Collision Code

by SSJRandomMaster

Act 4 Chapter 14

Act IV: Climactic Collisions
Chapter 14: Cornered
--------------------------------------
Working together with Rainbow made the prospect of fighting Storm Claw a bit easier than it was before. It also helped that this time Twilight was well-rested and more alert than she had been back then. That wasn’t all though. Twilight had managed to read up on the other two convicts aside from Norma, and managed to find out some important facts. As she prepared her magic for her own tactics, she began to recap to herself what she knew.

Storm Claw was a griffin, but he was also a war criminal of sorts. It wasn’t so much what he did during the war—well, it was, but he was kicked out of his home country for multiple reasons beyond that. The war, it seemed, had wreaked havoc on his mind, and left him with an unquenchable bloodlust. After his exile, he kept up his fighting until he was tracked down, stopped, and thrown in Tartarus. Like the other breakouts, he was dangerous, but now that Twilight knew exactly how dangerous he was—

“Twilight, watch out!” Rainbow’s voice called her back into reality, and Twilight refocused. There were a few knives coming at her, but Twilight readied herself in an instant, beginning another spell. It was tricky, but she lined up her aim, and blasted lasers up at them, missing the blades but striking the handle. One, two, three, four, five knives, all shot out of the sky before they could get too close to her.

Above, Rainbow wove between a few more knives, avoiding the knives. As soon as she was clear of the last one, she quickly did a rolling somersault, thrusting out both of her legs and kicking Storm Claw hard in the chest, knocking him off-balance.

“Alright, Rainbow, I’m ready!” Twilight shouted, slowly flying up to join her. Several fairly large chunks of debris floated in her grasp. Each of them glowed with not just her magical aura, but seemed to have a magenta light emanating from within as well.

Storm Claw recovered, looking ahead, snarling. “You think that’ll work on me?”

“We’ll see…” Twilight said, “If I can’t hit you with my magic directly, I’ll just have to find another way to hit you.”

“Good luck, Princess!” shouted Storm Claw, flapping his wings hard and launching himself at her, chucking a few more knives in an attempt to throw her off. Twilight swiped her hand, moving one of the chunks of debris in the way, causing the knives to embed themselves in it. She then pushed it forward, tossing it back at him.

Storm Claw braked hard, dropping down, letting the glowing chunk fly past him, his teeth grit in irritation. As it passed, Storm Claw understood why the eerie glow remained even though Twilight quit holding it: several yards from him and a bit down, the debris exploded in a flash of magenta light.

“I’m not gonna let you hit me with tha—“ Just then, Storm Claw saw a flash of rainbow mane, and felt a hard impact on his forehead. Storm Claw fell towards the ground in a daze.

Dazed from her attack, Rainbow slowly flitted to the ground, rubbing her own forehead. “Do it, Twilight!”

Twilight let out a loud scream, throwing the chunks of debris down at Storm Claw. Storm Claw recovered on the ground, but looked up with a gasp. By the time the first one came down, Storm Claw protected his head, but several more chunks of debris slammed into him. On impact, the enchantment Twilight put on the debris would activate, causing it to detonate, just like the earlier missed one. Storm Claw buckled as the road surrounding him gave way under the explosions. Not just that, but he could hear the sounds of metal crumbling around him—his armor was giving way as well.

Twilight and Rainbow slowly lowered towards the ground, Rainbow landing for a few moments, still nursing the bump she was probably going to have.

“Bastard had a harder head than I thought…” Rainbow grumbled, “But it all worked out!”

“That simple enchantment should have done the trick,” Twilight said, “I supercharged those debris chunks, making them unstable—even using it as a shield like I did, I could only have held off the explosion for so long.”

Both of them turned towards the smoke cloud.

“That had to have gotten him,” Rainbow said, “Even if his armor could snuff magic, that was a lot of power you threw at him.”

“Maybe, but—“ Twilight was cut off by the sound of coughing, coming from within the smoke cloud, followed shortly by snickering, “It’s never been that easy!”

Both watched the smoke cloud, and soon enough, a figure began to walk forth. Storm Claw walked out, his armor crumbling the rest of the way off his body as he stepped forward. When he exited the smoke, he coughed, and Twilight saw a few flecks of blood leave his beak.

“Looks like you’ve been weakened, at the very least,” Twilight said.

“Weakened?” Storm Claw said, looking up to the two with a sneer, his wings flaring out, “Did you forget what I tried to tell you before?”

Storm Claw took a single step forward. Then, with a flap of the wings, he suddenly vanished in a blur. Rainbow and Twilight both let out a gasp, looking around in all directions to try to catch a glimpse of him. Twilight was still looking towards the crater, Rainbow facing the opposite way.

“Where’d he—“ Rainbow gasped, “Twilight!”

Twilight turned, seeing a sneering Storm Claw moving for a close-range stab. Twilight moved her body, but she didn’t move enough, gasping as the metal of the knife drove into her upper arm. Storm Claw chortled slightly, even as Twilight kicked out a little to drive him back. This, naturally, resulted in the knife being pulled out.

Applying pressure to the new wound, Twilight focused her magic, letting off a few powerful magic bolts. However, Storm Claw was already on the move through the air, and though Twilight tried, she couldn’t get a fix on him—he was moving too fast. Rainbow took off into the sky as well, giving chase.

“Take this!” Rainbow shouted, readying a kick. However, Storm Claw moved his body out of the way, grabbing onto her kick and stopping it in its tricks. He then gave her a strong toss towards the ground, following her the whole way. Rainbow managed to recover quickly enough, though, moving to the side herself and kicking him aside. Storm Claw flew towards a building, but dug his talons and a pair of knives in each hand to recover himself. He then leapt off again, merely choosing to hover for the moment.

“His speed’s really increased…” Twilight noted.

Rainbow scoffed. “Maybe, but I don’t think he can outfly me…”

“Try it,” said Storm Claw.

At this, Rainbow took off into the air, already formulating her next move. If she could land a strong enough hit, if she could build up enough momentum, even he would go down. After all, the helm protected him from an otherwise fight-ending strike. So if she could just hit him again…

“Rainbow!” Twilight’s voice came to her; hard to hear over the rushing wind, “Watch out!”

Rainbow’s eyes refocused, and she stopped short, gawking at what she was seeing in front of her. Storm Claw was waiting for her, and his arms were spread out, hands spread wide open. Her moment of hesitation was rewarded by two sharp knives digging into her shoulders, but that wasn’t all. Storm Claw’s hands closed, and Rainbow felt herself being yanked up hard. The wires attached to the knives uncoiled and came out, Storm Claw readying another.

“No!” Rainbow shouted, once again managing to find strength to turn her body, her wings flapping hard to change her course, avoiding Storm Claw’s slash. She grabbed on to his arm, landing a few kicks to his head to stun him before throwing him towards the ground. Storm Claw recovered easily enough.

Disposing of the weapons embedded in her shoulders, Rainbow began to descend towards the ground, regrouping with a fretting Twilight.

We might be in trouble… thought Twilight, If he’s this fast without his armor!

“This has been fun, ponies,” Storm Claw said from above, “But I’m so much faster without all that weight. I may be vulnerable to your magic now, Princess, but you can’t hit me with it, either, can you?”

Twilight grit her teeth, her mind trying to formulate a winning strategy. This was not a good situation, though.

“You got a Plan B, Twilight?” asked Rainbow.

“I’m trying…” Twilight said.

“I don’t think you’ll have the time to come up with a strategy that’ll work on me!” Storm Claw shouted, flapping his wings frantically, “Focus all your energy on surviving and you still won’t have a ghost of a chance!”

Twilight and Rainbow braced themselves. Storm Claw was about to go on the move again…
---------------------------------------
The battle in East Canterlot hadn’t changed tides all that much. If anything, in part thanks to Rarity and Fluttercruel, the number of creatures seemed to be visibly growing smaller and smaller. Taking that as a good sign, the guards continued to press their attack against the synthetic monsters.

Rarity took control of yet another large creature, and was putting this one to work for her. It worked out for her for a good number of reasons, and so far she saw no need to change up her tactics. As before, she turned it loose on large groups of its former comrades, smashing them to debris and rock as it went.

With Rarity covering the ground, Fluttercruel was free to cover the skies. Though a mace was more suited to ground combat, Fluttercruel found a way to make it work. Gripping the weapon tightly, she slung it around, taking out flying creature after flying creature.

“Will these things ever let up?” asked Fluttercruel, looking around. Even though their ranks had thinned, there seemed to be no end in sight for the creatures. She chanced a look down, and saw something alarming: a large creature that wasn’t under Rarity’s control barreling down the road.

“Rarity! Look out!” Fluttercruel shouted. Rarity didn’t quite catch her warning, all her focus on controlling her pilfered golem. With a grunt, Fluttercruel started after the large creature, but the large creature was surprisingly quick, one of its large fists raised, ready to crush Rarity. Rarity, seeing the shadow cast over her, turned, but it was too late—

Something zoomed past Rarity, causing her mane and tail to billow, and the next thing she knew, the arm that was ready to slam into her was instead punched by a green pony, and a moment later, the arm exploded into dust. This moment gave Rarity the time to move out of the way.

“Corey!?” Rarity asked, surprised to see him.

Corey didn’t answer straight away, green runes writing around his legs now. A few moments later, Corey leapt up, bringing his heel down on the creature’s head, caving it in and effectively defeating it. As it fell to the ground, crumbling into dust, Corey landed on his own feet, exhaling.

“Deciding where to go to help wasn’t easy,” Corey said, “Could have went everywhere.”

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Fluttercruel warned from above; there was a solid second of contemplation on Corey’s part when he realized it wasn’t Fluttershy talking, “There’s still a lot more to go today.”

“I suppose I should thank you, though,” Rarity said, “That said, why aren’t you assisting Twilight in South Canterlot? She was likely closer to you at that time…”

Corey hesitated for a few moments. “I trust she’ll be fine against Storm Claw, especially with Rainbow on her side. I can’t waste energy worrying anymore.”

“If you insist,” Rarity shook her head, returning her attention to her work. Fluttercruel did the same thing before long. But as Corey threw himself into a crowd of creatures, swinging away at each one, he found that he couldn’t help but worry.

They’re all here… thought Corey, No doubt about it. I can’t sense Princess Luna anymore… what’s going on up there? With Storm Claw, Kronos, and Para Norma here… things might get complicated.
---------------------------------------
Kronos and John’s fists collided once more, the sheer force of the impact resonating around their fists. Not long ago, John had chose to kick it up a notch. To John’s lack of surprise, Kronos was still able to match him. They both collided once again before Kronos managed to parry John’s fist out of the way. This was then followed up by a low punch just below John’s guard, striking at his lower abdomen. John wasn’t sure what Kronos had hit, given his new biology, but he knew it still hurt.

Shit! John hissed as the blow caused him to double over, just in time to take a hard knee below his chin. John’s body shot up from the impact and he stumbled back a step. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through the pain and corrected himself. Just as he regained his balance, he saw Kronos about to strike again. Rather than block it, John put all his weight into his counter, and threw a punch against Kronos. This time, however, it wasn’t a stalemate, and the added weight was enough to knock Kronos’ fist back.

With his hand blown back, Kronos found himself surprised. The grin on his face, however, contradicted this.

It’s been a long time since someone’s overpowered me, Kronos thought to himself, and he couldn’t help but revel in it. But that didn’t mean he was outmatched; no, it just meant he could fight even harder. As John charged him, no doubt thinking he was off balance, Kronos was ready.

Just as John threw out another attack, Kronos managed to show more of his impressive agility. With what John could assume was no more than the heel of his foot, Kronos managed to avoid the attack, and with his free hand, Kronos grabbed hold of John’s arm and regained his balance.

Kronos then followed up by allowing his other arm to swing full circle and right back to its original target. His fist sped towards John’s face; it seemed clear to hit its mark by the total look of shock on John’s face. With his fist only centimeters away from John’s face he believed it impossible to avoid. That is, until Kronos found his fist cleaving through air instead.

What!? he thought in surprise only to be knocked aside right after. Kronos skidded across the floor for a moment, colliding with a far wall.

He believed John was going to follow up, but when he looked up he saw no attack was coming. The dragon he was doing battle with seemed to have walked off, staring into space. Kronos arched a brow at John for a moment, standing up from the ground.

“A true warrior never turns his back on an opponent,” Kronos spat. After finally finding someone he’d found worthy of his hundredth battle, he would not stand to be ignored.

For his part, John hadn’t done so intentionally, nor was he fully aware of what he’d just done.

What was that…? It was brief, so much so he was hardly sure he’d felt it at all, but he still couldn’t shake that feeling. Something happened. He didn’t know what it was, but something in the pit of his stomach said it wasn’t good. But no matter how much he wanted to find out, John knew he had a battle to finish.

“Sorry…” Pushing away the feeling, John turned away and brought his attention back to a waiting Kronos, “That’ll be the last time I look away, count on it.”

With his need to win strengthened, John charged, ramming into Kronos who managed to start blocking even as he was being pushed back. Raising one of his knees, Kronos struck John in the hip and temporarily weakened his charge. This gave him just enough of an opening to use John’s own weight against him. Flipping him off the ground, Kronos managed to slam John into the wall beside him.

John was quick to pry himself from the wall, but was quickly shoved back and Kronos put his hands around the dragon’s neck. John had to thank the stars that he was far more durable than before, otherwise the force Kronos just used on his throat would have broken his neck right then. That said, however, John was still choking, and even he needed air to survive. John kept his composure, looking for a way out, and after seeing that both of Kronos’ hands were currently busy, he saw it. John extended his arms out, and with as much force as he could muster, he slammed them on the sides of Kronos’ head.

Kronos flinched from the hit, his ears ringing as the world spun around him. Luckily for him, he was able to regain his senses. However, he came to his senses because John landed a hard right hook to his head. Kronos’ body hit the ground hard enough to bounce off of it, and before he could fall again, he was grabbed. With a firm hold of Kronos, John gave him a hard toss upwards through what was left of the ceiling above.

John then crouched down before jumping off the ground through the hole that Kronos made with his body. The very moment he cleared it, however, John was met with a hard kick which sent him flying backwards. As he hit something solid, he felt it bend in two from the force, grunting, he looking up to see Kronos standing close.

Damn, that hide can take a—John’s thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the area around them was beginning to tremble, beating?

The walls cracked and debris started to fall as the building actively tremored under the weight—and not the weight of Kronos and John’s battle, but its own. John turned to see what he crashed into, and immediately understood what had happened.

A support beam…! Once he noticed it, the building started to crumble around them. But Kronos didn’t care, instead rushing John, knocking him through the rest of the beam he had rammed into. John knew he had to get out, but it was clear Kronos wasn’t going to stop, even if the world was crumbling down around them.

“Fine!” John struck Kronos hard with his elbow and followed up by hammering him down to the floor below. He then dropped down on Kronos, who managed to roll away in the nick of time. Kronos then pushed himself off the ground and punched John across the face, knocking the dragon away. The ceiling started to come down all around them, but both fighters never once looked away from one another. Both instead charged each other one last time, ignoring everything around them as the building started to crumble…
---------------------------------------
The air grew heavy as sweat began to bead down Norma’s face, but this wasn’t from fear. It was caused by the intense heat that was growing stronger by the second, and standing at the very center of it all was Princess Celestia. Her mane, her dress, even her body, was all shrouded in flames. And yet, as she burned, as the heat around her seemed to dance wildly, nothing else around her seemed to feel its heat. Not even the stone figure of Luna standing behind her was affected as the flames seemed to intentionally avoid making contact.

At first glance, this form seems to be forged by hate and rage, and yet… Norma could see it deep in Celestia’s eyes. Even though they burned with the same flames as the sun she commanded, Celestia had not lost herself in the fire. Her gaze was a well-balanced mixture of anger for what Norma had done, and the mental fortitude to know what needed to be done and how. It was no question how she’d managed to become the goddess she is now, and yet, Norma showed no worry.

“Burn brightly, little phoenix, for there will be no ashes when all is said and done,” Norma’s body began to glow as her runes spiraled around her. Instantly, the heat that caused her to sweat was repelled by her spell, and her breathing returned to normal. She was ready to take on Celestia at her most powerful, and Celestia was ready to show it. Her hair came alive and tendrils made of flame shot towards Norma.

Norma smirked and focused her magic to her palm. Throwing it forward, she forged a shield that deflected one of the tendrils away. Seeing the other go around her defense, Norma jumped out of its path as it hit the ground she once stood. Though it seemed like an easy dodge, Norma was surprised to see several smaller tendrils shoot out of the larger one towards her. These were faster, and after putting up her shield, she found them weaker. However, the sheer numbers seemed to make up for that fact. As Norma blocked a few, a few others managed to get past her shield and nicked her in a few areas.

Seeing that she was in a bad spot, Norma focused runes into her hands and slammed it down, scattering the tendrils of fire and cloaking herself in dust.

Her manipulation of fire is masterful. Even when sacrificing power for speed she still manages to make the best of it… And Norma knew that Celestia was still as level-headed as when this began, Bide your time, wait for the right moment…

With the dust settling, Celestia saw her target again and continued on with her attack. Six orbs of fire formed around her before flying towards Norma at incredible speeds. Six orbs of fire formed around her before flying towards Norma at an incredible speed. Runes began to activate again as she began to move about, her speed increasing dramatically. But as fast as her spell made her, the orbs were close behind, striking away at the surroundings just as Norma moved out of range.

Running is inefficient; I have to go on the attack! Norma stopped for a moment and slammed her hands on the ground, a pulse of runes echoing out along the floor. In seconds, pipes seemed to burst out of the ground, each pumping gallons of water every second. As it collected, Norma sent out another pulse which fused with the water, shaping it around her. The spiral began to shift further until it took the form of a large mouth fish. The fish then launched towards the oncoming orbs, devouring them in one gulp.

Finally, with one last spell, the fish hardened as its temperature dropped and it turned to solid ice. Norma watched as the orbs within the ice fish’s stomach began to fade away, a smirk spreading across her face at the sight. That smirk vanished, however, when the flames grew stronger, and exploded out of the body. Norma scowled; of course it wouldn’t be that easy, not when Celestia was at this level.

Very well, then it’s time to move up another level myself. Norma reached to her side, another glow emanating from her hand, and soon her runes followed. At first they seemed to tremble, moving erratically, but soon enough they settled, just as Celestia continued her attack. As the orbs grew closer, the first glow faded away, and Norma retaliated.

Focusing all her runes to her hand she reached out, bracing herself for impact as the first two orbs made contact. Norma strained from the force behind them, but she continued to stand as she was pushed back. Her body trembled, it threatened to give out, but her will kept it together, and her thirst for conquest made her push back. Planting a foot firmly into the ground, Norma let out a strained shout, her runes finally managing to overcome the magic within them. Now that the orbs were in her control, she threw them back, colliding them against two other orbs and destroying all in a large explosion of fire.

Norma put up her guard as the shockwave threatened to throw her off the very mountain which Canterlot stood. After a few seconds, she finally managed to look up, only to find that something was amiss.

Wait, where’s the fifth…? The answer nearly caused Norma’s heart to stop as she saw a glow emanating from behind her. Norma took a chance and looked behind her, only to see Celestia standing right there. Norma’s eyes locked with hers again, and saw the remaining orb floating above Celestia’s hand.

The orb began to shrink until it was just the size of her palm, and then Celestia grabbed hold to it and tightened her grip. The orb’s glow grew brighter as it was being reshaped, eventually shooting out and taking the form of a sword made of fire. Norma had little time to think of a way to get out, only enough to focus as much magic into a single hand as she could handle. Celestia brought down the fiery blade and Norma brought up her hand in order to intercept it.

Even though her magic protected her from the sheer heat, Celestia was still bearing down the weight of the sun on Norma. Her hand trembled, growing hot and numb as she struggled not to be overwhelmed. It was easier said than done; her magic was starting to fade. Soon, she’d feel the full force of the heat, maybe even more. Norma soon fell to a knee, placing one hand over the other in an attempt to last. But still Celestia’s magic seemed to continue to grow, and her eyes lacked any sign of mercy.

With the power of the sun that gives this planet life, you can use it to destroy it as well… you’ve made that clear. Norma was struggling, doing everything in her power to focus more magic where she needed it. But even now, you still have your own weakness, one you will never overcome no matter your power.

Norma closed her eyes and pushed her focus one final time, her runes glowing to a dangerous level. The ground began to shake and debris started to float off the floor and Norma finally cast her spell. Unleashing all the magic she could, Norma emitted a blast just strong enough to knock the sword out of Celestia’s hand and sent the princess back several feet. But as hard as the hit was, Celestia did not seem harmed. Once she was able to move again, she laid sight on Norma, who at this moment was running away. But Celestia would not allow her to escape, not after all that she’d done. Celestia flared her wings and propelled herself to Norma, hell-bent on finishing this once and for all. She caught up to Norma in a matter of seconds. Norma turned to look her in the eyes for what she hoped would be the last time.

Just as Celestia unleashed her attack, prepared to end it, Norma stepped aside, and Celestia stopped. In her haste to finish this battle, Celestia forgot the one and only thing that could be used against her, and right now she was literally in Norma’s hands. With a wicked smile across her face, Norma looked towards Celestia, and then to the stone Luna in her grasp.

“What’s wrong? Were you not going to end this?” Norma said in a mocking tone. Her burned hand began glowing with runes that spread across the statue, an evil chuckle escaping her mouth.

“The moment I release my grasp, the spell will activate, and she will crumble to dust.” Celestia began to scowl, her flames growing stronger, “But you can still stop me, can’t you? You can still destroy me here and now and put a stop to the bloodshed once and for all. One life for the lives of thousands, maybe even millions… sounds like a fair trade, wouldn’t you agree?”

Celestia’s fists tightened as her attack inched closer to Norma, slowly. One life over that of all of Equestria: that was the trade Norma placed on the table. All she needed to do was sacrifice one life, the life of her own blood, her own sister.

The life of hers for the life of everyone else… Celestia’s body trembled as a molten tear dropped from her face and hit the ground, the floor melting. Finally, after heavy debate, the fire around Celestia’s body died down.

I can’t do it…

Sobbing quietly over the choice she made, Celestia fell to her knees, returning to normal. Norma, having dispelled the runes on Luna, walked up to Celestia, lifting her good hand, ready to cast one last spell.

“Even with all the power of the world, you are still weak.”
---------------------------------------
Corey found that he still had much energy left to him, even having dealt with Slayer. His magic was still on point and he was still shredding the creatures like they were nothing. Raising one of his arms diagonally up, he blasted a few of the flying creatures out of the sky. Corey whirled around, ducking low to dodge another creature’s punch. As he rose back to his full height, Corey kicked the creature hard, sending it crashing into a few of its friends. The first creature crumbled on impact, while the others were bowled over on impact.

Rarity and Fluttersh—Fluttercruel, whichever one’s in control here, both of them have this situation under control… thought Corey. He observed them continuing to display the results of the past month for a few moments longer.

Corey suddenly convulsed, a chill overcoming his senses. Immediately, Corey started to sweat. The immense heat he’d felt coming from Princess Celestia vanished. It was replaced solely by the chill he could identify very well as Para Norma. Corey was so overwhelmed that for a moment, he froze, barely snapping back to attention as he realized a creature was attempting to crush him under its palm—

“Corey!” Rarity shouted, seeing the act. However, she stopped short when she saw Corey, crouched low, both hands over his head, his body glowing with runes as his muscles bulked up. Corey then straightened up to his full height, tossing the creature off-balance. Corey then raised his hands, firing off a few laser shots.

“Don’t let your guard down like that,” Fluttercruel scolded, midway through smashing a group of creatures with her mace. Corey, however, didn’t quite hear her. He also didn’t feel like telling them of what he’d sensed.

“I think I know where I really need to be here,” Corey said, “Excuse me, but there’s something that needs taken care of!”

Before Rarity or Fluttercruel could ask him what he meant, Corey took off with the aid of his speed buff, slamming through a few more creatures as he went.

“Now where is he running off to…” Rarity muttered.

“Like I know…” Fluttercruel said.
---------
As he ran, Corey closed his eyes for a moment. He expanded his sixth sense as far as his mind would allow him, and realized something very dire.

Discord… Celestia… Luna… have they all been defeated?! thought Corey, his mind momentarily going frantic, I have to see it with my own eyes… but if she’s gone through that much… certainly she must be exhausted, right?

Corey unconsciously swallowed a bit as he started running towards the castle.

“Only one way to find out for sure…” Corey said, “Whatever the case, she’s gotta be stopped!”

Author's Note:

And with that, the second 'arc' of Act 4 ends. We are fast approaching the last battle. Not sure what else to say.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Who made the sprites in the picture?

[Luna is back]

Check