Chaotic Harmony: Do Over

by shirotora

Chapter 44: Stormfall

Blue Moon hit the ground hard, leaving a furrow in the ground a good fifteen feet long.

He growled as he got to his feet, on guard for a follow up attack. "You're stronger than you should be."

"It's been an eventful month," Fluttershy retorted as she landed.

Fluttershy was already moving to counter when Blue Moon launched himself at her. She flipped around, slapping him in the face with the tuft of her tail. With his vision obscured, he didn't see the stick that got caught between his toes, putting him off balance and making him an easy target for a two hooved buck to the side.

"You've lost, Blue Moon," Fluttershy declared. "You can't win."

Blue Moon laughed. "What, you think getting a couple lucky hits in means you beat me?"

"No, I think getting you alone and smashing your berserk suppressant beat you," she countered.

Blue Moon looked down at where Fluttershy had bucked him to see liquid soaking through his coat. "How... what?"

"I said it's been an eventful month," Fluttershy said. "I spent it with my grandmother, a sun dragon, learning to control my abilities. Do you know what that means?"

Even in his berserker form, Blue Moon could recall the stories of sun dragons. "You can predict what I’m about to do?"

Fluttershy answered, "Well, like this, I can. If you hadn't used that moon stone you would have been too clever and quick thinking for it to work. Like this though... even now, you're struggling to keep up with what I'm saying. You can only fight instinctively, and that makes you easy to predict and manipulate."

Blue Moon narrowed his eyes at her. "Why tell me, then? Why not just use it to kill me?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," she replied. "Right now, I'm pissed. I find it frighteningly easy to pummel you, but I'm no killer. I just want you gone, and this is your chance. Leave now, or your survival isn't guaranteed."

Blue Moon laughed. "You just said you're not a killer, and then tell me I'm going to die? How does that work?"

"I never said I'd be the one to kill you," Fluttershy replied.

He laughed again. "What, you think one of your friends can defeat me? Sorry, but the only one that had a chance is dead. Besides, they're going to be far too busy to come save you."

"Dealing with the tigerian your friend summoned? Yeah, I suppose they will," Fluttershy replied, much to his surprise. "Sadly, you're wrong about the rest of it. You better choose soon." A rumble of thunder could be heard as dark clouds rolled in from the Everfree. "It looks like a storm's coming. You're going to want to decide before it gets here. Leave and live, or stay and risk death."

Blue Moon growled, having made his choice. He charged, drawing his divine element.

---

The girls looked at the tigerian in fear and anger as he strode carelessly toward them.

"Submit and pledge your loyalty to the true ruler of this realm and I shall only kill one of you," he said. "I will even allow you to decide which among you shall perish."

Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen. How about, instead, we kick your ass and toss you back into Tartarus?!"

"I respect your conviction, however misplaced and foolish it may be," Verin said, lowering into a fighting stance, claws at the ready. "If that is your choice, I shall kill you all."

Twilight barely saw him move before he was in her face, claw slashing at her horn. She didn't have time to move, or even finish casting her spell. Thankfully, though, she didn't need to be. She knew she would never be able to dodge, but she continued to glare at him, unperturbed, as she continued casting her spell.

She didn't need to be fast, because she had friends that were. Rainbow Dash started things off by kicking Verin's claw aside. Applejack followed up with a shoulder check, knocking him off balance where Rarity was ready to entangle him with extra strength thread. With him bound, Pinkie grabbed him from behind and suplex him into the earth.

That was all the time Twilight needed to finish her spell. She didn't know what kind of abilities this creature had, so casting a spell on him was a gamble. Instead, she cast a spell on her friends and herself. They shimmered with a dull violet sheen that clung to their bodies like a second skin.

With their protection in place, Twilight went on the offensive. Casting spells on him may have been a gamble, but good old fashioned magic blasts were always a good choice.

The tigerian had already gotten to his feet and was preparing to attack by the time she started firing at him. He tried to dodge out of the way, but they were too close and too many. He avoided the bulk of them, but a few managed to find their mark.

"Impressive," he said as he charged at Twilight again. At the last moment, though, he shot to the side, Rainbow Dash stumbling as there was no expected resistance.

Instead, Rarity took a back paw to the muzzle, sending her flying into the wall of a nearby house. He leaped back to avoid a beam launched by Twilight only to get kicked right back into its path by a kick from Applejack. He was sent flying in the opposite direction of their unicorn friend before a drop kick from Rainbow Dash spiked him into the ground, giving Pinkie enough time to check on Rarity.

"I... I'm okay, darling. Twilight's spell helped soften the blow."

Verin laughed as he got back to his feet. "Very impressive. You fight as warrior sisters; one in mind, body, and soul. Perhaps if the last of your number were here as well, you could quite possibly defeat me."

"Fluttershy'll be here as soon as she takes out dog-boy. Don't you worry about that," Rainbow Dash said, defiantly.

"Perhaps, but will she arrive before one of you fall?" Varin replied before charging at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow met his charge, head on. She used her speed to keep ahead of him, ducking and weaving through his blows and unleashing a barrage of punches of her own. None of them were particularly powerful, but the shear number of them made up for it.

Varin spun away, twisting to grab Applejack’s legs and used her as a bludgeon on the pegasus. Then, he flipped, grabbed a pawful of pink mane and throwing Pinkie at Twilight.

A hail of needles swarmed down on him, but he just raised an arm in front of his face. His body seemed to ripple and solidify, and the needles bounced off.

Verin prepared to pounce on the unicorn, but a loud, "Hey!" drew his attention. Rainbow Dash was charging at him again.

Twilight loomed up just in time to see the flesh of the tigerian's arm ripple and contort, growing long and thin like a blade.

He leaped, spinning in mid air. As Rainbow Dash flew beneath him, his blade arm swung down.

"Rainbow!"

---

Fluttershy shuddered. "So, not the best case scenario."

Blue moon snarled at her as he tore at the vines he had gotten himself tangled in. He was little more than a snarling beast, now. Predicting him was no longer an effort. The only risk to Fluttershy was the chain on his Sword. It lashed out, seemingly at random, and was much more difficult to predict.

Still, it didn't seem to be targeting her or anything specific, so she was confident she could avoid it.

Fluttershy glanced up, the storm was already over their heads, but it hadn't quite reached Ponyville.

Blue Moon broke free of his restraints and swung his sword down at Fluttershy. She easily leaped away to his left, keeping him between her and the chain.

Fluttershy was almost caught off guard by a followup attack, an upward slash she barely saw coming. The effects of the moonstone were wearing off. Not only that, but her foresight was starting to become hazy. Her vision was slowing and giving her less.

It wouldn't be long now.

Blue Moon charged her again, but Fluttershy opened her mouth and struck him with a beam of sunlight. It was small and weak without the sun shining, but it was enough to disrupt his attack.

The fog encroaching upon her foresight combined with Blue Moon's mind slowly returning made it almost certain she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Eventually, he'll start landing blows. Hopefully, what she foresaw would come to pass before... well, what she foresaw.

She barely moved in time as another sword stroke aimed to take her head.

"You're getting slow," Blue Moon snarled.

"And you're getting smarter. But are you smart enough to leave while you can? You have precious little time left."

He answered with another swing of his sword, much less wild that before. It was getting harder and harder to predict him.

She opened her mouth, letting sunlight pool in her mouth. Blue Moon braced himself, ready to dodge. His gaze was so intent there was no way he could protect himself when, instead of a beam, a bright flash of light flared.

Blue Moon recoiled, blinded by the light. "Bitch!"

Fluttershy charged head on, intent on tackling him into the nearest tree.

His ear flicked and he thrust his sword, impaling her through the chest...

Fluttershy charged, arcing around to come at him from the flank.

He twisted, sword passing cleanly through Fluttershy's neck, sending her head tumbling through the air.

Fluttershy flew above him, opting against the direct assault. She fell on him like a falcon at its prey.

The chain of his sword shot up, wrapping around-

Shoot! Fluttershy cursed to herself. She couldn't foresee a single angle of attack that didn't end poorly for her, and she used up all her stored sunlight. She couldn't run, either. She had to occupy him a little longer.

She decided to try one more time. "You can still leave. You don't have much time."

"I'm not the one running out time," he said, sending his chain out to sweep where he heard her, but she already moved.

She continued trying to foresee any path forward. All she had to do was survive.

Then, as thunder boomed and lightning pierced the sky, her foresight went dark.

Fluttershy smiled. "Too late."

---

"Hold on, Rainbow, hold on!" Twilight said as she worked to stanch the bleeding.

She could barely spare the focus to watch the battle still raging between her remaining friends and the monster.

She had to make a decision. A very hard decision that could very likely lead to one of her friends losing everything, or their lives.

She could either stay there, keeping a stasis spell on Rainbow Dash, or she could cauterize the wound. The former would put her other three friends at risk, but the latter...

Twilight shuddered, looking at the bloody stumps where once the most amazing wings stood.

One option puts her friends lives at risk, but the other would strip away everything Rainbow loved. The possibility of their friends dying or the guaranteed destruction of another's very way of life.

There's only one answer and you know it! Her wings, if they're even still around here, are mangled beyond saving. Even if we got her to a hospital, they can't be reattached.

"I... I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she placed her horn against the stumps and sent a burst of healing magic into them, closing the wounds and slowing the bleeding. "Rarity, I need you to get Rainbow to the hospital."

Rarity looked back. "I'm not abandoning you!"

"No, you aren't, you're saving our friend's life. I've done all I can, but she needs medical attention."

Rarity fired off a barrage of stones, having ran out of needles. She let out a growl. She knew she was the least effective of them in a fight, but she still wanted to help. Still, she was needed for something else. Rarity turned and ran to her fallen friend, lifting her onto her back, and ran.

Twilight used the rage now burning in her and poured it into her horn, determined to make the monster pay. She took to the sky, uncaring if anypony saw her wings, and unleashed a beam of magic from above.

Applejack barely had time to get out of the way. Verin, though, only had time to mold his arm into a shield.

The beam slammed into him like a freight train. Verin's feet dug furrows in the ground and cracks started to rupture across his shield as he struggled to hold back the attack.

Verin flicked his tail at Twilight, flinging a small spike. Blinded by her anger and the brightness of her own attack, she was completely unaware until it pierced her side, burying itself between ribs and into her lung.

She cried out and her attack died out as she plummeted to the ground.

"Twilight!" Applejack called out as she rushed to her fallen comrade.

Verin took that distraction to hit her in the ribs with a powerful punch, sending her crashing into the side of a house near where Twilight landed.

He turned and flung a spread of darts at Pinkie as she rushed to aid her friends, but like most of his attempts to harm her, she just somehow weaved her way between them, even catching one and throwing it back with her mane. Verin truly hated that one.

"Are you okay?" Pinkie asked Twilight, trying to keep the worry from her voice.

"Y-yeah... I'm a demigod, remember?" Twilight assured her as she struggled to her hooves. "As long as my heart and brain are okay, I'll be fine. AJ, you good?"

"Not really... broke ribs... not a demigod."

Pinkie looked forlornly at their adversary. He was wounded, bleeding from his arm and chest, but compared to them... "I... I don't think we can win, Twilight."

Twilight couldn't help but think she might be right. "Maybe not, but I'm not giving up."

Applejack struggled to right herself and force herself to stand by Twilight’s side. "Ah'm with you."

Pinkie did her best to project strength she didn't feel. "Till the end."

Verin chuckled. "Your courage is admirable. I think I’ll let your friends live. Take that as my gratitude to you."

That was surprisingly reassuring to Twilight. She had a feeling he meant what he said.

She watched as his arm twisted and lengthened into a blade.

"Now... Do you wish to play for blood?"

The rumble of thunder drew her attention to the sky. She hadn't even noticed the clouds coming. Something about them seemed... strange. There was magic in those clouds. A lot of it. Verin seemed to notice, too, as he stopped his advance and looked up, as well.

Lightning danced across the clouds, arcing from thunderhead to thunderhead, but it wasn't random. It moved across the sky as if drawn to a single point.

Twilight's eyes followed the lightning until she saw it, a single point surging with electricity and pulsing with every color of the rainbow until it erupted.

A great bolt of multi-hued lightning streaked across the sky. In less than a blink of an eye, it slammed to the ground between Twilight and Verin, making both scramble backwards.

Twilight stared in awe as the bolt of lightning seemed to simply freeze, solidified in a wide, jagged spear of pure, divine energy.

And then, music filled the air.

Twilight looked around, seeking the source. Her eyes landed upon something in the distance, something walking across the frozen lightning as if it were some kind of bridge.

“What in tarnation is that?” Applejack asked.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the distant figure. “Wait... no... it can’t be.”

Pinkie gasped. “It... it is.”

Applejack gaped. “But how?”

They watched as the figure, tall and clad in a regal crimson cloak that flowed behind him as if the storm still raged around him and a shining breastplate, with a long, double bladed, double edged glaive clutched in one paw.

I raised my weapon at the other tigerian and smirked. “Ah’m your huckleberry.”

Author's Note:

He's back, bitches!

I'm currently writing the next chapter, so it might not be ready by next week, but I'll try.

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

*cracks knuckles*

Hope you've prayed to whatever God or gods you hold dear, Verin, cause your whoopass in a can just arrived!

[Greenhorn]

Flutter is really a badass in disguise. I think she is more competent than most Royal Guards.

[Armored_Shadow]

*fangirl screaming*

[ShadowSpectrumSwordtails]

He’s baaaaaaack, and better then ever. Though, will he be ready for his biggest challenge yet?