Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 45: The War is On
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The room fell deathly silent as soon as John stepped forth. Princess Celestia had been surprised to see that he was there, but Norma had been as well. Celestia could only watch as John stared down Norma, his face cold and cynical.
“Look who it is, Ponyville’s latest savior,” Norma was quick to recover from the surprise, “I must congratulate you. Your last minute victory was quite the twist, and here I had thought one of my pawns would have finally proven useful.”
John didn’t respond, still holding the same facial expression.
“But the most surprising part was how it ended,” Norma continued, “To see the life snuffed out of one of my own pieces, and not at my own hands. To see that at least one of you heroes know the value of finishing the job right. Quite refreshing!”
Celestia had heard of what had happened in the battle, and what had happened to Kurama in the end. She’d worried for John, knowing full well that crossing that line could be a powerful trauma for even the strongest of wills. Corey’s had been all but shattered just by standing right on it. She looked at John, expecting some kind of response from him. Perhaps one of anger, or sorrow. But what happened next took her by surprise.
John laughed.
“You find murder amusing, dragon?” Norma asked, visibly shifting her stance for a few moments. There was no doubt in Celestia’s mind John’s response had taken her by surprise.
“Murder? Oh no, not at all,” John said, “What I find funny, is that you think you can guilt me for what I did.”
Norma raised her hand and snapped her fingers, several still images floating around her, each showing John moments after Kurama’s death.
“You say that as though you haven’t already,” she said, “Or are you going to deny the utter look of horror you displayed that day?”
John looked at the images closely, a single brow arched as each revolved around Norma’s hologram.
“You know what, you’re right. Right then, I was a total mess. I’d never killed someone before or saw their blood on my hands. Looking back, it was by far the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Despite himself, John ended up laughing again. Celestia felt uneasy, wondering what had happened in John’s head, while Norma, for the first time, had gone completely silent.
“But that was then, and this is now. And I can say without a doubt that the life of someone who’d gladly torture dozens of others is not worth losing sleep over. I’d suggest you keep that in mind if we ever meet face to face.”
Norma and John stared each other down, each looking like they were waiting for the other to give an inch. What all this was, Celestia didn’t know, but after a few moments, someone caved. To Celestia’s ultimate surprise, Norma had caved first.
“You said you wished to speak with me, but I doubt it was to simply discuss morals.”
As soon as the words left Norma’s mouth, Celestia could see John’s eye twinkle ever so slightly, as though he had just found the biggest gem he’d ever seen in his life.
“How about we stop wasting time and get to it. After all, I have my next move to plan,” Norma said.
John shrugged and took a single step forward. “Time is exactly what I wanted to talk about,” With that, he took another step forward, “This game has gone on for a while now and we’re close to the end of it. But before we do, on behalf of those still in the game, I’d like to call for a time-out.”
Norma was silent for several seconds, but soon, she began to snicker. A couple more seconds later, she completely broke out laughing.
“Is that is? Did you really think you could come up to me and simply ask for a time-out?” she asked, only breaking through her fit slightly, “Dear boy, I currently hold all the cards in the game; I’m on the verge of winning this game, and you think I’ll just stop now?”
Norma went on laughing for a few seconds more, before finally regaining her composure.
“Curious, though,” Norma said, “What exactly made you think I would agree to such a thing?”
Again, John took a step closer, followed by another, and another, as he talked. “Because after all that time that’s passed since this game started, I think I finally understand the reason behind it all. You didn’t do this to takeover Equestria, you did it for the exact reason you keep bringing up. You’re bored, so much so that you would do anything to seek your own entertainment. I’m guessing if that wasn’t the case you would have gone for the full-frontal assault from the start.”
With one last step, John was now staring directly into the hologram.
“The reason for calling this time out is so we can end that once and for all. One month, no attacks, no contact, a whole month to prepare for one final battle, a grand spectacle that they’ll certainly hear of all over the world. It will be something for the history books as either the day you were finally put back in your hole, or the day Equestria falls.”
If John could have seen Norma’s face above her mouth, he would have seen a twinkle in her eyes for a few moments. It was like giving candy to a baby…
“And what exactly do you mean by ‘no contact’?”
John smirked and picked up the rat creature, “These. For the next month, you won’t watch us or our families. You’ll be kept in the dark about what we’re planning until the day you finally make your move.”
Norma placed her hand to her chin, audibly humming as she thought it over.
“Very well, but on one condition. When the month is finally over, I will be the one to choose the battlefield. And to keep you from wondering, I’ll tell you now,” Norma spread out her arms, and after a few moments, a large image appeared behind her. Celestia blinked. That image looked very familiar.
“Canterlot, the very center of this vast country. The battle that will decide the fate of everyone will take place here and nowhere else,” Norma looked back at John, an unseen smirk on her face. “Do you agree?”
John stared at her for several seconds, stealing a quick glance over to Princess Celestia. She looked back at him in confusion. However, she quickly recovered from her mental lag, understanding. It was ultimately up to her. The way she saw it, they had no other options here. They did need the extra time. Besides, this wouldn’t be the first time Canterlot became the epicenter of a battle. So slowly, just enough for him to see it, she gave a nod of her head.
“See you in a month, Norma,” John smirked. Norma gave a small chuckle as the hologram began to flicker.
“Until then,” Norma said. A moment later, her hologram vanished entirely, and the mouse that had projected it crumbled to dust.
All around Equestria, many more spy rats began to do the same. At least, that was the hope. Everything was silent once more. They had bought the time they needed, but John hadn’t moved. Celestia watched him for a while, unable to read him, but after a short while longer, John finally showed some signs of life.
“It’s… it’s done…” John let out a long and shaky sigh as he stumbled back into a seat. As he sat, he stared down at his hands. Both were shaking against his will. Only after seeing him now did Celestia understand. All of that before was nothing more than a feint, a show entirely for Norma’s benefit.
“You… you can come out now,” John croaked.
From roughly the same spot John had emerged, another figure stepped out. This time, it was Rainbow Dash. How the two had got in there without Celestia’s knowledge, she wasn’t sure, but that was a question for another day. She watched as Rainbow sat down next to him, and placed her hand to his shoulder.
“You did it,” she said with a smile. Noticing the trembling of his hands, she reached out and grabbed hold of them with her own hands to steady them. They looked at each other for a moment, and smiled again.
“I must say, that was a very convincing play you put on for her,” said Celestia, “But how did you know it would work?”
John and Rainbow looked to each other again and gave off a small chuckle. This time, it was Rainbow who spoke up.
“Typical bad guys,” Rainbow said, “Once they’re sure they’ve got it, they’re convinced they can’t lose.”
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Norma closed her eyes for a few moments longer, making sure to remove all her rats. If they wanted a month, she’d give them a month. How could the cards possibly change in that much time? She had the Elements of Harmony, their most powerful superweapon, in her grasp. She still had three pawns left, and all of them proved to be strong. Plus, her own powers were really starting to return to her.
They could have their time-out. If she was feeling particularly merciful, she could even give them an extra week. And, when the time came, she would show them the futility of their fight herself. At least one of her pawns would have reservations about this, but Norma was sure Storm Claw would come around in time. Kronos would probably take the month off with a near-disgusting amount of grace. As for Slayer, he’d probably want to go in earlier. All the more time to fan the flames of his revenge…
Plus, Norma couldn’t deny that deep down she was curious what they thought they could do with a month.
“See you in a month, indeed, Dragon,” Norma sneered.
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Since the call for a temporary reprieve was met with approval, Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash and John had returned to the throne room in Canterlot. John filled in the missing pieces for the princess in the interim. In general, the others would be along after they got word that the meeting had happened. It did not take long for Celestia to send the word their way. So now, they sat waiting.
“Her visits had grown predictable, to be sure,” Celestia noted, “You couldn’t have timed it any better. Even with her penchant for theatrics, I don’t think she would have stayed much longer after her visit.”
“We were guessing, too,” Rainbow said, “We knew she’d show up eventually, but we didn’t know when she’d start gloating…”
“It was just a lucky shot she hadn’t already,” John said, “But I guess she may have been waiting for us to wake up first before dropping the bomb.”
Celestia blinked. That wouldn’t have seemed off, given the character of the prisoners so far, as well as Norma herself. She’d probably been sitting on the Elements of Harmony, just waiting for people to discover they were missing. Then, and only then, would she play her hand. Doing it at sunset was just a bonus.
At that moment, the doors to the throne room opened, one, then the other. The others stood on the other side, escorted on either side by several guards. Although the situation definitely dampened their overall moods, it was nice to see they all at least had some level of determination left in them. However, they had not been informed of whether or not they got what they needed just yet.
The group finally paused. The guards looked up to Celestia. Celestia lifted both of her hands for a moment to address them.
“Please return to your positions,” Celestia said, “You’ll be given further instructions in a few minutes.”
The guards gave a collective grunt, before filing out. Two remained at the door for a few moments, closing it. No sooner than the doors closed did Twilight step forward.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, “I apologize for the unexpected intrusion earlier, but we had to—“
“There is no need, Twilight,” Celestia said, “You had the right idea.”
“Did we get what we needed?” Pinkie asked, surprisingly not hopping up and down. Her voice did not completely betray the worry she held.
All heads turned to John and Rainbow. Both looked to each other for a moment, but Rainbow was quick to speak first.
“We got our time,” she said, “John made it look easy… almost.”
A wave of relief passed across the group. For a few moments, there were smiles among the group. However, the smiles soon started to fade. John turned to face the group directly as well.
“That was the easy part,” said John, voicing what everyone had begun to realize, “Unfortunately, the hard part comes now. We got our month, so now we have to use it wisely.”
The group remained silent for a few moments, in silent contemplation. There was a small squeak among the group, and all heads turned. Fluttershy noticed everyone was looking to her, but this wasn’t enough to stop her.
“R-Rainbow,” she finally said. Rainbow looked to her, “Like before Kurama, could you… you know, help me out with my…” She quickly raised one of her arms, pointing to her bicep area, “Strength?”
Everyone took a moment to take in what she said, with Rainbow finally responding, “You’d better believe it, ‘Shy. I’m gonna be at it, too.”
“I don’t want to fall behind now, so please…please,” Fluttershy said, now stepping forward a bit, the others moving out of her path as she did so, “Push me harder than before.”
“If that’s what you want,” Rainbow said.
“Count me in, too,” Applejack stepped forward. Her arm was still in its sling, unusable, but she didn’t seem to be bothered by that.
“Your arm gonna slow you down?” Rainbow asked, pointing it out.
“We can find out,” Applejack smirked.
“Hmm…” Rarity paused, feeling particularly inspired now, “Excuse me, Twilight, would you mind helping me with my magic again?”
Twilight turned to Rarity. “I’ll be building up my magic myself. I don’t see the harm in adding one more.”
“Splendid,” Rarity commented, “I’ll be ready for anything.”
“Glad to hear it!” said Twilight, turning to Corey, who was still spacing off, hand to chin, facing the floor, “Corey, how about you?”
Corey stood up slightly straighter, turning to her.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Corey said.
“It’s nice to see most of you already have your ideas,” Celestia said, “If you need something, please feel free to ask me. At this point, there’s no point in holding back anymore. I’ll give you whatever you think you’ll need.”
“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie fully returned to life as soon as she said that, “Pick me, pick me!”
“Very well, Pinkie Pie, what is it?”
Pinkie zipped over to Celestia’s side, reaching into one of her pockets. “I’ve got a bit of a…crazy request.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen a fair share in my time,” Celestia said, “Let’s see it.”
Pinkie pulled out a roll of blue parchment. Celestia quickly unfurled it, looking over the contents. She could see it was a blueprint. And its contents?
“Okay,” she said, nodding as she looked over the design within, “You were right.”
The feeling in the room had certainly relaxed since he got here, Corey realized. Everyone had some thoughts of what to do for the next month. Either way, it was going to be the final battle. Was he going to do his part? Of course he was, just like he had whenever he was able. Corey looked up again.
I wonder what help she’d draw the line at… Corey thought to himself, before blinking and starting to look around. John wasn’t where he was before, but it didn’t take long for Corey to spot him.
He was walking out of the room, heading off…somewhere. Corey blinked. Wondering what was going through his head, Corey decided to follow him.
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John had retreated to one of the nearby balconies, Corey discovered as he followed him. John didn’t seem to notice or care he was being followed, so Corey just kept pace with him the whole way. Eventually, the two were outside in the night air. As Corey crossed the threshold himself, and moved towards the railing, he could see Ponyville below, more than a few warm lights still ignited in some of the homes.
This seems familiar… Corey thought, feeling a surge of déjà vu.
“Oh, hey, Corey,” John said, turning to regard him, “You were following me?”
“Felt like I had to,” Corey said, “You did kind of walk out on everyone without saying anything.”
“I don’t think I have much to say, though.” John stretched a bit, extending his arms palm-first in front of him, “We got a month.”
“Everyone’s back there already deciding how they’re going to prepare for the next month,” Corey leaned a bit on the railing of the balcony, “Only reason I’m not still there is because I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“Aren’t you just going to work on your magic?” asked John.
“It’s complicated,” said Corey, “Let’s just say I remembered something important.”
There was a short pause, before John spoke up again. “We were lucky to get that month, you know. If it wasn’t for you, we’d all still be sitting in the library wondering what to do.”
“Hey, don’t give me all the credit,” Corey said, taking his weight off the rail to point towards John, “You had the idea that got us the month.”
“I didn’t mean that,” John said, standing up straight.
Corey waved his hands. “Then what did you mean?”
“While I was fighting Kurama,” John said, “It was a tough thing to do. Between the fact Kurama’s potential body count was rising every day he was out, and the fact he was getting stronger with each second, I wasn’t in the best of moods. Eventually, I got to the point Kurama was haunting my mind every second of the day. And I didn’t even get to sleep on it. It was all I could think about; I had to stop him. And… well, you know the rest…”
Corey remained silent, closing his eyes for a moment as an uncomfortable thought returned to him. If I had killed Slayer back then… would I even be standing here?
“I know that feeling,” Corey said, “But you handled it a lot better than I did. Even now.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” John said, “I was still at a low point, and finding out what was stolen didn’t help at all. It felt like everything I went through was for nothing.”
“And yet, when everyone else was down,” said John, “Who else would stand up but you? Encouraging everyone, even me, to stand up one more time with nothing but your own words.”
“They were pretty strong words…” Corey reflected, turning back to Ponyville, “At least this time they came from the right place.”
The two stood in silence, looking down over Ponyville once again, using the railing. It was a stern silence. Before this, Corey would have never guessed John had a boiling point so similar to his own, but then again, the internet wasn’t exactly a good proving ground of anything. Here, everything was different.
“But… I’m not going to let it weigh me down,” John said, releasing his grip on the railing, “I did kill someone. It doesn’t matter what the stakes were, I killed someone.”
“John?” Corey asked.
“But I have to move on from it. I can’t let it drag me down when we’re going to need everyone for the coming fight. In a month, we’ll need everything we can spare, maybe more than that!” John said, walking away from the balcony for a moment. His back was to Corey now. Corey turned towards John, releasing his own grip on the rail.
“Take my word for it,” Corey said, “If I could do it, anyone could. I may not have crossed the line, but with what I did that day, I might as well have.”
Corey walked towards John, who turned towards him as he stepped towards him.
“We’re going to win this!” Corey’s arm jerked up against his will before returning to his side. He was now standing directly in front of John, “All of us have come too far in the past month… every single one of us has overcome too much to lose.”
“A come from behind victory,” John slowly moved his arm in the same manner Corey had, “That’s the best one of all.”
“All along, we had our resolves,” Corey said, “We just needed to find a direction for it.”
“That’s true,” John said.
The two stood in silence for a few moments more before John blinked.
“Oh God, it just hit me!” John reeled back as though he were struck with a hammer to the face.
“What, what?” Corey asked.
“His name was Kurama. He was a kitsune…” John said.
“Wait, wait…” Corey said, “Y-you mean…?”
“Yep…”
The two looked to one another with wonder for all of two seconds before they both burst out laughing. It was so easy to overlook with the stress he caused, but after it had passed, it was only a matter of time.
“Kurama, the nine-tailed fox…!”