Now that he had his father and his uncle by his side, Star knew that now the General of Chaos would have much difficulty in getting what he wanted. But he needed to informed them about what they were up against.
“Be care careful, he made the reincarnated jinchuriki like those dark ponies that attacked the Light Kingdom” he said. “They all have rods just like the others…”
“Just calm down, son, you’re starting to babble” Blue said.
“Yeah, but you already gave us the information we need” Shining said.
At that moment, the ground under them started to tremble and then they saw Five-Tails coming against them.
“Here it comes!” Star exclaimed.
“I count… five tails!” Shining said.
Star tried to move, but he still couldn’t do it very well, even more having that coral on his back. Because of that, Blue told him:
“Don’t worry, Star, I’ll take that out of you.”
And, with a blast of magic, Blue cracked the coral and reduced it into little pieces.
“Thanks dad, that’s way better” Star thanked.
It was then that Five-Tails was quick to change its direction.
“He’s after the Eight-Tails” Shining observed.
“Come, Eight-Tails, are you okay?” Hawthorn asked to his tailed beast who was still in control.
He started to get up and then replied:
“We share pain, remember? So, are you alright, Hawthorn?”
But he didn’t have time to replied, as Five-Tails, that had done a big jump, was diving into an attack with the horns. But the General of Chaos was still there and then he charged his horn, from where a chain of dark energy came up and put itself around Five-Tails that felt a lot of pain and then fell on the ground. Seeing that, Shining asked:
“Wait, was it trying to attack him?”
When the tailed beast hit the ground with violence, Star could hear it moan in pain and then a female voice said:
“So painful… I can’t believe I’m letting him…”
Hawthorn, who regained the control for a moment, had also heard Five-Tails and, with rage, said:
“Why you…”
And he closed his hand over him. But the General of Chaos simply pass through it and approached Five-Tails, who started to reverse to the second phase of the transformation, making Vapour Fist appear again.
“But why is he repressing the tailed beast’s power?” Blue asked.
“I don’t know” Shining replied. “He doesn’t seem to have the tailed beast under his control. Maybe that’s why?”
When the process was completed, the other jinchuriki approached and the chain that the General of Chaos used disappeared.
Using their psychic link, Hawthorn asked to Star:
“Hey, did you hear that, Star? That voice…”
“Yeah, I did” Star replied.
“That was the tailed beast” Eight-Tails revealed. “Five-Tails’ voice. We tailed beasts have emotions. It pains me seeing one of my kind be treated like that…”
“Now you get mad?” a voice said, joining the talk.
It was Nine-Tails who, laid down in his cell, had an angry look, but keeping his eyes closed. He continued:
“It has been always the same with every single pony, deer and griffon that kept us as pets. Eight-Tails, you and that brat Hawthorn are a special exception.”
That made Eight-Tails to scoff at him and then say:
“I wonder about that, Nine-Tails.”
“Wait, Nine-Tails can talk directly with Eight-Tails?” Star asked.
“I know you, Nine-Tails” Eight-Tails said. “You…”
“You talked too much!” Nine-Tails cut, opening his eyes for a moment. “By the way, giving the number of tails you have, aren’t you next most powerful after me, Eight-Tails? Hurry up and finish this. I’m going to take a nap.”
“Don’t decide who is strong or weak based on the number of tails!” Eight-Tails replied. “You have always been like this. That’s why the One-Tail really hates you.”
But seeing that Nine-Tails didn’t answered him back, Eight-Tails exclaimed:
“Hey, are you even listen to me, your fool?! Don’t you dare to play possum, you fox!”
That caused the nine-tailed fox to grin angrily his teeth. Even though the situation wasn’t the best, Star couldn’t help but finding funny the arguing between the two tailed beasts.
“Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails are actually fighting…” he said.
“Tailed beasts can talk with other tailed beasts, it’s not a very rare thing to see” Hawthorn replied.
As Blue and Shining couldn’t hear what Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails were saying at each other, they didn’t know why Star was laughing. Blue said:
“Come on, my son, don’t be distracted like that. Just because we’re here, it doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.”
“Yes, dad, I now” Star replied, getting his posture back.
“The problem is we don’t know if, like the others, they can also perform one kind of magic” Shining said.
“Well, we just have to find that by ourselves” Blue replied.
With the six reincarnated jinchuriki advancing against them, the two unicorn princes advanced with each one charging their horns with magic. They were able to hit Vapour Fist, Bubble Sweet and Silver Mist, but Gigi, Echo Wing and Black Granite were able to pass and went to Star who created a Spiraling Sphere.
“They’re going on your way, Star!” Blue exclaimed.
“Right, in coming!” he said.
“Three is better than we had faced before” Hawthorn, who had come to Star’s side, said.
And Star, Shining and Blue started to fight against the reincarnated jinchuriki, even though they were in great disadvantage, while the General of Chaos observed. But then Bubble Sweet and Silver Mist were able to hit them and throw them back.
“Looks like he isn’t using any of the abilities he used before” Blue noticed.
“Maybe he can’t make them used them because those abilities were unique to the others” Shining suggested.
“Or maybe he doesn’t want to use them because we already know about them” Blue said.
“Neither those options are gonna help us know” Star said, while blocking the attacks of his adversaries.
Observing them, the General of Chaos said:
“Those two are a very good team. And they and Star Knight seem to be holding on their own quite well. Why don’t we power up a little bit? Two of them this time!”
And the intensity of the energy released increased, what caused the ground to crack beneath them. At that moment, Six-Tails emerged. It is an enormous white, with a light blueish tint, bipedal slug with stubby arms, feet and six long tails. It had two prominent optical tentacles and hole-like openings as a mouth. Its entire body was covered in a thick, slimy substance.
But he wasn’t he only one to appear, as Black Granite also turned into Four-Tails. That tailed beast was a red-furred and green-skinned monkey, with a body-build of a gorilla. It had eyes with yellow irises and white pupils, spike-like protrusions along the length of the tails, elongated blunt fangs, and two long horns curving upwards on the forehead like a crown with both fangs and horns being dark-tipped.
While the Six-Tails attacked Shining and Blue, the Four-Tails attacked Star and Eight-Tails, while roaring, revealing that, in the mouth, it didn't have a tongue, but an opening that was shaped like a dome volcano. Tackling them, Four-Tails made Star fall on Eight-Tails’ chest, while the Nine-Tails energy covering him disappeared. He raise up and said:
“We have to distract that thing with clones with the Nine-Tails’ energy, while we go after the General of Chaos.”
“You can’t do that anymore” Hawthorn said. “If you do, Nine-Tails will take all of your energy and you’ll be done. And you don’t have to guess that is no fun.”
“Hawthorn, have you still not noticed?” Eight-Tails asked to his jinchuriki. “I thought you had hoof fisted with him. Given the number of clones he produced, Star Knight should have been half-dead long ago. If he’s not, that means Nine-Tails stopped taking his energy a while back.”
He then directed his words to his fellow tailed beast:
“Right, Nine-Tails?”
But Nine-Tails remained impassive, while pretending to be napping.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but…” Eight-Tails continued.
Nine-Tails continued not saying a world, remember what Star said about going after his hate after he was finished with the war and then when he was talking with the General of Chaos before the fight. He didn’t know if those words were truthful, but he couldn’t stop remember each one of them.
Six-Tails released from its mouth a bubbling substance that started to advance toward Blue and Shining.
“What the heck is that?” Blue asked.
“I don’t know, but don’t let that stuff touch you, Blue” Shining said.
Meanwhile, Four-Tails advanced and took one of Eight-Tails’ tentacles and then swung him, what caused Star to be thrown over and fell right on Four-Tails who opened his mouth, where the alicorn fell into. Before that, Star intuitively covered himself with Nine-Tails’ energy and used it to prevent the mouth from closing, what was very hard to do, as the four-tailed monkey was much stronger than him. Nine-Tails, who was till impassive, opened his eyes. While dodging Six-Tails’ attack, Blue noticed that his son was in trouble.
“Star!” he exclaimed, turning to Shining. “We have to help him!”
“But, Blue, right now, we have our own problems” Shining replied. “We need to help ourselves first. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re surrounded.”
He was right, as Vapour Fist created energy arms that he launched against them. When the bubbling substance Six-Tails’ was extracting touched a bush that was in the way, they could see how corrosive it was when it reduced the plant to nothing.
“That bush melted instantly” Blue said. “Is it a corrosive gas?”
Knowing they had to do something, the two had each other’s back and Shining said:
“All right, we have to guard each other’s backs and focus on what’s in front of us. Any problems?”
“You already know the answer” Blue replied, charging his horn.
And they advanced, with Shining going face Vapour Fist and Blue going face Six-Tails. While advanced and used his shield to defend Vapour Fist’s every attack, Blue used the magic he had at that moment as General of Balance to nullify Six-Tails’ corrosive attack.
“We better end up this quickly” Shining said.
“Yeah, I know” Blue said. “Star may not be able to hold down for much longer.”
Hawthorn involved Four-Tails with tentacles, trying to help Star, and exclaimed:
“Hey, let Star go, you monkey!”
Star continued to prevent the mouth from closing with all his strength, but Four-Tails was just too strong. He didn’t know how long he would be able to fight back. Nine-Tails, on his side continued to do nothing, just laying down.
“Nine-Tails, it seems you helped Star’s clone fighting Tirek by giving him some of your energy” Eight-Tails said to the fox. “You have to lend this one strength before it’s too late.”
“I’m not like you, Eight-Tails” Nine-Tails replied. “I don’t keep wagging my tails at my jinchuriki time after time.”
“Are you saying you don’t care what happens to Star Knight?!” Eight-Tails asked angrily.
But Nine-Tails remained silent. He remembered the time Tirek took control over him, proclaiming that he was just a tool of destruction to the ones who ever controlled him, and when Golden Paladin and Leaf Mane sealed him inside Heartbeat, saying he was just too powerful, and how was his relationship with the latter, who wanted him to be quiet inside her so he couldn’t cause any harm to the others.
“No matter what words they use…” he said to himself, while trying to focus his hatred. “They’re always the same… The same thing… And now this brat… How dare these ponies… I bet even he’s the same.”
But what Star said to him at his way to the war just kept playing in his head every time he thought about Star. It was what prevented him from hating him like he hated all the others.
The young alicorn prince continued to prevent Four-Tails from closing the mouth, what was still very hard to hold, even with Eight-Tails trying to help him. But then Four-Tails opened the mouth suddenly, what cause Star to fell into it, and then closed it.
“Star Knight!” Hawthorn called.
When Star opened, he was in a place similar to the one where he normally met Nine-Tails with water under him. The difference was the Four-Tails that was chained to a wall with the same chains the General of Chaos used.
“What…” he said.
“I suppose that now you want to take my power too, coming all the way here…” Four-Tails asked with a raspy voice. “You obnoxious little brat!”
He tried to move, but, due to the chains, he couldn’t.
“Hold on” Star said, standing up. “Are you… Four-Tails?”
“Don’t you dare call me Four-Tails!” the tailed beast exclaimed. “I have a proper name! I am the great monkey king, the one to receive the honor of having the name Son from the great Lord of Order! I’m the great Son Goku!”
“What?” Star asked, a little confused. “Sorry, I didn’t understand your name…”
“Son Goku! You ponies are all stupid. You can’t even remember names? I can’t even believe that it’s your kind who is dominating this reality and not apes. I really don’t want to give my power to the likes of…”
But before he could finish, Star asked:
“But where are we? This is just like where the Nine-Tails lives.”
“Are you not paying attention?!” Son Goku asked, offended. “I just told you my name! How dare you to ignore me? You’re far too rude.”
“Oh, sorry about that” Star apolized.
That behavior caught Son Goku by surprised and he commented:
“You seem rather genuine for a pony. You’re the first one to ever apologize to a tailed beast. I guess you didn’t come to steal my power after all.”
After taking a closed look, Son Goku said:
“You have one inside you as well. So that’s how you got in. It seems Kurama has train you well.”
“Kurama?” Star asked, confused again. “Who’s Kurama?”
That question really caught Son Goku by surprised and he said:
“You’re his jinchuriki and you don’t even know his real name? You ponies disgust me…”
“What? You mean, Nine-Tails has a name too?”
That question was heard by Nine-Tails, who couldn’t help but let a grunt get out. And then a smile appeared on Star’s face and then he said:
“I see… So his name his Kurama.”
“You ponies, as well others like you, only see us as sources of great power” Son Goku said. “You don’t even care if we have names. You show us no respect whatsoever. You imprisoned us and you denied us our true status.”
Hearing that, Star’s smile went down, as well his head. He thought about he was ever treated in the Light Kingdom when he was a child. Everypony refused to acknowledge him as their prince, only doing so because of his parents. For him, that wasn’t real and made his best to earn their respect.
“I may not be the same as you, but I understand what you feel” Star said. “I used to be looked down by the others. Even though I was their prince, they didn’t see me as such. But I kept hoping that they could see me as I really was. I am a jinchuriki, but I also has a name that I cherish too… Star Knight. It was the first gift my parents ever gave.”
And he smile, one that Son Goku could see was very true. But then took it down and continued, remembering what the General of Chaos told about his existence:
“That’s why… I hate that he doesn’t even care to have a name beyond his title. But despite that, he still forces us to do whatever he wants.”
There was a pause and then Son Goku said:
“Well, then, what you want to do with us?”
Star thought for a moment and then he replied with a smile:
“Well, I guess I would be like Lord Hawthorn. Yeah, that’s what I want. To be like Lord Hawthorn and Eight-Tails. Whatever I watch them together, always joking and fighting and playing… Well, I can’t really explain it well… I can see when I’m with them, they’re like… They are true friends. And… seeing them together always makes me feel… I guess kinda of… jealous.”
That caused Son Goku to start laughing and then said:
“Come on! Are you telling me that you, a pony, really wants to be friends with a tailed beast?!”
But then Star looked at him in such way that cause Son Goku to stop laughing. Looking at him, he could tell Star was being true with all his words.
“So that’s the reason why I want to help you too… Son Goku” Star said.
Hearing a pony saying his name, his real name, made Son Goku feel that he really wasn’t like the others.
“Just call me Son…” he said. “By the way, I ate you. What are you going to do now?”
“Ah, yeah, I forgot about that!” Star exclaimed. “What do I do?”
While the young alicorn prince thought a way to get out, Son couldn’t notice that siding with Star was better than remaining under the control of that dark alicorn.
“There is a way to stop me” he said, getting Star’s attention. “Just undo this chains and I’ll tell you what I mean.”
That caused Star to smile and then say:
“Okay, Son.”