//------------------------------// // The Demon Fox Cloak, Part I // Story: Star Knight and the Nine-Tailed Fox // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// After a harsh Winter filled with heavy rain and cold to make freeze the bones, the time has come when the Spring came, bringing with it the heat, the cheerful colors and the cool breeze. Star Knight, who never became interested in the change of seasons due to the fact that the Light Kingdom was not very affected by winter, was surprised how the transaction of Winter to Spring at the Enchanted Forest happened. He knew that in Canterlot ponies use magic and in Ponyville they clean the snow and clouds, but, in the Enchanted Forest, everything happened differently, but much more impressive. On the first day of Spring, several fairies, including the headmistresses, flew over the Enchanted Forest, carrying bags full of pink powder they began pouring over the forest below them. It was then that the real show had started. The snow began to melt at an amazing speed, while fresh grass and fragrant colorful flowers appeared. Soon even the trees got themselves full of splendid green leaves and the dust that was hovering at the sky removed the heavy clouds to let the sun shine. Finally, the animals, with the arrival of Spring, began appearing, some coming out of hibernation. But that wasn't the reason for Star liking spring. The truth is there were only a few weeks missing for his birthday that would happen on the day before the weekend. So, he would be able to pass it with his friends and family. According to a letter that his mother sent him, she and his father had some business to attend in Canterlot, so they said to him to come there and then they would return to the Light Kingdom to celebrate is anniversary. However, the truth was Twilight and Blue were organizing a surprise party in the gardens of the castle of Canterlot, being a suggestion coming from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. However, at the kingdom of Lord of chaos, Discordia, something was happening… Seating on his throne, the Lord of Chaos had Adagio to her knees at the bottom of the staircase. Levitating above his open hand, the Lord of Chaos had the pieces of what appeared to be a red jewel. The pieces were enveloped by a shadowy glow and then they were put together to form an octagonal gem. "Here it is…" the Lord of Chaos said, making the gem levitate to Adagio, who took it with her hooves. "Now, you will have your voice even stronger than before." "Thank you, my Lord" Adagio thanked, bowing respectfully her head. "I promise I won't let you down." "Your services have been very positive and that's why I am giving you back your voice" the Lord of Chaos said. "I hope you don't disappoint me." "I promise" Adagio replied. "I will continue to do my work as I've done so far. And now that I've got my voice back, I will make the Generals shake, especially that damn Melody." "And how are you going to do that?" a voice asked in a mocking tone. "Singing them a lullaby?" Adagio turned and saw Ulysses approaching, smiling arrogantly to Adagio. She stood up and asked: "What did you say?" "I'm simply saying that they once defeated you" Ulysses remembered her cynically. "What would be different this time?" "I don't know if you know this, but I've beaten and put under my control three Generals at once" Adagio, who was getting tired of Ulysses’ taunts, replied. "And one of them was the General of Peace, their leader." "But it was told to me you had the help of your dear sisters" Ulysses continued, always cynically. "Will you be able to do it again this time?" Adagio showed her teeth, trying to control the anger she was feeling on hearing Ulysses talking about her like that. When she was about to attack him, the Lord of Chaos said: "No more fights. You must end with these petty conflicts. Don't you realize that we're trying to accomplish my greatest plan ever? If there are divisions among my villains, I'm sure my brother and his followers will take advantage of it." After hearing those words, either Adagio and Ulysses remained silent. "Now, I want you to think of a way to use the fact that today is Prince Star Knight's birthday to know how he is maturing as a Jinchuriki. Since Chrysalis’ mutants failed the task last time, we must ensure that the next attempt is more accurate." "And maybe I can help you with that... my lord" a voice said, after listening the doors of the throne room opening up. All of them looked to the entry and saw a ram getting in. He had a moderate cornflower blue fur, dark cobalt blue hooves and horns and still red eyes. He had a leash where there was a silver bell. "Grogar" the Lord of Chaos said, seeing him approaching. "But what a nice surprise. I thought that you were in another place to spread my chaos." "My lord, when I heard you were trying to achieve the biggest plan you've ever invented, I just couldn't ignore" Grogar said, doing a brief bow to the Lord of Chaos. "After all, to do something like that, you're going to need the help of anyone you can really trust. And I guarantee that these idiots will only be a hindrance." "Hey!" Ulysses and Adagio exclaimed at the same time. "You mean you have a plan for what I want?" the Lord of Chaos asked. "A plan that is virtually foolproof" Grogar answered. "In fact, I might add that my plan is so great that, to do so, a General will help me." "Don't tell me" the Lord of Chaos, a little interested. "And how are you going to do such a feat?" "With this" Grogar said, erecting one of his hooves and making a small bottle to appear where inside there was a kind of shiny purplish liquid. Watching it, the Lord of Chaos realized what Grogar’s plan was immediately and gave one of his evil laughter. In Canterlot, preparations were being made for Star's birthday party. The area of the garden where the party would be hosted was already decorated with party flags and it even had piñatas and other games, courtesy of Pinkie Pie. She had brought also the birthday cake that the Cakes did and Applejack brought some of the catering, being apple-based food. Twilight oversaw everything, with Blue as her assistant, as both wanted that party to be perfect, but Twilight was the most determined to do so. "The presents go that way" she said, while some guests arrived. Among the guests, apart from Twilight, Blue and the twins, included Twilight's friends and their respective families, including Cherry Blossom, Big Apple McIntosh and Flower, Twilight and Blue’s parents, Celestia, Luna, Ingrid and Freeze Burn, as well as the daughter of the latters, Snowflake (who had inherited her father's coat and her mother's eyes, having a mane with light shades of white and blue, beyond which she was an alicorn), who was the same age as the twins. Shining Armor and Cadance also came, along with their children, Gleaming Shield (that got her Cutie Mark, which was a crystal snowflake) and Topaz Blade. Twilight’s uncle and grandmother, Shooting Star and Starlight Sparkle, were also invited, but, unfortunately, they were too far away to attend, and the same was to Dahlia, Blue's sister, and her family. "I just hope that everything is ready for when Star and his friends arrive from the academy" Twilight confessed, a little nervous. "Don't worry, Twily" Blue answered her, putting his hull over her shoulder. "Everything will be fine. You are giving all of you to make this party a success." "I know, but I can't help it" she said. "After all, this is Star’s first anniversary since he learned the truth about Nine-Tails." "Come on, little sis, you will see that everything will be okay" Shining said, approaching with Cadance. "Yes, I'm sure Star will give more importance to your effort to organize this party" Cadace ensured. "Thank you, guys" Twilight said. "Maybe you are right. Maybe I'm worrying for no reason." "You wouldn't be our beloved Twilight if you didn’t worry" Cadance said. "Besides, Golden Paladin and the others will be attentive in case some villain decides to show up" Blue said. As Blue said, Golden Paladin was with the other generals (with the exception of Leaf Mane) at the entrance of the castle gardens. "Remember, guys, any sign, even the less suspicious, of evil presence must be investigated" Golden said. "Given to the fact that Prince Star Knight will be out of his normal protection areas, it is likely that the Lord of Chaos will use this day to try to capture him." The others waved and Heartbeat said: "Very well, then I will investigate if there is an intruder in the party." "Wait a minute, Heartbeat" Golden Paladin said, before the General of Affection could pull away. "You will patrol the limits, just like us." "But why?!" Heartbeat asked, looking disappointed. "First, because Princess Celestia and her sisters said they would be in charge of keeping an eye at the party, so we could concentrate on the outskirts" Golden Paladin replied. "Besides, I know you just wanted to go there because of the cake." That made Melody drop a laugh, while Melody Mirror remained with his indifferent air. Purple Smoke whispered to Heartbeat: "It looks like he got you." "All right, Generals, let’s begin" Golden Paladin said. And they started walking away. Before Melody could go on patrol, Golden Paladin asked her: "Melody, do you know where Leaf Mane is?" "At the usual place" she replied. In the cave of Leaf Mane’s matrix, she was watering Arbor, the King of Trees who had turned himself into Leaf Mane’s mane, after the other was destroyed by Nine-Tails’ fire. "Things have been pretty calm" she said. "I'm afraid that means the Lord of Chaos is planning something even eviler than the normal. But don't worry, I and the others will stop anything he tries to do." The General of Nature sighed and then said: "I wish you didn't have to endure the task of being my matrix, Arbor. It is a pity everything it’s like this, just when you started seeing the good in ponies. Well, I have to go. Today Prince Star Knight’s birthday. I can't even believe he has now eleven years. Time goes really on the run. Goodbye, Arbor." And she started heading to the exit. After moving away a little from the cave, Leaf Mane heard a voice saying: "About time you got out of there." The General turned and saw Grogar coming out from behind a tree. He continued: "It sucks that cave is protected against any villain. But I don't blame you, taking into account the mass release of villains of Tartarus." Observing Grogar and seeing his red eyes, Leaf Mane realized who he was. "You are a servant of the Lord of Chaos, aren't you?" "You can call me Grogar" the evil ram answered. But Leaf Mane wasted no time to talk to him. Accessing to her magic, she invoked roots that proceeded to Grogar. But he didn't seem bothered, actually he smiled. It was then that he, with his hoof, touched his bell. The sound, while reaching the roots, managed to petrify them and then disintegrate them, what shocked Leaf Mane. "You and your fellow Generals are not the only ones with a strong magic, you know?" Grogar said. Leaf Mane prepared to make another attack, but it was then she began to hear a voice singing. It was a beautiful but dark voice. The General of Nature knew that voice perfectly, as she, along with two others, Golden Paladin and Mirror Coat, was enslaved by it. "No…" she said, trying to cover her ears, but it was too late. An agonizing pain haunted her eardrums, what made her moan and fall on her knees. "No…" Leaf Mane said, while dealing with the pain she was feeling. And Adagio appeared, singing and with her pendant on a pendant, followed by Ulysses. She stopped and said: "Hello, Leaf Mane. Did you miss me? We don’t see each other since I hypnotized you and the other two. Do you like my new voice. The Lord of Chaos was kind enough to increase its power for me." When the pain in her eardrums disappeared, Leaf Mane tried to stand up to attack, but Ulysses was faster. "Don't even think about it" he said. Pointing one of his talons to Leaf Mane, he launched a lightning bolt that struck the General of Nature and made her stay at the place where she was, while causing pain to her. "Come on, what are you waiting for?" Leaf Mane asked. "Take me prisoner." "Do you think we've had all this work to find and overwhelm you just to make you a prisoner?" Grogar asked, approaching. "No, my dear Leaf Mane. We have other plans for you." "What plans?" she asked. "Nothing important" Grogar replied. "We just need to request your services." That made Leaf Mane drop a laugh and ask: "Do you really think I'm going to help you with anything? Not even if the Lord of Chaos started distributing sweets without poison to foals." "Oh, but you're going to help us" Grogar assured. "In one way or another." And Grogar invoked the same bottle that he had shown to the Lord of chaos. Seeing the bottle and its contents, Leaf Mane’s face was filled with fear. "No…" she said. “No, no, no! Please, anything but that!" But Grogar ignored her, keeping his evil smile. He opened the bottle and unleashed the energy which, conducted by the magic of the evil ram, headed to Leaf Mane, beginning to wrap her. "No…" she said, while the wild energy wrap her. “No... NO!" And her body absorbed the wild energy and shone with a black shine, making roots appear from the ground and involve Leaf Mane, forming some kind of a cocoon. "I don't understand" Ulysses said, approaching Grogar. "Why did we have to turn the General of Nature? We couldn't have done this with another General who was stronger." "Leaf Mane controls the very nature" Grogar said. "Imagine what she could do if she was evil. Without to mention that Leaf Mane is the only General who is not in Canterlot. In addition, make any other General beyond her would be a lot of work. For starters, Melody is immune to the Siren voice." "At this moment" Adagio interrupted. "Because of that, it would be far more difficult to subdue her and control her after" Grogar continued. "Heartbeat may be the most powerful between the Generals, but due to her magic being both good and evil, she is immune to the effects of the wild energy. Purple Smoke's metamorphic abilities make the effects of the wild energy unstable and Mirror Coat, Golden Paladin and Prince Blue Sword would give too much of a fight." "With me here, that wouldn't be a problem" Ulysses said, making a small electric current pass through his body to prove his point. "Don't get me wrong, but even with your muscles and your power over electricity, things could not run as we expected" Grogar said. "Believe me, my dear feathered friend, in a war against the most powerful entities, the first thing we have to consider is our possibilities and Leaf Mane is the best way." Having said that, the roots receded and Leaf Mane appeared. She cas completely unrecognizable. Her beautiful mane full of fresh leaves had become disheveled and having moderate cyan and light brilliant turquoise as colors and his coat had turned gray ceriseish. Ivy run her neck and enveloped her body and her eyes, which before were like emeralds that radiated kindness had become violetish blue black with light brilliant harlequin pupils and transmitted pure evil. An evil smile on his face emerged. "I present to you to the new and improved Leaf Mane" Grogar said before the astonished stare of Adagio and Ulysses. In the gardens of the castle of Canterlot, the preparations were over when they heard steps. It could only be the birthday colt. Everypony hid and then Star appeared alongside Jonagold, Gunter and Bramble. It was then that everypony emerged from their hiding places and shouted: "SURPRISE!" Star was quite surprised when he saw everypony. "But..." he began. Twilight approached and told him, with Blue and the twins at her side: "Congratulations, my dear." She gave him a kiss on each cheek and Star asked, still surprised: "You did all of this for me?" "Yes" Twilight replied. "After all, it's not every day that you turn eleven, isn't it?" "Your mother tried really hard to do this" Blue said. "I just wanted, after all what you went through, for you to have the best birthday as possible" she said. "Thanks, mom" Star said, smiling at her. "I loved it." Twilight also smiled, struggling for her eyes not to be filled with tears of happiness. Outside the party, Golden Paladin seemed a little nervous. Mirror Coat appeared beside him and told him: "You look worried." "Leaf Mane isn't here yet" Golden Paladin said. "It's not like her." "You think something happened to her?" Mirror Coat asked. "Wouldn't be the first time the Lord of Chaos tried to reach us directly" Golden Paladin said. "He already tried to destroy Leaf Mane’s matrix and he almost succeeded." "Don't worry, Golden" Mirror Coat said. "She's all right. If something had happened, we would know. " Despite the soothing words of Mirror Coat, Golden Paladin couldn't stop feeling anxious about the delay of Leaf Mane. At the Star’s birthday party, he was now talking with Moonlight. She had revealed to him that she had got a few days ago her Cutie Mark, which was a full moon surrounded by musical notes, after discovering her talent for singing. "I'm happy for you, Moonlight" Star said. "It's awesome that you got your Cutie Mark." "Thank you, Star..." she said, blushing slightly. "And I know this is your special day, but..." "Don't be ridiculous" the young prince said. "The happiness of my friends is the best gift I could get." That made Moonlight smile openly. At that time, Star’s three friends approached. "Hey, Moonlight, I think you haven't met our friends from the academy" Jonagold told her. "This is Gunter and this is Bramble." "Oh... hi” Moonlight greeted. "It's a pleasure to meet you" Gunter said. "Jona and Star said that your mother is a pegasus and your father is a thestral. Apparently, they were not kidding." "We've never met somepony like you" Bramble said. "I'm glad we have this opportunity now." "Thank you..." thanked Moonlight, sheepishly, even more than Bramble usually is. "Moonlight, I haven't seen your father" said Star. "He didn't come?" "No, he stayed at home" she replied. "The day is too sunny for him. I think that even with his cloak he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from the sun." "And you can be under the Sun?" Gunter asked who, realizing the indiscretion of his question, hastened to say. "Sorry." "It's okay" Moonlight replied. "I can walk under the Sun, although it is at night that I feel really well." "Moonlight is like the combination of the best qualities of her parents" Star said. That comment made the pink colour on Moonlight’s face even more visible, which caught the attention of Star’s friends, and then said: "Thank you, Star..." Before some of Star’s friends could say something about Moonlight’s behavior, the ground suddenly began shaking. "But, what is this?" Star asked. Everypony had been caught by surprise with that earthquake. Cadance and Shining Armor were the first to react, creating a powerful barrier around the children, in order to protect them from any damage. Suddenly, roots sprouted from the ground and began to grow in height, surrounding the area where the party was going on. The growth of those roots was something completely unusual. Outside, the generals saw it happen. "What the..." Golden Paladin started. "Roots?" Mirror Coat asked. Purple Smoke, Melody and Heartbeat appeared. “Golden, what's going on?” Purple Smoke asked. "I don't know" he replied. "But it can't be good." Realizing the roots were surrounding Prince Star Knight's birthday party, he said: "The roots are surrounding the party. Heartbeat, try to get in quickly." And so she did, but she soon return and say: "I'm sorry, but they surrounded all the entries, including above, and they are able to resist any external force." "This is bad" Golden Paladin said, worried about the safety of all those who were inside that dome of roots. Inside, everypony were still caught by surprise with that. Twilight, her friends and the other alicorn princesses tried to cut the roots, but whenever they destroyed one, many others appeared to take its place. "This is not normal magic" Celestia said. "I can feel some amount of dark power." "I can feel it too" Luna said. "And it's pretty powerful." "I'm sure this is some feat of one of the villains of the Lord of Chaos" Cadance said. "Probably coming after Star" Twilight said, worried. "But they will not succeed" Blue ensured. He tried to use his magic to undo the magic that created those roots, but there was something that prevented him. "I don't understand" he said. "I can't undo this." "Maybe I can help" Ingrid said. "After all, I was the Snow Queen." But when Ingrid tried to use her magic, it seemed that the roots knew what was going to happen. It was then that large plants came out of nowhere in the entire area, growing up above the ponies. At the top, a flower button appeared. Watching it, Blue recognized soon those plants. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "What is it, Blue?" Shining Armor asked him. "Those plants…" he said, noting that the buttons were about to open up. "Don't breathe the spores!" The plants blossomed and the flowers released so many spores that spread quickly. Breathing them, the guests started to pass out one by one, including Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Ingrid, who were too late to avoid inhaling the spores. Fortunately, Twilight was able to create an emergency barrier that protected her, Blue and Shining. Using then the magic of her barrier, Twilight made all the spores disappear. "But what was that?" Shining Armor asked. "Sleeping spores" Blue replied. "I've seen Leaf Mane use them once." "Wait, are you saying that Leaf Mane is responsible for this?" Shining Armor asked. But before anything else could be said, Star approached: "Mom! Dad! Uncle Shining Armor!" "Star!" Twilight exclaimed, going to embrace her son. "I'm glad you're okay." "Yes, I'm fine" said Star. "The truth is that spores didn’t affect me." "What do you mean you were not affected?" Shining Armor asked. "He was not affected, because they don't want him affected" Twilight realized. "Well, well, well, looks like we have some more guests for this party" a voice said. They turned and saw Grogar and Ulysses in another side. It was Grogar who had spoken and he continued: "Oh, well, we just have to divide our attention as best as we can.