Chapter 16: Truth

A Cutie mark?! How is this possible?, Von thought. Everypony was just as confused as he was. A dragon, one of the most powerful creatures in Equestria had a Cutie mark, something that only ponies could acquire. They watched in silence until Nova began laughing. "That's exactly what I was waiting for. So, how does it feel to have earned your Cutie mark, Von?!" He hissed.

Von glared at him. "I...I don't know what to feel. But this doesn't make any sense. Just...how..." Von stopped talking and looked back at his Cutie mark in disbelief. His friends kept staring at him, both in shock and worry. Twilight Sparkle then stepped forward and stared at Nova. "Just what kind of trick are you trying to pull? There is no possible way that Von could have a Cutie mark because he isn't--" "A pony?" Nova interrupted. He stepped forward and lowered his head to Twilight's eye level and she backed away. "Allow me to confirm your suspicions with visual proof. But first...you need to be punished, Von."

Nova turned his attention back to Von and began to step closer to him. Von backed away, but he stopped and looked down. "If I run, then I'll have given up hope...I can't do that." He said as he charged at Nova and jumped at him. Nova smiled and opened his jaw and got ready to bite. Before he moved, Rainbow Dash noticed something green drip from one of his fangs. "Oh no...Von, look out! " She screamed as she spread her wings and darted towards Von. Von looked back at her and turned back to Nova and saw that he was about to bring his jaws down on him.

However, Rainbow Dash grabbed Von and snatched him away in time. Rainbow Dash set Von down and smiled at him. "Are you ok, dude?" She asked. Von smiled. "Yeah. I'm ok. But your tail..." Von pointed one of his claws at the end of Rainbow Dash's tail. She looked at it and noticed that it had been nicked a bit from Nova's bite. "Oh...don't worry about it. I was thinking about having it cut a bit shorter anyway..." She said. She laughed nervously and looked away from him, but Von crept closer and kissed her cheek and she smiled.

Nova growled and stood over them. "So this is the pegasus that you've become smitten with, huh?" He hissed. Nova's tail lifted high above his head, the end of his tail having changed to that of a morning star with his new appearance. Von was frozen in fear, but Rainbow Dash just glared at him and had her wings spread and got ready to attack. But Nova lowered his tail and grinned. This confused everypony. Why would he lower his tail like that? Just what is he up to? These questions ran through all of their minds. However before they could try to think of any reasons, Nova began chanting something. Celestia's eyes widened and she stared at Nova. "Nova! You aren't truly planning on using that spell, are you?!" She yelled. Nova grinned and a magic circle appeared underneath Von and it pushed Rainbow Dash away.

"Von!" Rainbow Dash cried out. She tried to run to him, but she crashed into a barrier and it bounced her back. Von's eyes widened. "Dash!" The girls glared at Nova, who continued his chanting and looked back to Von and Rainbow Dash. "C'mon, girls. We gotta get Von outta there." Applejack declared as she charged towards Von and started to buck the barrier. Twilight kept shooting magical blasts while Pinkie and Fluttershy kept jumping on it. Rainbow Dash kept pounding on the barrier as hard as she could. "Don't worry! We'll get you out of there." She declared. Nova laughed at their effort as the barrier did not budge and not a single scratch was on it.

Nova opened his eyes and opened his mouth, staring down at Von as he spoke. "O δράκους του παρελθόντος, ακούω λόγο μου. Από τους ζωντανούς με τους νεκρούς, καλώ σε σένα. Τέχνασμα ότι το παιδί του θα γίνει την πτώση του. Έτσι διαλύσει μεταμφίεση του, μια για πάντα!" He said. Just then, the barrier blew all of the girls away and compressed around Von. Von cried out in pain as the barrier started to shock him. The girls groaned as they were getting up and they gasped as they witnessed Von getting hurt. The barrier continued to shock him until it started to crack. Von closed his eyes and endured as the barrier burst and the resulting explosion blew towards the ponies, but Twilight and Celestia created magical shields to protect themselves and the rest.

They lowered their shields and looked towards the smoke. Nopony made a single move. All eyes were on the area from which the explosion came from. The tension rose as nopony knew what became of Von. "Von? You there?" Rainbow Dash called out. There was no response. "Von? Come on, buddy. You better say something!" Kamen said. There was a moment of silence until they heard a coughing sound. The ponies eyes widened in anticipation as they recognized the one it was coming from. "Von!" The girls cheered. He kept coughing and started to move out of the smoke. But the figure that came out was not that of Von himself. Rather, it didn't look like the Von they knew. Standing there was a teal pony, but their eyes didn't lie to them. This creature was their friend, Von. But his feet had become hooves, his two horns had become a single unicorn horn and his fins had turned into pony ears.

"Huh? Is something wrong, girls?" Von asked. They continued to stare at him, silent and frozen in shock. However, Celestia and Luna had stern looks on their faces. Von stepped closer to them and laughed. "Girls, stop looking at me like that. I'm al--" Von cut his sentence short and noticed something odd. He was taller, at full eye level with the girls compared to his former size. He looked down at his hooves and reeled back in shock. "W-what is this? What happened to me?!" He yelled. Nova started laughing and lowered his head to Von's level. "How does it feel? You're finally your true self. So, does it feel good? Does it feel...familiar?" He asked. Von looked at him. "What do you mean 'familiar'? You mean...I looked like this before? But...why did I change into this?" He asked. Nova grinned and laughed harder. "Changed into that?! You dumbass! You were BORN like this!" He hissed.

The ponies stared at him in silence, until Rarity spoke up. "Stop with your lies! You are clearly trying to deceive Von with your horrendous--" "I would ask that you hold thy tongue, you whore! I can still smell your scent on my brother!" Nova growled. Rarity gasped and her face turned bright red. "I..I have no idea what he's talking about. Hahaha...he's clearly delusional." The girls eyed her suspiciously and she just smiled. Nova lifted his head and started to walk around them. "Look at yourself. You are a halfling. You have dragon blood, but the fact you have a Cutie mark is because you are a pony as well. The reason why you are more willing to be here than the mountains, the reason you don't hunt for gems anymore and your unexplained reason for being able to fall in love with that pegasus is all because of your pony blood. You are more comfortable around them because you are one of them." He stopped walking and smiled down at Celestia. "Perhaps this is a good time to tell him the truth, Celes. Or do you want to keep hiding it?" He asked.

Celestia remained silent, averting her gaze from Nova's. "Oh, but where are my manners? Certainly...the bitch that deserves to tell him the truth is the one that left him behind." In that instance, he looked towards Luna, who was shaking like a leaf. She was starting to tear up and this image of her caused her to gain the girls' and Kamen's attention. "P-princess? What does he mean?" Fluttershy timidly asked. "Yes, Luna. What DO I mean? Please, tell us. I know Ignus would want you--" "DON'T EVER SAY HIS NAME IN OUR PRESENCE WITH THAT FORKED TONGUE OF THOUS!!!!!" Luna screamed in her royal canterlot voice. This got her Von's attention. He crept closer and Nova moved aside to let Von get near her. At least he did something nice for once, he thought. He looked up at Luna, who was just inches away from being at equal eye level with him and she looked down at him with her tear-filled eyes. "Luna...what's he talking about? Who's Ignus?" He asked.

Luna wiped her tears away with her wing and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. "Ignus was your father", Celestia said. "And my sister's lover..." Everyponies eyes widened in shock and a loud 'What?!' echoed through Ponyville. "S-so...that means that..." Twilight stuttered. "Princess Luna..." Applejack said, cutting herself short and staring in disbelief. "...Is Von's mother?!" Rainbow Dash asked. Von looked back at them and back towards Luna. Von had no idea what to say. The evidence was too clear for it to be a lie. Celestia wouldn't lie to him, nor would Princess Luna. Von stepped closer to her. "...Mom?" He managed to ask. Luna's eyes widened and more tears fell. But these tears were those of joy. She lowered her head and rested her forehead against his. "Hello...my son."

Everypony stared in awe. Princess Luna, the mare in the moon, co-ruler of Equestria and sister to Princess Celestia had a foal?! And with a dragon, as well. This thought baffled them completely as something like this was hard to absorb. Von couldn't believe what he heard either but then he began thinking about Luna's behavior before. She had yelled at him at first, but the second time around, she hugged him affectionately. That hug was full of love, the kind of love that only a mother could give. In addition, she had gotten angry with Nova when the mere mention of the name 'Ignus' escaped his jaws. There was no doubt about it. Everything made sense. The princess of the moon was Von's mother. Von burst into tears and rubbed his head against Luna's chest. "Mom! I can't believe it! I have a mom! Why didn't you tell me before?!" He said in a fit of joy and anger. Luna smiled and held him close with one of her hooves. "Don't you think I wanted to before? You really do take after your father." She said. The girls smiled at the tender moment that they shared, Pinkie and Fluttershy crying in the process and Rarity wiped away a tear. However, Nova was growing more irritated by the minute. "Excuse me! Have we forgotten something here?!?! Or is the only damn thing you ponies can fucking think about sugar and rainbows?!" Nova yelled.

Von took his head away from Luna and glared at Nova. "Why do you hate them so much? What have they done to you?!" Nova closed his eyes and started laughing. 'What did they do...gee, I wonder. Oh, I know! Maybe it was the fact that father DIED because of them!" He yelled. A small green liquid came from Nova's eye. He was crying. This was a first, seeing a 'powerful' dragon, such as him shed even a single tear. "Nova, that is not true. Ignus died a natural death. He was merely--" Celestia was quickly cut off as Nova breathed a deadly green flame at her, but she flew away from it in time. "He died because he fell for that piece of trash right there!!!" He yelled, pointing his claw to Luna. "If he didn't meet her...if he didn't love her...if he didn't make Von with her, he'd still be here!!!" "Are you saying that you would rather Von to have never existed, just so Ignus could still be here?" Luna asked. Nova glared at her, his venomous gaze piercing her soul. "Of course! If he was a full-blooded dragon, I wouldn't give two shits. But because of you..." His eyes widened in anger and he started to approach Luna. "Because of you...I lost my father. You ruined my life! So now I'll end yours." He said. He licked his teeth and raised his tail above his head. Before he could move, Von quickly moved in front of Luna.

Nova glared at him. "Get out of my way, Von! Or I'll end you first." He hissed. Von shook his head. "I won't. I just found my mother and I won't let you take her from me!" He proclaimed. The girls came by his side and smiled at him and turned to Nova and glared. "You all love her that much, huh? ...love...Ah. That reminds me. I still need to help Chrysalis with her feeding." He said. With that, he lowered his tail and his horns started to glow and seven green beams of light struck Von and his friends and they lowered themselves to the ground. 'What's...happening...?" Von asked, groaning in pain. "He's...draining our...love..." Twilight muttered. Von blinked and looked around at his friends and noticed that they were being drained as well. "that's...what them changelings do...just like that Chrysalis..." Applejack said. Von felt weaker and weaker by the second and looked up to find Nova smiling down at them, as though he was gloating. Von struggled and managed to get back onto his hooves and breathed in deep. He let out his wind breath, but it was too weak to do anything to him. Nova cackled. "Fool. There's nothing that you can do now. With this new power of mine, you can NEVER beat me!" He gloated.

Von started to fall back to the ground. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. Then he had an idea: he had a unicorn horn and that meant that he could use magic. He closed his eyes and started to concentrate. A small spark came from his horn, Luna and Celestia smiling in response having seen him learning of a special trait he has due to his Alicorn blood. However, their smiles soon faded as they noticed him looking in Rainbow Dash's direction. She was in alot of pain as most of the love she possessed was not just her love for her friends, but also the love she deeply felt for Von. Seeing her like that, Von's anger began to rise and in that instance, Von's magical aura turned a dark purple and his eyes glowed a green color and a purple mist seeped from his eyes. Once his magic was fully concentrated, Von fired the dark blast at Nova and the impact was great as Nova lost his concentration and was sent hurdling across the ground. "Agh...what the hell?! What was that power?!" Nova asked. Von didn't respond. He merely looked at him with angry eyes.

With Nova's magic no longer affecting him, he stepped closer and his horn began to glow again. Nova got up and started to swipe his claws at Von, but he easily dodged them and blasted him with his magic again, this time he aimed for his face. Nova roared and breathed his venomous flames at Von. Von didn't flinch and he shot the dark magical blast once more and it collided with the flames. Neither Nova nor Von backed down, their attacks pushing against each other. Nova growled and breathed harder and the flames started to push Von's magic back. A bead of sweat rolled down Von's neck and Nova laughed. "Once I'm done with you, I'll take the rest of Ponyville. Starting with that precious pegasus of yours." He said. Von's eyes widened in anger. Electricity surged from his horn and the purple aura rose and his magic pushed Nova's flames back until they dispersed and Von's blast shot into Nova's mouth and he fell to the ground in pain.

Von stepped closer and his horn began to glow brighter, but it had a more menacing aura. Luna gasped and reached out to Von. "Von! Do not use that again!!!" Von blinked and the aura died down and his eyes turned normal once more. "Huh? What happened? What was I doing?" Von asked. Luna smiled and the girls laughed at his innocence. Nova got up, groaning in pain and rubbed his throat. "Little bastard...I'll get you for that...I've already done what I wanted today. Next time will be far worse. And don't you ponies worry. I'll make sure that your...bodies don't go to waste." He said. He licked his lips and a shiver went up everyponies spines and he spread his wings and flew away. "Yeah, that's right. Run ya coward!" Kamen said. Pinkie smiled and bounded over to him. "Wow, Kamen. You're really brave. You're like...one of the bravest pegasi I know." Kamen laughed and scratched his mane.

Everypony shared a hearty moment, happy to live to see another day but Von, Luna and Celestia were the only ones not laughing. "...How long have you known?" Von asked. Celestia sighed. "Since I first met you. But I knew that you weren't ready to know the truth yet. But you are now." The girls stopped laughing and looked in their direction. "Princess Celestia...can you tell us what you know...about Von?" Twilight asked. "I think we all deserve to know, sugarcube." Applejack said. "I want to know, too. By all means, I have the right." Rainbow Dash declared. Von laughed and smiled at her and she smiled back. It seemed like everypony was bent on learning the truth. "I will tell you all...but first, we must rest. Come the next day, you will all learn the truth." Celestia said. They nodded and proceeded to go their seperate ways, but Von didn't move. Rainbow Dash looked at Von. "Are you ok?" Von smiled. "Yeah. I'm ok, Dashie." Von said. Rainbow Dash blushed when that name escaped his mouth. "But...I feel like going with them to Canterlot. You can come with me, if you'd like. I mean...if that's ok with you, mom." He said, turning to Luna. Luna was baffled and looked to her sister for support. Celestia giggled and nodded her head. 'Alright. I'll come with you." Rainbow Dash said. She got closer to Von and the four of them spread their wings and took off.

As they were flying back, a question came to Von's mind. "Hey Cel....Aunt Celestia?" He called out. Celestia looked at him. "Yes, Von?" "My Cutie mark...it's supposed to symbolize my special talent. So...what is mine?" He asked. Celestia and Luna giggled and looked at his Cutie mark. It was a white dragon wing, connected to a waxing crescent moon. "Well, you figured it out somehow, so you should know yourself." Von thought for a moment. He received his Cutie mark not too long after the proclamation he made to Nova. His eyes widened and he looked at his Cutie mark. "That's right", Luna said. "Your special talent is that you never give up and you give hope to everypony." Von smiled. "Hope..."

---

The following morning, Von and Rainbow Dash woke up together. They had slept in the same bed, something they decided to get used to now that they were dating. Von yawned and smiled at her. "Morning, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash smiled at him and her face turned red. "Good morning." They got off the bed and walked out the door. "Today's the day. You'll hear everything", She said. "Are you nervous?" Von sighed and his tail swayed slowly. "A bit...but I have to know. Who my father is, why Luna...why my mom hid what she is from me and why Nova hates them so much. I want to know it all." They kept walking down the hall until they reached the audience chamber and found the rest of their friends waiting for them: Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Kamen.

"Oh. Good morning, guys. I hope you slept well." Fluttershy said. "This is the second time that you two have slept together, isn't it?" Pinkie said. Von and Rainbow Dash blushed. "N-no! We haven't done anything! I mean...yeah, we slept together. But not like that!" Von said, panicking. Rainbow Dash quickly nodded in agreement. "I mean...we just thought that...maybe...we should get adjusted to sleeping in the same bed together." Everypony laughed, but their laughter was halted as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came into the room. "Good. You're here. So you all wish to know the truth about Von's origins, correct?" Celestia asked. They nodded their heads. Rarity looked at Celestia. "Pardon me for asking. But if Von is Princess Luna's son, doesn't that make him..." "A prince? Yes, it does." Luna interrupted. Rarity gasped and smiled at Von. "Oh...well, i guess that makes what I did worthwhile." She said. Von blinked and cast a glance of confusion at her, but he quickly turned back to Luna. "Lu...mom. Could you please tell us?" All eyes were on Luna. Luna stayed silent for a moment before she looked at her sister. Celestia knew what Luna was thinking and she nodded. Luna sighed and looked at them. "Alright. I will tell you. How my love for Ignus came to be and how it resulted in Von's birth."

Von, Kamen and the girls stood still and listened to her story. Luna's smile became a confident one and she spoke calmly to them. "1000 years ago, before I was banished, my sister and I had started to put everything in order after Discord's reign. There was much work that needed to be done. But with our magic and the Elements of Harmony, we managed to set everything right. Celestia had become busy with affairs in Canterlot, so I decided to fly over Neighagra Falls. When I landed, I noticed something strange. There was a green dragon sleeping at the base of the falls. Naturally, I would've attacked. But I didn't...or rather, I couldn't. It was sleeping peacefully and I didn't want to disturb him. But I was curious as to why he was there. So, I flew down to him. However, he ended up awaking. When he rose, he was much bigger than I, but he did not seem vicious. I thought he was going to attack as I prepared to defend myself, but he merely looked at one of his wings. He was injured. As one of the rulers of Equestria, I could not simply overlook the injuries of one of its inhabitants. So...I used my magic to heal him. And as I expected, he was quite grateful. We sat and talked for quite some time until he told me his name. Turns out, he had injured his wing mid-flight and was stuck there. Ignus told me that he was the leader of the dragons and he had great leadership skills. We shared some laughs, but I had noticed that I had gone past the time I let my sister know that I would return. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. I wasn't sure, but I felt that Ignus and I had a connection. I wanted to know if he felt the same as I did."

"Oh my. This sounds like quite the love story, princess." Rarity said. Luna giggled and looked at her. "It's unintentional, but yes. I suppose it does sound like a love story. Ignus made me feel special. I couldn't let Celestia know that I was seeing him, so we met in secret day after day in Neighagra Falls. And then...one day..." Luna stopped talking and her cheeks flushed with red and the girls blushed as well when they knew what she was thinking, but Von and Kamen didn't want to think about it and kept their mouths shut. "Celestia found out about us eventually when I began to show that I was carrying my little beacon of hope...You, Von." Von smiled and continued to listen. "But as the weeks went by...well, you ponies know the legend. When I learned that all of Equestria had more fun playing in daylight rather than in the dark, I grew enraged...and became Nightmare Moon. I was still aware of myself, but my anger had gotten the best of me. The second day came and Celestia had yet to confront me. But in this time, I felt a pain in my stomach. Ignus was probably waiting for me at the falls, but I was in Canterlot. I knew what the pain was: It was your time to be born. Once the egg came out, I didn't know what to say. But as Nightmare Moon, I hadn't cared. So..." Luna began to choke on her next words. "I cast you aside and went on my way. As I am now, it pains me to think about that day. And not too long after I got rid of you, Celestia confronted me and banished me to the moon, where I stayed for 1000 years."

Everypony was silent. Von didn't know what to say or feel. His mother abandoned him, but he was finally happy to have his family by his side. His mother, Luna and his aunt, Celestia. He knew that it was all in the past. "I heard from Celestia that Ignus died, searching for me after he and Nova confronted my sister." Luna said. Celestia held her hoof up before she could continue. "Ignus demanded to know where Luna was. I told him that I had banished her. He grew enraged, but he did not attack me and I did not attack him. I peacefully asked that he'd leave, but the citizens of Canterlot found him and Nova together and believed that they were going to attack and began to assault him. I preached to them that he was not an enemy, but they did not listen. Ignus proceeded to hold the citizens back until he found an opening and escaped. He continued to come back for 300 years. A couple of years after, I received word that a green dragon was wandering around Neighagra Falls as though it were looking for something...or somepony." Celestia stopped talking and looked away from Von. "Years later, I flew around until I reached Neighagra Falls...and found his corpse. He was not murdered. Rather...he died a natural death, waiting for my sister to return, in the place where they first met." The girls' eyes widened in shock, as did Luna's and Von's. "Y-you mean...he still waited for me? Even after I was gone?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded her head and her confirmation resulted in Luna bursting into tears. "I-Ignus...I'm so sorry! Von, please forgive me! I didn't want to leave you behind. But if it wasn't for me...Ignus would--" Luna's sentence was interrupted as Von came up to Luna and rested his forehead against hers. Luna stopped crying and looked at her son in surprise. "I finally have a family...I have friends...and I know who I really am. I forgive you." Luna smiled and wrapped her wing around Von and held him close to her, crying tears of joy as Von's friends and Celestia watched them in silence.

---

Author's note: The spell Nova recited was in Greek. The literal translation for his spell is as follows: O dragons of the past, hear my plea. From the living to the dead, I call to thee. That child's ruse shall become his downfall. So dispel his disguise, once and for all!

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