Chapter 4: The Four Keys

Part 3: Trails of the Soldiers

The remaining residents of Equestria have been held prisoned in Canterlot ever since the war started. The remaining Storm Creatures have been placed there, patrolling the area. Much of the city is still intact, through some parts remain heavily damaged.

Some of the Storm Creatures are patrolling the entrance of Cantelot, ready to smash up anyone who dares enter the area. Many of them have gotten bored of waiting around all day, and so have took the time to take a little nap.

Suddenly, an explosion goes off at the entrance of the city, and neatly all of the Storm Creatures turned their attention towards them. Several Storm Creatures have been knocked out by the explosion, tumbling on the ground as they roll to a stop.

When the smoke clears out, it reveals Twilight and Tails, both with their Wispons ready. Hovering over them are several allied airships.

"Did somebody ordered a clobbering?" Twilight asks as Tails pumps up his Wispon behind her.

Stage 4C-01

Canter Mountains

"Canterlot"

Mortar rounds begin to rain from the sky as Tails and Twilight ran through the city, blasting away their Wispons at every enemy they see. Robots have been dropped inot Canterlot to provide support, but they are no match for the two of them. As the fighting continues, several soldiers began pouring in to the battle to keep up the fight and push the enemy forces away.

"This city is ours now!" Tails announces as he blasts away. "Together, we will reclaim all the land that was taken from us! We. Will. Stand. Victorious!"

"We'd better get to the castle," Twilight suggests. "We've haven't heard from the princesses for a long time. Well...the princesses of this land. Ever since the war started, we have gotten no word from any of them."

"Well then, let's head off to the castle!" Tails shouted. "Once we get to the area, we will have captured Canterlot."

"And thus, the rest of Equestria," Twilight replies.

The two soldiers make their way into each section of the city, fighting wave after wave of enemies. Sometimes, the enemies will pop up from the ground as a collection of the red Phantom Cubes, before assuming either a robot or a Storm Creature. None of them bothered to take note of this. The plan accounts for armies of enemies popping up as illusions, so whenever they showed up, they can make quick work of them and move on.

As the battle continues, soldiers began to free the remaining population that are still trapped within Canterlot. Upon freeing them, they gave those who they freed a weapon, most likely a Wispon, and told them to point the thing at every enemy they come across and pull the trigger. Soon afterwards, the enemy forces are wiped out. The surviving forces have no choice but to jump to their probable doom by going over the fences. They choose to die a free man rather than be captured by the enemies.

After clearing all of the areas of enemies, Tails and Twilight make a break for the castle. They took a tower that brings them to a series of rails suspended high above the city, patrolled by Egg Chasers. As they near the castle, the Egg Chasers got shot down and the two reached the entrance courtyard of the castle. They are ambushed by one final wave of enemies before wiping them all out and stepping forward into the castle.

[Time Elapsed: 02:45:00]

"Princess Celestia! We're here!" Twilight calls as she opens the door to the throne room. Then all she saw was an empty room. An empty room with shattered stained glass, patches of stone, and broken walls. She walks around the room, searching for the three Equestrian Princesses. "Celestia? Luna? Cadence?"

Twilight silently steps into the throne room, still looking around. Soon after, Tails pops his head from the door and also enters the room.

"Hello?" Twilight continues to call. "Is there anyone else here?"

Tails then spotted a guard that is frozen in stone. Another one lays right next to him, shattered into pieces.

"...What happened here?" Tails asks, putting his hand on a guard statue.

Twilight places her hand on the patch of stone on the ground. It is much darker than the surrounding material, about as dark as the stone that is covering the soldiers. Then she stands up. "Obsidian Bombs," she concluded. "They must've used Obsidian Bombs while they're invading this place." A single tear is shed from her eyes. "I'm...I'm sorry, Celestia. I...I am unable to save you. I had to run away once I saw this city being invaded again."

Tails was confused by this. "Twilight, why are you crying?" he asks.

Twilight was up to his chest. "Don't you see?" she said. "It means that Tempest is trying to get her horn back. A real horn. Not an illusion horn. Do you even see her with a horn during all of this?"

"No..." Tails answers, recalling from his memories.

Twilight then gets off Tails' chest. "We must end this war quick and stop Tempest," she said. "We must turn her back into our side, and see the monster that Infinite truly is."

The two remain silent for a moment, before someone opens the door.

"We've captured Canterlot," a soldier announces. "The world is now under our control. Now, all that's left are two places."

"What's that?" Tails asks.

"The capital island of the enemy empire..." a soldier answers. Then he begs the two of them to come outside. They did, and the soldier that asked them to come outside pointed to the sky, towards the large, moon-sized satellite in the sky. "And then there's that. Cybertron."

The three soldiers looked up at the sky, watching Cybertron at it hung there in the sky.

Tomorrow, there won't be a Cybertron. There will be nothing there in its place.

Two more days remain before the final solution is executed. Two days before the war is finally over.

Stage 4C-02

North Metropolis

"Security Terminal"

The Veteran runs through the factories north of Metropolis, walking on pipes full of chemicals.

"These idiots have linked Cybertron's security systems towards the mother computer," Thunder gives a briefing. "While that's active we cannot enter the satellite because there's a shield blocking the station. We believe that it was activated after all the prisoners inside have been freed and someone decided to check on the mother computer there. Sure enough, somebody had already hacked into the thing."

"That was me," Shadow admitted. "I broke into their lousy security systems and deactivated the shield."

"You did what?" Thunder asks.

"Forget about that," Shadow brushes off. "For now, focus on getting into the mother computer. We are waiting for you while in orbit."

The Veteran grinds on the rails that are outside the factories. After a while, they went inside the factory and get to work.

As they travel around the factory, chemicals being to spill out, creating waterfalls of them. The Veteran swims through them, resisting the downwards push they exert on them. They then hop on some pinwheels which are powered by the flows of chemicals, roll around some pipes, and swim around in chemicals. Then they reached the deepest portions of the network terminal, going past all of the security measures and reaching the mother computer. Then, they get to work and start to hack it based on the instructions left behind by some scouts.

After successfully hacking the security systems, the shield surrounding Cybertron disappeared, making it open for attacks.

[Time Elapsed: 02:00:00]

Stage 4C-03

Adabat

"Furious Jungle"

Hovering high above the island nation Adabat, a storm rages through the land. It sends pouring rain over the entire island, making many spots muddy.

"Watch out," Amy advices. "The ground here is very muddy. The rain is absolutely pouring. Try not to linger around the mud spots too long, or else you'll get stuck. The key should be around here somewhere. I'll update you when you guys get close to it."

Tails and Twilight dropped down from an airship and took a skydiving adventure into the jungle. After landing, they sprinted forward, heading into the jungle.

"I can't believe that the three princesses have been kidnapped again!" Twilight said. "Why does this keep happening to them? And if memory serves, I'm their next target!"

"Well, I don't see a lot of enemy forces coming up behind you during the attack on Canterlot," Tails assures. "You'll probably be safe for the remainder of the war."

"Yeah, but they could be anywhere," Twilight whined. "I could get kidnapped at any moment! I need to watch my back to make sure that this doesn't happen to me. Make sure that I always have some friends nearby to help me out."

The only enemies that are stationed there are flying enemies. The ground is too muddy for them to stand on without sinking, and its too wet for the robots to remain operational. The only enemies left are turrets and drones, all of which are hovering over the ground. They fire at them as they pass by, often missing their shots.

They travel deeper into the jungle, hopping on the small patches of land that are still dry. They then run on some roots before jumping back onto a higher land.

As they got deeper into the jungle, they received a call from Amy once again.

"You're getting close to the key!" Amy said. "You two are getting close to that powerful life reading. Be careful out there, you two. That thing is dangerous."

"Don'y worry. We got this," Tails replies. "No threat, no matter how large, can stop us now!"

The two ran into the part of the jungle which houses the life reading. They entered a cave, and disappeared into it.

[Time Elapsed: 01:45:00]

Twilight and Tails slide their way into the jungle cavern, grappling on a nearby ledge and landing on a platform in a large cave. After landing, they search the area, looking around for the keeper of the key.

"According to the scouts, the key keeper should be around here somewhere," Tails said as he looks around. No response. "Hm...that's strange." He takes out his radar and looks at the display. He remembers it going off as soon as they entered the cave. Calculating the rate in which the signal is approaching them and the time it took to get here, the keeper of the key should be here. "If I recall correctly, we should be at the right place. Are we?"

Twilight ponders for a moment. "Could it be a red herring?" she asks. "Have we've been tricked into wasting our time into investigating a spot that's unhelpful in reality?"

"My radar doesn't lie," Tails added. "So there's no way that we are in an incorrect location. Right?"

Suddenly, from behind them, a large snake creatures emerges from below the platform. The two turned their attention to the snake. He is in what appears to be a metal armor, fitted with arms. The snake hisses at them for trespassing its home cave.

Tails radar then went crazy as it detected a special key kept within the snake's grasp.

"Twilight!" Tails called, pointing towards the snake. "The kay is over there! In the snake!"

"What?" the snake asks, shocked by what they discovered. "How did you manage to figure that out? That I was given a key by a yeti conqueror? Oh, forget the asking. You are trespassing in my territory. And you shall be crushed under the might of me! Lyric, the last surviving Ancient!"

Tails and Twilight stared blankly at Lyric. Both expressing shocked looks.

"For some reason, that name just shrivels down my body," Tails remarks.

Boss 25

Adabat

"Vs. Lyric"

Tails and Twilight ran around the arena, dodging Lyric's laser attacks as they go. After a while, Lyric then charges up an attack with his robotic fists. Tails and Twilight then ran to opposite ends of the arena, avoiding getting hit together and watching where he was aiming his fist.

Lyric made his first target Twilight. He aims his fist at her and attempts to hammer her down. Upon seeing this, Twilight ran out of the way of the fist as Tails ran to where Twilight is. The impact of the fist creates several shockwaves which ripple down the arena, pushing anyone it touches back and knocking them off their feet.

"Now's our chance!" Tails said. "Hit him! Hit him with all we've got!"

Tails and Twilight then began to fire away at Lyric's fist. After a while, Lyric lifts his fist off the arena. Then the cycle of dodging the lasers and watching the fist starts again. This time, Lyric went for Tails. Upon smashing his fist down, more shockwaves are generated. Twilight ran to where Tails is and fires away again, hitting Lyric's robotic fist again.

After this second barrage of hits, Lyric becomes a bit more annoyed at their ability to fight back. "Gah!" he screams as he yanks his fist back. "You two are more clever than I thought. I underestimated your abilities. Tell you what, time for a change of stakes!"

Lyric then fires off more powerful laser blasts, ones that destroy the terrain. This makes the arena smaller and filled with gaps, making things a bit more difficult. Attacks are harder to avoid, and the attacks some in for much longer.

Tails attempted to shorten the time it takes to defeat Lyric by grappling onto his chest and slamming into it. All it did was deal a little bit of damage and interrupts Lyric's attacks. Angered by this, Lyric goes right for Tails and attempted to slam him with his fist. Tails jumps out of the way, turns around, then fires away at Lyric's fist, jumping over the shockwaves. Twilight soon joins in on the attack, stacking up the damage.

Lyric lifts his fist up once again and this time, his suit is heavily damaged. Smoke emits from the suit as well as electric sparks. This sets Lyric on an overdrive, going all out in an attempt to defeat Tails and Twilight while pushing his armor to its limits. His arms down destroy the terrain, attack cycles last much longer, and there is a bit less room to walk on as he destroys some of the arena.

After that last cycle of attacks, Lyric slams his fist at Twilight. With her limited amount of space to run off to, Twilight braced for impact. At the last moment, however, Tails jumps in and pushes him and Twilight out of harms way, landing on a small piece of land between a pitfall and a fist. Tails turns around and aims for the hand, firing away all he's got with his Wispon.

Finally, Lyric is defeated. His hand lifts up from the arena as his snake body wriggles around. He then lands his head on the arena. His armor is no longer working, and Lyric is struggling to free himself from his suit. Unfortunately, for him, he put it on to tightly, and there is no way to loosen how tight the suit is on him.

"Ahh!" he screams. "My armor! It's too heavily damaged to continue fighting! Please, I beg mercy now! Spare me so that I can give you my key. Take it. Take it now! It's yours now. You deserve this! Please! I can't free myself from this mechanical armor!"

Twilight and Tails looked into each other as Lyric begged for mercy. "Should we free him?" she asks.

"I don't exactly trust a snake who uses a mechanical armor suit for his own benefit," Tails replies. "He's outta here." He then places his foot on the dome that encases Lyric's head.

"No! NO!" Lyric yelled. "Please! Don't do it! I beg mercy!"

"How about...no?" Tails answers. And then he pushes Lyric off in the most unceremonious way he could think of. With his foot.

"Nooooo!" Lyric screams as he fell to his doom.

[Time Elapsed 02:30:00]

The wind blows around the cavern as Tails and Twilight watched from below. The particles come together to form another key. This time, it is mostly green and it bears the mark of a left on it. The key then floats down into Twilight's hands. The Nature Key has been obtained.

"Seriously?" Tails said. "A snake that uses technology for his own benefit is holding a nature themed key? How ironic!" Tails then rolls on the ground laughing off.

"Totally what to get from someone who puts all their trust into technology, to the point where they don't trust even their closest friends," Tails sarcastically remarks. "Totally expected that one."

80/? Stages Completed, 25/30 Bosses Defeated, 7/8 Keys Collected, and 95% of the world is under the heroes' control.

We're nearing the end of this long adventure, and the climax is about to come. Right after Cybertron is destroyed.

To be Continued

From the Author:

Just a handful of parts to go before the adventure is finally over. The war will have ended and everyone will have returned to their normal lives for once.

Yet another unexpected boss shows his face and his name is Lyric. A character from a failed experiment made by SEGA on Sonic. This boss fight is pulled out much better than his debut game probably because the controls are smoother and the fight much more stressful. And he just got possibly the weakest ending to a boss fight we've ever seen. Getting pushed off a ledge after having his health being dwindled down.

As of now, the keys the heroes are collecting have a pairing theme with each other. There's Chaos and Harmony, Fire and Storm, Sun and Moon, and Nature and...what?

The final key will be reveled in the next part of this story. Strap yourselves in and get ready to shoot down some evil Transformers! Because we're going to Cybertron!

Stage Descriptions:

Stage 4C-01: This stage is very open. Right off the bat, you can explore every part of the first section and defeat all the enemies there. Your goal is to activate a switch located in each of the five arenas to unlock the central tower of the city to reach the castle up ahead. After dodging some Egg Chasers, there is a final arena that must be cleared of enemies before the castle doors open. Once you enter the castle, the stage will end.

Stage 4C-02: Starting from the outside, you will travel on some rails going all around the area. These rails branch off to different paths, each with a collectible red ring. Then they all converge into a hole that leads into the factory, and the interior section begins. This part of the stage takes a lot of inspiration from Chemical Plant, with its pipes, blue chemicals, and pools of pink liquid. Also, there are waterfalls full of the pink liquid pouring down from the ceiling.

Stage 4C-03: Another jungle themed stage. That has a lot of mud on the ground. Because of the mud, only flying enemies can be spotted guarding the area.

Boss 25: Not going to type this one out, because its section just describes how the boss fight will work out. This is the only boss fight fought during the key search that doesn't require a super form to defeat. In fact, the characters don't even bother with it.

Written by: TheAPPstore

All franchised involved belong to their respective owners.

Current list so far:
SEGA-Sonic, NiGHTs
Hasbro-My Little Pony