~20 years ago~

BGM 1

"Father, look! I can finally breathe fire." Shouted a young dragon.

I was just coming of age where my powers were starting to develop. I was so happy with myself. Happy I could finally do things like my father and all the others...

"Do you really think such a small puff of flame is enough to be proud of?" Growled the father. "Until you can release a real flame, I don't want to hear anything about it!"

My father was a rather...uptight individual. No matter what small achievement I got, my father would down it in almost an instant. Everytime I did something I should've been happy about...I didn't bother. I didn't cheer or get worked up. I just...stayed silent. And as the years passed and my powers continued to grow...

"That's good. You've gotten better. You're finally becoming the warrior I'd hope you'd be." Said the grown dragon.

"Thank you...father."

For the first time in a long while, I actually felt...happy. But it wasn't real happiness. I managed to make my father proud, but not the way I wanted to. Instead of being true to myself...I let myself get swept up with the events and strove to be what my father wanted me to become. From that day forth, I abandoned my dreams and decided to stay the son my father wanted me to become; The son he could actually be proud of...

Nova slowly opened his eyes and scoffed, looking up at the sky. He sat atop the edge of a cliff, allowing the chaos to run rampant in Canterlot City as he awaited news of the success of their invasion. However, he noticed something off in the distance and got up from his perch to notice that it was the forces he accompanied retreating.

"I see. So they managed to be pushed back. Then that would mean..." Looking down at the castle, he heard what sounded like a cry of pain, but also cries of sadness. They sounded very familiar to him, which caused him to smile. Grabbing his sword, he spread his wings and jumped off the cliff and down to the castle.

Inside, Von was crying into Celestia's shoulders when their embrace was parted as Nova suddenly entered the chamber. Von glared at him with his reddened eyes as he reached for the broken remains of his sword when Celestia stopped him.

"Don't, Von. You're in no condition to fight." She said.

"The princess speaks the truth. Stay your blade. I've not come to fight you. In fact, I've come to talk with you." The dragon replied, placing his sword at his side. Von was still grieving the loss of his mother and seeing that he was unstable, Celestia took the opportunity to speak on his behalf.

"What do you wish to talk about?" She asked. "As you can see, there's not much to talk about with the current situation." Nova stared at her in silence before diverting his attention to Von.

BGM 2

"You see it now, don't you?" He asked, causing Von's ears to perk up. "These are the types of trials you must be willing to go through to achieve this dream of yours."

"...Trials? You think that this was a trial? That killing my own mother was some sort of test?!" Von yelled, stumbling over a bit. "What in the hell makes you think you have the right to say such a thing?! My mother...All she wanted...all we wanted was a life of peace. Harmony amongst our brethren."

"And to get that happiness is a trial in itself. There is nothing you can go through in life where you won't be tested." Nova replied. "If you really want to be happy, you must be willing to make sacrifices."

"What?!" Von growled as his eyes shrank to slits and his tone grew darker. "My mother was not a sacrifice! Nothing like this should be determined. Nothing like this was meant to happen!"

"And who are you to decide what can and can't happen?!" The black dragon yelled, shutting Von up. "There are many things that happen that we cannot control or that are undetermined. Sometimes...things just happen. But the things that can happen or are about to happen...you can change those. Your mother foresaw her death and yet, she couldn't avoid it if she wanted to. Why do you think that was?"

Von stayed silent and mulled over his words, still angry with him until he came up with an answer. "Something happened that prevented that..."

"Precisely. And that thing...just so happened to be my father." The dragon sighed and turned his head away, his calm expression fading. "My father has made contact with a dark force and has been using it in order to secure his reign as king. You've seen first hand just what this dark power is capable of from Cynder and I."

Von remained silent as he thought about Cynder's death and Storm's. "But... To be honest, I don't support this. My father has strayed away from what I believe it means to be a true dragon and has become obsessed with his thirst for power. Even as we speak, he is likely planning on waging a full scale attack on Equestria. So, I will tell you this." Nova grabbed his sword and spread his wings, hovering into the air as he spoke to them. "Gather what allies you can and prepare for the battle to come. I will not hold back when we meet again."

"Why are you telling us this?" Celestia asked. Nova went silent and chuckled softly.

"To be honest...I don't know. Everything that I've been doing...I've done for him. To make him proud. Even if it meant straying from the path I wanted to follow. But...sometimes to do the right thing, we must give up what we want most. Even our dreams." He replied as a single tear dripped down his cheek. He looked over at Von and straightened his face. "Decide for yourself how far you are willing to go to achieve your dream. You wish for coexistence for all, a dream that many would consider impossible. To do something like that, you will have to go through many hardships and may get swept away by your emotions. Don't. Because there will be times that in order to achieve your goals, you must be emotionless."

"Nova..." Von softly spoke, wiping away his tears. The black dragon remained silent and with those last words, he took off and flew straight for home.

"...You're strong, Von. Very strong. But you still have much to learn. Not everything in this world will go your way. You must understand this and adapt to make your dreams possible..."

Von and Celestia stood silent as Nova departed. The kirin looked over at the remains of his sword, fighting back tears as the alicorn approached him. "Will you be ok?" She asked.

"...Yeah." Von replied, sniffing and wiping his eyes. "I'll be fine. I...need to return these to dad. He...It belongs mainly to him. This sword meant alot to him and it's only right that I give it back."

"...Alright." Celestia smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "As for what Nova said...he is right. I'll ask the guard to prepare their defenses and send whomever I can with you to stop Nova's father before this breaks into a fullscale war."

"No. It's alright." Von replied, denying her request. "Have the guards stationed in Canterlot and Ponyville. I'm sure Luna will help even if we don't ask her to. Midnight, Daring and Gilda can help keep the town on lockdown so that there won't be any other casualties."

"And what about you?" Von stayed silent and grit his teeth, thinking about what he would do when he thought of something. It would be risky, but he had no other place to turn to.

"I remember Eldrich telling me of some old dragons back when I was little. Ancient dragons that lived longer than most of us, maybe as long as you and Luna, that held untold power and wisdom. Their knowledge of the world passed down through many generations until they faded to legend. But unknownst to us, they were still among us all this time."

"Von?" Celestia was taken back by what he was telling her. She knew what he was talking about, but the mere thought of him going there was insane. Even if he was of draconic descent, there was a chance they wouldn't listen to him and could even end him. But instead of protesting, Celestia simply nodded her head as Von turned to her with a confident expression on his face.

Author's Notes:

Nova wants Von to stop his father from waging war on Equestria. He wants Von to toughen up and learn that some things in life require a sacrifice. And now, Von has decided to seek out the elders for their aid. Will they help him? Or will they put the halfbreed's journey to an end?

The end is drawing near. Hope to see you guys soon