Part: 3 Showdown
“HAHAHAHA I’m so going to have to race Rainbow Dash.” I said as I busted through some clouds.
“WEEEE GO DAD GO.” Rosy yelled while I held her and Tammy to my chest so I didn't drop them.
“Look I can see the Empire. It looks like there's a lot goin on.” I said as I closed in on the barrier.
“Dad there's some black things growing right inside that dome thing.” She said as she pointed out black crystals that were getting closer to the town edge.
“Well that’s not good. Lets go check in with Twilight.” I said before diving down and passed the barrier.
“Wow is the whole place made of rocks?” asked as we passed over the buildings.
“It looks like crystals. That must be the castle and is there some kind of fair goin on. Hold on time for the landing. Hope I don’t crash.” I said while I tried to slow down but it wasn’t working.
“Um dad kinda going fast.” Rosy said with a bit of worry.
“Yep hold on I’m doing a superhero landing.” I said as we came down. I turned to land on my feet.
“AHHHH!!!” Rosy screamed as I slammed into the ground.
“Ugh ok not doing that again. It's bad for your knees” I said as the dust settled and I was standing in the middle of a small crater rubbing my knee.
“Yeah please don’t dad.” Rosy said as she fluttered down to the ground with Tammy on her head.
“FOXY.” Said a pink blur before it slammed into me.
“OOF pinkie…can’t…breath.” I tried to say while tapping her legs to let me out of her death hug.
“oh sorry hehe.” Pinkie said before she hopped off me.
“Ok pinkie what happened after I fell and why is there a fair going on.” I said as I picked myself up.
“WellafteryousavedShinningArmorandyoufelllwewantedtogolookforyoubutInewyouwereokandthenwetalkedtoPrincessCadenceandthenwenttotalktothecrystalponiesbuttheyforgotwhathappendthenTwilightfoundabookaboutthecrystalfairtomakethecrystalponieshappyandIgottoplayafluglehornbutwefoundoutthatthefairisonlypartofitnowweneedtofindthecrystalheartthenIranaroundlookingforitandfoundyou.” Pinkie said all in one breath with a smile.
“Um dad did you get any of that?” Rosy said looking at Pinkie with wide eyes.
“Not a word.” I said shaking my head.
“Oh I’ll just tell you again.” Pinkie said before taking a deep breath.
“NO that fine Pinkie. I’ll go see how Cadence is doing.” I said after I stopped Pinkie.
“Okbye.” She said before she took off leaving a dust Pinkie behind.
“Remind me never to give her coffee.” I said to Rosy.
“I don’t like coffee.” Pinkie said as she popped up behind me and ran off.
“She’s weird.” Rosy said while I shook my head and headed to the castle. As I walked through the fair I noticed some of the Crystal ponies were happy and bright but others were dull and sad. A dull lime green pony noticed the tiny orange monkey on my head and her color brightened.
“Oh my gosh it’s a Tango Marmoset. Where did you even find one there supposed to be extinct.” She said before trying to pet Tammy but she quickly hid behind my neck.
“I saved her from a snake earlier today actually.” I said as I reached behind my neck to pet her and she grabbed my finger and I placed her in my hand to pet her.
“She’s adorable. I run a Tangelo farm. I used to see them in the trees when I was a filly. Here's a little cutie for the cutie.” She said as she carefully peeled a Tangelo and put it in my hand with Tammy. Tammy squeaked and dug into the tiny fruit.
“Thank miss…” I said while Tammy munched away.
“Oh I’m sorry my name is Zesty nice to meet you.” Zesty said with a smile.
“I’m Fox Lilly and this adorable filly is Rosy and the Tango is Tammy. Um you don’t happen to have any plantable seed by chance I would really like to get a tree for Tammy.” I asked with a smile while I pet Tammy.
“Actually I do but I can't remember why I do. Oh well here you Mr Lilly one small bag of seed ready to be planted.” She said after Fishing the bag from her orange swirl mane and giving it to me.
“Thank you Zesty. I wish I could talk more but I need to check on some friends of mine.” Inside as I slipped the small bag into my bag to store them.
“It's no problem. It was nice to meet you Mr. Lilly and you too Tammy. Stop by sometimes and I’ll make you some homemade marmalade.” She said after giving Tammy one more Little Cutie orange before walking off to enjoy the fair.
“She’s nice.” Rosy said as we continued to the castle. It was a strange walk to the castle, not because the bright and dull colored ponies but the fact that I’m walking around in my normal form but no one seems to care. The first time I walked through ponyville and Canterlot I got plenty of stares either in wonder of fright but not here it's like they don’t care or it used to be a common thing to see. I’ll have to look into that later. We made it to the castle and found Applejack next to something under a blanket.
“Hey there AJ what a… whatcha doin?” I asked with a raised brow.
“Fox I sure am glad you're ok. You had us worried sick after ya fell through that ice.” Applejack said before she gave me a hug.
“Sorry to make you girls worry but I’m fine. Anyway I got a little bit of what's goin on from Pinkie. So what's this thing?” I said as I lifted the blanket and found a crudely made crystal heart.
“Well Twilight made it look like the real crystal heart before we found out we needed the real one. Now the others are out lookin fer it.” She said before she shooed away a few crystal ponies.
“Any clues as to where it may be?” I asked while looking around. The whole castle was crystal and I was beginning to wonder how this place was built.
“not that I no of but maybe Twilight found something.” She said while readjusted the blanket.
“ Alright I’ll head on up to talk to her. I’ll be back in a bit.” I said before headed up the main stairs. It didn’t take us that long to find Twilight, Cadence, and Shining. By the looks of things Cadence didn’t look so good and the magic around her horn was starting to fade.
“Cadence are you alright.” I said as I quickly ran up to check on her.
“Fox oh thank Celestia your ok. I was so worried.” Twilight said as she quickly hugged me and I could see a tear roll down her cheek.
“It's alright Twi and thanks to that fall I found a very interesting place and found this little girl. Tammy I think Twilight here could use one of your tiny adorable hugs.” I said as the tiny monkey jumped off my head onto Twilight mussel and gave her a gentle hug.
“Aw she so cute, what kind of creature is this and what kind of place did you find?” Twilight said with sparkle eyes.
“We’ll talk about it later Twi right now we have more important things to do. How are you feeling cadence?” I asked as I took my cart from my bag.
“I’ll be alright. I’m just tired from holding up the barri-.” Cadence said as her magic faded along with the barrier.
“CADENCE!” Shining said as he caught her.
“Hold on Cadence just relax for a second.” I said before I shrunk down and went inside the cart.
“Fox this is no time for food. Without Cadence’s barrier Sombra will be coming.” Shining said as he held Cadence.
“It will be alright Shining. I have some special tea that will help her get her strength back and don’t worry about Sombra. I'll hold him off until Twilight can find the heart.” I said in a really squeaky voice making Rosy laugh.
“He’s right Shinny. Twilight I need you to please hurry.” Cadence weakly said as she tried to get up while I came out with a pot of tea and a cup.
“Alright give this about five minutes to steep and here's a fresh fruit salad to go with it. Rosy can you help take care for princess Cadence while I deal with that Sombra guy?” I asked before both her and Tammy gave me a salute.
“Twilight you think you can find the heart?” I asked as I began to stretch.
“Yes I think I have an idea where it might be.” Twilight said while I walked to the balcony.
“Fox the stairs are that way.” Spike said while pointing to the stairs.
“Hehe I know.” I said with a wide smile before I jumped over the guard rail and took off into the sky. Once the barrier fell Sombra wasted no time and began his assault. I could see waves of black crystals spread out towards the city with the black cloud right behind it. I landed in front of the crystals and slipped on my mask. As soon as it was on, a white and red samurai kimono appeared over me. I opened my bag and grabbed the short staff mom left me and smashed some approaching crystals.
(Play BLOOD//WATER BY GRANDSON)
“SOMBRA FACE ME!!!” I yelled as I sent a blast into the cloud.
“Nova.” Sombra said before he formed from the cloud.
“I’m not Nova. I’m her son.” I said as I readied myself for the fight.
“You will die in her stead then.” He said as he charged his magic.
“We’ll see.” I said before he launched a volley of sharp crystal at me. I began to smash and dodge the crystals while I ran at him. As soon as I was close enough I slammed my right staff in the side of his head making him stumble. I quickly kicked him in the chest making him slide back a bit.
“Crystal Rain.” He said as he sent a massive black ball into the sky before it split into tiny shards that shot straight at me.
“Oh shit FORCE BUBBLE!” I yelled as I created a barrier around me making the shards shatter on contact. As soon as the last shard hit I shrunk the barrier and compressed it to the size of a gumball.
“FOX SHOT.” I said as I launched the ball straight at him but he just went to the side and rushed me with a crystal sword in his magic. I was able to perry most of his slashes but one got passed and nicked me in the side before I was able to push him back.
“Dark lance.” He said before he stabbed a sword into the ground then large black crystals shot out of the ground around me. I was able to jump into the air and used one of the crystals to propel myself at him at super speed.
“Sonic impact.” I said as he put up a dark barrier. I slammed into the barrier and the force of the attack made the ground crater beneath him before it broke and I jumped back.
“GRRRR DARK EMPEROR.” He yelled as dark magic formed around him then seeped into his body. His eyes glowed red as his black mane grew, his body started to shift and grow, his teeth sharpened to a point, black crystal blades formed along his front legs and back, his mane and tail waved like black fire and with a load roar the ground split and cracked around him before be lunged at me.
“Not good.” I said as I tried to move out of the way but he was too fast and he bit down on my right shoulder. I screamed in pain before I dropped the staff and tried to pry his jaw off me but he slammed me into the ground. He let go and jumped into the air above me.
“DaRk CrUSh.” He said in a distorted voice as a ball of dark magic formed around him and fell towards me but I was able to roll out of the way as he came crashing down cracking the ground where I was. Shadow began to spread through the ground.
“DaRK laNcE.” He said as massive black crystals shot up from the ground and almost to the castle. I jumped up to one of the crystals to get clear of the crystals but that was a mistake. As soon as I landed on the crystal I was stuck in place by crystals holding my feet in place. I looked to Sombra who was smiling a toothy smile.
“CRYSTAL PRISON.” He said before I was encased in crystal. I was stuck and could move but I could hear him laughing darkly as he approached me.
“HAHAHA nOw WaTCh As I tAke WhAT IS Mine.” He said as he walked past me laughing evilly before a small rock hit his head.
“YOU LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!” Rosy said as she and Tammy threw more rocks at Sombra. I tried to get free but I couldn’t.
“Pests.” He said before he stomped a hoof on the ground making a small crystal shoot out of the ground and sent Rosy into the air and she landed with a thud not moving. I saw a small bit of blood pool on the ground then all I saw was red.
“(CRACK BOOM) ROSY!!!” I yelled as I blasted out of the crystal and rushed to her side. When I got there I saw a gash on her side then I quickly sealed the wound and teleported her back to Cadence before slowly standing and faced the shocked beast.
“you hurt my daughter.” I said as I shifted to my fox form.
“WeAk.” He said as he got ready to charge me.
“Wild Side.” I said as I began to pour magic into my body. My hair unbraided and my tail split in two, white flames started to form around my paws and eyes, my teeth grew longer and I was now glowing with white light. I lunged at him and slammed into his head first sending him crashing into a nearby crystal making a hole in it. He quickly jumped out of the hole and into the air where he began to form a black ball of energy at the tip of his jagged horn.
“BLACK VOID.” He yelled as he sent the ball straight at me but I didn’t move but instead I bit into the ball and crushed it before jumping at him. I slammed into his stomach sending him higher into the air Where I grabbed his tail and slammed him into the ground. I began to pour magic into a massive ball of white flame mini sun and launched it at high speed straight into his body.
“SUPER NOVA!!!” I yelled before the mini sun exploded in a mass of white light that flashed throughout the frozen north and the shock wave shook the Empire breaking every window. When the light and smoke cleared the only thing left in the crater was red hot rock and a smoking pony form of Sombra.
“Don’t mess with my family.” I said as I landed next to the crater and shifted to my normal form. I was drained and it felt like all my muscles were on fire. I was breathing heavy and fell to one knee.
“I GOT THE HEART.” I heard Spike yell and I looked to the top of the castle to see Spike trying to climb down the tower.
“THAT’S MINE!” Sombra said as he shakily ran out of the crater and used a crystal to run towards Spike. I tried to catch him but my legs gave out and I fell before I could get to him. I watched as he tried to hit Spike with his crystal and was able to knock spike off the tower. Sombra rushed up a large crystal towards the heart and Spike but before Sombra could make it to them Cadence shot out of the castle and caught them and flew under the castle. Seconds later a flaming magic heart shot out of the top of the castle sending out a magic pulse that pushed Sombra away before he dissolved him into nothing. When the wave passed over me I felt happy that I was able to hold him off. It also turned my hair wavy and fluffy, my tail extra fluffy with small swirls and I was now really sparkly.
“This is weird but feels nice too. Huh I’m now a crystal fox…I hope it's not permanent.” I said before I started to walk towards the castle but was stopped by somepony.
“That…was…AWESOME.” Rainbow said before she did a sparkling midair back flip before landing in front of me.
“Hey Rainbow…um can you give me a life I’m kinda drained and can’t really move.(POOF) well at least I can still transform.” I said before I fell flat on my stomach.
“Yeah I got you buddy. Let's get you back to the castle.” Rainbow said before she picked me up and took off to the castle. When we got to the throne room Rainbow set me down next to Rosy who was sleeping peacefully on a pillow.
“Fox thanks Celestia are you alright.” Twilight said before she nuzzled my cheek.
“Yeah just really tired and a few minor cuts. How about you I saw Spike with the heart and thought something might have happened.” I said as I climbed onto the pillow next to Rosy and laid down.
“King Sombra set up a trap spell around where he hid the heart. I was able to get the heart to spike before the trap set but I was stuck there and couldn’t do anything.” Twilight said while looking down sadly.
“Why are you so down about that?” I asked as I used my fluffy tail to wipe away a few tears.
“Princess Celestia sent me here to test me. I was supposed to save the Crystal Empire but I got stuck in that trap. I failed.” Twilight said with a sniffle.
“Twilight you did help save this place. It was you who found the heart and got it to spike so he could bring it to us. I’m sure aunt Tia would say you passed.” Cadence said before she gave Twilight a soft hug.
“I hope so.” Twilight said as she returned the hug.
“Hey has anyone seen a tiny orange monkey around.” I asked after I noticed she wasn’t with Rosy.
“Oh she’s right here. She’s been really worried about you and Rosy. She told me what happened and I let her rest while I watched over Rosy.” Fluttershy said before she moved her mane to reveal a tiny orange puff ball.
“Thank you Fluttershy.” I said as she gently put Tammy next to us.
“Well sugarcube we best be getting to the train station before we miss the train back to ponyville.” Applejack said as she adjusted her hat.
“Yeah um Cadence can Rosy and I stay for a day so I can recover a little bit.” I said before I let out a large yawn.
“Of course you can Fox. Just rest up, I'll get a room ready for you.” Cadence said before she left to find a maid to prepare a room.
“Oh I almost forgot something. I made y’all some treats. I was going to give them to you before we left ponyville but I forgot.” I said before I made my bag appear and stuck my head in it. After I found what I was looking for I pulled them out.
“Oh darling, they're adorable but whatever are they.” Rarity asked while I passed out their treats.
“They're called mochi. It's made by pounding rice to make a thick gooey paste that you can stuff with loads of different fillings. These ones are stuffed with different fruits and berries. But one of my favorite things about mochi is that you can shape them.” I said as I held up one of the mochi packs I made.
“Awe they look like cute versions of us.” Pinkie said as she poked her own mochi.
“Hey they even have cutie marks on them.” Rainbow said while looking over her mochi.
“Oh Twilight can you send these two to Celestia and Luna for me.” I said as I handed her two more packs with mochis that looked like the princess.
“Sure Fox. Well we better go thanks for the snacks Fox. Come see me when you get back.” Twilight said before the rest of their girls said goodbye and headed home. I couldn’t help but blush when Twilight came back just to give me a hug goodbye.
“Oh somepony is a little pink in the cheeks.” Cadence said with a little smirk.
“Hush up cuz its not what you think.” I said as my face lit up bright pink.
“Cousin did you forget I’m the princess of love. You can hide if from others but not me. Now let's get you two to bed.” Cadence said slyly before she picked me and Rosy up in her magic and took us to our room for the night. As soon as I said goodnight to her and hit the bed I was out like a light.
.
.
.
(Underground forest)
In a secluded area in the underground forest is a willow tree covered in pink flowers and sitting under it was Mela.
“Hmm it seems like the darkness has finally left this land. Nova your son is strong in more ways than one. I think you would be proud of him. He really is just like you in many ways and he definitely has heart. I just hope it will be enough to face the darkness that wants to take this world.” She said before letting out a few tears.
“I wish I could have seen you one last time. Watch over him Nova and rest in peace. Goodbye my dear friend.” She said as she placed her hand on a heart carved into the tree.