alicorn was able to feel the surface of the ball to stretch out terribly in its entire surface, but, in the end, only one hole was opened which quickly emptied the ball. Realizing what he did, a smile appeared on Sta’s face because, after so many attempts,he managed to break the ball, although his purpose was to pop it. “Well, well, it seems you have made progress” Golden Paladin observed, approaching. “Yes, but I only made a tiny hole” Star said. “It seems bursting the ball requires more force than the one that I am already using.” “Don’t worry with that” Golden Paladin said. “You have already come this far and, just for that, you should be happy.” "If only I knew what I'm doing wrong" Star said. "I'm using all my power, but, even so, it's not enough." Golden Paladin made a thoughtful air and then said: "I think when you look at a blank page, it is quite difficult to focus on one point." Hearing him say that, Star got an idea. He wondered if he wasn't able to do it because he wasn't concentrating properly its magic. Of course he was using a lot of magic, but that's not worth anything if he didn't focus it properly. At the following trainings, Star already knew more or less what to do, but, even so, the onlt thing he could cause were holes in the rubber balls that Golden Paladin had brought. At one of those attempts, Star concentrated as hard as he could, looking for focus all the magic that he loosened on his hoof in a single point. Finally, he did feel that he had been able to feel: the magic was spinning and heading to one place. It was then that he began to apply the magic on the ball to make it rotate inside and it simply burst after its surface had stretched horribly. However, the force that was used was such that pushed him back. Fortunately, Golden Paladin managed to stop him, using his strength. The General, looking at Star’s burned hoof, realized the potential he had was still greater than what he had expected. Even without using the Nine-Tails’s power, he could release a huge amount of force able to throw him back and still burn his hoof more than he would expect. Star, recovering, sketched a smile. He had managed to finalize that complicated step. The young Prince returned to his room, where Bramble was lying on his bed reading a book. Seeing his friend getting in looking immensely tired, he said: "It seems that the training was quite hard." "Yes" Star replied, sitting behind his desk and bringing up a few books, his quill and ink. "The only thing I want to do now is finish the homework for Math and Science and Magic." "Are you sure you want to do that today?" Bramble asked. "You're too tired. Besides, tomorrow is the weekend." "Don't worry, Bramble. I just want to finish the work that I have pending so I can devote my time to training this weekend." "You're serious, aren't you?" "It has to be this way" Star said. "I need to develop this spell." "I know that, but, Star, you need some rest" Bramble said. The young alicorn sighed. He knew that Bramble was right and that he was truly worried about him. "So I'm just doing the Math exercises" he said. "These are easy. It's better to do the Science and Magic work when I am well rested or I will risk to suffer a detention from Professor Alchemy." Bramble smiled, knowing that Star wouldn't overwhelm himself like that. The next day, Star made the homework for Professor Alchemy after breakfast and then headed to the training place, where Golden Paladin was waiting. "Today you came later, young prince" Golden Paladin noted. "Sorry, Golden, but I had to finish my homework before" Star said. "I would have done it yesterday, but Bramble convinced me to rest instead." "It was a wise decision" Golden Paladin said. "After the training you had yesterday, resting was obligatory, especially taking into account that we may be entering the final stages of the training for your new spell." "Yes, I am almost there" Star said. "So what do I need more?" “Well, let me see” Golden Paladin said. “The first step was rotation and the second one was power. I think that now, in order to accomplish the spell that you envisioned, you’ll need to use all the other steps you already learned and maintain it.” “You mean maintaining the rotation and the power?” Star asked. “Precisely” disse Golden Paladin. “Applying the other steps, you will create a little typhoon that you’ll need to contain, otherwise… Well, you saw what happened yesterday after you finished the second step.” "And how do I do that?" Star asked. "With this" Golden Paladin replied, invoking a small balloon that was filled up to form a ball shape which occupied a hoof and throwing it to Star who got him with his magic. "I get it" Star said. "This time, rather than trying to pop the balloon, you want me to do the opposite, right?" Golden Paladin nodded and continued: "Of course I have more balloons if your first attempt is not as expected." And he invoked a sack where there were more balloons. Star began training this ultimate step. Using the previous two ones, he began to concentrate the magic he would need and then applied it in the balloon, while made it rotate. However, when he tried to contain the small typhoon that he created, Star noticed right away that it was extremely difficult to do so, as the balloon popped and released all the magic that was inside. Star looked at his hooves that were shaking after having tried to contain all that magic. It would take a great control over his power to be able to contain that little typhoon that existed inside the balloon. That step was on a completely different level from the other two. But Star’s determination led him to not want to give up and continued to pick up balloon after balloon to continue his training, although each attempt ended in failure. This step was so complicated that it was taking time to Star to be able to master it, more than the other two. But he would not give up. He was close to master his new spell that would not only provide him with a greater ability to control Nine-Tails’ power, but also would serve as a way to defend himself from the villains of the Lord of Chaos. After several days trying, Star still didn't make it. Having given up the balloons, Star started practicing in the surrounding trees, but still the result was the same. Spiral marks had been marked at the places of the trees that Star had hit, but the expected power level was still below of what was expected. Having lost the breath after training, Star let himself fall on the floor to rest, while reflecting on what I could be doing wrong. It was obvious that the reason for not being to get it was because he couldn't contain the typhoon and, therefore, the result was not as potent as it should be, since the energy used cleared quickly. Keep the rotation during the containment was an easy thing to do, but containing the typhoon at its maximum strength made the task almost impossible. If only there was a way to contain all the energy without worrying about maintaining the force... Then an idea popped into Star’s head. The solution was so obvious. He only had to share the tasks and there was only one way to do it. Golden was watching Star, sitting on the branch of a tree. He thought the effort that the young prince was doing was admirable, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to master the spell. If he couldn't accomplish it soon, then the General of Peace would have no choice but to put the spell aside and move forward with the training to control Nine-Tails’ power. Suddenly he saw something approaching that was purple smoke, the same smoke Purple Smoke used. It was a message from him. Carrying his horn with magic, Golden made the smoke to approach and engage with his own aura, in order to receive the message. He saw then images of Changelings crossing Thicket, having been successful to get past the deer sentries. But there was something that worried him. Among the Changelings that were invading the Enchanted Forest, there were three that stood out: the three mutant Changelings. That was bad. If they were there to invade the Enchanted Forest with those numbers, that meant that they should be after Prince Star Knight. Releasing the General of Talent’s purple smoke, he said to Star while climbing down the tree: "Well done, young Prince, I think it's better to stay here." "What?!" he asked, sitting. "But I've only just begun." "Unfortunately, I need to do something urgently" Golden Paladin said. "The training is suspended for now. Now return to the academy." "But I could continue my training and..." Star started. "You better get some rest for now" Golden Paladin said. "We can resume practice tomorrow." And, having said that, he teleported himself. Despite his first intention have been return to the academy, something in Star prevented him to obey Golden Paladin. He couldn't return to the academy, not when he was about to master his new spell. In a part of Thicket, a bunch of Changelings flew, led by the three mutants. "The Three Great Fairies Academy is a little more forward" Scorpio said. "We have to be careful" Obsidia said. "In addition to the Generals, getting the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails can be quite tricky." "You worry too much, sister" Crush said. "The only thing we have to do is smash everything and everypony that appears in front of us." And, to make his point clear, Crush went against a tree and, using his beetle horn, he went through it, causing it to fall. "Show-off" said Scorpio. It was then that Obsidia said: "Stop!" The other did so and Obsidia said: "We've got company." "It seems that one of you has a greater perception than the others" a voice said. And Golden Paladin came up behind one of the trees. "Finally Chrisalis’ mutants show their faces" Golden Paladin said. "And you must be the General of Peace" Scorpio said. "What an honor." "Oh, believe me, I'm not the only one who wants to meet you" Golden Paladin assured. And Melody and Purple Smoke appeared alongside Golden Paladin. Seeing three Generals before them made the normal Changelings get a little bit intimidated, but the mutants don't let themselves be intimidated. "You're not going to approach the academy" Golden Paladin said. "That's what we're going to see" Scorpio said. And, without warning, Crush began to move in Golden Paladin’s direction, preparing his horn. Melody and Purple Smoke reacted by moving off their place, but Golden Paladin created a barrier to protect himself from Crush’s attack. However, when the mutant hit the barrier, Golden was able to detect the strength that he had used, realizing it was immense. Melody and Purple Smoke were soon confronted by Scorpio and Obsidia respectively. Obsidia tried to attack Purple Smoke with her antennae, but he always dodged, although he noticed that the speed and precision of the attacks were quite superior to those of a normal Changeling. Meanwhile, Scorpio was trying to hurt Melody with his stinger that, as the General of Music could notice, was steeped in venom. Golden Paladin continued to endure Crush’s attack as much as he could, but then he noticed that his barrier was starting to crack. If he didn't do anything, the mutant woul be able to pass his defense. So he did his barrier disappear with a burst of light that made Crush be thrown back. Because of that, he hit some Changelings that were there, having been knocked down with immense ease. The other two generals were having some difficulty with the other two mutants, but then they realized what they had to do. Obsidia and Scorpio had approached each of them for a good reason. Using fast movements, Purple Smoke, after dodging an attack from Obsidia, turned into smoke and, quickly, placed himself between Melody and Scorpio, at the precise moment he was preparing to attack the General of Music. Scorpio’s sting hit on one of the Purple Smoke’s forelegs by the time he returned to his corporeal form. However, it seemed that the poison was not working, since Purple Smoke was already used to the toxins of his smoke form. Carrying his horn with magic, he launched a magic beam against Scorpio that threw him against a tree with strength. In turn, Melody turned to Obsidia and released one of his supersonic screams. Due to her great hearing sensitivity, she was quickly subdued by Melody. The Changelings that were there were went to aid their mutants siblings and some tried to attack the three Generals, but they quickly changed their mind, because of the intimidating look of them. The three mutants got up and Golden Paladin said, while Melody and Purple Smoke placed themselves at his side: "It's good that the three of you and the others leave this forest and tell your Queen to tell her master that he will not put his filthy hands on Prince Star Knight. Not as long as I and my brothers and sisters we're protecting him." "You cannot protect him eternally" Scorpio said. "You're going to regret it because you are underestimating the power of the Lord of Chaos." And, having said this, he, his fellow mutants and the other Changelings moved away. "Purple Smoke, ensure that they leave the Enchanted Forest" Golden Paladin said. "Make sure that none of them remains in this realm." "Whatever you say, boss" Purple Smoke replied, adopting his smoke form and following the path that the Changelings used. "Melody, returns to the academy and let the headmistresses to know that the danger has passed... for now" Golden Paladin said. "Of course, Golden" she replied. "And what about you?" "I have one thing to do" he replied. Star Knight remained at the place of training, perfecting his spell. At that point, he was lying on his back on the ground, after having given everything that he still had to continue his training. Around him, there were a lot of trees that had suffered from his training. However, despite the efforts exerted, Star sketched out a smile. He had finally made it. "I see that you decided not to obey what I told you, young prince," Golden Paladin’s voice said. That made Star rise up quickly and turn to him. He started to say, clumsily: "Golden Paladin, I... I’m sorry, but... I couldn't resist. I was so close and I couldn't stop at that moment." The General of Peace looked at the alicornio prince and told him: "So don't keep me waiting. Show me what you've got." That made Star smile and then he turned to a tree that was nearby. He focused and then charged his magic. With a small burst of magic, a clone of Star appeared at his side, which has heightened Golden Paladin’s curiosity. It was then that the clone started to accumulate the magic and rotate at the original’s hoof, who tried to contain the energy and gave it a sphere shape. After this, the clone just disappeared and then Star started running in the direction of his target, holding the sphere of spiraling magic with its hoof and, when arrived to the tree, he hit the sphere at its trunk and an explosion happened, taking a huge amount of dust. When the dust had settled, Golden was able to see the result and got no words for what he saw. The tree had been completely torn down with the part that had entered into contact with the Star’s sphere completely undone and reduced to small wood chips. "Amazing…" he said. "How did you manage to do it, Prince Star Knight?" "Well, after all my failed attempts, I realized I couldn't contain my magic at the same time as the force" Star explained. "So I decided to use a clone." "A clone to rotate and give force, while you contain" Golden Paladin concluded. "Pretty ingenious, young prince. I am speechless... and proud. Finally you managed to complete this difficult task which was to create this new spell." "Thank you, Golden Paladin" Star thanked. "That means a lot to me. After all, if it weren't for your help, I don't think I have done this." "I just gave you some training advice, nothing more" Golden Paladin replied. "Everything you did was for your merit, Prince Star Knight. By the way, what name will you give to your new spell?" Star also wondered about it. What name would fit this new spell? Remembering the way the magic rotate strongly in a contained sphere, a perfect name arose in his mind. "How about... Spell of the Spiraling Sphere?" he asked. "It seems... well to me" Golden Paladin replied. "Well, Golden, I'm quite glad I managed to finish my spell, but now I really need to go back to the academy" Star said. "I'm exhausted." And, having said this, he began heading to the academy. Golden Paladin saw him walking away and a smile appeared on his face. Although Prince Star Knight didn't had a delicate control of his own magic yet, he was showing great potential and the fact that he has mastered that spell, meant that he was progressing enough. Therefore, Golden couldn't wait for the next phase of his training.