"Here I come!!!" Von shouted as he charged headlong at Eldrich. The elderly dragon smiled and and prepared to counter-attack. however Von slowed his charge suddenly. He lifted his head back and opened his mouth. After taking a deep breath, he unleashed a small ball of fire from his mouth that shot towards Eldrich. Eldrich moved his head to the side and turned to the blast as it hit a tree behind him and burned it to ash.

BGM 1

"Splendid work, young one." Eldrich said, praising the young kirin for his efforts. Von blushed and kicked his foot against the ground.

"Aww. I didn't do much really." Von replied. The two males conversed with one another about their sparring session when a silver dragoness came up to them, greeting the two with a warm grin.

"Is his training complete?" Silva asked. Eldrich chuckled.

"Yes. For now, at least. I have taught him the basic use of fire to the best of my abilities. It took some getting used to, but he managed to conjure up his first fireball." He said. "If he learns more on how to control it, then he may be able to use the power of fire for more than just that." Von jumped for joy when he heard that statement.

"Really?! I can learn how to...to shoot streams of fire?! Or....or light my claws on fire maybe?! Ooh! Can I even shoot fire out of my eyes?" The kirin asked excitedly.

"I'm not so sure about those last two, sweetie." His mother said.

"Those are some lovely, if not odd, examples. But yes, you will be able to manipulate fire in different ways. Be it surrounding yourself in flames to tackle your opponents or unleashing a devastating gust of fire to burn all that lies before you. But you must learn from the Primals in order to fully gain control of it....or at least as much control as your body can handle." Eldrich instructed. Von stared at him, confused.

"Who ARE the Primals anyway?" He asked. Silva and Eldrich nodded to one another before they both looked back to him.

"The Primals, as their names sound, are dragons of old and are the ones that have mastered the eight elements. Each one commands a single element, but they have complete control over it and help maintain balance in the world." Eldrich stated.

"Wait. I'm a dragon of wind. How can I even use fire anyway?" Von asked, looking between his mother and the elderly drake. Silva giggled a bit and smiled down at her son.

"Though we are dragons of wind naturally, we are of a generation where it is possible to learn how to use a different elemental breath or element in general through extensive training. And the reason for that is because...we've forgotten the true meaning behind our power." The dragoness explained. Von didn't say much, but he slowly nodded his head to let them know that he understood now. At least, he thought he did.

"So mom, when's dad coming home?" Von asked. The bright smile that had appeared on SIlva's face quickly turned to one of sorrow. She turned her head away and did not look at her child. Eldrich did the same, leaving Von confused and worried. "Mom?"

Silva turned her head back to Von, reluctant to speak.

"I'm afraid your father will not be coming back, Von." She said in a low tone.

"Why not?" Eldrich turned to speak to him this time.

Von awoke from his slumber the following day in a cold sweat. He had yet another dream about his childhood. Looking over at his hand, he simply smiled.

"If I learn how to use the elements, maybe I'll be as strong as dad one day....or maybe even stronger." He told himself. As he got up from the bed Lyra let him lie in, the owner of the house herself came into the room and smiled at him.

"Oh good. You're awake. That saves me some time." The unicorn said. Von smiled and stepped closer to her. "Are you ready to start living like a normal stallion?" Von nodded his head in response.

"You bet!"

Lyra sat Von down in one of her chairs once the two of them finished eating breakfast together. Some of the food ponies eat weren't all that bad. Granted, they had flowers and stuff in them but his taste buds couldn't make heads or tails as to whether they were supposed to taste bad for him or not. They were bitter yet sweet, much like the gems he used to eat. Of course, this was due to his pony blood but he decided not to question it. Upon Von finishing the Daffodil sandwich he was given, Lyra began to speak.

"Ok. I've never done this sort of thing before, but it shouldn't be too hard. The first thing you need to learn about acting like us ponies is that you first need to look like us." She said. She turned her head towards a bag and her horn began to glow, the contents of the bag glowing in correspondence, and some odd clothes floated out of it and in front of him.

BGM 2

"Uh....what are those?" Von asked, pointing to the fabric. Lyra giggled and grabbed her kirin companion with her hoof.

"These are your new clothes." She said. "I'm not going to have you living in my house and not wear proper clothes." She said, looking at Von. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was only wearing underwear, shorts and nothing else. As quickly as she finished, she grabbed Von and forced him into the other room.

"Huh?! H-hey! Don't-- HEY! It doesn't bend that much!!" Von protested. "Stop! Don't touch that! They're sensi-- AGH!!! THAT'S TOO TIGHT!!" Von protested more and more, but the unicorn paid no mind to them as she went to work on the young half breed. When she was done, she stepped away and began to point and laugh at how ridiculous she thought Von looked in the clothes she picked out.

"Y-y-you look so..." Lyra couldn't finish her sentence and quickly burst into laughter, falling on her padded floor and pointing her finger at him. "HAHAHAHA!!!! Ha! Oh my sides!!!"

Von narrowed his eyes in annoyance as the feeling of these alien clothes were quite uncomfortable. His wings had been tucked into the shirt, so he could not spread them like they needed to, most of his tail had been tucked against his rear so that only a bit of it would be exposed, the sleeves of the shirt and the pants he wore were tight around his legs. And lastly.....there was THAT. Oh dear merciful Celestia, if it got any tighter around there than it already was, it would split in half. Point blank, the clothes were much too tight for Von.

"It's too tight on me. Can't I wear something else...or maybe NOTHING at all?" He pleaded. Lyra shook her head and stood back up, making eye contact with the halfling.

"Sorry. But you're a guest in my household. And until you get your own place, you gotta live by MY rules. And this new rule requires you to wear clean clothes if you want to blend in with us ponies." She explained. Von groaned in annoyance and began tugging at the pants she put him in.

"Then can I at LEAST keep my shorts?!" He replied. Lyra giggled and with a single flash of magic, his pants disappeared and his shorts were back on. His tail slithered to the ground and he sighed in relief at the feeling of being released from the polyester prison, but his relief faded quick when a certain something came to mind. "Oh my...excuse me for a minute." Von said as he rushed to the other room and began to use his hand to examine south of the border. "Let's see....one....two....three. Ok. I'm good now!"

"Huh?" Lyra said as she was quite curious as to what he did.

"N-nothing. So...what next?" Von asked, joining Lyra in the living room. Lyra smiled and used her magic to levitate a small bottle over to him. Inside was an unknown green liquid. It was warm, the smell coming off it revolting and it made Von want to puke. And more likely than not, Von was about to be forced to drink it.

I'm gonna have to drink this, aren't I?, Von thought.

"Here. Drink this."

Yep. Von groaned and gripped the bottle in his hand and tilted it towards his lips, the warm liquid touching his lips before he tiled it away and looked at the mint green unicorn. "Where did you get this?"

"I got this from somepony in the Everfree Forest. Now hurry up and drink it." Lyra urged. Von stared at her for a long minute, unsure as to whether or not to take her word for it. But he was willing to do anything to be like a normal pony. So, he took the bottle and brought it back to his lips. The green liquid nearly went past his lips when another thing crossed his mind, stopping him from drinking yet again.

"You went to the Everfree Forest?" He asked.

"Yup." Lyra replied.

"The forest with those wooden wolves?"

"That's right."

"And you managed to get through....without getting eaten by them.....just to get this."

"Yeah. Actually, the Timberwolves aren't so bad. They're actually pretty gentle if you don't disturb them." The unicorn said.

"Then why did they attack me?!" Von exclaimed.

"They said you smelled like somepony they came across once in their life."

"Somepony they-- Wait. You understand them?!"

"Yeah. I can understand Timberwolf speech." Lyra said, smiling.

"HOW?!"

"There are alot of things I do that...I'd rather not explain." The unicorn looked away with a shame-filled look, of which prompted Von to wonder exactly what kind of pony she was. But he ignored it and proceeded to gulp down the liquid. It tasted as vile as it smelled. Von felt the desperate need to puke, but he managed to bear with it and swallowed. He smacked his lips a couple times, getting a sample of the after taste of the liquid. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was certain it was a type of fruit.

Mango, maybe? Or is this melon? Ah whatever, he thought. His focus shifted as a tingling sensation swam through his feet. No. Not just his feet. His whole body tingled. He started to panic, unaware of what changes were going through his body. It was frightening and he wanted it to stop. But soon, the sensation overwhelmed him and everything went black.

Von awoke several moments later, his head feeling quite foggy. He stumbled back onto his feet and looked around. Lyra was standing there agape, staring with widened eyes at the kirin. Von looked down at his feet and back at her.

"What? I don't feel any--" Von looked back where he wings were and saw they were not there. Not just that, his once-proud dragon tail had turned into a normal pony tail, the spikes on his head were gone and his sharp fangs had been replaced by regular teeth. "W-w......WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!?!" Von screamed.

"I don't know! I asked her if she could make a potion for turning something into a pony and she brewed this up. I thought she didn't believe me and gave me a dud! I didn't think this would actually happen!!" Lyra retorted. Von shook his head and looked in a mirror and staring right back at him was a teal Earth pony stallion.

"Whoa...I look....awesome! That stuff really worked wonders." He said with a grin. "I look the part. Now I just need to learn what you guys know." He turned to his unicorn companion and smiled as Lyra quickly regained her composure and returned the smile.

"Alright. Now that you look the part, it's time for your lesson." She told him. The two of them went back into the living area and sat on the couch, undisturbed as Lyra began to lay down the events that have transpired far before he arrived.

BGM 3

About an hour went by as Lyra finally finished giving Von the rundown on all that has happened around Pony society. From the time of Nightmare Moon's return to the revival of the Crystal Empire. Some things had been quite catastrophic for the ponies, but she assured them that they always pulled through somehow and that they always will as long as harmony existed. Von took her words to heart and looked outside of the door when he opened it. The sun was shining bright over the pony-filled town, its light warming his heart and a smile spread across his face.

"Alright. I'm off." He said. He waved as he bid good day to his unicorn friend and set out into town. He took in the sights around him, smiling the whole way. As he passed by a few ponies, they eyed him a few times and he looked back at them nervously. He expected them to shun him or think that he was weird, but they smiled right back at him and waved to the disguised kirin.

They don't suspect a thing. It's really working, he thought. Let's see.....I think I'll head on over to that Sugarcube Corner she mentioned. Von turned his head toward a building with a candy-coated roof and began to trot towards it. It was quite different to be walking around with a pony body, but Von was willing to deal with it. For now, Von the kirin was nowhere in sight. The days of Von the stallion have now begun....

BGM 4

"You wished to see me, father?" Nova asked as he approached the dragon. Konan lifted his head and looked to his son.

"Yes. I called you here for a matter of grave importance." He told him. Nova listened to his father and gave him his undivided attention as Konan told him the precise reason why he called him there.

"Father, you cannot be serious." Nova protested. But despite not wanting to believe his father's words, he knew it was the truth. "Are you quite certain you wish for me to do this?"

"Yes, I am. I would not ask this of anyone else. I can only trust you with this task." Konan said. Nova bowed his head to his father and looked back up at him.

"And my task father?" Konan stared at him, his eyes narrowing in anger.

Author's Notes:

Von has finally been given the chance to be like a normal pony, but there seems to be some events going on behind the scenes. How long will Von be able to live the life he's living before it all gets ruined? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it