Log 12- Guidance part 1
Of Magic and Machines- Guidance Part 1
Canterlot
Weeks had passed since the Hearth’s Warming Eve. It was a day that hardly anypony in Canterlot would ever forget soon.
Two creatures that stood on their hind legs and looked like ponies suddenly appeared on stage after the play. Then another bipedal creature appeared and attacked the first two; that was Ryu. The princesses had tried to stop the fight, but they lost after Ryu subdued them using his psionic skill and attacking their minds. Something that took some days for the princesses to recover from.
It was after that, however, that Ryu came to a realization. He turned his eyes away from his rage and, for the first time, truly looked at Myria’s past.
Myria was a goddess and, more than that, one of the Endless. She was summoned to grant the wishes of her summoners, but they fought over her power and blamed her for the near destruction of their world, the Dragon Clan’s world.
She was sealed away and demonized by very dragons that summoned her. At the time of her release, she tried once again to fulfill her purpose, only to be denied yet again and be seen as the monster that the Dragon Clan had proclaimed her as.
Now, Ryu sat on the bed in Canterlot Castle’s medical wing. He had been staring at his hands before he looked out of the window. Something in him had changed.
It’s been two months since the Hearth’s Warming event, and Ryu had only been awake for a week. Several had immediately noticed the change.
He was smiling more, and was far kinder to everypony else. He had apologized to Rainbow Dash for all the harsh words that he had said, shocking everyone at how sincere he sounded. He had even forgiven the princesses for what happened all those years ago.
He was different; A new man.
But Applejack didn’t like it.
She’d been so happy when he finally woke up. His magic core had severely depleted, and it was a miracle that he was still alive. She lost her smile, however, the first time he graced her with his new smile.
She didn’t like this new uncle Rahy. At all.
Most of his friends, however, thought otherwise. It was refreshing how he would smile more often now; kind and gentle. Unlike how he was now, he used to look bored at everything, and only seem to gain some cheer when he was around Applejack or anyone that he considered family.
The old Ryu was a jerk. There was no other way of putting it.
Ryu stared out of the window and smile at the clear blue skies. Even after two months, there were still some parts of his body that tingled from the phantom pain, and some parts of his body was feeling more numb than the rest.
The pony doctor has said that he was fine, and that there were no nerve damage. Still, even now, even when he keeps poking at his legs, the response that he’d get would always seem hollow, like he was tapping artificial skin that was on top of his own.
Still, that didn’t stop his smile. When he woke up, it was like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt lighter, emotionally.
He lost his cheer, and every other emotion, however, when he delved inside his body.
His Dragon Genes were gone. All of them.
From his Flame gene all the way to Infinity, they were gone. Nothing was left, and along with them were his other dragon characteristics.
His superhuman strength was gone, his enhanced senses, his durability, the potency of his elemental magic, and he even lost the ability to eat gems. His teeth just could not cut through them, and he almost choked when he tried to swallow one.
He was human again.
But with magic.
And he couldn’t be any happier.
He didn't have to fear losing control anymore. There was no more great power inside him, waiting to cut loose, where even the slightest mistake could wipe out an entire town just by sneezing wrong.
He was free from the burden; free from the responsibility. He was free.
But there was a nagging voice in the back of his head whenever he’s alone, telling him to look for the genes before something bad happens. He’s been ignoring that voice, and continued to do so, even today.
For now, though, he had better things to think about. He noticed Applejack being more subdued in her interactions with him. He wasn’t blind to not see the looks that she’s been giving him. Much as he wanted to do something about it, however, he just didn’t know how.
He was happy now. It would only get better as soon as Applejack starts treating him like normal. He missed holding his niece/daughter figure.
Meanwhile…
“I need some advice.” Was the first this that Anson heard from Nicko once the two of them had returned from Orpheus’ world.
“Okay, ask away-.”
“Not advice from you, idiot. Advice from someone else. Before seeing you, I was only recently released from stone and even though that I still know how to fight and everything, I find that I always get myself in a situation where it might end with someone I know getting hurt. Hell, I had to snap Jade out of a blood rage and almost ended up killing myself in the process.”
Anson thought this through… then asked a new question to him. “Okay, who did you have in mind?”
“My teacher. He was the one that told me how to use my spells in new ways I never thought I could before. Maybe he might have some more suggestions for me on how I can improve.”
“Okay, and I’m assuming that he is a Displaced as well?” Nicko nods, answering his brothers question for him. “Well, if you're going, I’m going too.”
“But what about Faith-?”
“She can take care of herself. Plus, Pinkie Pie is looking after her. I trust her to make sure to keep her safe. Besides… What’s the worst that could happen?”
Nicko thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement. “Fair point. Alright, let’s do it.”
After informing the Baker Pony about where the two of them were going and letting Eris stay behind so she could rest her tired body, Nicko began the process of being summoned by his teacher. Unlike other tokens, where they served as keys to that world’s doorway, Ryu’s worked differently. The Rune Slayer’s thoughts had to be heard by the Elder Dragon in order for him to be summoned by him.
‘Ryu. It’s me, your student. Nicko. I want to get the chance to talk to you and see how you have been. For me, I haven’t seen you in a LONG time. But I’ll inform you on the details later. Right now though, I hope you can hear my thoughts and allow my brother Anson, along with myself; entry into your world.’
Ryu looked up from his bed. He chuckled at Nicko’s greeting, and reached up to the desk beside his bed, where his pouch was located. He took out Nicko’s token and flared what little magic he had at the moment.
“From my world I call out to thee; my pupil, my friend, come here to me. With thy kin by thine side, he may come along for the ride. To come to this world of mine, you have my blessing. Let’s see what troubles you, my friend, that needs my addressing.”
The bedridden Displaced laughed to himself and levitated his pupil’s token in the middle of the room, just in case his entry might be violent.
After using his token, the Rune Slayer soon stepped through a Doorway like portal that surfaced in the room along with another figure. His student now wore a new set of garments that included a Red Overcoat, Black shirt and pants and had a new sword to go along with it. The other figure, which he assumed to be his brother was sporting a Black overcoat with a red undershirt and black pants and boots. Unlike Nicko though, this one carried two blades with him and his red hair resembled the spikes of a hedgehog. This must’ve been Anson, the brother that his student mentioned.
“Hello, Nicko.” Ryu greeted his student, smiling as he took in his new student’s new changes.
Nicko though, was a bit surprised by a few things. First off, the smile and sudden politeness was unlike the Elder Dragon that he met last time that he was here. Second was the fact that his skin was a LOT paler than he last remembered and it wasn’t until after noticing the surrounding area that he realized that his teacher was inside the bed of a hospital room.
“Holy crap, are you okay? You look like you got your soul sucked out of you.”
“It’s nothing; just some trouble on my end of the multiverse.” Ryu replied to his student’s concerns.
“Well, if there’s anything that we could do to help, I think Anson and I can pitch in if you need some help with anything.” His brother agreed with him, saying that any friend of Nicko’s was a friend of his and that he would gladly lend his sword to help out Ryu.
Despite being amused by the two of them and them insisting on helping him, Ryu shook his head and declined their offer. “I still stand by my decision, Nicko. My world, my problem.” He told his student, now looking at Anson. “I take it that this is your brother? The resemblance is quite uncanny.”
Nicko himself was quite surprised by his teacher’s choice of words. It was far from what the Ryu he knew would say. He was a lot… calmer and less of Ryu being… Well, Ryu. Normally, Nicko saw him as a Hardass, but Wise teacher that helped Nicko wake up and realize that being a Displaced was not all fun and games. It was survival against whatever was thrown at you.
His brother though, never knew this and just greeted him casually. “It’s nice to meet you, Ryu. I’m Anson, Nicko’s brother and an Infinity Sword.”
“A pleasure to meet you, then, Anson.” Ryu nodded. Anson had an interesting title. He wondered how much he lived up to the name, though.
“Hey, are you okay Ryu?” Nicko asked “You seem a lot… different from the last time we’ve met. Are you sure that the doctors didn’t give you too many painkillers?” The Rune Slayer asked out of concern.
Ryu chuckled kindly and shook his head. “I’m not on painkillers, since there no pain at all to suppress.” he grinned at Nicko; a very childish and bright smile. “Let’s just say that I no longer have to carry a heavy burden anymore.”
Nicko’s reaction to this wasn’t exactly what Ryu thought it would be. Due to the Rune Slayer’s Autism, Nicko wasn’t one to adjust to change really well. He was a LOT more comfortable with the old Ryu than this…… Whatever the hell this was. Was it painkillers that were secretly slipped into him? A mind control spell? He didn’t know, but he did not like this new Ryu. He wanted the old one back.
Ryu hummed, seeing the expression on Nicko’s face. “I’m really fine, Nicko. Really, I couldn’t be any better. So, please, stop worrying for my sake.”
“You know, Nicko’s told me a LOT about you and I gotta say, you’re quite different from what I thought you would be.” Anson remarked, folding his arms and looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Ryu gave him an awkward smile, looking at Nicko before turning back to Anson. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, for one thing, he told me that you were a great teacher despite the ‘methods’ that you used to instruct him. He even told me about you being able to turn into a dragon because of the title you carry. Being an Elder Dragon must come with a lot of responsibilities if you ask me.” Unknowingly to Anson, he didn’t realize in that moment that the door of the room was beginning to creek open as Applejack stepped inside.
“Uncle, are ya ok-?”
The mare was shocked to find two unknown figures inside the same room that her uncle Rahyu was in. But what really caught her attention was that they had weapons. Her mind went back to that day on Hearth’s Warming eve, and remembered the state her uncle was left in at the end.
“Get away from him!”
Applejack stormed into the room, knocking the Rune Slayer onto the other hospital bed and tried to buck the Infinity Sword as well.
Ryu tried to call out to Applejack, to tell her that Nicko and Anson meant no harm, but another jolt of pain ran through his body. His muscles locked and he grabbed onto his chest with a gasp. Even after two months, his body still remembers the horrible pain that he went through.
Anson himself, despite the situation, drew one of his swords and used it to block the incoming pair of hooves while using the blunt side of his blade to knock the Earth Pony down with a Fatal Slap. Nicko tried to attend to Ryu, seeing him clutch in pain, but instead, he was shoved to the aside.
“What the hell were you thinking!?” Ryu yelled, fearing for Applejack as he saw her make contact with Anson’s sword. Even if it was only the blunt side, his heart rate still soared after seeing Applejack go down.
“Hey, I reacted in self defense!” Anson countered Ryu’s statement. “Plus, I only used the blunt side of my blade so nopony could get hurt!!”
Despite the Infinity sword’s claims, it was heard on deaf ears by the time that a Rainbow Maned pegasus swooped in and saw her friend getting up off the floor and Ryu in his current state. Seeing as Anson had his weapon unsheathed, the Element of Loyalty immediately rushed at him, causing Anson to block it again while summoning his other blade to block Applejack’s next attack as it was a little too close for comfort for him.
As another method of protection, Anson used Sword Shield to protect himself from future attacks, but it’s backlash was that it caused the ponies who attacked him to get hurt.
“Anson, stop this NOW!!”
“Wait, you two know each other-?” Was Rainbow’s reply before her hoof accidently touched on of the blades on Anson’s shield, cutting her. A small scream of pain was all it took to have the rest of the girls enter the room as well and for Nicko to put himself in between his brother and the Elements of Harmony.
Ryu sighed in relief and exasperation as the pain passed and situation escalating. He raised his hand and created a barrier with [Resist] between the two groups. That took their attention to him.
“Let’s take this somewhere else.” Ryu said, only to grunt as his arm spasmed in pain, shattering the barrier as he lost concentration.
The group moved their location to one of the castle’s open balcony, where they had enough room for all of them to lounge in comfortably. Twilight had called for the Princesses and informed them of the two strangers. Celestia and Luna decided to join in this discussion just in case it becomes a repeat of two months back.
Now here they were, sitting around three separate tables and enjoying some tea provided by the castle staff. The Element Bearers were in one table, with the Princesses in another, and the Displaced being in the last. The tables were moved closer together to make the conversation easier.
Nicko himself was slowly drinking the tea that was given to him. He wasn’t quite a fan of the warm beverage and mostly preferred Coffee or Hot Cocoa, but he would make due with it for now. Anson, on the other hand, wasn’t quite a fan of it. Seconds after drinking his tea, he set down the cup immediately due to the fact that he burned his tongue and the stinging sensation was still there after a while.
Ryu was enjoying his cup as he sat in a modified wheelchair, often glancing at everyone else’s curious expressions over his student and Anson.
“I suppose introductions are necessary.” he said, making a gesture to the near identical duo. “The one with the spikier hair is Anson, and the other being my student, Nicko.”
The ponies looked surprised at that bit of news.
“To explain it properly, I suppose that I should tell you about the Displaced, a group of individuals who were taken from their original worlds and thrown into multiple versions of Equestria, while at the same time losing their identity and becoming someone or… something else…”
The ponies nodded and listened carefully about the Displaced, with Ryu starting things with the Merchant and the items that he sold, either personally or indirectly. Nicko and Anson also added in some their experience, and telling them of the other Displaced that they’ve met.
“So wait,” Rainbow Dash started, pointing at Ryu. “You mean you’re not really a dragon?”
“Originally no,” he shook his head. “But after I got my merchandise, I became one while waking up here, over a thousand years ago.”
Twilight and the princesses were obviously interested. From the spark in their eyes, Ryu knew that they had some questions for him after he was finished explaining.
“How come ya never told me about this b’fore?” Applejack asked as she looked at her uncle.
“I only found out after I was coming back from the dragonland. It never really came up after that.”
Despite the confession, Applejack wasn’t really pleased with hearing this. Before she could say anything though, Twilight had interjected to ask Nicko and Anson about what their Equestria was like. Both brothers complied as they told their adventures to the ponies, but everyone was quite shocked and surprised when Nicko told them about meeting Ryu in Griffonia. They left out the details about Twilight becoming a Princess, Eris being with Nicko and Discord being reformed just for Sanity’s sake as they continued to tell them.
During this time though, Luna watched as Ryu smiled and laughed alongside the girls as Nicko and Anson both told their tales.
Everyone may have forgotten about it, but Ryu still continued their lessons in their dreams. Even when he was outside of Equestria, he would somehow find a way to call her attention in the corridors of slumber, allowing her to find him in the myriad of doors.
During their lessons Luna had noticed some of the expressions on Ryu that she would have never seen in the waking world. He would show a face of a stern friend when he displayed the history of the Griffons, a dedicated student when it came to the Minotaurs, a cruel but fair dictator to the dragons, and, most surprising of all, a kind and loving father to the ponies.
It confused her when she saw his sadness during the times where ponies despaired and suffered; his proud smile when it came to a pony he knew achieving something grand; his kind, yet awkward, smirk when he showed a memorable event of a mare who had climbed the ladder of success, one who he had the honor of raising at times.
She couldn’t explain what she felt when she saw those different sides of him, where her mind had already portrayed him as a powerful foe, once, all those years ago, and a cold and grumpy teacher at present. It was those sides of him that made her eager for their next lesson, either on history, or on her speech.
Though she did have to hold back on lashing out on him most of the time, seeing that he was always so insufferable. But after that day, two months back, she finally saw those hidden sides of him emerge to the surface, where those two months she couldn’t even find him in her realm of dreams. He smiled, he laughed, he sincerely apologized; he became the person that she had seen glimpses of on those nights.
Yet, even though she smiled and was happy with his change, there was a part of her that was conflicted. Like Applejack, there was a part of her that longed for the insufferable drake that she had come to know… and maybe even love.
That feeling came crashing back when she saw him tense while putting his cup back on the table. His body spasmed in some areas, and his fingers twitched erratically. He gritted his teeth and tried to hide the reaction from what clearly looked like pain, but everyone had stopped their conversation and had their eyes solely on him.
“That’s it.” Applejack stated abruptly, staring down her Uncle. “There’s definitely something wrong with you. This has been happening a lot, and don’t you dare brush this off. Tell us what those balls were during the Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
Ryu tried to smile at her in assurance, but the glare she sent him made him realize that he wasn’t getting out of this one. He sighed and leaned back on his wheelchair. “They were my Dragon Genes.”
Applejack eyes widened, along with Twilight. Nicko and Anson themselves decided to pay attention for their own reasons. Nicko because he did not know what these Dragon Genes were and Anson because he wanted to know more about Ryu in general.
“How is that even possible?” Twilight asked. Genes were part of every creature’s DNA, so to have them removed would be like… Twilight grimaced. Was that why he was in a coma for two months; because he experience the pain of being torn apart?
Ryu groaned a little and sighed. “The Brood are different to the dragons of this world. Once they die they fossilize by becoming chrysm, a crystal like mineral that’s similar to solidified magic.”
“You mean like the gems in Equestria?” Rarity asked.
“Yes. But thousands or ten thousand times more potent in magical property.”
Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. Nicko and Anson were also quite surprised as well upon hearing these details. But also knew that the circumstances were different because of being a Displaced so they just played along with it as Ryu continued to speak.
“There are some Chrysm that are special, however. These are the remains of a powerful Brood that manage to keep some of their souls into their corpse. I don’t know about the other Broods, but I can assimilate these special Chrysm and gain their powers in the form of Dragon Genes.”
“Then those eighteen balls were…”
“My dragon genes.” Ryu finished Applejack’s thought. “I don’t know if it was because some soul lingered in them, still, or if they’ve become sentient over the passage of time, but I heard them. Before they ripped themselves out of me, I heard all six of them.”
“The same number of orbs left after they combined.” Celestia murmured thoughtfully.
“Splicing.” Ryu corrected. “By splicing the genes, I gain new abilities or make my already vast arsenal of spells more powerful. The problem now is that I don’t know what combinations were created.” This put Nicko and Anson in a state of concern as the conversation continued.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I already told you that I have more than one dragon form. Depending on what genes were spliced, different dragons would manifest.” Ryu personally grimaced at the next sentence he was going to say. “Worse of all is that Kaiser was one of them.”
Both Celestia and Luna tensed up as the Sun Alicorn’s eyes widened. “You’re saying that one of those orbs could have been the Emperor Dragon?”
Ryu nodded his head, expression going grim. “I’m one hundred percent sure that one of those orbs had been Kaiser. That gene is the most powerful one I had, and it overwrites every other gene except for one.”
“And that would be?” Twilight asked.
“Failure- the gene of a failed dragon. A dragon that was so weak that it was more human than a dragon. It degrades Kaiser’s power, allowing me to use that form without the risk of losing control of my sanity.”
“And the possibility of Kaiser being combined with this gene be?” Luna urged.
Ryu sighed sadly. “Zero.”
By now, the Princess had heard enough of this and immediately stood up from her seat at the table. “We must find those orbs immediately! Ryu, where are they now?”
Ryu chuckled without any mirth, shaking his head as he looked to Celestia. “I don’t know.”
“Ryu, what effects has this done to thee?” Luna asked. “This… we canst-- cannot even imagine what this did to you.”
Ryu pursed his lips and picked up his cup. He held it up for them to see, no longer suppressing the effects of the pain that came and went. The cup in his hand trembled, along with his arm. The fingers of his other hand would also twitch every so often.
“After they left I’ve lost all of my dragon characteristics. I can’t naturally breath fire anymore, or cut through gems with my teeth. My skin is easier to prick now with a needle, and my musculature isn’t as dense anymore.” That made Nicko and Anson both realize what had happened as they both looked at him and he did the same.
“That’s right. I’m human again. One hundred percent squishy human. I can still use magic, but every spell costs at least ten times more than normal if I want them to be as powerful as they had been when I still had the Dragon Genes.”
Both the brothers were quite a little concerned for Ryu, wondering how much strength did he actually expend when he originally summoned them. But there thoughts were interrupted by the former Kaiser as he smiled at the two of them.
“It’s fine. I’ve trained my magic enough that even when I have so little, I can still use it to lift an entire house for five to ten minutes.” Centuries worth of meditation and flexing his magic stretched his reserves phenomenally.
The student of Celestia turned towards her teacher, whispering if she could be able to pull off the same feat. However, Celestia told her a firm no as she tried to reroute the conversation back to the task at hand. She didn’t want to tell her student that the only strenuous magic exercise she’s done over the centuries had been moving the Sun and Moon.
“So, I’m afraid that I’ll have to leave this to you.” Ryu finished as he spoke to Celestia, gesturing towards his makeshift wheelchair. “As much as I’d love to help, Celestia, I’m afraid that I’d be more of a liability than an asset as I am now.” He placed the cup back on the plate, and eased back on the wheelchair again.
Applejack’s eyes narrowed as she watched her uncle. It had only been for an instant, but she saw a glimpse of Ryu’s old personality resurface as he gave his reason to the Princess for being unable to help. For her ears, though, it sounded more like an excuse; something that her uncle frequently did when he didn’t want to do something he didn’t want to.
Celestia contemplated on the information, frowning worriedly as she watched her old foe recline and noticing the twitches that still haven’t left his hands.
“I see… It’s unfortunate, but it would seem that the only way you can aid us if you act as an adviser.” she said.
“I’ll be more than happy to tell you what I know.” Ryu nodded. “Until then; I’ll be entertaining my guests for the duration of their stay.”.
If there was one thing that really grinded Anson’s gears, it was the feeling of being helpless. Not to mention the feeling of being carefree when a possible danger could be lurking anywhere. Right now, the teacher of his brother was beginning to show those signs and it pissed him off internally. But he did his best to not let this show. It was for the best since he would end up embarrassing the two of them.
Nicko, on the other hand, felt the same way, but didn’t want his emotions to get the better of him in this instance. In fact, he still had a few questions he had to ask his teacher. “Hey Anson, I need to ask Ryu a couple of things. Mind if you give us some Privacy?”
Anson grunted, but replied. “Sure. I’ll go walk around a bit in the Garden.” Nicko thanked the Infinity Sword as he took a seat where he was leveled with Ryu in his chair.
Ryu watched Anson’s leave with a raised brow before turning to Nicko. After the ponies left the balcony to do their own duties, the Displaced trio stayed behind for some privacy. Celestia had already informed the guards and staff that they meant no harm.
“So, Nicko, you had something to ask?”
Nicko sighed. “Well, when my brother and I said our stories… Not all of it was exactly… Accurate. For one thing, we’re not twins anymore.”
Ryu raised a brow. They looked alike plenty enough.
“Well, at one point in our fight against the Diabolic Esper that was attacking our Ponyville, he was able to reflect the blast that the Elements of Harmony gave off and aimed it towards Anson. But I used myself as a human shield to protect him. For seven years since, I was in stone. But he was able to return home. I’m now 25, but he’s 39. Fourteen years older than me. Not to mention that I have a niece who is also a Displaced.”
“I think you have some misconceptions of what it means to be twins.” Ryu shook his head with an amused smiled. “Anson will always be your twin no matter the difference in age. As for you having a niece, well, I can only congratulate you for it. Being an uncle is quite a privilege. My only advice for that is: Don’t spoil your niece too much.” God only knows how much he spoiled some of his first ones.
“Thank you Ryu. I have another question though and it’s about Eris. For a long time now, she and I have been friends. Partners. I really care for her and I want to be able to find a way to show it to her. Do you know anything that can help me?”
Uncomfortable would be the word to describe Ryu on the subject of love. Living for so long, he’s had quite a few flings, but those were just to satisfy his libido. Love has never really became a concern, seeing that he was either too busy training or, after that, worrying about a goddess coming after him.
“Well, the only advice I can give you about that is to take her out on dates, hang out more often, or just spend more time with her in general.” Ryu said. “To show someone that you care, you have to let them know that you’re paying attention to them; be there when she wants you, when she needs you, or even if she just wants to kill some time.” He scratched his head as the expression on his face changed. “Though you might have to mind how much you do it. Trust me, Nicko, you don’t want to be called a stalker by the ones you love.”
Ryu sighed to himself before looking at Nicko, who was partially interested to hear what exactly he was referring to by that . “Let’s just say that when I first got my family… well, I was creepy as hell.”
Anson needed a much deserved break as he began to walk through the garden outside, the wind blowing through his crimson hair and his pitch black jacket. He couldn’t feel the chill that the wind brought with it, but something else still lingered inside his mind. The thought of Ryu and his current personality was not like anything that his brother had told him before… and he wasn’t a fan of it.
Turning around another bush, the Infinity Sword soon came across the statues that were in the garden. He recognized one of them as Discord, the Avatar of Chaos. But there were a few others that weren’t so recognizable. One of them, however, looked awfully like a human with draconic features.
“Hey! Wait up!”
To Anson, he was surprised on two things. One, that Applejack was following him. The second was the statue that he was looking at and how it’s presence felt similar to the one he felt when he met Ryu for the first time.
“Pretty dramatic, don’cha think?” Applejack asked him. Anson answered the pony with a simple nod of the head as he continued to look at the statue in front of him. However, one thing that Applejack said to him caught his attention and had him listen to her more. “This was mah uncle back in the day, where he said he was at his weakest, but was at his most dangerous.”
“Yah won’t recognize him as he is now, but this guy right here?” She took a breath to point her hoof at the statue before continuing with a sigh. “This was mah uncle. Look at this thing; roarin’ up tah the sky like there’s no tomorrow. But when ah think about the stories that mah uncle told me when ah was a little filly it might have been true. Ah woulda never met ‘em if his plan back then failed.”
“I understand what you mean. I’m a father myself with a daughter of my own and I’ve been in the same position that he had probably been in once or twice.”
“Thank ya kindly.” She replied with a smile, but then frowned as she looked back at the statue. “I kinda miss mah old uncle; he’s different now. He was pretty much broodin’ all the time, rarely smilin’ unless it was to family. He’d always show us an honest tah goodness smile, tah me and mah family; tah all the Apple family, even. But now…” She shook her head before turning around to Anson. “How ‘bout you? What’cha think about mah uncle when yah met ‘em?”
“Honestly. My brother told me to expect him to be… almost like how you would describe him. Nicko told me that he was a bit of a, excuse my prench, Hardass and brutal teacher, but he learned from it. Now though, I’m seeing someone who’s trying to hand off his own responsibilities to others and I don’t like it.”
“So, yah don’t like ‘em too, huh.” The Element of Honesty chuckled in response. “He really acts unnatural. His smiles look so real, but you can tell that none o’ them's completely true. It’s weird for me to see ‘im so relaxed. Ah should be happy, ah know, but somthing’ about how mah uncle’s actin that’s really settin’ off mah nerves.”
“Mine too. Like he knows that he could be able to do something, but doesn’t want too.”
“An apt observation, Fair Applejack, Sir Anson.”
Both Anson and Applejack looked up behind them to see Princess Luna as she descended from the Upper balcony and softly landed on the ground by them. Applejack did the first thing that came to her mind and greeted her by her title as she bowed. However, Luna had surprised them both by saying that they only wished to converse. Anson himself then proceeded to ask why as the Alicorn of the Night exhaled another breath.
“We-- I am merely here to say that I also suspected your claims, Fair Applejack.” She began to speak as she looked at the statue of Ryu’s [Myrmidon form]. “I have known Ryu for some time now, thanks to our nightly lessons. I have seen that there is more to him than just what he shows.” Applejack nodded, agreeing with what the Moon Princess had said.
Luna then sighed sadly as she continued. “Though I am happy for his change, I cannot help but feel some lingering doubts about his new personality; it is too lax, too kind. I cannot help but feel some measure of revulsion seeing him smile so openly. I recall the times of ages past, where my sister and I would hunt the one dragon who had laid waste to the mountains of the Badlands. He was a threat, thus we pursued; for our subjects.” She smiled fondly as a gentle wind began to blow through Anson’s hair and the manes of both Alicorn and Earth pony.
“Ryu was one of the most aggravating opponent that my sister and I have ever encountered. He was cunning, vicious, yet attacks only to distract and never to kill. We thought that he only adopted such tactics because he could not defeat us, and that he needed more time to become a full dragon. Though, besides this form that you see in front of us, he only used one other form that he referred to as the [Warrior].”
Luna chuckled to herself as she looked back on what happened back then. “We lost. From the very beginning, we could not hope to capture him without resorting to lethal force. Had we tried hard enough from the very start of our pursuit, there was no question of our victory. But for each passing day Ryu learned a new spell, a new skill; using it efficiently and wisely. After he learned how to create explosions, we could no longer hope to out maneuver him; it was his most versatile spell for distractions.”
For a moment, Applejack puffed out her chest. Possibly as a sign of pride, but not one of Anson’s major focuses as he listened to Luna, who was now smiling melancholically with the ending of her story approaching.
“Even at the end, with us using the Elements against him, we were still outsmarted. He knew that they were our trump, our last resort against him, thus he used our surety, our confidence, against us. He escaped by replacing himself with a double, and my sister and I were none the wiser.”
“Interesting…” Anson said, intrigued a little by hearing the talented skills of his brother’s teacher. “If I may ask, is Ryu still… Up to par on his combat skills in his current state?”
“I am sure. Ryu has had centuries to hone his skills. With or without his dragon forms, Ryu will always be a dangerous foe.”
Applejack nodded. “From what he’s told me and what the Princess just said, he’s only used [Warrior] and [Myrmidon], then pretty much focused everything on fightin’ as a human.”
“Well, the guy I’ve met is definitely not like the one you have told me about just now.”
“That’s why ah’m so frustrated.” AJ then shook her head again before looking at Anson again. “Ah know that we only just met, but please, ah have tah ask ya a favor; Please help me get mah uncle back to his old self. It’s killin’ me inside every time I look at ‘im actin’ like that.”
Anson grinned a little. “Oh I believe I know EXACTLY what to do.”
Meanwhile,
As Nicko and Ryu finished their conversation, the two of them began to search for his brother; who left them alone so they could talk in peace. Now that they were finished, Nicko and his brother could return to their Equestria and to Faith, who he believed was waiting for them to return as soon as possible. The two of them soon found Anson standing in the statue garden with his arms folded and his eyes glaring at Ryu. “Hey Brother. I’m just about done. Are you ready to get going.
“In a moment. I have a bone to pick with Ryu and the fact that he’s acting like he doesn’t want to find his Dragon genes.”
Ryu frowned at the accusation as he gestured his head towards the wheelchair that he was currently sitting in “If you haven’t noticed, Anson, I’m not really fit to fight at the moment-.”
“Bullsh*t.” Anson spat. “For someone who was able to outsmart any problem that you would come across, outsmart the freaking princesses and find my god damn brother when he was hidden in Griffonia, finding these Genes of yours wouldn't be as hard as you say it is.”
The frown Ryu had on her face had only began to deepen. The Infinity Sword had figured him out. In truth, he could just easily use the [Prana] skill and know the locations of the Genes like how he knew the location of his student a few months back. He was going to confront him on why he was doing all of this, but his answer soon came with Anson’s next sentence.
“Applejack has been worried about you and she wants her old uncle back. Is this new you the person that your family would want to see you as.”
Ryu clenched his teeth, glaring back at the Infinity Sword. Nicko noticed the tension between the two of them and tried to break up the argument between one another. Despite this though, Anson pressed on. Applejack had told him a few things about her Uncle and to him, they were rounds in the chamber. And he wasn’t planning on missing any shots that he was going to fire at him
“Ever since you lost your genes, you’ve been hesitant on wanting to get things done and using every excuse in your book of tricks in order to avoid solving the problem. You know what I call that? Laziness. Your Dragon Genes could be out there causing who knows what kind of destruction and you’re just enjoying sitting back and doing nothing. You think doing nothing is going to help you when those genes go after Applejack and her family next!?”
Ryu’s temper flared, and along with it was his magic. “Shut up! What the hell do you know?!” Ryu had already thought of what Anson had just pointed out, but his freedom from the burden of the genes just felt too good. He was conflicted, oh so very conflicted. Same with any problems that he had that he can’t kill or destroy, he decided to bury it and forget it all together. “Why are you doing this?! What do you want from me?!”
“I want you to stop trying to ignore your own problems and do something about it.”
Again, Nicko tried to separate the both of them. But was caught off guard when Ryu pushed himself off of his wheelchair, standing up and beginning to confront his brother. Anson then turned towards his brother, looking at the conflicted Rune Slayer as he posed his next question for him. “Is this the person you respect as your teacher? A coward who has others fight his own battles no matter who gets hurt!?”
Nicko thought it through for a few moments. but soon, he walked over next to his brother and looked at his teacher. “Ryu, I respect you. But this new version of you is not the teacher that I came to respect back in Griffonia. And if you dare try to harm anyone from my family that I care about, I will not hesitate to harm you in order to protect those I care for.”
Gritting his teeth, the former Kaiser glared at both of them and sighed deeply. “Fine.” He told them as he used his [Mind Sword] skill to form a weapon inside his hand. One that wasn’t blunt like when Nicko trained with him back in Griffonia. “You can both suffer together.”
The determined pair of brothers drew their own swords in preparation for what was going to happen next. In preparation, Nicko casted Critical Sword to help him boost his attack power as a rune of a Sword and Sun circled around him.
From a clash of opinions, a battle begins. With a wills of steel and solid determination, both groups stepped forward.
End Log 12
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damn now this gonna get good
6078223 Yeah it is indeed
Oh this is gonna be good. I mean how else do you get a lazy dragon out of his stupor? By pissing it the hell off and making it crave beating you into the dirt just to prove he's wrong......OH I can't -wait- for the next chapter. May this battle royale commence asap!
God I love this series. Especially all the hellsing abridged references.
6118772 Not getting as much attention as the first one did though
oh bollocks, now they've awakened the sleeping dragon!