//------------------------------// // Act 2 Chapter 16 // Story: Collision Code // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Act II: Collision Course Chapter 16: There is a Limit… --------------- John’s night was utterly sleepless. His dreams were nightmares; constant replays of his battle from earlier. Over and over, he relived the sensation of being totally outmatched by Lyon. No matter how much he tried, it always ended the same way. And each time the replay ended, he could only feel himself grow more and more bitter towards himself. He was strong; stronger than he could have ever hoped to be when he was human. And yet, it wasn’t enough.   Lyon was better than him. He knew how to fight; countless battles with other opponents had given him experience. John, on the other hand, had never been in a fight when he was human. His only previous battle experience had been against those manikins; creatures he could break with a single solid hit. There was no getting around it—the difference between the two was too great.   Even though they had all managed a win that day, even though the others assured John that he did a good job, and even though Corey of all people was being mildly optimistic (better than his usual disposition), John couldn’t relax.   “He’ll be back…” John knew this to be a fact, and it was something he couldn’t stop reminding himself of. Even if he had managed to get the upper hand in the final moments of the fight, he hadn’t been able to finish it. While the details still weren’t clear, the fact was, Lyon escaped. His final words before he warped away to God-knew-where haunted John.   “Hear me, Dragon! You will suffer for this humiliation!”   John knew deep down this vow of revenge wasn’t a bluff. He knew Lyon would be back; it was only a matter of when.   He’s out there, he’s getting ready… John thought to himself.   Shining had taken time afterward to explain to him what had happened during his fight with Lyon. His opponent had slowly been regaining his fighting talent as the battle dragged on. This information only served to put even more weight on his shoulders. He knew that when Lyon returned, he’d have trained himself to get back to his full fighting ability. And John knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop that terrible beast; at least, the way he was at this moment.   I have to find a way to get better—learn to better handle myself in battle, but how?   This was the question that ate away at him more and more. He knew he didn’t have long to mull over his option.   If I don’t find a way, now, I won’t stand a chance against him come the next attack! --------------- An entire night and morning had passed since the battle. While it was clear their town defense strategy had, for the most part, worked, it hadn’t been without its problems. Twilight and Shining were still reeling from how yesterday’s battle had actually turned out. They, along with everypony else, had discussed at length what had happened. Now, their attention turned to the future. Like John, they too were worried about not if, but when, Lyon was going to strike again.   “A massive lion, whose hide makes him nearly invincible to conventional attacks…” Twilight mumbled, going over the description again, “I thought for sure that I’ve read something about him before…”   “You have?” Shining asked, pausing as he realized what he had just said, “Guess I shouldn’t be so surprised…”   “It’s been a while, so to be sure, I checked around earlier,” Twilight paused, just before a book floated into view, tugged upon by her magic, “I managed to find something about it in Tales of Old: Myths Explored.”   After flipping through several pages with her magic, she paused. With one finger on the page, she began to speak again.   “Does this sound familiar: ‘a monster of black fur, mane of silver, who walked as though he were Pony yet had no kind words for any living thing. When he looked upon things, his red gaze would crush any lesser creature who dared to glance back. He could not be harmed.’” Twilight read from the book.   “That’s exactly what he looked like!” Shining said, “I guess this makes the second legend from one of those books that turned out to be true…”   “Actually,” Twilight said, “This book also gives us some proof that the myths within could have happened. In fact, it says here what happened to him. As it turns out, he did in fact terrorize Equestria a long time ago, a bloodthirsty warrior who wanted to challenge the best. Towards the end of his reign of terror, it says here that one strong Earth pony stood up to him. The battle was an uphill one, but after so long, the bloodthirsty, seemingly invincible lion was defeated, and sent to Tartarus for his crimes…”   “So…” Shining leaned back, “Does this book give us any insight on what his weaknesses are? If someone in the past beat him once, we should be able to beat him again…” --------------- Even though the weather hadn’t changed much since yesterday, Corey felt like the day was so much nicer than before. Maybe it was because, this time, the others didn’t know of an incoming attack, and as such, neither did he. Even though his body didn’t ache as it did before—the same recovery he’d been pulling since his training began worked out for him one more time last night—Corey had still been ordered to take the day off.   With all that in mind, Corey still opted to take a walk around town. Well, maybe “around town” wasn’t the best way to summarize it. He knew precisely where he was going. He was heading back to the park, if only to relive those critical moments where he turned his luck around in that battle.   I need to do this, Corey thought, If only to re-affirm why I’m doing what I’m doing now.   He continued to walk along, his ears deaf to the world around him. His eyes were firmly set on the beaten path from the library to the park. In fact, his eyes were so focused on the path in front of him, he didn’t even notice he was about to walk into a foreign body.   “Oof!” A sharp, masculine grunt snapped Corey’s mind back into objective reality—he was in fact surrounded by other ponies, and he was not able to walk through them.   After Corey took a couple of steps back in surprise, his eyes took in the sight of the pony he had collided with. The pony was a unicorn male, judging from his sharpened snout and even sharper-looking horn. His base fur color was a pale crimson, his eyes indigo in color. His dark red mane was cut short, parted around the horn. His tail was the same color as his mane and of a similar length, and had clearly been taken care of. He wore a closed, dark purple jacket. His legs were covered by a pair of blue jeans, with a hole through the left knee. His shoes were black in color, and appeared to slip right on.   “S-sorry,” Corey stuttered, fiddling with his glasses slightly, “Wasn’t paying attention to where I was going…”   There was an uneasy pause. Though Corey wasn’t quite looking at the pony he’d bumped into, he could still see him. The red unicorn seemed distinctly—surprised, maybe?—to see him. No, he definitely looked offended?   “Well, I guess—“ Corey started, already moving away to let the pony he’d bumped into past.   “Oh, no, it’s my fault too,” said the pony, his voice light, one hand going behind his head, “Just wasn’t paying attention. Taking in all the sights this town has to offer…”   Corey blinked, now able to bring himself to look back to the pony he’d walked into.   “I just haven’t had too much fresh air!” This was followed by a light-hearted laugh.   He seems nice, Corey thought to himself, feeling his previous worry that he’d offended him somehow melt away.   “Oh, I’m not known to get out much either, believe me,” Corey said. He still felt like going to the park, but it seemed like it could wait. He did have all day, after all, “So, what’s your name?”   “Oh, I’m...Maudlin Prose,” the pony said, “And you’re…?”   “C-Corey,” Corey stuttered, “I was just on my way to do something.”   “So was I,” Maudlin answered, rubbing the back of his head, “But I sort of got lost!”   Corey gave a faint smile now, “Really? Well, where were you going?”   “Well, I was hoping to meet Princess Twilight,” said Maudlin, “But I’m new, so I don’t know my way. Do you know where she lives?”   “Yeah, I know where she lives,” Corey said. A few moments of hesitation later, he added, “Actually, I’m heading there now,” Turning on his heel, Corey started walking back, “I’ll show you the way.”   “What a coincidence!” Maudlin cheered after probably a few moments of hesitation on his part, quickly falling into step alongside Corey, “Though, I’m wondering, why are you heading there?”   “I live there,” Corey responded, from the very top of his head. There was a few seconds of pause following this.   “Wait,” Maudlin said, “You live there? In the same place as the princess? How’d you manage that?”   Corey bristled unconsciously. Even now, he was still feeling a little guilt over the “how” of that one, “It’s…complicated.”   “Say no more,” said Maudlin, “I understand.”   “You do?” Corey asked, mentally scolding himself about the way he did so, Don’t sound too hopeful, he doesn’t know what you were…   “Of course. Gentlemen never kiss and tell,” Maudlin said. Corey immediately felt as though a fist slammed straight into his stomach, his face heating up.   I expected John…or Rainbow, to give me trouble over that! Not someone I just met! Corey thought, unable to respond. Thinking desperately of a way to shift the subject, Corey asked the first question that popped into his head:   “So why do you want to meet Twilight?” Corey released a sigh when Maudlin gave a chuckle, hoping he wasn’t going to press the issue.   “Oh, I’m glad you asked,” Maudlin said, “I’m actually writing a book. A book that chronicles my meetings with royalty…”   “You write?” Corey turned to Maudlin, a kind of excitement in his voice that wasn’t usually there, “So do I!”   “Hm, interesting,” Maudlin said, “What about?”   “I’m trying to document what happens to me. It’s just something I do,” Corey walked ahead.   “Just a record of what goes on with you day by day?” Maudlin asked, “No offense, but how is that interesting?”   “I wish I could say more,” Corey said, “But let’s just say, living with a princess does put a lot of things into perspective…” --------------- Minutes passed as Corey lead Maudlin back the way he’d taken from the library. It wasn’t that hard to retrace his steps; most landmarks in Ponyville were hard to forget once you’d lived there—especially when buildings can literally be shaped like gingerbread houses.   “And here it is,” Corey said, motioning to it as he saw it, “Golden Oaks Library. The place where Princess Twilight calls home.”   “She lives…in a library?” Maudlin sounded moderately surprised to hear this, “Then again, a castle would have stood out in a town like this.”   “Yeah, it would,” Corey responded, continuing to trudge straight towards the door. However, he stopped after a few steps, realizing Maudlin’s shoes weren’t tapping the ground close to him. He turned, confused, “Hey, what’re you…?”   “Huh?” Maudlin asked, seeming to come out of a trance.   “Didn’t you want to meet her?” Corey asked, “C’mon, I’ll introduce you.”   Maudlin blinked in response. Corey could tell he was surprised.   “R-really?” Maudlin seemed really excited, something Corey couldn’t fault him for; were their roles reversed he would have been equally nervous, if not more so.   “Yeah. I’m sure she won’t mind meeting you,” Corey said. At this, Maudlin once more shuffled into place close behind Corey. For Corey, the library door was maybe a hundred yards or less away. However, for Maudlin, it must have seemed like an incredibly long distance. Corey’s ears twitched. Maudlin’s feet had stopped pounding the ground for the second time. Corey was within ten feet of the door; Maudlin several feet behind him. Maudlin seemed to be twitching on the spot, his gaze lowered.   “Hey, what’s wrong?” Corey asked, “Nervous?”   “Y-yeah,” Maudlin said, looking back up to Corey, “Lost my nerve. Guess after all this time, I…I just can’t bring myself to be around a princess anymore…”   “C’mon, she doesn’t bite,” Corey turned to face Maudlin directly, extending his hand out. Maudlin, however, didn’t seem interested.   “I…think I’ll pay her a visit some other time,” Maudlin explained, turning on his heel and starting to plod away, “Can’t be in front of a princess while I feel like a ball of nerves, after all.”   “Oh, okay,” Corey said, “I get it. Well, I won’t press the issue. Sure she’ll still be here when you compose yourself!”   “Yeah, I’m sure…” Maudlin said. Without breaking his stride, he turned, raising his left hand and waving, “See ya later, Corey. And thanks for showing me the way!”   “No problem,” Corey said, waving back. --------------- That night in Canterlot, Princess Celestia sat alone behind the desk in her room. The lit candle beside her was her only source of light. There was a look of contempt in her eyes as she stared down at the creature sitting on her desk—another rat, the same as the one from before. This time, however, it wasn’t here to deliver a message.   This time, it was here to show her the battle that had unfolded in Ponyville. Through the projections that were created by this rat, Celestia witnessed both battles, as if she had been standing there herself.   I know this isn’t the first time they’ve had to deal with a difficult situation, Celestia thought, watching over the feeds, But to see it happen with my very eyes, and be powerless to help them…   Celestia felt her heart sink as she remembered that feeling—the feeling of seeing so many get hurt over something that was seen as nothing more than a game to someone else. And on top of it all, the feeling of believing someone to have died in the mix. Though the day had been won in the end, she still couldn’t shake it. She knew deep down this was merely the first—no, second, in what was likely going to be a long line of battles. And she would be forced to see all of them—each and every battle that came after this one. And if each was as bad as the last one, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep herself under control.   Her thoughts were soon derailed the moment she heard several knocks at her door.   “Come in,” she said, her gaze never breaking contact with the rat. She heard the click of the door opening, closely followed by the footsteps of someone walking, but still, she did not turn.   “And here I thought Luna would be the one to sulk in the dark of night,” said a voice. Celestia closed her eyes as she recognized the voice, and all she could do was let out a sigh. At least, at first.   “Please not now, Discord,” Celestia responded, still not looking up at him, “I’m not in high spirits at the moment.”   “Can’t say I don’t blame you,” said Discord. Celestia’s ear twitched. There was something about the way he said it.   Is he…being sincere? thought Celestia.   “But don’t worry, I’m not here to pester you,” Discord made his way around Celestia’s desk, “I’m only here to deliver something.”   He placed something on the desk—several closed folders which had a photo clipped to them. The picture on folder on the top of the stack was someone that Celestia quickly remembered. It was of Lyon, the very lion that had attacked the day before.   “The count is up to five now,” Discord said.   If she had said she was surprised, Celestia would have been lying. Deep down, she wished these prisoners were the only escapees, but something deep down told her there was more.   “Thank you,” she said. With a simple nod—disturbingly simple considering who he was, Celestia realized—Discord made his way out. Not one word further was spoken, at least, until Celestia looked up, seeing his retreating form.   “I take it you have read through these already?” Celestia asked. Discord hadn’t yet reached the door, standing several feet from Celestia. It took several long moments for Discord to respond, almost as if he was in deep thought.   “Yes, I have,” he said flatly.   “Tell me, is it as bad as I suspect?” At this question, there was another pause. Discord still didn’t turn to look.   “In the past, I thought there was nothing I wouldn’t do to have my fun,” said Discord. For a moment, he turned his head back to look at the folders he had placed on her desk. When Celestia caught her gaze, she realized very quickly there was a look on his face that Discord had never had before. Not even when he had been sealed up the second time.   It was a look of genuine disgust he was casting at the folders.   Again, he turned away from Celestia and continued to make his way out of the room. But, just as he was closing the door behind him, Discord said one last thing, three words that Celestia never thought in her life she’d ever hear Discord say.   “I was wrong.”