Star Knight and the Nine-Tailed Fox

by Rakoon1

The Capture of Three-Tails

The situation had changed rapidly with Moonlight and Adagio’s arrival. Now, it would be quite difficult for Night Thunder to take Echo without having to fight his own daughter.

"Finally we will be able to capture the Three-Tails" Adagio said. "Our master will be very satisfied, now that we will be one step closer of our goal."

"Let's get this over with quickly" Moonlight said. "You and I both know that the Lord of Chaos does not like to wait."

"You talk like it's easy to defeat me" Echo said. "I'm going to show you what happens when you mess with the Jinchuriki of the Three-tails..."

But before he could do anything, Thunder Night instinctively prevented him, saying:

"Echo, no!"

"What are you doing, Thundy?!" Echo asked. "I don't know if you noticed, but they're trying to capture me."

"I think he's more interested in keeping you from hurting me" Moonlight said to Echo, then turning to Thunder Night. "Isn’t that true... daddy?"

"Wait, daddy?" Echo repeated, turning then to his brother. "She's your daughter?"

"This is not the time, Echo" Thunder Night said. "But believe me when I say that the best is running away and not face them. I know this may sound strange, but you have to trust me."

Echo looked to his younger brother and saw the seriousness of his words.

"Ok, fine, as you wish" he said. "I will take care of our escape."

"You are not going nowhere" Moonlight said.

But before she or Adagio could do anything, Echo accessed to the Three-Tails’ energy and then a thick layer of fog emerged suddenly, confusing the two sirens, and, when it cleared, both Echo and Thunder Night had vanished.

"I can't believe they escaped!" Moonlight exclaimed.

"Don't worry, we will find them" Adagio aid to. "After all, they can't have gone too far."

She was right. Using the fog, Echo and Thunder Night ran as much as they could in the woods, pausing only recover their breath against a tree.

"This should give us some time" Thunder Night aid. "And I have to admit that fog was an amazing move."

"I just used Three-Tails’ energy to condense the air and create fog" Echo aid. "I could use it to create hallucinations, but I don't think I should do that given that one of them is your daughter. And, now that we're alone, can you explain me that?"

Thunder Night sighed and then told Echo what happened for Moonlight to be now trying to capture him.

"So your daughter has been corrupted by another siren, the one that was with her, and that is why she is now trying to capture me?" Echo asked. "Wow, I have to say, bro, your life is much more interesting than mine."

"The main reason for me to come after you was because I knew that Moonlight and Adagio were trying to capture you" Thunder Night said. "I was hoping I could find her and try to bring her back home. But then I realized that I would have to fight her."

"Don't worry, little bro, if you want, I will help you make your daughter come to her senses" Echo said.

"Thanks, Echo, but I think it will take much time for that to happen" Thunder Night replied.

It was then that Thunder Night’ sixth sense, the one that he had developed as a guard, began to react. He could feel somepony approaching.

"They are close" he said to his older brother.

"Are you sure?" Echo asked.

At that moment, a sonic wave struck the tree where they were and threw them to the floor.

"I will consider this as an answer" Echo said, while he and Thunder Night stood up.

They heard an evil laughter and Adagio and Moonlight appeared.

"We finally found you" Adagio said.

"And now we will not escape us again" Moonlight added.

"Please, Moonlight, don't do this" Thunder Night said to his daughter. "Hurting others is not part of your nature."

Moonlight seemed slightly affected by the words of her father, but the darkness that boiled inside her stopped her from being swayed by them.

"You better save your breath for what follows next" she said. "It’s showtime."

And, after she had said this, she and Adagio began to sing. It was the same song they had sung after Moonlight had been corrupted. Its effects were almost immediate. Thunder Night and Echo began to feel an immense pain, as if their heads were about to explode at any time.

"But what is this?!" Echo asked.

"It's their combined power…" Thunder Night replied.

"Well, I'm sick of it!" Echo said.

And he slammed the hooves on the ground and water flooded it around him and then rose up to create a big wave. Seeing the wave approaching, Adagio and Moonlight stopped singing and began to try to escape it, but it took them and washed them up against a tree. They coughed water, while Echo and Thunder Night rose up.

"My mane is all wet!" Adagio exclaimed, while she and Moonlight rose up too. "Do you know, by chance, how long does it take for me to get it the way I want?"

"If you want to make this fight more physical, dear uncle, then so be it" Moonlight said.

And, together, Moonlight and Adagio launched supersonic screams against Echo, but he made a gesture with the hoof and water appeared in front of him, forming a mirror that captured the reflection of the attacks of the two sirens and then released a copy of those attacks that collided with the original ones, causing an explosion that made the four retreat a little.

"How did he do that?" Moonlight asked.

"It seems this Jinchuriki is quite resourcefulness" Adagio noted. "Direct attacks will not work."

"So let's give them something that they will not be able to defend themselves" Moonlight said.

Realizing what they were about to do, Thunder Night said:

"Oh no, they're going to sing."

He was right. Moonlight and Adagio started to sing again, but this time it was a different song, one even more sinister and powerful. The pain inflicted was even more intense than the last one.

"Please... Moonlight, stop…" Thunder Night begged.

But his daughter didn't hear him, continuing to sing and strengthening Adagio’s voice with the Thirteenth Note’s power. He had to keep calling her, since this situation couldn't go like this. However, Echo was not willing to wait. His limited patience had been exceeded and his anger was beginning to boil.

"That's enough!" Echo exclaimed, starting to rise up while he fought to resist as much as he could to the two sirens’ song. "I'm sorry, Thundy, but your daughter and her girlfriend have to learn a lesson."

"Echo, what are you..." Thunder Night started.

His unfinished question was answered when Echo roared and the red energy of the Tailed Beast that was sealed within him began to cover his body in a bubbly way, just like Star got in the first phase of his transformation. Three energy tails were immediately formed and they involved Echo, creating a shock wave that made Moonlight and Adagio stop singing. They and Thunder Night gasped with what they saw.

Echo had entered in the second phase, with all his body covered by the blood-red energy layer and the three tails waving. Just like how Star adopted some features of Nine-Tails in that form like the ears, Echo had what looked like a turtle shell.

Thunder Night had heard about that form from Fluttershy. As far as he got to know, Prince Star Knight had gone completely out of control and attacked everypony near him, even his loved one. If the same happened with Echo, he could end up hurting Moonlight seriously.

"No, Echo, don't do it!" Thunder Night exclaimed.

He tried to intervene, but one of Echo’s tails came suddenly and hit him, throwing him against a tree. Thunder Night felt a great pain in his shoulder. It seemed that it had been dislocated. He looked and saw his brother ready to fight Adagio and Moonlight.

"Things just got slightly worse" Adagio said.

"So that is the second phase of a Jinchuriki transformation" Moonlight said.

"Yes, so you have to be extra careful" Adagio warned her.

And the Jinchuriki released his tails against his opponents, who began to dodge as much as they could. They returned to launch their supersonic screams and, despite having hit him, it seemed that they had little effect on Echo. He roared again and advanced, raising one of his forelegs, heading to Moonlight. She jumped back in time to dodge it, making Echo hit the ground, where coral appeared. But that didn’t stop the Jinchuriki from continuing to advance against the sirens.

It was at that moment that the sun started to rise up. The sunbeams began to bathe everything in the land, illuminating the night sky. Watching it, Thunder Night hastened to go to the security of the shadows, but his brother, ignoring the fact that the day was beginning, started to be illuminated by the sunlight. Before this, he began to scream in pain and pulling back.

"It seems that our target remains vulnerable to the sun, even in this form" Moonlight said.

"Let's hurry to take care of him" Adagio said. "Things got complicated enough."

And the two returned to sing their new song that started to affect Echo and then they launched supersonic screams that threw him against the ground.

"You're ours now" Adagio said, smiling.

But before they could do anything, Echo quickly got on hi hooves and roared, releasing an enormous amount of energy. It was then that his shape began to change and his size began to increase as well, and, before everypony’s eyes, Three-Tails appeared.

He was just like a giant turtle with a crab-like shell and spikes all over the body and three shrimp-like tails. Under his shell, there was a red muscle-like tissue and, in addition, he had a pair of arms and hands, but no hind legs. His face was concealed between a large forehead and lower jaw, both with spikes. His eyes were red with yellow pupils, with one of them closed.

"Oh my..." Thunder Night said, overwhelmed with such a creature.

"Finally Echo let me come out and play" Three-Tails said with a voice a bit childish. "It's been so long since the last time."

He looked down and noticed Adagio and Moonlight.

"So you are the ones that have been catching my brethren Tailed Beasts" he said. "You're going to pay for it."

And, having said this, he opened his mouth and shot a water blast against them.

"Watch out!" Adagio exclaimed, pushing Moonlight to stay out of the line of fire.

Adagio was hit by the water blast and thrown hard against a tree, getting unconscious.

"Adagio!" Moonlight exclaimed.

"One down, one to go" Three-Tails said, turning then to Moonlight.

Watching that, Thunder Night reacted immediately and, despite the danger that sunlight represented to him, he took flight and went to the front of Three-Tails, ignoring the pain of the burns, and said then:

"Please don't hurt her. I beg you, Three-Tails. She is my daughter and it is not her fault what is happening to your siblings."

"Get out of the way, thestral" Three-Tails ordered. "I couldn't care less what you say. These two have tried to capture me and now they will be punished."

"But you don't understand..." Thunder Night started.

But before he could say anything else, Three-Tails hit him with one of his tails and threw him strongly against the ground.

"Let's finish this once and for all" he said, turning to Moonlight. "I'm going to make the Lord of Chaos regret for his crimes against my kind, killing two of his servants."

Moonlight seemed a bit intimidated before Three-Tails.

"I see that you're afraid of me" the Tailed Beat noted. "You're right to afraid, a weak creature like you don't have a chance against me. Although your voice is powerful, you don't have enough hatred to use against me."

Three-Tails’s mocking made Moonlight remember Star, the reason for her to become a servant of the Lord of Chaos. The darkness inside her began immediately to boil and the fear inside her disappeared, causing her to adopt a cold look, stripped of any positive emotion.

"You just made your worst mistake, Three-Tails" she said. "You pushed my hatred inside of me and that will be your ruin."

And, having said this, she began to sing a new song. It was a different song than those that she and Adagio ever sang. It was a song that conveys a mixture of sadness, disappointment and anger that were created at the time of her corruption.

Three-tails tried to resist, but, to his great surprise, he found himself being affected by the song. An immense pain started to torment him. It was like his mind was being pressed by something immeasurable. He began to feel his arms pretty heavy till he couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground, while he felt his forces disappearing.

"No... No, it can be..." he said. "My strength... my power... I can't... take it... anymore."

It was then that Three-Tails returned to Echo in the second phase and then it faded away and the Jinchuriki appeared unconscious.

"Now, you're ours" Moonlight said, invoking a grey powder that she launched over Echo and that made strong binds appear on him.

After that, she grabbed him and dragged him to the edge of Adagio, who started to wake up. Seeing Echo unconscious, she said:

"I can't believe... Moonlight, you defeated Three-Tails."

"Yes, but if you hadn't saved me from him, I wouldn't be able to do it" Moonlight said.

"Well, we better get going before something unexpected happens again" Adagio said.

Moonlight nodded, agreeing, and the two prepared to disappear with Echo. Thunder Night, rising with the pain going through his body, saw Moonlight and Adagio preparing to go.

"Moonlight..." he said.

Darkness began to involve them and Moonlight looked at her father, giving him an evil smile that shocked him. And the two sirens and their prisoner disappeared.

Star Knight had just recovered from his last adventure where he defeated Rothbart with his new spell. However, due to the danger that his own spell posed to him, Golden Paladin decided to help Star to develop a new spell he could use without the danger of side effects for himself.

"So, Golden, how can I get more new spells?" Star asked, at their usual training place at the Great Light Canyon.

"Well, young prince, I've been thinking the whole time you've been in recovery and I had an idea that, although unorthodox, can lift a certain challenge for you" Golden Paladin replied.

And, having said that, Golden Paladin summoned what looked like a bell jar. Inside of it, there was a piece of darkness.

"Golden... What is that?" Star Knight asked, a little uneasy.

"This used to be a piece of the darkness contained in Pandora's box" Golden Paladin replied. "Don't worry, it was subjected to a distillation process and now is nothing but a piece of darkness completely free of any malice, as any nature of natural magic."

In spite of what Golden Paladin said, Star couldn't help but be a little restless. After all, it was part of the same darkness that corrupted Pandora and gave her dark powers.

"I understand your hesitation, Prince Star Knight, but believe me, I wouldn't let you use it if it wasn't safe" Golden Paladin said.

There was a pause where Star reflected carefully, but finally concluded that his willpower would enable him to withstand anything. He waved to Golden Paladin and then said:

"What's on your mind?"

Golden Paladin smiled before Star's bravery and then said:

"I thought you could absorb this piece of darkness and control it so that you could be able to master the darkness nature."

"So you want me to master another nature?" Star asked.

"As you know, it is possible for a pony to master more than one nature" Golden Paladin said. "I am an example of that, as I am capable of using both light and water natures. But it is usually something you can get with some time and effort and time is not on our side, so we will opt to go this time by a small shortcut."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is much more than simply mastering the darkness nature?" Star asked.

"Because this is not the real objective of this training" Golden Paladin said. "Its purpose, young Prince, is for you to be able to create your own combined nature."

That made Star load the brow and say:

"Wait, I thought it was necessary to have a natural affinity for two natures to combine them."

"It's true, a normal pony would never be able to accomplish something like what I want you to do" Golden Paladin replied. "But you're not a normal pony, Prince Star Knight. You are the son of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the bearer of the original star seed. As such, your own star seed has the potential to get the same light. Because of that, I believe that you will be able to combine your wind nature with the darkness nature and create the haze nature, capable o creating toxic smoke able to weaken the opponent and disable their sense of sight and smell."

Listening to Golden Paladin, Star realized that something like that could be quite useful in combat.

"But it’s obvious that the choice will be yours" the General of Peace said. "Do you accept this new challenge that I’m putting to you?"

Star approached the bell jar where the piece of darkness was and then said:

"I've traveled a long way without giving up in the face of any obstacle, for more complicated it was, and this one will not be exception."

Golden Paladin smiled and then said:

"Well then, so be it."

And he opened the bell jar and using your magic, Star absorbed the darkness, starting then the training to master the haze nature.

Night fell and, in Ponyville, Fluttershy was cradling Dark Cloud in his crib at the living room. The baby colt slept peacefully, but his mother didn't share his tranquility. Her heart was quite heavy, as she wondered if Thunder Night was fine. At that moment, the door of the cottage opened and Thunder Night entered. Seeing him with wounds and burns, Fluttershy hastened to get to him, while asking:

"Thundy, what happened?"

"Please, Fluttershy, don't wake Dark Cloud up" Thunder Night said, making a gesture to the sleeping baby colt.

He then went in and sit on the couch, while Fluttershy went to get the first aid kit to disinfect the wounds and her special herbs to treat burns that she always had in reserve for Thunder Night. While she was treating him, Fluttershy asked:

"What happened for you to end like this, Thundy?"

He didn't even know where to start, but eventually tell Fluttershy everything that had happened.

"I failed, Fluttershy, I failed completely" Thunder Night said. "Not only I let my brother be captured, but also I let our daughter to capture Echo. I am worthless as a father and even as a brother."

"Don't say that, Thundy, you gave your best" Fluttershy said.

"Yes, but my best wasn't good enough" Thunder Night replied.

There was a pause and then Fluttershy said, while putting a hoof on her husband's face:

"You can't torment yourself like this. You must have faith that our daughter will come back to us. You’ll see, Thundy, this nightmare will end, and everything will be fine."

Fluttershy’s encouraging words managed to make a smile appear on Thunder Night’s face. She was right. They had to believe that Moonlight would return to them. If they lost faith, so that would never going to happen.

Author's Note:

The videos added to this chapter belong to xXxTeaChanxXx.