BGM 1

"Daddy? Am I a horrible child?" Inquired the young kirin. Ignus looked at Von with shock and awe, trying to comprehend what his son just asked him. Von had asked Silva this on numerous occasions, but he never asked his father before.

"I'm sure your mother has told you numerous times: you're not a horrible child, Von. You aren't a beast of burden and you aren't a demon child." Ignus explained. Von lowered his head, his ears dropping to the back of his head.

"Then why weren't you speaking?" He asked. "Ever since you talked to that princess pony, you haven't said a single word to me." Von certainly knew how to tug at his parents' heartstrings. And this just so happened to be Ignus'. Multiple times whenever something of grave importance came to his attention, Ignus would not speak to Von or Silva. It was as though he was ignoring them. But that was not the case. Something was on his mind, like any other time...something he couldn't tell him.

"Daddy's just deep in thought. That's all." He told Von. "I could never think that you're a horrible child. If anything, you're a wonderful child. One that Silva and myself are proud to have brought into this world." Von smiled brightly at his father's comment and hugged him.

"Thanks, dad." Von said. "I'm sorry. It's just....it really hurts when all the other ponies at home make fun of me because of what I am. They've been saying alot of mean things to me." He told him. The two of them stopped walking as Von sat down and stared sorrowfully at the dirt road. Ignus was aware of Von's pain. He'd always been aware of what would come his way the moment he was born. But that only strengthened Ignus' resolve to fill Von's heart with hope, so that he could forget his pain and look for a brighter future. The road would be tough, as it is for all life in Equestria. But anypony can achieve anything if they put their mind to it. So long as you don't lose hope, your dreams will become reality.

"Daddy? You're spacing out again." Von said, instantly snapping Ignus out of his trance.

"Oh...uh sorry. Now...what have they been saying to you?" The earth pony knight inquired. Von took a deep breath and looked up at his father.

"All the colts at home avoid me like I'm some kind of disease and run away when i try to get near them. They laugh at me for saying that I wanted to be friends with them and try to beat me up. And when I CAN get near one and have a conversation, their parents take them away, saying 'Stay away from that thing' or 'Didn't I tell you not to get near that?' and even 'Don't get near that monster.' I hate it!" Von explained, emphasizing his last sentence by nearly bursting into tears. "I'm not a monster....am I?"

Ignus wrapped his arm around Von and brought him in for a hug. "You're not a monster. You're unique. A kirin has not been born before. You are the first. That makes you special."

"Then why does being special hurt so much?" Von retorted, wiping his tears.

"Because there is always a price to us having something that others don't. As well as us doing things that others do not, like my falling in love with your mother." Ignus explained. He opened his mouth to say more, but the two of them had finally reached home and waiting by the entrance to the town was a young pegasus filly. She smiled upon seeing Von and Von smiled back. "Go on, sport. Play with your friend." Von smiled big and hugged his father.

"Don't forget about what you promised you'd do." Von reminded him. Ignus chuckled and patted his head.

"I won't. Now run along." The kirin let go of his father and ran to the pegasus and the two of them ran off together.

"I've really improved on my flying. Bet you can't catch me this time." The filly said to him. Von smiled and continued to follow her.

Von continued to run as far away as he could from Ponyville. Past the Everfree Forest and Froggy Bottom Bog until nopony could see or hear him. His tears had left a trail behind, but they could no longer be seen once he had reached the forest. Once he was far enough, he collapsed to the ground, continuing his sobbing.

'Why?! I tried and tried and I failed! I did everything in my power to show them that I'm just like them!! But....they're all the same!" Von cried out. "Why....why did I even leave the mountain? Why did I even bother trying?!" Von punched the dirt under him and continued to cry, wrapping his arms around his head. "I...I...*sniff*...I wanna go home. I hate it here!"

BGM 2

Von's sobbing echoed throughout the forest, reverberating all around and back to him and as he listened to his own sobbing, it upset him more. "I...*sniff*..I tried to so hard, like mom and dad told me to. B-but...it was all for nothing. Everypony knows what I am and probably hates me now! Even...." Von opened his now red eyes and looked up at the murky sky. He wanted to go home, he wanted to run and forget his pain. But he knew that if he left, he would be abandoning the mare he was in love with. "Reina...........I'm sorry. But I have to go. I can't stay here anymore." He mumbled. He started to get back onto his feet when suddenly, the wind stopped blowing. Everything in the forest fell silent. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breathing.

Somepony was there.......somepony was watching him.

"Who's there?!" He called out. Though he was sad, he still had some fight in him. "I know you're here!"

No answer.

"Hello?" He called out once more, this time in a frightened tone. Though Von may be part dragon, he WAS still a pony.

No answer. Von began to take a few steps forward when the wind began to blow softly again, but this time he heard a faint voice carry with it.

"Hello?" Von called out. The voice did not respond to him, but it was saying something. Suddenly, the voice spoke louder, loud enough for him to hear clearly. It was a male's voice that was speaking....no....it wasn't speaking. It was doing something else. The voice....it was....singing? It appeared to be singing to him....its voice sounded so soothing......soothing enough to cause the young kirin to get drowsy.

Von's vision began to blur as the song he heard started to lull him to sleep. "W-what's...." He fell to his knees and then on his side as he vision blurred even further, no longer able to see clearly. But for a moment, he saw a faint figure approach him. It was definitely a stallion, but it was wearing a cloak. He couldn't see his face, nor could he make out the voice that emitted from him. Yet strangely, the song he heard seemed....quite odd. It was as if he heard somepony sing it before....somepony very close to him.

"Y....you're--" Was all he could get out before he finally fell asleep. In his mind, he believed that the figure was nothing but an illusion. However, it was not.

It was standing over him.....

Watching him.........

Guarding him as he drifted off to sleep...........

BGM 3

"What?!" Lyra screamed. "You guys know each other?"

"Mm-hm." Reina replied. "I thought he looked familiar when I saw him. Not as a stallion, but as...."

"That?" Bon Bon finished, earning her a smack on the head by Lyra. Reina giggled a bit and then sighed.

"But yes. I knew him back in Hollow Shades. He and I were inseparable. We used to play together alot. He even taught me how to play a game he played with his mother and father. I believe it was called....Dragon's Treasure. The object of the game was for him to hide his treasure somewhere and the player had to look for it."

"So it's almost like Buried Treasure." Lyra replied. Reina nodded and her wings fluttered a bit.

"Yes, but there was something different. If you found the treasure, you had to run away with it without being caught. If you got caught, the dragon would 'attack' you." She explained with a small giggle. "His 'attacks' consisted of tickling until you give up."

"Sounds like you two used to have alot of fun wen you were kids. I bet you guys had little to no problems, huh?" Lyra exclaimed. Reina's smile faded as her ears dropped to the back of her head.

"Actually, Von and I had to deal with a couple bullies back home. Him more than I." Reina said sorrowfully. She began to recount the troubles she and her kirin companion went through in the past. There was a pair of bullies that used to tease Von for his appearance, and Reina along with him when she accompanied him. They would laugh and ridicule them both. On occasion, they would sometimes torment the two to the point of beating Von up in front of her. Reina, being such a kind and considerate filly, could only plead for them to stop and leave them alone. Needless to say, they kept pummeling him until he fell unconscious, Reina crying over him. Von continued to blame himself for when they would start tormenting her when she was with him. Reina knew he was in pain and assured him that it was not his fault. Somehow, she managed to soothe him.

But then one day, he was leaving. Whenever Reina and Von got together, his father always accompanied him. But when Von came to her, his father was nowhere in sight. Tailing behind him was his mother and an elderly dragon. He had told her that he had to leave. There was too much pain around him for them to stay any longer and they were to take off immediately. But before Reina could protest, the elderly dragon assured her that no harm would come to Von. Reluctantly, she accepted this despite bursting into tears. Von could not stand seeing this sight, so he took her head and looked her in the eyes.

When we get older, we'll meet again. I promise, was what he told her. And after relaying those words to her, their lips connected. Reina was taken aback by such a thing, but it makes sense since they were so young at the time. She cared for Von deeply, shared a tight bond with him. But this was highly unexpected. Caught in the moment, Reina relaxed and allowed Von to proceed. That day had marked the first kiss they shared....and when Von's new life was set into motion.

"I just hope he comes back soon." Reina said as she looked out the window of Lyra's home. "I hope he's safe...."

Wherever he is.....

Von awoke from his slumber the following day and took notice of his surroundings. He was still in the forest that he ran into and he was still alone. Since he was fully rested, he was able to recover from the events of yesterday.....somewhat. He was still quite sad, but he had to hold his head high somehow. But despite that....

"I still feel I should go home. I'm sorry Reina, but it seems I have to leave you again..." He whispered to himself. He turned away from the path back to Ponyville and continued onward. However, something caught his eye. It was a cloaked figure. Its face was hidden, but its body type was clearly that of a stallion. It stood there, unmoving as if staring at him. "Hey! Who are you?!" Von called out. The cloaked stallion did not respond with words, but instead it began to run further into the forest.

"Hey! Come back!" Von cried out, giving chase. The stallion continued running deep into the forest, Von following behind him. It didn't make any effort of trying to shake him off. It was as though he was leading him somewhere. But Von paid no attention to this detail, sadly, and continued chasing after him. About 15 minutes passed by, the amount long Von guessed he was running after the stallion, until they came to an entrance. Or moreover, Von did. Stepping inside, Von looked around for any traces of the mystery stallion he was following when he suddenly stopped as a sound rang out. He turned around to see a stone sliding in place, blockin the entrance he came in.

"No way back for now..." he told himself. He turned back around and continued walking and came upon an open area. The stallion was nowhere in sight, but in his place stood a tall building. It was covered in moss and vines, parts of the roof and walls falling off. It looked like a castle, if not a very old one. But most importantly....

I know this place, Von thought. Before his very eyes was the building his father took him to as a child: Holy Guard Headquarters. "HQ? But how?!"

"Because I led you here." A gruff voice replied. Von turned around to see the cloaked stallion standing behind him.

"Hey. I know that voice. You're the voice that lulled me to sleep with my dad's lullaby. How do you know it?! Answer me." Von demanded. The stallion chuckled, but kept his composure.

"You're quite the hot-headed one, aren't you? It must've been heartbreaking to abandon your pony friends, huh?" The stallion asked. Von gritted his teeth and glared at the stallion.

"How do you know that?"

"I've been watching you for quite some time. And by the way, you really should control your urges. Your landmare is most likely going to beat you up for the mess you made." Von's face flushed with red as he knew what the stallion was referring to.

"H-hey! How dare you peep on me! You pervert! You...you..." Von couldn't think of any other insult, but he didn't need to prove anything to this mystery pony. "I'll ask you again: How do you know my father's lullaby?" The stallion smiled under his hood.

"Let's just say....I got to know your pops really well." He replied. Von growled and grabbed the stallion by his throat and pinned him to a tree.

"What did you do to my father?!" Von yelled. The stallion stayed silent for a moment, his face still hidden under the garb.

"You shouldn't give up hope." He spoke. Caught off guard by that remark, Von let the stallion down and backed up.

"W-what?"

"You wanna get along with us ponies better, right? Then you shouldn't give up hope. Ain't that what your old man taught you?" The stallion said. Von looked down and thought for a moment. He had forgotten Ignus' teachings and ran away on impulse. His father would be greatly disappointed if he ever found out about it and so would his mother.

"Why do you care?" Von asked.

"Because I know how you feel. I know how it feels to try and bring dragons and ponies together in harmony. I know the pain of feeling like your dream will never come true. I know the feeling of rejection because of your interests and the fact you are doing this. But it will be worthwhile in the end. And you may be able to start your own family with your species of interest. Just like I did." Von lifted his head and looked at the stallion with confusion.

"....Who are you? Really." Von inquired. The stallion chuckled and looked at him.

"For now, just call me.....Voyager." The stallion replied. "You should check this place out. You might find something interesting. Until we meet again." The stallion then turned away and walked back into the forest.

"W-wait!" Von called out, but Voyager was already gone from sight. "....Voyager huh? But still....he knew the lullaby. Did dad teach him? Heh. Probably. He taught mom and Elder Eldrich, too." He mumbled to himself. He turned his attention back to Holy Guard HQ and looked up at it. "It's been a long time since I've been here. ......He said I'd find something interesting here. Might as well see what this 'interesting thing' is." With that, he proceeded into the building.

Back in his childhood, the Holy Guard Headquarters was quite lively. It was neatly decorated, there were bright lights and colorful stained glass windows. The air within felt holy and safe. But it was no longer like that. All around, the decorations were tattered and worn out, the lights were broken, the stained glass windows were broken or covered in dust and the air....it felt dismal.....and dark.

"This isn't anything like it was when I was little." Von said, breaking the silence in the building. He proceeded down a hallway, passing by one of the armories and down the hall that led to the sanctum. Stepping into the area, memories of his time with his father flooded his mind. The day when Ignus brought him to the sanctum was the same day he first met that mare, Princess Celestia. Von was still confused as to what the two of them spoke of, but whatever it was caused Ignus to leave them behind. Von wanted to know why he left and why he didn't come back. And he hoped that the answer would be there in the base.

As Von explored the area more, he noticed something odd. The podium his father stood behind in the past was crooked. There were cobwebs on the sides of it and they were moving slightly. Not on their own, mind you, but being blown by something. Von went to the podium and moved it aside, revealing a hole in the floor.

"A hole?" He muttered. Down inside, he could see a set of stairs. Curious as to where this hole went to, Von went downward. It was dark inside, but this was to be expected of an underground area. Von felt around and soon found a light switch, When it was switched on, the room was alot bigger than he thought.

BGM 4

The area looked like some training facility made from abandoned ruins. But it was a little odd as well. There were a few capsules about, some broken and others still closed up. Inside some of the capsules were strange figures. There was dust all about them, so Von couldn't make out what they were. Von stepped closer to one of them and began to wipe it off with his hoof. In his mind, he was frightened as to what it was.

Was it a monster? Was it alive? Did it know he was there? Was it watching him? Would it attack him? Could he survive? All of these questions ran rampant in his mind as he finally dusted off the capsule and caught a glimpse of what was inside. But what was inside horrified him.

"N-no...."

Inside of the tube was a dragon, parts of its body spliced open, it was attached to many different tubes and hooks. Its organs were on full display for Von, its heart still beating. The dragon opened its eyes and stared straight at Von, its gaze piercing his soul. A shiver went up Von's spine as he quickly backed away and bumped into another capsule. This was had dust on it as well, but not enough to fully cover it. When he looked inside of this one, there was a pony inside. It was a unicorn, a mare at that, and her body was completely deformed. One eye was hanging out of its socket, her horn was broken off, she had scars all over her body and her legs were replaced with talons.

But what disgusted Von the most was that her jaw was broken off, leaving only the upper half. He could see her tongue just dangling there, rubbing against her neck as blood poured out of the entrance. Von felt like he was going to be sick. He covered his mouth to try and stifle his fear from pouring out and ran further into the room.

There, awaited much more horror. Dragons, ponies, gryphons, zebras: you name it! There were corpses all around him, strapped to tables or walls, each and every single one of them having been tortured and murdered in various ways. There were test tubes, needles and other tools scattered around the room. It was as though they were....

"....Being experimented on...." Von said in realization. What he stepped into was not a training facility....but an underground lab. "A lab....who would make a lab for something like this?!" Von screamed. Just as he tried to venture further on, trying not to look back, two figures stepped before him. The way they looked was.....quite disturbing.

The bodies were pony-like, but the rest of them was not. They had mismatched body parts, such as a gryphon leg and dragon claw, snake tails, deformed or dislocated jaws and much more. But what seemed to be the most, if not at all, normal on these beasts were the dark crystals protruding their shoulders and hind legs. Their eyes were yellow and soulless and they continued to stare blankly at the kirin as they approached him.

BGM 5

"And it seems whoever made this lab made guards so that nopony would learn about this and live to tell the tale." Von growled a bit and got into his stance as he prepared to do battle with the strange chimeras. The one to his left made the first strike and leaped out towards Von, its maw opened wide in an attempt to bite and devour him. Von stepped to the side and countered, whipping the chimera with his tail. It flew back and fell to the ground and started to pick itself back up to get a revenge strike. But the second chimera made its move first and lunged at Von and clawed his cheek. Von managed to move back a bit to minimize the blow, but it still hurt. It wasn't a deep, but it caused him to bleed.

Von redirected his attention back to the chimeras and lunged out, clawing the one who struck him as well. His claws struck deep into its face, knocking one of its eyes loose from its socket. Reacting as though he just set off a landmine, the chimera pounced ontop of Von and started trying to bite his face off. Naturally, Von moved his head to the side constantly, avoiding the attack and when he saw the opportunity, he shot a burst of wind from his mouth and into the chimera's face and sent it flying into the ceiling. In an attempt to finish the job, Von readied a fireball but was interrupted as he hardly noticed the second chimera coming right for him. He noticed at the last second and didn't have much time to prepare.and braced himself for impact. The attack came and the chimera bit into his neck.

....But there was no pain. Von opened his eyes and stared down at the chimera. Its teeth were certainly connected with his neck, but he felt no pain and he was still breathing. Upon further examination, Von saw that his skin had changed. It was brown and and it felt like it was made of stone. Yet, he was still quite limber. He was confused about this, but he shook it off as he knew he had to take care of this and keep going forward. He punched the chimera biting him in the face and when it stumbled back, he unleashed his flame and burned the chimera to a crisp. He turned his attention back to the second, it having fallen to the ground and was now limping. It growled at Von and Von returned his own. In a desperate act, the chimera lunged out towards Von with its crystals sparking with a dark and evil energy.

Von could feel the chimera's power rising. Nowhere near Nova's level, but it was still quite powerful. Von knew he had to return a powerful attack of his own to survive this. But his strongest skills were the only two breaths that he knew.....or so he thought. Recalling his battle with Nova, Von remembered the technique he unconsciously used on Nova: his Meteor Dash. Eldrich had told him about the advanced fire skill, but Von was nowhere near being trained enough to control it, let alone use it. But he had to try. He kept his eyes on the chimera, concentrating his power into his inner fire. Sparks emitted from his body, slowly turning into small flames as the circled around his body.

The chimera was slowly closing the distance between them. The flames grew bigger and soon started to cover Von's body. The chimera got closer and closer, the dark power surging wildly from its crystals. The flames fully covered Von's body, though they were not as large as they were before. It was good enough for him. He charged headlong at the chimera and in a flash of light, the two were on the opposite sides. Von stood still, unmoving and the chimera was just as still as he was.

The moment he lowered his stand, the chimera burst into flames, howling in unbearable pain as its corpse collapsed to the ground and was reduced to no more than ashes. Von's skin returned to normal and he looked at himself in confusion.

"What was that just now?" he spoke. "It was like...I could feel some earthly protection over my body. Was that the Earth element?" He wanted to think on it more, but he was wasting time. Tucking this event to the back of his mind, he continued forward.

After some time, Von discovered another room. It looked like an office. There was a desk, a chair and lots of paperwork. Von walked into the room and looked on the desk to find some notes. They looked like research notes, every single one documented by someone named Professor B. Von took them in his claw, deciding to keep them for later and turned back to the door and started to leave. But the moment he turned around, there was another group of chimeras. But this time, there were alot more. Von grit his teeth in disappointment. Most of his power had been exhausted in that battle with the first two chimeras, having used Meteor Dash and his new power. He only had enough power left to use one more breath, but if he did that then he wouldn't be able to escape without collapsing from exhaustion.

He was stuck, nowhere to run as five chimeras made their advance towards him. It seemed like it was all over until suddenly, one of the chimeras was knocked over by a golden yellow blur. The others directed their attention towards said blur and began to assault it. Von wanted to escape, but whoever this was, he couldn't leave them behind. Seeing an opening, Von whipped one of the chimeras with his tail and sent it flying into a wall. He then continued his assault on it, catching the attention of two other chimeras and causing them to head his way. Blow after blow was exchanged between Von and the chimeras, as well as the source of the blur and the other two. Some time passed and all the chimeras were knocked out.

"Geez..." Von groaned, catching his breath. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he turned to thank the mystery figure who aided him. However, he fell silent when his gaze fell on the figure. It was a pegasus mare with a grey mane, a green vest with shorts and a compass rose Cutie mark. Von was at a loss for words as he realized who this pony was. "Y-you're D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D...." Von stuttered. The pegasus cocked her head sideways in confusion.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked. She was about to speak more when suddenly, she was cut off as Von screamed her name aloud.

Author's Notes:

Von has now come face to face with his idol, Daring Do herself. But moreover, there are some questions that he has that i'm sure you all are thinking. Who is Voyager? Why did he lead Von to Holy Guard HQ? How long was the lab there? What were those chimeras? Who is Professor B.? All those questions and more will be answered, so stick around