Collision Code

by SSJRandomMaster

Act 2 Chapter 9

Act II: Collision Course
Chapter 9: A Game Changer
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John found himself spending yet another day in town. As it turned out, Rainbow’s hands were tied with work. This obviously meant his flying lessons were on hold. Fortunately for the dragon, he didn’t find himself in a position where he had nothing to do. Another one of the locals had asked for his help, and he was more than happy to oblige. This time, it was the earth pony, Bon Bon, who had brought him back to her candy shop. And what she needed help with was certainly something unusual by his homeworld’s standards.

“Well,” John said, staring in amazement, “You don’t see that every day.”

John and Bon Bon were currently standing in the latter’s kitchen, staring at her oven. Right now, however, the oven was acting more like a flamethrower than anything else. Bon Bon herself was wearing a plain, cream-colored long-sleeve shirt, tucked into a light gray long skirt, with a teal baker’s apron over her front.

“How’d this happened?” he asked.

“Asked my roommate to put some cake batter in the oven for me,” said Bon Bon, “I think she messed with the gas value…”

“The instructions weren’t clear!” another female’s voice shouted from the other room.

“I’m surprised the place hasn’t already burned down yet,” John observed, motioning around him; there wasn’t even any evidence that the oven was malfunctioning this bad until John saw it himself.

“I like to take precautions. You can see why,” Bon Bon said, “So I made sure to fireproof the kitchen. Unfortunately, we aren’t, so we can’t get close enough to the oven to shut it off.”

Already John knew where this was going. He’d seen dragons in the show jump into a pool a lava as if it were nothing; they were about as fireproof as one could get.

“On it,” John said, removing his sweater and putting it on the nearby counter. As he walked up to the fire, he held his hands out towards the fire. As a simple test, he put it into the path of the fire.

As expected, John thought, slowly moving his hands through the stream for a bit longer, a smirk forming on his face, It doesn’t hurt.

Now that he knew for sure he was fireproof, he continued forward, his entire body now surrounded by fire.

“The bottom part of the oven comes off,’ said Bon Bon; John able to hear her clearly. John looked down, seeing the part she was talking about. After he removing it, he saw there was an opening, “Inside, you should see a red valve; use it to switch off the gas.”

The valve wasn’t hard to find. Reaching down, John took hold on it with one hand and proceeded to turn it. The fire instantly began to die down as he turned it, eventually going out completely as the valve finally hitched to a stop in his grasp.

“That should do it,” said John, standing up and turning back to Bon Bon.

“Well, that worked out better than I thought,” Bon Bon observed, digging into a bag that was nearby.

“Well, the instructions were clear,” said John, at a volume just over his normal speaking tone.

“I heard that!” the same voice from the other room yelled. At this, John and Bon Bon shared a small laugh.

“Here, take this for your troubles,” she said, tossing something to John. After catching it, John looked down at his hands to get a closer look. It was oblong-shaped, crystalline, and red in color, no bigger than his palm.

“A gem?” asked John.

“Yeah,” Bon Bon answered, “From what I’ve heard dragons collect and eat them. I’ve had this one for a while now but don’t really have any use for it myself. I figured you’d want it.

John looked down towards the gem again. Afterward, he looked back up to Bon Bon and smiled.

“Thanks,” said John.

After saying his goodbyes, he took his sweater and walked out of the shop, putting it back on in the process. As he walked through town, he continued to eye the gem in his hand. Since he’d arrived in town, it never once crossed his mind to try to eat one. But he had the perfect opportunity now…

“Well, down the hatch it goes,” John said, lifting the gem into his mouth. His dragon teeth easily cleaved through the gem entirely like it were a potato chip. The instant the gem broke in his mouth, John paused, his eyes opening wide.

I can’t believe it, John thought, But this is the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted! The texture! The flavor! The…the…what…

John couldn’t finish his mental review, spotting something in the distance, or rather, somepony. Even though he was mixed with the citizens, John had no trouble spotting him. He was slightly tall, seemed adequately built, and had a familiar color scheme.

He knew the character well. He’d made rare appearances in the show after his introduction, and right now, he should have been far north of Ponyville. Yet here he was now.

But why is he here? John thought to himself, confused.
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Corey had spent the rest of yesterday practicing his magic control, not feeling up to going through the big book on runes just yet. However, now that it was a new day, it was time to get moving. He was ready to start learning just what he could do and if he could somehow replicate the results from his runes using tips from an ancient book, locked away behind a special door.

“Ah, Corey,” Twilight said to him as he entered the room in which he’d done most of his studying since starting his magic lessons, “I guess you’re ready?”

Corey looked ahead of her, towards the book on the desk. The single source that could be found on runes in that old castle sat there, beckoning him to read its words. And who was Corey to disappoint?

“Yeah,” Corey said. He’d gotten up earlier than normal for the second day in a row; it showed in the way he sounded: dry and not much life to his voice, “Hope it can tell us something about…about the runes I was using…”

Twilight looked at Corey as he passed by, still not sure why he’d been able to open the door on contact when even she couldn’t open it herself. However, she put that aside for the time being. She had, somehow, managed to restrain herself from opening the book until now, and couldn’t wait to get started.

Besides, she mused, quickly following his lead, it wouldn’t be worth asking him the question since he doesn’t even know why it happened…

Corey sat in his usual seat, Twilight taking hers across from him, just as usual. Corey slouched over a bit and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Twilight wondered how he hadn’t noticed yet.

“Alright, let’s get started,” said Corey.

Twilight could barely hold herself from opening the cover to the book, swinging open the front covet with her magic. Already, she was looking at the table of contents. Corey looked open the pages as well, eager to find out just what kind of information the book was going to provide him, when he realized something was off. The book had small print, and even this close, sitting with the book more or less in front of him, the letters looked more like a large blur of gray and black than anything else.

I…I can’t see… Corey thought, his hand reaching up towards his face. Only now did he fully realize there was a problem, patting at empty air where there should have been a cool, smooth sort of surface there. My glasses!

I can’t believe I’m getting to look at information this old! Twilight thought, completely overcome with excitement at the thought of being able to turn the pages of the ages-old book before her. She was about to find out more about not only runes, but history in general. Plus, it was a new book. And a rather sizable one at that, too. She doubted she’d ever get tired of flipping through the tomes of ages of old—

“Twilight…” Corey’s voice came through to her, clearly panicky and agitated. Twilight blinked, only just now fully remembering she had something else to do with the book. She looked up towards Corey to find his eyes were wide, and he was patting at his upper face slightly. Only when he spoke up again did she realize what had dawned on him, “Where are my glasses?”

“Oh,” Twilight’s ears fell just a little, but they quickly flicked back up, “Well, during your fight, they broke…”

Corey’s ears fell, and he blinked. His eyes still wide, he asked, “How bad was it…”

The mare paused for just a moment. She was unsure how she should answer his question; at least, she was assuming he was asking what happened. The dry tone to his voice made it come off more like a demand.

“The…” Twilight hesitated for a moment, “The right lens had shattered; the frames were broken; even part of the left lens was completely shattered; the rest was heavily cracked. I think it was the force of your spell that did it.”

Corey took in the information he was told, blinking lightly. His eyes went slightly wider as he processed it. There was a moment of pause before Corey let out a heavy sigh.

“Dammit…” Corey slouched forward in the chair, putting one palm to the bridge of his nose, “How’d I not see it before?”

“I’m wondering that myself,” Twilight said, sounding strangely undisturbed, but why? “You didn’t seem to need them until right now…”

“My eyesight isn’t so bad I can’t live without them,” Corey said, sounding down on himself and not looking up to face her, “But it’s just bad enough to where I can’t read things far away or too small…”

“With everything that had happened,” Twilight said, “It probably slipped your mind…”

“Probably,” Corey sighed again.

“Corey,” Twilight said, standing up as Corey looked up towards her. The book could wait just a little longer, “Hold on a second, I’ll be right back.”

Quickly, she left the room, leaving Corey alone with his thoughts. He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He looked back to the book, closing his eyes as he took in the sight of the blur on the pages. He gritted his teeth just a little.

I don’t want to be read to like a kid because I can’t see the print… Corey thought, And I don’t know if we can just sit around while I wait for a new pair. The thing that happened yesterday; that breakout…I can’t be the only one feeling like there’s a connection…

Corey’s gaze soon went back towards the doorway. Twilight appeared there once again; something in her right hand. Quickly, she strode into the room, rapidly making her way over to him. As she drew closer, Corey found himself able to make out what the object in her hand was, and blinked.

Are those my… Corey thought, squinting. Twilight eventually made it to her seat across from him once again, and set the object down where Corey could see it clearly, unobstructed by the lavender-furred hand, They…are…?

“But I thought—“ Corey said, looking up to Twilight, caught slightly off-guard, “Is this a new--?”

“No,” Twilight smiled just a little, “They’re the ones you were wearing when you first came into our world. I tried out a spell I haven’t really had to use…”

Corey looked back down to the glasses on the table; of course, she probably repaired them with a spell. But admittedly, Corey had his doubts.

The lenses were completely shattered, Corey thought, She said so herself. And my eyesight needed corrective lenses; these aren’t just for show, or for reading…

Something occurred to Corey at this point. He quit looking at the glasses for a moment, and his gaze flicked up to see Twilight, waiting. With a sigh, Corey reached out for the glasses, unfolding the sides and, while looking at the book’s text, slid them on, eyes closed. Feeling that they still fit on his face even now, he opened his eyes.

The crystal-clear words that were on the pages revealed themselves to him. Corey blinked, looking around, finally wearing his glasses for the first time since the fight. Maybe it was the fact he’d gone two days without wearing them, but not only was the book’s text clearer, everything around him seemed to be sharper than he remembered it being.

“They work…” Corey said, closing his left eye to find that the right lens worked even though there hadn’t been anything left from what he had been told, “I think they work even better than they did before!” He finally directed his gaze towards Twilight, who was now giving him a pleased smile, even looking just a little proud that he’d said what he had.

“The spell I used did its job,” Twilight summarized, her hands now resting on the book, “It not only fixed them back to how they looked before, it enhanced the lenses themselves. I also made sure to make them stronger so that they wouldn’t be so fragile if you should get into another fight again or manage to replicate the spell you did. So--”

Twilight felt a small gasp escape her mouth, feeling something clasp down on her hands. She looked down just as her arms moved up slightly, seeing a pair of green-furred hands rather firmly clasping hers. She looked up, seeing Corey offering her another genuine-looking smile and a look into her eyes.

“Thank you,” said Corey with a sigh, still holding on to her hands. Twilight paused, looking down towards her hands, and back to him. Something inside of her changed; she wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt her heart rate jump for just a second.

“Um…” Twilight started. Corey’s gaze flicked downwards. He blinked, then looked back up to her again.

What… Corey thought, that smile frozen on his face as he suddenly felt his face start to heat up fast, What did I just do!?

Both looked at each other, neither knowing what to say and only vaguely sure what to do next. The two remained locked in that awkward pose for a few seconds longer, when suddenly, there was the sound of a knocking downstairs.

A distraction! Corey thought, immediately standing up and moving towards him, letting go of Twilight’s hands.

There’s something I can do! Twilight thought, also standing up. Corey was the first to start moving away from the desk, already completely around it by the time Twilight started to move.

Corey’s rapid motions towards the doorway were soon cut short. Out of his nervousness for what had just happened, he wasn’t paying attention to his footing; somehow, he wound up putting his right foot directly in front of his left, effectively tripping himself up. Corey stumbled heavily, clearly about to fall.

Twilight, for all her magic and smarts, didn’t quite think to break left or right when Corey staggered around off-balance. She bumped right into him, somehow hitting his front side, knocking him the rest of the way off his feet. Twilight let out a scream in surprise as she fell too as well.

Corey hit the ground back-first, bumping his head on the ground, letting out a sharp grunt. The slight weight of Twilight followed, landing on top of him. The next thing Corey knew, there was the rapid sound of what sounded like shoes pounding the wooden floor, followed by a very familiar-sounding male voice.

“What’s going—“ The ample concern died out in the voice as both Corey and Twilight looked up, seeing who it was, “…on…here…”

Both Corey and Twilight were looking upon a very familiar face. A white-furred male unicorn now stood in the doorway. His non-furred hands were a dark blue color; the fur cropping off at his wrists. He had a two-toned blue mane and tail. He was somewhat well-built, wearing a red jacket over a black shirt. The shirt had a purple shield with a magenta star on it. He also wore a surprisingly casual pair of blue jeans, considering who he was. His brows creased, his blue eyes studying the scene in front of him intently. Eventually, he spoke up again.

“What’s going on here!?” he repeated, now sounding very angry.

“Shining!?” Twilight screamed, her cheeks slightly pink considering what had just happened. Below her, Corey let out his own statement.

“W-w-w-wait! I-I can explain this!” He said, his face red and his voice filled with fear as he realized exactly what had happened. Shining had just seen Twilight on top of him—did Twilight scream? Corey didn’t exactly remember…

And this is how I die… Corey thought to himself.
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After what had happened the previous day, Celestia still chose to set up shop in her throne room; it was something that had to be done. She sighed. Shining Armor had to have made it to Ponyville by now…

The course of action I took may have been a little extreme, Celestia thought to herself, going over more of what she knew about the situation, But these are dire times we’re living in. And like it or not, there’s no other option: Corey and John are in this. Cadence understood just as well as anyone else how bad it is…

Celestia knew the feeling that had settled into her mind all too well. Though she never showed it, she had been worried whenever her student and her friends went up against Equestria’s enemies. However, after so many times she knew they could handle it. But now, not only did she have to worry about them and the rest of her subjects, she had to worry about two more that had shown up recently.

Two formerly human creatures who knew not what they were up against; even if Twilight and the others had filled in the blanks, they did not know the extent of it. Two creatures who came from a world without magic, forced into a magical conflict for the fate of the world that they hadn’t even been a part of yet.

She had to worry about those two most of all. She had no idea if Corey and John would be able to withstand what was going on. Though at present, she had no idea what to do about John. That said, she still had some idea of what she could do to try to help Corey out.

It’s all on you now, she thought, I just hope that what Shining Armor will do will be what Corey needs here…
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“…and that’s why I’ve come here now,” Shining finished, an air of complete unease settling on the room in the wake of his story.

“One of the prisoners…contacted Princess Celestia directly??” Twilight asked, clearly disturbed by this revelation, “And what’s more…”

She cast a glance to her left. Corey’s hands were squeezing his knees tightly. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, the pupils shaking. Whatever lights that were in his eyes seemed to have vanished, looking at the floor beneath his feet.

“We tried to keep him, and his friend, out of danger,” Twilight said, “But because both of them had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, they’re both involved in that prisoners’ ‘game’??”

“Unfortunately, it looks like it,” Shining said, looking at Twilight. He then turned to Corey, who was still privately freaking out, still looking at the detail on the wooden floor, “But I didn’t come all this way just to scare you two with the bad news.”

Twilight spotted Shining’s look, and took a quick glance over to her right. It had been awkward, the position she was in when Shining first arrived, but she had a feeling Shining’s glaring had nothing to do with that this time.

“I was asked, by Princess Celestia, to provide some help, straight from the academy,” Shining said.

Corey twitched a little, and some other emotion than dull, numbing fear had worked its way into his eyes. He looked up, still slouched forward, and finally said something.

“F-from the academy…?” he asked. At this, Shining stood up, walking around the table, stopping in front of Corey.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Shining said, “I had years to learn the stuff I’m going to pass on to you. It was demanding, exhausting, and at times even terrifying.”

Corey already didn’t like where this was going. Twilight said nothing, looking to the others with concern in her eyes.

“But we probably don’t have that kind of time,” Shining continued, “If you thought what you were dealing with here, with that one doll, was tough,” At this point, he roughly clamped down on Corey’s shoulders, practically forcing Corey to look him in the eyes, “I’m not sure how you’ll hold up through the crash course I’m about to give you!”

“Shining,” Twilight said, her concerned eyes looking back and forth between them, “You’re…”

“I’m going to be the one training him from here on, Twilight…”

Author's Note:

And that's how the plot thickens some more. Yeah. Well, see you next week!

Comments

[JohnBlue]

Fan fucking tastic
The over protective older brother is going to be training the shy/sensitive charachter. You know this is going to go along the lines of Shining trying to scare Corey away from twilight by being an over abusing dick
Then again he might just be there to make sure Corey is strong enough to "Protect" his sister. Either way I get the feeling im not going to like Shinning in the chapters to come.

[dyedquartz]

Here comes the "crash" course!