Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 34: Second Sleepless Day
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Kurama hadn’t shown himself for the rest of the night, which came as a small relief to the others. This gave them the time they needed to focus their attention on filling as many of the crystals as they could with his magical signature and giving them to the guards so that they could be placed in very specific locations around the town.
In the end, we could only make ten, thought Twilight. As few as it may have been, however, she found that it was more than she could have had through other means. The hardest part was finding the correct spots to place them. Even after she had made her decisions and sent them off, she couldn’t help but stare at the map.
Ponyville wasn’t a very large place compared to other pony settlements, but it definitely wasn’t small either. So many places where one could enter unseen, far more than she could cover with just ten crystals. But Twilight had a feeling that they weren’t what she needed to focus on; Kurama was someone who could get to a pony without even needing to be physically close to one. There was no need for him to enter Ponyville for that reason. However, there was another reason Twilight could cover, and if Kurama ever set foot inside of city limits again, it would be for that reason.
Whether or not her choice was correct was not what bothered her the most, though. It was the wait: hours passed since Rarity and John’s ill-fated encounter with Kurama. The sun had come up only a few hours ago, and search parties hadn’t been able to pick up any trace of him either. Twilight began to worry about why that was the case. She turned to the others. Pinkie was still just as energetic as usual, but the others were clearly growing tired. The prolonged hours of no sleep was slowly draining at them, and coffee was only doing so much. Topping it off was John’s current condition. He now had an ice bag draped over his temple, nursing a headache from having to link with Corey’s nightmare.
“Can I ask you something?” Twilight asked as she walked up beside him. John’s head had been lowered most of the time since the energy gathering, but he managed to look up at her.
“Sure,” he said, just before lowering his head again slightly.
“What if we’re wrong?” she asked, “I mean, I can understand that keeping him away from resources would be the best bet for us, but what’s keeping him from finding them outside of Ponyville?”
John hummed lightly, thinking of a response. It didn’t take him long.
“That crossed my mind at some point,” John sat up straight, “But I think the very reason he even came to Ponyville in the first place might be the very reason he won’t.”
Twilight looked at him for a moment and blinked.
“For someone who can go into others’ dreams at will, he could attack anyone anywhere, not just Ponyville,” John continued, adjusting his grip on the ice pack, “But for as long as he’s been here, we haven’t gotten a single report of ponies screaming in their sleep anywhere else—even Canterlot, which everyone can see from this town.”
To prove his point, John motioned to one of the windows. Outside that window, Canterlot could be seen in the distance at the very top of the mountain.
“Princess Celestia did say she’d inform me if it happened there,” Twilight said, having received not one letter of that kind. It was strange; Canterlot was the closest city to Ponyville for a far reach, and yet Kurama hadn’t touched it. Even if he didn’t want to make the trip there, what was keeping him from going into the dreams there?
“What if… what if thinking his magic as the same as Princess Luna’s is wrong?” she wondered, “You said even she doesn’t know how he’s managing it. As far as we know, the only reason he can is because she allows it.” Twilight placed her hand on her chin as she started to pace back and forth.
“You said it yourself from the books: tailed foxes would need to be close to a victim in order to drain their magic,” John said.
“I just assumed that because he can jump into dreams that the same couldn’t apply to him,” Twilight finally stopped pacing as the last few dots finally connected, “But if it does, then he couldn’t go outside a certain range of Ponyville. If he did, then he’d lose his link to everyone he’s already victimized.”
John nodded. It made sense now, but finding out how big a range that is would prove impossible. Without knowing where he was hiding, there was no way they could know if they’d be moving him closer or farther away from his range.
For now, though, they knew that he couldn’t leave for some far off location. Now, however, they still needed to wait, hoping that he’d show himself again soon. Twilight didn’t enjoy the idea of waiting again, and the constant tapping she was starting to hear wasn’t making that any better.
“Wait, what is that?” she asked. The others turned to see it, all hearing that incessant tapping now.
“Is that a bird?” Applejack asked pointing to a far off window. Though most simply stared at it, wondering why it was tapping at the glass so frantically, Fluttercruel began to move towards the window. As soon as she was close enough, she reached out and opened it. The bird flew up to her and landed on her arm when she held it out. The bird began to chirp as though it were communicating. Just like Fluttershy, she seemed to be able to talk to animals as well.
“Finally,” a smirk spread across her lips as she turned to the others. They all looked back to her, confused as to what the bird just said to her, “He’s on the move.”
Everyone stood up, the news that their enemy could be out in the open making them forget about their fatigue.
“Where—how?” Twilight asked. Fluttercruel merely responded by holding out her arm, showing the bird again, “You used the animals around Ponyville?”
Fluttershy nodded, “Who would give a random bird a second glance?” Not only did this fill them in on what she did after leaving the library last night, it also left them all admiring how brilliant a plan it was.
“He’s moving very slowly. He really doesn’t want to be found,” Fluttershy noted, “And from what they can guess, he’s going straight to Sweet Apple Acres…”
The mention of her home was enough to cause Applejack to bolt out the door within moments. The others were sure that they couldn’t stop her if they tried, bad arm or not, so without pausing to consider their next step, everyone made their way towards the farm.
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Sweet Apple Acres was a large stretch of land, spanning several square miles of healthy and luscious apple trees. There were thousands of apples among their branches, which served to supply Ponyville with a good deal of its food supply. It was all taken care of by the Apple family, the original family that settled in and founded what is now called Ponyville. With the area it covered, surely one could venture in and appropriate some of their stock completely unnoticed?
That is what Kurama was counting on now as he slowly drew closer. Still hidden from sight, Kurama scanned the area for movement. In this daylight, he knew he’d be spotted very easily, and he wanted desperately to avoid the conflict as much as possible. He could feel his hunger bidding him to press forward now; food was only several feet from him. Kurama surveyed the area. It looked like not many ponies took this path, and with the current fear keeping ponies indoors, his chances of being spotted now were slim. Quickly, he jumped back and readied himself.
Suddenly, from within a bush, something scurried out: a small squirrel holding an acorn in its paws. Kurama stared down at the creature which had startled him. It stared back, but ultimately continued on its way after just a few seconds. Kurama let out a sigh and turned his attention back to the orchard. His current predicament had his nerves on edge. But with luck, that would soon change, and he’d be able to regain his composure.
Taking a few seconds more to check his surroundings, Kurama pressed forward and jumped the fence into the farm. No sooner than when his feet hit the ground did Kurama start towards the first apple tree he could reach. But as soon as he gazed up, he was met with disappointment. Not a single apple could be seen in any of its branches. In fact, as he surveyed his surroundings again, he could see that it was the same for the next tree, and the one after that. In fact, all the trees close to the fence were totally void of any fruit.
Kurama sucked his teeth in annoyance. He had hoped to get in and out quickly, but it looked like he needed to go in deeper. Slowly, he moved, using the trees as cover to ensure that no one would spot him before he could find food. As he continued, however, he found something odd. There was still not one fruit to be found, as though the trees had been wiped clean before he could arrive.
“What, did they expect me to come?” Initially, this was a rhetorical question, no more than a small joke about his bad luck. However, he did not imagine he’d hear an answer.
“Eeyup…”
Before he could turn, Kurama felt something grab hold of one of his tails and he soon found himself being chucked through the air, hard. He was launched out of the farm limits and over the fence that he’d just jumped. He had hoped to simply land, and then try to figure out what had happened. However, once he was out of the orchard, he found that the once empty area he had entered from was anything but now. Once he landed on the ground and got his bearings, he found that he was surrounded by several guards.
“How…?” he wondered, continuing to look at the surrounding guards.
“A little bird told us you’d be coming,” said one guard with a bird on his shoulder.
“And a little squirrel told us where you’d be,” On another guard, Kurama saw the same squirrel he had seen just a minute ago. If the fact that he had been outed by a squirrel wasn’t enough, the fact that it was now mocking him rubbed salt in his wounds. Kurama didn’t have time for this, let alone enough to deal with another fight.
“I will warn you now, I am not in the best of moods at the moment,” Fire began to swell around him, a spiral of flames rising from the ground, “Allow me to procure what I desire, and I will be on my way. But get in my way, and I will change my diet,” His voice was fierce, different than what had been heard from him in the past. He had come from a prison meant to hold the worse that Equestria—no, the world, had to offer, and no one questioned the legitimacy of his threat.
But they weren’t backing down.
Kurama’s wits were short. He wasn’t going to get stopped this close to what he wanted. In response to their unwillingness, Kurama’s fire flared once again.
“Very well,” he shouted, “Then I will burn everything to ashes!”
Unfortunately for him, someone else wasn’t so keen on that idea. From inside of the farm’s trees, something was launched out of it. Kurama had no more than a second to see two barrels sail towards him before striking him and shattering on impact. As both barrels exploded, a mixture of soil and sand doused him, putting out the flames he had tried to start.
As he shook it off, he looked towards the source and saw someone else walking out of the farm’s limits. He was a stallion who could rival that dragon in height if he so chose, and possessed more muscle mass than the guards. He was Big Mac, eldest of the Apple family, co-owner of the farm…and after hearing what had happened to his sister, seven shades of pissed. Big Mac jumped the fence and joined the line with the others. Though he wasn’t a part of the game that Applejack was thrown into, he wasn’t going to let that stop him from protecting his home and his family.
“All set!” yelled out one of the guards as the others took readied stances, “Now!”
The attack began as several various spells were launched towards Kurama. In the past, any time something like this was used on Kurama, his initial response was usually skillful, swift dodges as he backed away. However, to the surprise of those who had fought him before, Kurama instead charged towards everyone.
“Second line, advance!” From behind the guards firing at Kurama, another set pushed forward with their weapons drawn. They let out a battle cry as they charged for the oncoming fox, prepared for battle. One by one, each guard drew close to him, attack when the moment felt right, but Kurama had grown from previous encounters. One after another, Kurama effortlessly avoided each strike.
Each may have a style all their own, but they were taught the same root maneuvers, Kurama thought to himself. It all came down to being capable of deciphering the common movements, and predicting them. As such, there were little to no surprise to him, and the attacking guards weren’t fast enough to offset this. All he needed to do was avoid them and press on. If he could break the lines set before him, there’d be nothing to slow him down. He eventually got past the attacking guards, only having to deal with the projectiles, but this was only a problem for a few seconds more.
“Here he comes! Do it now!” The projectiles stopped coming at him all at once, and every guard turned their heads towards the ground. Before he could question what was being done, all guards fired a laser spell into it. The result was an explosion of dust and dirt that prevented him from seeing what was beyond it. Clicking his teeth in irritation, Kurama didn’t allow this to slow him down. Increased, he increased the speed of this run and dashed into the wall of dirt. Halfway in, he saw a glimpse of the other sides, but that small opening was soon blocked off by something large. It was Big Mac, and from the look of it, he was determined to keep Kurama from advancing any further.
“Think you can stop me?” Kurama said, fire beginning to well up around him once again, “Better than you have tried and failed!” His fire now shrouded his body like armor. As strong as Big Mac was, he wasn’t immune to fire. Unlike the guards, he didn’t have any armor either. If he wanted to battle with Kurama as he was now, then he’d simply have to suffer the consequences.
“Dozens have already fallen to me, and you will be no—“ Big Mac shut Kurama up in a single move. Kurama felt something strike him in the stomach, something that was too hard to be a fist. In the moment as his body recoiled from the attack, Kurama looked down to see something covering Big Mac’s hand. It was a helmet, most likely taken from one of the guards; he’d used it to protect himself from the flames. If asked, Kurama would say the dragon could hit harder, but it didn’t change the fact Kurama felt something pop inside of him as he took that hit.
Due to the hit and the surprise, Kurama’s fire died out, which gave Big Mac an opening to make another hit. Bringing his other arm forward, Big Mac aimed for Kurama’s chest and struck him with an open palm. Kurama was pushed back from the force, and once he had stopped completely, Kurama fell to one knee. He looked up at Big Mac and the guards with a scowl, not only because he was pushed back, but because he shouldn’t have been to begin with.
A fool’s mistake, He replayed it over in his mind; if he’d used his tails, he could have dealt with Big Mac in a fraction of a second. It hadn’t even crossed his mind; he was so focused on what he wanted that he wasn’t thinking straight. He rose to his feet, his tails arched over him like a cage surrounding his body. He wasn’t going to forget all four of them this time.
“Very well, I have no choice but to make you my first priority,” Kurama snarled. After all, there’d be nothing to stop him if there was no one left standing. Before he could take a step forward, Kurama noticed something. Everyone’s expression had changed. Though they had been serious from the start, they were all collectively smirking, as though they had won.
In his confusion, he noticed Big Mac who was simply tapping his own chest. It took only a second for it to click, and with wide eyes, Kurama looked down. He hadn’t noticed it at first due to his growing annoyance, but something was now stuck to it, right in the spot where Big Mac had struck him. It was a gem that appeared to be glued to him, and he could tell it contained his own magic within it.
“What…?” Kurama asked.
“Gift from the princess.”
As if the gem had heard the guard’s words, it began to react, glowing brightly. Sensing danger, Kurama reached for it, hoping to pull it free before something could happen. He was too late; not only was he totally unable to pull it off, but something seemed to be coming out of it. A set of chains were coming out of the gem and wrapping themselves around him, but these chains didn’t have any tangible form. They merely melded into his body, and Kurama could feel them spreading among his body. And he could feel it: he was growing weaker.
Impossible…! Kurama reached for the chains, but all he managed to grab was his own fur. In time, the chains had spread through his body, and as soon as he did, he could hear several locks clicking into place. He looked back to the guards, and he could see their confidence building now. Already, the unicorns among them were preparing their attack, laser spells firing out at him. He swung one of his tails in response, fully expecting it to swat aside the laser with ease. But to his surprise, the moment his tail made contact with the laser, it was knocked back.
“What!?” He yelped, taking a step back. He knew he could deflect attacks with less tails than he had now. Yet, now, one single laser was able to overpower him and he had four, “But how?” Again, he looked down at the gem stuck to him and the magical chains wrapped around him. He felt weaker when it activated, but he wasn’t sure how much of an effect it had on him until that moment. Things were getting bad; his magic was being hindered much further than he thought, and the guards were prepared to capitalize on it.
That, however, was the least of his worries.
“There he is!”
He knew that voice. Turning to the source, he saw Twilight and the others to join the guards. Things were getting far too risky now. He had no other option: he had to run while he still had a chance. He began to take a step back in preparation, but at that moment the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled. It had happened several times before; he knew exactly what the cause was. He turned around to see it. John was now standing over him, and he was far from happy.
He didn’t say a word, quickly bringing his arms down on Kurama. Fortunately for him, Kurama was able to respond, using his tails to lock on the John’s hands. The two then pushed on, trying to gain ground, and it was clear early on that Kurama was losing. They tossed about as either tried to gain an advantage. As they did, John managed to get a good look at the elusive fox, and noticed a few new and interesting features. On the side of his head was a newly acquired bruise, and through his gritted teeth, John had noticed a missing tooth.
Those wounds… But… that was just a dream, right? He wondered, was this just a coincidence? Did he gain these wounds some other way? As he thought this, he heard something, a small grumble, and it was coming from Kurama.
“Hungry, huh?” Kurama simply glared at John, knowing full well why he was in this state.
“Do you find pride in this? Being the cause of someone’s starvation—“ Kurama felt John push harder at that moment, forcing him down to one knee. Looking up, he saw the dragon staring back down at him with slit pupils.
“In the short time since you’ve shown yourself I’ve seen what you’re capable of. Dozens of ponies, screaming in agony… my friends’ suffering… All because of the madness you create with your magic,” He closed the gap between their heads a little more, staring directly into Kurama’s eyes, “And I’ve felt the full force of your magic more than enough times now; I’ve experienced the vile darkness in your heart firsthand. You were sent to Tartarus for that reason…”
“Do you think I give a damn about what happens to you!?” John brought his head back and head-butted Kurama full-force, drawing copious amounts of blood from his target. Kurama staggered back, looking on as John stood tall. Everyone else converged behind him.
He could feel himself being backed into a corner. His magic was hindered, even his movements were affected. Right now, the others were beginning to surround him. He had little left to do. As it stood, there was only one option.
Burn it all… All tails converged, their tips inches away from each other as fire began to flow through them and into the gap between them. Within seconds, an orb began to form and it began to swell in size.
“What’s he doing?” someone asked, everyone preparing for the oncoming attack. Twilight glanced at it for several seconds before it clicked.
“He’s condensing his magic!” she said, “He’s focusing it all into one point… and if he gets too much magic into that point, the blast could set everything around us on fire!!”
The seriousness of this hit quickly. Sweet Apple Acres took up a large portion of the town’s area. And if it were set on fire, it would take all of Ponyville with it.
“Take him down, now!” a guard barked. Everyone charged immediately, not wanting to give him a chance to pull this off. But Kurama wasn’t going to let himself be stopped. Straining against the magic hindering his own, Kurama formed a wall of magic around him. Everyone made contact, striking the wall as hard as they could. John and Big Mac both managed to make the wall rattle with every hit.
As the seconds passed, the magic building at the tips of his tails was slowing down. Kurama quickly realized that the wall would fall before he could finish it.
More…! I just need a little more!!
Maybe it was sheer coincidence, but at that moment, his wish was granted. To everyone’s horror, a fifth tail sprouted, joining its brothers in funneling magic into his desperate attack.
“No!” John yelled, striking the wall hard enough to crack it. But by now, it was too late. The orb began to expand faster, and was reaching its target size.
“Everyone, get back!” Twilight called out, everyone following her as she backed away from the wall. The orb began to glow violently, rays of light emitting from it. It was reaching critical mass, and it wouldn’t be long before it exploded. As Kurama’s shield went down, another shield went up around the others.
“John, get behind the shield!”
John ignored the urgent plea and charged forward at Kurama. He no longer had a shield around him…if only he could get close now! He closed the gap between them quickly and jumped at the fox, but it was too late. As he got within a foot of making contact, the orb’s glow reached a dangerous level. The shine was so bright it was as though another sun had emerged from the ground. With no time left, Twilight closed the opening to the shield and watched as the condensed magic went off.
The explosion was power, the shockwave hitting the shield hard enough to cause it to crack. But the shockwave wasn’t the only thing that hit it. A second later, they saw John slam into it back-first as well. Twilight brought the shield as she and the others rushed towards him, guards rushing to stop the fires the explosion had caused. They were about to reach him, but he was on his feet before they could. He staggered as he moved, reeling from the point-blank explosion.
As he got up, he opened his eyes and noticed something, the sweater—the one he’d received on the first day he came to Equestria, was burning to ashes. With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, John grabbed at the sweater’s remains, only for them to crumble at his touch. He stood up straight, his back to everyone. What little they could see of his face was utterly unreadable for several seconds.
He found himself recalling the time it was given to him, and who it was that made it. He’d grown attached to his sweater in the time since then. He looked up at where the one who had taken it from him had been standing, but Kurama was long gone, having slipped away while everyone else was distracted by the explosion. It was just like every other encounter. He’d take what he wanted, and slip away while everyone was left to grieve. As John stood there, his eyes went slit again, and deep down inside of him he felt something beginning to break, and he couldn’t stop it.
As this happened someone managed to notice it, Pinkie Pie gaining the attention of the others who had been focused on putting out the flames.
“Look…” Pinkie said, pointing at the unmoving dragon. Taking note of his condition, everyone moved slowly towards him, unable to see the look on his face. It was impossible to tell what was going through his mind, even now. Of all of them, it was Rainbow to step towards him, reaching out to him.
“John?” From the sound of his name, John turned his head to the side quickly, looking back to everyone. In that moment, they saw something they’d only felt once from him, but this time, it was on a completely different level. But it wasn’t just fear they were feeling for who had quickly become a trusted friend. They could see it in his eyes for an instant: a savage killer intent they had only ever seen in the prisoners they’d faced until that day. In that moment, they all tensed and took a step back from the dragon, something that hadn’t gone unnoticed by him.
In seconds his eyes returned to normal, his brow furrowing at the sight of fear from his friends. He turned away again, closing his eyes to calm himself once more. Deep breath after deep breath, John tried to push it all away, like he said so many times before. But something was off this time, and he couldn’t place it. But he knew it wasn’t normal.
All he could think about was all that Kurama had done until now, and all the pain he’d caused.
I should have stopped him… I should have ended him!! His thoughts betrayed him as he felt the feeling grow stronger. He couldn’t control it, and he knew if it continued he’d scared his friends once more. He had only one option.
Opening his wings, John gave them a powerful flap. The force of his takeoff sent up a gust of wind. The others could only watch in confusion as he flew away, still trying to process what they’d experienced from him just a few seconds before.
“Just what was that about?” asked Applejack.
“He won’t last much longer at this rate,” said Pinkie. Since she wasn’t a part of that conversation, Applejack was only further confused.
“So what now, are we just going to let him go alone?”
“Like hell I am…” Before anyone else could comment, Rainbow took off to the sky, heading in the same direction as John.
I got through to you once… and I’ll do it again…