Collision Code

Act II: Fateful Collisions

Chapter 3: Something Sweet, Something Spectrum

The four still within the library stared at the door, as though expecting Leo to come back to the door any moment. Not a soul spoke, all four equally confused and moderately irritated by that sudden display of emotion from the silver former human. It was probably the last thing they'd expected to happen upon his waking up.

"What's he mean, liability..." Spike said.

"He believes we're only keeping him alive..." Corey strained in response, still nursing his sore forehead with a hoof as he leaned on a nearby bookshelf for support, "So we can get home. Basically, implying we're that shallow. In any case, it's been made clear to us that without technology, we're more or less stuck here." He seemed to have shrugged off Leo's comment as well as the awkwardness that had preceded the former human's comment.

With an irritated sigh, evidenced by the smoke that was still emnating from his mouth, John descended into the main lobby.

"I need to go blow off some steam..." he observed.

"Instead of blowing steam?" cut in the much smaller dragon. The sound of the silence that ensued was deafening. For a few moments, the purple dragon honestly wondered if what he said was done so way too soon, but the tension eased when John gave a chuckle.

"Pretty much."

And so, with that, John departed from the library as well, leaving Twilight, Corey and Spike alone to sort things out. After a few more seconds of silence, the purple pony quickly sent her assistant after an ice pack for Corey's obvious migraine.

"Do you know anything about why Leo just..." Twilight hesitated, wondering if she should even ask. "Do you know why he just went off like that?"

"Honestly, I can't say for sure..." Corey said, still rubbing away at his forehead, starting to believe he'd rub some of his headfur off before Spike got back with that ice pack. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's the way his life goes. A lot different from mine. I should mention that I only know him through that 'Internet' thing I told you about though, so what he says could easily be wrong, but it's all I have."

"I want to hear it," the purple mare continued. "I kinda want to understand your world more, even if you four don't completely understand it yourselves..."

"Well, don't judge my world based solely on my testimony, but...if you want me to, I guess I can share some of Leo's...personal accounts, but could you not tell him you know?" the green colt responded. "Really don't want him on my case...not that he isn't already whenever he and Dash are within the same vicinity as us...but I think he might beat me up..."

And so, as soon as the pack of ice was affixed to the former human's pounding head, he began rattling off what exactly may have contributed to Leo's rather sudden change in attitude. Somehow, this conversation began to change course after Leo's story...

Noel found himself flying in the direction of the Everfree Forest. For a few moments, he honestly wondered why he wanted to head right back there, immediately after his brush with death. That is, until that rather vivid vision came rushing back to him. He remembered hearing Zecora's voice giving him advice, in her rhyme scheme to boot. He wanted to know if the zebra really did that on purpose, or if the potion that he'd drank to neutralize the venom just made him have a painfully vivid dream.

Whatever the case, the former human found himself suddenly seeing in blurs. He hovered mid-flight, rubbing at his uncovered eye with his foreleg in an attempt to keep himself from passing out. He couldn't place it right away, but within a few seconds, Leo realized precisely what was going on.

That antivenom was pretty damn strong. There was no way he'd even make it to Fluttershy's, let alone Zecora's, in his current condition. He began to jostle in the air a little as he fought to stay upright. The silver pegasus colt eventually realized that any attempt he made to fight off sleep in his condition was absolutely pointless. Noel searched the area, and found his salvation: an untouched cloud. It was currently unoccupied, and he hadn't seen Rainbow today, probably a first since his arrival.

"I think...I'll just..." he mumbled to himself, finally landing on the cloud. "...try to sleep it off, here..."

He soon curled up on the rather roomy cloud, obscuring his eye injury with the silvery hairs of his tail. Though he rather quickly fell back asleep, there was a single thought that troubled him. He'd had those visions, and while he was sure things wouldn't play out exactly as they did in the dream, they served as a powerful reminder.

The former human had a big decision to make, and he knew he'd be better off making it now than waiting until later. He couldn't yet consider the ambitions and conditions of his fellow morphed humanoids quite yet. First, Leo knew he had to sort out his own thoughts. He was at the tip of a triangular pyramid, each face containing a different fate. The base, he did not know what it contained yet, but he could only assume it would take the form of what was to come.

One, he could return to his Earth life; as painful as it could be for him, it was still his home dimension. Besides, he was pretty sure the others wanted home, and it would have been beyond selfish of him to force them to remain in Equestria with him if they didn't want to.

Two, he could stay with Fluttershy; the shy pegasus, who he did admit he had some attachment to. But he hadn't spent any real alone time with her, and the most recent time, he was about to put himself in a precarious situation.

Three, he could stay with Rainbow Dash; a speedster, who, as he thought about it, had changed her persona over the past few days. She seemed to be...occupied, with something within her as they did their usual activities.

Leo wasn't quite sure which path to choose quite yet. Wait, no, somehow, he knew option one was just not for him anymore. Since he'd come to Equestria, he knew he'd fancy staying more than going home. But now he had pretty much been forced to look at the road ahead of him, the silvery former human knew he had some decisions to make.

As the time passed, Ivan and Pinkie served about twenty, thirty, maybe thirty-five ponies over the course of the three hours since that morning. Maybe it was the fact they balanced each other out. Maybe it was the fact they didn't have a lot else to do in the moment. Whatever the case, it was somewhat of a busy day.

The fact that hyperactivity was balanced with laziness in the kitchen did not go unnoticed by patrons either. Though Ivan didn't care enough to tune in to the specifics, he'd heard enough. Given it was lunch break, he didn't see the harm in asking, leaving aside the fact Pinkie still didn't know the whole truth behind his arrival.

"Say, Pinkie, you wanna go do something during lunch?" Ivan asked. His countenances was only slightly shaken by the fact he'd asked, but after Corey's little "accident" during the welcome party, there was no way the pink pony could have made things more awkward.

"I was wondering when you would ask! I mean, I've been looking your way for a while and you just don't seem to notice!" Immediately, the former human was proven wrong, as Pinkie immediately came right out and said it. Ivan internally added "subtlety" to the list of things Pinkie couldn't quite pull off.

"I don't know, always waiting to bump snouts with me in the morning is pretty obvious," Ivan cast a small, subconscious glance to make sure nopony was listening in. "Though I also want to see the others." He couldn't believe it, but the tiniest twinge of concern for Noel's condition had emerged in his subconscious; not to mention, he wanted answers on what he'd just experienced in his dream. Maybe he'd find something at the library on it. He had a feeling Twilight would know about it.

"Ooh! Here, I know a place we can go for our lunch break! Wait right here!" Pinkie immediately bounded off before Ivan can object. However, just as soon as she left, Ivan's mental train derailed. Now he couldn't help but wonder if the pink earth pony was saving something for when she found somepony that wanted to date her. Either that, or she just recently found it.

Whatever the case, Ivan knew one thing. Whatever she was about to show him had to be something both beyond random and yet suitably interesting.

There was no denying it in her mind any more. Rainbow found herself unable to completely stop thinking about Leo at this point. The time they'd spent together over the past few days had just made those feelings stronger. It was quite odd to her, really. Within the first day, she found herself succumbing to a far softer side than she thought herself capable of. She'd been steadily trying to fight it off.

But today was different.

"Leo...where'd you go?" she whispered to herself.

Why am I even doing this? I didn't think I'd be like this...! thought the cyan mare to herself as she flew about, checking places for the silver colt that she had so easily bonded with over the past few days. Not now, not ever...

A rainbow blur soon left Ponyville's airspace, heading for the outskirts. At this moment, her eyes began to drift. Though at first, she didn't notice it, there was a rather dark lump on a light cloud not too far outside of Ponyville. She halted, eyeing the lump on the cumulus for a moment. It was silvery, pony-shaped, and, upon a closer inspection, had Leo's weird cutie mark.

She'd remembered when she'd found out what that symbol meant. It was something Twilight referred to as a "yag-ying"...no, "yin-yang" or something like that. From what the unicorns in the library could tell her, it had something to do with martial arts. It goes without saying that once she'd discovered that fact, Dash became utterly estatic.

She was, as far as she knew, the only one out of her circle of friends that practiced any sort of martial arts. She'd even tried to pass her knowledge on to Apple Bloom when she first started pining for her cutie mark, something which ended very badly for the poor foal. That, and the other activities that she'd put the smaller foal through...at least Applejack's sister found a friend in Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, foals with a similar lack...

The sky blue mare hovered just off the cloud where Leo was napping, watching him sleep for just a few moments. She reached out for the silver colt, and began shaking him in a manner that was so unlike her it terrified her deep down. Rather that roughly jostle and jerk around the colt's body as she usually would, she began gently shaking his sleepy form.

"Rise and shine, Leo--" She realized even her tone was gentle. Even if she was succumbing to the feelings she'd never felt for anypony before, there was no reason she'd need to become a second Fluttershy just to be with him. Besides which, it almost seemed to make Leo uncomfortable when she was being that gentle. "I-I mean, c'mon Leo, get up!"

The pony before her gave a groan, which sounded faintly like "Dash", but the rainbow-maned pegasus couldn't really tell for sure. The pony before her uncurled...

and revealed a bandage over his left eye. Instantly, Rainbow wanted to gasp, and so she did, letting her previous concerns about being too soft fly away from her in the process.

"Oh my gosh! What happened?" She reached out with one hoof, and softly moved the appendage over the bandaged area. "What happened to you, Leo?! Tell me!"

"M-manticore..." Leo mumbled. The cyan pegasus blinked. No, he really didn't...did he?

"W-what...?"

"I got into a fight with a manticore...and lost..." He was speaking very quietly. At this point, twin emotions, anger and fear, swept through her. All Rainbow could think to do straight off was to find the manticore that dared to sting her friend, and deal her own brand of justice. Yet...yet she didn't even feel like demanding to know its location. No...no, she just couldn't find it in her.

"It-it stabbed you?" The words sounded so uncharacteristically gentle that the fastest flier found herself at a loss for words with herself. She was almost acting...unconsciously. Was this the force that drove those Changelings out at the botched wedding at work?

"The others....they took me to...to a zebra...I think..."

"Zecora?!" Relief washed over her faster than she could have ever guessed it would have. "Man, now I really feel bad about the whole 'evil enchantress' thing...but you're alright now, right?"

"Except for the...antivenom she gave me..."

"Did it...taste bad?"

"The worst thing I've ever had in my life...and I think it's a pretty potent antidote too...I can't really go anywhere like this..." Leo tried to stand, but from the look in his good eye, Rainbow gathered he wasn't able to get anywhere. Though when she'd first starting aspiring for the Wonderbolts, the cyan mare never truly gave a thought to slowing down any, and even as she gained her friends, she still wasn't explicitly urged to slow down.

But seeing the silver colt in this condition, one that he probably brought on himself nonetheless, was bringing out yet another part of that sensitive side out to play. And this time, there was nothing Rainbow Dash could do to stop it.

Noel was at the point where he was convinced that Rainbow returned his feelings. No matter how he looked at it, the fact she didn't immediately rush off to try and fight the manticore just didn't seem like the normal Rainbow Dash. Even on the first day, he'd noticed subtle differences in her character. It was just like that dream he'd had on the first night.

In that dream, she was being almost eerily nice. That was when he'd found out she'd let him borrow her bed for the night. And now, she seemed to be looking at him in a soft way, softer than when she heard his condition on the night of the library break-in.

"I get it..."

Just then, Rainbow flew off, but only for a few moments. In a flash, she had another cloud, pushing it right into his and forming them together. The combined cloud darkened, but only briefly, before resuming its white hue.

"I-I could..." She was trying to regain some of her former self, trying her hardest to pull herself just a little further away. Whatever she did though, obviously didn't work. "Aw, forget about it!"

Leo straightened out his neck, wondering what the hell Dash meant. He soon got his answer, though, when Rainbow lunged forward unexpectedly, with an unmistakable intent.

Their lips interconnected. For just a fleeting moment, the former human wondered if his new body secretly had unicorn magic tied into it. As soon as that moment subsided, Noel knew what his decision was.

In the end, he knew he couldn't stand Earth.

While he'd be lying to say he didn't feel anything for Fluttershy, it was quite clear to him that it'd take almost forever for them to get anywhere, no offense to her. Besides, given his other personality that enjoyed cracking tasteless jokes about his friends, it might not have worked out.

But when he'd considered how quickly Rainbow Dash had warmed up to him, as well as how they seemed to click as they spent that much time together, his choice seemed clear. With this in mind, he returned the mare's kiss. It lasted for a few seconds more, before they pulled apart.

"It's gotta be obvious, Leo," Dash said, putting a foreleg around him and pulling him close. "I guess I like you...a lot..."

A lot more than you probably should... the silver colt thought, nevertheless happy with his decision. "Yeah, I guess you already knew how I felt all this time..." he whispered. He began to nod off again.

"Right, I guess I could use a nap too..." Rainbow said. Faster than he could ever remember doing so in his life, even if the day had gone smoothly, Leo went back to sleep, almost the instant he closed his eyes. Just once, he'd sleep without much in the way of cares. Besides, this cloud was technically not a bed.

"...and that's how we re-sealed Discord," Twilight finished, having recounted some more tales from her world. Corey nodded, only vaguely aware of most of those events from reading the wiki. "That's when I discovered how important friendship really can be...well, if the other lessons I learned before didn't make it clear enough!"

"Sounds like you've seen your fair share of..." Corey immediately hesitated, knowing full well where that sentence was going. "...chaos..."

If tumbleweeds were ever needed to emphasize awkwardness indoors, that moment right there would have been perfect, the former human thought, immediately staring at the floor.

"I can't believe you just said that..." He could picture Twilight putting her face into her hoof to that statement. "but that's the kind of colt you are..."

"Colt...?" Corey looked up.

"I've never seen you as a human..." Twilight noted aloud.

"For some reason I came out green, and I don't know why." The former human responded, and it was true. "My eyes are actually green, but even then, it's only noticable when I shine light right into them."

"So..." The purple mare hesitated, but eventually managed to state, "If I had to guess, I would assume your eye and man--hair colors switched during the swap. How's your headache, by the way? It should be better by now..."

The green colt's eyes trailed upward. Sure enough, the throbbing in his head had finally abated. With a sigh, he allowed Twilight to lift the ice pack off his head.

"Well, I guess that means break time's over..." Corey said. "Time to get back on perfecting the barrier so I don't get a migraine every time I cast it."

"Honestly, I think that might be because it's stressed to the point it breaks, since you're not just casting a temporary shield, but you're sustaining it with your magic as well." Twilight said. "I'll test your shield strength, but before we get back...don't you have any stories from your world...no, your life, that you want to tell me?"

"Honestly, after all the stories you've shared with me, I can't possibly compete with the life of a unicorn, let alone one as amazing as you are..." The green unicorn replied, to which the purple unicorn blushed only slightly.

"Coming from you, I guess it shouldn't mean so much, but...oh! That's...not what I meant to say..."

"Don't worry, I think I understand what you're saying..."

The two stood there awkwardly for a few moments longer, neither knowing what to say. Thankfully, there was still at least one dragon around to keep them on-task.

"Hey, get a room!" shouted Spike in mock disgust, sporting a "gag me" sort of gesture on his face. Surprisingly, he seemed to be ready to go somewhere.

"...And where are you going?" asked the former human in the room, resisting the urge to blush with every fiber of his being.

"Oh yeah, Rarity asked you to come help her gather gems again...are you sure you're not eating her stash just so you can spend time with her?" Twilight asked.

"What do you think I am?! I don't hoard things, at least not anymore!" Spike looked honestly offended, at least, as far as Corey knew. Not that the situation wasn't something entirely out of his scope. And the whole "hoarding" thing...what was he going on about?

"Right, my mistake. Sorry, Spike."

And with that, the baby dragon left the unicorns alone to continue the green one's learning process.

"Alright, let's go, then." Corey said, focusing magic into his horn. Once more, visions of Dragonball Z flooded his conscious mind as he concentrated. A green layer of magic appeared, followed by another. "Alright, ready anytime..."

Bzzt!

The noise came from just outside his barrier. Chancing to open his eyes, he looked to see what Twilight was doing to check up on his progress. Her horn was glowing that magenta color it did when she was casting a spell. He maintained his barrier, eyeing her carefully. Just then, he noticed three short spurts of magenta light streak towards his direction.

The former human's concentration almost broke, sort of like his restraint, when he saw this. Having watched Star Wars and played quite a few video games involving them, he knew precisely what blasted forth from the purple mare's horn.

Lasers...?! When did this happen?!

On the light show went for about another forty seconds, during which Corey's hooves buckled against the floor, multiple fissures in his magical shield.

"Twilight, I'm almost running dry! I'm really not in the mood for another migraine...twice is enough..." The green colt warned.

"Okay, thanks for the heads-up!" One last laser shot forth from the unicorn's horn, but this wasn't enough damage to shatter the former human's magical barrier. The barrier itself faded away, and with a certain calm, Corey trotted up to Twilight. "You're doing good, Corey, really..."

"I believe you, sure," Corey was struggling to hold himself back, his innards tingling with a certain excitement he hadn't known before. "But, Twilight, can I ask you one thing?"

"Uh, yeah, go ahead..."

With a strained exhale, Corey seized Twilight, and pulled her up onto her back legs, he himself going up as well.

"H-hey...!"

"When were you going to tell me you could shoot *magic lasers?!" The inner child in Corey was coming out with full force. Ever since he was a child, he'd always dreamed of shooting energy beams. At first, he didn't think he'd be able to, since that wasn't in the book he'd been given to study from, but after witnessing Twilight's laser light show, the excitement he'd felt at harnessing a force he was already comparing to *Dragonball Z's Ki concept returned with force.

"S-soon...?" Twilight asked, caught completely off-guard by this.

Wasn't a lot of ground to cover in this chapter. Got a little distracted with an experimental piece I'm working on on the side. Not sure if I'll post it or not. That, and animation too.