Star Knight and the Nine-Tailed Fox

by Rakoon1

Breaking the Crystal

The battle between Twilight and King Sombra was intense with both sides directing powerful attacks towards each other. However, as much how even their fight seemed to be, the fact that Twilight was losing couldn’t be much obvious. Sombra was powerful and, unlike Twilight, he didn’t have the limits of his body stopping him from keeping the rhythm. Exaustion started to invade Twilight’s body. Sombra laughed and said, while assuming solid form after dodging Twilight’s latest attack:

“I admit that you live up to my expectations, but admit it: you can’t defeat me. I have an endless amount of energy, while you already used most of yours.”

“My power does come only from my magic” Twilight said, while recovering from the last attack. “It comes from my desire to protect the ones I love, my family, my friends, this world… It’s what gives me the power to fight you.”

Seeing all that determination in her eyes, Sombra couldn’t help but feeling as if Aurora was looking back at him. That made an old flame of anger grew stronger, as he couldn’t stand having Twilight looking at him in the same way like the mare he equally loved and hated did. So he launched an attack of sharp crystals against her, that she dodge by taking flight. But Sombra didn’t give up and continued to attack.

Blue had returned to Shining’s side, telling what was happening.

“She’s what?!” Shining exclaimed. “And you let her alone with that maniac?!”

“You know how your sister is when she makes up her mind” Blue replied. “Apparently runs in the family.”

“We have to go help her” Shining said, preparing go.

“No, Shining, you can’t go” Blue said, preventing him from advancing.

“It’s Twily we’re talking about, Blue. Don’t tell me you’re not worried about what may happen to her if she loses to Sombra.”

“Of course I’m worried. I’m worried sick. But you can’t abandon the battlefield at this moment. You’re the captain of this unit and our comrades need you to fight these enemies.”

An explosion caused by Thunder Blitz’s explosive nature just emphasized what Blue just said.

“Furthermore, it’s Twilight we’re talking about” Blue continued. “How many foes she already defeated? Many, including the Lord of Chaos himself and Perfect Scales when he absorbed all the other special lights. Do you really think she will allow Sombra to win when she knows what’s in risk?”

Shining didn’t answered right away, as he thought in what his best friend just said, and then he replied:

“All right, for now, we’ll let her be, but at the first opportunity we get, we go help her.”

That made Blue smile and nod.

After being able to retreat, Shadow Claw and his team started to run away as fast as they could. The four reincarnated beings kept following them.

“It’s no use” Ivory said, continuing to sense the enemy approaching. “We can’t loose them.”

“We have to contact HQ!” Shadow Claw exclaimed to the light unicorn.

He nodded and he used his telepathic abilities to do so.

At HQ, one of Diamond Glow subordinates said:

“The Commando Unit is reporting in. They are trying to retreat, but the enemy is closing on them.”

“Gael and some of his unit are close” White Light said. “Send them the coordinates and quickly.”

Gael was flying with Spitfire and some pegasi and griffon, while others were running below, including a pony-panther that was carrying a sealing cloth.

“Hurry, we can’t waste more time.”

“Yes, sir!” they all exclaimed.

Shadow Claw and his team continued to try to escape the enemy, while having Rothbart continuing to complain.

“I’m gonna get you, little brother” Dusk Night said to Shadow Claw. “Just wait to see…”

“Boy, can’t you just shut up with that?” the unknown deer said to her. “We get it, you two have sibling issues.”

Grover was trying to ignore them, but even his patient was close to its limits, mainly because he couldn’t control his body. It was then that he received orders to use his elemental manipulation.

“Oh no… Here I go… Be careful you at the front!”

And, with a strong spin, a tornado was formed, ravaging everything around. But the worse was when the wind became thicker and dense. His fellow reincarnated beings became shocked by that. Stopping and flapping his wings, Grover launched that smoke against the commando unit.

Shadow Claw looked behind and so it coming. He recognized that. It was close to Star Knight’s haze natured that he heard about. He was to warn his team, but the smoke caught them quickly, starting to poison them. They all fell on the ground, unable to move, weakened by the poison.

They heard flapping and Shadow Claw, reuniting all the energy he still had, prepared to fight whatever went to appear.

“Hey, if you are reinforcements, then I’m over here!” Rothbart continued to say.

Grover appeared inside the haze and then said to Shadow Claw and his team:

“I’m sorry for this.”

And he raised up his right talon, which was imbued with wind nature to make the claws even sharper. He then advanced towards Shadow Claw to finish him, but then Gael appeared and was able to caught the talon and prevent Grover from advancing.

“Just in time…” Shadow Claw said.

“It’s an honor to meet you, King Grover” Gael said. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Gael, the current king of Griffonstone.”

Griffons appeared to help Shadow Claw’s team.

“What about the poison?” Shadow Claw asked to the griffon that came to help him.

“The griffons of Griffonstone possess a high tolerance to this poison” the griffon explained. “Because of King Grover’s haze nature and the poison he incorporated in it, we got it in order to survive in any battle we get into. Now, we need to get antidotes to you and your team at the medical core.”

The griffons started to do so and then the one that helped Shadow Claw said to Gael:

“Your Highness…”

“Assistance is not necessary” he said. “Stay out of the way if you don’t want to get injured.”

“Yes, sir” he replied, retreating, but not getting away.

“They seem to respect you” King Grover said. “I always thought that after my death, the griffons of the Pony World would have difficulty to stay united. You must be a good leader.”

“Griffonstone got good regents after your death” Gael replied. “My wife, that is your descendant, and her uncle are good examples of that.”

They separated and then Grover said:

“It’s good to hear that. I can see that my kingdom, the one that I built with all my efforts, is in good talons. It’s a shame that, because of this damn curse, I may end up destroying it.”

“I won’t let that happen” Gael, positioning himself to defend any attack King Grover could do. “Even if I had to sacrifice my own life to do that.”

At the bay, the main battle was now against the remaining reincarnated beings, with the fighters doing their best to seal them as quickly as possible. All the members of the sealing core in the First Division had spread in order to be ready at the first opportunity.

Freeze Burn was battling Day Glow, but the latter had proven to be very skill, having in count how young he was when he died. Flambeau and Nitelite came to help him, but even when they did hit him with full power, his body went to regenerate. To make the situation worse, Thunder Spark, Princess Aurora former right-hoof stallion, came to help Day Glow.

“Out of the way!” a voice exclaimed.

They all turner around and saw Silverweed advancing with the Leaf Fan. The two dragons took flight, while Freeze Burn teleported away. Seeing what would happen, Day Glow was quick to teleport as well. With a movement of the fan, Silverweed created a very strong wind that hit Thunder Spark strongly against a stone wall. A pony-panther took that opportunity to seal him.

“One down!” Silverweed exclaimed. “Now we just have to…”

But he didn’t finish, as a great wave of weakness invaded his body and made him feel dizzy. He was about to fell when Freeze Burn teleported to his side and hold him.

“I got you” he said, looking to Leaf Fan. “First you use your mental magic and know you use one of the Sacred Tools of Thicket. You used too much energy, you need to rest. Nitelite, take him to someplace where he can recover. And take care of the fan. Don’t let it fell on the enemy’s hooves.”

“Yes, sir” Nitelite said, taking Silverweed and the Leaf Fan and then moving away.

Day Glow appeared again and then Freeze Burn said to Flambeau:

“Let’s do this.”

“I’m just waiting for your signal, Your Highness” he replied.

And they returned to fight Day Glow again.

Twilight’s fight with Sombra was getting even more intense, with the latter now starting to get more emotional, after being taunt with the similarity that Twilight had with Aurora, not only in physical appearance. After a while, he was able to corner her.

“Finally, you will be mine, little princess” Sombra said, while smiling wickedly. “When I’m done with you, I will be able to get my revenge for everything you did to me.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked. “I wasn’t the one who defeated you at the Crystal Empire.”

“Do you really think I’m talking about that?” Sombra asked. “Please, as if something insignificant like that could affect me. No… In a way, you’re Aurora and you will pay for everything she did to me!”

Twilight didn’t know what he was talking about. What else happen between Princess Aurora and Sombra to make him hate her so much?

“And after I’m done with you, the next one to feel my revenge will be that golden sack of crap that claims to be General of Peace” Sombra continued.

“Golden Paladin…?” Twilight asked, getting even more confused.

“He is the main reason of my misery” Sombra said. “I heard he’s weakened and vulnerable, just like those pesky siblings of his. After I’m done with you, I’ll go to the Light Kingdom and get rid of him next! Let’s see what happens when a General of Order dies.”

“I won’t let you do that” Twilight said, with her confidence and determination returning. “I don’t mind what you can do with me, but I won’t let you hurt any of my friends, much less the ones who bring the light of the Lord of Order to this world.”

Seeing her defending Golden Paladin, made Sombra remember how Aurore defended him centuries ago. That made his anger get even more intense and, in an impulse, he access to his magic and roar:

“CRYSTAL PRISON SPELL!”

Twilight tried to use her magic, but it was too late. A light appear beneath her and then crystal appeared, imprisoning her inside.

At the place where Gael and Grover were facing each other, Ash, hidden between the woods, observed the situation and, throught him, Gentle Light was also witnessing what was happening.

“It appears that the battlefield is becoming very wild” she said, after seeing one of her stones breaking after Thunder Spark was sealed. “Let’s see…”

And she moved two stones to where Grover and Ash were. Dusk Night and the other deer appeared at the scene. Seeing her, Shadow Claw said:

“Sister…”

“Good, you didn’t die” she said. “Now I can be the one to end you.”

She wanted to advanced, but her body didn’t respond.

“What…” she started.

“Remember, you’re being controlled by the user of the Reincarnation Curse” Grover said. “it appears you won’t be allowed to fight right now.”

Dusk Night answered him with a growl and then Grover said to Gael:

“Okay, young one, let’s see if the new king of Griffonstone is worthy of that title, even if he married for it. Defeat me and then seal me, if you don’t want me to continue to serve the Chaos side.”

“Don’t worry about that” Gael said. “I will defeat you.”

And then he advanced against Grover, ready to attack. He defended and then the two started to move away. While that, the other griffons advanced to fight Dusk Night and the deer.
The two king griffons advanced toward each other, switching blows with the claws. Eventually, Grover was able to subdue Gael and pin him against the floor.

“You fight well” Grover said. “It is obvious you were a warrior before becoming a king. But you seemed to be very confident of your abilities to the point of underestimating your opponent. Pride is always our kind’s greatest weakness.”

“I agree with you on that” Gael said, while trying to breath as much air as he could. “But you’re wrong about one thing: I didn’t underestimate you.”

And Grover felt a pain and he saw Gael’s talon penetrating his belly. But it wasn’t the blow that hurt him, as he couldn’t feel pain, but what was covering Gael’s talon. It was a greenish liquid that he got to know what was.

“You…” he started, as he started to feel his body becoming dormant. “You knew…”

“During my studies while I was becoming part of the guard of Griffonstone, you were one of my idols” Gael replied, being able to release himself and get up, leading then one of his talons to his wounded shoulder. “I studied all your battle skills and moves. When I got to know about the Reincarnated Curse, I realized there was chance that you would be one of the dead to be brought back, so I prepared myself for the eventuality. I prepared a sample of your poison in liquid. I studied enough to know that you are vulnerable to your own poison. You were not affected by it in life because you trained yourself to hold your breath long enough until the poison to dissipate in the air completely.”

“And so… you waited until I was close enough…” Grover said, making a chuckle. “That was… a very nice move.”

“It’s an honor to hear such compliment from you, Your Highness” Gael said, nodding respectfully.

There was movement and then Godot appeared, followed by a pair of griffons, with one being from the sealing core.

“Finally I got you…” he said, noticing then in Grover. “But that’s… Wait, you defeated King Grover? Wow, that I was not expecting. You griffons of Griffonstone don’t stop to amaze me.”

“Wait… don’t tell me… you’re from… Aeropolis” Grover said, while fighting against the poison.

“I’m the king, actually” Godot said.

That caused Grover to drop a laugh and say:

“Griffonstone and Aeropolis getting along… Now, that’s something I didn’t expect to hear… But also, something that makes me feel in peace… If only I could see my first home once again…”
And he stopped moving.

“Don’t worry, we will not dishonor you, King Grover” Gael said, turning then to Godot. “Right?”

“Well, let’s just say we’re closer to friendship than we ever did before” Grover said.

After that, the griffon of the sealing core advanced and sealed Grover.

At the shore, Luna was also able to restrain her grandfathers with shadows, allowing then the sealing core to seal them both.

With all the sealing made, four more of Gentle Light’s rocks broke.

“They are starting to change the tide of the war. That is good. But they must prepare themselves, because, like the sea, their luck may turn against them.”

Sombra stood where he was, gasping, while looked to Twilight, imprisoned inside the crystal. It was then that a smile appeared on his face, followed by one of his evil laughs. He had finally taken his revenge on Aurora and nopony would be able take that from him.

Inside the crystal, Twilight’s first though was it was the end for her, that she wouldn’t see her loved ones ever again. But then she realized she was still intact, even though she didn’t know why. Sombra’s crystal nature turned any matter to crystal, however she wasn’t. It was then that she noticed that, instinctively, she had involved herself with her magic. It was something she did before casting any defensive spell. That made her come to the conclusion that Sombra wasn’t able to crystalize energy. But now the problem was how she would get out? She couldn’t use her magic without disabling the energy that surrounded her.

At that moment, a light involved her and, when Twilight found herself, she was on a place full of light, where neither the ground nor the sky could be distinguished.

“But… where am I?” Twilight asked.

“In a place where I can talk with to you, my dear” a familiar voice said.

And, with a burst of light, the Lord of Order appeared.

“My lord…” Twilight said, making a quick bow. “But what are you doing here?”

“I was able to notice that you were fighting King Sombra” the Lord of Order. “Perhaps it was not the best decision.”

“I thought I could do it, but now I see he was too much for me” Twilight said. “I just don’t know what happened. His magic became too much strong all of the sudden.”

“That’s because you look just like Princess Aurora, not only in appearance, but also in the way of being” the Lord of Order said. “You see, there is a part about the dispute between Aurora and Sombra you don’t know. There was a time when Sombra was a good-hearted stallion, but everything changed when he arrived to the Light Kingdom and fell in love with Aurora.”

“Wait, he fell in love with Aurora?!” Twilight asked, not wanting to believe.

“Yes, it’s hard to believe, but it is the truth” the Lord of Order said. “And Aurora reciprocated the love as well.”

“If that’s true, then what happened?” Twilight asked. “What drove Sombra to become evil and cause the fall of the Light Kingdown?”

“Sombra found out about Golden Paladin’s affection for Princess Aurora and my brother took advantage of that, corrupting Sombra and making him trying to take Golden’s light. Aurora, with a broken heart didn’t have another option than to use her power to banish him from the Light Kingdom.”

“So that’s why he…” Twilight said, understanding all Sombra’s rage. “You’re right, I shouldn’t just burst into battle.”

“You didn’t know” the Lord of Order said. “But now that you’re battling him, you can make sure that Sombra don’t harm anypony ever again.”

Sombra prepared to leave, when he heard the crystal breaking and then the sound of anything falling on the ground. He turned and became shocked when he saw Twilight getting up, still recovering from the last attack.

“Impossible…” he said. “How did you…?”

“Your crystal nature is not able to crystalize energy” Twilight said. “I involved myself with magic. That’s why you didn’t kill me.”

“Well, I can arrange that” Sombra said, creating crystal shards.

Seeing Sombra doing that, Twilight used her magic to release ultrasonic waves that, when came in contact with the crystals, they simply shattered.

“What the…” Sombra started, completely caught by surprise. “How did you do that?!”

“Crystal requires a very precise build-up of molecules, so the proper sound waves can break down the build-up before the crystal can properly form” Twilight replied.

That made Sombra become very angry, as she was able to find his nature’s weakness.

“Sombra, please, stop this madness” Twilight said. “I know your pain, but you can’t…”
Sombra made a laugh and then he said:

“How can a goody princess like you understand any of my pain? You don’t knowing about what I feel!”

And he prepared more crystals to launch against Twilight that she negated with the ultrasonic waves. But, at that moment, Sombra had already prepared a big and sharp crystal shard that he threw. Fortunately, Twilight was able to create a barrier to protect himself.

“You don’t anything about me!” Sombra exclaimed, as he prepared to cast a Crystal Prison Spell.

He did it so quickly that Twilight didn’t get time to use the ultrasonic waves. In order to escape, Twilight get the piece of crystal that she defended and, when the spell started to act, she used it to reflect the spell that went against Sombra, who exclaimed:

“No!”

And he was imprisoned in crystal. Looking to that, Twilight made a pitiful look to him and said:

“Oh Sombra… Everything could have ended so diffently.”

And, without wasting any time, Twilight casted a sealing spell that the Lord of Order taught to her before. Not long after that, Blue and Shining appeared with the latter saying:

“Twily, we came to… help you.”

They both became astonished when they saw that Twilight had been able to seal Sombra.

“Wow, Twilight…” Blue said. “You did it.”

“With a lot of difficulties” she said.

It was then the use of all the energy on the battle was felt by Twilight, who had a moment of weakness.

“Oh, I get you Twily” Blue said, helping her stand.

“You need to rest” Shining said. “And then you’ll return to HQ.”

“No, I can’t…” she said. “There’s still a lot to do here. You need help to deal with all those reincarnations.”

“With can deal with them” Shining said. “You’re still vulnerable and…”

It was then that she looked to Shining with one of her harsh look and said:

“Shining, stop thinking that I’m still a little filly. I can perfectly fight along with you and Blue.”

And, having said that, she moved away, letting both Shining and Blue where they were.

“I told you to not contradict her” Blue said to Shining.