//------------------------------//
// 4: A New Ally - Astronomer and Astronaut 
// Story: Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	Shortly after Keldeo's battle with Colton and his Sawsbuck, the Mane 6 led him to Canterlot Castle so the Pokemon could meet Princess Celestia.
“So Princess Celestia is like the one who brought your world life and such, right?” Keldeo asked on the way there.
“Well, she is the one who raises the sun every day,” Twilight said.
“So she's like Arceus?” Keldeo asked.
“Um...” Twilight replied. “I'm not entirely sure who that is, but sure I guess.”
“Twilight, are you serious?” Pinkie asked. “Am I seriously the only one here who isn't a Pokemon who knows who Arceus is?” Pinkie then pulled out her Pokedex and showed Twilight the entry for Arceus.


Arceus, the Alpha Pokemon
It is said to have emerged from an egg in a place where there was nothing then shaped the world.


“Well, Arceus shaped the Pokemon world at least,” Pinkie said as she put her Pokedex away. “But seriously, I would have thought an egghead like you would have known all about gods from a lot of different worlds.”
“I am not an egghead!” Twilight protested. “I'm well-read.”
“Which kind of makes you an egghead,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew upside down over Twilight.
“Can we just drop this already?” Twilight said as the 7 equines got to the entrance of Princess Celestia's throne room.
Princess Celestia was reviewing the results of the previous fight. She wasn't sure who exactly Keldeo was, but she did know that his opponent, Colton, was working for King Sombra, so she decided to chalk that up as a win for Team Harmony or whatever the Mane 6 decided to call their team. It was then that she heard the doors to her throne room open, followed by the Mane 6 and another pony entered.
“Hello, everypony,” Princess Celestia said. “Oh, and who is this?”
“Princess, this is Keldeo,” Twilight said.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty,” Keldeo said while bowing. Aside to Twilight, he quietly said, “Did I do that right?” Twilight replied with a quick nod.
“So you're the one who defeated one of King Sombra's lackeys in the last round of the tournament?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yeah,” Keldeo said. “I didn't know he was working for King Sombra, I just knew he was hunting me down.”
“Hunting you?” Celestia asked. “I knew Sombra was an evil tyrannical ruler who sought the enslavement of Equestria, but to think one of his minions is hunting somepony as a prize... And I thought I had seen all evil in the world.”
“You'd be surprised,” Keldeo said. “In my world, I have to evade humans like Colton on a regular basis.”
“Well, we'll do everything we can to protect you from this guy as long as you're with us in this tournament,” Twilight said.
“Thanks,” Keldeo replied. “And Princess Celestia, if you need me to, I'll fight alongside your ponies as long as it takes to take down Colton and King Sombra.”
“Thank you, Keldeo,” Princess Celestia said. “Against a foe like Sombra, we can use all the help we can get.”
“Hey, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said. “I don't know if I'm the only one who's noticed, but if we don't hightail it back to the stadium, we might miss the next fight!”
“It would be preferable if you were to be present for more fights,” Celestia commented. “If anypony wins against King Sombra's minions, it would be a good idea to make them our allies.”
“Great idea,” Pinkie said. “So what are we waiting for? Let's get to the stadium already!” And with that, Pinkie dashed out of the room at a speed that could make her Power Pony counterpart jealous.
“Does she normally-?” Keldeo started.
“There's no such thing as 'normal' if Pinkie Pie's in the room,” Rainbow Dash said. “It takes a bit of getting used to.”
“Good to know,” Keldeo replied with a nod.

By the time Keldeo and the Mane 6 (hereafter Mane 7 because I'm lazy) had made it to the stadium and taken their seats, the next battle was just then beginning.
“About time you ponies showed up,” Sombra said under his breath as he saw the Mane 7 take their seats. He then activated his voice amplification spell and began addressing the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, the second battle of Stage 1 is about to begin! In one corner, we have the former pupil of Princess Celestia, exiled many years ago, she relinquished her evil ways but came back to Equestria for this tournament and this tournament only, Sunset Shimmer!”
“What?” Twilight shouted as she saw the pony version of Sunset Shimmer walk into the arena. Twilight could have sworn that the last time she had seen Sunset Shimmer, she was a raging she-demon who got blasted by the almighty Rainbow Laser of Friendship, learned the magic of friendship, and helped her new human friends defeat an evil trio of girls who wanted to have an all-out battle of the bands. At least that's what Twilight thought had happened. Her memories of the human world were a little bit fuzzy as a side effect of the portal.
“And in the other corner,” King Sombra continued, “the very pony who would have given literally anything to be in Sunset Shimmer's horseshoes, Ponyville's own human fanatic and the only pony to have completely and truly mastered a fully two-legged technique in combat, Lyra Heartstrings!”
Into the other corner of the arena cantered Lyra Heartstrings, who had some experience with the Equestria Battle Tournament, being in three past tournaments, but still wasn't always that competent of a fighter. Still, though, did she persist.
“Oh boy,” Rainbow Dash said. “It's gonna be another Lyra fight.”
“Now Rainbow, darling,” Rarity said, “you shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly all the time. She's pulled off wins in the past.”
“By the skin of her teeth,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Still, I guess this could be fun to watch.”
Meanwhile in the arena, Lyra walked slowly into the arena, taking her time to size up her opponent.
”If she's a former pupil of Princess Celestia, she's gotta have a lot of magical capabilities,” she thought to herself. ”Wait a second, is this the pony who went to the human world? If she is, she might be able to predict most of the movements of my style. This might not be such an easy battle...”
As the two ponies made it to the center of the arena, they both looked each other in the eyes.
“I hear you like humans,” Sunset Shimmer said to Lyra. “Maybe if you beat me, I can share some stuff I know about them with you.”
“Really?” Lyra asked as her eyes lit up.
“Sure,” Sunset replied. “Whatever it'll take to make this fight last more than 15 seconds.”
Lyra gasped at the insult. “You are going down,” she said.
“Can you two save the 'beating the feathers out of each other' for after I start the fight?” King Sombra said. “I fell I don't need to ask this, but are the combatants ready?”
“I'm ready,” Sunset Shimmer said.
Lyra took a moment to rise from all fours to just her hind legs, spent about a second recovering her balance, then brought her forehooves to about level with her chest before saying, “Let's go.”
“Alright, then,” King Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

Sunset Shimmer wasted no time moving forward to deliver the first blow, assuming it would be easy to knock Lyra off balance with the stance she had. Sunset tried to give Lyra a hoof punch, but Lyra easily backflipped out of the way and countered with a blast of magic that hit Sunset, but didn't seem do much in terms of knockback. Lyra then landed perfectly on her hind legs, back to her original stance.
“I'm not the kind of pony you want to underestimate,” Lyra said with a determined expression.
“Good,” Sunset replied. “I was hoping you had more fight in you than I assumed.”
“You are asking for pain, aren't you?” Lyra shouted. She then ran forward while charging her horn with energy.”
“Too predictable,” Sunset said with a smile. She then put up a small magical shield to defend against the magic shot that she expected from Lyra. However, a shot was not what Lyra intended to deliver. Instead, Lyra focused her magic in her hooves and gave a solid punch that broke through Sunset's shield and hit her, knocking the quadrupedal pony backwards. Sunset easily recovered from this, however.
“Takes a while to master this kind of magic,” Lyra said as she revealed that she had used her magic to create fingers on her hooves made from her energy field. “But it's as effective in combat as it is with playing the lyre.”
“Well then,” Sunset said as she wiped her mouth with her hoof, “it seems I'm in for more of a challenge than I thought. Only so much more, though.” Sunset then charged forward at Lyra once again.
“You're gonna regret saying that,” Lyra said as she readied herself for Sunset's attack. Sunset started by trying to punch Lyra yet again, but Lyra was able to use her magic-made hands to grab Sunset's hoof before it could make contact. However, this left Lyra open to a quick kick from Sunset, which caused Lyra to let go of Sunset's hoof. Sunset then followed up with a two-legged kick that knocked Lyra back a bit. Lyra was able to recover from this, but she wasn't able to anticipate a backflip from Sunset Shimmer followed by a blast of magic that hit Lyra square in the chest. Sunset was about to finish the combo by landing on Lyra, but Lyra was able to conjure a quick force field that was able to block this last hit and break the combo. It also left Sunset open to a windmill kick from Lyra that flipped Sunset forward and made her almost land on her back. However, Sunset shimmer managed to fire a blast of magic that had just enough recoil to flip her the last 90 degrees she needed to avoid landing on her back. Additionally, this blast managed to catch Lyra off guard and hit her, knocking Lyra off her hooves and onto her back.
“Had enough?” Sunset Shimmer asked as she saw Lyra fall.
In reply to this, Lyra raised the lower half of her body and used the momentum of throwing that half outwards to get herself back onto her hind hooves. “Hardly,” Lyra said as she brushed some of her mane out of her face.
“I was hoping you'd say that,” Sunset said. She then rushed forward and fired several blasts of magic to throw Lyra's guard off. Lyra was able to block all of these shots with a  magic force field, but that left her open to a powerful kick from Sunset Shimmer that knocked Lyra off her hooves once again. She wasn't allowed to hit the ground from just that, though. Sunset quickly rushed forward to give Lyra an upwards blast of magic that sent her into the air. Sunset then jumped up and gave her two more punches before preforming a powerful yet graceful frontflip kick that sent Lyra to the ground hard.
“Oww...” Lyra said as Sunset Shimmer landed next to her on all fours.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner of round 1 is Sunset Shimmer!” The response from the crowd was a mixture of cheers, boos, and other confused noises.
“I don't understand, though,” Twilight said.
“What more is there to understand?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That was a rookie mistake. Sunset deterred Lyra's attention in order to get in close and deal a decisive blow that would result in an aerial combo that likely resulted in a bruised vertebrae for Lyra.”
“And you call me an egghead,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. “That's not even what I was talking about, though. The last time I saw Sunset Shimmer, she had been reformed. I don't get how she can suddenly be working for King Sombra.”
“Well a lot can happen over the course of a few years,” Keldeo said. “People can vanish, hearts can change, power can be gained or lost. Time isn't very kind, sometimes. Just ask Dialga.”
“I'd ask, but I'm afraid Pinkie will-” Twilight started.


Dialga, the Temporal Pokemon
It is said to have the power to control time. It appears in Sinnoh region myths as an ancient deity.


Twilight sighed as the Pokedex Pinkie held up to the alicorn's ear finished its explanation. “...do that.”
“Wait, you know Dialga?” Pinkie asked Keldeo.
“Well, yeah,” Keldeo replied. “All legendary, mythical, and trio Pokemon know each other.”
“Guys, shh,” Rainbow Dash said. “The second round's about to start.”
Indeed the second round was beginning. King Sombra had healed all the wounds Lyra and Sunset had gained in the previous round and restored their stamina.
“Hope you're ready for a second beat-down,” Sunset Shimmer said as she took her place in front of Lyra at the center of the arena.
“Hope you're ready to eat those words,” Lyra replied.
“Such confidence in the face of utter defeat,” Sunset said. “I want you to know you're one of the most courageous opponents I've faced in a long time.”
“Let's get the next round started,” Sombra announced. “Combatants ready?”
Lyra resumed her previous stance before nodding. Sunset simply nodded without breaking the glare she had with Lyra.
“Round 2, FIGHT!”
Lyra wasn't afraid to take the first strike this round. She quickly dashed forward and moved to punch Sunset, but Sunset expected this attack and easily sidestepped Lyra's attack, sending Lyra off balance and into a side kick from Sunset which taco'd Lyra forward and allowed Sunset to throw her foe into the air and begin another air combo. However, Lyra was able to recover from this attack faster than Sunset anticipated, resulting in Sunset taking a powerful magical counterattack that blasted her back down to Earth and allowed Lyra to land perfectly on her hind legs.
“Many a mare has fallen from underestimating me,” Lyra said as Sunset Shimmer quickly rose to her hooves.
“Now that, I have a hard time believing,” Sunset replied. She then charged forward to attack Lyra from close range. Sunset tried to throw a kick, but Lyra was able to use her magical hands to block this attack. Lyra only grabbed one of Sunset's hind hooves, however, allowing Sunset to use the other hoof to kick Lyra in the gut, causing her to lose her grip and release Sunset. Sunset then took her opportunity to strike Lyra with an uppercut, followed by a beam of magic that blasted Lyra into the barrier surrounding the arena.
“That's gotta be illegal!” Twilight shouted as she witnessed Sunset's attack.
Illegal it may have been, but Sombra didn't make any calls as Sunset galloped forward to finish the stunned Lyra, who was just barely getting back to her hooves. “Time to end this,” Sunset said as she began charging her horn with energy. Right as she got close enough to Lyra, she used her magic to throw Lyra in the air and follow up with a blast of magic that sent Lyra higher into the air. Then, as Lyra began to finally fall, Sunset leapt into the air to meet her halfway with a powerful buck straight to Lyra's midsection. Sunset then held Lyra to her hooves using her magic and did a frontflip to throw Lyra into the ground.
“Not again...” Lyra groaned as she hit the ground.
“KO!” King Sombra announced as Sunset Shimmer landed. “The winner of this fight is Sunset Shimmer!” The crowd was once more a mixture of boos and cheers, but the boos seemed to be a little more numerous this time.
“I told you guys Lyra didn't stand a chance,” Rainbow Dash said to her friends.
“She did have quite a bit of fight in her, though,” Keldeo commented. “It's not every day you see someone trying to be something they're not—in battle, no less—and still be willing to stand up to their foes. And I speak from experience.”
“You've got a point there, Keldeo,” Twilight said. “But there's still something that's bothering me. Sunset Shimmer is supposed to be reformed, but she's not showing any signs of reformation right now.”
Down in the arena, Lyra's wounds were healed by King Sombra's magic, but she barely had any time to get up before a pair of Changeling soldiers entered the arena to carry her off. “Where are you two taking me?” Lyra asked the Changelings, but they said nothing reply as they took her out of the arena.
“That's something new,” Twilight said as she noticed the Changelings bring Lyra out of the arena. “I wonder where they're taking her...”
“I don't think we have time to worry about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “The next battle's going to be in less than an hour, and we've gotta get the results of this battle to Princess Celestia.”
“Somebody remind me why your Princess can't attend these battles herself?” Keldeo inquired as the Mane 7 made their way out of the arena.
“Some rule Sombra put in place to make sure she didn't mess with his tournament,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Doesn't seem very justified, if you ask me.”
“Pun intended?” Keldeo asked.
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well it's pretty obvious,” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “Just like the other Swords of Justice, Keldeo's ability is called Justified, and that allows him to-”
“Pinkie, I think we've learned enough about Pokemon for one day,” Twilight said.
“But I haven't even told you how King Sombra could inadvertently give Keldeo a huge advantage were the two to square off,” Pinkie replied.
“Maybe you can tell us another time, Darling,” Rarity said as the ponies left the stadium.

Meanwhile in the caves beneath Canterlot, the two Changelings from before had brought Lyra up to what looked like a makeshift cell in a small outcropping in the cave. “Can somepony tell me why I'm here?” Lyra shouted, her voice echoing through the caves.
“Our Master wants the defeated combatants out of the way for the time being,” one of the Changelings replied in a raspy voice.
“But why?” Lyra asked. “What purpose could throwing me in here serve?”
“No one knows,” the Changeling replied. “But you will serve your purpose when the time comes.”
Lyra was about to respond, but she stopped when she noticed the Changeling's eyes flash yellow for a moment. “You're not an ordinary Changeling, are you?”
“Trust me, little pony,” another voice said from behind Lyra, this one dark and echoing. “Nothing about what you believe is going on is ordinary.”
“Who's there?” Lyra asked as she turned around.
“Someone who's just as ready to take back Equestria as Sombra is,” the voice replied, followed by a loud and deep breath. Lyra was about to respond, but a strange feeling stopped her. A feeling of... emptiness. Like she had been drained of something. Lyra couldn't even contemplate what was going on before she collapsed to the ground.