Collision Code

by SSJRandomMaster

Act 3 Chapter 39

Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 39: The End of the Nightmares… Or…!?
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John had noticed something about the many dreams he’d visited. The setting, while varying from pony to pony, had a common theme to all of them. The dreams all took place in familiar settings, places where the dreamer usually felt at ease, more at home. A place where one could feel free. What John was seeing now was nothing of the sort.

The land around him was scarred, damaged and uninhabitable. Rivers of magma flowed along the charred ground. At times, geysers would erupt, spewing towers of lava that pierced through the black clouds in the sky. It was a literal hell on earth, and it seemed like any moment, the very ground beneath them would flat-out explode. This world wasn’t a place of familiarity or comfort, but an amalgamation of the state of mind of both Kurama and John.

“Seems we’re both at our breaking point, doesn’t it?” Kurama asked.

John didn’t answer. He’d already been at this point for a while now—teetering between the edge of his own sanity and the pit of bottled up rage. He had kept it at bay for as long as he could, always capable of turning away from it, always able to remain himself.

Not anymore.

“The moment Twilight deactivated the gem, I could have attacked you then and there. Strong as you are, it’s clear you’re weaker in the real world, but I still chose to fight you here. Want to know why?” Kurama tilted his head. He didn’t think there was a reason, nor did he care to think, but now he was wondered. Between John and Twilight, they could have had a guaranteed victory.

“Part of the reason is collateral, but that’s a very small part,” John’s voice dropped a few tone, gaining a savage edge to it as his breathing picked up. His wings opened up fully as he clenched his fists. John lowered his stance, staring directly at Kurama with clear intent in his eyes, “But the real reason is because I’m done. Done failing everyone, done scaring my friend and putting them in even more danger. More importantly, I’m done playing nice. I’m coming at you full force, and I won’t stop until you’re down for good!”

Digging his feet into the ground, John launched forward, his wings propelling him at a great speed. Kurama was ready, though, and now that he could feel the full power of his eight-tailed state, he had nothing to fear. Levitating off the ground, Kurama charged forward as well. John had asked for this, after all, and he was going to give it to him.

Fists drawn back, both John and Kurama collided in the center, ash kicking up from the impact. Bringing his fist back, John was prepared for another, only to be struck to the side by one of Kurama’s tails. The hit caused him to take a few steps to the side, but he quickly recovered. He tried to retaliate, only be struck a second time, followed by two more. One final strike finally sent John flying back.

As John flew back, Kurama charged again, all tails shooting forward like spears. But John wasn’t going to let himself get hit again. With a midair flip, John regained his footing. Kurama’s tails were moving even faster than before, but he was going to adapt. Charging forward, he was met by them, but this time, he was ready. One by one, John began to parry each tail away as they came at him, finally grabbing on to one of them and giving it a strong pull.

Kurama’s body lurched through the air as he was pulled closer to John. He’d seen this before, though, and was prepared this time. Just as he saw John’s fist draw closer, he put up a guard with his tails, though the impact still managed to knock him to the ground. With a flap of his wings, John then took off into the air. He didn’t get far, though, before he felt something wrap around his ankle. Looking down, he saw Kurama had reacted quickly and had no intent of letting him get away.

With a hard tug, John was pulled down from the sky and slammed down to the ground. Before he could get up, he saw something fill his vision from above. Kurama now held several boulders in his tails, and was now dropping them on him. John rolled over to avoid one as it crashed to the ground, shattering on impact. There were still more, and to avoid them, John went off into a full sprint. He tried to make his way towards Kurama, but another boulder landed in front of him, forcing him to change his path.

One after another, John continued to avoid the attacks, up until he saw that only one remained in Kurama’s arsenal. He tried to move again, but he found his legs weren’t responding.

“What?” John looked down. His eyes had been glued to the sky, and hadn’t noticed anything else; Kurama’s tails were now poking out of the ground and wrapped around his lower legs, holding him firmly in place. Looking up, John let out an annoyed grunt as the boulder drew closer.

“You’ll have to try harder than that!” John said, raising his fist, throwing a punch right at the boulder with pinpoint timing. The boulder cracked severely before shattering into hundreds of smaller pieces. John managed to get a fairly sizable hunk and took it in one hand. He didn’t need his legs for this one. Throwing his arm forward, John launched the piece of rock at Kurama, the object soaring through the air. Kurama tried to get out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough as the rock struck him on the side of his head. Kurama recoiled from the strike and released his grip from John just long enough for the dragon to escape. Landing away from him, John watched as Kurama rubbed his head, a small amount of blood shimmering in the magma’s glow as it leaked from the wound.

“Before, I’d begin to wish you’d feel it for real, but now I know you do,” said John, beginning to take steps forward, “Every hit, every cut, anything that happens to you here happens to you in the real world, too. That’s just one more reason I chose to fight here—if I take you down here, it’ll be the same out there.”

Kurama hadn’t responded, scowling at John for a few seconds. That scowl then turned to a smirk. “You think that means I’m at a disadvantage, don’t you?”

He didn’t wait for a response, nor was he looking for one. He merely charged John as quickly as he could, his tails already on the move to attack. Swiping away at him, Kurama continued to press forward, but John didn’t back down. He continued forward, dodging everything he could, and repelling what he couldn’t. It looked like he could get up close and personal with Kurama. However, in his peripheral vision, he could see something: a tail swinging over to him.

At the very tip of the tail, he could see a glimmer of light; something definitely wasn’t right. Rather than knock it away, John took his first step backwards, and as the tail whipped away, he saw red. Looking down, John saw a gash on his chest. Unable to understand what happened, he jumped back, making space between them. When he landed, John once again looked down at the gash, watching blood pour out of it.

“Surprised?”

John looked up at Kurama, the tip of his tail only inches away from the fox’s face. From it dripped John’s blood. There was something else he could see very clearly now, though; as the blood began to clear from the tip, John could see the metallic shine of the tail tip.

“Tell me something, can you feel it?” Maybe it was the adrenaline rush, maybe it was the confusion, but now that Kurama mentioned it, John could finally admit he did. He could feel the sting of the open wound on his chest, feel the blood trickling out. With grit teeth, he looked up at a now-laughing Kurama.

“I’m not the only one at risk in this world now,” he said, “You’ll soon understand.”
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If there was one thing Applejack had grown sick of, it was the continuous silence.

“Is there nothin’ we can do!? Are we really goin’ to just sit here and wait for them to finish their fight?!” It was infuriating. Kurama was now right in front of them, and he was completely helpless. If ever there was a moment when they needed to do something, it was right now.

“I’ve tried,” said Twilight, “This orb surrounding them is made of both their magics. It’s by far one of the strongest protective shields I’ve ever seen. I could try to overload it, but at this size, that would pose a very real risk of hurting those inside, and there’s no telling what forcibly cutting their link can do to them. I want to stop Kurama more than anything, believe me. But I’d never put anyone else’s lives on the line to do it.”

Applejack opened her mouth, but closed it soon afterward. With furrowed brows, she let out a sigh. “You’re right. Sorry, Twi. I just… I hate feeling powerless.”

Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I know, but it’s out of our hands now. We just have to—“

She halted, both their mouths opening wide in surprise. They saw Kurama twitch. Instantly, both braced themselves, fearing that he was trying to break from the battle and run for it, yet again.

“Look at that,” said Applejack, pointing at his head. There was now a very visible bruise forming on one of his temples, and blood starting to leak again. It took them a moment, wondering what could have caused it, and then remembered what John had said. It was true. Kurama could be hurt while in the dream realm. They were seeing it with their very own eyes.

“He’s overpowered Kurama before, and he can do it again. All in due time,” For a moment, they began to feel their confidence building again. Kurama would finally be through, and this would finally be over. But unfortunately, nothing in this game had come easy for them; they would relearn that once again. Not long after the wound appeared on Kurama did they see another, only this time coming from the other’s body. A gash opened on John’s chest and blood spurted out. Once again, their eyes went wide. This wasn’t right; Kurama’s previous victims hadn’t shown signs of taking real damage.

“He’s grown so strong he can cause real damage to others in dreams now…” Twilight noted.
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Sparks began to fly, but not from the lightning that struck from above. These sparks were the result of John and Kurama’s clash. The tips of Kurama’s tails were now coated in a sharp metal that could cut through his scales. But his claws were a different story. With them, he was capable of fending them off. Each time he met one of the tail tips would result in another spark, and there was no end in sight.

Every few seconds, one would manage to slip through the razor-tipped swipes of the other, resulting in a minor cut on the other. But neither wanted to give an inch, even as the ground beneath them began to quake. When the ground split, John saw his chance. Caught off-balance, Kurama’s reaction time dropped, and he would pay for it. Letting out a roar, John stepped forward, throwing the strongest punch he could straight into Kurama’s stomach.

Kurama hacked up blood as he was struck, but through piercing his tails into the ground, he’d prevented himself from being sent back. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain, he then returned the favor. One tail shot forward and pierced through John’s shoulder. Another, curled-up tail shot forward, striking the wound on his chest. Both jolts of pain hit him at once, as he was knocked on his back. With a grunt, he put a hand on his wound.

He’s played dirty this whole time, John mused, Why would he stop now?

Looking up, he saw Kurama was rushing him again. He didn’t have time to mind his wounds. Getting back to his feet, John managed to block another attack aimed for his wound, skidding back from the force. As he did, he brought one arm down before swinging it up with as much force as he could. Kurama jumped back, but not before having two small cuts opened up on his own chest.

John lunged again, but Kurama was quicker. Pushing off the ground with his tails, Kurama shot up to the sky. John was quick to follow, even if it meant flying into the darkness of the skies above. Up above, their clash continued, but this time they weren’t just dodging each other, but the lightning as well. Through their struggle, John managed to lock onto Kurama, and vice versa. Both pushed against the other for the advantage.

“A lesser being would have fallen by now,” said Kurama,” In fact, lesser beings have fallen.”

John felt the heat of his anger rise again. He reacted with a hard knee to Kurama’s stomach, or so he intended. Either by luck or by expectation, Kurama managed to block the attack with his tails, following with a strike of his own to John’s stomach. Though his body lurched from the attack, John wasn’t backing down. So, pulling on Kurama, who was still in his claws, he managed a hard head-butt right on Kurama, right where he still had a fresh cut.

The strike opened the wound further, more blood flowing out and blocking the sight from Kurama’s left eye. Seeing this, John followed out with a wide swing, striking Kurama on the side of his head. Knocked off-balance, John finished his attack with a swing of his tail, knocking Kurama back down to solid ground. He looked down at Kurama, taking a few breaths as he prepared to dive down and continue the fight.

Only to feel an intense pain flow through his body.

He’d dropped his guard for only a moment, and in that moment he hadn’t noticed the lightning that had fallen from above. He was fireproof, and he was resilient, but there were some things even he couldn’t tank. Left stunned by the attack, John began to freefall. Unable to stop himself, he hit the ground hard only a few moments after Kurama. His body ached as he tried to turn over, trying to rise, only to cough up blood in response.

Going to take a lot more than that… John thought, finally able to rise again, To finish--!

His train of thought derailed as he felt something slice through his back, more blood spilling out as another fresh wound was created. Stumbling forward, John reacted on instinct, turning around and swiping his claws only inches away from Kurama. As he glared at the fox, he saw he wasn’t in any better shape. He wasn’t fully capable of standing up straight; perhaps he had broken a bone, or perhaps he was simply exhausted. The balance was still even.

“I see I hit a weak spot, when we were in the sky I mean,” Kurama’s face sported a toothy grin, and John wanted nothing more than to remove the rest of said teeth, “Tell me, do you want to know what exactly your friends are going through?” John gritted his teeth, charging at Kurama again, swinging wildly at him as he began to dodge.

“I can see them all when I’m in this realm. I can see the fear in their eyes, and I can feel their life energy slowly fading away,” Something was wrong. Kurama wasn’t just talking up a storm, he was getting faster now. John realized it too late; as he threw one final punch, it collided with Kurama’s open palm, blocked effortlessly.

“All flowing into me…”
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Things didn’t look good on the outside either. The battle had seemed even for a while, both combatants taking seemingly the same damage from one another. But that changed, soon Kurama showed no signs of taking damage, and John was taking it all. Over time, more of his blood spilled as more wounds appeared on John’s body.

“He’s losing…” Fluttercruel said what everyone was thinking, but too afraid to say. But that didn’t meant it was easy for her to admit it. Too many lives depended on the result of the battle.

But what could they do? They weren’t able to jump into the fray until the fight was over. The result could either way; there was no middle ground. Walking up to the orb, Twilight placed a hand on it.

“He’ll win,” she said, gaining the others’ attention.

“Are you sure?”

“I am, because he promised.”
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John had heard of moments like this before. Moments when a person’s body is beaten to a point where they can’t even feel it. A numbness that makes you question if you’re even still connected to your body, or if you’re even hurt at all. It was weird, but he didn’t pay it that much mind, only that he could stand, and that Kurama was also standing in front of him, a ninth tail having joined all the others now. It had slipped his mind. Kurama was still constantly feeding, and he continued to do so until he was past John’s strength. Things were not good; the gap between them was spread even further, and John couldn’t stop it from doing so.

But I’m not going to stop trying! John moved forward, his speed slower than he could muster before. He was doing everything he could just to get his body to listen to his commands, forcing it to move past its limits. But he couldn’t even get close to Kurama before he was knocked aside, landing on the ground once again.

Get up, move! John shouted at his own body, forcing himself to stand one more time. He didn’t manage much before being struck again. Time and again, one after another, Kurama continued to strike the downed dragon, forcing him to roll along the ground.

“I can see why you’ve enjoyed this so much,” Kurama said, a sadistic smile on his face. At this point, he no longer resembled the fox he was when he’d first appeared. Between all the damage he’d taken, all the setbacks he’d suffered, his mind had finally snapped. One last strike had John roll close to a river of lava, his head only inches from it. Groaning, he tried to rise only for a tail to wrap around his neck and force his head into the lava. The heat had no effect on him. It may as well have been water, but it served the same purpose.

He thrashed about weakly trying to get free, but after a few minutes, John’s struggle seemed to end. Kurama, however, wasn’t done, pulling him out before he could drown in the magma.

“Hey now, can’t have you dying on me so quickly,” he said, as John coughed in an attempt to catch his breath, “I have much to repay you for!” Letting go of John’s neck, Kurama then struck him in the chest, his body flying through a mass of earth and hard onto the ground.

“It’s all finally come full circle, hasn’t it? All your attempts to make me suffer… now who’s the one suffering! Now who’s being tortured?” Kurama brought his foot down hard, stomping on John’s head, pushing it into a hole. Eventually, he lifted his foot and began to walk away.

“Seems I’ve done everything I can against your body. But I’m still not satisfied yet, because I know there’s more. I wonder… just how intact is your soul? How much hope do you still have to save your friends?”

Turning around, Kurama sat on a rock, crossing one leg over the other as he stared at the motionless John. “Tell me, would you like to hear them, one last time?” There was a moment of silence, lightning beginning to strike more frequently as geysers of lava erupted from the ground. Slowly, John lifted his head and stared with slit eyes at Kurama.

That was the will he still had. And Kurama would ensure that it was snuffed out. Only then, would John be allowed to die.

“I can grant you that opportunity…” Kurama snapped his fingers. Orbs of magic began to emit from around him, which soon expanded into large, purple rectangles which floated beside one another. At first, each of them resembled TV screens filled with nothing but static. Then, as the pictures began to come into varying levels of focus, John could hear a sound.

It was more screaming, and the sound was growing in numbers as the images started to clear. Finally, the images formed, and John could see it all, the horrors that other ponies had been enduring. He was being forced to see it with his own eyes. More orbs were produced, more images coming into view. Three remained in static, their images still beginning to form.

The first was Rainbow, tears streaming from her eyes as she hyperventilated. She was in a casket, dirt being poured onto it. With cracks forming on the side, the dirt was starting to fill the casket. Half of Rainbow’s body was already covered, and she was still beating on the inside of the casket.

“Brave and bold as she was, it was easy to find what she feared the most,” Kurama said, “And it was so simple to turn it against her. Taking away any control she may have had… why, she’s never felt so weak in her life!”

The next image came into view, this time, it was of Rarity. Her arms were bound behind her back, as she was motionless on her knees. Several large needles were piercing through her back. On occasion, one was pulled out, only to be placed back in once again. She sobbed quietly, only letting out a new scream each time a needle pierced her flesh.

“She’s beginning to feel it now, every prick that enters her back feels just as real as it looks. It’s only a matter of time before her own body begins to react in kind. I wonder, though. Will she die from my spell, from shock, or from blood loss? Time will tell…”

Kurama hadn’t moved his eyes from the screen, admiring his handiwork. He hadn’t noticed that John was beginning to move again, slowly rising from the ground. As he made his way to his feet, the final screen finally cleared. This one had no screams, no suffering, just a motionless body. With a gasp, John stared at the body. The image wasn’t as stable as the others; the image would occasionally burst with static for a few seconds before coming back into focus.

“Corey…”

“He was my first victim, wasn’t he? He was the one you came here with, right?” Kurama asked, snickering, “I’ve seen what he’s done, how his true colors came into view when he was pushed against the wall. I can only imagine what he’d be capable of…”

Kurama paused for a few moments. “But if you really think about it, I’d be doing this world a great service, by ridding it of an abomination.”

In that moment, a bolt of lightning struck, hitting the ground for the first time. The light caught his attention. Kurama turned to see John standing upright, his eyes cast in shadow from a second lightning strike behind him.

“Still have some fight left in you, I see,” he said, getting up, “I suppose it’s time I fix that.” His tails stretched out, the tips gleaming as he made them metallic one last time. They surrounded John. John stood his ground, still staring at Kurama.

“I’ll end this swiftly, but don’t worry, you won’t be going alone. When this over, I will meet your friends one more time, and I’ll send all of them your way soon enough.” Finally, Kurama’s tails lunged forward, piercing down with enough force to crater the ground, sending up both rocks and dirt into the air.

Kurama smirked. It was over, and he’d won. But there was one thing left, he wanted to—no, needed to see the body, to see it motionless on the ground, to watch it fade away to nothing.

But when the smoke cleared, when the dust finally settled, there was nothing to be seen. He wondered, did the body fade away already?

Well now… I suppose I’ll just have to pay his real body a visit. He was about to leave, return to the real world so that he could see the body and add some more. But the moment he tried, he felt himself slam into something. He couldn’t do it. But that shouldn’t have been the case; if John was dead, then Kurama should have been free to go.

Unless…

He heard a snarl, a breath of hot smoke puffing behind his neck. Eyes wide and sweat beating down his brow, Kurama jumped away as quickly as he could. He turned to see John standing where he had been. He was taking deep breaths, black smoke coming out of his mouth. His eyes no longer had pupils at all; they were now completely white, narrowed in fury.

“Well now, it seems you still have some fight left…”

John didn’t respond, not that he could. He didn’t hear a word that Kurama said, nor did he hear the screams that echoed around him. He also felt nothing; his pain and fatigue had seemingly vanished. All he could see was what was in front of him. The longer he stared, the more he heard something, a deep, raspy voice within commanding him to act. It had been this voice that had roared at him from within this whole time, and now it was telling him one simple thing.

Make Kurama suffer.

It was a command he obliged with gusto.

As a final bolt of lightning struck, John let out a terrifying roar, both spit and his own blood dripping down the sides of his mouth. It was worse than the ones Kurama had heard before. John rushed Kurama with a speed that he couldn’t comprehend, closing the distance in an instant. Kurama tried to defend, but he couldn’t react fast enough. Any attempt to strike at John resulted in his tails being repelled. By the time John was directly in front of him, Kurama froze.

John’s jaw sprang open a bit wider before he grabbed hold of Kurama and bit down hard, causing Kurama to let out a scream. Though caught off-guard, he didn’t stop. Kurama began to beat at John until finally managing to hit him hard enough to be released. John stumbled as Kurama placed a hand over his now injured shoulder, confused. He was winning. He should still be winning, and yet the tides were starting to change once again.

“No!” Kurama said, his tails flaring with purple magic, “I have surpassed you, I’ve surpassed everyone! You cannot defeat me!”

John charged, still roaring at him, still picking up his speed. Kurama charged as well, his tails spiraling with magic to meet John’s charge. He struck John, wrapping his tails around him. If John’s body wouldn’t surrender, then he would destroy his mind, throw him into the worse torture of a nightmare he could ever come up with.

But as he dug deep, as he tried to grab into the darkest depths of John’s mind, he realized something very important.

“There’s no mind to capture…” Kurama noted in dull shock. He’d never encountered a case like this before. John’s mind was blank. In fact, Kurama wasn’t even sure if John was even totally conscious now. All he could feel was a burning hatred, a bloodlust he’d never experienced before, and he knew it was pointed at him. In that moment, he realized something. Kurama had made a few mistakes.

One, he’d made the mistake of taunting his prey like Slayer had, knowing full well what had happened to him.

Two, he was taunting a dragon, of all creatures. Even if John had never started off as a dragon, the end result still couldn’t have been better off than taunting another pony.

Three, he had made contact.

“I have to get away!” Kurama shouted, retracting his tails. All but one escaped John’s range; the last one wasn’t fast enough. John grabbed hold of it, but he didn’t pull. He just held it where it was. Kurama was unable to pull against him, only able to watch as John stared down at his tail like it was some kind of venomous snake. Slowly, John raised his arm, his claws coming out. John roared yet again as he brought his claws down.

Kurama could only watch helplessly as John’s claws sheared through his tail, sending purple gas everywhere. That was magic—his power.

Kurama screamed in pain, the tail slowly vaporizing until there was no trace left. John looked at the remains of the tail as it vanished, soon turning back to Kurama. John took a single step forward, and Kurama routed. It wasn’t a tactic anymore.

Kurama was now in a nightmare of his own creation, and there was nothing but fear in his eyes as he tried desperately to escape the dragon who was now hell-bent on exterminating him.
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They weren’t sure if they should be grateful or horrified.

After several minutes of watching more wounds appear on John’s body, it finally stopped. Now, Kurama’s body was incurring severe wounds, and his tails were vanishing now; he’d had nine for a few terrifying minutes. Two of his tails had disappeared since then, bringing him down to seven. But the wounds Kurama was suffering didn’t seem to be coming from battle, nor a struggle to survive.

It seemed like nothing more than a reversal of a savage beating. And they knew very well what had happened.

“He snapped…” Pinkie noted. Though John’s body hadn’t changed facial expression, his body itself seemed to have changed posture as it floated within the magical field…
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Kurama wondered now who the real monster was in this inferno of a dream. Most would think it was him, given the crimes he’d committed. But if they could see what he could, maybe they would rethink that?

He tried to fight back, retaliate in any way he could, but nothing worked against the embodiment of draconic rage that was his opponent. Holding on to his shoulder, he panted heavily. He’d tried to move it, but he was sure it was already broken. Slowly, John continued to walk towards him, dragging it out as though to prolong Kurama’s suffering. Maybe that was the point.

In John’s hand was another of Kurama’s tails, sliced off the moment his guard slipped. Now three whole tails weaker, he was no match against this John now. Worst of all, he couldn’t run, simply get away to build his strength this time. Before this battle had begun, he’d mocked John, saying that he would regret this. Yet now, it was Kurama who was regretting it. Backed against a wall for possibly the last time, Kurama had one last option.

Grovel.

Dropping to his knees, Kurama bowed his head. “W-wait, you can stop this now… I’ll release them, all of them! I surrender!”

John stopped, his gaze still locked on to the begging Kurama. “I can’t win like this! I’ve lost…”

As he spoke, however, Kurama had no intention of giving up. Slowly, a single tail burrowed underground, slowly making its way to its mark.

“It was foolish to think that I could win… I know that now! It’s over…” Slowly, the tail came up from the ground, right in John’s blind spot. It lunged forward, aimed at his neck, trying to finish it with one blow. Kurama sneered wickedly as he launched his attack.

However, his sneer turned into yet another look of horror as his tail stopped short of its mark. John’s own tail had stopped the attack, holding Kurama’s in place. Kurama’s eyes went even wider, as his mind returned him to the day this all started. This time, though, he wouldn’t get away.

Grabbing on to the tail with both hands, John pulled it off of the ground and Kurama closer to himself. Stomping down on Kurama’s back, John grabbed the tail with both hands and pulled it as hard as he could. Kurama screamed yet again as his tail was ripped clean off, spewing purple gas that vanished together with the tail and any magic it stored. John was starting to reach for another, but Kurama wasn’t going to allow that. He was already down to five now…

Mustering as much magic as he had left, Kurama unleashed a force strong enough to knock John away. It was just enough for Kurama to get up and step away, get whatever distance he could. It didn’t matter. Hardly able to stand now, Kurama looked over to John, still unfazed. Still moving closer to him. Kurama finally snapped a second time.

“Alright, that’s it!” Kurama swept his arm up, drawing the image of the motionless Corey towards him, holding it with both hands, glaring at John like a rabid dog, “If this is how it ends, I’m taking him with me!”

The image of Corey began to distort and blur as John looked at it, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. This was just the final nail in Kurama’s coffin.

John flared his wings and launched himself towards Kurama with a powerful flap, letting out a roar as he drew his fist back. Kurama knew what was coming, and he knew that he couldn’t stop it now.

All he could do was stand there in utter terror, something he’d forced others to experience, but had never experienced himself in his life. John’s fist hit him square in the chest, and in that moment, something audibly popped…
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“Something’s happening! Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

Everyone took a stance, making sure they were a safe distance from the orb. Both bodies had begun to move, what this meant, they only had one idea; the fight was over. Cracks began to form around the orb, the magic strands that connected them starting to shift in the balance, John’s overtaking Kurama’s. It looked like it was finally over, the suffering was finally at an end.

They were prepared to take Kurama in the instant the orb was gone, but they didn’t prepare for John to make the first move. His fist suddenly launched forward, his body letting off a truly savage roar that could be heard all over Ponyville as he struck Kurama square in the chest. There was a pause as the sound of the strike resonated through the room; a single, solitary ‘pop!’ In that moment, Kurama spit up blood and his body flew to the adjacent wall, cracking it severely.

Finally, both combatants fell; John to his knees, Kurama flat on his face. Everyone stared in silence as the scene that had unfolded sunk in. The only sound that could be heard was John’s deep breaths, his pupils coming back into view; unslit, perfectly visible. When John’s breathing finally slowed, he began to look around in confusion, realizing this wasn’t the same hellscape he was in a few minutes ago.

“T-the fight… W-what happened?” He couldn’t remember a thing. He was fighting Kurama, last he remembered, and then all of a sudden, he was back in reality. Everything in between was a blur.

He looked to everyone, and they looked. Their expressions were unreadable. He didn’t know what was going on. Did he win? Did he finally manage to stop Kurama? He needed an answer.

John got it a few minutes, later, but at that moment, he wished that he hadn’t. He saw Kurama’s body lying motionless on the ground, his eyes growing wide. He watched as Fluttercruel walked up to Kurama, placing two fingers to his neck. After several seconds, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Kurama had died.

It all washed over John then and there, what he had done. But why should he feel it? After all that Kurama had done, why would he feel it now? Why did he feel regret for what had happened? The answer, though, was more obvious than he thought.

How else was someone to react when they found out they’d killed someone?
-------------------------------------------
Corey laid out, flat on his face, unable to rise. He could feel himself lying on a cold, smooth surface, and dreaded getting back up. He dreaded even opening his eyes to see where he was. Deep down, he knew where it was. And he understood why it was happening now. Why this hell always seemed to bring him back to it.

He stood up slowly, finding he felt so weak. Was it his heart, his body, or his spirit that was weak? It was probably all three, he decided, as he finally opened his eyes. Sure enough, he was back here once again. The fog was thicker than it ever had been, the temperature was even colder now, and the crystals around him were heavily frosted, so much so they seemed opaque by comparison. It wasn’t hard to understand.

For the briefest instant, once again, a feeling of warmth passed over him. However, it passed just as quickly as it started, and Corey shook his head.

“There’s no way out for me…” Corey said, hearing the bloodcurdling screams now, starting to walk down a random hall, “This...is my punishment.”

Author's Note:

There you have it. That's one more down. Act 3 is nearly done as well, but don't think that's the end. There's still a lot of story left.

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[Luna is back]

The bishop burns...