Chapter 2: Proper Introductions

We were still on the train heading to Ponyville, I was trying to get some rest but I was in a memory that seemed unpleasant. When I dream I recall memories instead, most were from my past helping me remember certain things. But there were a few rare occasions where I get a memory from the future and this was one of them. I never like these memories from the future, since they’re always sent from me in the future to warn me of events set to happen. The worst part of them is not knowing how far in the future they are, so it’s always unclear of how much time I have to prepare.

I was in the middle of a village, it was clear in the sky but a thick darkness covered the land. I could smell ash in the air like this place was burned down. The smoke made it hard to breathe and to see anything. But what was this village, and what happened. I started walking down a lane of destruction, houses burned and crushed, the grass and land burned and chopped and the sky was red as if it was painted with blood. I then noticed something out the corner of my eye, a body.

I stepped up to inspect it, it was a pony. It was burned, so it was hard to see anything on the body I did notice it had a horn and wings. An alicorn but I couldn’t make out the features though I could see on the flank it’s much darker than the rest of the body with a white cutie mark I believe. Since it was burned pretty badly I couldn’t be certain. But I did make out a few things, one being it was cutted in certain places and dried blood oozed out the wounds. Almost like this pony was ‘Tortured’. A sudden thought jumped in my head, I shuddered at the thought. But I quickly dismissed it, because it shouldn’t be ‘Him’. I then started smelling… blood, I never thought I would smell blood again but I was.

I then heard a familiar laugh that sent shivers down my spine. No, it can’t be. I then did the last thing I wanted to do, I walked towards the source. I started making out a figure, a dragon that looked similar to me only blacker in color. My heart was racing fast at this point, cause I recognized this dragon. It was me, only not me in a sense. My one deep fear was the darkness I created out of my anger and negative emotions. This was that darkness given form, a separate being all together. I never got scared easily but this darkness always had me scared cause I know just what it’s capable of.

“Heheheh. Hello Sarius. You like what I did?” My fears were confirmed. It’s the one entity that I feel I will never be rid of. I couldn’t open my mouth; my entire body was literally frozen with fear. “Heh, it’s hard to find someone that can appreciate my work. But you do, cause we’re one and the same. After all I’m you. The one side of you that’s willing to do the evil and nasty things you think of doing.” He turned to look me in the eyes. His eyes were like mine only the green was much darker. My eyes went wide-eyed I couldn’t believe it was him but his eyes were enough prove to tell me otherwise. “Heh heh heh…. Welcome Sarius.” He smiled showing his sharp teeth. “TO YOUR HELL!!!!” He charged me with teeth bared and claws drawn and let out a loud screech.

I woke with my eyes widen in horror. I was covered in sweat and I was trembling. I looked at my claws, and realized just what kind of nightmare I brought here. Kasulis was coming, I didn’t know when but that’s what is scaring me the most. I could start to feel his presence, he was slowly regaining power. And there was nothing I could do to stop him. I had to calm myself, if I kept this up he’ll return a lot quicker. I calm my breathing, thoughts and my heart. I can delay him, I know I can. I just need help to keep me positive, but there was no one I can depend on to help.

“Sarius, are you okay? You look like you had a really bad dream.” I turned to see Fluttershy sitting next to me. Her sweet and loving voice was enough to help erase some fear I had. Her eyes were so similar to the one I truly loved someone who my soul was bonded with. My negative thoughts and emotions were suddenly replaced with the opposite.

“I did. But I feel better now knowing you’re here.” She smiled and blushed.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” She placed her head on my shoulder. Her fur felt warm and smooth on my scales. I started blushing. Though we’re taking it slow she seemed really eager to skip all this and get to dating.

“Hey, Fluttershy?” I asked hesitantly.

“Hmm?” She replied in question.

I thought my words carefully. “If you want… We can treat each other like lovers, but not actually date. At least not make it official till we get to know each other well enough.”

“Oh? If you want to, I guess we can. But aren’t you gonna set some ground rules?” She asked already thinking ahead of me.

“Of course." I thought on it for a minute. "We can’t get real lovey dovely. Kissing on the cheek is allowed, hugs are allowed and what you’re doing now is fine too. Just no lip kissing and holding hooves.” I said happy to list them.

She nodded, satisfied. “Okay. It’s settled, we’ll still take it slow but we’ll help each other feel comfortable with this.” She smiled.

I smiled back. “That’s what I had in mind. Thank you.” I wrapped my tail around her body. She looked at me with eyes filled with passion and love. She then closed her eyes and went to sleep. I felt really comfortable with her being this close. I now realized I wasn’t alone in this ordeal; I had her and the others to help me. We’re not taking it seriously, yet, but we’re still willing to give each other a little love. This will help keep him at bay, being surrounded with love and friends will help keep my spirits high. I know I have time to get ready, I just need a few more allies, and I was sure I knew who I can go to for that. For now I needed to relax.

We’ll be at Ponyville soon and I’ll have to start making preparations. I took another look at Fluttershy, she looked so peaceful and innocent. Her yellow coat and perfectly combed pink mane made her look beautiful and helped me think of my aunt, Mother Nature or Naturus which is her godly name. I then gave her a kiss on the forehead which surprised me since I wasn't thinking about doing that. Must of been an instinct I picked up over the years. She moaned in her sleep, she must have known it was real cause she blushed a deeper red and smiled.

We were on the train for another few minutes before we arrived at Ponyville. I woke up Fluttershy letting her know we arrived. We all got off the train and we were welcomed by a few other ponies. I felt left out, but Fluttershy nudged me with her wing letting me know I wasn’t left out. It made me feel better knowing she looked out for me, being the new comer and all. Applejack and Rarity approached me with two fillies in tow. One was yellow like Fluttershy but had a big red ribbon in her bright red mane which made her look cute, the other was white like Rarity and had a horn as well symbolizing she was a young unicorn, her mane was curly and a purple and pink colored mane. One thing that caught my attention was they had no Cutie Marks.

“Sarius, Rarity and I wanted to introduce you to our sisters. This is Applebloom, my little sister.” She patted her on the head.

“Howdy Sarius.” Applebloom looked radiant. She had the same accent as Applejack.

“And this is my little sister Sweetie Belle.” She pointed to the other filly.

“Hi, This is so cool. There’s two dragons in Ponyville now.” She was blissful and had a cute squeak in her voice that made her adorable.

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Sarius Trusdale.” I noticed the two little fillies started blushing slightly.

“These two have their own group they call ‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders’.” Applejack added in. “Speaking of which where is Scootaloo?” She was peering around.

“Oh she’s waiting for Rainbow Dash.” Applebloom chimed in.

“I see. I’ll go get ‘er.” Applejack took her leave.

“So Sarius, I just wanted to ask. Would you be interested in helping me at my Boutique?” Rarity gave an appealing look. I could tell she was trying to turn up her charm. Turning up the charm never works on me. I noticed Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

“If it involves something you can’t do on your own I’m willing to help, but other than that no.” I felt slightly peeved at her attempt.

“Besides Rarity, you have Spike to help you.” Fluttershy scowled.

“I know, but Spike can only help with so much.” Rarity seemed chagrined.

“We’re back.” Applejack came back with Rainbow Dash and another filly that I can only assume is Scootaloo. She was red with an Orange mane; she also had no Cutie Mark. Her wings were really small for a pegasus, I feel like that the lack of a Cutie Mark and her wings would be a touchy subject.

“Sup Sarius. I took this little filly under my wing recently as a sister. Say hi squirt.” She seemed blithe.

“Hey I’m Scootaloo. You’re Sarius huh? Pretty sweet to have another dragon to hang out with.” She looked ecstatic. She didn't start blushing like the other two. I kept that in mind.

Twilight spoke up. “Okay girls. Sarius said he’ll explain himself, so let’s go to my library and let him talk.”

Everybody nodded and we all headed to a tree with windows. This is new, different but it felt like a home. Twilight opened the door with her magic and let us in. She noticed Fluttershy had her wing around me and we were practically touching. I noticed it was happening since Rarity asked me for help.

“Uh what are you two doing?” Twilight was slightly confused.

Fluttershy looked at her wing and retracted it really quick and backed up from me. She smiled and blushed and quickly ran inside. I could tell she felt embarrassed.

“What was that?” Twilight was dumbfounded.

“I think Fluttershy felt threaten by Rarity. Rarity asked me to help her in her Boutique.” I explained biliously.

“WHAT!?” Twilight was glowering. “Why would she ask you to help her when she already has Spike helping her? And he’s willing to help even if she doesn’t need it.” She had a hostile look on her

I shook my head. “Beats me, I think she just wanted a chance to have me for herself. She seems rather…. Attracted to me for some reason.”

“Well Spike has a crush on her and ever since Rarity found out, I feel like she’s pulling him along.” Twilight was peeved about that it seems. She then clamped her mouth with her hooves like she said something she wasn't supposed to say.

Then Pinkie Pie suddenly turned her head and stared at Twilight who flinched in response. Pinkie narrowed her eyes and whispered "Forever." She looked at me and gave me a smile before going about her business. I cocked an eyebrow and wondered what that was about.

Twilight stood still with wide eyes for a full minute before shaking her head. “And what about you and Fluttershy?” she asked quizzically.

I scratched the back of my neck and noted Pinkie Pie's behavior. I was gonna need to spend some extra time with Pinkie. “Oh, we have feelings for each other. She wants to jump in head first into the relationship but I asked her to take it slow. But since I told her we can show our love a little bit she seems more protective.”

“So you’re dating?” She was slightly confused.

“No not exactly. We’re taking it slow like I said, But I thought it would help us both if we start making ourselves comfortable with this. You don’t have anything against a pony loving a dragon or vice viscera do you?” I asked curious if anyone felt against it.

“Of course I don’t. It’s the fact you just met us that’s bothering me the most.” She gave a wary look.

I sighed. “I know. Which is why I’m not taking it seriously right now.” I reassured her to let her know I wasn’t planning on hurting her in any way.  “But I do need some positive feelings right now.” I felt grim.

“Why?” She seemed curious.

I shook my head. “I feel like something bad is about to happen, and I want to keep myself positive as long as I can till I figure out what I can do about it. I’ll explain.” And with that I walked inside and saw everybody was waiting.

The Mane six, The CMC and of course Spike were all here. I felt it wouldn’t be a good idea to inform them of my dream, not yet anyway I was sure they wouldn’t like bad news after saving an empire. But they had to know, I didn’t know how much time I had before he made his entrance. I decided it I needed to let them know, even if they weren’t gonna like it.

“So Sarius. Tell us everything.” Twilight declared and the others sat and listened closely.

I took a deep breath, knowing I will need to do a lot of talking. “Alright. First off, you all know my name so I’ll get straight to what I am. I’m from another Dimension, one that’s unlike yours in a lot of ways. Where I’m from I’m only part dragon god. In truth, I’m a Hybrid.”

“A Hybrid? You mean you’re something with a lot of other things mixed up?” Rainbow dash looked intrigued.

I nodded. “That’s correct. I have at least 8 different strains of DNA in me right now. Each one helps benefit me in a different way. For example, I can breathe underwater and in space thanks to having the DNA of a fish. Now a fish can’t breathe in space naturally, but the part of me that’s a god, enhances it to a godly level. In fact all my abilities are enhanced by my godly DNA.”

“Awesome!” Pinkie pie liked that part.

“Now ya said something about being in a battle before ya came here, what do ya mean by that?” Applejack asked.

I perked up. “Ah. I was in a battle. It was a rather long, hard and exhausting battle with the Entity of Darkness named Duskill. I was left very weakened, and low on energy. It wasn’t too long after that I was sent here by my Uncle. I won’t go into details about him, since all that’s needed to be known is he’s a Dimensional Being. And his job is to ensure the safety of the Multi-Verse.”

“Multi-Verse?” Twilight had an inquisitive look.

I started scratching my head. I knew it would be hard to explain. “Okay. Think of it this way, the Multi-Verse is basically all of the known dimensions, alternate realities and timeline events. Since it’s hard to mention them separately my uncle and I decided to give it a name. So we decided to call it the Multi-Verse so it’ll be easier to use it when we’re talking about the whole.”

Twilight seemed appealed by this. “Your uncle sounds really smart, will I be able to meet him one day and get some information?” She gave me a very wide smile.

As much I want to grant her request for knowledge I know for a fact my uncle wouldn’t give that out to anyone. The only ones he shared all his knowledge with was me and my siblings, but I wasn’t gonna tell Twilight that.

I shook my head in despondent. “I’m sorry Twilight, but he’s very strict on that subject. He won’t give out that much knowledge to anyone who he thinks isn’t capable of handling it.”

Twilight had a gloomy expression now. “I see.”

“I’m sorry.” I could sense her disappointment but I continued with my explanation. “Now I already mentioned this, but I’m the protector of the Multi-Verse. It’s my job and sole duty to keep the Balance throughout the Multi-Verse. That means I can go either direction; good or evil.” Everybody then gasped and had freighted expressions on their faces.

“Don’t worry I’m not naturally bad nor good, though it seems I play the good guy every time. I’m actually neutral. Though if good gets out of hand I have to side with evil to keep the balance. But luckily I never had that happen to me, so I’m glad for that. I assume the side of good knows better, though not all the time.” Everybody calmed down again knowing they weren’t in danger. Though it surprised me that Fluttershy wasn’t scared, I assumed she knew my intentions weren’t for evil.

But then came the moment I hoped I could avoid, but it was something I couldn’t keep to myself. This dimension was in danger now I was here which I hated. “Though I’m afraid I’m not as good as you think I am.” Fluttershy felt something was off, I could tell since she had a concerned look. Everybody else was confused.

Fluttershy was the one to ask “Why?”

I looked at each of them one by one, I felt really grim and scared. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, Here goes nothing." “Because I have an evil side and his name is Kasulis. A part of me who is the exact opposite of me and now he’s on the verge of being released.” I looked down and opened my eyes.

I remember everything about Kasulis, I always wish I could forget all things he's done. “He’ll destroy everything here and slaughter millions before moving on to another dimension to cause more. To make matters worse only I can defeat him and effectively seal him back in my soul. Since his soul is half of mine, if he was to die I would join him since neither of our souls can live without the other. I don’t know how much time I have before he appears.”

I sighed “I….. wanted to keep it to myself since you just stopped one evil from conquering your home. I didn’t want to drop this on you knowing full well he won’t conquer, but destroy and kill. Plus you'll have difficulty defeating him since his death means mine too.”

I looked up to see their reactions; I was shocked to see they weren’t utterly scared out of their minds. They were scared yes, but I felt something else.

Twilight stood up and put on a brave face. “Well if that’s true, we’ll help you stop him Sarius.” That was it, determination; and the sheer will to defend her home and friends no matter what. Just like me.

Applejack chuckled. “Well, ah reckon we got some fight in us. So I’ll help ya too Sarius, just as long as ah can give Kasulis a good buck to the nose.” She felt confident.

“Hey if he’s your opposite that means he’s a big meanie right? I’ll make sure not to throw a party for him.” Pinkie then pulled out a cannon out of nowhere. “Me and my party cannon are ready to go.” She fired it once and streamers flew out. She chuckled “Once I get some actual ammo to use.” I smiled.

“This lady doesn’t like a fight but I’ll be sure to give him one if he threatens my home or Equerstia.” She wasn’t as stuck up as I thought, instead I think she just saw me as a very handsome dragon and got caught in the moment. “I’ll help you Sarius, even though fighting isn’t something I’m good at.” She looked worried but still had a confident smile. She earned my respect by pointing out her flaw and still feels willing to go through with it anyway.

“I’m always up for a challenge, so I’ll be happy to help. Plus it’ll be good for me to test out some of my fighting moves.” Rainbow dash was eager to get her game on.

“Well, I don’t like violence at all, and I’m not a good fighter. But if he hurts you or anypony else I care about, He’ll get a personal beating from me!” Her sudden threat caught everybody off guard, even me.  The others didn’t expect her to get violent, but I didn’t blame her for being violent towards Kasulis. In fact there are times I wish I could beat him down till he dies but it isn’t possible.

Fluttershy realized what she said and blushed a little. “I mean, it’s not nice to hurt others and if any of you got hurt I wouldn’t like it.” Their all determined and have the undying will to survive and protect.

Twilight then recalled something. “Like you did with that dragon before. You were scared of him but when we got hurt you stood up to him by using the stare on him right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I did but only because he was being mean. And I didn’t fight him I just made him realize that he was being bad and that he had to leave because he was endangering everypony’s health.”

I was surprised to hear Fluttershy was able to put the scare on a dragon. I dealt with plenty of dragons in my time but none of them could be scared easily nor persuaded. I started wondering if her stare was that powerful and if that was the case there might be more to it than that. I then had an idea.

“Since you all want to help, I should at least help you get prepared. If you don’t mind, I would like to see the six of you one by one and see if my theory is right. If it is then you might be strong enough to take him on.”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “What do you mean Sarius?”

“I believe the six of you might have hidden potential and I want to see if I’m right. If I am then your new powers might give you an edge against Kasulis and even future enemies.” I explained.

Twilight seemed intrigued. “That’ll be interesting to know what hidden potential I have. Count me in.”

Everybody else nodded in response. I smiled. “Good then it’s settled, tomorrow I’ll visit you one by one and help you unlock your hidden powers. I’ll also help you get started on mastering your new powers.”

Twilight then asked. “Sarius where will you be staying?”

This hit me like a punch to the gut. “I don’t know.”

Applejack stepped up. “Well if ya can wait a few hours, I’m sure we can put something together for ya.”

I nodded “That’ll be nice AJ. Thanks.”

She shook her head and smiled. “It’s our pleasure. Ya helped us it’s only fair we pay you back. It’s the least we can do.”

A loud belch was heard and a few seconds later Spike came running to me. “Here Sarius, the Princesses sent this for you.” He handed me a scroll. I took it and unrolled it.

Dear Sarius,

On behalf of Equestria, My sister and I request your presence at Canterlot. We wish to speak to you in private. We know you already met the Mane Six and informed them of the situation. Hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

Twilight stared at me with concern. “What do they want Sarius?”

I rolled up the scroll and handed it to Spike; he took it and put with other scrolls. “They wish to speak to me personally. They know I already informed you, which leads me to assume they were informed from my uncle.” I then looked to AJ “I guess I’ll be busy for a while. That should give you enough time to work on my house.”

AJ Nodded. “Alright. Y’all heard Sarius let’s get to work.”

Everybody began to leave till it was me, Twilight and Fluttershy standing at the door. Twilight spoke up. “Sarius, you don’t think you’re in trouble do you? It seemed Celestia was serious if she and Luna requested your appearance this soon.”

“Yeah it’s not a good sigh either when want to talk to you alone. Sarius I’m scared for you.” Fluttershy felt exquisitely concerned for me. It was good to know she cared about what happens to me.

I turned my head to look at both of them. “Don’t worry you two; I’m sure they just want to see me in personally and make sure everything they heard from my uncle are true. If they do try to harm me, I’ll defend myself.”

Twilight went bug-eyed. “NO!!! You shouldn’t attack them, even if you’re defending yourself. It won’t look good for you if your seen attacking them.”

I rolled my eyes. “Twilight I’m not gonna just attack them off the bat. Besides what would you have me do, play dead?”

Fluttershy giggled. Twilight narrowed her eyes in disgust. “Alright, I guess if you have to defend yourself then you can. But only IF you have to, I don’t want to hear the princesses got wounded by you during the conflict.”

I nodded. “You have my word that they won’t be harmed. I have trained in combat for 4 years straight; I know how to defend myself without attacking. Now I must be off I don’t want to make a bad first impression on them by being late do I?”

Twilight nodded. “They wouldn’t like it I’ll tell you that.”

“Take care Sarius, and be careful as well.” Fluttershy was sad to see my go so soon.

I smiled. “Don’t worry; I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?” Fluttershy stared at me with blissful eyes.

I turned to her and made a few gestures while saying “Cross my heart, Hope to fly, Stick a cupcake in my eye.” I made sure to close my eye before placing my claw on it. I surprised myself by knowing it in the first place, but I knew it was something I had to take seriously even though I always took my promises seriously.  And with that I took flight and headed for Canterlot which wasn’t hard to see.

My internal clock was telling me it was past 4 o’clock and the sun was starting to make its way into the mountains. I then started feeling a little hungry, since the last time I ate anything was a few hours ago and it was enough to keep me filled for a few hours. I was partly hoping the princesses had something prepared for me and it was waiting for me. I looked behind me and saw Ponyville, much to my surprise wasn’t too small from this distance. I reached the skies of Canterlot and was hovering over the city square it seemed. I’ll admit, during our trip back to Ponyville from the Crystal Empire I didn’t set one claw in Canterlot since the Mane six had to stop off there to send their report. This is the first time I’m seeing all the fancy ponies going about their business and some looked really stuck up.  I couldn’t believe how long a flight it is from Ponyville to Canterlot which made me wonder why the train ride was so long.

I figured I should stop wasting time and go see the princesses. I glided over to the castle and when I landed and turn towards the door I noticed two royal guards were blocking it. I walked up to them and I could sense their fear, I didn’t blame them I was sure not many dragons my size come by for a visit.

I cracked a smile to show I was here on good favor. “Hey guys, I received word from the princesses that they wanted to see me. Can I enter?”

“Are you Sarius Trusdale?” Asked one of the guards.

“Yes, I am.” I narrowed my eyes.

“Then be sure to behave yourself in their presence or you’ll answer to us.” Said the other.

The large double door was opened and I was granted permission to enter. I wondered through the halls wondering how on Earth anybody could get through here without getting lost. I then sensed two rather large energy signals, I could only assume it was the princesses so I followed my senses and found my way to main chamber.

At the very end of the long hall was two Alicorns, a white mare with a rainbow flowing mane, a slightly larger horn and she was wearing a gold crown, neck brace and shoes that matched. The other was dark blue with a nightly colored flowing mane, though she was smaller I did sense she is rather powerful to make up for it. She was also wearing the same cloth set as the other only it was black. I also noticed a symbol was imbedded to their neck braces, one was a perfectly cut amethyst and the other was a crescent moon. Their energy was powerful, though I faced greater opponents these two would certainly give me a challenge, so I decided to put my senses on high alert.

As I approached them I noticed the dark mare was staring me down as if she was trying to intimidate me. Which wasn’t working cause I dealt with worse looks from Kaila, the other was just happily watching me which told me their personalities were quite different. I’ll admit when I stepped within 10 feet of them I was getting scared, but I taught myself fear and pain are feelings and nothing more so the fear wasn’t gonna hold me back.

“Welcome Sarius to Equestria. I am Princess Celestia and this is my younger sister Princess Luna. We are happy you were able to see us on short notice.” Her voice was certainly majestic in itself, certainly what I would expect from a goddess of the sun in this dimension.

I nodded. “It was my pleasure; I had nothing better to do anyway. I have no place to live yet but the Mane Six are building one for me so I thought I could kill some time by paying you two a visit.”

“We have heard a lot about you from your uncle Sarius. Might I suggest you show a little respect in our presence?” Luna had serious look on her. Her voice was beautiful but menacing.

I snorted, spieling smoke from my nostrils. “If you’re gonna demand respect from me, you’ll get none. Because if you do know me then you know I’m a god as well.” I shot her a peeved look and raised an eyebrow.

She narrowed her eyes at me with anger as if I insulted her. She looked like she was ready to tear me apart, I smiled and gave her a look telling her I could take her.

Celestia broke the tension between me and Luna. “Calm yourself sister, we may be royalty and goddess but we aren’t ones to demand respect.” Luna gave a frustrated grunt. “Now Sarius, I understand you don’t trust anypony here in Equestria, but I want you to know we are willing to help you. We know of the dangers you fear you brought with you.” She had a concerned look.

They know about Kasulis after all. As much I want to say they can help, I didn’t think they could handle Kasulis. “I’m sorry Celestia, But I’m afraid what you’re asking of me is too dangerous for me to suggest. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me, and Kasulis I’m afraid plays for keeps.” I looked down and sighed.

“What, you think us weak and defenseless since we’re mares?” Luna asked with disgust.

“LULU!” Celestia glared at her.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I sense you two are very powerful, but you just don’t know Kasulis like I do. I’m sorry I can’t risk you two getting slain.” I then turned and began to walk out. I really felt like punching myself in the gut for shooting down their help. These two were offering to help me defeat Kasulis and this is how I treat them. Though I didn’t really blame myself, I always preferred to keep others away for their safety. I was always the lone wolf type trying to handle all the Multi-Verses problems on my own.

Then a flash of blue light appeared in front of me and Luna was keeping me from leaving. What surprised me was she wasn’t angry but determined to help. “Sarius please, we want to help you. I’m sorry for treating you like a peasant and demanding respect. I understand you want your respect and trust earned, let me show you we can be trusted and earn your respect.”

Her sudden change in tone caught me off guard. She was apologizing and asking for a chance. That alone would be enough for me to accept her offer, but I still wasn’t convinced. Then Celestia added in “If you let us we can show we’re capable of helping you.”

I looked at Luna, and examined her. I felt like I seen someone like her before. Then it hit me, in my memory of Kasulis. I came across a body of an Alicorn with a black flank and white colored cutie mark. The pony that was tortured and burned was Luna. It made more sense now. But now I was more eager to say no to insure my vision didn't come to pass. I did know she was like that because of Kasulis and not me, but i still wasn't sure if they can hold their own against him.

I then got an idea of how they can prove themselves, but the more I thought about it the more it seemed like a bad idea. I had little choice though; I needed any help I could get since Kasulis was that big of a deal for me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Alright, if you want to help me, there’s only one way I can let you. Fight me, and if you can hold your own against me then I’ll let you help.” Both of them were shocked to hear that word from me.

I opened my eyes and stared right in Luna’s eyes, my eyes silted indicating I was using my draconic power which made Luna uncomfortable. “Fair warning, I won’t hold back because neither will Kasulis if you face him. Don’t hold back or death is what I’ll give you.” They braced themselves as I took a charging stance. I then lunged at Luna with my claw aimed right for her heart.

She managed to use her wings and jump out the way while counterattacking with a lightning bolt. I stood up letting the bolt hit the ground and leaving a small crack. I then jumped to the ceiling and flipped to land on it and bounced back on top of Luna. She barely had time to react as I pinned her down and made my move of ending her.

Fortunately Celestia stopped me by charging me and shooting a fierily lance at me which I jumped away from. She then took to the air with her wings and threw the lance back at me this time from above. I dodged it and counterattacked with my tail swiping her from the right side and a black shield blocked it. Luna was already back up and ready for round 2. Celestia’s horn then glowed yellow and before I could stop her I was engulfed in a flame pillar she raised from her lance.

My body was burning but it wasn’t searing my skin, yet. It felt like the heat of the sun, which I knew was hot enough to burn through my scales. I flipped my mighty wings once with great force causing the whole pillar to shimmer away. Before I could attack Celestia however, Luna launched a lunar sword at my heart which I caught with my claw. The sword was sharp enough to cut me causing my claw to bleed.  My claw then glowed with Energtris power as I shattered the sword into nothing. I then pushed the energy out in a swiping motion and pushed both of the alicorns into the wall.

I then made a saber of energtric energy in my right claw and charged Luna and attempted to stab her heart. She side-stepped to the left and my claw plunged into the wall and she stroke me with a kick to the gut sending me back a few feet. She then charged me and attempted to slash me with her sword but I did a back flip and let the sword cut the air instead and I rose my lower hind claw to strike her from below but she flapped her wings hard enough to move right a few inches to dodge my uppercut kick. She then trying stabbing me from the side but I then used my Energtris pulse to push me forward a few inches letting her sword miss. I then turned my body sideways and swiped her with my tail from the left side. Which she ducked under and I tried to swipe her with my right claw and she pushed back but then noticed I put a little energy into the attack and I pushed out with my energy shoving her through the air with my Energtris pulse.

I then noticed Celestia out the corner of my eye as she charged me with a golden halberd. She tried to pierce my heart, but I blocked it with my own shield. She then used her horn to shoot a flame ball at my head which I dodged stepping to the right. She swung the halberd at me aiming for my chest and I switched my shield to my left arm and blocked the strike. Luna then appeared above her and launched another sword at me. I then bended backwards and it passed by nearly touching my nose and I placed my hind legs on Celestia and pushed her to gain distance from the two. I flipped and landed on my feet, as I looked up I saw a bright light emitting from their horns.

With little time to react I stood on my hind legs and folded my wings forward and created a more stronger Energtris shield to block their attack. The force of their attack was enough to push me back and send me back 20 feet. I pressed my claws against the ground to stop myself and before I could make a move Celestia had the point of her halberd aimed at my head and Luna had her sword pointed at my chest. I knew for a fact I could easily get myself out of this but I wasn’t really fighting them only testing them. My eyes returned to normal and I smiled. Luna and Celestia took this as a sign to withdrew their weapons allowing me to stand on all fours.

I was impressed by their skill; they showed me they could go hoof to claw with me. I could tell Luna had more combat training than Celestia since I noticed her style was similar to mine. Celestia was no slouch either, her magic was certainly powerful and more vast and she harnessed the heat and power of the sun which was impressive.

I chuckled. “It’s been a while since I had a good spar, that was fun you two.” I straighten up. “Alright you two have proven yourselves capable of handling me. But know I was going easy on you since I was trying not to hurt you. Don’t expect Kasulis to show any mercy.”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other and smiled. They had fun too it seemed. Luna then spoke up. “Very well, Sir Sarius. From this point forward consider us your allies.”

I’ll admit the Sir part did catch me by surprise and I blushed a little at the compliment. “Say, do you two mind if I stay here for tonight? I’m sure it’ll take a while for my house to be built.”

Celestia gave a warm smile. “Of course you can. It’s my pleasure, and I’ll assign a guard under your position for protection.” She looked at the door. “Mac enter please.” I looked to see a unicorn with brown fur and yellow mane wearing a helmet and armor enter.

He stood up straight. “You called your Highness?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I want you to show Sarius to one of the guest rooms and I’m personally placing you under his command.”

Mac was a little surprised and worried to be under my command. “Your assigning me as a dragon's personal guard your highness?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, don't worry he won't hurt you. In fact I want you to be our messenger in case he has something to report to me."

Mac simply nodded. "Very well, Sarius follow me." He started heading out the chamber.

I followed him and started to strike a conversation. "Hey since your my guard now, why not tell me about yourself? I want to get to know you better." He said nothing and escorted me to my room.

Mac looked me dead in the eyes. "You'll stay here tonight, I shall stand guard." He turned to face the hall.

I was puzzled. "Hey I'm not sleeping till you talk to me." I sat down to prove my point.

He simply looked at me from the corner of his eye and resumed his original eye position. Several minutes passed before he sighed and turned to face me. "Fine, what do you want to know, Dragon?"

I would feel insulted he called me dragon in an unpleasant way but i knew he was nervous so i ignored it. "Well, First off how many years training do you have under your belt?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Belt?"

I slapped myself in the face. I should have known belts weren't a thing in this dimension. "Okay scratch that, Just tell me how many years of training you have."

He smiled at me. "7 years Sir. Top of my class if I might add."

I was excited. "7 years huh? Try 4 years straight without any interruption expect eating, drinking and sleeping. And don't refer to me as Sir, it makes me feel like your saying that to not anger me or disrespect me which it isn't. Just call me Sarius."

He nodded. "Very well Sarius. You must be pretty experienced after 4 years if your were able to hold your own against the Princesses."

I was surprised he knew. "Wait, how do you know I had a spar with them?"

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "They had their favorite weapons drawn, I was sure they didn't bring them out just to show you."

I suddenly became worried. "I'm not in trouble am i? You know for starting a fight with them?"

He shook his head. "If they wanted you banished to the dungeon, then they would have told me to send you there instead of here."

I let out a sigh of relief. At least I know Twilight won't skin my scales for injuring the Princesses. "Okay, anyway second thing, does Luna have any guards of her own? I know all the guards i seen so far were Celestia's."

He shivered a little. "Yes, she does. They are really a rare breed of ponies known as Bat ponies. They serve her during the night only as far as I seen."

I put a claw under my chin. "Interesting, I guess I'll ask Luna for more details. Okay last thing, I'll be heading back to Ponyville tomorrow. So will you be coming with me or will you have to be stationed there by Celestia?"

He was shocked to hear me ask for his company. "Oh, um, Well I suppose Celestia would have to transfer me. Even though she assigned me under your command, I still serve her. So if I were to be placed under your position to serve you, she would have to fill out a sheet personally for me to hand to you."

I stood up. "I see, well I'll be sure to ask Celestia tomorrow before I leave and see if she will think about it." I looked him in the eyes. They were blue which i didn't notice till now since i was more interested in knowing him. "As for you my friend, you don't have to be afraid of me  or respect me just because I'm a dragon. I prefer to have my respect and trust earned and not given just because I'm a dragon god. So just be yourself around me bro, and you and i will gonna get along very well." I patted his shoulder and smiled.

He smiled back. "I'll keep that in mind Sarius. And I'll try my best to serve you to the best of my abilities." He stood at attention.

I chuckled. "At ease Mac, I'm not gonna consider you a servant or my personal guard, but more as a close friend i can relay on to help me out." I turned to the door. "Good night Mac. I'll see you tomorrow morning." I opened the door and walked in.

The room was large for a guest room, but i guess if your royalty you can have rooms this big. I walked to the bed, it was Queen's sized bed which was perfect for me. I got up and it felt very fluffed and comfortable. I folded my wings in all the way, pulled the sheets out to slip under them and made myself comfortable. I was hoping i didn't have any more memories about Kasulis, since one was enough for me. I closed my eyes and started thinking about Fluttershy and Luna. My eyes shot open.

"Wait Luna? I didn't expect her to be on my mind as well. Did she impress me that much?" I thought with sudden shock. I then just laughed. "I guess she did. I'll admit it, she's certainly a match for me and i enjoyed our spar together. I can't wait to see her again now."

I then closed my eyes and focused all my thoughts on two very beautiful mares and hoped i had pleasant future memories at least.

Back in the Throne room, Celestia and Luna were resting after their spar with Sarius. Luna was exhausted, she hadn't got this tired out in a long time. The last time she remembered was when she and Tia were younger a thousand years ago.

They were being trained by their Father in the art of combat, Swordplay, Close quarters melee, and sparring to learn how to dodge. Their Mother taught them Magic, High-level unicorn spells and Powerful spells only Alicorns could wield. Luna and Celestia both learned after they earned their cutie marks, they can harness and use the power of the sun and moon. Luna and Celestia both practiced combing their spells together and using their power over the sun and moon.

During one of their sparring matches, Luna was using her speed and agile to avoid Tia's spells. Luna was also using a few avoidance techniques she learned from her Father and trying them out. She was effortlessly able to pull them off, but avoiding her Sister's spells weren't easy. Tia gets a few private lessons from Mother, and she was putting them to use as well. After a few minutes of sparring, both sisters were exhausted and out of breath.

"Wow Tia, i have to admit. I had a few close calls, you came really close a few times. If i hadn't been training with dad, you would have beaten me several times over." Luna had a big smile, she never had so much fun before.

Celestia laughed. "Well, I certainly wasn't trying to make it easy for you Lulu. But i have to say the way you handled some of my spells i learned from mom were amazing. Hadn't i been taking those private lessons i would have lost to your speed." Celestia was proud of her sister.

Luna looked in her sister's eyes. "Hey sis, You think mom could give me some privates lessons too?"

Celestia smiled and placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder. "Of course, So long as i can get some lessons from dad in return."

Luna smiled and hugged her sister. "Deal."

Luna couldn't help but notice during her one on one spar with Sarius, that he too was using similar avoidance techniques she learned from her Father. She knew for a fact her Father couldn't have taught Sarius because their Father and Mother disappeared a long time ago. Which meant that Sarius was trained by someone else, maybe his Uncle. But something told her that wasn't the case. Finally it hit her like a brick.

"He trained himself." She thought. "Yes, that would explain what his Uncle said. Sarius trained himself for 4 years straight." She then realized she sparred with someone who trained for 4 years straight and was skilled enough to match her training with her Father. It took her several years just to learn the basics, but she was also learning other things as well.

"He is quite experienced. I was impressed actually." Luna started blushing. "Wow, I never thought I'd meet a stallion or a dragon that can impress me so much. I'll even say he's rather strong, brave and handsome. Just what i like in a male." She went bug-eyed. "Did i really think that? Do i have a...... crush on him?"

Celestia noticed her sister was blushing and was looking kinda silly. "Lulu, Are you thinking about Sarius?"

Luna blinked and looked at her sister. "What?! No i am not." She lied.

Celestia smiled and leaned in towards her sister. "Then why were you blushing? If i had to guess i would say he left an impression on you." She teased.

Luna was blushing redder now. "NO!! TIS A LIE!!" Her old habit of speaking Shakespearean came out.

Celestia just giggled. "Your so cute when you act like this, sister."

Luna knew she couldn't keep lying to Celestia. Celestia knew when she was lying which annoyed her.

Luna sighed but didn't lose the blush. "Okay, I am. I was impressed by his skill. It's been a long time since i had fun sparring." Luna smiled and giggled a little. "And I'll admit, he is quite handsome for a dragon."

Celestia was glad to see her sister was happy. For so long Luna wanted to have somepony to love. Now she's finally getting a chance. "Well, if i were you, i wouldn't let this chance pass by. Love is not easy to find. You have my support Lulu." She hugged Luna.

Luna smiled and hugged her back. "I won't Tia, I'll tell him tomorrow."

Celestia broke the hug and yawned. "Wow.... That spar took a lot out of me. We both enjoyed ourselves. I'll go sleep now. Good night Luna." She started walking to her chamber.

"Good night Dear Sister." Luna replied before Celestia was out of earshot.

Luna then started thinking of a way to tell Sarius about her crush. He was going back to Ponyville tomorrow and she wanted him to know she'll be waiting for him when he comes back. She's had plenty of chances for love, but she always told herself to wait. She was glad her waiting had paid off. Now all she had to do was tell him and hope he feels the same way.

"But what if he doesn't." She thought. She then shook her head. "No don't think like that. I won't know until i talk to him, and i will talk to him." She was going to find out one way or another. She couldn't live this down if she passed this opportunity. She then walked to her chambers to rest, now having confidence in herself. Tomorrow is another day.

End of Chapter 2