Collision Code

Act II: Fateful Collisions

Chapter 2: Visions of Tommorrow

Corey wasn't completely sure what to think right now. He did trust Twilight's judgment well enough, but this "Zecora" was an unknown. What was she like, if she was trusted enough to have a cure for manticore venom? And why did she live so far removed from the other ponies?

It seemed he was about to get answers, for the group approached the door, Twilight taking the incentive to knock. The rate at which her hoof crashed against the wood would indicate the severity of the situation, the former human assumed, as he watched her at work.

"Zecora, it's Twilight! Something terrible has happened!" the purple mare said, her foreleg tapping the door just as fast as she could manage. Eventually, though, her foreleg rested upon the ground. A few moments passed, and the door swung open.

The figure Corey was looking at, he'd had to assume was Zecora. He could only see part of her body, and already he had an idea of what she looked like. Judging from the stripes he could see on her mane, which more resembled a mohawk than anything else, and on her face, this character looked like a zebra. Her muzzle was squared like his, and she did not have eyelashes on her blue eyes. Also, she had large golden earrings, ones through which a foal could probably run her hoof through if she was ill-spirited enough.

"Welcome back, Twilight," the zebra said, in a distinct African accent. "what is it that has you at fright?"

"My friend, Leo," Twilight motioned over her shoulder to the silver colt. Corey looked as well, and saw  that Leo was fighting just to stay awake. "was here in the forest not too long ago, and got poisoned by a manticore. Can you help?"

"A serious matter, is it not?" Zecora continued, opening the door completely, confirming that she was in fact a zebra, and that she had a "tribal" appearance, with more golden rings decorating her body, her legs and neck. "But here, I have just the relief you sought. Please come in, this will only take a spell. Your friend is in no danger of becoming too unwell."

Despite the obvious seriousness of the situation, Corey could only think about one thing.

Okay...I feel like I'm in some sort of Dr. Seuss story... thought the green colt to himself as the others filed in. He followed, only when John passed him. Does everything she says rhyme?

As the others walked in, Corey couldn't help but notice that Zecora didn't even seem close to bothered by the fact there was an adult dragon in town. Either she realized he was good, or maybe she already knew. Either way, Corey wasn't sure.

Zecora went to work, taking herbs Corey was sure he wouldn't know existed even if he'd watched all the episodes that were out, and bringing them to boil. To his surprise, it appeared Twilight was taking mental notes as the zebra listed off the ingredients she was putting into the cauldron. He could only guess she was doing this in case somepony else she knew did something so rash again.

He was pretty sure, however, that even Rainbow Dash wouldn't try to do what Leo just did alone. As soon as Twilight finished watching Zecora at work, she trotted over to Corey, who had laid down somewhere relatively in-sight while everything happened around him.

"Question." Corey interjected.

"Yes, what is it, Corey?" Twilight asked, lying down across from him.

"Well, how exactly do you know her?" the former human asked. This zebra was somewhat new to him, so he didn't need to act surprised. "Fluttershy and you both pretty much knew she was going to be able to cure Leo, but I'm a little on the curious side."

"It's a long story," Twilight cast a glance to the cauldron, then to Leo. John and Fluttershy were over by him, the latter definitely closer than the former.

"Need to pass the time while she mixes the cure," The green colt was not taking no for an answer, at least not this time. "Think you can shorten it?"

"Well..." The purple mare hesitated. With a smile, she nodded. "Okay, I think I can tell you, and if I don't finish here, I'll finish on the way back."

At that moment, Twilight began telling her story. One day, she went into the town with Spike, but the streets were deserted. It turned out that everypony was hiding from Zecora, because they had believed she was an evil sorceress at the time. When Apple Bloom, Applejack's little sister, tried to approach the zebra, this lead to a short chase. As luck would have it, it turned out that everyone except for Spike and Apple Bloom had gotten into a funny little flower called "poison joke", but the zebra was just too cryptic in her warning.

The next morning, Twilight and her friends woke up, all afflicted with various symptoms. Naturally, everypony, excepting Twilight and Apple Bloom were affected by the poison joke, but they didn't find this out until after they had honestly believed Zecora was out to eat the little foal.

"Wait, you believed them?" Corey asked. That came as a shock to him, to hear she had fallen into the curse craze.

"Yeah," Twilight looked away, blushing slightly in embarassment from the memory. "I kinda got sucked in the moment, and all."

"I wouldn't worry about it," the green former human looked over, to see that Zecora appeared to be nearly done. "John, Fluttershy, how's Leo?"

"Still breathing and trying to stay awake," John said, impatience only hinted in his tone.

Fluttershy looked down on Leo, nodding to confirm John's statement. Over the past few days, she certainly had grown accustomed to the adult dragon, mostly because he hadn't gotten mad over the past  four days. And he'd certainly proved himself a friend more than a scary creature. It was still somewhat unsettling to her, but it was a mere afterthought, especially with Leo hurt.

"Why didn't you listen to me...?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. She couldn't name what she was feeling right now. She felt concern, that much was certain, but underneath was a simmering frustration if anything. But taking it out on Leo wasn't right. The yellow pegasus knew that the silver colt before her should have learned his lesson from this. "I told you to get out if it got too dangerous, not fight the creatures..."

"I...I don't even know if I can answer that," Leo hoarsely whispered, more to himself than anything.

"Fret not, Fluttershy, your friend will soon be well," Zecora said, looking into her cauldron. "Why he did what he did, I can not tell." At the zebra's request, Twilight gathered a sample of the potion, probably about a tablespoon. "The potion is potent, it is not like cider, due to the situation being so dire."

"Leo, take this," Twilight said, with Corey trotting up to her side. "This will cure the venom."

"John..." Corey began. "You might want to hold his mouth shut, if Zecora means what I think she means..."

John gave a nod, and moved into a position where he could do what he was asked to. Fluttershy could only watch as the transparent, green liquid was poured into Leo's mouth. From the way he grimaced, she could only guess that Leo was a few stones away from losing his lunch. John clamped one hand down on his snout, forcing him to swallow the liquid. The silver colt's cheeks temporarily turned dark green, but thankfully, there wasn't any lunch being lost. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, Leo's expression slowly relaxed. The pain he must have been in seemed to abate. His breathing evened out.

"H-he's getting better..." noted Fluttershy, much to the relief of all present. Twilight, Corey and John turned to Zecora.

"The venom will be no more, I have done my best," Zecora said. "But now your friend..."

The sound of soft snores sounded within the hut. All heads turned to the silver colt, and saw that he had fallen asleep.

"Must rest..."

Pinkie Pie probably couldn't have asked for a better helper in the kitchen. He learned fairly quick despite being so sleepy all the time. For somepony who didn't seem comfortable with helping her with baking, he was doing a pretty good job of doing it. The party pony knew one other thing. She sure liked having him around.

However, today, something was slightly off with the reddish-brown colt. He wasn't as lively as he was. Granted, it wasn't saying much, but what she did know was that he didn't usually fall asleep on the job.

"Iivaan," the pink earth pony whispered, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "c'mon, it's not night yet!"

The brown body didn't even utter a grunt of annoyance. He just remained there, a lump on the counter, appearing to be sleeping.

"Ivan?" Pinkie asked, now turning to him full-body, the gleam in her cyan eyes fading as she looked upon him. His body was still warm, and it felt like there was life in him, but for some reason, she just couldn't wake him up. "Ivan!"

Ivan looked down below him, feeling somewhat out-of-place for some reason. He wasn't on the ground, and a quick look at himself revealed that he didn't have wings. In fact, for some reason, he was human again, but transparent! What really puzzled him, though, was the fact that there seemed to be something going on in a forest nearby. Was this the Everfree Forest? Maybe, for the ponies and large dragon he saw were looking about warily.

He willed himself to get a closer look, and as though carried by the wind, the former human floated closer. However, even though they all appeared to be talking amongst themselves, Ivan couldn't hear what it was. Was this another dream? No, he'd only closed his eyes for a few seconds wondering what the others were up to as he rest his head on the counter.

Corey, Twilight, John, and Fluttershy all looked relieved, the former humans looking a little more so than John. The silver pegasus on John's back, on the other hand, Ivan realized, was sound asleep. And a look at the pegasus's face revealed that his left eye had been bandaged up...

"Leo?!" Ivan snorted, bolting upright.

"Ivan?!" Pinkie squealed, apparently surprised, falling backwards on her rump.

"Pinkie?!" The brown earth pony then turned to his mare who happened to be a friend with this question.

"Ivan!" The cyan eyes of the pony brightened instantly upon realizing Ivan was awake. "Silly Ivan, this isn't a place for a nap..."

"A nap...?" Ivan questioned. Something wasn't right here. The dream, for some reason, felt awfully real, more like a vision than anything. He felt faint while in the dream, not like he was about to pass out, but like he was really light, lighter than air itself. His face did not betray the inner storm of confusion he felt, much, anyway. "Odd, all I did was rest my head on the counter and wonder what Corey, Leo, and John were up to...and then I closed my eyes for a few, just wondering...and then I saw them with Twilight. And Leo looked like he was hurt."

"That's so strange! But I don't think it happened! Maybe your imagination is playing tricks on you! It does that to me sometimes, like when I walk downstairs in the middle of the night to grab a snack and I see a scary shadow, but then I realize it's just me!" Pinkie monologued in her usual style, getting back to her feet and bobbing around as she did so. "Sometimes Gummy gets me too!"

Ivan knew Gummy well, it was Pinkie's pet crocodile, which was named because it didn't have its teeth...yet. Then again, it was just a baby reptile, so it probably wasn't going to get them anytime soon. Pinkie went to the trouble of introducing them on Ivan's first morning as a tenant/employee at Sugarcube Corner.

"Uh-huh," Ivan said, the corner of his mouth uplifting. "I guess we'd better get back to baking, though. Don't want the Cakes upset at us..."

"Oh, don't worry! We work together good! We should be slower, but we're not!"

And so with this observation from the random-as-all-hell mare, the two got back to work, though there was a nagging feeling lurking in the back of Ivan's head.

What the hell happened to me? Pinkie seemed genuinely worried about me back there before she realized I was awake...

Eventually, the group that ventured into the Everfree returned to the safety of Ponyville. Leo's breathing was still stable as he rode on the larger dragon's back, with Corey and Twilight leading the way back to the library. Fluttershy trotted along behind John, studying the injured silver colt intently. There wasn't a lot that could be said between them. Corey, John and Twilight knew full well that Leo was pretty much the glimmer of hope the four former humans had of getting home, while Fluttershy found herself enamored with the silver colt.

It was a feeling she'd sorted out for herself. No matter how she said it, she felt as though her fears and anxieties dissolved at least a little bit when she was around him. Yet, she knew full well that he'd spent a lot of time with Rainbow, her closest friend. The meek pegasus didn't want to hurt her, which is why she had hesitated on coming clean with herself about him.

Seeing Leo in the state he was in made her feel worse. She could have at least accompanied him into the forest, but then again, if she had, it probably wouldn't have gone any differently. The yellow pony became lost in her thoughts, wondering what she could have done to prevent Leo from becoming poisoned like he had.

John looked straight ahead, breathing out very transparent clouds of white smoke as he walked. He didn't even seem to be aware of it, but Leo's little stunt had irritated him. Corey and Twilight, on the other hand, were discussing what kind of magic Corey should learn next.

"If I can suggest something," John cut in, for the first time saying much of anything since the departure from Zecora's hut, "maybe you should teach him something that he can use in battle."

"John?" Twilight asked. "What do you mean?"

"Look, it's obvious that whoever was behind the break-in isn't any good," John replied. "I doubt he'd come quietly if we were to confront him, and given what he took..."

"Yeah, John, I was about to ask..." Corey cut in. "Levitation alone isn't going to do me much good. And I'm not known for being particularly athletic, so I'd probably perform bad in physical battle."

"Don't doubt yourself," the purple mare responded, turning from the adult dragon to Corey. "You're stronger than you think you are."

"Maybe, but up until recently, I guess I've never really bothered to show it, never had an occasion to." the green unicorn colt responded. "I'm not combatant. I may get angry and say a lot of things I might not mean, yes, but I pack all the power of a stack of papers."

"Listen up," John said. "This incident with Leo made me realize something. We're not going to do well if we don't get stronger. I don't want any of my friends getting hurt if things should turn bad."

"Nor do I," Twilight responded. "And," she turned back to Corey. "I certainly don't want any of you to get hurt while you're here either."

Corey nodded.

"So, what's next?" he asked, looking toward Twilight as she thought for a moment.

"Alright, I think I'll start you off with something defensive. I learned it not too long ago, and it can be adjusted in size when needed." she replied. "A barrier spell first..."

At this point, Corey distinctly wondered where he and his friends had wound up. Was it the canon continuity, and if so, how far along were they? This was definitely past anything he'd ever read about on the wiki.

As the fivesome finally reached the library, Fluttershy bowed her head, and said she really needed to get back to tending to the animals, apologizing again to Corey and John for letting Leo wander off on his own. With that, the yellow pegasus quietly trotted off. Leo was laid down on one of the beds with the door left slightly ajar. John remained indoors with Corey and Twilight, as the former began to learn the new spell assigned to him. Spike, seeing that they were back, decided to watch the spell learning experience.

The others with Noel were unaware of what he was dreaming about. Though his condition was stable, and the venom was being neutralized, the potion had quite a kick to it. The silver body of the pegasus twitched, almost like a dog having some sort of dream.

Noel was absolutely sure he was toast when he heard Twilight mention he'd been poisoned. And he felt the part. He was absolutely sure he wasn't going to make it, even with the knowledge of Zecora. He could have asked about her, but thankfully, Fluttershy had been able to remember that zebra. He'd watched that particular episode, and had been on the verge of groaning out what he knew might have a chance of stopping the venom.

Yet, even though he could feel the toxin leaving his body, he was confused. Was this dream he was having just a side-effect of the antidote he'd been given? He was walking along, in pony form, in a sea of black from all angles.

Why has your heart become the way it has

Is it because of your own past?

The silver pegasus's ears pricked up. He wasn't alone here. Even more unnerving was that he knew full well whose voice that was. It was Zecora herself, almost as if she were putting her voice on loudspeaker into Leo's dream.

"What's going on?" asked the former human to himself as he surveyed the area.

Fret not, young Leo, a second chance is now yours

But your future lies through one of these doors

You may find this odd, but you I must implore

To consider all these before you take on another manticore

Make sure to choose which path you take based on your heart's call

And maybe, you will find not just your own peace, but the ability to once more walk tall

"What paths...?" Noel wondered aloud as he surveyed the blackness. Suddenly, his ears pricked up. Zecora's voice was not calling out to him in its rhymes as it had, but he could hear something sounding off. He looked down, and he suddenly realized he was now standing on a single gray platform, from which gray pathways were extended in three directions: forward and to his left; forward and to his right; and straight ahead.

The sounds changed into a various mix of sounds. On his left, he could make out forest sounds: birds chirping and singing, and a gurgling brook to name two that jumped out at him. He looked, and saw a brightly sunlit forest, with not a single cloud in the sky. On his right, he could also hear birds chirping, but that was all. He looked there next, and saw what appeared to be nothing but blue sky, with clouds, and a rainbow extending across the top of the scene.

Straight ahead of him, when he focused on it, he could just make out faint clicking noises. He took a good long look at the central pathway. It was darkened, almost like somebody's room late at night. He couldn't see much of anything aside from a singular shadow, possibly human given its shape. He couldn't tell for sure though. And when he really focused upon that path, he could just make out the familiar Skype sound effects.

"I guess I'd better...do what the voice says..."

With that, Leo chose to go down the two more colorful paths first, starting with the one on his left. He stepped off, and followed the gray path into the scene. As he drew closer, he noticed his body becoming transparent, similar to a ghost. However, he soon realized why. He was an external gazer upon this scene.

As he fully entered the so-called first path, he realized where this scene was supposed to be: close to Fluttershy's house, not too far removed from Ponyville. He looked around, and could see Corey, John, and Ivan, still very much their Equestrian forms, along with Twilight and Pinkie. John seemed really down on himself for some reason, yet the scene felt happy somehow despite this. He looked around some more, and discovered himself with Fluttershy close by.

"Tell me again, Leo," John cut in. "Why are we still here?"

"Hey, Corey did his best," the silver pegasus retorted. Leo wasn't sure if he could put his finger--well, hoof, on it, but somehow, he could just tell his vision counterpart was lying. "but what he managed to generate just didn't work well enough for the code to work."

Ivan gave a small sigh. He was really hard to read sometimes. Thankfully, Pinkie brushed up against him, and the two had a small nuzzle, which shocked the real Leo, but didn't even seem to phase the vision Leo. Corey, on the other hand, slightly hung his head, but Twilight, noticing his discomfort, slid her head under his, prompting their own nuzzle scene, which did not surprise Leo as he watched them.

"S-so," Fluttershy began, looking to Leo expectantly. "D-does this mean y-you'll be here, for a while longer?" Her eyes sparkled, the intent behind her question clear. As was the context. Somehow, Leo knew that this vision Fluttershy knew the real truth of what he was.

The dream Leo said nothing to her, but nodded in her direction, looking just as happy as Fluttershy soon appeared when he did this.

"So, what do we do now, then?" asked John, looking to Corey expectantly.

"Hey, I don't have all the answers," he responded, Twilight removing her head from underneath his snout and kissing him quickly on the cheek. "but don't you have a farmer's daughter to help out?"

The unicorns and earth ponies giggled a little at his comment, and when John winced and his cheeks reddened somewhat, Fluttershy and the dream Leo joined in too. Then, Leo watched as the scene before him faded in a blurry smudge of color. Soon, he was transported back to where he'd started, back at the place where he'd wound up in this dream mind of his. He turned back to the path he'd entered, only to find it had disappeared.

"What was that?" Noel wondered aloud, noting silently that he once more appeared to be opaque. "The future...? Ivan and Pinkie...? John...and Applejack...?" He then noted his future self was with Fluttershy in this vision. He did share qualities with her, but they hadn't really spent too much time together over the past four days. He'd visited, but...he was busy with other matters.

With this considered, Leo turned to his right, walking down the path leading to the sky scene. Just like with the path involving Fluttershy, his own body became transparent, much like a ghost as he walked into the scene.

This time, every single member of the main cast was there, all six of the Elements of Harmony and the former humans still in their altered bodies. However, Leo noticed that they were collectively standing on a cloud. He recalled this from a fan-made music video he saw of the Sonic Rainboom episode: they were probably standing in Cloudsdale, but from what he recalled, only pegasus ponies could really stand on clouds. However, he then remembered, from what other few clips he'd seen, that the non-pegasi were easily walking too, so it was likely Twilight was there.

It was almost the exact same scene. John appeared to be the most disappointed of the former humans, with Corey a close second, but given how the last scene went, it wasn't hard for Leo to figure out where this scene was going.

"So, what you're saying is that we can't go back?" John asked.

"No," Dream Leo answered, "at least, not yet. Corey did what he could, but the model was too old for me to work the code on..." Somehow, Leo could tell his vision self was lying here, too. Corey hung his head, though by now Leo suspected it was more out of disappointment that he couldn't do what he could than actually wanting to leave, more so when Twilight nuzzled at him and he quite openly smiled.

The former human looked around the vision. Rarity seemed to be staring at the scene before her with a sense of jealousy reflected in her eyes. Fluttershy, on the other hand, slowly started to frown at the scene before her. However, the entire scene overall was jovial, upbeat.

And, in its own way, romantic. Like in the previous vision, Corey and Twilight were together, talking about something, but Leo couldn't hear it. Ivan and Pinkie seemed to be discussing something; mostly Pinkie, Ivan appeared to be nodding off. To his shock, John and Applejack were nowhere to be seen. However, Leo soon discovered the reason. John was already off flying, the orange pony on his back, as they headed for what the silver pegasus assumed to be Sweet Apple Acres.

Then, when he turned his head, he could see his vision self, flying with Rainbow Dash. Well, at least until the pony in question pulled ahead, turned around, and tackled him to the clouds below, pinning him. She said something, but Leo couldn't tell what, and found his dream self blushing terribly right before she kissed him full-on the mouth.

Right as their snouts made contact in that manner, the scene once again smudged and twisted on itself. The former human found himself now staring at the lone path he hadn't yet followed yet, thinking about the two scenes he saw.

"So with both of these...staying here in Equestria..." Leo said. "I don't know...I would think the others would be..." He halted, remembering that Ivan didn't seem to care about the fact he was staying in the world of ponies. Corey's look of disappointment was more about duty than location, based on the fact he openly smiled when Twilight gave him the affectionate gestures she had. He honestly couldn't tell with John, but he seemed to be in the same boat as the rest of the former humans.

This was all based on what Leo had observed. So then, this third path had to be...

"The human world..." Leo trotted up the path, the same ghosting effect happening as it had before. He was now in his room, which was darkened save for the light of the monitor. The familiar sounds of Skype beigng used entered his ears. He couldn't see what the others were typing, but his vision self, which was human in this final path, spoke.

"We're home now..." There was a hint of sadness in his tone. The dream Leo looked to a small object he was holding. It was a picture. Allowing himself to get close, Leo could see himself, in pony form, smiling, but he couldn't see who it was with before the scene cut away, leaving him in darkness, with his vision self fading into an echo. "But our hearts might not be..."

The void around him was once again a lifeless black, with only the echo of his own words to keep him company.

"The saying goes, 'Home is where the heart is'...but can any of us stay here?"

Thankfully, he got an answer, from the same voice that spoke in rhymes before he went down each path.

You have a hard choice lying ahead of you

Your new body you test and use

Make your decision, look inside your heart

It is there, you will find the start...

With that, the silver colt found the void around him changing color from the complete darkness that he was walking in to a far brighter white space. The vision around him faded, and he could now hear a sound, similar to a flute note.

"Corey, you're doing great!" A feminine voice, no doubt Twilight, entered Leo's ears.

"Ungh..." This was Corey's less-than-sure sounding reply, so he could guess that he was probably the one practicing magic. The silver pegasus's eyes opened, to find his left eye was blinded with something white. It was probably covered with a bandage, Leo realized as his memory returned of where he'd been hit.

He took a few deep breaths as his vision stabilized. He realized that he was back at the library. Leo had to pause and reflect exactly how close he came to death. He didn't have long though.

"Let's see how sturdy this is..." John cut in. "Hi-yah!"

This was followed by the sound of glass shattering, and the sounds of hooves clattering, probably Corey stumbling backward. The colt in question groaned, not at all expecting the sudden hit.

"Well, at least he's got the spell down..." Twilight said, an even tone in her voice. She didn't sound disappointed in Corey's performance. From what Leo could gather, he probably didn't have enough juice in it.

"Ow..." Corey moaned, sounding as though he was shuffling around in place trying to fight off the pain. There wasn't a lot of words to be said. "And the migraines return..."

There wasn't much in the way of words for a few moments. With a sigh, Leo relented. He was going to pretend to stay asleep for a while longer, but he had to see things for himself. He rolled on his belly, and made his way out of the bed, his joints still a little sore and his legs not quite steady as he got up. He slowly trotted his way toward the main area of the library, to see a slumped-over Corey, a concerned Twilight, John crouching down next to Corey as though about to say something to him, while Spike watched the spectacle, not noticing the now conscious Leo.

John whispered something into Corey's ear he couldn't pick up. Whatever he said, though, obviously pissed off the fat former human. His face turned bright red and he stood back up, probably forgetting whatever pain he was in from the first attempt. His horn became engulfed in a green glow again as he took on a look of concentration. At first, a green dome, no thicker than a sheet of paper, appeared around him. However, as he put more into it, the layers multplied and increased the thickness.

The use of this spell surprised Leo. From what he remembered, he didn't see a shield spell like this in the episodes he'd watched. He supposed it shouldn't have been surprising, but it was.

Twilight could barely contain her shock at the sudden progress. John, meanwhile, went to work on dispelling the former human turned unicorn's barrier with a series of punches. The dragon kept punching away, never bothering to take a break. Though this barrier held up far better than the last one, Corey's control suddenly rapidly began to wane, allowing John to break the barrier with one final flurry of strikes.

Corey stumbled again upon the barrier being broke, and this time fell flat on his belly, coughing while nursing his forehead and horn with one hoof. His entire body trembled with each cough, which, for some strange reason, produced green flecks, which could have been anything, but Leo assumed it was probably excess magic energy. For a few moments, the former human could do nothing but wheeze into the floor, the shards of the barrier he'd form dissipating around him.

"Corey?" Twilight moved over to Corey at a rapid pace, over at the fallen unicorn's side in a hurry. "Are you alright?" The former human in question said nothing right away, trying to get back on his hooves in a manner that made Leo's attempt at getting on his feet seem completely successful by comparison. Corey managed to get on his feet, but his head still probably hurt. He might have also had trouble keeping his balance or even seeing, given he hobbled about trying to walk. The purple pony, probably in a moment of weakness, pulled him close into a pony hug.

"T-T-Twilig--" The green pony was far too tired to even pronounce her name completely. Or in pain, given his breath came to him in shuddering, short breaths.

"Please," It was a plea, probably motivated by a concern she likely would have had even if she weren't attracted to him, but magnified by that product all the same. "Corey, don't strain yourself..." When Corey failed to respond, the hold she had on him tightened. "Please!"

Though both his eyes were only half opened, Leo could see the pupil shrinking within them as he considered what Twilight was doing. Finally, he moved his foreleg around her.

"A-alright..." he rasped, probably in a considerable amount of pain from his second attempt. "I-I'll take a break..." His cheeks were the brightest red. Leo would have watched the spectacle just a little more, but John, in turning away to allow them to have their moment, noticed the now-conscious pegasus.

"Huh? Leo...?" John asked. "You're awake!"

Twilight snapped to attention, her cheeks turning from purple to pink for a few moments as she released Corey, who stumbled for a little bit after being made to stand on his four feet again. He tried to take deep breaths as he leaned against the nearest sturdy surface, massaging the area around his horn to try and soothe the pain.

"Y-yeah..." Now Leo was the one talking in a raspy voice. Passing this off as a side effect of being forced to drink that rather nasty antivenom, he turned to Twilight and John, who were both studying him intently. John seemed to be trying to keep himself under control, as ashy white smoke was coming out of his nostrils each time he respirated.

"Are you alright now?" Twilight asked, her tone level and controlled. "Not in pain?"

Leo quickly examined himself. Any ache that he had while the venom was in his veins was non-existent. He didn't feel out of breath, either. Whatever Zecora had done had definitely cured the poisoning.

"Yes," the former human responded. "I feel perfectly fine now."

"Now, would you mind telling me why you tried taking on a manticore alone? You had all of us worried!" Twilight raised her voice to Leo, who flinched only slightly. He did expect this from her at least. "What were you trying to prove?"

"I don't know..."

Maybe it was the way it rolled off his tongue. Maybe it was the fact that he almost died. Whatever the case, John quickly took control of the conversation, his draconic rage showing as the smoke turned from ashy white to a dark gray.

"You don't know, huh?!" the dragon was probably trying his hardest to prevent himself from breathing fire by now, the smoke darkening as he continued to yell. "Don't mess with us, Leo...if we hadn't saved you when we did, you'd have died, and we'd have been stuck here!"

As if Noel honestly needed reminding he was the only one who knew the code. As if he didn't already realize it...

"Oh, so I'm just a liability, huh?!" Leo lost control of his anger as well, catching Twilight and John off-guard. He could feel two other stares in his direction, but the former human was far beyond the limit of caring. His mind raced. "You three, Corey, Ivan, and you, you'd be sunk without me, right?! Maybe that's what I was out to prove..."

As he continued, he recalled why he was happy here to begin with. Sure, there was dangers, as today's manticore incident proved, yet, for some reason, he was already considering staying in Equestria even before the vision. Back on Earth, he never felt right. He never felt like he fit in.

No. Truth be told, because of the way his life back in his home universe was, Noel was actually a little on the suicidal side. However, he never once attempted to hurt himself by his own hands. He let the environment take care of that. He would get himself hurt by the area around him. Perhaps some of the old feelings had returned, but it didn't matter. Noel knew he had to get out of there.

"No, I didn't mean it like that..." John responded, the smoke a lighter color than before as he talked.

"Forget it, John. Was probably the adrenaline rush that occurred when the darn thing jumped down in front of me, anyway..." Leo started making his way for the door, speed-trotting as he did so. As he passed Corey, who met eyes with him, the silver pegasus was only one thing to say. "And...good show earlier. You probably didn't need John's help..." The green unicorn looked away, staggering just a little.

"Leo, wait!" he heard Twilight call out, but he wasn't listening. He was already out the door, and swung it shut behind him. Not even bothering to take the bandage off his eye, the silver pegasus spread his wings. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew it was better than remaining in the library, being judged for what he'd done.

Even if, by all rights, he'd had it coming...

And there's the breaks. Now, what will Leo choose? And how potent was that antivenom?

For that matter, what happened to Ivan there? And how will Corey progress in magic control now?

For the uninformed, if you've ever played a Super Smash Bros. game and shattered someone else's shield, that thing they do when they stand up after that? Basically, that's sort of what I was going for with Corey.