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// Act 3 Chapter 33 
// Story: Collision Code 
// by SSJRandomMaster 
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Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 33: The Next Plan
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Kurama hadn’t made another appearance, the guards keeping tabs on ponies’ homes were able to confirm that. Even if they’d managed to stop Kurama from hunting more ponies, the cost that came with it hardly seemed worth it. Though even if it hadn’t, they would have probably still found it hard to be cheerful this morning. They had forced themselves to stay awake for many hours now; they hadn’t fallen asleep at all. Ever since that first night, ever since they’d learned of Kurama’s magic, they hadn’t gone back to sleep.
 
Fortunately, many of them were used to going long hours without sleep. However, factoring in the long stress of their ever-shrinking time limit, and the occasional hard-fought battles with Kurama, the hours were starting to get to them.
 
“I’ve got another round ready!” They weren’t sure what they’d do if it weren’t for coffee, something Pinkie produced for them in endless supply. Though she’d had her ups and downs through this whole event, it was an encouraging sight to see Pinkie at least try and stay upbeat. Of them all, she hadn’t shown a single sign of exhaustion; unquestioned given the near-limitless amount of energy she seemed to have.
 
“Thanks, Pinkie, you’re the best,” said Twilight taking yet another cup, downing half of it in a few seconds. Pinkie smiled contently, always happy to help her friends whenever needed. The same went for the others who took their cups without hesitation.
 
“Seriously, whoever discovered this needs a place in the history books,” said Rainbow. She always loved to take naps during the day. However, she had stayed up for two nights in a row. This was a rough one, for sure.
 
“Ditto…” Rainbow looked over to see John downing sugar into his. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the expression on his face.
 
“Whoa, big guy, save some for the rest of us. I think we might need it more than you,” Rainbow said as John passed her the sugar.
 
“Why do you say that?” John asked.
 
“Well, I mean, of all of us, you can actually sleep. I doubt Kurama would try to attack you in your own dreams. Plus, you’re asleep while you’re tracking him down in the dream realm, right?” Rainbow looked over to him. John was staring down at his cup, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
 
“To tell you the truth, I’m not,” Rainbow arched a brow at John’s statement, “Maybe I am asleep when I jump into the dream realm. I honestly can’t tell. But what I do know is that my mind is more active in there than it usually is. I’m not just trying to keep the magic active, I’m also trying to link my own mind to the dreams of others. Add that to any time I start fighting and it’s more stress on my mind,” John stopped to let out a small sigh. He’d never put a lot of thought into this while he was dream-hopping. It was only something he’d realized as the effects started to weigh on him. Once he was out of the dream realm, he would start to feel the strain.
 
“And maybe I can just fall asleep. Kurama seems to prefer avoiding me at all costs, after all. But how could I do that while everyone else is forced to stay awake?” He couldn’t bring himself to do it, not while everyone else couldn’t. He was going to stay awake and suffer with them. Only after Kurama was stopped would he feel comfortable resting himself, “I’m going to stand by you guys through this, then when we beat this, we can all rest together.”
 
A smile slowly formed on Rainbow’s face, another chuckle escaping her.
 
“Well, that was cheesy,” she said, raising her cup, “But I can cheer to that,” John did the same as Rainbow and for a brief moment the two tapped mugs before downing their contents in full. It was small moments like this that they fought for, so that they would never end, and so that more could be shared in the future.
 
But while moments were had, and drinks were downed, Twilight continued to put all her focus onto the books floating around her. Dozens upon hundreds of possibilities, of them, at least one had the answer she was looking for: a way to prepare for Kurama in advance should he try to show himself again. Word by word, sentence by sentence, Twilight made sure not to miss so much as a comma. And through the effort, through the countless hours of little rest, something caught her eyes.
 
“What’s this?” Releasing the books around her from her magical grasp, Twilight held the book she was reading with her hands. The other books fell to the ground loudly, catching everyone’s attention. As they watched her scan the page of the book, they could all see it: Twilight’s mouth curling into a large smile, “Yes, yes, yes!” she said in glee as she placed the book on the table, her eyes never breaking contact with the pages.
 
“What you find, Twi?” said Applejack as she and the others gathered behind her.
 
“It’s a rough idea, but I might have what we’re looking for,” Using her magic, Twilight pulled over a chalkboard and began drawing on it, “Okay, so we remember the contingency plans I had in mind back when we were up against the Slayer?”
 
Everyone nodded. There was no way anyone was going to forget what happened back then.
 
“As I’d said back then, I’d chosen specific rooms which I believed he’d try to enter. Those included the one where I was hidden in Cadence’s palace, and the room which stored his book. The idea would have been to try and lure him and spring the trap when he least expected it.” On the board, she drew a rough sketch of Contingency Plan B: trying to use magical bindings to capture Slayer.
 
“Back then, however, I had two problems: one, I hadn’t prepared for the serious force his magic contained, and the bindings were overpowered. The second is the same reason why I never thought to use this against Kurama,” Drawing another copy of the contingency and herself on the board, Twilight drew a line connecting the two, “While they were connected with my own magic, I had no way of knowing outside of sight when someone was within range,” Finishing up, she drew a wall between them, highlighting the vision problem.
 
“So is that where this thing you found comes in?”
 
“Exactly,” Walking away from the board, Twilight picked up the book again, “There’s a way to let me know if someone were to enter the contingency range. Think of it as a ‘sixth sense’ of sorts: the very moment someone steps within range, I’ll know immediately and be able to activate the spell.” It sounded perfect, but there was one hold in it.
 
“And if it’s an innocent bystander?” Legitimate as Fluttercruel’s question was, it only made Twilight smirk in response.
 
“Because I’m going to add a tracer to it,” she said, “Think of it as a filter, a way to distinguish one individual from another. If I set it correctly, then the tracer will only notify me if Kurama is the one within range,” Things were starting to turn up for them now, especially if they could get this spell to work.
 
“Well then, what are you going to use as a tracer?”
 
“DNA,” Twilight said, “Guards managed to get a blood sample from him the first time they’d encountered him,” Then, her smile faded slightly, “Problem is, a tracer like that may require a large sample. I can only hope the sample they’d gathered is enough to make at least one or two,” Though the idea of it not being enough was now in the back of her head, she had to stay positive about this. This had to be another advantage they could gain over Kurama, and they couldn’t let this pass because it might not work.
 
“What about magic?” Twilight looked to John, wondering what he meant, “Could you make a tracer activate to a magical signature?” Twilight rubbed her chin for a moment as she pondered the possibilities.
 
“That’d probably be more efficient… actually, a lot more,” she said, reading the book in awe, “If I changed things up here, and there, then maybe…” She stopped for a moment and looked up again. The idea of using a magical signature to trigger the tracer was sounding better and better, but a question rose with that. It wasn’t like Kurama was just going to give them his magic to infuse with her spell. So how did John plan to get it?
 
“I have a bad idea…”
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This is a bad idea, this is a really bad idea!
 
Twilight continued to think this as she and John made their way upstairs. In her hands, she held a bag of clear crystals, ones she would put to use within the next few minutes. With every step she took, she could feel herself growing anxious. Only when they were at the top did her anxiety reach its peak, and she started to have second thoughts.
 
“You sure you’re up for this?” John asked, standing between her and the door to her room. Twilight rubbed her shoulder as she looked away. What could she say? That she was more than ready to hear her friends scream in agony for Celestia knows how long?
 
“Not as much as I was at the bottom steps,” she said with a sigh, “But we aren’t in a position to turn away from an advantage. C-can you run the plan by me again?” John gave a soundless sigh. He could tell she was trying to stall for a little longer. But he couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t like he was looking forward to this.
 
“When you brought up the tracer, I started to think about before when I couldn’t track down Kurama in dreams. I had no way of knowing where he would be or when, or where I was going, for that matter. But what I did know, was that when I’d experienced his magic firsthand there was something so far different than anything else I’d felt until then. I thought that if I’d somehow imprinted that into my mind, allow myself to keep it at full force again, then I’d be able to find him easier.”
 
That was when they’d gone to the local hospital. He’d left out just how painful it was for him.
 
“When you said you could have it pick up someone’s DNA, I wondered if it could track magic as well. Something we may not be able to get directly from its source, but do have in spades. His magic is constantly tainting the dreams of his victims. I can feel it every time I enter the dream realm. So I had to give it a try, and see if maybe we can use that against him one more time.” Twilight held her bag closer. It was a sound theory, and it did work before. It wasn’t just the fact he’d have to link with a victim again that had her hesitant. It was the fact that this time, she’d experience it as well.
 
“Will it hurt?” Anyone would agree that pain was the strongest of all deterrents. Many would seek an option that would let them avoid feeling it as much as possible. But once again, that wasn’t an option for them this time.
 
“It will, but not as much,” said John, “I’m going to be the middle man and filter it to you slowly. Just let me know if it’s too much.”
 
Twilight felt herself grow concern. Since coming here, John and Corey had gotten into the habit of putting the others before themselves. While that was an admirable feat, it left her worried. After seeing what had happened with Corey when he tried to do too much, Twilight and the others were really starting to worry how far either of them were willing to go.
 
“Are you ready?” John placed his hand on the knob as he waited for Twilight’s response. After she took a deep breath, she nodded her head and John opened the door. Just like all the other times, their ears were assaulted with screams. This time, Rarity was joining in. They tried their best to drown them out, but it was going to be a long ride.
 
Just hold on a little longer, you two… John and Twilight made their way over to Corey’s bed. He was still screaming as he did when it all began. Twilight could hardly bear to see either of them like this, but she had to endure it.
 
“Ready?” John asked. Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. When she finally felt that she was ready, Twilight nodded her head again. John returned her nod and closed his eyes. After a deep breath, he opened his eyes again, which were now glowing. Within a few seconds a strand of magic extended out from his head. A few more later, it attached to Corey’s. Kurama’s magic quickly traveled through the strand and into John, and John cringed from the rush. It took him a while to steady himself enough to be capable of thinking straight. Fortunately, he’d been hit by this enough to where he could adapt, and after a few minutes had passed, a second strand came out.
 
Twilight would have preferred not to have seen it coming, but she felt the very moment the strand made contact with the tip of her horn.
 
Here it comes, she thought to herself. True to her prediction, she could feel it. Slowly, but surely John let Kurama’s magic seep through to her, doing everything he could to ensure she couldn’t be overcome by it. But even with that, it was a lot to process. In an instant, she could feel it all. Corey’s fear, his pain, she could feel it now, and knowing that this was just a fraction of its full force did not serve to make her feel better.
 
But she couldn’t let herself overcome by this, not while she still had something to do in this. She reached into her bag and pulled out one of the crystals. While it proved difficult, she managed to hold it with her magic. Next was the tricky part, and the whole reason she needed them in the first place. Her horn began to glow as she focused her magic. She had to feel through the fear and pain for what they were looking for. Underneath it all was the source: the taint that was being produced endlessly through the nightmares.
 
That was what they needed, and it was what Twilight placed all of her focus. From the glow of her magic, something began to seep out, a purple sort of mist which slowly made its way towards the crystal. The crystal’s color began to change over time, taking the same hue as the mist that was being fed to it. After a minute had passed, the mist had stopped flowing, and the crystal glowed with the essence of Kurama’s magic.
 
One down, Twilight thought, quickly preparing another crystal. She couldn’t waste a second now. There was no telling just how much longer John could keep this up.
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His battles of hours past had taken a toll on him, but he was starting to heal from them, even if only a bit. His injuries were not the problem, however. The constant rumble that echoed through the cave was reminding him of what it was. Since the very moment he’d entered the limits of Ponyville he hadn’t done much other than claim victims and battle against the opposing side. All of that had put a serious strain on him, and now his hunger had grown to a point where he couldn’t put it off any longer.
 
He could have tried to find food among the Everfree Forest as some were edible, but the keyword there was “some”. The difference between edible and inedible foods wasn’t the only problem. There was a large variety of plants, and each one could prove poisonous or carnivorous if he wasn’t careful. No matter how he looked at it, every option from within the forest was a great risk, and he was looking to avoid that for now. His only other option was to find somewhere he knew would have safe food to eat.
 
But that was also a problem, with guards and the like in constant search for him. Every time he’d met with them, they’d somehow increase their efforts to bring him down. And though he’d desire nothing more than to avoid them as much as possible, the void in his stomach was winning out. He wouldn’t last much longer in this state, and his stalling would then turn against him. That would be a defeat even he would find too humiliating to accept. In the end, Kurama found he had no other options.
 
“Very well,” Kurama shakily rose from his seat and walked towards the mouth of the cave. The ill effects of his hunger weighed down on his stamina heavily. With a flicker of his magic, the opening was revealed and he pushed away the rocks and vines covering it. He then took the path he’d marked for himself after finding the cave. He couldn’t fight in the state he was in, but hopefully, if he was careful enough, he’d managed to find enough food to last him a little longer.
 
Anything to buy him a little more time…