//------------------------------// // So it begins... // Story: Calming Sigh-- with a Breath of Fire // by Laze Around //------------------------------// Several weeks passed, and winter came.   All of the wrecked houses had been repaired with the combined effort of the town’s ponies and the help sent from Canterlot. A lot of the residents had to have their houses rebuilt from the ground up, while others only needed a few repairs. There were some ponies that shed a few tears as their homes were torn down when they were deemed beyond repair.   For a time, they blamed Spike for the damages and the lost memories from when their homes were torn down, but Celestia’s presence silenced their complaints as they didn’t have the courage to show their rage in front of their beloved princess. It took a month until they calmed down, where most houses had been restored, but they still expressed their dislike to the young whelp by ignoring him completely.   Speaking of the little dragon, he was fine, if a little depressed. He vaguely remembered the things that he did, and was feeling down because of it. It was an important lesson to be learned, but for Spike, the price that he had to pay for it was rather steep.   The friends that he made when he started living in Ponyville were reduced to only a handful of few, not including Applejack and the girls. They still say hello when they pass him, but other than that, his former friends would rather stay as far away from him as possible.   The town developed a slight trauma against dragons, hiding in their new homes or hurrying to their destination whenever I walk by. What I am wasn’t a secret anymore after the stories Apple Bloom passed around started to circulate; stories that she heard from Applejack and Granny Smith.   It didn’t help my reputation, but at the very least I didn’t have to sneak around anymore, something that Applejack and the rest of the family were happy about. Also, I am now the official sitter for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, something that I didn’t mind at all.   The girls were entertaining to watch. They’d go around, doing their crusades for their cutie marks, and I would be close by, making sure that what they were doing wouldn’t get them hurt. I had to stop them a few times when they suggested some pretty extreme activities.   I wonder why, though, that the girls are still oblivious of their special talents. Apple Bloom is good with things that have something to do with construction and building, Sweetie Belle clearly has a talent with her voice, and Scootaloo can do pretty impressive things when it comes to sports on wheels.   Let’s see… what else.   Pinkie Pie finally got around to throwing me that party that she wanted when the town was repaired. It managed to ease some tension between me and the ponies of town, but not by much. I was pretty amused when I saw the DJ, who had a pretty similar hairstyle to mine, and the pony that inspired the Displaced whose Token I got recently.   Fluttershy still accepted my help around the cottage, especially during the time when her animals were preparing for their hibernation. Oh, and I also wrestled with Harry the bear once, during that time when we were bored. Fluttershy used The Stare on us after that. I don’t know why everyone’s afraid of it; I just thought it made her adorable, trying to make me feel bad. Or was that just my Doting Daddy Switch getting flipped?   Miss Rarity has been using me as a model for her new line of fashion. Why? I don’t know, since most of the things that she sewed were for ponies. But she did make a few suits my size, along with the slacks and shoes. I was rather fond of the clothes that she made for me, especially the line of fashionable suits. Though I couldn’t break them down into mana particles like my regular clothes, I still kept them all in my pouch for formal events in the future.   For Twilight, the mare somehow mellowed out when it came to her questions. She started being more polite, and less invasive of my personal space. She also started to respect my wishes when I told her that she didn’t need to know some particular events of the past, something that I was both proud and appreciative of. It’s safe to say now that Twilight has definitely become my friend.   As for Rainbow Dash… the girl had been keeping her distance. My words must have really affected her, which, surprisingly, made me feel bad. She always avoided me when the girls decided to have a picnic break during the reconstruction of the town, something that the others seem to take notice. Applejack’s been frowning at me ever since.   Hahhh… I suppose I should make peace when I get the chance. It was easier when the girls were nothing but strangers to me, but after getting to know them and getting them to be my friends, I’d feel bad if I singled out someone from their original group.   Till then, I’ll keep myself busy by glaring at the frozen scenery outside the train. With my head propped up on my fist, my elbow secured on the closed window’s sill, and my lips firmly in the form of a thin line, it was obvious that I wasn’t enjoying myself.   “C’mon, Uncle, stop brooding.”   I turned my head to the side, with Applejack sitting right beside me on the train ride. “Seems fitting, though, being that my clan was supposed to be called Brood.”   “Why are you so grumpy, anyway?” Pinkie asked, sitting right across from me.   “I don’t like the cold.” I said, loud enough for the others to hear. The car was reserved for us, so it was only me, Spike and the girls inside. The CMC were by one of the doors, quietly making plots about their next crusade. “It makes me remember the time where I still didn’t know how to partially activate some of my dragon genes.”   “Why?” Spike asked in his seat behind me, turning around to look at my direction. “Did something happen?”   The whelp sounded like he was expecting a story. Too bad, though, since it wasn’t really much of a tale.   “Winter was pretty harsh on me during the time.” I said. “And travelling doesn’t really provide you with a house you can stay in during blizzards. So, most of the time, I needed to stay transformed so that I wouldn’t get sick or die from the cold.”   “Oh my. How terrible.” Fluttershy gasped. She was sitting on the other side of the car, along with Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “Are you alright, now?”   “I just dislike the cold now, and prefer warmer climates.” I told her. “That type of hardship kind of leaves an impression on you, even after so long.”   “By the way, Ryu, you mentioned something about genes?” Twilight spoke. “What do you mean by that, something about controlling your Dragon Genes, specifically?”   “Hmm?”   Normally I would keep quiet when others pry like that, but… well, it isn’t really something that would hurt me in the future. Besides, most of us are already friends, so it should be alright.   “It’s in my blood.” I said, creating a solid wall of magic behind me so that I could lean on something. “I’m not sure if others of my kind had the same capabilities since most were already dead or had relinquished their powers, but I can choose what hidden potential in my blood I want to awaken. My magic is the trigger, and it accelerates the mutation and transformation of my body into the dragon form that I want.”   “Wait!” Twilight’s eyes widened and an excited gleam twinkled inside them. “Are you telling me that you can forcefully make your body evolve?! Something like that—“   “--Is painful and incredibly taxing unless you’re built for it.” I interrupted. “I don’t know any other creatures capable of doing so safely like I can, but whenever I transform my changes are always instinctive.”   “Meaning?” Twilight asked, looking confused.   “Meaning that my transformations already have a predetermined form. It doesn’t matter what gene I splice because the result will always be the same or a variant of the same kind, depending on the dominant gene present.” I raised my arm for them to see, half transforming it so that it would gain scales. “This is the [Force] gene, granting me the [Warrior] series. It releases my blood’s potential for physical strength. It doesn’t alter much of my humanoid form, only adding a few extra advantages: wings, scales, tail, denser muscles and stronger bones. Depending on what I add to it, I could gain additional attributes.”   “Additional attributes?” the scholar’s eyes widened. “How many forms do you have?!”   Shrugging, I looked out the window to see Canterlot station coming up. “I have eight transformations, not including the variants of each form.”   “Eight?!” everyone in the car exclaimed, even Applejack. My little Apple only ever saw me use one form.   “Hm.” I nodded. “Though I say that, I still limit myself with the [Warrior] series.”   “Why?” this time I was surprised that it was Rainbow Dash who asked.   “Because,” I said, as the train slowed to a stop. “I don’t want a repeat of the Badlands.”   The conductor announced our arrival at the station, and the girls hurried along the exit since no one really brought anything with them for this quick visit. There were ponies in the station that gawked at my appearance when I stepped off the platform.   I was surprised, really. I’d have thought that the ponies already knew about me, seeing that it was me who interrupted the girls’ celebration of their defeat of Discord. Was it because I didn’t have my dragon features?   After noticing that I just ignored them all, they returned the courtesy and did the same. Since no one was screaming ‘Monster!’ I think it’s safe enough to walk out in the open.   “Dear, are you sure you’re not cold?” Rarity asked, walking up beside me.   “I’m fine, Miss Rarity.” I said. “The clothes that you made are warm enough, but thank you for your concern.”   I was wearing some of the clothes that Miss Rarity made for me, though the black sweater was just adjusted since it was one of the orders that were cancelled by one of her clients. The blue pants were thicker than my regular olive ones, helping keep the cold out, and my tan boots had wool stuffed inside them. All in all, I loved my new clothes.   “Your scarf’s also a nice touch.” Pinkie added.   That was something I kept from my regular clothes. “Thank you, Pinkie, and you as well, Fluttershy for the white gloves. It’s amazing how you managed to make them fit perfectly. Did you knit them yourself?”   The girl tried to bashfully hide herself in her hair, only to fail but succeed in making her look more adorable. “Oh, um. You’re welcome, Ryu. It’s the least I could do for all your help around the cottage.”   “I was happy to lend a hand.” I said, pulling at the glove and marveling how it easily snapped back in place like rubber, but still had the comfy texture of the yarn she used.   “Fluttershy, you really must show me your technique.” The fashionista said to the Pegasus. “It was hard enough to measure his fingers, but the elasticity is simply marvelous!”   They fit perfectly, alright. All of them: The gloves and the clothes. It’s very rare for me to wear anything other than my regular attire from the breath of fire 3 game, but I always look forward to days like these where I can try on something new.   “By the way, Ryu.” Pinkie said, bouncing to the front of our group, where she started hopping backwards and impressively dodged every obstacle that she would have bumped into.   “Hm?”   “I’ve been wondering…” She trailed off and looked at me… or more precisely, looked at the top of my head. “What is that thing?”   I could only sigh to myself at her inquiry, and start playing with my glove to keep my mind from thinking about it too much. I knew that at least one of the girls would ask about it, and the way Applejack was laughing to herself wasn’t helping, either.   “That, Pinkie, is what happens when the cold makes my hair droop.” I deadpanned. “It’s normally hidden inside the rest of my hair when they spike up and lean to the side, but because of the season most of my hair gets matted down, and it stands up and out.”   “I get that.” Pinkie said, with the rest of the girls now also looking up at what’s on top of my head. “I’m asking what it’s called, ‘cause I don’t think it’s a cowlick.”   I sighed. No point trying to ignore it now.   Reaching up to the top of my head, I flicked the few amounts of hair that chose to stand erect in the form of a single, twitching antenna, where it wobbled back and forth after I flicked it.   “It’s called an ahoge.”   Pinkie giggled. “That’s a funny name.” she said. The other girls giggled with her when the ahoge stopped wobbling and stood erect once again on the top of my head.   The original Ryu never had this. This one seems to be unique only to me. I only noticed that it was there one winter morning, and that there was a surprise waiting for me every time I tried to get rid of it.   Miss Rarity’s horn suddenly started glowing, and I felt the ahoge on the top of my head getting tucked under the rest of my hair.   “There.” She said. “Perfect.”   I turned to her. “Not really.”   We all heard the sound of an audible ‘Twang!’, and all of us stopped walking so that they could all look at the revived ahoge twitch on the top of my head, waving around like a flag of victory.   Miss Rarity blinked, looking at the ahoge strangely. Her horn started glowing again and tucked the hair back under the rest. Once her horn stopped glowing, the ahoge sprung back to life and started wobbling back and forth on top of my head.   Ah, this world of magic, always trying to make things funny somehow.   “Hup!”   Pinkie Pie jumped and landed on top of my head, laying herself flat on top of the piece of bundled hairs. Her tail wagged back and forth over my face as we both waited for the inevitable.   *TWANG!*   Just as expected. Even with a heavy weight on it, the ahoge once again lives to twitch another day, sending the pink pony flying, and the mare going “Wheeeee!” before getting buried under a pile of snow.   The jaw-drop expression on Twilight’s face would have been funny were it not for her eye making twitches like the blasted thing on my head… Actually, it was still pretty funny.   “Don’t bother questioning it, Twilight.” I told her, reaching up to the top of my head, grabbing the ahoge.   “Wait, what are you--!”   Then I pulled.   *Pop*   The girls, and everypony that had been watching, stared at me in shock as I pulled it out. Maybe they were expecting me to cry out in pain, or expected my head to start bleeding from pulling out so much hair at one time, or maybe they were just looking at me because my ahoge made a noise that sounded like a cork being pulled out of a bottle when I ripped it off.   Nonetheless, I opened my hand towards them, showing off the bundle of hair… where it suddenly dissipated like mist and where a ‘TWANG!’ was heard coming from my head again.   Jaws that weren’t hanging before were now swinging along in the cold breeze of winter.   I grabbed all the jaws of the ponies around me with my telekinetic grip, with a bit of concentration, then slowly closed them all.   “I would have blamed Discord for it.” I said, flicking my ahoge. “But this only appeared five hundred years ago.”   Twilight shook herself out of her daze, rubbing her temple as she gave a sigh of frustration. “This one’s like Pinkie, isn’t it.” She asked rhetorically.   “Yes… and no.” I said. “Watch.”   I began concentrating on the ahoge, and soon enough it started to glow yellow. It turned to where I wanted it to, and pointed at the ground. Then I fired a beam from it, melting the snow under its rays.   Twilight gasped and pointed at the ahoge in shock. “It’s a horn!”   I said nothing as I made a face of pure displeasure, and then started walking again. The girls followed soon after, with Twilight bouncing along like a little filly while staring at the ahoge. The ponies watching lost their interest after finding out that the mysterious collection of hair was actually my version of a unicorn horn. Nothing really special about that. It just looked weird.   “How did that happen?” Twilight asked, after bouncing up beside me. She looked both happy and excited about my fake horn.   “I’m not sure, but the only thing I could think of is magic contamination.” I said, rubbing my forehead.   After hearing the word contamination, Twilight’s expression suddenly dropped. “Oh.”   “Mah--, don’t look so down, Twilight.” I said to the mare, bending down to pat her on the head. “Just think of it as me adapting to the Equestrian environment.”   The unicorn blinked at me, looking confused. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, somehow pulling out a pad of paper and pencil from somewhere.   “You know how some animals of the same type differ depending on their environment, right?” I asked, getting a nod from her and Fluttershy. “Why do you think that is?”   “Of course!” Twilight’s eyes lit up in understanding, lightly smacking herself on the head with her hoof. “It’s an evolution process so that they may survive their habitat, and you already told us earlier that have some control on your own mutation!”   “Yes. I can force my own evolution, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t do so naturally.” I said. “One of my dragon genes is called [Fusion], the potential of my body to be influenced by those around me. By using my magic to awaken it, I can take on the characteristics of another living creature close to me when I transform, combined with dragon features.”   The unicorn scholar’s expression turned giddy as I said that. “Any creature? You mean like a pony or even a gryphon?”   “Yes. Pony, gryphon, minotaur, deer…” I said. “As long as they’re close enough for me to get a sample of their magic and DNA, I can turn into a dragon hybrid of their species.”   “Ohhh…”   I backed away from the mare as her eyes started to… well, sparkle, I guess. It was really disturbing.   “Wait.” Spike spoke. “That doesn’t explain how your ahog-thing comes back after you pull it out.”   “Chaos Magic.” I told the drake.   “Huh?”   “Back when Discord was first sealed, the chaos magic that he used didn’t disappear.” I began. “Your princesses used the elements to clear Equestria of Discord’s magic, but they weren’t strong enough to filter chaos magic that pure. In the end, some wildlife couldn’t be fully purified, thus some animals became wild beasts.”   “So?” he prompted.   “With some areas filled with chaos magic, and me preferring to be in the country of ponies with unicorns who use their own magic so casually,” I pointed out. “and my body having a gene that lets me adopt characteristics of different species as longs as it’s close by…” I looked at Twilight, urging her to finish me little equation.   “The change would be inevitable.” She concluded. “You wouldn’t have escaped the process unless you left Equestria altogether. Still, though…” she looked at me in confusion. “Why were some of your hairs changed to emulate a horn? I’ve seen you use your hands to cast magic before, so why add a new focus?”   “Imprinting.” Was my best answer to her. “Ponies have been trudging on Equestria’s soil for a good few while, and every spell cast by unicorns leave traces in the air, along with every flight path of every pegasi and every tracks left by earth ponies. The land had enough magic in it to cultivate a rich amount of gems, and with the place being mostly a blank slate, imprinting it with pony essence wasn’t really that hard.”   “But you only seem to have a unicorn’s horn.” Miss Rarity pointed out.   “I can walk on clouds.” I told her. “Something that I couldn’t do before, one thousand years ago. My healing spells also started to affect plant life, allowing me to use it as a substitute for fertilizers.”   “Mighty dang useful on the farm.” Applejack commented. “Kept us financially off the red.”   “Quite.” I nodded.   “So you have some of the three tribes inside you?” Pinkie asked.   I smiled at her and gave her a pat on the head. “Yes. That’s why I felt like I should come along with you on this play.”   Then Pinkie suddenly gasped. “Oh my gosh! You’re like the spirit of the entire Hearth's Warming Celebration!” without any warning, the pink pony jumped into my arms where I was prompted to carry her like a bride. “Can I ask you for presents?” she asked, grinning cutely.   I chuckled at her antics, as well as the reference that she shouldn’t even know. “Maybe. But I’m out of bits at the moment.”   “Aww…”   “How about next year?”   “You Pinkie Promise?”   “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I made the gestures that came with the promise, and Pinkie cheered as she hopped off my arms.   “What about us!”   Looking down, I saw that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were giving me their best diabetes inducing pout and doe eyes.   I picked all three of them up in my arms and furiously rubbed my face into all of theirs. “Of course I haven’t forgotten you three! I already gave you those armors didn’t I?” the ones that I had commissioned back in Griffonia.   “AHH! Sis, help!” Sweetie Belle cried.   “We’re getting squished!” said Scootaloo.   “I can already feel the static from his rubbing!” Apple Bloom shouted.   Aw, they are so adorable! Rub, rub, rub…   *BZZT*   Huh. So Apple Bloom wasn’t exaggerating after all.     *Bzzt* *Bzzt*   Maybe I should have stopped the first time I heard the buzz? The static keeps persisting.   “Now, Uncle, behave yerself, y’hear? We don’t want ya getting kicked out b’cause ya got rowdy.”   “They can kick me out, but I’ll just sneak back in right under their noses.”   We made it inside the castle where the girls were going to perform a reenactment of Equestria’s founding, with all six mares playing the lead roles. Since there was still time before the play, I decided to see what the girls were up to, backstage. That was where I found myself getting some reminders from Applejack.   My little Apple gave a resigned sigh when I gave her my reply. “Don’t do that, uncle. Yer gonna make ‘em look bad at their jobs.”   I hummed as I looked around the room of actors, not really caring about what Applejack wanted me to do. “I’ll get back to you on that, AJ, as soon as I find it in my heart to care.” I paused for a few moments. “Nope. I can’t seem to find it. It must be somewhere deeper, along with my mercy and table manners.”   We were interrupted by another pony, one of the stage hands/hooves, tapping my pant leg and saying: “Actors only.” He said to me.   I looked down at him, and stared. I heard Applejack sigh before trotting away towards Pinkie and the rest. I was still staring down at the unicorn stallion even when she left. I could see him starting to fidget as we both locked eyes.   And with a spark of magic-   [Confuse]   -my pupils shrunk and a swirling line began to turn in its place. The stallion began to sway after looking at my eyes for a few seconds.   [Command]   “Somepony needs help with their costume.” I said. “Why don’t you go lend a hoof.”   The stallion was still swaying when he nodded. “Yes, sir.” He trotted past me and started looking for somepony who needed help with their costume.   I turned my head up and cracked my neck to ease the soreness of looking down too much.   [Confuse] was another one of my many… broken skills, I suppose I should say. It makes the victim susceptible to psionic enhanced verbal commands, thus its partner skill [Command]. The downside of it is that I need at least three seconds of continuous eye contact for it to be in full effect.   Normally the [Command] skill is next to useless unless someone is either [Confused] or [Berserk]—In the original game, that is. Now, though, it has an added bonus of grabbing the attention of those who hear me speak while it’s activated. It has a sound based psionic, allowing me to convey my words through, even to the most stubborn of creatures.   It’s also my Scolding Voice, ensuring that the little fillies and colts I scold really heed the words I say. I also may, or may not, have been using it whenever I give my sermons to Rainbow Dash.   Walking over to where the girls were gathered, I was just in time to hear them all cry out:   “SHUT THE WINDOW!”   *BAM!*   Everyone in the backstage jumped in surprise when the window slammed shut.   “You’re Welcome.” I said, breaking the silence that lingered after the closed window. The girls at least had the decency to look sheepish for arguing over such a small thing.   Spike walked through the curtains, announcing that there was only two minutes left before the play starts. Nodding to the girls, I made a [Magic Ball] in my hand. “Well girls, break a leg.” Discharging the spell in a flash of light, I sunk down into the shadows and disappeared. I watched from inside the shadows as the play began, laughing merrily at Spike’s narration. It wasn’t bad, but hearing the kid talk flowery sentences made me crack up. The play continued to the part where the leaders of each tribe met to discuss the winter weather, accusing each other of hoarding the food and being the culprit of said weather. It was a fun and enjoyable tale, where I’d laugh at some parts. I remembered that Pegasi were still very militaristic when I first arrived to this world. The Earth Ponies were quirky, back then, and the unicorns were… well, they acted like the unicorns of Canterlot. Then came the part where they were all stuck in a cave, claiming what they could for their tribes by drawing lines on the ground. The leaders argued, while the vassals worked; then Fluttershy drew the line of the Pegasi around a rock that was in the way, resulting in Rainbow Dash reprimanding her for giving the other tribes more of the land. I wonder if this was in the script, or if this was an improvisation. I couldn’t help but laugh when they started fighting over a rock. I know that this was supposed to be a reenactment, but it was a bit too childish. It must have been something that was implemented so that the tale would be more child-friendly. Then came the Windegoes’ snow and ice, covering the entire cave with chill. The entrance of the cave was covered by a thick glass of ice, trapping the ponies inside. Even with the situation being so dire, the leaders continued to argue, blaming one another over everything they could and over the most childish of things. The Windegoes fed on their disharmony and froze all the leaders in ice, leaving their vassals afraid and cowering. *bzzt* Ow. Damn static. The climax was with the unicorn applying Deus Ex Machina when they were nearly frozen over; the unicorn being Clover the Clever, a student of Star Swirl the Bearded. To the ponies watching, it looked like they were saved by their friendship, as the Windigoes only feed on hate and conflict. To me, being my cynical self, it looked like a failsafe spell that Clover didn’t even know that she had, making me suspect her old mentor being the one responsible for it. I mean, she only heard of the Windigoes from Starswirl anyway, so it was a logical conclusion. It would also match what I remember of the unpredictable, and eccentric, unicorn mage. The fire of friendship lives in our hearts As long as it burns we cannot drift apart Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through) We are a circle of pony friends A circle of friends we'll be to the very end Even after one thousand years I still love hearing this song. It’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed by the passing of time. *bzzt* Damn it! Why won’t it sto--... … … That buzz didn’t come from me. And why wasn’t anyone singing anymore? Looking back to the stage, my eyes saw something floating in the center. The ponies in the audience watched in mesmerized awe at the ball of light that spasmed arcs of lightning. By the look on Applejack and her friends, I knew that this wasn't part of the play. Then the ball pulsed. My hand shot up towards my chest, gripping my shirt just above my heart. The ball pulsed again, and this time my body replied with a pulse of its own. The ball of light expanded, and grew bigger and bigger. No… No no no no. Why now?! I thought I still had time! My heart clenched as the ball gave another pulse that my body replied to. Like a heartbeat they came, with the dormant genes of the brood inside my body echoing its rhythm. “YYYEEEAAAAHHH!!!!!” A loud cheer came from inside the ball, which had grown into a height that was twice as mine. Two figures came from it, stepping out of the giant sphere in a calm gait. “Hello every--!” one of the figures began before he saw the slackjawed ponies all staring at him and his companion. “Uh, bro? Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” “I’m looking at it, but I can hardly believe it.” the other figure said. “They look… they look like ponies- tiny, multi colored, tattooed ponies.” “What the hell kind of world is this?!” the first one cried in disbelief. “One that you and your brother aren’t welcome in.” I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. Out on their side of the dimension, the ponies and the two figures shivered as I pulled out every ounce of magic from inside my body, preparing to cast every single spell I knew in my arsenal. In the middle of the path which separated the the audience of ponies, a speck of shadow grew and darkened, gathering the attention of the crowd and the two newcomers. I rose out of the shadow, with my body exuding wisps of magic ready to be converted into [Aura]. The first of the two figures laughed when he saw me, moving close to his brother and patting him on the shoulder. “Hahahah! Is that him? Is this the same guy that we were sent after?” “Yeah…” said the second figure. “That’s definitely him. Even though he looks older, I can still see the same brat in him.” The first figure laughed harder, slapping his knee as he looked at me with a bloodthirsty grin. “Well, aren’t you an idiot for coming out here! HAHAHAHAHA! This time you don’t even have that fucking behemoth with you to protect you.” My eye twitched and some of the magic pouring out of my body gathered in my hand. Grabbing the gathered magic, I turned it into a [Mind Sword] before raising it to point at the one laughing at me. “Mind your language.” I said through gritted teeth, barely suppressing the urge to lunge at him and run him through with my blade. “There are children in the crowd.” That seemed to only make him laugh harder. “Hahaha! Di-- Did you hear that, bro? The baby dragon is actually trying to play tough.” His brother didn’t seem to share his amusement. He looked at me, and I looked back. My teeth turned into fangs and my eyes shone a wicked light. “Uh… I don’t think this one’s a baby anymore.” the second one said. “Pfft. What’s he gonna do? Garr isn’t here to save his ass this time.” I growled. The size of the hall bounced my rumble and made it echo in the silence of the crowd. The two bipedal, anthropomorphic, unicorn stallions stared at me, their expressions frozen as my magic rushed out of my body like a geyser. “Sunder.” I said, indicating the first figure. “Balio.” I said, looking over the second. “I don’t know how you two are still alive after losing to the Original and Garr, but you came here, to this world, the one where I’m in, spouting foul language in the presence of impressionable young fillies and colts…” My magic stopped flowing, and started to focus, creating a second layer over my skin. “I can’t let that slide.” “What’cha gonna do about it?” Sunder said impishly. [Aura] became a combustible armor all over my body, and my [Mind Sword] started spewing out a continuous jets of flames from its blade. The two anthropomorphic stallions on the stage stared at my preparations in stunned silence. “I’m going to implement one of my house rules.” My arms and upper body started forming scales over my skin as I partially awakened my [Force] gene. “Prepare to be disciplined.” The ground under me cracked, and I kicked off the ground. They found me. I don’t have any time anymore to prepare. They’re already here, and they’ve sent Sunder and Balio first. These two were the trigger that started the sequence of events that led Ryu to find Garr, and where Garr then led him to Myria. But that wasn’t important to me. That wasn't important at the moment. These two were the ones responsible for separating Ryu from Rei, and Teepo. The two siblings were sent to kill all three of them, but only succeeded in splitting them apart. In my long life in this world, there have only been a few times where I was uncertain, and those times were back when I first set out to find a way home. Now, that uncertainty is back. I’m afraid. Please… Please don’t make me lose someone important. Please don't make me watch as I lose them ...I don’t know if I can take it...