Ryu glanced around the area he was standing, not sure where he was. All he could see around him was a white void, one that was devoid of anything except for him. Ryu placed a hand on the "ground" amazed by how even though there was resistance, he still felt nothing.
He snapped his head up when he noticed a tendril of darkness seep into the ground, the only piece of black in an eternity of white. Then, to Ryu's amazement, the blackness began to spread, infecting more and more of the white void until nearly half of it had been consumed by the black. A cold realization began to seep over Ryu and he glanced down at his hand...to see that his entire right arm had been swallowed by the darkness.
"NO!" Ryu roared as he sat up, scaring the hell out of the three ponies that had been sitting at his beside. His breaths came in rapid succession as he glanced around to see that he was in a hospital room, with the whole Rich family sitting around his bedside. Before any of them could say anything he snapped his right arm in front of his face, sighing in relief when he saw that his arm was normal. "It's just a dream. Nothing more."
"Well if you call that a dream, then I'd hate to see what your nightmares look like," Tiara said with a shake of her head before she placed a hoof against Ryu's forehead. "You don't have a fever at least, so it is possible that you damaged your brain during that fight."
"The fight," Ryu repeated before it all came flashing back to him. "That's right, the battle with Zangief! What happened? The last thing I remembered was that I threw a kick at him while he threw a punch at me...and then..."
"What happened next comrade, was that you managed to do what many of these ponies thought to be impossible!" a booming voice filled with laughter said from the door. All four sets of eyes looked over to see a bandage Russian walking into the room, with a very tall changeling following behind him. "You managed to knock out the great Zangief!"
"You say that like it's supposed to be hard," Ryu said with a smile as he kicked the covers off and rose from his bed, extending his hand towards Gief. Gief let out a laugh before pulling Ryu into a massive bear hug, one that made everypony in the room wince when they heard bones pop. "Glad...to see...that you're still alive."
"Of course I'm still alive! Did you really think such a weak machine would be able to put down the Iron Cyclone?" Zangief asked with another laugh as he let Ryu go. "The explosion generated by the machine sent me to this land, one filled with wonder and magic! Sadly no vodka, but you cannot get everything you want in life. I was then found by the Queen of the Changelings here and we quickly became the best of friends!"
"Much to my eternal misfortune," the queen said with a sarcastic smirk before walking up to Ryu, looking him dead in the eyes with eyes that he noticed, while not friendly, didn't seem mean or malicious. "So you're the famous Ryu, the one warrior that Zangief has never been able to best."
"Until today, I suppose," Ryu corrected for her, but Zangief shook his head.
"No comrade, that battle ended in a draw. Neither of us won and neither of us lost. Therefor, I cannot call this a win over you, not until I throw you so hard that you will never be able to see straight again!" Gief added with another boisterous laugh. "But for the time being, I would like to discuss with you about what has been happening! You are more than welcome to talk here, if you wish."
"Um, thanks," Ryu said before both Tiara and her family were up in his face.
"I can't believe you personally know Champion Zangief! That makes you, like, one of the coolest beings on the planet!" Tiara exclaimed before hopping off the bed and racing over to Zangief. "Even though I'm backing another fighter, can I please have your autograph! You're like, the greatest of all time!"
"Haha! I do not mind, friend pony!"
"Champion Zangief...so that's what happened to him three years ago," Ryu said with a shake of his head, remembering the battle against Bison and how they had all believed Zangief to have died during the battle. He then looked to the queen of the changelings, who was smiling while she watching Zangief interact with Tiara. "So, you found Zangief after he somehow ended up here? Would you mind telling me what has happened in the three years since we last saw him?"
"Sure, I can tell you real quick. This massive walk of muscle shows up out of nowhere, makes a huge commotion in my home, somehow manages to inspire my race with hope again, defeats the greatest champions of Equestria and then saves the world while in a body not his own," the Queen said to Ryu, who frowned slightly at getting the cliff notes version. "You want to know the rest in more detail? I wrote a book on it, so toss me some bits and you'll know all. Hell, I'll even sign it for you."
"Thanks, but not interested," Ryu said before turning his attention back to Zangief. "Actually Zangief, would you mind if I spoke with you in private for a moment? It's serious."
"It's always serious with you, comrade! That is why you never have any fun!" Zangief pointed out with a laugh, but he did follow Ryu out of the room. The two walked in silence down the hallway, with Zangief having to hunch over to avoid hitting the roof, before they found a section of the place that was quiet. "Now then comrade, what is it you wish to ask? And yes, I will give you my autograph."
"You've been in this world for three years, which is three longer than me. I need your help to find something...or rather, someone," Ryu began in a dead serious tone, one that knocked the smile off of Gief's face. "I am seeking an elder in the Mystic Woods, yet Tiara and her family have never heard of such a place. Would you happen to know where that is?"
"That idiot can't even remember where his trunks are half the time, let alone a location like that. And you're welcome for that mental image by the way," the Queen said as she walked up to the pair. "Chrysalis, by the way, since you didn't ask. And yes, I know where those woods are. They're in a part of Equestria that not many head towards, even changelings. There's something powerful in those woods, something that even I wouldn't go near. Zangief might, but other than him everypony else avoids it."
"Thank you. Where can I find it?" Ryu asked in a slightly impatient tone.
"It's in the far east of Equestria, at the end of the marsh land," Chrysalis instructed while also using her magic to create a visual map for the warrior. "Once you've gotten lost in the marsh, you're halfway there. But aside from the princesses and maybe Faust herself, none have gone in there and returned alive. Go for it."
"No words about how I should stay away from such a dangerous place?" Ryu asked, but Chrysalis simply smirked in reply.
"Are you kidding me? With you around somepony else aside from Zangief might win the world championships and as the sponsor for Gief, I'd prefer to send you to your possible death than risk that. With all of the best intentions of course."
"You have made some strange friends since you have arrived here," Ryu informed Zangief, who couldn't help but smile at Ryu's words.
"Indeed Ryu, but my strangest friends are still on Earth. Speaking of the Championship, it is only a week away from today," Zangief informed Ryu, who raised an eyebrow. "And after knocking me out in our bout, that qualifies you for the tournament! The sixteen best in the world there to fight it out to determine who is the strongest! And I know how you love strong fighters."
"Of course I will be there. Do you think I'll have time to go to the Mystic Woods beforehand?" he asked Chrysalis, who thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.
"If you had more time, maybe. But I wouldn't risk it. Especially if you don't come back out," she reminded Ryu, who frowned before letting out a small sigh.
"Very well. I will compete in this tournament before heading off to the Woods," Ryu decided before bowing to Zangief, then to Chrysalis. Yet when he turned to leave, he felt a hand the size of a bear paw land on his shoulder.
"Ryu...are you struggling to fight the beast within?" Zangief asked in a tone so serious that Chrysalis cleaned out her ears to make sure she had hear him right. When Ryu didn't answer right away, Zangief let out a sigh and retracted his hand. "I know that you wish to be the best. And with your skills, you may very well be. But do not let that desire for absolute victory take away what is most important."
"My soul? My ideals...my path?" Ryu asked Gief, who let out a smile before shaking his head.
"No Ryu. Do not let that desire for victory take away the person you are. The good natured fighter who his kind and a little bland. Because while you may not believe it, the world would be a little less interesting without your boring personality in it," Zangief replied before stretching his arms. "Khorosho. While I have enjoyed catching up, I believe that it is time for us to be on our way. I have another match tomorrow with the king of the dragon kingdom and I won't be able to use my left arm for the match. So I must be training!"
"Farewell then, friend. I hope you have the best of fortune," Ryu said as he extended his hand once more and this time Zangief shook it.
"Do not be worried for me! Be worried for the king! Because if he loses, then next time I will have to face him with both arms chained up!" Zangief said with a laugh before he and Chrysalis vanished in a flash of sickly, green light. Ryu stood alone in the hallway, thinking about what Gief had told him before he shook his head and headed back to where the Riches were waiting.
'If only it were so easy, friend. But I have to be the best. It is all I have.'
Ryu opened the door to the hospital room where he had been staying to see the family in a heated discussion about something, but the moment the door opened they all stopped talking. Ryu raised an eyebrow with concern before stepping into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Something that you'd like to talk to me about?"
"Nothing that can't wait till later," Tiara said as she averted her eyes, but even though Ryu raised an eyebrow with interest he decided to drop it there.
"I was informed by the champion himself that the largest tournament in all of Equestria will be being held next week. I assume that is where we will be heading next?" Ryu asked the Riches, his words causing massive smiles to break out across their faces.
"Why Ryu, you must be a mind reader. Canterlot is exactly where we are going to be heading next," Filthy said with a loud laugh before reaching into his coat and pulling out a flier. "After what you did to Zangief in the ring, everypony across Equestria wants to see the two of you battle again in front of the whole world! And with the odds stacked against you, we'll make a fortune when you win."
"Very well, but I have a favor to ask in return," Ryu demanded, catching the family off guard. "If I compete in this tournament for you and win you your prize, I wish for you to take me to edge of the Mystic Woods." Filthy and his wife shared a worried look, while Tiara tilted her head in confusion at the name.
"I thought that the Mystic Woods was just a myth," she asked her parents, who both looked away from her. Tiara gave her mother a glare, but when that didn't work she shifted her gaze to her father and he crumbled under her eyes.
"It is, to an extent. The place itself is real, but as very few have returned from it alive everything we think we know about it is a myth," Filthy explained before shaking his head and glancing at Ryu. "But why would you want to go in there? In none of the myths is there a fighter or a warrior within. Only death, danger and doom."
"But there is an elder in there, one who can help me achieve what I have been searching for," Ryu said with conviction in every word. "I am not asking any of you to come with me. All I ask is that you take me there after the tournament. And if you feel that is too much, then we can part ways here and I will find my way there myself."
"Wait Ryu, let's not do anything hasty...we'll take you there after the tournament," Filthy Rich agreed with a forced smile. Ryu nodded curtly in reply before he opened the door to the room and stepped out, closing it behind him once again before staring down at his fist. He remembered how the darkness had been creeping along his arm, how it had almost looked like it had been consuming him. He wrapped his hand around his wrist and closed his eyes, making sure that the demon was completely in check.
'I will not let you win. I will find a way to destroy you,' Ryu promised before he heard the creaking of the door and he turned around to see Tiara staring up at him. "Is there something that you need help with?"
"Just wanted to let you know that there's going to be a small change to the plan," she informed Ryu, who raised an eyebrow in response. "We'll still be heading to the tournament, but we're going to be stopping somewhere a few days before it begins."
"And where would that be?" he asked.
"My home. Ponyville."