I was flying along and still on my way to Griffonia after leaving the Dragon Lands. The buzz of static was still ringing in my ears after half an hour of traveling. It feels something like a signal that comes from the outside dimension. Something similar happens when I fully transform, where the distortion of my change would send a unique ripple to the Void and where the incoming threat would send a ripple similar to a sonar to find which dimension I was in. The relentless buzzing was different, though. But only slightly.
"What is that?" I wondered.
I kept my eyes straight ahead, minding anything on the horizon. Flying out in the open was something I was never comfortable with, especially with the large body of water below. I always keep my guard up during flight, making sure that nothing catches me off guard.
Well. In my defense what happened next wasn’t because of my lack of attentiveness. What hit me was something small, small enough to be a strand of hair.
It glittered out of nowhere in my flight path and slapped me in the face. It was thin, and it hit dead center between my lips and clung off from there. For a moment I thought that it might have been a strand of hair from my fringe, but dismissed that idea when, instead of a single strand of hair, it was a bundle of thin thread. It began to unravel as it clung on to the spit on my lips.
I stopped in the air and tried to spit it out. A sense of vertigo sudden came over me as it finished unraveling. It felt like I went for a swim and somersaulted underwater.
When I shook off that moment of nausea I knew that there was something wrong. I was no longer hovering over the ocean. Griffonia was over the seas, and it was quite far out from the Dragon Lands. Now though, I was hovering over a forested area. What caught my attention most was the familiar sight of Canterlot a few kilometers away.
My brows furrowed in confusion. "What's going on?"
I spat out the piece of thread that had been hanging on my lips and grabbed it. I looked at it suspiciously before tying it into a bundle again and shoving it inside the [Inventory] pouch hanging on my belt.
With no other choice at the moment, I think it’s better to pay Celestia a visit. Maybe she knows why I was suddenly teleported back to Equestria.
Up in Canterlot, in one of the meeting rooms meant for briefing new recruits, a girl with long silver hair tied into twin ponytails, was explaining about a Guild system from her homeland to some of Canterlot’s top nobles, trusted guards, and distant relatives of the Princesses themselves, detailing on why Equestria needed it now.
What was surprising about the girl, however, was that she wasn’t a pony. She stood on two thin, but upright, legs. She had arms instead of forelegs, and hands instead of hooves. Her face matched no race known to common ponies, except for a certain Brood already heading for the capital of Equestria.
As the girl continued her explanation, her mind wandered to her companion. She honestly had no idea where her friend was at the moment and would have preferred it if she had stayed and helped, if only to put some stuff into perspective. Her friend found activities such as these boring. If she had to guess, her companion was probably annoying the Guards in the garden or disturbing the Moon Princess to play some games.
As she delved deeper into the subject, discussing candidates for the leader of the Guild house, her senses picked up something unusual out of sight. She glanced around the room, partly ignoring Prince Blueblood as he talked on and on about how this one mare besmirched his honor and not noticing that no one was listening. She quietly reached for the runic staff by her side while looking over to a pair of guards assigned in the room. She held back on knocking her head on a wall when she saw that they were asleep. She was going to talk to the Princess about this and the guards’ lack of vigilance.
Gwen, the Arcanist, was not amused of their antics.
Meanwhile, the silver haired girl’s friend was in the garden, holding a pair of training spears in each hand, dual wielding them as she stared down a guard with a very real spear held in his telekinetic grip.
The girl was very unusual, very different from her friend. While the other one with the silver hair seemed more human in comparison, this one was more like a dog. Her legs were furred with a paw instead of feet, still likened to that of an animal. Her head was also completely similar to that of a dog, save for the long blonde hair on the top of her head and cascading down to her back. That part was pretty human. But instead of forelegs and paws, she had arms and hands.
Quite a sight, especially given that she was wearing armor and clothes.
Three other guards were sitting on the sidelines, watching. The girl was slightly tense as she stayed in position, waiting for her opponent to make his move. The silence in the garden was aggravating.
The guard moved a hoof slightly in the dirt, bracing himself before making his move.
"CHAAAAAAAAARGE!"
The Canine Samurai blinked at the guard’s battle cry. She didn’t even need to be cautious before springing into action. She quickly brought the weapon in her right hand up to parry the guard's spear away and bring her other training weapon to his horn. A loud 'WHAP!' resulted in the harsh contact, making the other guards wince in sympathy.
Her opponent fell to the ground, holding his horn in pain as she turned to the other three guards. "So what have we learned today?" She asked with a chirp in her tone.
"That Sarge shouldn't charge like an idiot?" One of them, an orange unicorn, suggested.
Allie, the Bushi, grinned at the guard before looking down on the one still groaning on the ground.
Something was different.
I’ve been swimming inside the shadows of Canterlot, in the dimension accessed by the [Shadowwalk] skill. The ponies were still doing their business, but there was something wrong. They were talking about Discord.
Now normally that wouldn't be anything significant as the Spirit of Chaos had just gotten out and resealed a few weeks ago, but the story coming out of the gossiping ponies was that it only happened a few days ago. There was definitely something going on. That, or the ponies in the capital were a little late on the news. Unlikely, though.
Moving faster in the shadows, I quickly swam my way straight to the castle. If anyone had the answers on what was going on, then it would definitely be Sunnybutt.
Just as I was about to enter the shadows of the castle, something else caught my eye. The garden where Celestia kept her little statues, and also where she hid her petrified foes in plain sight, was ruined. Was Canterlot attacked recently? There was also something there that shouldn't be.
It was a dog. Or at least it resembled one. Maybe it was a Diamond Dog? But I’ve never seen one wearing that much clothes before, and this one was also female. Come to think of it, she's almost like a female version of Scias from Breath of Fire 4. I haven’t met a Diamond Dog with a snout that long.
Was she a new recruit for the Royal Guards? Odd, though, because from what I hear of the Canterlot Nobility they would never hire a 'Mutt' for their protection and usually raise a fuss whenever a non-pony signs up for the Guard.
Shaking my head and ignoring the subject for now, I turned towards the throne room. I'll think of that later. For now I need to find Celestia and see if something's wrong. Something had teleported me back to Equestria and I didn't know who or what did it. Maybe she'll know, and hopefully it's nothing to worry about.
Gwen dismissed the meeting, telling the nobles to come back two hours after lunch. She’ll have to continue talking about the Guilds later, for now she needs to prepare herself for whatever it was that was coming.
As the ponies stepped out of the room, she went over to the two sleeping guards, raising her weapon high.
'Whack!' “OW!”
'Whack!' “OUCH!”
Both guards rubbed their heads in pain, gulping nervously when they saw the Arcanist glaring down at them. After waking them up with liberal uses of her staff, she moved out of the meeting room with both of them at her side. Gwen winced as she turned her attention back to the flow of magic and found that whatever had disturbed her senses was getting closer.
"Be on guard." She spoke up sharply to the two stallions with her. "There is something in the castle."
"W-what?" The first guard she had hit stuttered slightly, the swift wake up still hampering his thought processes. "H-how can you tell?"
Gwen contemplated telling them but she also recognized that she didn't know how, whatever it was, moved or traveled so it could be listening in on them. She went with the easy response that most non-unicorns would accept.
"Magic."
"Magic."
That was what went through my ears. But for all the enhanced hearing my dragon form gave me, I may as well be deaf at the moment.
I thought that since there might have been an attack, the Elements of Harmony would be called. Celestia, from what I could recall, always sent for the Elements when something like an attack on the capital happens. I immediately switched destination. Family was more important than anything else, and I really didn't care much for the rulers of the land or most of its inhabitants. They could die for all I care.
I was hoping to see Applejack in one of the guest rooms in the castle and see if she was safe. She was one of the few that wormed into my heart, and I helped raise her since she was a filly; one of the few that I would, without hesitation, put my life on the line for just to protect.
What I didn't expect in my search, however, was the humanoid girl that just smacked two sleeping guards awake.
Humanoid. Because she wasn't a pony or a quadruped.
A girl. Definitely because her clothes were too feminine to be male. I didn't even notice the non-human ears as I was more focused on her face and posture. I didn't really care about her skin tone being a little too grey for a normal human. I'd forgotten that it wasn't normal for any my species at the moment. After spending centuries transforming into [Warrior] with different attributes, I stopped noticing that humans don't have grey skin, or orange skin, or blue ones.
Who was she? And why did I not know of her until now?
At least I found what may have been that cause of the garden’s state.
Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I circled the hallway from inside the shadows. She was looking for something, that much he could tell. When I moved to the side, her head would suddenly turn.
I froze.
Could she sense me? How? I already knew that I could hide my presence while in the shadows since it was in a separate dimension, and so long as I don't use magic in human form then I was also safe from detection, even out in the open. But she could sense me?
I moved again, this time into one of the guard's shadow. Just as I suspected, her head moved towards my general direction, but she didn't look directly at me.
So, she can sense where I am, but she can't pinpoint my exact location.
Yet.
It was something that I learned a long time ago: “Never be certain that you're undetectable”. I made that mistake a few times in the past, and it caused a lot of injuries ranging from minor ones to major ones.
But that doesn't matter right now. I had to know who this girl was. Though, I'd much prefer it if she had been alone when confronting her. The guards and... Blueblood made that choice unavailable.
I hadn’t notice it before, but the spoiled prince had been trailing behind them for a while. He was going on and on about something, but the girl and her two guards simply ignored him like he wasn’t even there.
I had the displeasure of knowing who the Phoney Prince was during the Grand Galloping Gala that Applejack was invited to. The end of that event had been entertaining, but seeing him insult the Apple family’s cooking made me want to slap him across the room.
Well, I was already going to announce myself to the world after the Dragon Migration, showing myself to the Pompous Turd of nobility shouldn't be a problem. And if it did become a problem, then I had a [Skill] that could fix that.
With a nod to myself, I went over to the opposite end of the hall directly into her path. Her head Followed my movement, and I stepped out of the shadow. I didn’t rise from the ground or step out of the wall; I simply phased inside the shade of the shadow from wall by the window, where Celestia’s sun gave me enough darkness to do so.
I saw her tense as I made my appearance, and so did the guards. Blueblood continued to ramble on but stopped when he bumped into one of the guards.
“Watch where you’re going you…” our eyes made contact.
My dragon-scaled toes clacked on the marble floor. My arms were laxed by my side, and my wings were folded comfortably on my back. I tried to look as nonthreatening as possible, but the deep frown and suspicious glare on my face made that attempt almost impossible.
First impressions were always important, especially if you wanted to have a civilized conversation. If you show yourself as too threatening then they might be too much on guard to even speak to you properly, and any misunderstood gestures could end up with both parties at each others throats.
"Who…” I began slowly. “...are you?"
Her eyes moved from my scales to my horns, to my tail and then to my wings. I could see that she was thinking of many things. Her eyes told me as much. I saw her hesitance, probably debating whether or not to answer my question and just skip to the fight. But from the way her mouth thinned into a flat line, she had already made her decision.
“My name is Gwen, a Vessel, Arcanist, and current protector of this land.” she held her staff up defensively and I felt the humm of a spell silently being ready to cast. “And you are?”
I was surprised a bit that she answered willingly. I searched my memories of anyone with that name, but only came up with nothing. Now that the surprise from her appearance had worn off, I finally started to notice things.
Even if her appearance looked similar to a human, her arms and legs looked too thin to be healthy or normal. Her ears were long and furred, definitely not human.
"Never heard of you." I said bluntly, crossing arms. The movement only made her tense more, but I tried to not take notice of it. "As for who I am... My name is Ryu."
I took note that the guards in the room were also acting defensively. Come to think of it, why do they look more at ease around the girl? Then there was Blueblood.
"MONSTER!" he shouted, pointing a hoof at me accusingly. "Why did you come here! Are you after one of Equestria's Princes!? Guards, why are you just standing there!?"
My eyes went over to Blueblood's for a moment before going back to the girl. Let's pretend he doesn't exist and maybe, one day, it might come true. "I'd like to ask what you're doing here on Equestria." Depending on her answer I might have to get rid of her if she poses a threat to those I protect.
"Do not ignore me!"
Still ignoring Blueblood.
Oh how I wish I could use the [Silence] spell on that pony right now. But they might interpret that as an attack and retaliate. I wonder if I could make the pony disappear later. I don’t think Celestia would mind.
The way the girl, Gwen’s, eyes started to twitch made me recognize her ire for the pony as well. She held up one hand in a halting gesture before saying, “One moment, Ryu. I need to gag someone.”
Using her staff to point at Blueblood, a magic circle suddenly appeared underneath the stallion. Vines snapped out of the circle and started to bind the whiny noble, including his horn and snout.
Gwen looked back to me again, looking as though she didn't just hogtie one of Canterlot's nobility. “My comrade and I were sent here in Equestria over a thousand years ago. It was then that we put a stop to Discord’s rampage.” she stated. “Afterwards we were turned to stone and were only recently set free.”
What?
“Over a thousand years ago?” I repeated in mild disbelief, ignoring Blueblood’s muffled complaints. At least she was forthcoming with the information. Still... That doesn’t make sense. If they’ve been in Equestria for so long then why haven’t I heard of them. Helping Celestia and Luna in sealing Discord, the princesses should have made a public announcement of them, and rewarded them for their aid.
But no matter how hard I try to recall, I can’t remember any of that.
At the time I was still traveling all over the land, searching for clues to get back home. No matter how far I was, there should have been at least a bit of gossip about Gwen and her comrade, as well as their origins.
“You said that there was someone else with you.” I said. “Where are they now?”
“She’s probably outside in the garden given how Princess Luna is asleep and Princess Celestia is sending letters to the Griffin, Deer, and Zebra lands for assistance in the near future.”
My brows furrowed as I frowned. Why was Celestia sending letters? I already told her that I didn’t want any help from her. I also don’t recall any event where other nations were needed by Equestria.
Then I saw her face twist into a grimace. “Honestly, I don’t think you should disturb my friend. She might have an… adverse reaction towards your appearance.”
I looked down on myself and pondered. Yes, sometimes my scales and fangs do scare a lot of creatures when they see me for the first time. I remember them either screaming in terror while running away or picking up weapons to try and kill me. That’s why I prefer traveling through the shadows when passing by towns and villages.
Still, I already went by the gardens earlier and didn’t see any human looking creature there, only that Diamond Dog and some guards. From the way Gwen had described her, I’d say that her friend was a girl. Could the dog have been her friend?
“You gave me more questions that need answers.” I muttered to myself as I shook my head. “I need to find Celestia. Hopefully she can answer them all without being her aggravating self.”
I started backing away from the group of ponies and humanoid, ignoring how tense they became the further I stepped back. I raised my hand where a [Magic Ball] started pulsing and readied for my leave.
“It was nice to meet you, I suppose.”
The spell in my hand intensified in preparation for a bigger discharge given the distance between us. What I didn’t expect, however, was for her to be quick with her spells.
She swung her staff towards me, and I saw vines suddenly spring out of the ground where a magic circle laid. The surprise was enough to break my hold over my spell and forced the [Magic Ball] to dissipate into a static discharge instead of a flashbang. The buzz went through my body and I grunted from the backlash.
The vines wrapped around my upper body as I recovered. They moved around my arms and held on tight. I was bound before I knew it.
“Get Allie.” I heard Gwen tell the guards as I was too busy looking at the vines.
Well, crud. She must have thought that my spell was meant to be an attack. Even though I already counted her reaction to be something like that, I still wasn't expecting the speed of her spellcast.
I tested their hold and found that they didn’t even give me enough slack to wiggle my arms without moving my torso. I could probably break out of them if I increased my strength with [Might], but that would take too long and she might layer her spell with another one. That’s what I would have done.
“This won’t hold me.” I told the girl.
Even without my arms, I could still use my magic. I was also a dragon, which meant that my mouth could also spit out breath attacks. But [Warrior] was rather limited in that regard. I could also create a [Magic Ball] without using my hands, but I’d rather that be a surprise just in case I need a quick escape. I may have to take her down if her sensing me in the shadow becomes a nuisance.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I still need to find Celestia, and being bound here wasn’t going to let me do that.
Well, it might. But I rather not suffer the humiliation of being presented to her like a criminal. Even though I was sure that she’d love to see me like that.
Magic began to swirl inside my body, circulating through every part inside me. I condensed what I gathered and expelled them all at once.
“[Aura Burst!]”
A wave of pure dragon energy swept through the castle hall like a golden wall. Given that we were indoors, there was little possibility of them flying over it. They could have teleported through it, but they had to gauge the width of the wave if they wanted to escape from it unharmed.
When the force hit them all at once, I dove quickly into the shadows and made my escape.
I made sure to pull back enough in the attack so that I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know how much that girl means to Celestia, but it’s better to keep her alive than take a chance in angering the Sun Princess.
Images of the other side of the shadows flashed by rapidly as I willed myself to move faster in the dimension. The vines that bound my arms wasted away after stepping out of range of the girl's circle. That was interesting. I better remember that next time if I ever go up against her.
From what I’ve seen based on Blueblood's binding and my own, the magic circle that appears from her spells was something very significant in creating the magic effects.
It was a pretty basic Formal Craft. Phenomenons created through the use of Arcane Circles, powered by the caster’s magic. The Runes in the circle act as the program data to weave the intended outcome of the ritual. I suppose her claim of being an Arcanist wasn’t much of a boast but an actual fact.
I’ve encountered my fair share of magic circles during my travels, but I’ve never seen one that was successfully created through pure magic before. She more or less solidified her magic and used that as the material to perform the ritual for those vines. Then there was the speed of her spell weaving.
Definitely not human. That Gwen girl was definitely not human. Unless she had some sort of computer in that staff of hers, then the calculations needed to perform her type of magic style is beyond what humans are capable of.
I passed by the throne room, but that was empty. Gwen said that Celestia was sending letters so I may need to look for her in her office. But there was a problem with that.
Even though I’ve been in Equestria for a very long time, I’ve never actually been to Canterlot very much. Canterlot Castle especially. I’ve been trying to keep myself as far away from the Sun Princess as possible, just in case I mess up and expose myself to her. The only reason I even knew where the guest rooms were was because of Applejack, and that had been when I was stalking her and her friends from the shadows.
I knew nothing of the twists and turns of the castle, and the throne room was easy enough to find because it was close to the front door. Dammit. This might take a few minutes. The guards scrambling all over the halls was just making things more difficult.
“Gweeeeeeeeeeen!”
My head turned over to one of the images in the dimension, showing me the other side of the shadows. The Diamond Dog that I saw earlier was running frantically in the halls and bowling over the guards that got in her way.
“I don’t want you to die because I got lost!”
I watched her run farther and farther before disappearing at the end of the hall, turning sharply into another path. As soon as she did, however, an immense sense of dread washed over me.
Ba-Bump
I shuddered inside the shadow, gasping as one of my hands went to my chest.
Past the corner where Ryu saw Allie disappear to, the one he mistakenly identified as a Diamond Dog, the girl stared at marble white wall in front of her.
“Awwwwww, a dead end.” she whined, her ears flopping down sadly on her head. “Maybe Gwen’s on the other side?”
She reached down by her side and pulled out her sword, her most powerful weapon, Amano Habakiri. The pitch black blade forged from the scale of a terrible dragon that she and her friends slew back in her own world. Even after a thousand years, the blade still bled with the evil of its dragon host.
Allie took a stance and began to gather power, looking on with determination at the wall.
What was that?!
Ba-dump
“Kha…!”
Something was very, very wrong. Something out there was calling out to me-- No… calling out to a part of me.
Closing my eyes, I looked inside myself and searched for whatever it was that reacted to what was outside the shadow dimension.
Eighteen orbs came to the forefront of my mind. Eighteen orbs that represented an aspect of the Brood’s power.
The five elements: [Flame], [Frost], [Thunder], [Shadow], and [Radiance]
The Sword and Shield: [Force] and [Defender]
The genes that bring about the Brood’s hidden potential: [Eldritch], [Miracle], [Gross], [Thorn] and [Reverse].
Then the rest, the most unique of the Brood’s line of abilities:
[Mutant], the mutation of the dragon’s blood.
[Trance], the gene that aided me in controlling my strongest form.
[Failure], the unfortunate side of my power that grants me my weakest form.
[Fusion], the power that allows me to take on the characteristic of an ally close to me.
[Infinity], the True power of the Brood.
[???], and finally the unidentified Gene. I never really knew what it did, both in the game and while living here on Equestria.
Out of the eighteen orbs represented in my mind, one had been been pulsing in tune with my heartbeat.
The [Shadow] gene was the power of the Brood obtained from the accumulated hate of the slain dragons.
D. Zombie, the enemy where the original Ryu obtained the Gene from, was a fake dragon created by the hate and lament of the Brood that became Chrysm, crystal fossils, in the Dauna Mines.
It bore the hatred of the dragons against Myria’s Guardians, the ones who blindly hunted them down only because it was deemed by their “God”. It kept urging the original Ryu to kill the Guardian that had been with him at the time.
Garr was one of Myria’s four Guardians, the target of D. Zombie’s hate. Garr, at the time, had been questioning his actions against the Brood, as well as the “God” he served for five hundred years. He was going to take Ryu to meet with his God and ask the truth about the war between them and the Brood.
After defeating D. Zombie, the fake dragon turned into a black Chrysm. The original Ryu took the Chrysm and absorbed its power to unlock the [Shadow] gene. It contained the malefic power of the Brood, their hate, their anguish, their call for revenge after being forced to hide deep underground to escape Myria and her Guardians.
Though it had been small, there was a chance for the gene to corrupt Ryu after obtaining it. It was only thanks to another spirit that he was able to keep it in check.
The [Fusion] gene had also been a spirit-turned Chrysm. However, the truth behind it was unknown. It took on the form of a woman with wings, similar to the women of the Dragon Clan in the previous Breath of Fire series. It could have been like the D. Zombie, but was the accumulated kindness of the Brood, instead. Another theory had been that she was the original Ryu’s mother.
If the [Fusion] had been keeping the [Shadow] in check inside me, similar to the original, then there must be something out there that was resonating with the malicious part of my power. But for it to affect me even inside another dimension, it must be another dragon with an unimaginable amount of power for it to resonate with the malicious side of mine.
I looked at my shoulder and saw my tanned skin slowly turning purple, a characteristic I gain when adding the [Shadow] gene with the [Force] gene.
“Hahh… hahh…”
I was still gasping for breath as the forced splicing continued to mold my current gene with another. Though I knew that I could add more genes to my current form even while transformed, I never really practiced it much because the pain that it causes me was too much for it to become practical during combat. If I could get as far away from what’s causing my forced splicing, then maybe it’ll stop.
There was a resounding boom in the corner where that Diamond Dog ran, and I had the sudden urge to find out what caused it.
I shook my head and forced myself to look away.
No. I needed to find Celestia. Whatever that was could come later. Because of my Psychic abilities, I’m able to sense the lingering essence of dead dragons in their remains. Like how the original Ryu is able to sense the Brood in their Chrysm and absorb their power to unlock more of his Brood lineage. Something like that was happening right now. But instead of me calling out to it, it was calling out to me.
Another shudder came over me. Whatever it was I didn’t need it, nor do I want it. With the power I gained after training for almost one thousand years, I don’t need any corrupting element to coax me into destroying the world.
I know that I can destroy this world given that nothing has ever forced me to break my self imposed rule of limiting myself to [Warrior] and [Myrmidon]. Even if they were my most powerful in terms of Physical prowess, they still pale compared to the Destructive force of my other forms.
I breathed out a sigh of relief as the [Shadow] gene returned to its dormant state after making some distance between me and whatever it was that agitated my blood. I flushed out all of its aspect from my [Warrior] form and my skin returned to its normal tan color.
Either whatever it was had been sealed or went into hiding, I was hoping that I never encounter it ever again. I wasn’t even paying attention to where I was going, only to get as far away from it as possible.
“Where am I anyway?”
I looked through the windows/images/portals that allowed me to see the other side of the dimension using the shadows themselves. Thanks to the amount of darkness in the area, I was able to see perfectly what was on the other side.
It was a room, or a chamber I suppose given its grand size. On the ceiling were little twinkling lights that looked like stars. Even with the curtains drawn, blocking out the sunlight, I could perfectly see that the room’s interior decoration was heavily colored blue. Velvet blue.
From the four posted bed that was in there, it’s easy enough to deduce that it was someone’s room.
Luna’s to be exact.
I remember heading as far up into the castle as I could, running away from that resonance earlier. I didn’t expect to find Luna instead of her sister, though.
In any case, she’ll do. Even if she doesn’t come out that often in public, she should still be well informed of the happenings inside the castle.
Stepping out of the shadows, I made my way over to the sleeping alicorn. I looked down on her peacefully sleeping face and pursed my lips. Based from personal experience, waking up from a violent or sudden nudge tended to get me cranky for the rest of the day.
Moving my hand over the pony princess’ face, I began poking her awake.
“Luna, wake up.”
“Uungh…” the alicorn groaned, moving away from my hand and digging herself deeper into the sheets. “Leave Us be sister.”
“Do I sound like your sister?” I asked the pony.
She stopped her shuffling and froze in bed.
“Luna, I need some questions answered.”
Her eyes opened and looked up at me. Her eyes roamed my scales, horns and wings similar to how Gwen did earlier.
“What’s been happening here since I went away?”
Then her horn started glowing.
That can’t be good.
BOOM!
Down in one of the castle’s hallway the, still, lost and wandering Bushi stopped in her search for the Sun Princess to look at the direction of the loud disturbance.
“Explosions are really bad if F.O.E.s are behind it.”
She ran towards Luna’s room with her impressive speeds, overtaking the guards that were on their way to the room as well.
Stopping in front of the large double doors, she opened them with a bang. “Luna-loo! You okay?” she called out.
She and the arriving guards blinked at the state of the room. Then blinked again when they found their princess standing over something that was splayed out on the floor.
“Ha-HA!” the Lunar Princess cried out. “Assassin! Thou thought Us vulnerable in Our slumber? Think once more!”
I blinked. My eyes hurt. It usually does when you take on a blast of alicorn magic to the face. The front half of my body also ached a bit from her follow up attack. If I hadn’t been in my [Warrior] form then that would have hurt more.
I frowned, looking down, or up if you will, at the alicorn. Hadn’t I kicked her out of that old fashioned speech?
“That wasn’t funny, Luna.” I told her.
“What gave thee right to call thine Princess by her name!” Her chin was raised as she looked down on me.
I looked up from where I was on the ground after noticing the light shining into the dark room. The Diamond Dog that was in the garden earlier was there, along with a few guards. Now that the dog was closer, though, I noticed that something about her unsettled me greatly.
I threw up a [Magic Ball] from my hand towards the ceiling, where it discharged a blinding flash of light that allowed me to [Shadowwalk] myself to another side of the room, away from the princess and the door. And the dog. Especially the dog.
I’m really exposing myself to a lot of people today, I noticed. I didn’t care about the guards. But Gwen and the dog were different.
I waited for them to stop rubbing their eyes, the darkness of the room adding potency to the spell since they had to adjust to it. I still needed my questions answered, and Luna was the closest one at the moment to answer them.
“I am not amused, Luna.” I deadpanned at the alicorn.
The alicorn turned with a scowl on her face. “Again.Thou speaketh Our name as though We know thee. Name thyself, insolent cur!”
“Stop acting like you don’t know me.” I said. “It makes me want to slap you.”
“You DARE!”
Her horn flashed but I wasn’t even impressed. There wasn’t enough build up to kill me or even stun me.
“What are you playing, Luna.” I said with a scowl.
“It’s not you who should be asking that.”
My attention went over to the opened door. The dog and the guards all stepped aside to let the another alicorn through. The pony I’ve been searching finally arrived, but she was not happy.
“It is us who should be asking you.” she said.
“Celestia.” I acknowledged the pony.
It was then that the guards finally managed to find their competence and moved themselves in front of the two princesses.
“How did you sneak past us!” one of them demanded. They were bat ponies, Luna’s personal guards. They didn’t have any visible weapons, but they fangs were laid bare for me to see.
The dog was still rubbing her eyes, probably because of her enhanced sight like the other Diamond Dogs. Though she asked me something weird.
“Did you come because of the giant sheep attack that Discord caused when he got free?”
Outwardly I just stared at her. Inwardly I was scratching my head.
What?
Giant sheep attack? Did Discord do something like that?
“Huh?” the dog finally stopped rubbing her eyes and for the first time, I’m guessing, managed to get a clear look at me. Then what came next reminded me a lot of Pinkie Pie. “Dragon Human Hug Attack!”
“Hrk!”
The dog rushed me faster than I could blink. She hopped right before making contact and latched on to me like an over affectionate barnacle. If this was a real attack then I’d say that it’s pretty effective. I can’t even squirm.
I was suddenly very, very uncomfortable. This dog was the source of the resonance from earlier. There was a certain taste of taint around her, but not coming from her. I don’t know. I can’t really think at the moment.
I looked at Celestia, but she wasn’t making a move to tell the girl to get off. Luna also didn’t seem to care, much. Even the guards were only staring at me and the clingy girl. They were acting like this was normal.
Where was Celestia’s cautious look on me? Where did those lessons with Luna go? Why were the guards still incompetent even after I snuck past them weeks ago and crashed the celebration for the Mane six after sealing Discord? Why the hell was this dog being so clingy!?
“The hell is going on!” I roared and struggled more in the dog’s grasp.
She didn’t seem to care.
“I’m giving you a hug.” she said. None of her limbs even slackened as she talked. “And for some reason you tried to wake Luna up after the big super duper party we had last night."
I don’t really care that you all had a party last night. I’d care more if you just let go.
The girl hummed, blinking at me. Her snout was too close to my face. "Oh yeah, have you seen what happened to one of the halls? I heard from the guard that something happened there and my best friend is there but I got lost and I really don't want--"
“I’m fine!”
I looked past the living vice grip and saw Gwen, hobbling through the door, using her staff for support to keep her upright.
"And before you attack anyone else, I want you to talk to me and me alone!" she shouted.
“That won’t be a problem the way I am right now.” I could wiggle my hands, but I couldn’t move my arms.
No matter how much I struggled, the girl just would not let go. I couldn’t really use [Shadowwalk] with her clinging on so tightly. I wouldn’t slip past her but drag her along with me to the shadow dimension.
If she had been clinging on to me with malicious intentions then maybe I wouldn’t be so reluctant to use more force to get her off. But she wasn’t. It was just a hug. An over affectionate hug, but still a hug. Guilt would nag at me if I hurt her for being nice.
I wonder if this is the “Allie” that Gwen asked that guard to fetch earlier.
I looked at the girl clinging on to me and got a doggy grin in return. From the breeze that kept hitting my pants, her tail must also be wagging.
Dammit. Why were there people who act like over affectionate puppies? Pinkie Pie was already hard enough to resist, now I have this girl that actually looks like a dog. I don’t know if I should start hating my soft spot for children and animals, or what.
“Do you recognize this?”
I looked back to Gwen, who was holding a familiar bundle of threads for me to see.
"If you do, then congratulations, you accidentally entered our universe... somehow." She said that last part while clapping a little. I think it was sarcasm. "If not, then, to quote one of my comrades from Tharsis, 'you are bonkers'."
I frowned and pondered over what she said. At least things were starting to make sense now. She traded looks with both Luna and Celestia, probably over what we were talking about right now.
Still clinging on me, the dog giggled. “Bonkers is a silly word.”
No one needed to tell me that I was bonkers. I already went back and forth between there and the state I am right now.
I sighed. Still, now I know what was happening and why I was so confused by how everyone was acting. I was in an alternate version of Equestria.
I was in another Displaced’s world. It’s what we call the humans and whatnot shoved into the many versions of Equestria. Like me, I suppose.
The reason why I knew about them was because of the random selection of trinkets that I’ve been finding everywhere after my training: A coin, a gauntlet, a piece of jewel...
I don’t know how, or why, but those tokens have the ability to seek and follow the Displaced wherever they may be. I saw the same piece of tokens appear before me during my training, but I never picked them up because I was too busy focusing on mastering my magic. A few years later I saw them again, only on a different location.
When I finally did pick one up, however, I heard a voice talking inside my head. They told me their name along with their oath or titles. Not really something I was prepared to use given the amount of magical artifact that I’ve uncovered during my first years of traveling in this world. More than half of what I found back then had demons sealed in them, that’s why I was so reluctant to even use one.
I didn’t know if they were good, or bad. I wasn’t sure I could even beat them if they decided to take over my Equestria. I’ve kept all of those artifacts inside my pouch as well as the tokens of the other Displaced.
If the other Displaced were like Gwen here, then maybe I can finally use one of those tokens without fear.
I looked at Gwen’s attire again, only this time I didn’t ignore their design. It definitely wasn’t native of this world, from what I can tell. It didn’t even remind me of anything in my travels.
“So this is a Displaced…” I muttered before looking at the dog again. “Both of you, right?”
Gwen gave me a look as the dog, Allie I suppose, only tilted her head.
“Don’t give me those looks.” I said. “I know of the Displaced, but I never met one before. I didn’t use any of the tokens that I found and I never made one of my own.”
I started squirming again in Allie’s grip, hoping that the topic distracted her enough to slacken her hold. No dice.
"After escaping my version of Luna and Celestia's [Petrifying Beam of Friendship], I spent most of my thousand years honing my magic and creating new ones.” I explained. “I found a few of those tokens but never used them. I don't trust random magical trinkets falling out of the sky or ones that conveniently appears before me, no matter how well the voices tell me otherwise."
“I suppose that there are some pretty Evil Displaced out there.” Gwen nodded. “But yes. Both Allie and I are also Displaced. We came from the same world.”
The dog wrapped around me finally started to move. I held some hope that she might let me go now that the misunderstanding was cleared, but she crawled over to my back instead. At least my arms were free.
“You wanna spar?” she suddenly asked. I looked at her over my shoulder, raising a brow. “The best way to become friends is through battle--”
Not really my style.
“--Then you might have more friends!”
“Because friendship is magic.” Gwen concluded for her friend as she palmed her face.
“I’m not in the mood for spars at the moment.” I told the girl on my back. Besides, I’d rather not fight her if possible. I felt that if we did, I’d regret it. Dearly. That taint around her might do something irreversible to me.
Reaching into my [Inventory] pouch, I pulled out the thread that brought me into this world. “This fell on me and unraveled by accident. That probably triggered whatever it was that sent me here.”
Gwen looked at the bundle of thread and nodded. “That’s our token. It's called an Ariadne Thread. It can be used as a way to escape Dungeons, Labyrinths, and the like, almost instantaneously along with anyone with you."
A warping item, huh. It would have been useful to me a thousand years ago.
"Ya gotta take one with you everywhere!” Allie spoke up on my back. I could tell her tail was wagging from the draft hitting my back pants. "You never know when something could poison you or kill you or when a giant evil moth could attack!"
I'll... keep that in mind.
"Ignore her. Our home universe is not a very nice one." Gwen muttered. "I can send you back if you wish to do so now."
The original Ryu’s own world also wasn’t very nice.
"I would appreciate that." I said. Looking at the girl I took note of how she was using her staff for support.
I tried not to grimace. That was most definitely my fault. I was surprised that she wasn't in a hospital right now, she was tiny if you compare her to me. Her limbs were thin and looked like I could easily snap it with little effort. My [Aura Burst] definitely had broken some of her bones earlier, that was for sure, probably more than the guards that were with her. She must have some healing spells if she's able to hobble herself all the way here.
"I'd also like to apologize for earlier. I tend to react violently when I get trapped. I hope you can forgive me for that."
I placed a hand over my chest and slowly pulled out a book with a feathered pen strapped on its cover from inside me. The [Diary] was my magical artifact. It did more than just serve as a book to write my experience in, it also contained the skills that I could use and the ones I created over the years.
Opening the book, I pulled out a page. I didn't rip it off, it simply came off without trouble.
"I am Ryu, the dragon of the nigh extinct Brood. I am the Kaiser who carries the legacy of its slaughtered kin. I am one who believes in Vengeance, for the wronged ones without power, for the lives who cry out for Justice unheard. Call to me when the innocence of the Pure is threatened by the Corrupt. I will smite them with Fury and cleanse them with the fires of Rage."
The page I pulled out slowly dissipated into light. Replacing it in my hand was an item, a Dragon Tear.
"Ominous," one of the guards remarked. All eyes fell on him and he began to sweat heavily from the stares of the Princesses, the two local heroes and the Dragon.
I flicked the accessory item with my is thumb over to Gwen. "I hope you'll accept this as a peace offering."
"I accept your apology." Gwen nodded catching the token in mid-air. She gave the guard a flat stare before turning back to me. "I accept this token as well. If you ever need a few hands in a fight, you know how to contact us."
Allie hopped off with a slight whine. I was thankful for that. It was almost time for me to leave. "Bye, Mr. Reeu."
Well hey. I got a new nickname.
The sound of Gwen's hand meeting her face was audible in the room. The guards even winced a little from the sound of flesh meeting flesh.
“Goodbye, Pup.”
I placed a hand on her head and ruffle her hair slightly. I also couldn’t help scratching her ears a little. If I had been a few centuries younger, the action would have been embarrassing for me. But after living in a land full of ponies and other sapient animals, I’ve learned to ignore it.
I dropped their token into my pouch so that I wouldn’t lose it, then wrote its name into the [Diary]. After putting my book away I looked over to the Arcanist and nodded. "I'm ready to go. The Dragon Migration is close and they need every claw they can get."
Allie's tailed wagged before Gwen spoke.
"Noble Ryu, I break our Contract. You may go home."
An amused smirk crawled over my face from what she said. I barked out a bit of laugh at that. “Noble?”
The shadow under me thickened, and I could feel a great pull coming from the other side.
I smiled at everyone in the room and took in their reaction to my fanged grin. "There is nothing noble about a killer."
Activating my skill, I fell into my shadow. Just as the link to their world disappeared, I heard the Arcanist’s words.
“We’re killers, too, honestly…”
I smiled in amusement before diving deep into the dimension.
As I traveled between worlds, I saw glimpses from their shadows. Then I recalled all of the tokens that I had with me. If they were anything like Gwen and Allie, then maybe the other Displaced weren’t so bad.
I took out my [Diary] once again as my travel continued. Pulling out a few pages from the book I scattered them all inside the Void.
“To those who find themselves alone and without ally, use my token and call out my name. I will come and be there by your side to help you, to protect you, and to save you. Let me be your salvation!!”
The pages all crumbled into light and changed into Dragon Tears, falling into the other worlds that I passed.
I saw myself heading straight to another portal. Was it my Equestria or another’s? It doesn’t matter for now.
I willed myself to go faster, and saw the light on the other side. I broke through the portal with a roar.