BGM 1

"Dad.....how are you...I mean why are you....what's going on?!" Von yelled. He didn't know how to properly react to this situation. He had believed that his father died all those years ago and yet here he was, under a different guise and name, looking like the perfect picture of health. How was this even possible? "Why?! I had thought you were dead! Mom's been depressed ever since we heard the news! She even married some asshole!!! And now you have the gall to show your face?!?!?! You never died, did you?!?!"

"......." Ignus said nothing. He had a feeling Von would get upset. And he could understand why. He left him as a child and after learning of his 'death', he was forced to grow up without his father in his life.

"Well?!" Von yelled again. Ignus didn't respond to him, but instead he grabbed Von's hand. The feel of his father's hand was cold and lifeless. His palm was then brought to his father's chest and he held it there. Over his heart. Or rather, where his heart would be.

"............" Von said not word. He let his father keep his hand on his chest as he tried to feel for a beat from his heart.

But there was no pulse. No beat. Not a single thump from his chest signifying that he was alive.

"I would have no reason to lie to you, Von. I am dead. As lifeless as a corpse." Ignus spoke out. "But my reason for being as I am is because I am a spirit. Or ghost, if you prefer."

"B-but....why?" Von asked.

"I asked for a second chance. I was granted the chance to watch over you, see you grow and see you become the young stallion you are now. And I would not be able to move on until you learned how to be independent." He flashed a smile to his son. "And you passed with flying colors."

"...The test...."

"Yes. The test was chosen by myself and another individual to see if you could stand on your own. I know how much you care for your mother and I, but there will come a time where you can no longer rely on us to aid you. We had made a path for you to follow, so now you must make your own. Understand?" Von looked his father in the eyes and smiled as he nodded.

"Yeah. I understand."

"Good. Now then...I believe it's time to teach you your final element."

Von's eyes widened with anticipation. The final element he needed to learn as instructed by his elder: Water. He was a natural at wind and trained to learn fire with Eldrich. Earth had come to him in a moment of danger, so water was the only one left. "Really? You can teach me?!" Von got down from his high and raised a brow. "But you're an earth pony. You can't use magic."

"An element does not pertain only to magic. Anyone can use them, even those like me. How they are used by the individual, however, determines if their property is magical or not. So say a unicorn unleashes a fireball using her horn. That makes it magical. But if the unicorn covers her hands in the flame and strikes an enemy...."

"Then it's physical..." Von concluded.

"Correct. How you use them is not magical since you possess no means to use magic. So you are using it physically and indirectly."

"Indirectly?"

"Remember when you harnessed the power of the earth?" Ignus reminded him. Von thought back to that event and nodded. "You weren't using it to harm, but to protect. Fire is meant for dealing damage, reflecting your passionate battle spirit. Wind is different. It reflects your free spirit and as such, cannot be forced to do harm nor protect. So rather than trying to control it, you must let it play. Let it flow naturally. Understand?"

"Yes dad." Von replied.

"Moving on. Earth reflects your strong will and determination. It is used to protect not only yourself, but others as well and to keep enemies at bay. And finally...water. Water is calm and serene. It can be tainted and if so, can become weak and won't be able to do anything. It reflects your strength of heart. So how strong you are inside determines your damage output with water. Understand?"

"Yes dad. Alright.....I'm ready." Von said.

"Are you sure? This will be difficult. Water is not an easy element to master." Ignus told him. Von simply nodded in response.

"I am. I'm ready for this." Ignus smiled and gripped the shattered blade in his hand, facing his son once again.

"Very well. Let us begin..."

Von awoke from his daze, still in the same spot he was in before his father summoned him. Cynder was mid attack, his friends and all else around him still frozen in time. However, he noticed something. The birds in the sky: their wings were flapping slowly. The ponies around him were beginning to run in slow motion. Time was beginning to move forward now that he was no longer within the constructs of his mind.

And Cynder was still attacking.

Letting his reflexes take hold, Von jumped out of the way as time went full speed and Cynder's claw crashed into the ground.

"You little...I'm gonna murder you!!!" She shouted at him. But Von didn't care for her words. He was renewed; stronger, faster and more determined to take her down.

"That's what you think, you little cheater." He retorted. "I'm not afraid of you. And I'm not gonna lose heart. I will pursue my dream and I won't let you stand in my way!"

Cynder growled at him, a ball of lightning forming in the palm of her hand. "SHUT UP!!!!" As she screamed, she threw the attack at Von, its size doubling before it got close to him. Von got into his battle stance, unflinching and bracing himself for the attack. He closed his eyes and calmed his mind...feeling everything around him....feeling the flow that revolved around his very being....

The ball of electricity got closer to Von and was about to collide with him. But Von dodged to the side with a smooth and quick movement as the attack flew past him and disappeared.

BGM 2

"What?!?! How?!" Cynder screamed. "My attack was too fast for you to dodge! How is that possible?!?!" But Von didn't respond. He had his eyes closed and he just stood there, a still as a rock. No....he was standing, but he was swaying. He was swaying slightly, like a leaf in the breeze. And the aura around him...there was no aura. It was like his entire presence vanished, and yet he was still standing there.

"Alright! Go Von!" Axel shouted. The two dragons finally recovered from their wounds and stood up to cheer for their friend. And naturally, Daring joined in with them. This only made Cynder furious because if there was one thing she hated, it was being mocked. And the way Von moved before her eyes, it was like he was mocking her from her perspective.

"You miserable wretch!!! DIE!!!!" She shouted as she lunged forward, ready to tear him asunder. But Von dodged her attack swiftly, as though he predicted where she was going to strike. And as quick as he dodged, he slashed his claw at her face. But when he attacked, his talons were surrounded by water, fashioned into the shape of sharp blades. Cynder screamed in agony as his attack connected and she backed away, blood dripping from her face and onto the ground.

"Whoa! How'd he do that?!" Daring asked.

"I have no clue. It seems he's grown in strength mysteriously." Arcius concluded. "But how?"

"Who cares? Kick her ass, Von!!" Axel said, even knowing he was asking his friend to beat down his own sister. Von smiled and lifted his head, opening his eyes as he stared at Cynder.

BGM 3

"I have no need to be afraid of you or your power anymore." he told her. "Because...I have something that you don't. I have a power that goes beyond your imagination. And I'm going to use it to end this fight!" Cynder was taken aback, as were Von's companions and her eye began to twitch a bit.

"Y-you're bluffing! I was beating you to a pulp earlier! There's no power that can surpass what i possess." She told him. She then began to smile. "I-i get it. You got a monster inside you, just like Konan! You're pissed off at me, so you're gonna start going on a rampage like a real dragon? Is that it?!"

Von stayed silent for a moment.....and started to laugh, shocking Cynder. Von stood there and turned away from her. Seeing the chance to attack, Cynder took it and slashed her claw at him. But Von, without his power over water, dodged and countered with a quick bash of his head into her own. She backed away from him, still sore from the previous attack and Von chuckled.

"How can this be? How can he be able to move so fast after I drained so much power from him?" Von asked. He turned towards Cynder and smiled as he slowly approached her. "That's what you're thinking, right?" Cynder swallowed, actually feeling nervous as Von continued to speak. "I'll admit. You hurt me pretty bad prior to now. I'm lucky I got some unexpected assistance, or I would've been toast. But you're right about one thing. I am so pissed off right now. It would give me great pleasure to pummel that smug face of yours into the ground!!!" He told her. "But...I'm not stupid. You want me to fly so far off the handle that I'll act like the same kind of monster you are and try to turn me against my friends. You're one clever little lizard. As mad as I am....I think I should award you...."

At that moment, Von's body began to glow causing the jaws of his friends to drop.

With that sentence, Von let loose a mighty roar, something he'd never done before as a grand pillar of light erupted from his body and to the sky.

"W-what's going on?" Daring asked. Arcius and Axel looked to one another, expecting the other to have an answer.

"I'm not sure. I think he's...unleashing his draconic side? He's gonna go on a rampage and lose control!" Axel speculated, but it didn't seem to be quite right. The white dragon beside him shook his head and looked his way.

"But...he just said he wouldn't." Arcius corrected him, feeling concerned. None of them knew what to do or say. All they could do was watch as their friend began to change before their very eyes. The light disappeared and shockingly, Von was nowhere to be found.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" Cynder said in a panic.

BGM 4

Before she could react, a blow struck Cynder in the back and put her on her knees. She got back up and looked around, but she couldn't see the attacker.

"What was that?" She said to herself. Another attack came her way, a fireball and she swiftly dodged it, but she felt a sharp blow to her face again, right over her wounds. "Agh!! Why you-- Come on out! Don't be scared to--" Cynder's eyes opened wide, as well as the bystanders, as she backed away from the astonishing sight approaching her. Von was before her, but he was not how he was before. His teal body had turned into a fluorescent white, his mane from orange to a brilliant crimson and his wings had grown to about the same span as Cynder's.

"W-what is this madness?! What are you?!" Cynder screamed at him. Von stopped for a moment and examined himself. He was actually shocked himself to see what he had become. He had imagined the power he'd receive from all his training and what he was told, but he didn't expect anything like this. He was at a loss for words...except for seven.

"The halfling who's gonna kick your ass." He replied. Cynder took a defensive stance as Von lunged forward and swiped his claw at her. She took the blow and countered with a punch, but Von avoided it and shot a fireball directly at her face at point blank range. She hissed at him as the smoke cleared and threw several balls of lightning at him in retaliation.

"Hmph." Von sneered as he began swatting away her attacks while a couple of them connected, yet he didn't stop his assault. The two were locked in close-combat again, exchanging punch after punch to one another. Some of Cynder's punches had connected to Von, but with his skin feeling as though it'd been reinforced, they weren't all that effective while Von's attacks were dealing the most damage. Not only that, but his agility was giving him the advantage.

"Enough of this!!!" Cynder screamed at the top of her lungs. She flapped her wings and took flight, high above Von and opened her mouth as wide as she could as purple sparks formed all around in her maw and unleashed a torrent of lightning down on the powered kirin. A large cloud of dust came up as a result of her attack before she landed on the ground. Exhausted, she took a knee and tried to catch her breath. But this was her undoing.

"....." Von stayed silent, standing directly behind Cynder and he smiled as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "Boo."

Cynder gasped and turn around and shot an electric blast, but Von had already moved behind her. Seeing his chance, his body began to light on fire as he darted towards her. As he did, it felt like everything was moving slow around him.

Author's Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed that. And if you're wondering, yes. Von just beat the living daylights out of Cynder. But what happens after that? You're going to have to wait for it to show then. Until then, see ya next time