Chapter 22: A Second Chance

BGM 1

Von screamed in agonizing pain as Nova slowly tore Von's wings off with his magic. They stuck tightly to his skin to the point that it was torn with it. When they were finally ripped off, Von screamed even louder and writhed on the ground as he bled heavily on the ground. The sounds of his screams were enough to snap Chrysalis out of her trance and she looked to her son with worry and fear.

"Hahahahahahahaha!!! Yes!!! Scream! Scream loud for me! It brings me so much joy! What should be next? Your horn? Your eyes? Your tongue?" Nova cackled insanely. Chrysalis was finally in control of herself, but all she could do was watch in horror as her flesh and blood was being mutilated by his sibling. Nova started jumping up and down in a silly, but crazy manner before leaning over Von. He used his magic to grip his mane and tail and Von twisted his head in his brother's direction in a flash. "I know. Let's try your lovely little mane."

"W-wai--" Von's plea was drowned by his screams as an invisible force started tugging on his mane violently. Nova laughed, the look of insanity in his eyes growing more intense and his expression all the more darker. Chrysalis began to tear up, watching the torture her child was going through. And she had enough.

"Nova, stop this madness at once!" She ordered. Nova ignored her. "Nova, answer me!" No response. All she could get from Nova was a laugh, but it was not directed at her as he continued to stare down at Von's misery and worked his magic.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiip

Von stopped screaming as the source of his pain had released him. When he looked back, he noticed that only a part of his mane and tail were taken from him rather than the whole thing. Nova, disappointed in the result, tossed the ripped pieces to the side and incinerated them before turning back to his younger brother.

"Come on! Let's play some more! I want to hear you scream more! I want to hear your cry out in anguish! Just like he did!" Nova yelled with psychotic bliss. Von gave him a confused glance before getting back up, barely able to stand.

"Who's 'he'?" Von asked. Nova laughed and lowered his head to Von at an uncomfortably close level.

"You don't know?! I'm talking about father. Oh, his screams were simply delicious back then. It's too bad that I couldn't enjoy it as much then as I can now. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!" Nova laughed as he lifted his head up, but his words caught the attention of his mother in law.

"What do you mean 'his screams'? What are you talking about? Tell me!" Chrysalis demanded. Nova stopped laughing and cocked his head to the side and shot her a wicked grin.

"You REALLY want to know? Hehehehehe....." Nova laughed.

"Thanks, princess!" Von yelled. Princess Celestia and Luna were quite pleased to see how happy Von was about spending his very first pony holiday with his friends, but Celestia was more caught up in reading a letter that she had received. Von smiled at the both of them as he turned away. "See you later." The young halfling donned the outfit that Luna had bestowed upon him and flew out of the castle to join the rest of his friends in their nighttime celebration. However, the sun goddess was not all that cheery.

"I realized something odd, sister." Celestia said as she looked up from her letter. Luna walked over to her elder sister and sat down beside her.

"What is it?"

"It's about Ignus. His death....it was quite unnatural. Chrysalis did drain him, yes. But the draining isn't what killed him. Upon further examination, I was able to find out that he suffered magical injuries. Magic that does not belong to us." Celestia lowered her head as a serious look began to form on her countenance.

'What do you mean, sister? That Chrysalis isn't responsible for his death?!" Luna asked. Her sister said no words, but merely responded with a simple nod. "Then who is responsible?! Tell me!" She demanded. Celestia raised her head and stared into her sister's eyes.

"It was..."

BGM 2

"Hahahahaha!!" Nova laughed and placed a hoof on his forehead as he stared at Chrysalis, sending a shiver up her spine. "That's right. I'm the one who caused father to die."

Chrysalis and Von couldn't believe what they had just heard. This whole time, Von had never known what happened to his father and Chrysalis had blamed herself all these years for his death. But now, the truth had finally come out. The true one that was responsible for Ignus' death, the one who caused the changeling queen to feel empty guilt, the one who took away a very dear friend to Princess Luna.....and the one who caused Von to never know his father.......was Nova, Ignus' own son.

"W-why? Why would you do that to him?! He was our father!" Von yelled.

"He was a filthy pony lover! Dragons and ponies do not belong together and he knew this. And yet, he continued lusting after that princess. I was pleased to hear that he couldn't get her, but then--" Nova turned his attention towards Chrysalis. "--She popped into his life! That fool, believing that you were the princess he longed for, ended up mating with her and as a result, made an abomination that has no right to exist in this world!" He hissed.

"How dare you!" Chrysalis growled. "He is your brother and Ignus was your father! What difference would it have made as to who or what he picked as a mate?"

"It's just wrong! I was born to a pureblood dragon. Von was born to a dragon and a changeling. Being born from mixed blood is disgusting! Besides, I never liked those ponies anyway. Always wanting to make friends, never wanting to fight and they can barely defend themselves anyway! They have to rely on their precious princess for safety. When it comes down to it, they are weaklings." Nova declared.

"But the ponies and dragons had a treaty. Why would you do that?" Von asked.

"I knew the treaty was in place. And I knew what would happen if any of our own were to have been harmed in Celestia's territory. That's why I did it. If one of our own died in her domain, the treaty would be broken...and I could have a legit way to kill them without getting busted." Nova said with a wicked smile. "And he deserved to die anyway. If he wants to live with ponies, then he can die with them. That's what I told myself."

"..." Neither Chrysalis nor Von could find any words to express how angry they were. But at the same time, they were upset and blamed themselves. For Von, if he hadn't been born to Chrysalis, Ignus would have lived longer. And for Chrysalis, if she never stuck her muzzle where it didn't belong, then the treaty may have stayed in place. However, Chrysalis' sadness turned back into anger when it came to her mind that she had fallen in love with Ignus...and Nova took that love away from her.

"You bastard!" Chrysalis yelled as she fired a bolt of magic at Nova. It hit him in the chest, but he remained unfazed. Nova smiled and looked at Chrysalis and stepped towards her and lifted her head with his hoof.

"Don't be such a bad girl, Chryssy." He said with a soft voice. Chrysalis went stiff for a moment until Nova suddenly flung Chrysalis over him and her back hit the trunk of a tree. "Or you can expect a spanking from me later. ~Nova's gonna spank your butt, spank you on the bu--"

Insane buffoon! Do not forget what our goal is, the voice whispered to Nova. Nova nodded his head and proceeded to go back towards the fallen halfling, who was still bleeding and struggling to get away. Von tried to walk off, but due to his injuries he was limping and didn't get very far until Nova placed a hoof on his back and shoved him into the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nova snarled. He narrowed his eyes so that the slits in them could barely be seen and slowly opened his jaws, revealing his razor sharp fangs. Chrysalis knew what was coming next. If she didn't do anything quick, Von would lose more than just his wings: he would lose his life. As quickly as Nova started to go down to bite Von, Chrysalis' horn glowed green and Von's body reacted the same way until there was small flash. Nova closed his mouth, believing that he had bitten into the grounded halfling and smiled a bit. But this smile wasn't one of satisfaction as he did not feel the taste of Von's bloody flesh on his tongue. Rather he was smiling because he was impressed with Chrysalis' reaction time for when he looked down, he noticed that Von was no longer beneath him.

"...." Chrysalis stayed silent, breathless as she had finally exhausted her strength. She was relieved that she could get her child to safety, but now she had an even bigger problem to worry about. She aided Von's escape. She protected his life. And she did it in front of Nova, the creature she enlisted to help her. She had planned on keeping Von alive, but also keep Nova's trust and she chose the latter. No doubt Nova would slaughter her and her horde because of the betrayal she committed. But Nova didn't attack. Instead......he just laughed.

Nova turned to face her, but showed little to no signs of hostility. He just......laughed. But what was there to laugh about? He planned on ending his brother and revel in the sorrow that would stay on his face after he revealed the truth. He enjoyed having violated Von's mother, the lover of their deceased father. He enjoyed taking away two of the only friends he had on the mountain. And Chrysalis just ruined his fun......and he.....laughed it off.

"I'll admit....that ticked me off just a bit. But it doesn't matter now. I had my fun with him. Now things get serious." Nova declared. His sinister smile turned into a psychotic stare as he looked Chrysalis in the eyes. "You're probably thinking that I'm gonna take the lives of your swarm. Well, I'm not." Nova's words caused Chrysalis' eyes to widen in surprise. But that wasn't the end of it. "I think they've grown on me. They listen without question, better than those back on the mountains. I like 'em so much....I think i'll stay. But things are going to be changed around here."

"What do you me--" Chrysalis' question was cut short as Nova got in front of her, his face just an inch away from hers. Chrysalis began to shake as the fear she felt before started to well up inside her again. She didn't want to relive the trauma he put her through, ESPECIALLY one event in particular.

Huh? Where am I?, Von thought. His memory was hazy, but he was certain that Nova had ripped his wings off. He tried flapping, but he didn't feel anything. He looked behind him and as he expected, his wings were not there. But in their place were bandages. They wrapped around from his chest and covered his wound. He held his head low, saddened that he would no longer be able to fly and the fact he lost a piece of what made him unique. However, that was the least thing for him to be concerned about. What he was really concerned about was his surroundings. He lifted his head and examined the area. It looked like some kind of tribal house or something similar. There were bookshelves with a wide-variety of books put away, there were also some counters that had some very strange things to him on it. There were tubes and plants and all sorts of things neatly organized on top.

But what confused him most was the cauldron in the center and the decor. It felt like he'd seen the decor at one point, but he couldn't put his hoof on it. It all looked like it belonged to somepony from a foreign land. But 'who did it belong to' was the question. And luckily for Von, that question was about to be answered as the owner of the decor stepped inside and noticed him.

BGM 3-Zecora

"Ah, it seems that you are awake. I had pondered how long the herbs would take." The figure rhymed. Von turned and looked and his eyes widened when he saw who was before him. She looked just a bit different, but there was no doubt about it: it was the striped mare that he'd seen during Nightmare Night.

"It's you. That mare from Ponyville. But you don't look like a pony...I'm not sure what you are. Oh...I'm sorry. I don't even know your name." Von said as he put his head down.

"Please do not fret. As you can see, I am a zebra, quite different from a pony. My name is Zecora, and I live here in my hut. So please, do not fear. Don't cause such a fuss." The mare introduced herself.

"I'm Von. Nice to meet you, Zecora." Von was still in pain, but he managed to force himself up from the bed he was lying on. He looked towards the zebra, the one who called herself Zecora, and smiled as she walked towards one of her shelves. To him, she was more beautiful up close. He did, however, feel that he could do without the strange style her mane was in and preferred it the way it was when he saw her. But he wasn't going to be picky. He quickly shook his head in disagreement the moment he realized what he was thinking about. I just met her and I'm already deciding what I do and don't like?! She's not even my marefriend, he thought. But she would definitely make a cute one. AGH!!!! What am I thinking?! I just got dumped by Dash, ended up having sex with my mother and just found out about..... Von stopped his thoughts when he started thinking of recent events.

His elder brother had torn his wings off and revealed that he was their father's murderer. And here he was thinking about what would make this strange mare a potential lover. He hadn't even gotten to know her yet. He didn't want to think about courting her without knowing her in entirety, let alone court her altogether. But they seemed like they had a connection of sorts ever since he had that vision and when their eyes met on Nightmare Night. He thought about leaving before doing or saying something that he might regret when Zecora suddenly spoke up.

"Oh dear, it's seems that I am out, of a special herb that I cannot continue without. Though, it grows on a large tree, what I need for my brew. You'll be able to help me with this, won't you?" She asked. Von was starting to catch on to the fact that rhyming was her way of speaking and realized what she just requested from him. She needed something important and couldn't get it alone. His wound was slowly healing, the pain still lingering, but that wasn't going to stop him from helping her. This mare helped him when he got hurt and even brought him to her home. The least he could do as a proper gentle....thing and as a good house guest was help her.

"Ok. I'll help. Let's get to it." He said with enthusiasm. Zecora gave him a warm smile and the two proceeded to leave the hut. As Von and Zecora went off into the forest, events that would further impact his life were beginning to unfold....

The north eastern mountains is Griffon territory, a place that one should be wary of but it is not as dangerous as the Dragon territory. The griffons are half-eagle and half-lion brutish, rude and selfish creatures with a tendency to bully, assault or put down other races. The ponies are no exception to this, let alone is any of their own. There is one griffon, however, that is slightly different from the rest. She was able to befriend a pony but in the end, she lost that friend. But even without said pony, she still manages to keep up face and remain as tough as ever. But deep down, she still yearns for friendship. And her name is--

"Gilda!!!" A griffon shouted. He was pinned to the ground by another griffon, a female. "Get off! I give! I GIVE!!!" Gilda smiled and released the griffon from her grip and backed away from him.

"Are you serious? Blitz, you do this every time! You challenge me, we fight and then you give up. I can't believe I hang with dweebs like you." Gilda said.

"What's the matter? You miss hanging out with that lousy pegasus?" Blitz asked. Gilda scoffed at his comment.

"Of course not. Like I'd miss that lame-o anyway." Gilda said. A few other griffons came down from the sky and looked at them.

"Heh. I know WHO she misses the most." A female griffon said with a teasing voice. " Huh, Gildy?" Gilda quickly shot her head back towards the griffon's direction. Her stare was ice-cold and she grabbed the griffon by her neck and held her against the mountain wall.

"Don't you EVER call me by that name again, Lora! No one is allowed to call me by that name!" Gilda screeched. The other griffons just stared at Gilda and saw that she was bllushing. It wasn't that hard to see due to her feathers.

"OH!!! I get it. She misses her BOYFRIEND." The other griffon teased. All of them started laughing and pointed at Gilda, who released Lora and let her drop to the floor.

"He is not my boyfriend. We were just kids!" Gilda hissed. Blitz walked over to her and placed a claw on one of her wings.

"So you say, but we know you miss him. We won't judge", Blitz teased. We just didn't know you were into interspecies stuff. That's a little kinky. Don't you think so, Gildy?" That last little taunt was all Gilda could take. She was being called by a nickname that she hadn't heard in so long, she was being mocked for having a 'boyfriend' from a different species and had had it. It was bad enough that she had lost her one true friend and she wasn't going to sit by and be made a fool of for someone that she was with in the past. Gilda screeched a hawk-like screech, hurting the ears of her so-called friends and causing them to stop with their talking.

"You guys are really getting on my fucking nerves! Accusing me of missing that stupid Rainbow Dash? I can deal with that. Making fun of my nickname? Annoying, but tolerable. But I'm not going to let you make fun of my boy.....my friend just because we were together! And we were kids, so it doesn't even count! I thought I wouldn't have to deal with alot of crap if I came back here to be with my REAL friends, but it seems like I was wrong. You guys aren't my friends. You're just a bunch of lame-o dweebs!!!" She screeched. "My friends were that pegasus and HIM. I lost one..." Gilda cut her sentence short when realization struck her like a lightning bolt. She'd lost Rainbow Dash as her friend, but not her other friend. A smile formed in the corner of her beak and she spread her wings and hovered above them. "Thanks for bringing him up for me. I'd almost forgotten him. I may not have Dash as my friend anymore, but I'm sure I still have him."

"Huh? Gilda, we were just kidding." Blitz said in an attempt to persuade her. He had a feeling as to what she was planning. "You're not seriously going back there, are you?" Gilda didn't answer. Instead, she just turned away from them and glanced back at them one more time.

"Yeah, I am. Later, bozos!!" Gilda yelled as she flipped them off and flew away. For the first time in a long time, Gilda felt happy. Even though she had lost her friend from Flight school, she still had one more friend. Or at least she hoped she did. She hadn't seen him in years. She wondered what he looked like now, what changes he made to his life, did he get stronger, did he turn into a wimp. These were the questions that kept echoing in her mind. But it didn't matter. She finally had a chance. Another chance to have a friend, to have someone who cared about her and to have someone who wanted her around.

"But I wonder if he remembers me..." She said to herself. "It HAS been years since we last saw each other. I bet he's still the same childish runt I know." Gilda laughed a little at her comment and kept looking forward. She wanted to see her friend more than anything and that's what was driving her.

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