Collision Code

by SSJRandomMaster

Act 4 Chapter 7

Act IV: Climactic Collisions
Chapter 7: Culture Corroder Norma
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Esper spent a lot of time alone in his study now. He hadn’t seen his book nearly as often as he would have liked. Despite his best efforts in teaching his students, it seemed it wasn’t enough. More and more community members were vanishing left and right without a trace. There was no signs of a struggle or anything; they’d just vanished off the face of the earth like they were never on it to begin with.

Now, more and more of his students—his fellow Astral Ponies--were being taken. For the life of him, he couldn’t fathom how it could have went so wrong like this.

I don’t believe this… Esper said, One of the other elders disappeared, along with half the community’s members! Just what could be causing this? No struggles, no signs of a battle… if it’s a beast causing this, how is it able to sneak up on us? If not, how is it able to move within our own village?

He continued to sit in silence for long periods of time, only able to come out of it when his students came to visit him sporadically. The students that did come to visit him said they hadn’t seen any sign of anything that could be causing the disappearances.

I achieved a power no other astral pony has… it’s the reason I’m considered an Elder, Esper continued, It’s why I’m the magical authority of the community! I should be able to resolve this!

Esper paused, looking up as inspiration struck him. He had found a lot of answers to things in his years of meditation. It was how he’d come up with a good number of spells that hadn’t been done by ponies that wrote runic spells by hammer and chisel, by quill and ink, or whatever. Certainly meditation could give him some clarity he hadn’t quite thought of, something he had overlooked?

He paused again. Meditation had given him answers, which he often wrote in the book. But for a good amount of time, the book hadn’t been in his possession. Though he did have it for some intervals here and there, it had been in Para Norma’s possession while she tested the new pocket dimension spell. She had returned it to him for the last time just two weeks ago, not too long after the class was taught the self-defense spells…

In fact, had Esper really looked at the book since then? Perhaps a spell in there could help him as well. Esper retrieved the book from the place where he’d usually stored it with a wave of his hand. Figuring he’d see if there were any notes Para Norma had written down in the margins regarding the spell, he’d go there first.

What he saw shocked and enraged him in equal amounts. A few of the pages had been removed entirely—in fact, they were the relevant pages to his enlightenment, as well as, of course, the pocket dimension spell.

The shock and anger gave way to an empty feeling. Could it be possible? Was Para Norma misusing a spell right under everyone’s noses? Had she made modifications to it? Esper couldn’t fathom the thought of a student of his falling so far off the way, but the more ponies vanished, the more she grew stronger…

Even if it wasn’t her, she did tear a few pages out of his book at some point. Esper resolved to confront her, closing the book and leaving it on his desk. He walked, making rapid steps to his new destination:

Para Norma’s home.
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It should have been obvious to me, but it hadn’t occurred to me just what she was up to. When I’d found her, what happened was a fate none of us deserved. And our fate was one that could have been easily avoided, if only anyone had thought that the disappearances may have been caused by one of our own.

Norma had been so careful for so long… but when I made my unscheduled visit to her home, I found something I did not expect…

Para Norma was nowhere in sight… nor were the pages she’d taken.
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Esper touched down outside of Norma’s home. From within, he could see no signs of life—in fact, he couldn’t see anything from outside. There wasn’t even a candle lit to indicate anyone was home or awake at this hour. And yet, as he stood there, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Esper pressed forward, moving towards the home, the gravel shifting underfoot being the only sound to echo in the night air. Once close enough he’d noticed something: the door was ajar. He stared at it for a few moments before giving it a cautious push. The wood hinges creaked as the door swung open, revealing a very much empty home inside.

He stepped inside, his vision straining from the lack of light. Raising his hand, he began collecting runes around it until he created his own light source. It was tinted blue slightly, but it worked all the same. But when his eyes adjusted to the new light, he was met with a horrific sight. Esper did not know how Norma usually kept house, but this was not normal either way.

The house was in total disarray: furniture was toppled over, signs of several struggles throughout the house… countless stories were told, and none of them ended happily. In that moment, Esper knew for sure what was going on.

It was her all along… all this time… The light in his palm grew violent as his rage grew. He thought back, back to all the times he should have noticed something was off, but he didn’t. It was always right in his face, right under his nose, but he couldn’t… no, he didn’t see them as they were set on the table before him. Why? Perhaps it was his own sense of pride; a false hope that one under his tutelage was not capable of such an act. But he could deny it no longer. Something had to be done about this. As the one who may have given her the means, Esper would have to stop it with his own hands. He rotated in place, letting the light grow in intensity. With the state the home was in, he doubted that anyone was inside. That meant Para Norma would be out, no doubt searching for her next victim.

He turned around and began towards the door, letting the light die down as he did so.

“Tonight, this--!”

Suddenly, a cold chill ran down Esper’s spine, the fur on the back of his neck standing in what was pure survival instinct kicking in. Quickly, he turned again, his eyes locked towards the door leading towards another room.

But I sensed no signs of life, how could--? Then, he heard a thump, something hard hitting the ground accompanied by what sounded like a door slamming open. Esper gathered his runes on instinct as the rapid thumps on the ground grew louder. Finally, something entered his field of vision, as though breaking free from the darkness of the room behind her. But this was not Para Norma. No, it was another student of his.

“Willow Wisp!?” Esper called out. The colt tripped over his own hooves, not expecting the sound of his voice. As he tried to pick himself up, he met Esper’s eyes. Willow’s eyes were very watery, and he was clearly scared out of his mind. Around his muzzle was a scarf, and sobs mixed with grunts came out as Willow raised one hand, trying desperately to rid himself of the gag. Eventually, Willow managed to pry it loose.

“E-Esper… please, please… don’t let her—“ But he could say no more as his body was suddenly jerked back, being dragged against his will back into the darkness he’d tried so desperately to escape. He cried and begged for help as his nails peeled the floor beneath him. Esper could only watch in numb shock as it all unfolded before him. All he could hear was Willow’s last screams as a flash of white light broke through the darkness, only to return to darkness once again.

Then, silence. The tension in the air became incredibly thick. Esper wasn’t sure what he was dealing with, what form of magic was being used to do what had just happened. But he couldn’t take it lightly. Not after all that it had managed to accomplish. The silence persisted and yet Esper began to see something cutting through the darkness of the next room once more. Without a sound, Norma had appeared before him, the small innocent child Esper remembered her to be.

But the illusion only lasted as long as he willed to believe it. He could protect himself no longer from what objective reality was telling him. In that moment, Esper Wisdom accepted that the Para Norma he knew was gone. The vision soon blurred away into the sands of time and the real Norma was revealed. She stood there, her body relaxed as she leaned against the wooden frame. He could see it in her face alone. She did not regret whatsoever what she was doing and what she had done. She looked as comfortable as she could be.

“Hello, Esper,” Her voice was calm and cold. The only emotion that seemed to be in her at all was pride.

“Para Norma…” Esper snarled, “Tell me… just what it is you think you’ve done??” He demanded, his magic flaring with his anger. Norma didn’t even flinch. Instead, the smirk across her face just grew wider.

“I’ve done what any good student would, Esper,” Norma took a step forward, her arms spread apart as though inviting Esper to come closer, “To strive to be the best, to aim for nothing short of perfection.” She took another step towards him, “Are you not proud Esper, to see one of your students come so far?”

Esper didn’t answer, only scowling as Norma continued to draw closer.

“Well, you should be… After all, if not for that one spell, none of this would be possible…”

That touched a nerve. Esper threw his hand forward, the light he had created when he’d heard Willow’s attempt at escaping turning into a projectile to be flung at Norma. His aim was off; either his anger hindered his accuracy or the teacher in him still unable to bring himself to harm a student, as twisted as Norma had become… whatever the case, the projectile flew past her, passing within centimeters from her head. Norma still did not flinch.

“My teachings were to help my students protect themselves, to protect the village! But you… you’ve taken it and perverted it for your own selfish desires!”

At this, Norma stopped, looking to Esper with an arched brow. At that moment, Esper would have given anything to know that he had somehow reached her through the madness that consumed her. But that all vanished the moment he heard her laugh.

“You sound just like Willow Wisp…”

In that moment, something in Esper broke. Whatever wall that may have kept him at bay up until now suddenly came crumbling down. He looked down, his eyes closed in defeat.

“I see,” said Esper, “Thank you Norma…”

Esper raised his gaze once more as magic seeped out from both of his hands as he lifted them up.

“Thank you for showing me what I must do,” Esper finished, his hands positioned as though he were holding a ball with both hands at the center of his chest, still glowing with blue runes.

Norma showed no fear at all, white runes dancing across the whole of her body. “Very well, Esper. It’s time for the student to surpass the master…”

Esper stood his ground, waiting for Norma to make her first move. He needed to know just what it was he was dealing with before he used his powers. Norma squatted down slightly, and a few moments later, a light—an aura, rather, ignited around Norma’s body. It was white, like most of her runes, but ever so often, Esper noticed red sparks dancing throughout the aura, which itself was an erratic flame that sprayed out in all angles.

“How did you get this powerful…” Esper murmured, “How did this go so wrong…”

“Wrong??” Norma asked, raising one of her hands as a white orb of magic began to form in it, “I think you might be mistaken…”

Norma extended the hand out at Esper, throwing an energy ball at Esper. That was all he needed to see. Leaving one of his hands in front of his chest, Esper lifted a glowing hand to the orb. The orb impacted against his palm, causing his hand to kick back slightly, but not enough. Esper slowly closed his hand, extinguishing the attack.

Her magic is a lot stronger than I remember it being… Esper thought, I should finish this quickly. And once I’m done…

Quickly returning his hands in front of his chest, Esper began to twist his wrists slightly, so that his palms were rotated in different directions. Then, he clenched his hands tightly, squatting down. In a moment, the power granted to him through his enlightenment surged forth in the form of a blue aura that covered his body. The resulting shockwave caused the floor at Esper’s feet to shred, and knocked Norma flat on her back.

Norma gazed back at Esper. “This must be that secret art of yours!”

Esper frowned deeply. “So you took those pages as well?”

“I could never get it to work for me…” Norma lamented, standing up, “But maybe I don’t need to…”

“A power like this is not meant for the likes of you!” Esper shouted, swiping his arm. Norma stood up, smirking all the while.

“We’ll see…” Norma said, moving forward in a blur. Esper was able to track her, catching her trying to attack from his side. Esper lifted a forearm, blocking a palm strike. Norma strafed to her right, winding up directly in front of Esper again. She tried to do another palm strike, but Esper swatted her hand away with a forearm, leaning forward with a punch of his own.

The runes swirled forth from his aura as he did so, and the impact spell of his definitely hit Norma hard. She audibly coughed hard, and the force of the spell sent her flying hard enough to blow her through the door she’d just stepped out of as well as the wall to that room.

As it turned out, Norma had been blown clear out of the back of her home, as Esper discovered when he charged after her. However, once he found her again, Norma’s aura had dissipated, and she was on her hands and knees, coughing. To Esper, it seemed like she had already run out of steam. Esper slowed his pace, walking through the hole in the wall.

There were a few concerned voices starting up around them. There was no way a noise like that was going to go unnoticed, but that worked to Esper’s advantage—it was, after all, time to bring Norma to justice. Norma didn’t seem to care, still crouched over.

“Do you understand now?” Esper asked, “What you’ve done was wrong, Norma, and I aim to correct my mistake…”

Norma said nothing, even as Esper drew closer. A few voices started to get closer, no doubt going in for a closer look. Esper raised his voice for a few moments.

“Please, stay back! I will explain everything as soon as this is done…” Esper gazed down to the defeated-looking Norma, wondering what to do with her. Perhaps there may have been a glimmer of hope within her that could be reached? Or… did he have to report this to some higher authorities…

“Para Norma, what you’ve done is unforgivable,” Esper announced, “Understand this: I will find out just what you’ve done to your victims, and I will make sure to free them!”

“What?!” A voice shouted, “That mare was behind it!?”

“How… how??” Another shouted in disbelief. Esper could feel it—they were drawing closer.

“I said, stay back--!” Esper turned his head from Norma for a moment, but that was all it took.

“That’s what you think, Esper!!” Norma shrieked, slamming both of her hands into Esper’s chest. Esper took a couple of steps back, now facing his former student. He was going to have to subdue her, wasn’t he—

As soon as Esper thought of moving towards Norma to do just that, he felt a tremendous pain radiating first from his forearms, then across his entire body. Esper was forcibly made to stand up straight, his arms pinned to his sides. Esper looked, and saw with horror, the glowing white runes on his forearms and chest. The bindings glowed bright red and crackled with electricity whenever he fought against the force binding his body.

“Elder Esper’s in trouble!” shouted a villager.

“Take her down, quick!” shouted another, “She can’t take all of us together!”

Norma looked around, smirking. “So you all want to volunteer, then? That’s just fine…”

Norma’s aura flared, white with red sparks, and seemingly even wilder than before. Runes began to swirl around Norma’s hands, and Esper watched in horror as the color of the runes together with her aura began to change color.

Her aura and runes began to change to a crimson hue as she brought her hands together, and in a red flash, Norma had cast her spell.

The shouts of valor were suddenly replaced with chilling screams of terror. Esper could only watch as red glowing portals began to appear all around. Villagers would try to flee from them, but they would wind up sucked in anyway. The portals did not discriminate by age or race—Esper understood in an instant that all the villagers would be sucked up.

“No…” Esper shook his head, his blue aura flaring, “No!!”

Esper’s power surged upwards, and in a few moments, he broke the bindings that held them, forcing them apart with his strength buffed. Norma turned to see him, but that smirk of hers never left.

“It’s pointless,” Norma informed him, motioning towards his feet, “Look.”

Esper looked down and realized a portal had opened beneath his own feet. It sucked him in hungrily. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t outfly it. The screams of the other villagers began to die down slowly, until there was silence once again. Esper struggled as hard as he could, but all he succeeded in doing was wearing out his wings. In the end, Esper felt himself lose altitude.

“Join the rest of them!” Norma shouted, lifting her hand, which glowed bright red. Esper felt the pull on him increase. As his distance from the portal decreased, Esper made his decision. He had no idea if it would work, but at the same time it was better than doing nothing about Norma’s total fall to darkness.

Esper fought, managing to lift one of his arms towards the skies above. Runes swirled into his hand, and in a few moments his ace-in-the-hole formed. Esper launched a blue bolt into the air, which exploded into a bright blue series of lights…

And that was the last of the real world Esper Wisdom saw for eons…
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“My final spell was meant to be a distress call,” said Esper, “It was all I could do at the time. I suppose King Solaris and Queen Nocturne received my distress call?”

“King Solaris? Queen Nocturne?” Corey asked, “Are they who I think they are—the parents of Princesses Celestia and Luna?”

Esper paused for a moment. “I do not recall a ‘Luna’… but yes, you are correct. Back in those days, they ruled over the land, coaxing the sun and moon through their orbit.”

“A lot has changed since those days…” Corey said, closing his eyes, reflecting on everything he’d just learned, “Well, you’re right to say that your distress call was answered. Para Norma was imprisoned in Tartarus from what I can assume was around that time up until about last month. And from what I’ve heard, she was a total non-entity even among the prison records. The powers that be didn’t even know she existed until all this started.”

“I suppose there were a few things about our spell that we couldn’t have foreseen…” Esper said.

Corey’s jaw set for a moment, and a silent fury began to bubble underneath the surface. Sure, the Astral ponies were caught by one of their own, and that sucked. It also lent him an understanding of this current situation. His senseless travel to the dimension didn’t need to happen at all to bring Norma to justice!

“So how do I play into all this? She’d been captured and punished already,” Corey said, shaking his head, “Why was I summoned? Why was John summoned? Why did I see your guys’ distress signal?”

Esper gave a slow, heavy sigh. “You must understand… we were imprisoned for a very long time. After floating in her pocket dimension for so long, we began to plot an escape. The villagers eventually turned to me to devise a solution; something I had already been working on for quite some time.”

“Quite some time…” Corey said, “Now that I think about it… what happened to you all, exactly? I know she was using the pocket dimension spell on you guys.”

Esper frowned darkly. “It’s a bit more than that. It is the spell, or at least it’s based on the spell. When she captured us, her power grew. It wasn’t until she cast her final spell—the one responsible for erasing our culture—that I understood.’

Corey felt a pit in his stomach drop.

“We’ve been kept in stasis, never aging, never dying, still just as we were the day we were taken…” Esper said, “And we are her power source.”

“She’s using you all like a battery…” Corey reflected, disgusted with the situation and at himself, “Given that… I think I’m starting to understand the desperation you all were consumed with.”

“I don’t think you can…” Esper shook his head, “As I was saying, I was trying to devise a solution for our escape. I had to take several things into account. One of them being that the pocket dimension was likely in a gap between the dimensions, so a spell that let us reach out for help would be highly unpredictable. It probably took a form you were familiar with. Am I correct?”

Corey’s eyes slowly widened. “Yes… it did.”

“The spell was immensely powerful; we were transferring at least one person between worlds to help us. All of us within the pocket dimension pooled our magic together and simply waited in meditation until we got our signal. The signal came when somepony who could see our message would decipher it. And like I told you before, the message would only reveal itself to who we deemed worthy.” Esper continued.

“But that’s…” Corey reflected, “I can’t believe that. When I saw your message, I wasn’t at my best emotionally. I wasn’t even a pony when I saw it, and I was able to put it together.”

“The spell—however you received it—must have seen you for who you could become, rather than who you were. As I told you before, though, I am sure you would not have seen it if you were as bad as you thought you were,” Esper said, “Admittedly, our spell wasn’t perfect anyway. There were a number of things the spell might have done that we aren’t even aware of, now. In addition, your friend was pulled in too.”

“When you were pushed into a corner like that, you were willing to try anything,” Corey said, his mind at ease, “No matter the risk…”

“And a risky spell it was, that I came up with,” Esper said, “There are two significant drawbacks to the spell. One; with the energy we expended to make the jump, we woke Norma from her stasis, giving her a large amount of power; enough to make the moves she’s made. And two…”

Esper paused again, looking hesitant to say it. Ultimately, though, he stood up on his feet. “When you did assemble the spell, causing it to go off… It took a lot of energy just to get you and your friend here. Energy I don’t think we can spare for a return trip…”

Corey’s heart sank. He’d almost entirely forgotten about his life in his home dimension. What Esper had told him was a harsh reminder of the fact he wasn’t going to be able to go back. In fact, this one was worse. Esper seemed to know the way back, but Corey didn’t know if he could do it knowing he’d be condemning many others to die…

“That’s… a lot to think about,” Corey finally said, “But at least… now I know. If only John were within my range… I’d be able to tell him what’s happened.”

“I trust you understand now?” Esper asked, “How things are, and why you’re here?”

“I don’t have any more questions,” Corey said, “Now I know what I need to know.”

“That’s great to hear…” Esper said, looking upon him the same way a proud teacher would to a student that had done well, “I only wish this never had to happen at all.”

Corey found he was wondering, subconsciously, whether or not he had that same wish. While he’d never wanted to get ripped apart like he had, only to be assembled once again, he had been assembled into something greater than he had been…

Esper gasped, clutching his chest in pain. His image seemed to flicker.

“What’s wrong!?” Corey asked, alarmed at the sudden change.

“She’s… getting stronger. No doubt she’ll realize what I’ve done soon enough,” Esper said, “I’ll leave you to prepare to confront her, but before I do, I must know…”

Corey stood up himself for the first time since Esper had begun his tale, anticipating his question.

“Are you truly prepared to go up against the likes of her?” Esper asked, “Her, and the others with her that have not yet been vanquished?”

“I’ve been doing that since this whole thing started,” Corey said, “We will. I’m sure of it. I believe in everyone—in John, Twilight, and everyone else. More importantly, I believe in myself. We’re going to overcome them when the day comes. I’ll be ready. So will they.”

“Very well…” Esper lurched forward at this point, hand glowing in blue runes. Corey flinched and immediately got himself ready in case Esper had tried something, but Esper simply slammed his hand into the ground. The point at which he struck the ground flashed for just a moment, but faded after a while.

“I must take my leave,” Esper said, slowly standing up. The room around them slowly began to fade away in a shower of blue runes that faded into the skies above; Esper himself began to fade as well.

“Wait!” Corey asked, “What did you just do??”

Esper just gave a half-smile as the last of his head began to fade into nothingness, together with the room. As Corey found himself in the grassy field of his creation once again, Corey heard an echoing voice.

“In case you need further advice… I think you may appreciate what I’ve done…”
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In the room littered with lit candles, Corey woke up, still in the same spot he’d been in when he started. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there perfectly still, but Corey didn’t care. He sat in the dim room with his eyes open, reflecting on everything he’d just learned through what he assumed was a vision of some kind.

“So… I’m to avenge the culture that was lost, but the thing is, it didn’t really need to be avenged in the first place…” Corey murmured, “I’m not some ‘Chosen One’ or anything like that. The only reason it’s come to this is because I fiddled with something not even the original creators understood…”

Corey stood up, feeling a sense of determination well up in him anew. “Not much that can be done about it now, though. Guess I’ve just gotta buckle down and get myself ready for this, but first…”

Corey turned, making his way for the large door to the room. For the moment, one thing was on his mind.

“I’d better tell Princess Celestia, or someone who can quickly get the word to the others… about what I’ve just learned. If nothing else, it’d give us all a small sense of closure…”
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It had been a painful wait, but Slayer knew the day of reckoning was close now. His entire body burned with revenge, the anticipation of seeing that green unicorn once again horrendously broken and begging for death…and only then would he grant him that request. No one else, not even Para Norma, would take that from him. However, there was one thing he had to do. Slayer marched through the catacombs that had been the breakouts’ base, his mind only on his destination.

What has she been up to all this time?? Slayer asked.

Soon, he was there—in the central room where he’d spent his time healing from his near-death experience. It was here he’d watched Corey almost be snuffed out by someone who wasn’t him, and it was here he’d been while he healed the rest of the way afterward. And sure enough, she was there too, turning to acknowledge him before he could say a word.

“Ah, Slayer,” Her voice was calm and collected at first, before sliding into utter coldness, “What do you want? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your revenge?”

“I’m as ready as I’ve ever been, and I can’t wait much longer!” Slayer shouted back. Norma smirked coldly at this, “The time’s almost here! Why are we still in these caves?”

“Quiet down,” said Norma, “Everything is almost ready.”

Slayer scoffed heavily. “What do you mean, ‘everything’? You’ve been in this room a lot, and I haven’t seen you do anything to get yourself ready…”

“Slayer, Slayer, Slayer,” Norma shook her head lightly, “You really shouldn’t take me lightly…”

Norma lifted a hand that glowed with red runes. A few moments later, the light illuminated the dim cave. Slayer began to look around.

“I think you’ll find I’ve been preparing quite thoroughly in anticipation for our final confrontation! These, for starters…”

Slayer’s eyes grew wider as he took in exactly what was happening. It was those weird manikins again, but they seemed to be far more numerous, some growing out of the very walls of the massive central cave itself, and some partially morphed into each other. There had to be hundreds of them at the ready!

“And that’s not even getting into what else I have come up with in the past month… I believe Celestia and her pawns… no… not just them, but all of Equestria… will be in for a very nasty surprise when I come knocking!”

Norma’s demeanor gave way to loud shrieks of laughter. Despite the hatred that flowed through his veins, Slayer found himself slightly chilled by how off-balance she was at that moment, and it made him wonder for just a moment…

Should we win this… will the rest of us who made it this far be spared?

Despite his new concerns, Slayer held his tongue. Whether or not Norma would kill him once this was over didn’t totally matter at the moment. His revenge came first. Only then could he figure out what to do…

Author's Note:

And thus, we come to the end of the interlude period. From next chapter on, the final arc of battles is about to begin. We are about a third of the way through this act. Following this will be a short fifth and final act which serves to tie up any loose ends. There's still a little ways to go before the end, but I hope it will all be worth it to get to the other end. In the meantime, leave a comment if you've liked the story so far, and see you all next week as usual.

Comments

[ShadowLight96]

Wows. Oh how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.