Flame, Soul, Rage, and Draconis

Flame: Forced Confessions....

“BRYAN! CATCH!!!” ‘DAVID!?’ I turned in the nick of time to see, yes, David of all people, throwing me my bayonet and the sword I stole from Khawl. Grinning like a madman behind the pitch black flames, I reached out my hands, frowning when I saw that the throws would fall short. ‘I got this! Which blade which hand?!’ ‘Big left, small right!’ Dawn jumped into action, taking control of my arms again, and sending her telekinetic grip to my weapons. I smirked as she pulled them into my hands, and even yanked off the bayonet’s sheathe before strapping it to my right hip! When I regained control of my arms, I went into action, parrying, dodging, and striking. I didn’t count how many guards I downed until Luna blasted me. It was extremely painful, so much that I nearly blacked out as I was sent flying.

Just before I landed, I felt my entire body go numb before darkness engulfed my vision, but for a mere second as I found myself in a familiar ruin. The abandoned castle, in the heart of the Everfree Forest. I groaned as I sat up, feeling returning to my body. ‘Are you alright!? Anything broken?’ I glanced around, noticing my weapons were a few feet away. ‘Sore all over, but intact.  What happened?’ ‘Right before we landed, I teleported us to the abandoned castle. We don’t have much time till we’re followed,’ she explained as I got up. Frowning, I limped over to my weapons, grabbing my bayonet and shoving it into my sheathe, switching the katana to my right hand. Looking around some more, I noticed I was in the middle of the first floor of the castle. Then of course, I noticed a flash outside the door. Groaning, I started limping to the only way to go, the stairs.

As I ascended, I heard and felt Luna yelling as her Royal Voice shook the ruins. “Come out criminal and surrender peacefully before we are forced to take thy life!” ‘Oh well she is fucking charming. How’d ya put up with her for a thousand years?’ ‘I was insane.’ ‘NO-ho-ho comment!’ I grumbled and continued up the time eroded staircase, coming into the second floor. Inside was much like the first floor, except, of course, there was no monument to the elements at the back of it. All that was there, were stone fragments….And bits of armor. ‘MY ARMOR! Ignition, or Bryan, whatever your name is! If that armor is destroyed, so am I!’

I blinked and stared at the armor fragments with more interest now. I didn’t even think back to her, so astonished was I. “So…You still want me to kill you…?” Her reaction was immediate. ‘What!? No! I have friends now, thanks to you, and I am NOT giving that up with a fight! Listen, I can BIND the armor to you in a certain form. There is enough for a gauntlet considering you size. Maybe even a belt and a few other things. I just need a design.’ ‘An extra design huh? Lemme think a moment….’ Designs were not my thing, but Video games were.

So, I went through my memories of playing World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, and Skyrim as fast as possible, before settling on the Ancient Nordic Gauntlets design, letting dawn get a good look at it. Good timing too, as I heard and felt the door downstairs explode, no doubt by Luna's hoof, and the sound of hoosteps from the staircase. The gauntlets had iron on the top of the arm and the bottom, leather on the sides, and finger-less wraps for hand guards. ‘Think you can make that, except all of the arm and the top of the hand is plate mail, and the finger wraps are chain-mail over cloth? And also line cloth up on the rest of the inside?’

She didn’t respond. She instead, took over my body and swiftly limped towards the armor fragments as we heard Luna break the doors open. Once there, she knelt down, switched the katana to my left hand, and then held out my right arm. The armor shook for a moment before turning into liquid metal that crawled up my arm before taking form of the gauntlet design, but modified to my specifications, minus the cloth I asked for. The finished gauntlet shimmered as it hardened, making me ogle at the sight in the back of my own head. Dawn turned my arm this way and that slowly so I could look at it. The entire gauntlet looked like silver, with a light coloring of teal, like Dawn’s eyes. On the piece covering the top of my hand was her, and Luna’s, cutie mark. A crescent moon, shown by the indentation and more silver-like coloring in that area. “Use it well,” I heard myself say before I was given back control.

Finally able to feel right again, I was shocked. The armor felt like it was a part of my arm completely. Like I wasn’t even wearing it! Knocking on it with my left hand, I confirmed it to be real. “It’s…Amazing.” “Yes, yes. A fine trinket….For a criminal like thee!” ‘FUCK.’ Me and Dawn thought the same thing, at the same time. Standing, I turned to the stairs to see Luna, glaring at me with malice. “…Princess….” She glared daggers at my greets. “Criminal.” ‘…Wise men said something once ya know…’ ‘Oh yeah? What?’ ‘Prolong a beating as long as possible.’ ‘Good plan.’ I smiled sadly at her. “You call me a criminal, and yet you have what proof to it? What crimes have I committed? All I have done is defending your citizens.”

Luna looked taken aback before strengthening her resolve and the intensity of her stare, taking a step forward with every 4 words. “You were seen with Nightmare Moon in the hospital by my sister and beat up a royal guard! The proof and the crimes! Attacking a royal guard, and aiding an enemy of Equestria!” When she finished, she was halfway across the room, her horn glowing a pure shade of blue when she stopped. I was still where I was, wincing with every word. I looked at her sadly. “I did attack that guard, but only because I was defended Dawn, who you call Nightmare Moon. Yes, I am aware of her past, but she is reformed! I’m telling you!” Luna just growled before smirking evilly.

“Very well then. If what thou say is true, then why did thee run? Hmm?” I opened my mouth and closed it several times. I didn’t want to tell her I ran in fear they’d take Dawn. Though the truth, I didn’t want it misinterpreted, and used against me. ‘Just do it. We’ll hope for the best…..’ ‘You sure?’ ‘Yes.’ “Well? We haven’t all day, criminal!” I looked from the floor to her, then sighed heavily. “The truth, your Highness?” She nodded once. I shook my head and smiled sadly at her, dropping the sword and falling to my knees. “My name isn’t really Ignition, it’s Bryan. I work with Evan, who is known as Spirit, David, who is known as Efyu, and Kyle, who is known as Pendragon. Kyle came later, but first it was me, Evan, and David. We  rarely had to fight, and we are the best of friends…Not only did we fight Khawl…But we created him…” I looked up at Luna, who was staring at me in shock. Dawn was utterly silent.

“We created him, yes. He wasn’t always this way you see. Before, he was an amazing person, a true friend. Through a misinterpretation, he became violent and attacked. We slew him as a result, never knowing he’d end up here. We went on with our lives. For some reason, and somehow, Khawl came here and started to fight your people, summoning four warriors to aid him. He got four of his worst enemies instead.” For some reason, tears began to stream from my eyes. I ignored them, looked away from Luna to the floor, and continued.

“When I awoke, I was disoriented, but I managed to right myself. I watched Octavia, Vinyl, Lyra, and Bon bon run past, so I followed. Then I learned of Khawl, and aided the fight against him. Little did I know that someone was looking out for me and my friends the whole while. That someone, was Dawn. She gathered up my friends and led them to me, and so we were reunited, with her to thank. She warned us of Khawl’s second attack, which we repelled. Then the guard attacked her while she showed me this in a memory. I was enraged. My first, real friend here, being tortured before my eyes….I lost it. So I defended her, and smuggled her away, to Twilight’s, where you found us. I ran…because I was afraid to lose a friend. One that I also owe a debt, that I may never repay….” I reached over to my Katana, picking it up while I shakily stood, my body racked by sobs. ‘Ignition….Bryan….’

When I stood at fully, I took a combat stance, sword pointed at Luna, who was looking at me utterly shocked. “So if you want to arrest me, or even kill me for that….THEN GO AHEAD! At least I’ll die knowing I made my friends and family proud! By doing the right thing! WHAT SAY YOU!?” My face contorted into one of anger, despite the tears being shed, awaiting a retaliation of some sort. Instead, she let her magic vanish and calmly walked forward until she was right in front of the tip of the blade in my shaking hands.

“You know she was created by my hate and jealousy, don’t you?” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I couldn’t take it anymore; I dropped the sword and fell onto my ass, bringing my knees to my chin. “Yes, but what YOU don’t know is that she was reformed by the Elements of Harmony, making her the great friend she is…Do you know, what she asked me, before that guard attacked, and she finished showing me her memories?” She tilted her head at me, a sad expression in her eyes. “….She asked me to kill her….”  Luna let her jaw drop a second time, and I looked away. “That’s when I first told her that she was a friend, and that I wouldn’t do it…Hell, I CAN’T do it….Luna, none of have killed before, and Evan didn’t mean to that first time…”I looked at the floor, away from her gaze, bawling my eyes out. I jumped as a wing was wrapped around me, and Luna embraced me like a kid. “It is….Ok…We misunderstood thou’s situation…But please understand, we can’t just take thy word, unless thee would like us to read thy mind.” I looked to my left and up at her before nodding. “One second please….”

I looked to the floor again, my facial expression becoming neutral. ‘Dawn?’ ‘…..That’s all true, Bryan? Everything you said?’ ‘Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ ‘….Good enough, let her in….’ I nodded and looked up at her. “I’ll show you my memories….But some parts will be left out for safety reasons….Mind you, it’s crowded in there as well.” Luna merely smiled and nodded, her horn lighting up as she touched my forehead with it. Next thing you know, I was in a giant, white expanse again, with Dawn and Luna, Dawn looked to Luna with a sad expression before bowing her head, but Luna replied with a scowl, looking to me and nodding. I sighed, closed my eyes, and let all my memories flow, holding back anything concerning MLP or more personal issues, such as inspecting my body parts when I was a kid. Opening my eyes, I saw my memories play in super-fast forward before their eyes, gauging their reactions that would go from shocked, laughing, and sad. What seemed to shock them the most, was all the fights I’ve been in during my life time, and the one event which changed my life.

When I was a kid, before my father became a firefighter, my dad was taking me and my sister home from elementary school, when we stumbled across a motorcycle accident. One man was unharmed, on a silver motorcycle, while the other cyclist wasn’t. He had a green motorcycle, which was in pieces, and he was sprawled out on the ground, blood pouring from a wound on his head. When I saw this, I froze, unable to move from pure shock. My dad screamed for me to call an ambulance, but instead it was my sister who called them. No one blamed me because it was my first time seeing something like this. I have never forgiving myself. I became reserved, more violent, and ALWAYS. ANGRY. Anger was in everything I do, and it still is to this day, right here, right now, watching Dawn and Luna watch my memories. It was a speck, but still there. When it finished, they could only stare at me in shock. I frowned and looked away. “If you want to lock me up for Khawl being here, go ahead. But leave Dawn alone. She’s good now…and besides, considering she was made off of your emotions….” I looked back to them and shrugged. “Doesn’t that….Kind of make her your daughter, Luna?”

There was no reaction to this. Instead, the spell dropped, returning me to my body, which resulted in Luna passing out. “….Whoops?”