BGM 1

"How could you have failed me?! You had ONE. SIMPLE. JOB!!! And you blew it!!!" Konan yelled. Nova knelt upon one knee and bowed his head.

"I apologize father. It will not happen again." Nova assured him. Konan snorted and turned his head away.

"Whatever. At any rate, everything will soon go smoothly." Nova lifted his head and looked towards his father.

"Father?"

"That old fool has been in charge for far too long. He is too forgiving and too laid back. Someone else deserves to be the Dragon King and it's not him." Konan looked up to a cave on the mountain, where Eldrich had lay. The elderly dragon paid no mind to his venomous gaze and went about his business. Konan was jealous of Eldrich's power and his status as the king. But he knew, somewhere in his mind, that he would have his day. Sometime....but it wasn't now.

"Do you wish for me to train myself?" Nova inquired. Konan merely nodded his head.

"Yes. However, I will not be sending you to go after Von this time." Konan explained. Nova's eyes widened on this.

"Father?!" Nova was about to protest, but Konan held his hand up.

"I will be sending another. I expect her to do a better job than you, my son." Konan stated. Nova raised a brow. Nova had expected that his father would send another warrior to do his bidding, but he didn't think that he'd send a female to do the job. This raised a few questions in his mind, but mainly one: who was the female?

"Her?" The moment he asked, a feminine figure approached the two of them. Her white teeth, forming a wicked grin, gleamed in the sun as its light cast upon her purple hide.

BGM 2

"D-Daring Do...You're Daring Do!" Von stuttered. Daring chuckled a bit and scratched her head nervously.

"So...you've heard of me, huh?" She asked. Von nodded his head rapidly and smiled one of the biggest smiles he ever had.

"Yeah! I've read your book. It was what inspired me to leave the mountain." Von explained. Daring stared at him, looking him up and down, as if trying to discern what exactly he was.

"Um...thanks. So...what ARE you?" She asked. Von got down from his high and smiled nervously at his idol.

"Um....I'm a kirin...or a dragon-pony. Von is my name." Daring stayed silent for a moment before Von looked away and frowned. "Are you......scared?" He asked, looking back at her. Daring shook her head and smiled warmly at him.

"Not really. In fact, you look pretty cool. I've never seen something like you before. Your appearance....it's kinda exotic." She reassured him. Von's ears perked up and he returned a smile to her. Lyra, Bon Bon, Reina and now Daring Do herself. Von had met four ponies that were not disgusted or frightened of his appearance. Granted, Bon Bon was quite scared at first glance, but she got used to it relatively quick. And Reina....well, there was no need for her to be frightened as the two knew one another from Hollow Shades. Even after all that time had passed, she still remembered him. But now wasn't the time for reminiscing.

"So....what are you doing here, Daring?" The kirin inquired. The mare giggled and took her hat off.

"Well, I was hearing word that somepony was doing some kind of strange experiments in this area because alot of ponies have gone missing when they come here. Looks like it was the truth." She told him.

"It's not just ponies. It's dragons, too." Von corrected her. "But why would there be dragons here? I thought they hated ponies."

"Well from what i heard, there was actually a hidden settlement where dragons and ponies could be together without being ridiculed or mistreated." Von's ears perked up upon this statement as Daring went on. "This place doesn't exist anymore. They say it was wiped out during some war. Its name was forgotten a long time ago. But my mother still remembers it and she told it to me."

".....What was the name?" Von inquired. Daring saw the look on his face and could tell that he was both worried and interested. Him being parts pony and dragon, it would only make sense that he'd get this concerned. But not only that, he remembered something from his childhood.

There was a point in time when Von detested being in Hollow Shades. He wanted to escape, to leave and abandon everything that was there so that he and his family could find a home where they were truly accepted. Ignus had told him stories of a haven where dragon/pony couples could live together without feeling any pain from insults or sadness from the ridicule they received. Silva was not certain what he was talking about, but she played along. It was a splendid place where pain did not exist. Only happiness and harmony between uncanny couples from two races. Von had asked what the name of the place was, hoping that he could see it someday. And of course, Ignus told him the name. And that name was--

"Dragonheart Village." Daring answered him. Von was stunned. No...SHOCKED, to hear that very name escape Daring's lips. The same name his father told him. The place he'd always hoped to see that he believed was just imaginary. The haven for the very same couple Ignus and Silva were.....had truly existed. But now...it was gone. Wiped out. Forgotten. Nothing more than a barren land. Its name only known by 3 individuals: Daring, Silva and Von himself.

"The village....who wiped it out?" Von asked. Daring lifted a hoof to answer, but alas, no words came.

BGM 3

"It was a unicorn." A male voice proclaimed. Daring donned her signature hat as she prepared herself for this mysterious voice. But Von recognized it and the figure that stepped before them.

"Voyager." Von called out. Voyager smiled from under his hood.

"So you found the lab, huh?"

"Von, was it? Do you know this guy?" Daring asked. Von nodded, not looking over at her.

"Yes. He was the one who led me here." His eyes locked onto Voyager as he continued. "So what do you mean a unicorn wiped it out? There's no way that he did it on his own."

"He didn't. Or more along the lines, he COULDN'T do it on his own. Not unless--"

"--he had some allies...." Von realized. Voyager nodded.

"Yes. The unicorn has aligned himself with two powerful forces. One of which you know very well." He explained. Von raised a brow.

"Has? You mean he's still alive?!" He looked to Daring, who seemed pretty intrigued herself.

"Who did he align with?" She asked. Voyager chuckled and looked in her direction.

"He has aligned with a mysterious entity, so I cannot tell you who that is. But I do know that his other ally.....is a dragon." Von's ears perked up upon hearing that sentence.

" A dragon?! Which one?! Who is it?! Tell me!!" He grabbed Voyager by the throat and held him up against a wall. Daring grabbed Von's shoulder, trying to force him to release his grip. Her efforts proved difficult, but she managed to force him to let go. Voyager remained unfazed by Von's action as he could understand the reason why. The dream world Von envisioned was wiped out by the two species that he was trying to bring together: a pony and a dragon. And to top it off, this pony was still alive, avoiding the consequence of what he's done.

"I can see that you are upset. But worry not. I know where you can find this unicorn." Voyager assured him. Von calmed down and stared at him.

"Where is he?" He inquired.

"He's set up over in Baltimare. Apparently he has a shop in the outskirts of the town, where all the bad ones live. Best be careful when you tread there. One slip up and you might not come back." Voyager turned away as Von looked down at the ground, the fear of not coming back alive flooding his heart. As he looked back up to speak to the stallion, he had already left. However, his voice resounded throughout the facility.

Lyra paced back and forth within her home, Bon Bon worrying over the unicorn as they both were concerned for the well-being of their kirin companion. However, their worries ended when the front door opened and the young half-breed stepped inside.

"Hey. Am I late?" He asked. Immediately however, Lyra slapped him with her hoof and tears started streaming down her cheeks. Von was about to question the reason behind her action when she suddenly embraced him in her hooves.

"You idiot....we were worried about you." She said through her tears. Von couldn't help but smile and he soon returned the hug with one of his own.

"I know...." He lifted his head and smiled back at Bon Bon, who was also smiling with tears running down her cheeks as well. He was glad to be back, but there was one thing he needed to know before he could be fully content with his return. "Where's Reina?"

"She went home after what happened. She was still pretty upset that you got up and left without even so much as a goodbye. That's not a good way to treat your friends, especially mares." Bon Bon scolded.

"I know. And I'm sorry." Von apologized with a sigh. "But I managed to find something odd when I left. Take a look at these." Von reached behind him and grabbed the notes that he had found in the facility and showed them to his friends.

"Who's Professor B.?" Lyra asked, earning a shrug from the kirin.

"Not sure. But whoever he is...he needs to be stopped. I saw his underground lab. He......he's doing sick, vile and twisted things to ponies. But not just them. Dragons, griffins and other races too!" He shuddered as he recalled what he had seen there, but Lyra simply giggled.

"I think you're overreacting."

"He's telling the truth." A voice called from outside. Lyra and Bon Bon's eyes widened as Daring Do stepped into the house.

"Oh yeah. I forgot. I met a certain pony while I was there. You guys know Daring Do, right?" Von said. He grinned smugly at Lyra and closed her jaw as it looked like it was about to fall off.

"Uh...uh....ummm...." Lyra stuttered.

"Does this make up for taking your book?" He asked.

"Big time..." She responded. A moment passed before she regained her composure and she smiled bigger than she ever had in her life. "Y-you're Daring Do!! Oh my goddess!! I can't believe it's really you!!!!"

"Please...don't make a scene. I already had to deal with one with him." Daring said, pointing to the half-breed. Von laughed and sat down on the couch.

"Sorry. I can't help it. You're The Daring Do, adventurer extraordinaire. I only read one book, but I felt inspired. I would never have been brave enough to leave home. I'm grateful." Von said. Daring blushed and removed her hat.

"Thanks. But can you do me a favor, Von?"

"Sure."

"Can you not keep calling me by my full name? While I'm here, I'm just Daring." She explained. Lyra cocked her head.

"Why can't we call you Daring Do?" She asked.

"Well....I'm kinda tired of the celebrity life", She started, "I feel like staying out of the spotlight for awhile, ya know? I like adventuring and exploring and all that, but I think I earned some time off. To live like a normal mare for awhile. You guys can understand that, right?"

All three of them looked to one another, taking in Daring's words. What she said was the truth. Ponies like her, celebrities in general, are hardly able to live like everyday ponies. Being able to have friends, play around and have fun, getting their hooves dirty, sharing secrets, having blossoming romances and much more was what all celebrities longed for. Daring was no exception. And Von thought that there were probably more ponies just like her. Maybe even that princess from his memories. ........Nah.

"Alright. You have a point, Daring. Anyway, welcome to Ponyville. Come on. We'll show you around." Von exclaimed. Lyra and Bon Bon nodded in agreement and proceeded outside with the kirin, with the guest of honor following behind them However not too long after they showed Daring around, a trio of pegasi came before them. One of them was adorned with a weight for a Cutie mark on his brown coat. The second to the right had an orange coat with three basketballs and was a bit taller than the brown one. The last one was to the left of the brown pegasi, sporting a gray coat and three footballs for a Cutie mark. All three of them split up and cornered Von and his friends with mocking smiles spread across their faces.

"Lookie what we have here, guys. It's that freaky dragon-pony from yesterday. What's the matter? Came back to get laughed at again?" Dumbbell said. Clearly, he was the leader of this ragtag little group.

"No, I didn't. I'm showing a friend around and I intend on doing just that. Now if you'll excuse me..." Von huffed as he turned and walked into the chest of the orange pegasus.

"Where ya going? We were just starting to have fun." Hoops said. Score merely laughed and all three of them surrounded Von.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Lyra shouted. She went over to one of the pegasi and was about to punch him, but Daring stopped her and pulled her back. "Hey!"

"No. Let him fight his own battle. He has to." She told her.

"Now I know there's a town around here somewhere." Daring mumbled to herself, wallowing through the Everfree Forest.

"Excuse me." A stallion called out. Daring whipped her head back and saw a cloaked pony standing by one of the trees. "I have a request."

"Who are you?"

"Don't worry about that. But I have something for you to do." Voyager said. "To the west of here, there is an old abandoned building where knights used to gather. Below, there is a secret tunnel leading to some underground facility where ponies have gone into and went missing. Unspeakable experiments have taken place there and I wish to find the culprit."

"......" Daring stayed silent for a moment, expecting there to be more and Voyager smiled.

"Heh. But this is not the favor of which i ask, though it seems like something you would be interested in discovering, Miss Daring Do." Daring's ears perked up upon hearing her name. "The favor of which i ask deals with a young individual that I have already sent inside. He is a kirin, or dragon-pony if you wish. He has been dealing with many hardships over his life ever since he was born. I want him to establish independence, so that he no longer has to rely on anypony to support him. Including his mother and father."

"Why are you asking me?" She inquired. Voyager stared at his hooves grimly.

"Because he cannot learn without the aid of others. He was not able to learn what he needed so that he could support himself as he got older. His teachings had become limited to only his mother the moment I......" Voyager silenced himself and looked back up at Daring. "He needs to learn how to be independent. And I believe all of you ponies can teach him that." Daring stared at Voyager for a long while. This had come completely out of the blue for her. She was looking for a break from her celebrity life and was now being asked to help a young dragon-pony become independent. She was a bit reluctant, but she thought of it as a brand new adventure.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Daring came back to reality and looked to the scene in front of her and the others. Dumbbell and his gang were punching and kicking Von, spitting out curses and other insults at him while Von did nothing but endure. He didn't want to fight and he didn't want to harm anypony. If he did, then he would be hated far worse than he thought he was.

"Somepony like you doesn't deserve to--" At the moment, Dumbbell was cut off when a fireball hit near he and his companions, causing them to jump back. But they jumped back further when a stream of ice nearly froze them in place. Von lifted his head and looked towards the pegasi when two familiar voices spoke up.

BGM 4

"You really need to learn to watch your manners when you speak to someone. You could hurt their feelings." Spoke the calm voice.

"Especially if that one is a friend of ours. Guess we have to teach you guys some respect!" The second, more brash voice spoke. Von's ears twitched in response as he absorbed the voices and realized who they belonged to. Smiling with joy, he shrugged off his bruises and ran to his friends.

"Axel! Arcius!"

"So sorry that we didn't come visit you sooner. But circumstances forced us to come." Arcius replied. "But we can catch up later."

"Yeah! Time to show these guys just who they're messing with." Axel shouted, punching the air in the direction of the group. Von smiled in response, pleased to see his friends doing so well but also for the fact that--

"It's payback time!" Von took lead as all three dragons and pegasi charged at one another and proceeded to brawl. Arcius took Score, Axel dealt with Hoops and Von being the technical leader, took on Dumbbell. Fists flew all around as blow for blow was exchanged. But due to their natural strength, Von's friends started to push them back. Von headbutted Dumbbell in his chest, earning a grunt of pain from him. Dumbbell swung at him in retaliation but Von ducked and countered with a whip of his tail across the pegasi's face, cutting him and drawing a bit of blood.

Arcius and Axel seemed to be handling themselves pretty well as they matched blow for blow with their opponents and countered when they saw an opening. With a final hit from all sides, Von and his companions stood victorious.

"H-hey! No fair! You have two dragons backing you up!" Hoops shouted. He then got up and started to fly away from the trio.

"Y-yeah! I'm getting out of here!" Score cried as he flew off as well. All that remained was their leader: Dumbbell, who was shaking and quivering with fear. The trio stared down at them and stepped closer. But the moment they took their step, Dumbbell shrieked and flew away with his tail between his legs. Laughing, Von turned to his friends and saw their smiling faces. They didn't need to exchange any words to know what they felt. They missed him and he missed them, too. Daring, Lyra and Bon Bon felt happy, yet nervous as well, which is natural since they were face to face with two full-fledged dragons. Sensing this, Arcius and Axel turned to the ponies to introduce themselves.

"Sorry about that. We got caught up in that little scrap that we forgot to make ourselves known. Name's Axel. How ya doin?" Axel introduced. Arcius sighed and bowed to the three mares.

"Please forgive my simple-minded companion. My name is Arcius. Charmed, I'm sure." He said. The way he spoke was fluent and very mannerly. His voice was so gentle and soothing that it caused a blush to appear on the faces of each mare, but only Daring was the one whose wings shot straight out.

"I-I swear, that never happens!" She shouted in embarrassment. Von and the rest of the gang burst into laughter, Daring joining in shortly after. However, a thought came to mind when the laughter died down.

"Oh yeah. You guys said that circumstances forced you guys to come here. What did you mean?" Arcius looked to Axel and they both looked at him.

"It's a long story, but I can tell that you are tired. For now, we shall rest and we will tell you come tomorrow." He said. Von was about to question him, but he knew how Arcius was. The moment he says tomorrow, he meant it. Questioning his words was like detonating a mine. Once it explodes, it cannot be undone. Arcius was one of the calmest dragons on the mountain, but he was also one of the fiercest. Von had only seen him angry once. The thought of it happening again sent chills up his spine.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." Von said. He waved goodbye and the dragons waved back as they flew off into the distance. He turned back to his pony friends, but Daring drew his attention.

"I'm gonna head on up and sleep on a cloud for a bit. I've always wanted to, but never got the chance. I'll see you guys in the morning." She said. She waved goodbye and flew away as well, leaving Von with Lyra and Bon Bon.

"I think we ALL deserve a good rest." Lyra stated. Bon Bon and Von nodded in agreement. With that, the three of them stepped inside and closed the door behind them, set on retiring for the night. Today was quite a productive day. Von discovered an underground facility, met his idol and reunited with his friends. After such a long day, a good nights rest was definitely a reward.

But soon after he turned around, a book surrounded by Lyra's magic hit him dead in his face.

BGM 5

"He'll be coming for you soon", spoke a low male voice. It was threatening and dark, full of resent and malice.

"Yes. I am aware. He truly is like his father, always so nosy. But that curiosity will be the death of him." Spoke another male voice. It sounded full of pride and animosity.

"Well then, I'm sure you already know what to do. I've given you the power to do so, as I did for Konan. I didn't give you another chance for no reason."

"I didn't forget. I will carry out your orders. I will offer you his soul as per our agreement. His existence is one that is not meant to be. He shall be cleansed from this world. All for his dream."

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long for me to get this out. I've been dealing with alot of stuff lately. Can ya blame me? Anyway, I have brought Arcius and Axel back into play, but I have also introduced some new characters. Who is this dark figure? Who was the male he was speaking to? And just WHO is Voyager really? Keep reading to find out. Up next-Chapter 8