A Change in Heart

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Note: Assume that the Sombra crisis has passed by now.

Black Daze wandered through the Everfree, retracing his steps to the decrepit tomb of Daravoc, the site of his change. He was alone on his journey- he reasoned that Daravoc couldn't do much to him, now that he was already part Dragon.

To his left, he noticed a stone wall. He walked over to it and pushed aside some vines.

"This is it," he breathed. He stepped back, and recited Daravoc's Chant of Praise.

Great Daravoc! Great Daravoc! Voice of Power!

Harbinger of the Great Meteor Shower!

The place where you rest, the place where you sleep!

Let me enter your tomb in the Dragon Hall's deep!

Black Daze waited for a minute. Then five, then twenty. The wall didn't move at all.

"What the buck?" He wondered aloud. A voice suddenly reverberated in Daze's head.

Foolish pony, do you think I will simply allow you back in if you perform with the same amount of effort? Repeat my chant of phrase in the language of the Dragons, and then I will let you in.

"What, you're actually going to let me in without complaint?"

You need my help, and my soul is losing it's grip on this plane. I would like to leave my teachings to a worthy successor, but if you can't even determine the Dragon language, you won't be worthy.

Black Daze decided to leave the conversation there.

Ponyville Library

"The Dragon language, you say?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah."

Twilight turned to Spike. "Your kind has their own language?"

He looked at her indignantly. "Did you expect me to know? You're the one who raised me, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Twilight coughed, then thought to herself for a moment before speaking again. "Well, if there were ever any books written about it, they would probably be in the Canterlot Archives, or maybe at the Crystal Kingdom Library. Spike!"

"Yes?"

"Send a letter to Cadence and Shining Armor. Tell them to ask the Librarian if they have books on the Dragon language."

"Got it!" he promptly wrote and sent a letter.

Twilight then turned to Black Daze. "While they're doing that, you and I are going to Canterlot."

The Canterlot Archives
Starswirl the Bearded section

As soon as they entered, Twilight immediately began levitating a train of books with her magic. Daze, meanwhile, observed a plaque on the side of a shelf.

"Alright, Black Daze," she said, "I'll check the shelves on this side of the room. You check the shelves on that side."

"Twilight."

"Yes?"

"Are you aware that the Archives follow the Hoofy Decimal System?"

"Of course!" she said, flipping through two books in less than a second. "It's used that system for centuries."

"Are you aware that there's a whole section dedicated to Dragon culture?"

Twilight immediately dropped all of the books she was levitating. Slowly, she turned her head towards Black Daze, her cheeks flushed. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She quickly returned all of the books she had removed to their proper place.

Black Daze wandered around the Dragon culture section. After taking two steps into it, he realized that the librarian gave it way more space than it needed. There were only two books. One was an explorer's journal from when he got permission to live with the Dragons for a while. The other book was old and leather-bound, titled Linguam Dracone. The author's name was faded. He opened the book, taking care not to rip any of its yellowed pages. It was a dictionary. Quickly, he looked up all of the words he needed and wrote them down.

Twilight began to walk over when Black Daze rushed past her, saying, "Thanks for your help Twilight! I've got what I need- see you back in Ponyville!" Black Daze then jumped out of a window and flew towards the Everfree forest as fast as he could, leaving a bewildered Twilight to pay for her own train ticket home.

Daravoc's Tomb

Black Daze approached the entrance to the tomb once more. He collected his thoughts, and recited-

Daravoc magna! Daravoc magna! Vocem virtutis!

Praeco magnifica meteoron imber!

Cetera loco ad quem locum in quo dormiat!

Licuerit intrare sepulchro tuo Draco Atria profundum!

Once again, a voice reverberated throughout Black Daze's head.

It needs work on the pronunciation, and you definitely substituted some words in there... But well done, nonetheless. Besides, a perfect translation between two languages is pretty much impossible, regardless of the languages in question. Welcome back, Dazer.

The split and opened. As he entered, Black Daze said, "That isn't my name anymore. My name is Black Daze."

Your name is not your decision, while you train with me. You will always be a child, so you will always be Dazer.

Black Daze scoffed as the doors closed behind him, rumbling ominously. Daze wandered down the same path to Daravoc's bones. This time, however, the bones were joined. There was no skin, no sinews. They were joined by an aura of his magic. Daravoc was standing, reading the runes on the side of the cave. The head turned to Black Daze.

"Welcome back, child." Daravoc said.

"Really? 'Child'? I'm a fully grown adult."

"Perhaps to ponykind."

They looked at each other, silently thinking. Finally, Black Daze asked, "So how do you use Dragon magic?"

"By speaking the Linguam Dracone."

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you think I am called the Voice of Power simply because it sounds impressive? It is a title that only the greatest Dragons earn."

"So basically, I could have just used the Dragon Language dictionary I had earlier to learn all of the Dragon words and spells?"

"Yes, and no. While you could have learned the words, you would not learn their power. You would not understand how to use them. While Dragon spells are easy to learn, they are also remarkably difficult to use. For each individual spell, you must channel your magical energy in a specific way."

"Hmph. Whatever. Let's get started."

"Very well." Daravoc pointed at a rock and breathed, "Ignis." The rock was set ablaze, burned by a fire so hot that it began to melt into lava. Daravoc turned to Black Daze. "Now you try."

Black Daze gathered his energy, pointed at a different rock, and shouted, "Ignis!"

Nothing happened.

Daravoc shook his head. "When you perform spells that deal with temperature, or the elements, your magical energy must reflect that element. If you wish to start a fire, your energy must burn with the heat of the sun. If you wish to form ice, your energy must be colder than the northern continent. If you wish to summon a storm, your energy must be wild and uncontrollable."

"But Pegasi can control storms."

"Not a true storm. Not the storms a Dragon can form. Tempestatum!"

Instantly, a circle of clouds appeared over Black Daze's head. They were dark, swirling with power. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed.

Daravoc waved his hands through the clouds, dispelling them. "That is a true storm. Had I allowed it to continue, it would have grown powerful enough to destroy a mountain. Now, try again."

Black Daze turned to another rock. He concentrated, attempting to make his energy burn. "Ignis!" he shouted. Once again, nothing happened.

Daravoc sighed. "I didn't want to use this method, because it's a bit cliché, but use your emotions to affect your energy. Let your rage burn, become listlessly cold, be as cruel as the hurricane."

Black Daze thought of all the times he got angry. He got angry when his parents abandoned him. He got angry when a Giant Forest Ape threatened himself and Chrysalis. He got angry when he was stabbed. He was now extremely angry that Trixie had been taken. His aura flared, the heat cascading off of his skin and scales. He could feel the heat, and it was hotter than his fire. He tried the spell again. "IGNIS!"

The stone burst into flame. The fire was bright and hot, but not as hot as Daravoc's.

Daravoc nodded. "Yes, excellent. I'm actually impressed you've done this so quickly. Most Dragons your age can't even do that much yet."

"You don't have to be sarcastic. This is pathetic compared to what you can do, and we both know that."

"Yes it is. But I was serious when I said that it's better than what most Dragons your age could do."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess."

"Do not thank me, whelp. There is much more to learn before you are ready to face whoever is stronger than you."

"Oh, come on. This isn't gonna take long, is it?"

"That depends on how fast you can learn the spells without screwing up. Now, attempt Frost- Gelum." Instantly the room's temperature dropped to about fifty degrees. Black Daze shivered, and walked over to the rock he set on fire to warm up his cold blood. Daravoc dispelled his frost, but he still felt cold.

After he felt he was warm enough, Black Daze got up from near the fire. He concentrated, and made his aura as cold as he could, calming himself down to a cold, emotionless state. "Gelum," he whispered. The room got colder, but not by much. He turned to Daravoc. "Isn't there a faster way to do this?"

"Actually, yes there is. The language you are learning is actually the second language that the Dragons invented."

"Why did you make another one?"

"The first one we made was too powerful. The effects of spells would occur even in casual conversation, whether or not our auras were in use. The only way you could not cause the effects of a spell was if you did not know the meanings of the words."

"Is your name a part of that language?"

There was a pause as Daravoc considered answering his question. "Every Dragon older than 200,000 years of age has a name that is a word from the old language. The younger Dragons have names from the new language."

Black Daze's eyes widened considerably. "You're more than 200,000 years old?"

"I am the son of the very first of my kind, who once rested on the surface of the sun itself. I was once the Dragon Elder, the oldest living Dragon. I have seen the birth of ponykind, and the birth and death of many races before it. I am older than this planet, young Black Daze."

"Okay, you had me going for a second, but I don't believe for a second that you were around before the world was. And, we seem to have gone a bit off track. Can you teach me the old language?"

"No. I can, but I won't. It's too dangerous for someone so young to use."

"Fine, whatever."

"Now attempt Frost once more. You are not leaving until you perform it successfully. And clear your plans for the next few weeks."

Black Daze groaned, and attempted the spell once more. The temperature dropped five degrees, but no more.

Daravoc shook his head. "I hope you have some other skills, because you are terrible at this."

"But you just said I was good at this!"

"I said you were doing better than most Dragons your age. But if you can create fire, why can you not do the opposite?"

"Because it's hard to become emotionless!"

"No it is not. Are you this bad at everything?"

"I'm good at close combat fighting."

"Do you fight with your claws closed, or open?"

"Usually closed."

"Can you do anything right?" Daravoc raised one of his claws and plunged them into the rock. "You should be able to do this, at least."

"What, are going to teach me some sort of Dragon martial art too?"

"If I deem it necessary. And considering your skill at magic- or lack thereof- it may be necessary."

"Well, fine. I prefer fighting up close and personal anyway."

"Very well. Stab that rock with your claws."

Black Daze walked over to a boulder, hesitated, then threw his hand at the rock.

One of his claws broke.

Daravoc groaned. "Perhaps this will be more difficult than I imagined."

End of Chapter

Author's Note

Daze gets revenge next chapter! BUT that might take a while to write because of the end of the school year and finals, which are coming up soon. It's especially worrying for me because I get senioritis every year.

NOTE: It's revised because I thought of something to put after publishing it. I don't do this often, though.