Collision Code

Act II: Unexpected Collisions

Chapter 8: The Thief, Revealed

Twilight looked on her left. The former human that she shared so many romantic moments with was visibly sweating, though his facial expression displayed a frustrated confusion underneath the fear she'd so plainly seen on his face when they were running to this mysterious alicorn.

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cadance all don't have a son as far as I know, and I'm sure the sisters would have told me about their son's acting up. I'd even think banishment would have been on the table...so he can't be royal... The purple mare thought, watching as the white alicorn looked from pony, to pony, to dragon. Is this...?

"Who do you think you are, stealin' from a friend like that!" Dash reared back, ready to charge, but Leo seized her tail in his mouth before she could. Still, she'd dragged him a few feet in the air before he managed to pull back hard enough to stop her.

The evil alicorn sneered, revealing, to Twilight's surprise, a set of fangs. Either he was actually a vampire like she'd read about in the fiction she had read, or his teeth were just messed up like that.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I think I'd better introduce myself...my name is Zer."

There was a strangled gasp of air right next to her about two whole seconds after he finished his sentence. Twilight turned again to Corey, this time seeing the look of utter defeat he'd sported. Yet, at the same time, whatever problem he'd had in his head clicked.

Zer...? She asked herself. That's not even an Earth name...yet Corey seems to know something about him. Surveying the other former humans, she saw that Leo and John only looked confused at the name. However, in a rare case of not having a poker face on, Ivan also looked like he'd seen a ghost. His blue eyes were widened considerably, but unlike Corey, he wasn't completely hypnotized into a state of paralysis.

"Corey, what's up?" John asked. Corey didn't respond, continuing to stare, paralyzed with what Twilight initially assumed was fear. However, as she turned back to him once again, his posture actually had a slump that indicated...guilt? "Hey, are you listening?!"

"No...not this...!" the green colt hissed, tears already gathering at the corners of his eyes. But why? It was eleven-on-one, and six of the eleven had proven themselves capable already. They couldn't have lost already!

Before Twilight could realize it, both Corey, and to her astonishment, herself, were wreathed in a black glow. The air rushed past her when she was thrown. Corey hit a tree hard, going down to the ground. Not too far from him, she too hit a tree, and felt the pain from the impact in her side, shuddering as she slid to the ground.

The nine that weren't thrown immediately flew into action. Leo released Rainbow Dash, allowing her to charge in close, but her speedy attack was repelled by some sort of force field; Twilight guessed it was more of an instant shield that repelled the attacker if applied with the correct timing. Applejack tried to sweep his feet out from under him so that she could disable him, but the rope she was using blackened and burst into flames via a simple fire spell, used defensively.

Twilight didn't know if she should have been more surprised that John tried to attack Zer head-on. He tried the same approach as Dash, throwing a hard punch, but Zer couldn't stop the draconic attack completely, the shield shattering into black shards and fading. The mare got to her feet, intent on helping them, but first, she had to find out why Corey was acting so defeated...

Though Leo, Dash, and most of the others did in fact leap into battle with Zer, Ivan knew he probably wouldn't be able to do anything of value. He had no idea what his pony body was even capable of. Even if they were in a humanized Equestria, Ivan felt he'd still be the Aquaman of the group. When Fluttershy and Leo began to fall back to check on the thrown unicorns, the brown earth pony decided there wasn't anything else to do.

Besides, he had to talk to Corey about the thief. It didn't make any sense how he should have been here. None of them knew him...as a person, anyway. Technically, he wasn't even re--

"Corey!" Twilight called out, at his side before the others got to them. She was at his side, worried sick about his condition. While physically, he probably didn't get hurt too bad by the slam, emotionally, he looked completely broken. Tears were leaking from his eyes, probably somewhat from the pain, but it didn't register with the rest of his face. It was a glassy, saddened look of guilt. It wasn't that Ivan couldn't blame him for reacting this way, but man, oh man, he'd never thought he'd see Corey like this. "What's wrong? Please, answer me!"

"I-I..." Ivan was at an utter loss for words. How would they explain this turn of events? "I've never seen him like this...!"

"Ivan," Leo said, getting his attention. "do you know what's causing this?"

"Not the time, Noel," Ivan responded, once again using the hated name of the silver pegasus.

Fluttershy looked up from examining the two unicorns, clearly confused by the name. "N-Noel...?"

"Fluttershy, please," Twilight responded with urgency in her tone, "Focus...!"

"Do either of you know what's up with him?" Leo asked.

"I-I don't know!" Twilight said. "He heard Zer's name, and then he seemed to just lose the will to fight!"

"I've never heard of him," Leo asserted. "I don't know anything. The way his mane is styled, those eyes...and that chill I get when I look at him!"

Nothing compared to the chill I felt right before he showed up, I bet... Ivan thought to himself, looking back to the fight, just in time to see Rainbow Dash get repelled by what appeared to be a black shockwave spell of sorts. Zer was now airborne, out of John's reach.

"D-darn it...!" The silver pegasus grunted, showing an unnatural amount of concern (given it was Noel, anyway) once more. "You stay here with Corey and try to find out what's going on! I'm going in!"

With that, Leo immediately flapped back in the direction of the fight. Ivan turned back to Corey, who seemed to be making an effort to gather himself.

Corey, come on, pull yourself together...!

Leo rushed back into battle. Though he wanted to help Rainbow Dash, he didn't know why he was doing this, other than because it would likely look bad on him if he didn't fight back alongside those that could. The only other time he'd ever fought seriously in his life warranted a suspension from school, and that was because he'd stood up to a bully of his own volition.

But this was different. He never saw the point in being the hero. Too overrated for his tastes. Yet, here he was, fighting alongside heroines, his online Skype friends, and Ivan and Spike. The silver pegasus knew he had to try something to get Zer out of here, but what? The pegasus flapped his wings, trying to adapt a martial arts pose for something he wasn't quite sure if he could use in his new body.

Yeah, he did try it on Ivan, but that was before he got used to his new body and it wasn't an actual fight. Even so, the former human felt confident that he could do something of worth against this new threat.

"Well, come on, then," said Zer, leaving himself open.

If I can just use Dim Mak...! Leo thought, rushing in. He tried to precision strike, but not only were his efforts in vain since he had a hoof, no digits to actually focus his efforts on, but even if he could, Zer was evading most of his hits, while seeming to parry others using his magic. Eventually, though, the silver pegasus saw his opening. His frustration with being unable to hit his target up until that point show through, and he extended a left hook into the alicorn's chest.

An unexpected event occurred. While the punch itself was perfect, the instant his hoof made contact with the white alicorn's body, something unexpected happened. A sudden rush of energy surged from Leo's center out through his hoof. It took the form of...an air current?

Zer gave a surprised grunt as the current smashed into him. He backed away, gritting his teeth at the attack while raising a hoof to the afflicted spot.

"What did you just do...?" he growled. "You don't have a horn at all..."

Leo couldn't answer Zer straight away, transfixed at what had just happened. He tried to go for Dim Mak, and had been completely intent on harming his target however he could. As soon as he'd managed to clear a way for a strike, he took the way into his opponent's defenses...and apparently expelled what felt like energy. But, Zer had a point. He wasn't a unic--

Zer grabbed hold of Leo by telekinesis, and try as he might to fight it, he couldn't overcome the darkness that surrounded him. The former human found himself chucked back, hurtling out of control. He felt his wings collapse, probably out of instinct or because he had been grasped by powerful magic. Either way, the silver pegasus colt found himself going into a nasty fall...

until he felt something, a pair of hooves, grasp him underneath his forelegs and pull him up. Leo opened his eyes, and blinked.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" The pony who saved him was none other than Rainbow Dash. "Don't let him beat you like that!"

Noel blinked, and his wings opened again. As soon as he recovered from the shock of almost dying, he moved back into position.

"Right..." he mumbled. "Sorry to worry you..."

Zer began rushing for them again, but something halted his trajectory. With a snarl, he looked down, and saw the cause for his inability to charge the two pegasi. A second lasso had managed to snare him by one of his hind legs, and Applejack had the rope tightly in her mouth.

"Gotcha this time," she slurred through her clenched teeth, giving the lasso a mighty yank. Try as he might to resist the pull the orange mare had, the evil alicorn was starting to be pulled down towards the ground, ultimately being slammed down by the force. Applejack worked quickly, galloping over to his prone body, and actually managing to hogtie him.

"Good one, Applejack!" Dash cheered, somersaulting in midair in a gesture of triumph. The others began to cheer this show of rope manipulation, and the others seemed oddly complacent. Even Leo seemed to believe that this would do it.

However, as the others began to draw closer, John suddenly gave a shout.

"Wait!" the larger dragon called out. "He doesn't look defeated to me..."

Leo looked back to the prone form of Zer. Abruptly, the latter's horn exploded in a black magical glow once more. Two black shots of energy went up towards the pegasi, but there was plenty of time to dodge. The alicorn's wings re-opened, and within moments, the offensive pony was back on his feet, though awkwardly. He flew upwards, ascending in height. His horn began to glow once again, and after pulling off a rather tricky somersaulting shot, once more freed himself from worrying about the lasso, freeing his four legs.

"You...!" Rainbow's tone grew dangerous, and she rushed the alicorn, aiming to once again try punching the fangs out of his mouth. However, Zer merely raised his head, sneering at the cyan mare's charge. His horn once more became covered in a black glow. A split-second later, he was coated in a black shield of pure energy, repelling Dash's attack and sending her flying backwards.

"D-Dash!" Leo growled. In another moment of wanting to help her, he mimiced her attempt. Zer looked up, and once more grabbed Leo. Rainbow was rushing in again, and Leo felt himself being telekinetically jerked around against his will.

"This oughta clip your wings...!" The pegasus female's tone was threatening. "Let him go!"

Zer sneered wickedly.

"If you insist..." Leo felt his body move, and he already knew where this was going. With every bit of breath in his body, he attempted to warn Dash of the inevitable.

"Wait a sec--!" he cried out, just before his head slammed into her ribs. His head pounded in pain from the sudden impact. Rainbow had just enough time to clamp one of her forelegs around him before both of them simultaneously were sent flying.

Corey felt his guilt gradually fade away. His vision, which had been blurred by the continually leaking tears, was finally starting to clear up. His common sense began to gradually return. Well, the sounds of Twilight pleading with him to come back to his senses, as well as the ongoing sounds of battle certainly helped jolt him back to reality.

No matter what, he couldn't change what had happened. And he certainly couldn't change the truth of the situation. As these realities dawned on him, he blinked. It took a few tries, but eventually, the former human was able to bring himself to speak.

"Twilight..." he whispered, as she was the first thing he saw upon his waking up. "Ivan...Fluttershy..." He turned his head to regard two others that had briefly joined their side. "Spike...Pinkie...?"

"Corey!" Twilight squealed. Though it was hard to pick up due to the fact he barely felt conscious, she was definitely relieved to see him. Yet, he could detect frustration in her features. "What's going on? Do you know who this is?"

Corey felt his renewed vigor deflate just as soon as it had come up. That particular fact, not even Twilight knew.

"In a manner of speaking..." he responded. "Twilight, we're in danger if we stay here...I know this much, I don't think we can stand up to him like this."

"Good conclusion, Captain Pessimist..." Spike cut in, definitely sarcastic. "C'mon! You should know who you're with! I hear you and Twilight talking! We haven't lost yet!"

"Spike...!" Twilight didn't seem to know if she should scold him.

"I think we'd better take Corey's advice," said Ivan. "This pony is bad news."

"Ivan, do you know...?" The purple mare continued her questions, turning to Ivan briefly.

"I can't say I've met him in person, ever, but I do know who it is." the brown earth pony responded. "We need to get to a safe spot, soon."

"What's going on?" Pinkie cut in, excited. "I didn't see this coming at all! But you got chills, Ivan, and then this happened! Do you have 'Pinkie Sense' too?"

"...What?" Ivan immediately changed to confused, but afterward, he became irritated, though only a little. "N-no, I don't know what that cold chill was, but it's not the first time I felt it."

The former human blinked, but willed himself not to be distracted. He tried to force himself onto his feet.

"We have to get out of here as soon as we can," grunted the green colt as he forced himself back on his feet, not paying any mind to Fluttershy's concerns. His mental ears were shut off to anything but the single, powerful need to get out of the area. "Once this is over...everything needs to be explained."

"You mean...?" Twilight asked.

"Everything."

Twilight watched the former human indecisively. It was true, he was very emotional at this point, given it took him this long to get out of his lag, but why was he wanting to run? Was this "Zer" really that terrible? And why did Ivan and Corey seem to know him, yet Leo and John did not seem to? The human universe was not known for its magic, so why was this Zer so...efficient?

Realizing she was wasting time by pondering these mysteries in the here and now, rather than when she could at least be sure they were safe in the here and now, given Corey and Ivan's anxiety over the matter, she gave a reluctant sigh.

"Okay..." she relented. "But once the others are safe, I want answers..."

"I'll see if I can help..." said Corey. "This mess is my burden too."

Twilight whipped around, completely unsure of what Corey meant by that, but his next statement would mystify the others even more.

"He just shouldn't be here...in the flesh..."

"Not here..." Pinkie started, the excitement oddly absent from her demeanor. The smile was off her face, replaced with confusion and concern. Yet her mane and tail still remained...inflated.

"I-in the...flesh...?" Fluttershy stuttered.

"What do you mean by that?!" Spike questioned, any evidence of sarcasm gone from his demeanor, replaced instantly by a flash of concern.

"We'll explain later," said Ivan. "You two better do your thing..."

Twilight had never cast such a large-scale teleportation before, but she would need to try, for the sake of her friends' safety. She began to shuffle forward.

"Everypony," she began. "We need to get closer if this is going to work..."

Corey flinched, but breathed out a shuddering sigh. "Alright then..."

The others still more or less involved in the fight with Zer began mounting an offensive all at once while the group outside of the fight began to make their way into a more suitable range for the teleportation spell to work. Rarity, in an unprecedented show of roughness, actually began her own offensive, breaking off a rather large branch from the torched trees nearby using her telekinesis.

"Have at you!" she cried, attempting to club him the now airborne alicorn out of the air. Each attempt was skillfully evaded, so Rarity resorted to just chucking the object as a spear of sorts. The object came up at such an angle that the flapping left wing was clipped, causing the alicorn some pain and forcing him to once again become grounded. The expression on the alicorn's face was utterly demonic.

"You...!" He halted, before his horn began to glow with an ironically gentle black color once more. The black energy soon took the form of water, which sprayed at Rarity in the style of a fire hydrant. The stream came at such high pressure and speed that the white unicorn was utterly helpless to the whim of the alicorn's spell.

"Agh! My mane! You brute!" she scolded, devolving into hysteria, "To think I once chided Corey for his misuse of confections!"

"That was an idiotic method of attack," Zer observed nonchalantly, "but I suppose it worked." Too busy gloating over his "defeat" of Rarity, the antagonistic pony was quickly back-kicked in the face by Applejack, and lifted off his hooves. He landed on his side, but he wasn't down for long. He rose to his hooves, just in time to block one of John's dragon punches and sending him spiraling away. He recovered, but from the fire that was literally pouring from his nostrils each time he took a breath, it was clear his rage was really starting to get kindled.

"He's so strong...!" observed Applejack.

"Magically, maybe, but physically..." John said...

"When you have ability like this, physical fighting comes second!" Zer announced. "Though I must admit, I was off-guard." His horn glowed black, and he glared straight at Applejack. "Needless to say, it won't happen again!"

The orange farmer mare began to move, but she found her hooves couldn't leave the ground. She clearly wasn't scared; she knew herself better than that. She looked down, and immediately saw the ground immediately around her had been turned into a shallow pit of...quicksand?!

"A-Applejack!" Fluttershy stuttered from the sidelines. Zer's horn began to glow again, but this time, it more closely resembled flames.

"D-darn it...!" Corey stuttered, his horn sparking to life, weakly. His focus was in utter shambles, and for the life of him, he couldn't shake the clouds. Twilight, on the other hand, began to gather her own magic energy, her horn's magenta glow looking much more consistent and refined compared to the former human's magical attempt. Both were trying to cast the same spell, but neither one was completely sure such a teleportation could be pulled off.

"Now then, why don't I demonstrate exactly what you are all up against?!" Zer yelled. "Now that I have these skills for this body, I no longer need to seclude myself, biding my time! My plans shall come to fruition!"

"'This...body...?'" Applejack questioned aloud, seemingly distracted with the notion he'd use that terminology. Zer's horn began to turn orange as he began to cast another fire spell.

"No one will stand in my way!" the alicorn declared, aiming his malevolent surge directly at Applejack herself. For a moment, no one could move, oddly transfixed with the moment. Well, none that is, except one...

The fireball attack exploded, and Applejack winced and did her best to turn away from the heat. Something had intercepted the hit and taken it for her, but what? She looked as soon as the blaze began to subside, and saw the large frame of a very familiar dragon.

"J-John...?!" the orange farmer pony stuttered.

"Fireproof," His voice sounded...off. At first, the mare couldn't name the cause of it, but it soon became apparent when John hunched over, and, for a split second, breathed out fire, before breathing it back into himself. His chest and stomach began expanding to a terrible size as he continued to hold back the flames that Applejack already knew were building up. Despite his rather tough demeanor, she was beginning to see the fatigue that was burning inside him.

Corey's focus was now entirely on the spectacle. Twilight continued to build up her magical energy, though both her eyes were on what was about to occur.

"John can't hold it in that much longer...!" she thought aloud. "The pressure's getting too high!"

All the while, a certain hopeless sort of frustration began to well up in the weakest former human's heart. He wanted to help, but he didn't know what he could do. What could he really do? His senses were all mixed up and Applejack almost got fried alive by Zer's attack! Guilt was overwhelming him. He began to try to focus again, shutting his eyes and trying to gather his own magic, however limited it was in its use, his horn taking on a more consistent green glow.

Zer, all the while, began to charge his own magical attack. Once again, though, he opted to use a fire spell. This time, however, the unicorn was concentrating the magical energy into the very tip of his horn.

"Move it, dragon!" he yelled, firing a large flamethrower in John's direction. John countered with the very fire that had built up in his body, and the two flames met in the middle.

All his life, ever since seeing the concept in Dragonball Z, John had cracked jokes about the power clashes in the show known as beam struggles, in which two fighters fired off beams and tried to force enough Ki into them to overpower the opposition. It always looked cool from a third person perspective. But now, being a participant in one, John could see why they were so stressful.

No, stressful wasn't the right word. Terrifying was far more appropriate. He didn't care about himself; the last attack did prove he could withstand magical fire, after all, but rather, Applejack, who was still directly behind him due to the spell that had put a pit of quicksand at her feet to halt her from moving. In her state, she couldn't even move away from her precarious position much less attempt to defend herself, so she was stuck behind him. He did not dare look behind him to see if any of her friends were helping, and he couldn't hear her over the sound of roaring flames.

The flames continued to collide in the middle, but the pressure in Zer's flame began to overcome the pressure in John's. The flamethrowers began to head back in his direction. He could vaguely hear Rainbow Dash moving to try and pull Applejack out of the quicksand pit, but that only fueled his terror more, because now there was another he had to worry about.

D-damn it...no... he thought to himself. He shut his eyes, feeling the heat of the combined flames come back at him. Even if I tank this, it might still go past me and hurt them! More pressure began filling up his chest, and instinctively he brought himself out of his squatting position slightly, maintaining his flamethrower beam. Zer's attack continued to draw closer. All my life, I swore to myself if I ever got power like this, I'd use it to help people! Now that I have it, I can't...?!

He opened his eyes, seeing the other end of the struggle almost to him. He dared not look behind him, but something in him made the black and blue dragon do it anyway. He could see Dash struggling to pull her friend from the quicksand. Though it looked like she might have gotten her out given enough time, the problem with that was simple: there wasn't enough time for him to hold the attack at bay long enough!

Something within the former human snapped. It wasn't just the dragon side of him that was angry anymore. It was the human side. Both sides' rage manifested themselves within the pressure in his stomach, which felt like it was going to burst from the anger and fire it held.

No!!!

The flamethrower he had been sustaining for so long surged with excess flames, and the attack struggle turned away and began making haste for the opposite direction. John couldn't see much else beside the fact his attack had turned from a continuous stream into a constant ball of flame as the struggle turned against Zer. No one could quite see what happened other than some steam coming off the ball, which shrunk in size. The ball appeared to contact Zer and explode into a flaming inferno.

Utterly exhausted, the dragon crumpled to his knee, putting out one of his taloned hands to try and sustain himself. Apparently, the last attack must have used up all the fire he'd had in his belly for the moment, given while his rage hadn't completely subsided, there wasn't even a stream of smoke coming out of him to indicate it. He continued to breathe hard from the effort.

Sustained energy beams... he was far too tired to consider it anything else, they really are a pain to maintain...

"Applejack...?" he questioned, turning around to where he'd last seen her. He didn't immediately see her in the sand pit, and thus panicked, but that soon subsided when he saw what was going on behind him. Rainbow was setting down the freed mare, both looking relieved at the fact that the crisis seemed to be over. John gave a sigh of relief...but when he caught the surprised looks of the others, he turned back.

The smoke cleared, revealing the lowering black shield of an incredibly burnt and angry looking Zer. While he was obviously not in a very critical condition, he was clearly wounded from the flames that had hurt him.

"To think...you could do this...to me...!" His horn began glowing black once more, much more erratically, and just for a moment, John swore he saw the enemy's eyes glow green and red. "Here!"

John weakly looked up, too drained from the effort to sustain that flamethrower he'd just breathed. He could just see a bright glimmer above his head. A moment later, it hit him what the evil alicorn was doing, quite literally. He was struck by lightning, and pain overloaded his every sense. The actual attack was only sustained for a full second, but to the dragon, it felt like a lot longer. While he was fireproof, he was not lightningproof, evidenced by the fact he felt that far more than the heat of the blaze.

As the dragon let out an agonized scream from the attack and fell backward, slipping into unconsciousness, a single, dominating thought overcame the rest of his senses.

Is this...how I...die...?

Corey heard a masculine scream following a rather loud attack, and hesitantly opened his eyes. When he did, he saw a sight he'd hoped he never had to see. Yet here it was before him: a friend, felled by an enemy attack. His body still glimmered with white lightning as it hit the ground. The screams deafened him, all worried about the fallen John.

"No..." the former human croaked. The glow around his horn faded, and he shut his eyes to avoid letting anymore tears fall.

Is he dead...? Did Zer...?! The unicorn looked up, his eyes notably a different color, and glowing green. He's going to kill them all...! Damn it...damn it...!

Something within him gave way, and though his consciousness was more or less fading, a single thought overpowered his logic.

Damn it, please...I need the power to get all of us out of here...come on...!

There was a snort, a sniffle, right next to her. Confused, Twilight turned...

and saw a very angry-looking Corey. She gasped when she saw what was happening to him. His horn was glowing vividly, more so than it should have given his level of control, and his eyes were twin pools of bright light. His teeth were bared, and tears were freely streaming from his eyes. He was sweating profusely, more so than when Zer first announced his name. He was mouthing something to himself, but the purple mare couldn't figure out what. She was oddly transfixed.

Abruptly, something in her head clicked.

He can't handle that much on his own...! Twilight immediately moved in front of him. She wasn't quite sure if what she was about to do would mitigate the negative effects of his using that much magic. But she had to try something. Just about anywhere in Equestria would be better than here...

The unicorn began to focus just a little. Her magic control was far greater than that of the former human. She knew he'd likely destroy himself mentally if he actually used that much at once with his current level of control, considering that up until now, he wasn't even able to focus right.

Let me help you... Her horn briefly touched his, and she felt the excess magic energy he was using up go into her. She'd seen this work not too long ago, at her brother's wedding. Her brother and his wife, Princess Cadance, had done a similar thing, though both were consciously aware. Corey didn't even seem aware of what was happening, given he didn't flinch when she got in his face. Either his resolve was so strong any traces of awkwardness were gone, or he was so angry that their faces being that close didn't register with him.

She felt magic surge within her, and began directing the excess energy into a mass teleport spell. She began calculating where to go with the injured and otherwise. The racing magic Corey was (unintentionally) lending her was not making directing the group any easier...

As quickly as the group had arrived to take care of Zer, something happened. As Rainbow attempted to fly for Zer, aiming to hit him for what he'd done, her body was engulfed in a white light and vanished. John, who had been knocked unconscious, was also whisked away, immediately followed by Applejack. Leo, who had started to follow Rainbow again, was taken as well. Rarity, who was trying to dry her hair back to the way it was before Zer sprayed her down, warped out in the same white flash.

One-by-one, those on the sidelines were taken out of the battle. Lastly, it was the two unicorns that had made the spell possible, warping away in a bright flash of white light.

The evil alicorn looked upon the fleeing heroes, and grit his teeth. He coughed awkwardly.

"Darn it...they must have taken more out of me than I thought..."

The instant awareness returned to Corey's body, he realized all he could discern was colored shapes, probably other ponies. His ears were ringing like no other, and his head pounded.

Agh, God...it feels like I just took a twelve-pound bowling ball straight to the head...! he thought. He wasn't even aware of what had just happened. He tried to talk, but it hurt to even do that. His entire body felt sore. How much magic...did I use...?

In an attempt to get his bearings, the former human struggled to his feet, but fell flat on his stomach, coughing. The floor he was on felt hard, like solid marble, but he was already too sore to feel the pain from the relatively small impact.

"Corey..." The voice was faint, yet somehow recognizable. He couldn't quite tell if it was worried or angry, or even who it was. He forced himself to look. At first, he could only see a reddish-brown shape, but as he finally gained some focus, he could make out just enough details to see it was Ivan. "I'm guessing you know there's no point in keeping it secret anymore..."

"Yeah..." Corey whispered. "Is John...?"

"No, he's still alive, but he's definitely been in better shape," Ivan replied.

"What happened to me? I just remember feeling angry and desperate...then...nothing..." The green unicorn's attention shifted to when he lost awareness.

"You were channeling more magic energy than you could handle. If Twilight hadn't done whatever it was she did with her own magic...she said you might have destroyed yourself with the excess." The earth pony summarized. "Still...Zer..."

The guilt returned to Corey as memories of the battle came rushing back to him. He'd done only marginally more than the others at his side. Plus, when he considered what the alicorn was to him, it only made him feel worse.

"Yeah...they need to know..." The green unicorn said, trying to stand again. He wobbled dangerously on  his four legs as he attempted. "They all need to know the truth..."

"The others are waiting." Ivan said. "Since I know who Zer is too, it'd only be fair for me to help you out here."

"Where are we...?" the green unicorn asked.

"Canterlot Castle," responded Ivan. "I don't know if Princess Celestia ever sleeps, but we seem to have caught her while she was awake when you and Twilight warped us in..."

"Other than John, did everyone else escape serious injury?" Corey asked.

"Why don't you come see for yourself?" asked the former human turned earth pony. "Let's get this over with..."

"Alright..." The green unicorn said, shakily following his friend's lead.