Daughter of Death

Twilight looked in horror at the towering figure of the Storm King who was now before her.

He was so tall, he could be even taller than Celestia herself. And with his black armor entirely covering him, only letting out his tail, he looked so scary. His helmet was like the ones the storm creatures were wearing, except that the eyes were sparkling blue with electricity, and it had the same black horn-things and blue symbol as the crown he usually wore, which was the same symbol as on his breastplate. Also, he had a cape made of storm clouds which were also flashing with lightning!

In his left hand, he had the Staff of Sacanas, and in his right hand, he had a club, like the creatures obeying him. Actually, his club was even bigger than the ones that the storm creatures were using, and it had spikes!

At his side, Tempest was also in black armor, but she didn’t have a helmet, leaving her head exposed, resulting in her having gotten some scratches from the birds. Grubber looked barely better.

“How…?” Twilight asked.

How did the Storm King find her lair?

The Storm King immediately looked at her, and while she couldn’t see his expression through his helmet, it seemed like he was a bit surprised.

“That voice. Are you…? Oooh! A lich? Now that’s something I never expected to fight! One hasn’t been reported since at least two centuries ago, at the other side of the world! Mmh… and I don’t see any jewels on you. Looks like you are smart enough to hide your phylactery, which couldl be… annoying.”

“T-that’s right! I hid my phylactery somewhere you will never find, so you can’t kill me! So you should as well give up now!” Twilight said. “And… How did you find my lair?”

“Easy,” the Storm King answered before he showed his staff. “A simple underground scan spell. I guessed that your lair was underground, better hidden this way, so I moved around in the jungle casting the spell every few hundred meters until I found something that looked like it may be the jackpot, and tadaa!”

“Oh…”

“As for me not being able to kill you…” He made little circles with his staff. “A little mind control spell to force you to guide me to your phylactery should do it. No, wait, let’s make it better and force you into servitude. An undead army would be very nice to replace all that I have lost today. Especially with a lich as powerful as you, as your dragon proved. So, your choice: follow me willingly, or unwillingly.”

Death Speaker then walked in front of Twilight. “I will not allow you to-”

The Storm King suddenly hit him from the side with his club, sending him crashing into a wall with several holes and broken ribs.

“Out of my way, you old fart!”

“Master Speaker!”

The Storm King then advanced toward Twilight, and the filly yelled, “Attack!”

Immediately, her five skeleton guards attacked the Storm King who laughed.

“Remain out of this, Tempest, I will deal with them myself,” he said before, with a swing of his club, he smashed a skeleton to pieces despite its armor.

The other four all managed to land a hit on the Storm King only for their swords to bounce off the armor.

Again, the Storm King laughed, then swung his staff and his club. The staff sent one of the skeletons flying while the club crushed another’s skull. The Storm King then fired a beam from the staff at the skeleton he sent flying, and the beam created an explosion on contact that blew up the skeleton.

Twilight fired a beam, hitting the Storm King right on the heart, actually making him step back.

He put a hand on his chest, where he was hit, and the metal there was very hot, almost melted.

“Mph. I felt it. Not bad. I guess you aren’t just good at sending your minions.”

As he talked, the two remaining skeletons, which were the unicorns, hit him again with their swords only for them to bounce off again. The Storm King charged toward one of the unicorns and readied his club only for it to be enveloped in a magical aura, stopping it right there.

As the Storm King struggled with Twilight to regain control of the club, the unicorn he had been about to attack gave up with the sword and fired instead a beam. However, while it impacted the armor, it barely did anything. The Storm King then raised his foot and stomped on the skeleton, crushing it. At the same time, the second unicorn fired a beam that hit him on the helmet, making his head bounce. The Storm King released the club which remained floating in the air, then charged toward the remaining unicorn and grabbed its skull before crushing it in his hand.

Then, he raised his hand behind him and caught the club mid-swing, not without some difficulty, and his hand ended up getting impaled by one of the spikes. He didn’t mind it, but then, he was hit by another beam from Twilight, right on the heart again, melting the same area of his armor as earlier a bit more.

In return, the Storm King fired his own beam from his staff, and Twilight leapt to avoid it. This beam revealed to not explode, so it would have only caused her to be sent flying, but still.

However, it allowed the Storm King to grab the floating club and to regain control of it, again not minding that his hand was hurt. Then, he used the staff’s power to cover himself in electricity, making lightning course his armor, and storm clouds appeared around him, which made him look even more impressive and intimidating.

Now, all of the Storm King’s focus was on Twilight.

For the first time in a while, as she levitated the dead guards’ five swords around her, Twilight wanted her mommy.

“Still not giving up?” the Storm King asked.

“No way!”

“Alright. Have it your way.”

Then the Storm King charged toward the filly and readied the staff. As he swung, Twilight parried it with one of the swords.

She fired another beam on the Storm King’s heart, melting the armor a bit more.

The Storm King then kicked Twilight, sending her crashing on a wall.

The unicorn quickly recovered and fired another beam at the Storm King’s heart, melting the armor again.

The Storm King looked down at the melted area and put a finger in it, the finger sinking through it until it touched his chest.

“I see what you are doing. Softening my armor so you can pierce me with one of these swords. Smart. You know what? Let’s give up forcing you into servitude. I will just destroy your body.”

At that, the Storm King fired from the staff a stream of very hot flames at Twilight. Hot enough to only leave ashes out of her bones.

With an “Eep!” the filly ran away.

The Storm King laughed. “Liches can rebuild their bodies as long as they have a phylactery. However, if the body is too damaged, it can no longer be used, and the lich remains stuck in their phylactery. A fate worse than death, in my opinion. And now, this will be your fate!”

While the Storm King gloated, Goldie, who had kept an eye on the situation, saw his opening. Then, he tore the Staff of Sacanas off of the tyrant’s hand, totally taking him by surprise as the staff was sent crashing against a wall.

Immediately, the storm clouds surrounding the Storm King, the lightning coursing his armor, the sparking eyes, and the cloud cape disappeared.

“What the-?! Oh…” He groaned. “Of course you have a ghost with you!”

Then, he was forced to defend himself as Twilight tried to pierce his heart with her five swords, having to parry them with his club.

Meanwhile, seeing her boss in difficulty, Tempest ran toward the staff only to be tackled by Death Speaker.

As she struggled against me, she yelled, “Get off me!”

However, they forgot Grubber who was able to reach the staff and grab it.

“Ah, Grubber. For once, you make yourself useful. Now, throw the staff at me!” the Storm King ordered.

Grubber did so immediately.

Only for the staff to be surrounded by a magical aura, and suddenly, it floated toward Twilight who grabbed it in her hooves.

Seeing red at Twilight daring to take his staff, the Storm King charged toward Twilight, raising his club.

Seeing him approach, Twilight panicked. She didn’t have time to get her swords in position to defend her.

So she pointed the staff toward the approaching Storm King at the last moment.

The next instant, the Storm King impaled himself on the staff, right in the heart.

The Storm King stopped right there, right before Twilight, club raised. Slowly, he looked down at his chest.

Twilight also starred in shock and horror. It had been her plan, and yet, she hadn’t been prepared for that.

She removed the staff from the Storm King’s chest.

The Storm King put a hand on his heart.

Everything was silent for a moment.

Then, the Storm King growled, then roared in rage, before he brought down his club on Twilight.

Only for Death Speaker to fire a beam of his own from his own staff, hitting the Storm King on the back of the head. While it hit the helmet, it still knocked his head forward, causing him to lose balance.

Twilight quickly jumped to her left before the Storm King could fall on her.

He dropped hard on the floor, releasing his club.

Then, he stopped moving.

Several seconds of silence later, Twilight heard him expire.

And to prove that he was really dead, she saw his ghost rise out of his body. The ghost still had the armor, but as he looked down at his body, Twilight could guess that he was very upset, his fists clenching.

Then, he sighed, said, “Well played. See you in the next life,” and walked with a goodbye wave of his hand before he faded away in a flash of light.

Another moment of silence followed before Twilight dropped on her butt, not believing what she did. She even dropped the bloody staff.

Then there was a roar followed by “NononoNONOOO!!!” and everyone looked at Tempest who stomped on the floor in rage. “He was supposed to repair my horn! Now, I will remain broken!”

The poor mare seemed ready to cry.

Death Speaker, who was holding his injured side, huffed. “You believed him? He was using you. He would have never repaired your horn.”

Tempest glared at him. “What do you know?!”

“Enough about the Storm King’s reputation to know that he had absolutely no honor. He probably did every single dirty trick in the book. Keeping a promise? He was above that.”

Tempest stomped her hoof again. “I refuse to believe you!”

“Is it so hard to accept that you were used? That you sold your home country for nothing?”

“YES!” Tempest almost roared before she broke down into sobs. “Since I lost my horn and became scarred, other ponies got scared of me and abandoned me. I lost control of my magic and became a broken mess. When the Storm King told me that he could restore my horn, I thought that I would be whole again, even if it meant that my kind would be enslaved. They would deserve that for abandoning me. But… If what you say is true, then… It was all meaningless, and I am hopeless.”

While still looking at the Storm King’s corpse, Twilight listened to all that. Looking away from the corpse, she walked toward Tempest and put a hoof on her side.

“I’m broken and alone too. Well, almost alone. And I wouldn’t mind being your friend.”

Tempest Shadow looked at the filly in shock.

“Aren’t liches supposed to be evil overlords? Why would you want to be my friend?”

“I’m not a normal lich. I don’t want to conquer anything. I… I just want to not be alone… And… Maybe I could help, for your horn?”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet, but I may be able to find something. I… will not make it a promise, but I can at least try.”

Tempest stared at Twilight, then sighed. “I have nothing to lose… Very well.”

Twilight immediately hugged the mare, surprising her. “My name is Twilight Sparkle!”

“...Tempe…” the mare began before she hesitated and sighed. “Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

“That’s your real name? I like it better than Tempest Shadow.”

Again, Fizzlepop hesitated before she gave a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Uh… What about me?” they suddenly heard, and everyone looked at Grubber who was fiddling with his fingers. “Now that the Storm King is dead, I…”

Twilight giggled. “Yes, you can be my friend too.”

At that, Grubber smiled at the filly.

She then heard Death Speaker clear his throat. “That’s all nice and good but… I need to see a doctor.”

Twilight gasped, then looked over her mentor. “Are you alright?”

“I lost a lot of blood and I have several ribs broken, what do you think?” the minotaur deadpanned.

“Let’s bring you to Klugetown quickly!”

At that, Twilight called one of her surviving pegasi. Then, she walked toward the body of the Storm King and reanimated it.

“Transport Master Speaker outside of the lair. Gently!”

Without a word, the reanimated body walked toward Death Speaker and carefully lifted him, bride style, before walking out of the lair where the pegasus was waiting. Following Twilight’s orders in its mind, the satyr placed Death Speaker on the pegasus’ back, and the pegasus flew toward Klugetown with its charge.

Once the pegasus was gone, Twilight turned to other urgent matters. Mainly, the battle that was still going on in the jungle. It was slowly ending. Most of the Storm King’s forces were dead, but many of her undead were dead too. Now that the Storm King was dead, she should find a way to end it without more bloodshed.

So she ordered the body of the Storm King to go and tell the storm creatures to stop fighting. Twilight herself ordered her undead to step back.

Then she saw that the jungle was burning very badly, and she wondered how to stop that. Then she remembered the staff that could control the weather and went to grab it before she used it to create a storm above the jungle, making it rain and stopping the fires.

Twilight sighed in relief. It was over.

She found herself hugged by Goldie. “You won!”

Twilight felt like smiling, if tiredly, and hugged him back. “Yes, we won.”

Fizzlepop then said, “There is my magic inside the staff. Can you give it back to me?”

“Oh, really? Of course! Uh… And Master Speaker will need money to pay the doctor. Let’s see how much he has left and if I need to go sell an undead.”