Collision Code

Act I: Unexpected Collisions

Chapter 5: Mishaps and Shenanigans

And add the Ponyville Library to my list of "Things That Are Bigger In Person When In Equestria"... Corey thought to himself, gazing at the house/library that Twilight and Spike lived in. It seemed like it had some renovations since the last episode he'd watched as well. For one thing, there appeared to be two beds in the upstairs room where Twilight slept, or at least, that's what he assumed. He wasn't entirely sure what everything was right now. But all the same, the floor he was on seemed to be where Twilight did most of her studies. And there were shelves on all the walls. Probably the most habitable library Corey had ever stayed in for a long time was the library at college, but even then, he went there to get as much solitude as he could manage while he juggled his homework and hobbies.

Well, he wouldn't have to worry about either of those, given Equestria didn't have computers let alone Wi-Fi, as far as he could tell. If he learned to write with his horn, then maybe he could resume writing, but that wouldn't get him very far, he knew. As for his reading, most of it was done online. And instead of regular books, he read internet fanfiction most of the time. Not all of it was palatable, though. Most of the time, he had psuedo-masochism on his mind and just wanted to read fanfics he couldn't stand in the first place.

That is not to say he didn't enjoy real books, but all the books here might wind up reading like pony fanfic variations of things he enjoyed on Earth. He wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and that scared him.

"Now, Corey, could you wait here? I'll be with you in a moment..." Twilight said, looking to him.

"I see." Corey responded. Something inside of him gave way, and his vocal cords took off. "Gotta hand it to you though..."

Wait, why did I just...?

"Oh?" The purple unicorn turned to face him. Instantly, Corey knew he'd have to say something, so he thought quickly.

"I usually have to go out to get reading done..." It wasn't a total lie, both here in Equestria and on Earth--on Earth, more books were found in a library, though as mentioned, he didn't read them; here in Equestria, his backstory was that he was here to see what Ponyville had in terms of literature, and he was genuinely curious to see what pony literature was like anyway. "You live in a mountain of books...don't have to look far."

"You're not gonna find books in bales of hay..." said Spike, giving the understatement of the year. Pushing this statement aside, Corey remembered something: they never actually introduced themselves.

"I don't think you ever told me your names..." Corey said, trying to keep his voice steady. Twilight and Spike turned to him,

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Twilight apologized, having already almost gone back upstairs. "I guess I must have forgotten with all the...excitement..." As she continued, Spike snickered, knowing what the unicorn was ambiguously referring to. Corey was instantly reminded he probably still had hay in places on his body. "...that just happened. I mean, it's not every day a colt decides to relive his foal days by hiding in a hay bale, or a pegasus loses control of his or her flight and has to do a crash landing..."

"But when it does happen, does it happen twice?" The green unicorn immediately felt the urge to slam his hoof over his mouth at what he just asked.

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, n-nothing...so what are your names?" Corey played off his slip. He wouldn't let it slip that Rainbow Dash had crashed into Leo earlier, at least not yet. He would save that leverage for later, if Leo continued to piss him off.

"Well, Corey..." She said his name awkwardly. Apparently she was still getting used to the strangeness of his name. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. He's Spike, my assistant..." Corey noticed she omitted some things that she might have mentioned. He vaguely recalled her saying she had some connections to the Princess in the first episode, but that could have been just his memory being selective.

"And the number one assistant!" Spike added, pulling a triumphant pose, and seemed to be smugly looking past Corey.

Isn't he the only one? Corey thought to himself. The green pony stood confused for a few moments, though willed himself not to show it.

"I don't usually stay up that late, Spike, you know that..." Twilight assured. "Now, if you'll excuse us..."

The purple pony trailed off, vanishing from Corey's sight as she left for a place upstairs. The green unicorn, formerly a human, snorted just a little.

This library has balconies, doesn't it? No wonder she saw me! he thought to himself. Back to business. I'd better at least attempt to simulate interest in the books while I think of how I can tell Twilight of how this goes. Hell, she saw Leo fail, but she seemed dismissive of that fact...

"This is only going to get harder..." Corey mumbled to himself. Before he began looking for the nearest shelf, he turned his head to look at what Spike was looking at, behind him and slightly up.

A small, light brown owl was on a perch. It appeared to be dozing off.

...So that owl is canon after all. Wondering what point of the timeline he and his friends ended up in, Corey made his way over to the nearest bookshelf, and began feigning interest, thinking about the best way to approach the whole "I'm not a pony" thing. He knew it was going to take patience and a way with words, both of which things he lacked.

Twilight emerged from the interior of the library back onto the balcony where she'd seen Corey's little hay bale escape. She still felt something was off about him specifically. Leo seemed flightless, but what were the odds that Corey couldn't do magic? The unicorn thought to herself as she looked out to the sun. Only not directly at it...the last time that happened...

"They both seem..." Twilight thought aloud.

"Weird? Yeah, I agree, something's up with them," said Spike, hearing Twilight's loud thoughts.

"Spike!" Twilight tried to compose herself. "We can't say for sure if things are as bad as they seem. It looks like the both of them haven't slept all night last night. Corey can't have been that anxious to come to the library, could he?"

"I don't know," answered the baby dragon, leaning somewhat on the wooden railing. "You get pretty anxious on things sometimes, too..."

"I had reason to be that anxious," retorted Twilight. "There's something weird going on...but I'm sure it's...nothing threatening. At least, not from them. Corey could barely speak--"

"And his face became apple red too."

"Yes, I remember, Spike," The purple pony said. "Anyway, I'm sure it'll come out with just a little time. We've just got to watch them carefully..."

She pushed aside the fact Corey had similar experiences on his first day in Ponyville for the time being. She knew there was something bigger going on. Things just weren't adding up, but at the same time, she knew there wasn't any real threat to Corey and Leo. They both seemed...harmless enough.

"If you say so," Spike said, looking back into the library.

Leo hovered outside the window, becoming slowly aware his wing muscles were getting sore. Since he never had wings to get sore until now, he knew he should have expected as much. Dash was looking at Corey intently, who seemed to be in deep thought. They had both chuckled just a little bit when Corey had his slip of the tongue. But the former human, now a pegasus, knew something was up. Neither of them were acting quite normal. Leo knew Twilight saw him wipe out in the fashion he did; and she might have gathered that he and Corey were friends as well. And Corey just seemed to be...rambling a little more than normal.

"So, is he any good at magic?" Rainbow asked, snapping him out of his thoughts in an instant. Leo looked over, unsure of how to answer for a moment. The answer came to him soon enough.

"He...never does any kind of 'flashy' magic," Leo responded, really unsure of his answer was going to stick. Corey looked as though he weren't even trying to use magic in the first place. He seemed to have found a rather interesting title. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure what the green unicorn inside was up to.

...Is Corey...falling for--? The former human's thoughts were once again interrupted.

"Twilight's coming, get away from this window!" Dash warned, immediately grabbing Leo by the hoof and yanking him away from it. The cyan pegasus continued flight until they reached another window. The former human could now hear buzzing below him. He looked down to see a beehive hanging off one of the tree's branches.

Now in a safer spot to avoid being spotted, the ponies continued their eavesdropping activity, putting one perked-up ear to the side of the building.

"Do you need help down there?" Twilight asked. Leo peered into the window to see she had a book open, and was levitating it with her magic, her horn and the affected object glowing a magenta color.

Corey leaned his head on the shelf, turning it so he wouldn't impale anything-at least, that was what Leo was assuming. He appeared to be thinking. Leo wanted to get inside to help Corey out, and Dash appeared to want to get inside so that she could see what was going on better. If Leo knew her character well enough...

"That..." the green unicorn below said, some hesitation in his voice. "Um...just give me a moment, going to think carefully about which book I want..." He was speaking in a monotone voice.

"Oh, I see," Twilight sounded...discomforted. "Just let me know if you need anything..."

"Hmm..." Dash sounded like she was thinking. The way she made the sound suggested she had some ammo for later teasing on the matter, but Leo wasn't really sure what was going through the cyan pegasus's head at that moment.

Corey, you might need a little help... The silver pegasus gritted his teeth, watching Corey waste more time. Then he remembered that Rainbow was around. Noel wasn't sure why, but he didn't want the pegasus finding out about the humanhood of the newcomers just yet. The former human heard his friend's forelegs awkwardly set down on something with a thud. Leo craned his head around, to see into the window. He could see Corey awkwardly on his back legs, standing as upright as he could, looking at a book. His eyes seemed interested in the cover. ...What is he trying to do? Gain Twilight's trust?

At this moment, Leo felt a rush of cool air. Dash's wings were flapping slightly faster. Was she about to take off.

"Leo, this is getting a little boring," Dash whispered. "Not what I was expecting, but I guess things like this take time! I still have some stuff I wanna get done at the moment, so I'll catch you later!"

Before the former human could stop her or say his own farewell, Rainbow once more took off at top speed, no doubt about to continue her day as though she hadn't been interrupted by the newcoming ponies, and took off at a very fast pace. The force of the takeoff threw Leo completely off-balance, and he fell. On the way down, he hit something, feeling it leave the tree, and just a few seconds later, the former human's ears were filled with the sounds of buzzing.

D-damn it to hell...

Corey looked back to Twilight, still with his forelegs on the shelves. He still hadn't thought of how to phrase his sentences, but he was convinced that he'd be able to think of something to say. With a small sigh, trying to keep composed, even though internally, he was on edge, the former human spoke up.

"Yeah, Twilight, I do need...a little help getting this book down..." Corey said.

"O...Okay then..." Twilight responded. She sounded like she was seriously questioning things. As he turned to face her, he noticed she was very perplexed. He had a hard time reading emotions, but the expressive nature of the faces in Equestria made things a little easier for him. "...Uh, why?"

"I prefer doing things by hoof when possible, and..."

"You can't keep your balance on your back legs long enough?" asked Spike, "You know, because of your--"

"Spike..." Twilight sighed. "And...?"

"Well, I don't think I should pick a book up in my mouth, do you?" Corey responded again, trying to keep himself in control. It was a little easier given he was able to focus on the task at hand, but he knew his filter could break down at any moment. "Saliva isn't very good for paper..."

"...Point taken..." The purple pony didn't seem utterly convinced by his answer.

Why aren't you calling me out on that? You look skeptical enough... thought the former human as Twilight approached. Spike too, seemed very skeptical of the green unicorn's answer. But neither of them seemed to be saying anything, and Corey was wondering why. Did they already see through him? Before he could properly ask, a loud scream, male in nature, was heard from just outside.

"What the--?" Corey asked, his ears perking up from the sound.

All eyes in the library immediately looked to the nearest window, and saw a silver pegasus trying desperately to outfly what appeared to be a horde of bees. Corey flinched as soon as he realized the bees were there.

D-damn...! Bees... Corey thought.

"...Must have crashed his way into one of the beehives this time..." Spike said, now giggling somewhat at Leo's predicament, and obviously remembering Leo's earlier crash landing. Corey hesitated just a little bit before following, his fear of bees--and for that matter, anything else with a stinger, keeping him back.

"L-Leo's in trouble...again..." For some reason, Corey had a feeling Leo had been out there the whole time, and was spying on them. Dash probably put him up to it. It was merely a hunch, but with the way his luck was going...

"Something wrong, big guy?" Spike asked.

"I...I have an issue with bees..." Corey responded.

Leo flew about frantically, trying to escape the bees that were hounding him. He had destroyed their home, and they were about to extract their revenge. His already sore wings were crying out in protest of his actions. Finally, deciding it was time to fight back, he landed in front of the door, shut his eyes, and then tried to get into a martial arts pose, hoping that he wouldn't have a severe fail. He got on his back legs, very shakily due to the fact his body just wasn't meant for that anymore, and attempted to get his head into the game.

The bees formed a huge cloud of anger, and the swarm now darted straight at him. Just as Leo prepared to fight off the swarm, he heard the door open.

"Get inside!" Twilight barked at him. Leo didn't object, but he felt as though it was slightly odd that Twilight didn't question his martial arts pose straight away.

"O-okay!" The silver pegasus yelled, immediately getting back on all fours and running the short distance into the house. Twilight immediately slammed the door, and behind him, Leo could hear all the little insect bodies colliding with the wood painfully. After a few seconds, the sounds of the impacts stopped, and the buzzing outside the door became less and less volume.

"I think they're gone..." Corey whispered. Leo turned to see the other former human fixing him with an angry look.

...Damn it, Dash...you left me here to face his wrath... Leo thought to himself. I like your styl--wait...damn it all...

The former human wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, but he could feel his feelings for the speedy rainbow getting stronger. Which didn't bode well when he considered the only leverage he really had over his green companion was the decision to jump into a haystack. He wasn't exactly sure where Corey was going with Twilight either, but at the rate Corey was going, well...it just didn't bode well for him.

"Uh, Twilight? I'll get back on the book in a moment," Corey asked, once more in a monotone, near-emotionless voice. "I need to talk to Leo here for a moment."

"Um...okay, sure," Twilight responded. She looked a little...concerned. Leo knew why: she must have noticed something was off about the two of them by now, given how Corey handled the whole "not having magic" thing, as well as his flight crash earlier. "Just let me know when you're done..."

"You're not gonna--" Spike started, before Twilight used a spell Leo had seen before to zip his lips shut and keep him quiet. "MMPH!"

The purple pony immediately ushered Spike out of the room, leaving the two former humans alone. Corey walked up to Leo, and immediately his mind began to fill with irrational fears that Corey was going to mutilate him on his horn, and make it look like an accident.

"Leo, what the heck were you doing out there?" the green unicorn asked in a hushed voice, scowling. "I guess it doesn't matter much, though. The bees...well, they sort of did the job for me. For a while now, karma's been hammering me instead of you."

"I regret nothing," the silver pegasus responded, causing Corey to hang his head and give an exasperated, struggling gasp. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I don't think it's gonna be too easy to explain things to her. I feel like she might have a whiff or two about the two of us being...strange by the norms of here." Leo noticed Corey was being ambiguous. Probably for the best. "So, you're probably wondering about how this came to happen?" He motioned to himself, and Leo remembered in this instant that Corey was still covered in straw.

"What happened to you after we split up?" asked the silver former human, really curious to know why Corey had done as he did. Nevertheless, Leo was relieved that Corey wasn't about to redecorate and repaint the library with the color red.

"Well, I walked along the path Dash sent me on...then, I decided to look at my reflection in a window. Not my brightest move. I passed that window, went to the second one up, and realized what I'd been looking in. I looked in that window, and saw...'Rarity', I think Twilight called her, inside of the building." Once again, Corey was at least putting up a front of being clueless, Leo could tell, "I spent too long being shocked, and...she noticed me."

"Oh...oh God..." Leo giggled, realizing exactly what Corey did. He panicked and jumped into the strawbox.

"I knew if she caught me, it'd eat up quite a bit of time, so I made the decision to leap into the hay bale. Not my brightest move..." The lime-colored former human responded, sighing in response. "Oh well, what's done is done. Shouldn't have played all that Peace Walker. So how did things go on your end?"

Leo anticipated this question, and opted to answer honestly.

"Well, a little after you left, Dash started teaching me to fly, which really surprised me. She wasn't...going fast. Though she seemed to enjoy whenever I messed up..." Leo felt just a little embarrassed recalling that, "Then, I met a pony named Fluttershy, who also helped me." Taking Corey's cues, in case Twilight was somehow listening in, Leo acted as though he didn't know the ponies.

"...I see." Corey seemed to be processing things. "Hmm...anything happen between you and this Fluttershy, specifically?"

"N-not really..." The silver pegasus felt himself blush just a little, and cleared his throat.

"Well, your face turned red a little there. It shows very well against your silver coat." Leo cursed cartoon mechanics as Corey continued: "So, I'm having trouble thinking of ways to explain things to Twilight. Got any suggestions?"

"You can tell her I got a..." Leo whispered, "wing-raising experience."

"Depends, do you want that secret coming out?" Corey retorted angrily. "I'm not having the best of times. I feel like she'd scoff in my face about it..."

"You're just being paranoid," The silver pegasus dismissed his friend's sentiments. "But in all seriousness, at least try to explain our situation. I'll be back whenever."

"Wait, then where are you going?"

"Gonna go practice my flight some more," responded Leo. "No offense to you, but I don't want to be the only failure of our team. You know, aside from Ivan. Still a little edgy from my flight crash..." The silver pegasus walked towards the door, and carefully opened it. Seeing no bees except for the ones stunned from their tackling the door, he nodded somewhat. "Good luck, Cor. I'm off."

Far before Corey could stop him, Leo left his sight, using his wings to fly at an even pace away. The former human stared, wide-eyed, at the spot his friend just occupied. The green unicorn's scowl was full-on. He was beyond pissed at what Leo had left him to do. He just voiced his concerns, and Leo dismissed them, instead opting to continue his flight training solo.

He just fucking ditched me... Corey thought to himself. Damn it...! Ugh! It's entirely in my hands or hooves now! I've got to tell Twilight exactly what the problem is, and I have to be as stubborn and impatient as possible! At the same time, I have to be descriptive!

The green unicorn hung his head and sighed.

Obvious boner is obvious, Noel. And I can not wait for the opportunity to reveal your crush on Rainbow Dash should you continue your bullshit.

Twilight looked out a nearby window to see a silver pegasus flying away in a hobbled fashion. That was Leo flying away, indicating that Corey was once again alone in the main part of the library, probably waiting for help. The Element of Magic didn't quite understand what they were talking about, or what those two were up to, but something was telling her that while it wasn't anything bad, it wasn't anything particularly good either. It just seemed like today was going to be an unusual day.

"I still don't like it, Twilight!" Spike interjected, breaking Twilight's thoughts. "They're the strangest ponies we've seen, and something's...just 'off' about both of them in general. I don't know how else to describe it, but something's up!"

"I know what you're thinking Spike, but something just tells me those two weren't scheming." Twilight said, closing the book she'd continued in while waiting for Corey and Leo to finish their "talk". "I just get the feeling something will come out before long."

"You don't...like...this new colt, do you?" the baby dragon asked after some silence.

"N-no!" Twilight responded, somewhat defensively, which surprised herself. Quickly shaking this off, she continued. "Today has been a very strange day, but something tells me that it's probably only going to get stranger..."

"I'm just saying, you're not bombarding him with questions like you would if it were any other pony doing it." responded her assistant. "But if you want to act like nothing's wrong, I don't guess I can argue with it."

"Don't worry about it, Spike," Twilight assured, heading back for the downstairs area. "Today's only going to get stranger. Whatever's going on should come out before long."

Alright...it's all me now. Ivan's probably napping, and Leo's obsessed with learning how to fly. I have to find my voice, and not in any way back down! I've got to tell Twilight exactly what my problem is! She and Spike seem to know something's up! But...they're not saying anything... Corey was confused about this, but decided not to press it. My friends are counting on me to not mess this up! I can't flounder this time!

"Now, uh, Corey, which book did you say you wanted?" Twilight asked, startling Corey. Immediately, the former human realized he still was probably pretty far up the creek without a paddle, and would have to swim with everything he'd had just to pull the canoe ashore.

Mother...! the green unicorn thought to himself, his face faulting for a moment as he realized he had no idea how he was going to start his explanation. Immediately, he cursed Leo for leaving him. As for Ivan, he realized that case could not have been helped for one reason or another.

"Oh, uh..." Corey relocated the book he'd found interesting, trying to keep his focus on the new task at hand. "That one..."

The book selected was entitled Scarlet Sleuth and the Sugar Caper, which, to Corey, seemed to echo some sort of mystery vibe. It wasn't murder mystery, but given where he was, the former human knew it'd have been foolish to expect such a thing to exist in Equestria. But it seemed interesting enough to warrant a read. Twilight appeared surprised at his book choice.

"That book, from somepony who jumps into hay on a moment's notice?" the baby dragon in the room asked. He sounded genuinely surprised. Corey was a little confused as well.

From the title, you wouldn't guess that it'd be cerebral in any way, but I guess I'll see if I get hooked, the former human thought. Even if I tell Twilight our problem, it seems like we'll be here a while. She may have her talent grounded in magic firmly, but I doubt she has alchemy somewhere in all that.

"So, Corey," Twilight said, her horn enveloping in a magenta glow once again, and the glow then appeared around the selected book. "...Is there a...more practical reason why you don't use magic on books?"

Corey inhaled, deciding to get it over with. The sooner he broke the ice on the matter of his being a human at heart, the sooner he could get a solution figured out. He tried to find a way to form his question, knowing that if he were to have any credibility, he'd have to look the unicorn dead in the eye and give a detailed description of his problem. He forced himself to look up at Twilight, straight into her lavender eyes...

And his resolve melted.

I-I can't...I don't know how to word things... The former human thought uneasily. I...I don't know...I need more time...

Corey swallowed. He sweated somewhat as he realized he was failing. But right now, he couldn't find a way to phrase his problem effectively. But he tried.

"W-well...you see..." he stuttered out, trying to get his words out. "The r-reason...is..." He tried not to break eye contact, but the look that Twilight gave him, while trying to be reassuring, wasn't exactly helping. He didn't want her to think of him as an idiot, and he certainly didn't want to let down his friends in any way. While telling her (almost) all the truth about he and his friends' humanhood would be the best option, only leaving out the fact that he already knew all the characters, he knew he wouldn't be able to phrase it. "...N-no reason...I...I...don't have any reason for it."

Twilight was...disappointed. Things were still getting stranger, just as she predicted. Corey seemed ready to crack, but he seemed...confused. She couldn't place what was going on in his head, and from the look in his eyes, she deduced it'd probably be unfriendly to pry, even though every ounce of common sense in her was crying at her to do so. Deciding to pursue this later, Twilight lowered the book, and the green colt before her awkwardly took the book in his forehooves, shakily receiving it on his hind legs.

"T-thank you," he whispered. He sounded incredibly uneasy.

What were they talking about before? Twilight asked herself, watching Corey place the book on the ground and push it gently around with his hooves until he got to a corner. ...Hmm...she might not believe me, but...I think I'd better inform the Princess about these two...They're not bad news, but...from the look Corey has, I'd say he has a big problem, more so than the strangeness of these new ponies lets on.

"Spike, let's leave him to himself for now..." said the studious unicorn at last, heading back to her room. Spike followed her. As soon as they reached their sleeping area, it was her assistant who broke the silence.

"There's something up with him, isn't there?" Spike asked, "Are you sure you don't--"

"Spike, it's way too early for something like that..." Twilight responded. "I barely know him...besides, he seems to have...some sort of problem. What it is...I have no idea, but it looks like he's having a hard time trying to think of how to say it."

"Even more of a problem than deciding riding in a haystack was a good idea?" snickered the small dragon again.

"From the look he gave me..." the unicorn whispered, "Something a lot bigger than that. It could involve Leo in some way...and there's something else off about him too...I can't place it, but...it feels...different, somehow."

"Different, how?"

"...He and Leo...I don't know...they just seem...'off'." The purple pony sighed. Things had just become even more complicated, and she felt the onset of a headache coming on trying to connect the dots in a logical way. She was fooling herself to think there was a logical explanation for those two. They weren't bad, so it wasn't worth being overly interrogative of them. "Take a note, Spike...I need to tell the princess of this development..."

"Fire away," Spike said, taking out a piece of parchment and a quill. Twilight cleared her throat and began:

Dear Princess Celestia:

A lot can happen in a short amount of time, but right now, I'm completely unsure what to do. I have met two strange ponies recently. One of them is a green unicorn colt who either really hates using magic, or hasn't even learned the basic telekinetic spell yet. The other one I've met is a silver pegasus colt who seems to have a lot of trouble flying--

"Spike, try not to laugh while writing..." Twilight interrupted herself, noting her assistant's body was quaking with laughter.

"Sorry, Twi," answered the dragon. "Continue..."

--and is probably only just now learning for the first time. Neither of these would be so alarming, if these two weren't about my age. In addition, their names seem very odd: the unicorn is named "Cory" and the pegasus is named "Leo". I don't think these two ponies are bad news on their own, but at the same time, I really don't know what to do about them. Cory seems like he's trying to say what the problem is, but he can't find the words to do so. Regardless, I do believe something strange is about to unfold.

"Again, we have a flightless pegasus pony and an awkward unicorn. Something weird is going on!"

"Spike, I'm almost done..."

I am seeking your guidance on what to do here. Should I treat them as friends, and keep an eye on them for when the truth comes out? Because from the way things look, I believe things will only get stranger.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

"Alright, Spike--"

"Way ahead of ya," retorted the assistant, expelling a burst of green flames from his mouth, which engulfed the scroll and carried it off into the distance.

With this report done, Twilight resumed her studies while Spike did some of his chores.

As the minutes passed since he started reading, Corey became slowly aware what character "Scarlet Sleuth" was a pony version of.

So Scarlet Sleuth is this world's Sherlock Holmes... the former human thought to himself. Huh. Makes "Corey" seem even stranger when you think about it.

But even with the fact he had something to occupy his mind while he thought of how he failed to tell Twilight his situation, the green unicorn felt like a complete and utter failure. He had failed his friends to at least get some insight on what to do. Even if his plan of action was very unlikely, it was still the best they had. Leo left him alone to do things, and he couldn't follow through.

Why did I clam up back there? I took one look into those purple eyes, and instantly, I had even more trouble phrasing my problem... Corey thought. The look she gave me...does she have a gut feeling something's wrong? She's not a dummy by any means. Pushing these thoughts aside, Corey went back to the book. Despite the fact that Scarlet Sleuth was hunting down a sugar stealer, the book was amazingly detailed, and actually was slightly challenging to read. Now he knew why Spike and Twilight were so surprised.

Ten minutes into his reading session, Corey's eyelids grew heavy. He realized he could sleep on how to tell Twilight his problem.

...Maybe a nap will help me think better...as soon as I get up, and if Leo or Ivan haven't already, I'm gonna try again...just as soon as I get my rest. The former human took careful note of the page he was on. When he next had the opportunity, he'd get to reading it. It was surprisingly well-written, despite the goofy nature of the mystery. Page number...thirty-two. Huh...even when I'm...sleepy, I still...read really fast...

Shoving the book shut after a couple of tries with his left forehoof, Corey rested his chin on the ground, and within a few moments, sleep overwhelmed him.

Twilight continued her studies, really wondering when Spike was going to cough up her teacher's reply. It seemed like it was taking forever. Feeling slightly anxious, Twilight began to voice her concerns.

"Spike?" she looked over to her assistant, who seemed to be taking inventory in the shelves down and to her right. "Do you think she's gonna dismiss my concerns?"

"Well, Twilight, you are her most faithful student," Spike replied, parroting exactly how Princess Celestia signed her reply letters, "The only time she seemed to brush you off was way back when we first moved to Ponyville, and even then, she seemed to know that moving here would bring her sister back to normal..."

"That's true, but this time, I already have my friends..." Twilight said again, her anxiousness only partially averted, "These ponies are new, and, for all I know, could just be somewhat quirky. I mean, I don't think those two are evil, but...there's something off about them. I can't put my hoof on it, but something just doesn't feel right."

"You mean like back during your older brother's wedding?"

"Not like that, I knew the fake when I saw it. While I don't know Corey well at all, I do know he's not...evil. He's just..."

"A more shut-in version of your old self?" asked Spike again.

"...I don't know if he and Leo are friends. They certainly seem that way. It could be just because they're colts, but...their friendship is different. Again, I can't describe it well. I really don't know. Maybe if I spend a little more time around Corey, I'll be able to pinpoint some things, and work from there..."

A loud snore erupted throughout the house. Twilight looked over to Spike, having looked out the window.

"I didn't fall asleep..." said Spike, "Why don't you ask Big Green over there..."

Twilight made her way out of her bedroom, and looked to where she had left Corey. The colt was now laying flat-out on his...ahem, sizable stomach, the book she had gotten for him closed and pushed off to the side. He was clearly asleep. The studious pony trotted up to him, Spike following her again. She looked to the pony's face, and at this point, recalled that his eyes did seem bagged the whole time he had been talking to him. He had been tired.

He was sleepy... noted the purple unicorn. Something about today must have exhausted him...maybe he's not here to look up information on a myth that comes true...but he must have had a bad problem if he was forgoing sleep for this long...I'll let him rest for now...

"Spike..." Twilight began. "...would you mind loaning him your bed for a few hours? I don't think he'll be out long."

"T-Twilight!" Spike whined. The purple pony could understand. It was something that he had gotten recently. He had managed to plead his case to Twilight as to why he should get a regular bed rather than the basket he usually slept in. Therefore, Twilight's bedroom now had two beds: one for Spike, and one for Twilight herself. The basket, which Spike had slept in since he became Twilight's assistant, was given to Peewee, Spike's pet baby phoenix, to use as its bed for when it started getting a little bigger. "Why can't you let him use your bed?"

"...Yours is softer than mine...besides, I'm still doing some studying while we wait for the Princess's reply. If it makes you feel any better, should the need arise, I'll get one for him, but right now, I'm not sure what to do. Besides, he's a guest here, and...I guess I want to show him a little hospitability."

"So...do you like him, or not?" Spike asked, pouting.

"C'mon, Spike, quit it," Twilight denied again. There was no way she could have feelings for him. Though she did feel some empathy for him -- wording some problems is important, and if somepony can't find those words, then the message loses all meaning. Or, the meaning gets misconstrued. "He needs a little time to adjust...I promise I'll make this up to you later."

"...Fine...but I still don't like this." Her assistant finally relented. "While I can't see Corey doing anything funny..."

"Something isn't right, Spike, but from the looks of things, Corey is just caught in the middle of everything and has to find a way to explain it...When we met eyes before he went to read, I could see the struggle going on in his head..."

"And?"

"...It looked like, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't word his problem right."

And with that, Twilight carefully levitated Corey. It took a bit more effort than she expected, but she was able to lift him without disturbing him. Carrying him into her room, she laid him on Spike's bed, not bothering to tuck him in. The green unicorn grunted just a little bit, before nestling into the soft surface and resuming his nap.

"I hope you're right about these new colts, Twilight," Spike said again as Twilight made her way back to her bed to continue studying.

"I think we'll be fine..." Twilight responded to her assistant's concerns. "I'll find a way to make this up to you after whatever truth there is to this comes out..."