What's happening to me? Everything...hurts. Everything's so cold and dark...I don't like it here. I hate it here. Please...someone...anyone...help me...

No matter what I tried, I got the same answer every time: Silence. Nothing but silence. After the battle with Nova, I had gone into a semi-comatose state. I was awake and aware of everything that was around me. But whenever someone tried to talk to me, i just stayed quiet. Not a single peep. I didn't move, blink, eat or even try to acknowledge that I was still alive.

It was like I was trapped. Frozen in time, my mind forever stuck in a black void. I wanted to move, to get up and speak to everyone. To see how they were holding up, to try and make them feel better. But how could I talk to anyone after what happened? Storm Front...Stormy...she died. She was really...really dead... Murdered in cold blood by Nova...all just to protect me.

Why? Storm, why did you do that?! I wanted you to live. To live with me...and now...

No. No, I shouldn't dwell on the past. Storm wouldn't want me to do that. Neither would Celestia or my friends or mom...

Anyway...when I finally came to, I went to go see Celestia first. It had been a week since Storm's funeral. I didn't attend. Neither did Tia or Midnight. I expected that from Stormy's sister. While she wanted to pay her respects, she knew that Stormy wouldn't want to see her...our crying faces. If we went and cried, it will be as if we are disgracing her. Making it seem like she died for nothing.

I'm getting off track again. Sorry.

When I reached the throne room, I couldn't help but embrace her and cry in her arms. I couldn't help it. I was still upset. Devastated as one of the many I loved and cherished most was taken away from me. And if that wasn't bad enough, there was still the fact that my mother was going to die somehow. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I know it wasn't her fault that she was gone...but it felt like I was abandoned. Tia knew what my answer was going to be. She simply smiled and embraced me again, trying her best to ease my pain.

I told her yes. After the papers were signed, it was made official: I was now Celestia's son. You think everyone would be happy, hearing that the princess had adopted and taken somepony as her own. She told me about how she had raised Spike, so it felt like I had a brother...a true one.

And yet, hardly anyone was happy.

Not too long after the declaration was made, lots of ponies went into an uproar. They felt angry, betrayed even, that their goddess and ruler had taken "a monster" into her family. A monster...heh. Even to this day, I still get labeled as that. They were the real monsters, thinking of rising against their princess just to get rid of me. Wanting to ostracize everyone I knew because they were close to me. Oh how I wanted to say something. Do anything I could just to stop them from acting like fools! Attack them, imprison them, torture them even!!

.....................................

Wow...can't believe I would even think such a thing. I guess i was still upset. Or perhaps it had to do with a little something I heard T....mom discuss with Midnight.

A few nights prior to the rather short riot, thanks to mom quieting them using the "doting mother" schtick, I wandered around the castle to take in the sights and clear my head. As I walked, i overheard a conversation going on in mom's room. The door was cracked a bit, so I took a peek inside and saw Midnight talking to her. She sounded angry. And for good reason.

The strange power that I used to beat Nova? Turns out it was a power that used to belong to a dragon from an ancient species: Naga. I had been exposed to the blood of one of his kin, a power I now call Descent Mode due to its dark nature, in order to make sure I was protected in my younger years and onward. It sounded like it would be a good thing, but the way Midnight was reacting, I guess it wasn't. So, I decided to do a little research in the Canterlot Archives. What I found...wasn't a good thing.

The race Naga originated from was known as Nexus dragons. The first Nexus dragons were Naga himself and his brother, Arpeggio. They were originally Wind dragons, much like my mom and I, before they delved into the dark arts. They knew so many different types of dark magic, it warped their minds and corrupted their souls. The power was too much for them to handle to the point where it rotted them from the inside-out, changing their bodies to fit their dark desires. The playful winds they once commanded turned into black winds of malice. But that wasn't all they were capable of doing. As it turns out, they were capable of turning the land around them. Food became poison, water became bile and the earth became dust beneath their feet.

The dragon elders could not bear to see their brethren become such...beasts. So they combined their power and banished the two of them from our world and imprisoned them in the Nexus, which is where their name originates. Supposedly, they still live to this day. The elders were too kind, believing that one day Naga and Arpeggio could redeem themselves and rid their bodies of the miasmic darkness plaguing their bodies. I suppose I can understand where they came from. They were family and to them, they believed everyone deserved a second chance...Even beasts.

Anyway, what had happened was that I was exposed to the blood of a Nexus Dragon. It must've been one of Naga's spawn because it was traced all the way to him. How did it happen? Well as it turns out, one of the Nexus Spawn had managed to get through the barrier blocking the Nexus from Equestria back when I was a child. It attacked me and mom and when my mother struck it down, some of its blood got onto me. From what I read, the blood of a Nexus Dragon is extremely volatile. If consumed by an entity, the blood would take a poisonous aspect and kill them from within. The process is slow and painful, starting with melting their tissue and ending with their organs being dissolved.

If it comes into contact with the skin, it will trigger the creature's base instinct. For me, it triggered the awakening of my dragon blood. I guess that would explain why some of my memories are foggy. My inner dragon instinct kicked in and I nearly assaulted my mother. She got into contact with Celestia and she came to help restrain me. The pain I could feel of having my instincts forced out... It was unbearable. I couldn't take it because I was so young. Using an old spell she learned when she was younger, she helped me suppress the power of my dark brothers. As such, I could tap into my instinct at any time i pleased. ...At a price...

According to her, should one use the power too much in rapid succession, their mind and soul will be warped and they will change forever. So in other words...

If I use Descent Mode too much, I'll become one of them. I didn't need anything to be told to me to know what to do. I can't use this power unless I truly need to. Same with Ascent Mode. I may need one of them anyway, given that my other powers were robbed from me. I don't really want to, to be honest. Ascent and Descent mode are like crutches to me. Deep in my heart, I feel like I should rely on my own powers. I think I need to train some more...

Anyhow, I'm starting to feel alot better now. I will miss Storm greatly, but I can't continue to dwell on the past forever. If I do, I'll never be able to move forward. So, I'm going to be training with Midnight come morning. She made it pretty urgent that I do. So at this point, I may be able to hone my swordsmanship and grow as both a warrior and a Stallion.

Storm...dad...please watch over me. Because after this, I'll be heading out to my first destination: Professor B's brothel.

Author's Notes:

The true journey begins soon...