//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Triplets // Story: The Keepers of The Balance // by Steven1992 //------------------------------// The Triplets Reunite Circe, Dusty, and I arrived at the town hall. I opened the door and as I expected, it was dark inside. Once the three of us walked in, the lights shut on and everypony yelled “Surprise!”, causing Circe to yelp and Dusty to jump, while I was unfazed. The Mane Six came over to the three of us. “I take it you’re Circe, Sarius’ sister?” Twilight asked. “Yes.” “Then welcome to Ponyville Circe. I’m Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends.” Applejack tipped her hat. “Howdy Circe. I’m Applejack. My family owns an apple farm.” Rarity flips her mane. “I’m Rarity. I own a boutique and have a career in fashion.” Pinkie Pie bounces in place. “You already know me.” She giggles with a snort. Rainbow Dash simply hovers in place. “I’m Rainbow Dash. A very fast pegasus if I do say so myself.” Fluttershy walked up to Circe and held out a hoof for her to shake. “And I’m Fluttershy.” Circe shakes Fluttershy’s hoof and smiles. “Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Circe Trusdale.” The Mane Six smiled back. “Now that pleasantries are out of the way, I have a question.” “Oh oh, are we gonna play 20 questions?” Pinkie asked as she suddenly appeared on top of Circe’s head. “In that case, we’ll take turns. You go first.” Circe blinked at Pinkie’s impossible speed. “Uh, do you girls know any ways to earn bits? My brother unfortunately didn’t take the liberty of asking.” Rarity winked. “Oh, you could always help me with my store and designs.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Can ya actually pay them Rares, or are ya just needing extra hoofs?” “Well no.” Rarity looked down. “I would just like the extra help.” “While I would be happy with helping, right now I’m trying to help my brother secure funds.” “What do you need bits for? Maybe we can lend you two some.” Twilight suggested. Circe waved her claw in rejection. “No no. I can’t do that to you girls.” “Oh nonsense. We’re friends and friends are meant to help each other.” Twilight retorted. Circe pursed her lips. “All I want is a table and a comfortable chair.” The Mane Six all blinked. “Oh… Well if that’s all, then no bits should be needed. Between the six of us, I’m sure we can find a good table and chair for you.” Twilight said. “Really?” “Certainly darling. I’m fairly confident one of the tables I have will meet your standards.” Rarity stated. “I can give you one of my chairs and it has a cloud for a seat so it should be comfortable.” Rainbow offered. “A cloud seat?” Circe asked with interest. “That’s quite curious.” “As for earning bits, you and your brother can have a part time job in Ponyville. Or just assisting ponies.” An old female voice said. We all turned to see a pale amber mare with a white mane and tail and a unique tie around her neck. “Oh Mayor Mare. Didn’t realize you were listening to our conversation.” Twilight stated. Mayor laughed. “Well I have to apologize to Mr. Trusdale. I’ve been quite busy the past few days so I haven’t had the chance to chat with our newest resident and now there’s three. Anyway-” Mayor held out a hoof for me to shake and I shook it. “-I’m Mayor Mare and as you would guess, I’m the mayor of Ponyville.” “Pleasure to meet you, Mayor. Glad to know I don’t scare you.” “If the residents are okay with you, then so am I.” “Fair enough.” “Now if there’s any job you want to take, just come by my office and I’ll find openings for you two.” Circe stepped forward. “I will. My brother doesn’t like to go through that stuff, so I’ll bring him the details.” “Very well. You two enjoy yourselves now.” Mayor said before taking her leave. After Mayor Mare left, Circe and I had some snacks and enjoyed the party. This is the first time the both of us have been to a party or a social gathering, so we wanted to make the most of it. Dusty kept close to either me or Circe, mostly me if she could help it. Circe was talking with some of the ponies and socializing while I stayed at an empty table with Dusty. One thing Circe was better at than me, aside from being smarter and making things, was socializing. Despite preferring to tinker and work in her personal workshop, she was quite outgoing. Dusty and I were chowing down on some snacks. “So, Sarius. Is it true?” “Is what true?” Dusty blushed. “That you have a maid fetish?” I nearly spat out the drink I was drinking. I started blushing. “W-well. Yes but that’s not that important. Why would you ask that?” “Well.” She started blushing harder. “I could… help you indulge in your fantasy…” I stare at her with wide eyes. “A-are you suggesting… what I think you’re suggesting?” “M-maybe. If you’re ever feeling stressed, I could… wear a maid outfit while I tend to you.” The idea and thought of Dusty wearing a maid outfit to comfort me during a stressful time was appealing to say the least. “What do you get out of it?” “It would feed me. Love and positive emotions will sustain a changeling enough. But so can sexual desire. In fact, in the act of coitus, changelings gain even more sustenance.” I pursed my lips and looked away. “You actually said it…” I sigh. “I’m not really interested in that stuff right now. I’m also trying to build a relationship with Luna, so I don’t want to mess that up, just to indulge in a fantasy.” Dusty gave a small smile. “That’s fine. The affection and attention you’ll give me for dressing up will be enough for me.” “Dressing up as what?” I heard Fluttershy say from behind me. I turned my head and Dusty turned to see Fluttershy laying on my back. I have no idea how she landed on my back without me feeling it. “N-nothing Fluttershy.” Dusty said. “Oh…okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Fluttershy apologized. “It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.” I let out a sigh knowing one of my secrets was kept between me and Dusty. “As a maid.” CIrce said. But unfortunately my sister was the type to mess with me. I deadpanned. “Seriously sis? Can’t I keep some secrets?” “You have plenty bro.” Circe giggled. “That’s beside the point.” Fluttershy blushed a bit. “Oh my…” The party continued for a while before everypony including Circe, Dusty, and I had to leave to go do other things. The three of us bid farewell to everypony and left. Before we went back to our home, the three of us stopped by Rarity’s to get a table for Circe. The table was of a decent size, certainly big enough for Circe to do some tinkering on. Then we flew up to Rainbow’s place to fetch the chair, and it actually had a cloud for a cushion. Circe remarked it was like memory foam. We took the chair and table and headed back to the mansion. Once there we put the table against the wall of Circe’s room, next to her bed and the chair sat under it. Circe put the busted device, that she used to absorb the cobalt essence from her body to be able to use her power again, on the table.  Circe sighed as she sat in the chair. “Ah, that’s better. This will work.” “Good. I’m glad we got this sorted out. Now why don’t you get some rest Circe. Even though you used that device to basically repower yourself, I’m sure there will be side effects from doing it.” Circe waved a claw. “Relax. I made it so I can extract the essence and it’s gone now.” Circe held up a claw and attempted to create an energy ball, but nothing happened. Circe blinked. “Uh.” I gave her a ‘I told you so’ look. “You didn’t notice it, did you?” She looked at me in confusion. “What do you mean?” “When the device broke and the essence got out. It didn’t disappear, it went back to the source it was extracted from.” Circe stared at me. “So that means-” I smirked. “-You’ll need to let your body recover naturally.” Circe pouted. “Hey, you can still do things. Just not involving using your energy.” “Fine… Maybe I’ll go see Twilight and see if I can learn how to use magic.” Circe left the mansion. “Good call.” I decided to pay Fluttershy a visit to check her progress with learning Energtris. So I left to go see her and Dusty insisted I go with her. As we were passing the Everfree Forest, I noticed Dusty was staring intensely at it. “What do you know about the forest?” My question managed to tear her attention from the forest. “No more than what everypony else knows. But…” She looked down a bit. “...There is a legend my mother told me about the forest that goes way back.” “How far back?” Dusty looked at me. “According to my mother, when the Celestial Sisters were young or even before they were born.” I stopped to turn to her. “Do tell me. You piqued my interest.” She stopped as well. “I don’t remember much since I was a child when she told it to me but I do remember it had something to do with an ancient being that created the forest thousands of years ago.” “An ancient being huh…” I looked into the forest. “That would explain the ominous feeling I get from the forest.” “You mean you sense something in there?” “Yeah… I can’t sense if it’s good or evil, just… ominous.” I looked at Dusty. “So, what’s your mother like?” Dusty suddenly had a dark expression. “She… was a very pleasant Changeling Queen… at least for a time.” I immediately knew I hit a sensitive subject. The fact Dusty used the term ‘was’ meant her mother had passed away, and the addition of ‘for a time’ meant something major happened. “Are you… willing to talk about it?” Dusty looked away and didn’t answer for a bit. “Not… right now.” “That’s fine. I’ll be here when you’re ready to tell me about it.”  I saw Dusty give a small smile. “Thank you, Sarius.” She turned to me. “Let’s get going.” “Right.” We continued down the road till we reached Fluttershy’s cottage and we saw her tending to the animals. She saw us and gave us a warm smile as we approached. “Sarius, Dusty. What’s with the sudden visit?” “I came to check your progress on your power and Dusty wanted to come along.” “Oh. I think I’ve gotten much better.” Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and turned to me. She then performed the technique I taught her almost flawlessly and created an Energtris Barrier. “What do you think?” I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “I think you did great. What about the other technique?” Fluttershy lowered the barrier and raised a hoof hesitantly. “Um… I’m not sure.” “It’s okay Fluttershy. I’m right here if something goes wrong.” Fluttershy nods and points her hoof at a nearby tree. I could tell how hard she was focusing by the intense stare and groaning she was making. Eventually she made a small energy orb and it was a good minute before she released it. It hit the tree with a loud thud this time. She looked at me for approval. I nodded. “Yup, that’s it. Good job. That’s my sister.” Both Dusty and Fluttershy blinked with the former staring at me in confusion. The latter blushed a bit and smiled. “Wait, I thought Circe was your sister.” Dusty pointed out. I looked at Dusty. “She is. But Fluttershy and I decided we’d treat each other like siblings.” Dusty looked to Fluttershy for confirmation and Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. It’s still love at least.” “Anyway, since you can do those two things and heal really well now, how about I help you learn to better manage your energy?” “Is that something you can teach me?” Fluttershy asked. “Well, I’m not exactly teaching you. More offering advice and ideas based on my experience. Whether or not they work for you, I couldn’t tell you.” “Oh, okay. Before you do, would you mind helping me tend to my animal friends?” “Of course not. Dusty?” Fluttershy and I looked at Dusty. She looked away in slight embarrassment. “I suppose I could help… a bit.” Circe was wandering around Ponyville since she had no idea where Twilight lived. It dawned on her that she wasn’t familiar with Ponyville a minute after walking out the front door. She couldn’t go back and ask her brother since it would be embarrassing to her. Typical sibling shtick. It didn’t help that her power was disabled due to her device breaking. She knew where Rarity and Rainbow Dash were, and the City Hall as well but for some reason she wanted to find Twilight’s home on her own. She didn’t understand why, maybe to prove to her brother she could find her way around a new world. She stopped. ”Then again, it’s completely normal to ask a local where something is. So I’ll ask the closest pony.” She looked around and saw… no pony around. She deadpanned. ”Isn’t it the middle of the day? Where is everybody?” She saw a tree that had been turned into a home to her right. ”Well, the next best thing is knocking on someone’s door and asking the resident.” She walked up to the door and knocked on it. She was surprised and relieved when Twilight was the one who answered the door. “Oh, hello Circe. I didn’t expect you so soon.” “I know. But it turns out a device I made to extract cobalt essence from me broke, and the essence went back into me. So I’m depowered for a good few hours. As such, I decided to come visit you to see if I can learn how to use magic.” Twilight gave Circe an examining gaze. “You do have horns. But dragons shouldn’t be able to use magic to my knowledge. Then again, you’re very different from normal dragons like your brother, so it’s possible.” Twilight nods. “Alright come on in. I’ll grab some old books about magic.” Circe walked in and closed the door since Twilight immediately went to the book shelves. Circe made herself comfortable then Spike appeared next to her, almost out of thin air. “Care for some tea? I just made a batch.” “Oh. Sure. I prefer cold tea, but I like hot tea as well.” Circe reached for the cup. “Be careful the cup is hot.” Circe picked up the cup with ease and no sign of pain. “Oh… nevermind.” Circe tilted her head. “What? Is it surprising that I can touch a hot cup without burning my claws?” “N-no. It’s just-” Spike looked away in embarrassment. “-I still burn myself from time to time, and I’m a dragon too.” Circe giggled which got the attention of Spike who looked at her in awe. “That’s normal. You are a baby dragon, correct?” “I guess?” Spike asked, confused. “How long have you had him for, Twilight?” “Since I was a kid. I had to hatch a dragon egg to be admitted to magic school. The egg I hatched was his. If you want a rough estimate of time, I say 14 years.” Twilight answered as she grabbed a book from a shelf. “Then yes, you are technically a baby dragon. So it’s normal for a baby dragon to get burns. Your scales haven’t matured yet. Though if I had to guess.” Circe took a close look at Spike who blushed a bit. “I’d say… you’re almost at the point where dragon infancy will end.” Both Spike and Twilight looked shocked. Twilight stopped what she was doing to look at Circe. “Are you certain?” Circe backed up a bit. “Not 100%, but yes. If dragons are the same in Equestria as they are in my world, then dragons are sure to start maturing from infancy to teen rapidly after 14 to 16 years.” “But I’m already as smart as the adults in Ponyville.” “That’s because dragons mature far more slowly than other creatures, and the transition between maturities is pretty fast. While a normal pony in this case would spend 8 to 10 years as a child, then 7 to 8 years as a teen before finally becoming an adult. Dragons mature really quickly at certain ages. At least, that’s according to my brother’s study. Unlike in Equestria, dragons, unicorns, and talking ponies are not common, and tend to be feared because they’re unknown entities. So it’s not like my brother can publish his studies to the world. It would quickly be considered farfetched. My two cents, I think dragons age at the same pace as everything else, just over a longer period due to longevity.” Circe realized she rambled. “Oh sorry. I tend to talk a lot about certain subjects.” She took a sip of the hot tea. “Ahh, that’s good. Tastes sweet.” Twilight laughs. “It’s fine Circe. I’m used to getting my ear talked off by Pinkie. Besides, I enjoy talking about potential research topics.” Twilight grabbed another book before walking to sit down and handing Circe the books. Circe put the cup down, grabbed a book, and started reading. The book started with the basics of magic control and potency, before going to a bit of the advanced stuff. Circe checked the cover and it read: “Magic for Beginners”. She looked at the other book and the cover read: “Magic for Experts”. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a book about magic mastery in my library but I’m sure there's some in Canterlot’s library.” Twilight gushed. “That’s okay. Always best to start with the basics.” Circe started reading through the beginner’s book at a fast pace, so fast it surprised both Twilight and Spike. Within half an hour Circe finished the book. She closed it and put it down. She then stared at something to help focus on channeling any magic she had. To her surprise, magic began to flow to her horns, causing them to glow bright blue. Twilight and Spike watched the display in complete awe. Circe looked for a random object and locked her eyes on a quill sitting on a desk. She focused on lifting it with magic and without delay it was lifted into the air. Satisfied with the results, Circe lowered the quill down and turned off her magic, removing the glow from her horns. “Wow… I… Wow.” Twilight was at a loss for words right now. “Yeah… I’m sort of a prodigy. I was always a fast reader and learner but since I became a Hybrid, I’m able to read insanely fast. So much so, I can’t really enjoy a regular novel.” “Why don’t you read a lot slower?” Spike suggested. Circe chuckled nervously. “Oh, I tried. But no…” Circe’s eyes then looked like a dead fish’s. “My mind developed a habit of reading really fast, and no matter what I try, I can’t break the habit.” Twilight and Spike stared at her with concern. Circe then smiled and her eyes returned to normal. “But it’s fine. I instead learned to tinker and work with machines and other things to help my brothers. It’s really fun for me.” “That’s good to hear. Still, I’m amazed you learned the basics of magic so quickly.” Circe scratched the back of her head. “Well, compared to learning how to use Energtris properly, literally everything is easier. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to control Energtris half the time.” “If you’re able to do the same things your brother’s capable of, I believe you.” “Yeah, though I have my own moves and techniques. Plus he’s had way more practice with Energtris. My other brother as well.” “How long has he had that power compared to you?” “About four years.” “And the other brother?” “Hmm. I don’t really know when exactly he got his power, but I would say under 3 years maybe. And before you ask, I’ve had my power for at least 2 years now.” “So Sarius has had that power for 6 years basically?” Circe nodded. “Wow. He must be very experienced then.” “Not quite. While 6 years is enough time to learn and potentially master most things, Energtris is not one of them.” Twilight was piqued with curiosity. “Really? How so?” “Well, I don’t know if my brother told you about our DNA father Asgorath, but he’s the literal creator of Energtris and it took him several million years to actually master it.” Twilight’s and Spike’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Several million?! What kind of power is Energtris?” “Energtris isn’t a power, it’s an energy source. The very first original energy source from which all other energy formed from. As such, Energtris has limitless uses. Mastery of Energtris is the equivalent of being omnipotent, so therefore it’s impossible to master in a single lifetime.” “But I saw your brother in action. It was clear he was very experienced.” Twilight pointed out. “That’s because he took our father’s words to heart. ‘Only master what suits you, and never stop learning new ways to use this power.’ Sarius mastered what he could do best, using Energtris for offense. While also mastering one defensive technique.” “So what about you and your other brother?” “I’m very good with support while my other brother is best at defense and countering.” “I see. Since you and your brothers are good at different things, you’re meant to work as a team.” Circe winked. “Yup, and we’re basically a nearly unstoppable team.” “What’s he like?” “Tirean? He’s very calm and collected, and very serious. Sometimes too serious. He’s still a nice guy though, he just has a stoney exterior.” “So he has a heart of gold basically?” Spike asked. “That’s one way to put it.” Circe said, half-truthfully. “How would you put it then?” “Exactly like you said. He has a heart of gold but it’s beneath another tough exterior.” “How many tough exteriors does your brother have?” “Only the two. He was trained to be an efficient assassin, so he learned to close his heart out to everyone and everything around him. Thankfully, Sarius and I were able to help him change that. But old habits die hard. It still takes a bit for him to trust anyone.” “Sarius told us about that.” “Something tells me you don’t really believe me.” “No I do, though it is hard to believe the truth sometimes.” “I promise you’ll understand when you see him.” Circe’s eyes widened when she sensed something. “W-what’s wrong Circe?” Circe then smiled. “He’s arrived. Much sooner than I thought he would too. I’m afraid I have to cut my visit short, Twilight. So I would like you to send books over to the mansion, starting with Magic for Experts.” “Ah. In that case I’ll let you borrow that and Varieties of Magic, parts one through three. So you have some material to practice with.” “I appreciate it, Twilight. Now I better head out quickly. I’m sure Sarius senses him too and I would rather not have those two be alone right now.” “Why’s that?” “Simple, they’re brothers with a rough history. So I’ll need to be a mediator.” Circe stands up. “I’ll come visit again soon.” “You and your brothers are welcome anytime, Circe.” Circe smiles as she quickly runs out and flies off. Dusty and I were helping Fluttershy take care of her animals when I suddenly sensed something familiar. I stopped what I was doing and looked off into the distance. Fluttershy noticed. “Something wrong, Sarius?” “No. I just sense my brother. It’s time I leave. I’m leaving Dusty under your care Fluttershy.” “Oh, okay. See you soon Sarius.” Dusty looked like she wasn’t okay with the idea of being left alone with somepony else, but since it was Fluttershy she was relatively okay with it. “I will be back soon Dusty.” “I know. Just be careful.” I smirked. “I’ll try.” I spread my wings and took off. As I flew over Ponyville I saw Circe flying away from Twilight’s home. We then flew together towards the location we sensed our brother. We flew for a few minutes at mach 1 speeds. Once we flew over the area our brother was at, we circled around to survey the area. It was an average sized meadow with a few trees here and there. Finding our brother would have been easy but fortunately and unfortunately, our search was made way easier since we spotted a massive hydra attacking something. Once we came around to check it out, we immediately knew it was attacking Tirean who was simply on the defensive, most likely due to confusion and his sudden forced transformation. Circe and I nodded before we flew off in different directions to approach the hydra. Three of its heads were reaching out to Tirean as Circe and I flew in from each side, and slammed into the two outer heads into the middle one, effectively dazing it. Circe and I kicked off the heads and sled to a stop next to Tirean. Tirean looked like he wasn’t having a good day. “I was beginning to wonder where you two were. I assume we can thank Raynin for the welcome committee?” Tirean asked. “Afraid so. Though something seems off.” I pointed out. The hydra was quick to recover and charged at us. The three of us scattered to try and divide its attention which worked. The hydra’s heads snapped at each other when they tried to go after different targets. Thankfully that was all I needed to see to know what was off. “I know what’s off. The hydra is much more aggressive. Something tells me Raynin stepped up his game a bit with that serum.” I shouted to my siblings, which unfortunately made all five heads decide to target me. One head spewed poison at me, while it wouldn't affect me in the slightest, I avoided it on instinct. It was a good thing too apparently, since the poison started melting the ground I was standing on. Another head fired a breath of frost at me, I managed to jump out of the way but a third head fired a breath of fire at me. Which I was okay with since I was immune to fire, so I took the opportunity to fly into the fire stream. I swung my tail around to smack the head hard which caused the head to stop its attack. I saw Circe use her power over wind to send slashing waves of wind onto the hydra’s back. The cuts drew blood but they were quickly healing. Tirean came flying down to smash a giant slab of rock on top of the hydra, forcing it to lay on the ground in a bit of a daze. “We need to neutralize the serum in its system. Any one of us can do it, but the other two will need to restrain the hydra.” Circe shouted. “I’ll help hold it down.” Tirean said. “I’ll restrain it as well. That means it’s up to you to neutralize the serum sis.” “Got it.” The hydra quickly got back up. Two of its heads shot out poison and frost at me, which I did my best to avoid. The other three attacked Tirean, shooting fire, lightning, and gas. Gas was first as it spread around Tirean. Tirean slammed his two front claws onto the ground creating a barrier of rock and earth in front of him as the fire came and hit the gas, igniting it and causing an explosion. The lightning hit the spot where Tirean was but with the dust from the explosion it was hard to tell if he was hit. When the dust cleared a dome of earth encased Tirean, protecting him from the explosion and the lightning bolt hit the barrier he erected earlier. The dome crumbled away and the earth that formed it quickly lunged forward to grab the hydra’s three heads, then pinning them to the ground. I flapped my wings to start flying around the two heads attacking me. I focused my energy to my tail and started creating an energy line. I flew around the necks and the energy line forced them together, the energy was powerful enough to keep the heads binded. I then quickly flew under the hydra’s body to tie up two of its legs, while Tirean used chucks of earth to encase the other two. With the hydra restrained and busy trying to fight me and Tirean, Circe was able to sit on its back and use her energy to search the hydra’s body for traces of the serum. Tirean and I thought we had it secured but to our surprise, the hydra began breaking out of Tirean’s restraints and overpowering my energy cable. One head got free of the earth and retaliated with a bolt of lightning at Tirean. It struck his back but he shrugged it off. “Not only is it more aggressive, it’s strength is enhanced as well. How much longer Circe?” “I found it but I’m having a tough time neutralizing it. I need a bit more time.” Circe said. “Dang it. We won’t be able to restrain it for very long thanks to its absurd strength.” Tirean commented. “We’ll think of something. We just need to keep its attention away from our sister.” Tirean punched the ground with one claw and caused a pillar of earth to shoot up and slam down onto the freed hydra head. The impact was loud and clear enough to hear its skull getting rattled, almost cracking. So it was plainly obvious the head was out cold, but the other two heads broke free. The gas head spewed out gas while the fire head was getting ready to ignite it. I flew around to the head as it shot fire, taking the full hit and using an energy shield to ensure none of the fire touched the gas to ignite it. I reached out and grabbed the upper and lower jaw and forced its mouth closed. This also forced it to stop breathing fire. I then uppercut the head, did a forward spin and swung my back claw down onto its snout hard, causing the head to fly down and collide with the ground. Effectively knocking it out. The gas head moved towards me and opened its mouth. As its jaws closed I caught two of its teeth and the base of its lower jaw with my back claws, keeping its mouth open. I could smell the gas and it was terrible, but then highly flammable gas never smells pleasant. I could see the two heads I lassoed with energy broke free and they both came after me. One head could easily bite my tail and start stretching me out, and making me lose my grip. Thankfully I didn’t have to worry about that as Tirean flew up and punched one of the heads square in the forehead, dazing it. Then he raised his wings, pressed the claws together and slammed the head down to the ground, knocking it out. The last head then took advantage of Tirean finishing an attack to shoot a stream of acid at him. He was barely able to block it with his wings, as the acid coats his entire body. “Tirean!!!” I yelled in horror. I thought I was gonna watch my brother melt away but it didn’t happen. I was surprised to see the acid was indeed burning his scales due to the steam, but it wasn’t completely affecting his scales. Tirean just shook it off. “Wait what? You’re resistant to acid?” “Yes. Remember I’m more like an earth or metal dragon. So naturally my scales are incredibly tough and durable. So much so, not even acid can affect me. Now how long are you gonna let that head harass you with bad breath? I pulled on the upper jaw and forced the mouth closed, making sure to move my back feet, then I did a forward flip and hit the back of my foot right in between the hydra’s eyes. Then I raised a claw and fired an energy pulse that pushed me, and the head down to the ground, knocking it out. “You’re still being bossy as usual.” The last head decided not to attack either me or Tirean but Circe who was trying to neutralize the serum in the hydra’s body. It fired a stream of acid at Circe. I was the only one fast enough to intercept the attack. I took the full brunt of the acid stream. Immediately, I felt the scales all over my body burn, and my wings weren’t spared, the webbing was melting and burning. I could only imagine what my body looked like right now. The pain was excruciating, causing me to yell in pain. “You idiot!!” I heard Tirean yell as he slammed his wings claws down onto the hydra’s head. The head was knocked to the ground. All the heads were effectively rendered unconscious. I fell to the ground, since the wing webbing was quickly melting. I could feel the skin under my scales were becoming exposed now. Circe finished the cleansing and immediately rushed to me. She created some hot water and a wind current, then proceeded to clean the acid off of me. Once she cleaned it all off, my skin was exposed in several places, and my wing webbing was completely gone. Tirean suddenly headbutted me causing Circe to start freaking out. “You’re such an idiot! Why did you take the hit, knowing full well this would happen?” “I’m sorry… I was the only one fast enough to get between the hydra head and Circe.” “You really believe I wouldn’t be fast enough? You clearly don’t realize how fast I can be. Just because my dragon body type is more for defense, doesn’t mean I lack speed.” “I realize that, I just acted without thinking. I had to protect our sister.” “You don’t need to do everything on your own, brother.” “He’s right, Sarius. We want to protect you just as much as you want to protect us. So please, don’t get yourself hurt trying to protect us.” I look down. “I know, but you know I would rather have myself hurt than let others be hurt.” “Of course we know. Again, we feel the same way bro.” Tirean sighs. “Regardless, did you get all of it sister?” Circe nodded. “Pretty sure. Sorry it took a little longer than needed. I just recovered from having my power shut down and the serum was stronger than usual.” “Stronger you say.” I look at the hydra. “I realized the serum made the hydra more aggressive and possibly stronger, but the fact that the serum itself was stronger…” Circe frowned. “It means Raynin is stepping up his game. We need to find him before he creates something worse than this serum variation.” “Easier said than done. We’ve been trying to capture him for two years and never got close.” Tirean grimaced. “He was always two steps ahead of us. But we have an advantage here.” I said. “And that is?” Tirean questioned. “He lacks the technology and resources he had access to back in our world. Plus I don’t doubt he has a body like the ponies, something he’s not used to.” “True but the fact he was able to do this to a hydra, means he’s still just as dangerous.” Circe pointed out. “Speaking of the hydra. I know my knowledge of mythos is rusty, but is a hydra capable of using those breath attacks?” I shook my head. “Lightning and ice, not a chance. Fire and poison, certainly. Gas is possible too but unlikely in most cases. And the poison wasn’t poison but acid. I don’t think that’s possible for hydras.” “Is it possible it was because of the serum?” Tirean asked. “No. The serum simply made it stronger and more aggressive. It didn’t affect the hydra’s abilities to use different breath attacks. Its abilities were enhanced in a different way.” Circe answered. “And what way is that sis?” I inquired. “My guess; magic.” “Magic. Is there a spell or magical power that can do that?” Tirean asked. “In our world, maybe. But this world thrives on magic so I don’t doubt it’s entirely possible. I just started learning the basics of magic but from reading the book Twilight gave me, I can tell how versatile and powerful the magic here can be.” “Who’s Twilight?” Tirean asked. “You’ll see Tirean.” “Very well. So as it stands, we defeated a hydra that was physically stronger and more aggressive, thanks to Raynin’s serum, and can use breath attacks not normally possible thanks to magic enhancement. That about right?” Circe and I nodded. “Which means we’re not only dealing with Raynin, but a magic user as well.” “I wouldn’t be surprised if Raynin is working together with this magic user.” The sound of movement was heard and we all turned in unison towards it, taking battle stances to see the hydra getting up. The expression on its heads was pure confusion and a bit of fear. It looked at us and started backing away. We noticed it was scared so we calmed ourselves as I approached the hydra slowly. It instinctively backed up more but I made a shushing noise to try and calm it down. “It’s okay. We won’t hurt you. We know you weren’t yourself.” I stopped and started giving off a calming aura to help calm it down. It seemed to work as one of its heads slowly came down to my level. I reached out slowly to pet it and it reluctantly let me. As I petted its snout, I could sense its fear disappear. I smiled. One of the heads reached down to Circe and she petted it as well. A third head tried to reach down to Tirean but Tirean turned his head to show he wasn’t interested in petting it. “Now what made you so scared huh?” I asked but I knew the hydra wasn’t gonna just up and talk. So I tried something new with my energy, something that I had a doubt would work. I used my energy to softly probe the hydra’s minds and enter its memories. At first I wasn’t getting anywhere, but I kept at it. Eventually I was able to see the hydra’s memories from its point of view. I saw me and Tirean fighting it, and its vision was nearly red, supposedly from anger and rage induced by the serum. I started rewinding the memories. The whole fight was rewound, then I saw it chasing down Tirean, before that I saw it wake up in the meadow. From there it was a blank, until I saw a very dark and big room. It was here where the red vision was kicking in, meaning this was shortly after the injection. I went rewound further and saw Raynin approaching the hydra with a look of pure anger, and could feel the fear the hydra felt. “Yeah, I’ve seen that look of anger before. I don’t blame you for being scared of that.” I saw what I wanted confirmed but I figured I should go back further. Afterall it was captured so maybe I could see who captured it and how. So I rewound the memory further. The scene changed from a large dark room to a jungle or forest. What I saw next was quite surprising. The hydra was actually fighting off a group. Each member of the group was different in that, no two were the same species. First, I saw a minotaur, then a dragon the size of an average human, a griffon, a bipedal dog, then a pony. It was hard to make out the details due to the fact it was a fight, but I did see that the pony looked like a unicorn with a dark gray mane. Satisfied with the results I pulled myself back to reality. The hydra head I was petting was looking at me, as if it knew I was probing its memories. “Sorry for not asking for permission.” I apologized. It made a soft grunt. Thanks to my knowledge of animal language, it basically said ‘Just ask next time’. I smiled and nodded. “I will from now on. Thank you.” The hydra head nodded and pulled its heads away then slowly walked off towards a nearby forest. Circe walked up to me. “What did you do without permission?” I turned to her. “I looked into its memories.” “Oh wow. That’s my bro. So what did you see?” “Well firstly I should point out that I think the hydra let me do that.” Circe was a bit surprised. “How could you tell?” “It could have resisted me and kept me out, but it didn’t. It’s not that hard to resist mind probing, it’s just nearly impossible to stop it when someone actually tries their hardest. And I wasn’t trying to force myself into its memories. As for what I saw, well it’s no surprise that Raynin did inject it with the serum. But I was able to go back further before it was captured.” “And who captured it?” Tirean inquired. “A group. What was strange about this group is out of the five I saw, no two were the same species.” “Interesting.” “I saw a minotaur, a dragon that was human sized, a griffon, a bipedal dog, and a unicorn with a dark gray mane. They were fighting the hydra.” “Do you happen to know any of them, bro?” Circe asked. I shook my head. “I haven’t seen anything other than ponies, a couple griffons, Spike, the Celestial Sisters, and Chrysalis. However I have a good guess who the unicorn is.” “Who?” Tirean asked. “He calls himself Nelkanth.” Circe pouted. “He’s the same jerk who tried to capture me!” “You were almost captured?!” Tirean asked with surprise. “Unfortunately yes. He put me in a cobalt cage while I was out from interdimensional travel. Thankfully Sarius and his new girlfriend, Luna, saved me.” “I told you, we aren’t dating yet!” I retorted. Tirean shook his head as if he was disappointed in me. “I understand you have Kalia’s permission to have a polygamy, but to think you would actually pursue it.” “Shut it bro!” He gave me a smirk. “Anyway, Nelkanth is not to be underestimated. He’s a lot stronger and experienced than he lets on.” “Had a run in with him I take it.” “Twice.” “Hmph. That’s one too many times.” Tirean said in a mocking tone. “You wouldn’t be mocking me if you faced him yourself.” “Sarius is right, bro. I saw the fight myself. Nelkanth matched Sarius blow for blow and was able to keep up with him. Honestly, if Princess Luna wasn’t there to help, I wouldn’t be here.” Tirean looked at Circe then back at me. “He’s really that strong?” I nodded. “Very well. If Circe agrees with you then I’ll believe it.” I give him an unamused face. “Really? You won’t take my word for it, but when our sister agrees with me you will?” Tirean closes his eyes and slightly turns his head from me. “You tend to over exaggerate things.” I stare at him with a dumbfounded look while Circe sighs. “How are you gonna be able to fly back, Sarius?” My expression returned to normal as I looked at Circe. “Oh that’s easy.” The Crystals materialize around me as I focus on increasing my healing factor to semi-high levels. High enough that the wing webbing started slowly regenerating and my scales started regrowing. The regeneration picked up speed quickly, restoring my wings to normal in minutes and every spot where the acid hit was covered with scales again. This took about 10 percent of my energy to do, which was returned to me by the Crystals. The Crystals were then reabsorbed into my body. “I always keep forgetting that our healing factors are adjustable.” Circe pointed out. “Only because you don’t fight that much.” Tirean retorted. “Now let’s go home. We have to figure out what we need to do.” “We’ll follow your lead, Sarius.” Circe said. I turned around and started flapping my wings. Tirean did the same while Circe floated off the ground. The three of us started flying back to Ponyville. In the distance, someone had watched the events unfold. The three of us made it back to the mansion with little trouble, though my wing webbing was a bit chilled since I just regrew it all. I opened the front door and we walked inside. “Unfortunately, there’s only two bedrooms that are furnished.” I said with an ashamed tone. “It’s not like I need a bed to sleep.” Tirean remarked. “True, but I still feel bad about it.” I retorted. “Anyway, let’s go to my room to talk.” They followed me to my room then I closed the doors once we were in. My senses were on alert for one reason; I was expecting Pinkie Pie to suddenly materialize here since Tirean was here. She did that not too long after Circe first arrived here, so I have no doubt she’ll do it again with Tirean. I had to be ready to stop her. “So what do you know so far, Sarius?” Tirean asked, getting straight to the point like usual. “Not that much I’m afraid, but it’s something Kasulis-” Before I could finish Tirean’s tail shifted to a blade and had it pressed against my neck. He had a serious look in his eyes. “Are you in control or is he?” “Oh right… I forgot to tell you.” I scratched the back of my head. “Tell me what?” Tirean demanded. “Sarius and Kasulis worked things out finally. Kasulis is no longer an enemy, brother.” Circe answered with concern. Tirean didn’t move his head but he looked at Circe for a second. “Is that true, Sarius?” “Yeah, of course.” “Are you certain this isn’t a trick?” I suddenly felt myself lose control. “Bro! I’m not the type to play tricks like that and you know it!” Kasulis yelled in irritation. Tirean was a bit shocked. “So, you show yourself.” “Only because you’re being so uptight and annoyingly persistent that I’m evil incarnate. I assure you I’m not. I sensed the real thing.” Both Circe and Tirean stared at Kasulis in disbelief. “Now will you lower your tail so Sarius can finish?” Tirean reluctantly lowered his tail and it shifted back to normal. “Very well. But I’m watching you, Kasulis.” Kasulis rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah. Though I advise you not to keep watch over me 24/7. You might not see the real threat before it’s too late that way.” I regain control and sigh. “Thank you for getting him riled up to the point of forcibly switching places with me.” “Then perhaps he shouldn’t have caused so much trouble when he was around. That way I wouldn’t be on guard” “Or maybe, you could learn to loosen up and not be so cautious and on guard around your family, you son of a-” “Sarius! Don’t insult mom like that!” Circe yelled. I bit my tongue realizing I was about to call our mother a female dog in heat. I sigh and take a deep breath. “Look, the three of us only have each other now. So if you can’t trust us and relax around us, then I’m sorry, but there’s no hope for you.” Tirean goes quiet for a minute. “It’s not that I don’t trust my siblings, it’s just…” “Your assassin training made you naturally cautious by nature. We know.” “I’ll try to ‘loosen up’ but I can’t promise anything.” Circe smiles. A gasp is heard as Pinkie suddenly appears from under my bed. “Oh my gosh! There’s another new dragon in Ponyville. Two new dragons in one day. I need to-” I press my claws against her lips to stop her. “Pinkie Pie.” She smiles as I remove my claw. “Yup, that’s me.” “I know you’re excited, but perhaps you should hold off on throwing another party today and instead wait for tomorrow?” Pinkie gasps like I just said something bad. “Why would you say that?” “Think of everypony else, Pinkie. You already threw a party today for Circe, so I’m sure everypony is tired and wants to rest. Hence why you should wait until tomorrow.” She taps her chin with her hoof in thought. “Hmm. You do have a point.” She goes quiet for a few brief seconds. “Okay. Tomorrow then.” She’s about to vanish into thin air again but I stop her, by grabbing her mane. “Ow hey.” “One more thing.” “Yeeesssss?” “Please remember to use the front door and knock. Suddenly appearing in rooms like this will cause someone a heart attack or you’ll see things you’ll wish you didn’t see. You’ll thank me later.” “Okie Dokie Loki.” She comes out from under my bed and hops to the door. She opens it with her mane and continues hopping out the door. “Did you want me to close the door?” “No, it’s fine.” “Okay.” She resumes bouncing away. We heard the front open and close. The room was quiet for a couple minutes as we stared at the open doorway. Tirean turned his attention back to us. “Anyway-” Circe’s eyes widened. “Hold up! You’re not even gonna question that?!” Tirean stared straight into her eyes unblinking. “Nope.” Circe looked like she was about to lose it again. “Circe, what did I tell you?” Circe groaned. “Anyway, I was about to tell you guys what Kasulis noticed. But before I tell you, I should get you two caught up on what I've been through so far.” I spent an hour retelling the events I went through since getting here. I gave as much detail as possible and even shared what Kasulis and I talked about, as well as told them about the dream premonition I saw being the last thing. Circe shivered at that while Tirean gritted his teeth. “Extinction huh…” Tirean muttered. “Going by what you described seeing, I don’t doubt it.” “And it’s not this world that will be wiped out, but all of Reality.” Circe added. “That’s why we have to find out what this being is and stop them. But we barely have anything to go by.” “Got any ideas where to start?” Circe inquired. “Two. We know there has to be a connection between Raynin and Nelkanth. I can’t guarantee we’ll find out anything about this being by investigating that connection but we need to take care of Raynin as quickly as possible.” Both Tirean and Circe nodded in agreement. “The second idea is dangerous. Kasulis knows exactly where he felt this presence. One of us can go there to investigate.” “Do you have a map?” Tirean asked. I just stare at him. “....Are you serious right now?” “Hey, I told you I was busy. I was thrust into this world when there was a battle going on, so I naturally helped out. And you know where that led. I haven’t had the chance or time to ask the fundamental stuff.” Tirean placed his claw on his snout. A piece of parchment suddenly landed in between us, catching our attention. I immediately looked over to the door to see Dusty standing there. “Here’s a map.” Tirean quickly turned his head towards Dusty. “So you must be Chrysalis?” Dusty instinctively froze up. “Relax Dusty. This is Tirean, my brother. He may not seem like it but he’s very trustworthy.” Dusty relaxed a bit. Tirean smirked. “I must say though, the fact you snuck up on us is quite a feat, ‘Dusty’. Especially me.” “Changelings are quite stealthy, Tirean. Afterall we can turn ourselves into virtually anything.” “Noted. Now-” Tirean opened the map. “-Kasulis, tell us where it is.” I felt Kasulis take control briefly to look at the map and point it out. Tirean raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to be funny?” Thankfully Kasulis was allowing me to see what he was pointing at… which was the right edge of the map. I understood why Tirean was confused, cause so was I. “No. I’m pointing here because I don't know the layout of the planet. Do you really expect me to show you the location on a map of a world I don’t know?” Tirean groans. “Alright, then how about you tell us which way it is and how far?” Kasulis closed his eyes. Since he was sensing the evil entity, I could sense it too. And it felt eerily familiar for some reason. “East. I would say about… 30 miles.” Tirean, Circe, and I were almost shocked. “30 miles?! Manhattan is not even half that long.” “Are you referring to Manehattan? It certainly isn’t.” Dusty pointed out. “Wait, Manehattan?” Circe asked with confusion. “Yes.” “I’m talking about Manhattan.” “I’m certain Manehattan is Equestria’s version of Manhattan, Circe. When I went on that escort assignment, we went to a city called Balitmare.” “Oh. Well still. 30 miles is quite a short distance.” “Dusty where is Griffinstone located?” “Griffinstone. It’s across the Celestial Sea to the east. In fact it’s right across the water from Fillydelphia. Why do you ask?” “I believe the location is somewhere past Griffinstone, to the northeast of it.” “Then I’ll be sure to check it out tomorrow after Pinkie’s party.” Tirean said. “Be careful out there. We have no idea what this entity is capable of.” “Just to add to it, the ponies don’t have much information or knowledge of things beyond Griffinstone. So asking around will do little good.” Dusty added. “What about the Celestial Sisters?” Kasulis inquired. “They might know something but I wouldn’t count on it.” “So what do we do in the meantime brothers?” Circe asked. “For now, Tirean needs to get accustomed to the area and you both need to get accustomed to this world.” “And what about you?” Circe asked. “I’m not sure.” A knock was then heard at the front door. We got up and walked over to it. I opened it to see Morning Dew in his gold clad armor. “Afternoon Sarius, and I take it these two are your siblings?” I turned to them. “Yes. Circe and Tirean Trusdale.” I could swear I saw Circe’s pupils become hearts. “Wow, what a hunk.” I deadpanned. “He’s taken Sis.” Circe had a look of shock, followed by a pout. “Aww.” Dew simply chuckled. “I will say I’m flattered that Sarius’ sister fancies me. But unfortunately I’m here to fetch Sarius for Princess Celestia.” “Oh?” I asked while turning towards Dew. “I’m afraid I can’t spare any details.” “Alright.” I turn back to Dew. “Teleport us straight to her.” He nodded and his horn lit up. With a poof, he and I appeared right in front of Celestia and Luna. I was a bit shocked to see Luna. Celestia looked at me but didn’t give me a warm smile like usual. Instead it was a strained frown, like something was deeply bothering her. “Hello dear Sarius. I hate to say this isn’t a social invitation.” “I kinda figured from your face and the tension in the air. So what’s up?” Luna sighed. “We have received news recently that Galedon, the current griffon king… was murdered.” My eyes widened. “What?! Who did it?” Luna and Celestia exchanged glances. “We’ve been told… you did.” A diamond dog walks into the massive chamber where Nelkanth is standing by. Nelkanth doesn’t look at him. “Report.” “The Triplets were able to defeat the enhanced Hydra. Sarius sustained heavy injury from the Hydra’s acid but used something to quickly heal the damage.” The dog spoke with a weird accent. “I see. Did they kill it?” “No, they cleansed it somehow and let it go.” “I should have figured. Raynin was right, they are too soft.” “Another failure.” Raynin said as he entered. “Despite the enchantments you made, Nelkanth, I expected it.” Nelkanth looked at Raynin. “Then what’s your next big move?” “I need to work on it, unless you can round up something stronger than a hydra?” “There are plenty of things stronger than a hydra, but far too dangerous to mess with.” “Oh? You have piqued my curiosity.” “I recommend you don’t get involved in such things. Trust me when I say, some things are better off buried and forgotten.” “Noted. Now I have work to do and things to look into now.” Raynin turned and left. Nelkanth sighed. “Stubborn fool. I tried to warn him.” Nelkanth turned to Glida who was nearby, sharpening her blade. “Did you succeed in killing your king?” Glida stopped to glare at him. “You want the truth?” Nelkanth narrowed his eyes. “I want nothing else.” Glida sighed and shrugged. “Then no. I failed.” The diamond dog barked in annoyance. “You had one job.” Glida shot a death glare at the dog. “Shut it mutt! Don’t be so quick to judge me.” “How did you fail?” Nelkanth asked in an eerily calm tone. Glida started to sweat a bit. “When I went to perform the assassination, he was gone.” “Did you tell anyone?” “Of course not, besides the griffins couldn’t care less.” “Then explain how the king could escape.” “I don’t know but at the very least the king is no longer an issue. There isn’t much he can do anyway.” Nelkanth sighed. “We’ll deal with him later then.” Nelkanth whistled, causing a group of various individuals from different species to emerge. “For now, we prepare for the next part of the plan.” Nelkanth smiled.