//------------------------------// // Chapter 33 - Battle and a Choice // Story: Little Lost Raichu // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Little Lost Raichu - Chapter 33 - Battle and a Choice “Girls, girls!” Pinkie shouted as she ran across the empty Canterlot streets, only to bump into Rarity as they both rolled into a wall. “Sorry!” She pulled the fashionista to a standing position before hopping in front of her. Panic still present on her face. “What is the rush? You seem more hyperactive than usual,” Rarity said as she wiped the dust from her chest. “Should I assume you found out where Darkrai is?” “I did, I did, at least I think I did,” Pinkie said in haste before pointing at her trembling tail. “My Pinkie sense tells me that something very, very, very bad is about to happen on the top of the mountain. I need to alert everyone!” Rarity nodded. “I will go to the castle and tell the princesses.” She poked Pinkie’s chest. “Daring Do, Rainbow Dash and Luna are still patrolling the city, can you find them and tell them to regroup at the castle?” “On it!” Pinkie said with a salute before vanishing in a cloud of dust. As she now stood on the roof of a restaurant, she pulled a megaphone from her tail and shouted, “Rainbow Dash! Princess Luna, and the pony whose name I can’t speak aloud in public, I have important news!” As she had hoped for, the patrolling ponies were now flying in her direction, yet something odd caught her attention. Her ears drooped at the view of dark clouds forming in the sky as they started circling over the mountain. If this doesn’t indicate dark forces and powerful magic, I don’t know what does. She lowered her head in disappointment. “So much for my early warning being useful.” Celestia gestured for her subjects to enter the castle while her guards assisted with crowd control. Raichu, a guest from another world, was now perched on her back, allowing her to finally move her stiff wing. “Please listen to the Royal Guards as they temporarily accomodate you inside the castle. There is not enough space for everypony, so I encourage to seek safety inside your homes or evacuate by train.” She looked at her subjects in concern. There was no telling if the walls of the castle would guarantee her subjects safety. “Ummm… excuse me, Princess,” Fluttershy said, catching her attention. “Since Nica is awake, I thought she may need this.” She hovered above the ground while presenting a collar with her hooves. Nica shook both her head and her forepaw dismissively. “Alright, if you say so, just be very careful.” Fluttershy tapped her forehooves together. “Though maybe if I talked with him, I could convince him to give up on his plans of conquest. And if that won’t work, I could try to use my stare.” Nica said before approaching Celestia’s flank, now looking at Fluttershy from the edge. “B-but…” Nica said before holding her paws together while using her puppy stare. Fluttershy sighed and lowered her head. “Alright… to be honest, I’m a little scared, but I don’t want to leave my friends. Can you protect them from harm?” Fluttershy whimpered. Nica rubbed the back of her neck as a blush appeared on her cheeks. Celestia kept observing the exchange, wishing she had Fluttershy’s talent to understand what the repetitive use of ‘Rai’ and ‘Raichu’ meant. “Twilight Sparkle.” “Yes Princess?” the smaller alicorn asked as she ran over immediately. It seems some things do not change. Celestia pointed at the darkened sky and asked, “You studied the curse alongside Starlight. Is there any weakness we can exploit?” “There are some indeed,” Twilight said before standing on her rear hooves while raising her forehoof in a lecturing gesture. Her wings spread to help with her balance. “While Darkrai can temporarily steal magic from ponies he cursed, there are limitations. The first one is that they need to be in a specific range. I suppose absorbing others magic from the higher ground expands such range and make the flow of magic faster and more efficient.” Celestia nodded, listening with full attention. Her passenger who peeked from behind her neck seemed interested as well. “While stealing magic from one pony who’s close and in field of vision is very quick, doing so to numerous ponies and other creatures is much more time consuming. The distance between the cursed pony and Darkrai also slows down the transfer.” Twilight paused before lowering herself, now standing on four hooves instead of two. “In other words, since we substantially reduced the amount of cursed ponies in Canterlot, the amount of magic he’ll get quickly from here will be low, while taking magic from ponies in other towns will be time-consuming. It should give us a lot of time to stop him before he becomes too powerful. The faster we strike, the better.” Celestia nodded while gifting her former student a proud smile. “Great work, Princess Twilight. Anything else?” “Well… since Darkrai is using dark magic, maybe he’s vulnerable to whatever worked against Sombra. If I remember correctly, Cadence’s magic kept him at bay while the Crystal Heart defeated him.” Celestia nodded. “I see. We can use the Crystal Heart as our last resort, and I know a spell that I can use to my advantage. It is regrettable that we didn’t consider to ask Princess Cadence to help us. Hopefully we can handle Darkrai without her.” “I also have a trump card we can use,” Starlight said as she approached, a grin on her face. “Finally awake Nica, you really need to stop doing everything on your own.” She spread her forehooves in an inviting gesture. Celestia felt paws press against the top of her head before the long-tailed critter leaped over her head, tackling Starlight to the ground. “I had enough of sitting at the castle while you keep trying to be useful on your own. This time, we’re going to work together, and that’s final!” Starlight said while hugging the Raichu in a vice grip as they both nuzzled each other’s cheeks. The darkening sky blocking the rays of the sun, overwhelming magic floating into his body and a view of the land that would soon be ruled by pokemon. Saying that he felt a surge of excitement would be an understatement. After centuries of spreading nightmares and feeding off the dreams of humans and pokemon, after watching from the shadows as more powerful races willingly gave up their freedom to weaker but more intelligent species, the prospect of a big change filled him with thrills. I can feel it, I can feel this wonderful magic enhance my powers. No more spreading curses from the shadows or feeding on scraps. A mental laughter followed. He raised both of his hands, summoning orbs of dark magic which grew in size. I will share this precious magic with other pokemon, helping them surpass their limits. I’ll guide other pokemon species to improve not just their skills and powers, but also their intellect. Maybe one day, we’ll come back to our world, more intelligent, better organized and strengthened by magic, ready to liberate pokemon from human’s influence. Darkrai clenched his left fist as the gathered magic spread in random directions. Numerous dark crystals hidden in each town grew in size as a result, pulsating with power. So many pokemon species willingly cooperated with humans, assisting them with their powers, asking only for their guidance and care in return. Yet humans become too greedy, not satisfied with what we had to offer. Experiments, brainwashing, artificial modifications, cloning and so on. So many times natural order was put at risk by their attempt to capture legendary pokemon. But this ends here. We’ll make a nation of our own. He mentally frowned as his attention focused on the approaching ponies. Three of them had both horns and wings, known as alicorns, each possessing magic which would rival that of the most powerful pokemon. One levitating unicorn who Chrysalis seemed to hold a grudge against. Two pegasi he tried to eliminate inside the pyramid. He narrowed his eye upon noticing the Raichu on Celestia’s back. So you’re here to face me, Nica. Hear my plea and don’t do something you’ll regret. Darkrai spoke to Nica in her mind. The time for you to make a choice has come. Are you the Darkrai I and my team saved from Team Galactic? Darkrai’s eye became wide as he stared at Nica in surprise. So you remembered. Yes, I’m the one that those filthy humans tried to use. I was aware of my every action, yet couldn’t control my body and defy my so called masters. I could only watch as they used my body for meaningless destruction. Is this why you spared me when I first arrived in this world? Nica asked. When I saw you in the crater covered in bruises, I was reminded of the time when I was saved by a Raichu leading a team of her own, which is why I showed mercy and sealed your memories. I doubt I would do the same if a different pokemon was sent to interrupt my plans. He shook his head. Back then I didn’t think you were the same Raichu who came to my aid. I admit, it was foolish of me not to make this connection. It’s not yet too late. If you abandon your ambition and leave the ponies alone, they’ll forgive your wrong-doing. I beg you! Darkrai looked at the dark orb in his other hand, which was half the size of his entire body. Even if I’m grateful to you for saving me, I can’t give up now. My noble goal, my ambition… I won’t abandon them. I’m about to make a massive change that will benefit our kind. If I have to sacrifice the freedom of pony races to accomplish it, so be it. Yet should you join me now, we can ease the occupation of ponies. I made up my mind to protect my friends and aid them. You claim you want to liberatre pokemon from humans, yet to accomplish this you threaten ponies’ freedom. I won’t join you, nor will I return to my world as long as you are a threat here, Nica responded. Darkrai mentally sighed. Not often had he felt pity and depression towards other creatures, even when watching their worst nightmares, yet repaying his saviour with torture and agony was something he hoped to avoid all this time. So be it. As much as I hate it, I’ll abandon all my mercy towards you. If it’s worth anything, I’m sorry. He ignored Twilight and Starlight’s beams of magic as they splashed against his body, not even making him flinch. Upon noticing Celestia and Luna’s beam heading towards part of the mountain two meters under him, he summoned dark crystals, shielding the tip of the mountain from the attack. Are they trying to make me lose my balance by attacking my footing. Futile. Darkrai raised his head, his attention now on the two pegasi, one flying up at an increasing speed while another being on an intercepting course with him. As much as he wanted to get rid of the troublesome pegasus, he couldn’t let anything distract him from charging his magic. His attempt to swat her away like a fly ended in failure due to her agility. “What’s the matter? You can levitate centimeters above the ground but can’t fly well? Too bad,” Daring Do said as she rounded him before delivering a kick against his back. Darkrai mentally chuckled. A few dark crystals shot from top of the mountain, forcing Daring Do to evade while yelping in surprise. Using this distraction, he turned around and slapped the pegasus away. With one hand still gathering magic from more than a thousand ponies, he concentrated his pokemon power in the other hand. By tightening his fist, he attacked with ‘Dark Pulse.’ “Ponyfeathers!” Daring Do shouted as she flew down, trying to escape the wave of darkness which was quickly catching up. In a flash of teleportation, Twilight appeared and caught her, vanishing a moment later. “Nice save, thanks.” Twilight stared back with a large smile. “Once this is over, can you sign my collection of Daring Do books?” “S-sure.” Twilight squealed. Darkrai observed the alicorns, awaiting their next move, only to hear a loud noise coming from behind. Fool… He pulled small fragments of gathered magic before turning it into a protective aura. A massive rainbow-colored explosion followed as Rainbow Dash now fell down the mountain while covered in black flames. Daring Do caught the falling pegasus while getting burned herself by merely holding her. The tallest alicorn dispelled the flames a moment later with a golden flash of her magic. The three alicorns and levitating unicorn started circling around him, sending another barrage of spells. Twilight’s beam of freezing magic, Starlight’s fireballs, Celestia’s brightly shining wave, Luna’s balls covered by violet flames and Nica’s ‘Thunderbolt.’ Ice attack, fire attack, and other elements. They’re trying to convert their magic into different types to bypass my immunity. Time to show them that pokemon aren’t just powerful but skilled as well. Darkrai floated to the side, zipping in between the attacks while away from the mountain. His hand still raised as the orb of magic kept growing little by little. He was about to use ‘Dark Pulse’ with his other hand, only for a ‘Thunderbolt’ to change direction while attacking constantly, damaging his body. Twilight vanished in a flash of teleportation, only to shoot a large fireball from behind. He turned around, unleashing ‘Dark Pulse’ while destroying the fireball, forcing Twilight to teleport away before being overwhelmed by his dark-type attack. That lavender princess is acting faster than the others while being more aggressive. I thought only Daring Do had combat and survival experience among those ponies while Twilight Sparkle was more of a scholar. Did she actually train for combat rather than read books? He turned around, using another ‘Dark Pulse’ to stop the incoming attack. While Luna’s violet balls of fire and Starlight’s freezing beam vanished quickly, the bright light from Celestia’s horn pierced his attack while damaging his body. Darkrai held his left hand on his chest while still feeling the burn. His right hand trembled as it struggled to keep the gathered magic stable. A spell that’s super effective against me? Interesting. So light magic which is most efficient against dark magic has similar properties to fairy type attacks which are dangerous against me. I’ll be sure to remember that. I can’t wait any longer, I need to act now. He grabbed the massive orb of gathered magic with both of his hands, casting a large spell. One hundred portals three times the size of a pony appeared in Canterlot. Some appeared on roofs of buildings, some high in the sky, some on the streets. Perfect. Thanks to the amount of magic gathered all at once I won’t simply summon one pokemon at a time. In a few minutes the portals will stabilize and bring in thousands at once. More light magic was summoned against him as Darkrai evaded each attack, his speed increasing now when nothing was there to distract him. He stopped mere meters in front of Celestia and summoned ‘Dark Pulse,’ catching the princess off guard, yet two obstacles got in the way. The first one being ‘Light Screen’ summoned by the Raichu on the princess’ back, another being the darker alicorn who took the bulk of the attack and still managed to hover in mid-air despite her burns. Silvery regalia melted from the princess’ body. So Luna isn’t as vulnerable to my power as other ponies. Is she familiar with dark magic enough to gain such resistance? Interesting. His train of thought was interrupted the moment Nica’s long tail made contact with his head, hitting it with the metallic edge. Despite Nica now falling from thousands of meters of height to the ground, all she cared about was to hit him with a quick ‘Thunderbolt,’ and was then caught in mid-air by Daring Do. He felt a chilling cold on the lower part of his body as Starlight’s spell froze half of him, and a bunch of levitated boulders sped in his direction. Enough! Darkrai felt a growing rage. His opponents found a way to go around his type advantage, each alicorn possessing raw power surpassing his own while also outnumbering him greatly. Skills alone were not enough to earn him victory. He levitated towards Canterlot with both hands stretched down, his mind focused. At least half of the portals vanished as the magic used in creating them flew into his body. He could always gather more magic to recreate those portals later, but who would convince the confused pokemon to take over this capital if he were defeated? Surrounded by a large aura of magic as ice started melting from his body at rapid pace, he flew towards the princesses, his speed greater than before. By summoning ‘Dark Pulse’ he destroyed the boulders, annihilated the barriers created by Luna and Twilight and burned them both greatly. Light magic summoned by Celestia left but a few small bruises on his body as he ignored the pain. Nica’s electricity spread against the aura of protective magic without any effect. Darkrai pointed his fingers at Celestia before casting another spell, enveloping the tallest princess in dark fog as crystals grew on her wings and horn. He turned towards Daring Do as Nica jumped from her back, surrounded by an aura of electricity. Darkrai floated in the sky, watching as Nica’s ‘Volt Tackle’ made contact with the powerful magic surrounding his body. After a few seconds a big explosion followed, resulting in Nica falling down while receiving damage without doing any. You surpassed me in training and skills, Nica, but no matter how hard you train, you became a prisoner of your limits, while I can grow stronger thanks to dark magic. If you join me now, your defiance will be forgiven. You’ll become more powerful under my guidance. I don’t care about power built at the cost of others, I refuse, Nica responded before being caught in Starlight’s levitation. Darkrai shook his head as his attention focused on the remaining portals. Nica looked at Starlight, her ears drooped. She rubbed a few bruises present on her forehead. In every battle, as long as she could do at least small bits of damage, she could hold her ground for a long time, slowly but steady tiring her opponent, yet in this case her powers were completely useless. “You look distressed, and I can tell what you’re thinking, but don’t worry, I got this.” Starlight glanced at Luna and shouted, “Princess Luna, I need your help over here!” The darker alicorn flew over, slowly, while supporting her unconcious sister by her shoulder. The unconscious Twilight Sparkle was safeguarded in her aura. “It better be important, Starlight, I need to escort my sister and Princess Twilight to safety.” She gave both alicorns a look of pity. “I can still fight, but Darkrai’s magic and power combined knocked out my sister and her former pupil in one blow. It melted our barriers like it was nothing.” Nica stretched her forepaws and whimpered, wishing she could stroke the injured princesses. She resisted tears from forming in her eyes. Luna frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Quibble’s suggestion to keep Thorax and Pharynx in the city with an ambush is backfiring. Now we can’t even damage Darkrai, more or less ground him.” Starlight grinned. “Have you forgotten about my trump card? We’ll defeat fire with fire.” She looked up at Darkrai who was now ignoring them. “Or in this case, we’ll defeat a pokemon enhanced by magic with our pokemon enhanced by magic.” She looked at the confused princess and added, “Just follow my lead. I’ll direct mine and your magic to enhance our Raichu.” Nica blinked in confusion before gasping. “I don’t know why you’re so worried, but just trust me on this, alright?” Starlight levitated her onto Luna’s back before lowering her head. Nica nodded hesitantly as Starlight’s horn was now a few millimeters above her forehead, surrounded by a magical aura. Her mind provided her with the memory of Starlight doing something similar a long time ago, back when she tried to break seal that blocked her memories while causing her unimaginable pain and mental trauma. She gulped as her breathing increased in speed. A lot has changed and Starlight was now her best friend, and she wasn’t going to let past fears get in the way. She clenched her forepaws and refused to close her eyes as she watched the aura of magic leave the ponies before her while surrounding her body. Her eyes became wide. Such an odd experience… I feel… warmth… power.... as if my body was charged by lightning. No… overwhelming amounts of electricity bring struggle and pain and is difficult to control. This magic feels way more stable and pleasant. Her body started glowing in a mix between white-blue and midnight aura. Nica glanced at her forepaws and next examined her rear legs, feeling as if her little limbs could lift a far greater weight than before. Instead of trembling under four hundred kilograms of weight, they felt capable of lifting a few tons. She looked behind at her tail which now radiated with power as if ready to slice a castle in half. Not a moment passed as she felt bolts of electricity escape her entire body, slightly hurting the princess she stood on as Luna’s face showed pain. I never felt like this before… all this power is just begging me to be unleashed. Nica looked at Darkrai in the sky and narrowed her eyes. If there was something she took to heart from her trainer’s teachings, it was that the more powerful one was, the more they needed to accomplish to be worthy of said power. If she failed to stop Darkrai now with all this power entrusted to her, it would mean she was nothing but a failure. Upon noticing that the aura around Starlight vanished from fatigue, she caught the unicorn with her tail and placed her on the princess’ back. “Thanks,” Starlight said as she wiped sweat from her forehead, struggling to keep her tired eyes open. “I saw your training with Twilight and memorized the attacks you used. Do you want to strike with a ‘Thunderbolt?’” Nica shook her head. To ground her opponent she needed something stronger. “That attack where you run while surrounded by electricity, ‘Volt Tackle’ was it. Would this work?” Nica nodded energetically. Starlight gave Luna a sassy smile, who rolled her eyes and asked, “Let me guess, we need to make a path for our small but powerful ally?” “Bingo.” Luna sighed. “Sure, like being covered in burns, barely having any magic left, keeping my sister and Twilight Sparkle in my levitation while having two passengers on my back wasn’t hard enough already.” “Point taken,” Starlight said as she grit her teeth, shooting a few beams at the nearby mountain before levitating half a hundred small stones, keeping them one to two meters distance from one another. Nica looked at the stairway made of floating stones leading up to Darkrai as her ears perked up. A large smile appeared on her face. I get it. It’s not exactly something to run on, but I can build up ‘Volt Tackle’ with short leaps. It should work. She glanced at Starlight, nodded, and then bent her legs, leaping from Luna’s back onto the closest levitated stone. One, two, three, she leaped from one stone to another at increasing speed while repeating ‘Raichu’ at a quick pace. A large aura of electricity surrounded her, only to grow in size as the yellow bolts mixed themselves with a midnight blue aura of magic. With four short leaps each second, she reduced the distance from her opponent. Haven’t you learned that your attacks are futile? Darkrai’s voice echoed in Nica’s mind as she could see the ball of dark energy being summoned in his hands. This was it, she needed to strike with everything she had. With a final jump, she launched herself towards her opponent like a rocket. Putting more stress upon herself, she raised one paw, summoning ‘Light Screen’ a second before ‘Dark Pulse’ spread in her direction. With the shield weakening special attacks and the protective barrier created by her ‘Volt Tackle,’ she pierced through the dark wave. With a final swing of her metallic tail, she struck against Darkrai’s protective aura, combining the two attacks. Nica grit her teeth, feeling as if her muscles burned at this very moment. While ‘Iron Tail’ protected her from recoil damage while increasing her piercing power, using three enhanced attacks in a row so quickly put a lot of strain on her body. A massive explosion followed, three times bigger than before as Darkrai now slowly falling to the ground with Nica's paws wrapped around his neck. One of the important lessons she learned during her fights against a strong opponent was to not waste a single opportunity. With a swift spin of her body, she swung her tail down against Darkrai’s chest, creating a shockwave while pushing him towards the city. She followed up with a quick ‘Thunderbolt,’ ignoring the growing pain in her muscles and cheeks. She didn’t dare to take her eyes from her opponent even for a moment as Darkrai crashed into the street with great force, tearing apart half of the nearby buildings from the impact alone. The burning sensation she felt in her muscles turned into intense pain, only to become an agony as Nica forced more enhanced power into her tail. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes as her ears drooped. Her forepaws trembled. Her battle-hardened body barely handled continuous use of powerful magically enhanced attacks without a longer break in between. With her tail once again covered by metal while surrounded by a magical aura, she used the momentum of her fall to strengthen her impact. Waiting till the last second, she struck Darkrai, causing numerous cracks to spread across the street, stones to emerge and a short-lasting quake to follow. Nica’s closed eyes were producing tears of pain and a loud scream escaped her mouth as she rolled in mid-air, only for her paws to press against the roof of a restaurant. Drops of sweat fell down her head, her legs trembled and breathing became heavy as she slowly opened her eyes. She wiped sweat and tears from her face and sighed in relief. I may have a lot of endurance and stamina, but even with that my body is barely able to handle such power. I need to be careful with my combos for my own sake. Darkrai destroyed the rubble weighting on him with dark magic before pushing himself from the deep crater which was four times the size of his body. The aura of dark magic surrounded him once more, though this time being so much thinner than before. He scanned his surroundings in search for Nica as his guard was up. How did she manage to summon such power? Did she take the ponies’ magic as well… no… maybe they shared their magic with her willingly. His thoughts were interrupted as one… no… two Raichu charged at him from different directions while attacking with bolts of electricity. In an act of reflex, Darkrai floated backward, seeing two ‘Thunderbolts’ colliding with each other. The third ‘Thunderbolt’ however didn’t miss, penetrating his magical aura while adding more and more burns. He glanced at the attacker, a Raichu who stood on top of a restaurant with crossed forepaws. Confused, he failed to react to the other two Raichu who struck his chest with double ‘Volt Tackles.’ His hands started to tremble while the aura of magic around him shrank in size, now barely visible. In desperation, he hit the ground with his fist, summoning dark crystals which struck both Raichu at the same time. His damaged foes bursted into green flames, revealing their true forms. Thorax, Pharynx, why are they here? Wait… they were responsible for the defeat of Chrysalis... He levitated to the side in time to avoid more bolts of electricity, only to be struck by them anyway. Nica is predicting my movements and has enough power to penetrate my defenses. I need… I need more magic! He spread his hands in desperation and focused, summoning magic from all remaining portals as they shrank and vanished in mere seconds. Waiting two to three minutes for the portals to stabilize was a luxury he didn’t have. With his aura of magic once again wide and powerful, he summoned a rain of dark crystals at both changelings. As he expected, their green barriers cracked under continuous impacts. Nica quickly jumped to their rescue, slashing the dark projectiles with her tail at a quick pace. Seven crystals destroyed per second out of ten. Her skills are far greater than what I remember when she rescued me. No matter. Her ‘Light Screen’ is worthless against physical attacks, and her tail can’t last forever. “Leave them alone this instant!” Darkrai glanced over his shoulder, noticing creatures he recognized. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, even the griffon with powerful magic, Gabby. Using one of his hands, he attempted to activate the curse he placed on them, only to fail. My curses… were they removed… but how did those ponies discover the spell that can dispel it… unless. His eye became wide, now it all made sense. The reason why he gained far less magic than he should, why the Element Bearers he cursed were now free of his influence. Nica figured out what I was doing and warned them somehow. No… this can’t be happening! Darkrai felt rage growing in him. Losing Chrysalis, his curse being dispelled, the presence of changelings. His enemies prepared for his arrival far better than he’d expected. Had his arrogance and confidence in his power become his undoing? He didn’t need to wait long for this question to be answered as Gabby grabbed one of his arms from behind, holding it in a vice grip. A lasso wrapped itself around his other arm. His struggle failed as both griffon and the farm pony showed incredible amounts of strength. Using his immobilized arms, he summoned dark flames onto his body, burning Applejack’s rope and the griffon. He heard Gabby’s scream of pain, yet she refused to let him go. He summoned a black orb of magic and aimed at the griffon’s face, only for the noise of cannon fire to reach him and for creamy cake to block his vision. “Don’t you dare hurt Gabby or any of my friends, you meany!” Pinkie shouted as she kept firing one cake after another, keeping him blind. “This is for using my magic to hurt my friends. Do you have any idea how terrible I felt knowing that what made me special was used to hurt others? I felt horrible!” The moment Darkrai wiped the cream from his face, his field of vision was covered by some sort of material. The moment he burned it away with his magic, another one covered his vision. “Take that you ruffian,” Rarity said with anger in her voice. “I heard what you tried to do to Rainbow Dash, and as her friend, I am very upset. Prepare for a well-deserved reckoning!” Darkrai felt his free hand be immobilized again as he heard whimpers of pain coming from Applejack. “I may not be the best leader material, but I am trying my best,” Thorax said as he aimed his horn and shot a beam of green magic. “Nica once told me that the more power we have, the more we should accomplish to be worth of it. Hurt me all you want, but I’ll use my power to stop your plan!” Pharynx gave his brother a proud glance before aiding him with a large ball of green fire. Gabby released Darkrai's hand and pulled Applejack away before the changeling's magic could hit them as well. Darkrai yelled in pain while the aura of magic started shrinking once more. The moment the material covering his face burned away, he saw Nica leaping from one roof to another, only to jump from the roof of the restaurant in his direction, an aura of magic and electricity surrounding her. Both ‘Volt Tackle’ and ‘Iron Tail’ struck him at the same time, pushing him into the ground with massive force. The moment he opened his closed eyes, he found himself in the caverns under Canterlot while his body and muscles ached in agony. The aura of magic he gathered from thousands of ponies was gone. In an act of desperation, he struggled against the pain and levitated towards the shadows, vanishing in the darkness. A dark crystal… I need to get to a dark crystal. It didn’t surprise him when he heard the noise of paws making contact with the rocky ground. Nica was after him and somehow sensed his presence. Using his knowledge of the mine as he traveled through those tunnels numerous times in the past, he made his way to the dark crystal he hid in the mine long time ago, which was now pulsating with dark magic. Now the question was, did he manage to turn worthless crystals into magical devices that would let him travel long distances, or did his experiment end in failure like many times before. In a leap of faith, he pushed himself towards the crystal, grabbing it, only for his being to be sucked in. His body reformed in front of the crystal he hid inside the old ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. With pain still present in his body, he hit the floor, now lying motionlessly against the cold stone. Nica… I tried to spare you… I tried to keep you in blissful ignorance… I even offered you means to return back home or to cooperate with me… yet you threw it away and ruined my plan… but it’s not over yet. With great struggle, he pushed himself towards the wall, supporting his tired body against it. The ponies should recover their magic in two to three days, and there’s no way they can remove the curse fast enough as it took me months to spread it. I’ll just need to try again in a different location, build my army away from the princesses and changelings. He clenched his trembling fist, cracking the wall with a solid punch. Until then, I suppose I’ll focus my powers and resources into breaking you, Nica. When I’m done with you, you’ll beg me to return you to your own world or to join my side. He closed his eyes, now waiting for his body to recover. Nica poked the fragments of dark crystal with the bronze tip of her forepaw. The moment Darkrai touched a large dark crystal, he vanished while said crystal shattered into tiny pieces. Twilight and Starlight are very smart, I’m sure they’ll know what happened here. She took a few steps backward and lost her balance, now lying flat on her back. The aura of magic which surround her body shrank in size. With her eyes now staring at her own reflection present in the crystals on the ceiling, she allowed her tired body to relax. Controlling so much magic for the first time, more or less doing so while using a few attacks at the same time sure is exhausting. I’m lucky the battle ended so quickly, or else my stamina wouldn’t last. Her limbs lay motionlessly on the stone as she allowed her aching muscles some time to relax. I need to ask Starlight to boost my powers more often so I can get used to it. This time I was lucky my friends were supporting me, but I fear that next time, the number advantage may not be on my side.