//------------------------------// // Session 102 // Story: Ponies and Dragons (Just Have Fun) // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// Session 102.0 Mtangalion and Alex Warlorn On a good day, Applejack could tumble into her bed and be out like a light, the moment her head touched the pillow. One of the many benefits of working a farm from dawn to dusk, or as Applejack would have called it, healthy living. Unfortunately, a late evening spent grading Honesty exam papers only exhausted the mind, not the body. “Not again,” muttered Applejack, as she tossed and turned. She sprawled belly-up, staring at the ceiling. “Ah done told Twi already, Ah have a day job!” She punched her pillow with a hoof. “That settles it. One more year, and Ah’m out, whether there’s another teacher hired or not!” Sometime after that, sleep finally claimed the exhausted mare, but her dreams were decidedly... peculiar. Scales are better Than soft fur Strength fills bellies Not soft words In fevered dreams, Applejack walked the length and breadth of Sweet Apple Acres, and her heart swelled with pride. The towering trees, the rich soil, the house where so many generations had lived, the produce that fed half of Ponyville… Hers. Her ancestors, her family, her hard work had made all of this possible. She had every right to be proud! The Acres, her accomplishments and fame as the Bearer of Honesty… she’d earned them and then some! Life was good, and the future promised even better. Wrapped in those dreams and burrowing deeper into her bed covers, Applejack slept as warm and snug as she ever had in her life… until her eyes blinked open, and full sunlight hit them. “What in tarnation…” Applejack furrowed her brow. When had her voice gotten all gruff and scratchy like that? “Am Ah sick?” she wondered aloud. “Is that why they let me sleep in?” She crawled out of bed and stumbled over to the bowl on her bedside table, so she could splash water in her eyes. Then she caught sight of her reflection in the water and immediately hollered, stumbling back with a crash. “What.” She lifted shaking hooves. No, not hooves. Claws! Orange scaly claws that wiggled at her command... just like Spike’s claws. “What!?” She rose up, wobbling upright on two legs, and took a longer look at the face reflected in the bowl… Orange scales, sharp fangs… Golden fins, too, making a crest that swept over the top of her head and down her back, like a foal’s drawing of the sun. It wasn’t a bad face, she thought, as she tugged on the crest, then patted her scaly cheeks. She’d spent enough time around Spike and the other dragons at the school to not be terrified or repulsed… It was just that it was a *baby dragon’s* face, and she wasn’t? Hadn’t been? Applejack stared down her reflection and said “Ah’m a dragon,” trying it on for size. Strange, how right that felt… Then she heard heavy steps, coming up the stairs. “Applejack?” called the voice of Granny Smith. “You okay in there? Ah’m coming in!” Applejack felt a touch of panic. “Hold on, Granny! Ya might want to sit down before…” Her bedroom door swung open… and there stood another dragon, a *big* ‘un, two or three times her size, with lime-green and lemon-yellow scales. The same colors her granny had when she was young... because *of course* Granny was a dragon too. “What the hay?” breathed Applejack, gobsmacked. “Am Ah still dreamin’?” “Enope!” Granny scooped Applejack up and snuggled her to her chest, grinning from earfin to earfin. “Unless yer talkin’ about it being a dream come true. Ya finally turned at last!” “Granny!” protested Applejack. “Ah ain’t a baby!” Granny winked. “Funny, you sure look like one to me!” She ducked under the doorframe, easily carrying her downstairs to the living room. Applejack groaned, giving up on trying to squirm loose. “And what do you mean, turned? Into a dragon?” “Oh, kinda yes, kinda no! Yer a kirin, AJ!” Before Applejack could object, Granny added, “Not that other kinda kirin. We’re the kind of ponyfolk what can turn into dragons whenever we have a notion to!” Applejack looked even more doubtful. “Like in those dang blasted romance novels?” Granny shook a claw in her face. “Don’t you be dissing Midnight Heart. You know she’s one of my favorite authors.” She beamed. “Although, Ah might be a teensy bit biased!” Granny settled in her favorite recliner, which groaned beneath the weight of so much dragon, and held Applejack in her lap. “You had me wondering if you’d ever change, seeing as how you risked life and limb saving Equestria darn near every week, and you still hadn’t turned. Ah shouldn’ta worried, though. Of course, you’d be one of us, what with you having kirin blood from me and Grand Pear both!” This day couldn’t possibly get any stranger, thought Applejack. So of course, her brother chose that moment to come downstairs, also looking pleased as punch. “‘Bout time, sis!” he said, ruffling her crest with a big hoof. “Say, does this mean Ah can change around the house now?” Granny tapped her chin with a claw. “Well, there’s still Apple Bloom, but it’s not like she’s any stranger to ponies turning into dragons, what with her friend Scootaloo…” “Okay, thanks Granny!” Right before her eyes, Big Mac blurred and became… well, Garble. If Garble was actually handsome and had muscles like an earth pony blacksmith. “Got work ta do, Granny. Later!” Then he flew right out the door. Literally flew. As in, with his very own red leathery wings. Granny shook her head. “Young ‘uns these days.” She blinked. “Oh my! Ah need to get the photo album and the camera! Can’t miss getting a few shots of this!” She set Applejack on the sofa and took off at a jog. “Back in a jiffy!” AJ looked up at a framed family photo on the wall, head still spinning. “Ah guess all this dragon business explains how Granny’s stayed healthy and active at her age. Maybe Ah should be grateful.” She tilted her head. “So how come Ah remember Granny needing a new hip? No, that don’t make sense. Ah… ugh!” She felt a sudden stabbing headache, and her slit-pupiled eyes narrowed, shimmering with the orange light of Honesty. “Granny’s been healthy all this time… but she’s been barely getting around too? And Ah remember Granny gettin’ turned into a dragon, and Ah can’t have…” The young dragoness gasped. “Discord! Ah remember all of it now! You did one of those random-active things, didn’t ya?! Granny, her friends, Grand Pear, you made it so they were always kirin from the start!” “Bravo!” shouted a squeaky voice… from inside the family portrait?! The tiny image of her Pa was now an animated Discord, giving her a round of applause. With another flash of light, he poofed out of the painting and reappeared in the flesh, still wearing Pa’s Stetson. “I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘retroactive,’ but if you enjoy making up new and silly words, then by all means, be my guest!” Applejack snatched the hat off Discord head’s and jammed it onto her own, huffing a bit of flame. “Ah’d rather you stop monkeying around with mah family history, and fix me back like Ah was!” Discord blinked. “You do realize, you’re now perfectly capable of changing yourself from pony to dragon and back again? But, if you insist…” He shrugged, turning mismatched palms up. “I suppose I’ll have no choice but to make *everything* just like it was before.” He raised his claws to snap… Applejack frowned. It wasn’t like Discord to stop having fun and mischief, just because somepony… or somedragon asked nice. Then AJ gasped in horror, suddenly realizing that turning everything back would make her granny an ancient mare at death’s door again, and it’d be AJ’s fault! “Stop!” cried Applejack, grabbing Discord’s claws before he could snap. “Ah… Ah spoke hastily. Please, don’t change it back yet. Ah gotta think about this…” “Of course!” said Discord, grinning like a shark. Or like Flim or Flam… there wasn’t much difference. He conjured a green lollipop with a flick of his fingers and pressed it into AJ’s hand without asking. “Take all the time in the world. Well, not all the time… you don’t have that, though you do have a great deal more!” He vanished in another pop-flash Applejack trudged out of the house, feeling grass and dirt pressing against scaly soles instead of hard hooves. She could have flown… her own small wings fluttered against her back, eager to try it, but AJ wasn’t quite ready for *that* yet. If she ever would be. “What the hay am Ah supposed to do now?” she growled. “Am Ah really thinking of letting Discord get away with this? ‘Hey, girls! Discord did a thing, so Ah guess Ah’m a dragon now!’” She licked the lollipop absentmindedly, and was a little shocked by the pure sparkling sweetness on her tongue. This… this wasn’t an apple-flavored candy... Discord had given her an emerald on a stick! While she was still marvelling at this, she came upon one of the innermost apple fields, and found Big Macintosh setting up buckets beneath the trees, still a red dragon. “Ah was hoping you’d be out this way, sis. Ready to learn applebucking, the kirin way?” AJ stared up at her brother, jaw slack. “Ah can still do that?” “Just reach for your magic, like ya always do,” said Big Mac, steering her over to one of the trees. Well, what did she have to lose? Applejack took a deep calming breath, and there it was… the power of the earth, flowing up through two legs instead of four. More than that, she felt a *second* source of magic, blazing in her chest like the brightest bonfire from the biggest Apple family reunion in history. Big Mac cleared his throat. “Take it nice an’ slow, AJ.” He patted the apple tree’s trunk reverently. “And mind ya only use earth on Bessie here, not the fire. Try it like this…” AJ gulped, then copied Big Mac and curled her claws into a *fist* and *punched* the tree trunk. Old Bessie shook and dropped all her apples into the buckets, neat as you please. “Well, Ah’ll be danged,” breathed AJ, slipping the Stetson off her scaly head. A dramatic breeze blew, perfectly timed… which prompted her to look up and confirm that it was no accident… it was Rainbow Dash with a giddy grin, gliding down to meet them… in her own iridescent blue dragon form, naturally. And why hadn’t AJ thought of *that* before? The things they could do… the all new competitions they could get into, now that they were *both* dragons! And in the back of her head, that voice from her dream whispered... Dragons are true Dragons don’t hide What the Apple holds inside Dragon flame And dragon pride Applejack grinned suddenly, fangs gleaming. “Hey, Discord? If yer listening, ya don’t need to change anything back. Ah’m good.” -- "And we recant the blood oath to kill you on sight if you ever enter our lands," Tiamat's central head said simply. "Pleasure doing business with you," Discord bowed and poofed away. "Dear, when it was just Cadenza's mortal spouse, I was willing to look the other way... but I fear you are getting... " Bahamut said carefully. "What? Greedy? What example would I be to my dragons if I wasn't?" "With the storm I sense that will soon hit... is it wise to add more chaos to the mix?" Tiamat's right most head blinked. "Add more... chaos... curse Discord!" - Starlight Glimmer was going over the policy changes she was preparing for her reign as new principle of the friendship school... when a flash of temporal magic got her attention... it was... herself... with wings. "I thought I should let myself know, after we ascend, we get saddled with looking after our Equus' timeline ..." The Alicorn Starlight said flatly. "Uh... any reason for warning me NOW?!" "Discord's begun to treat causality as his plaything again... I thought I should warn myself. Also, because I already did, so I am now." "... Good thing I finished this 'protection from time distortions spell'... SINCE WHEN ARE APPLEJACK'S FAMILY WERE DRAGONS?!" "... Now you get it." - "Are you SURE you can't find that 'enslave all dragons to my evil will' artifact?" Cozy Glow asked. "Trust me, villains have been looking for it for eons," Ira said. Session 102.1 Alex Warlorn Diamond Tiara sat behind the Magical Guide screen. Her hooves together business style. "Alright girl... and whelp... Do you have your magical fillies ready?" Diamond Tiara held back a sigh. The girls and Spike creating characters that were just in-game extensions of themselves were sadly par the course in this neighborhood... though Discord had played an utterly normal straight man in the alien teenagers setting that Princess Twilight ran for a while. Apple Bloom started off, "Ah've got Princess Pear Dream! She can manipulate plants and help them grown and uses pear blossoms! Her path is love between parents!" Sweetie Belle said, "Mine is Princess Fine Cooking! She creates the best cookies and other sugary treats that everybody loves! Her path is love between friends!" Scootaloo said, "Well. I'm is Princess Lightning Glitter! She can fly, has lightning powers without having to use clouds. Her path is love of adventure!" Silver Spoon said, "Mine is Gleaming Bright! Her magic is purification! Her path is love for those who are so close they transcend friends and become sisters!" Spike was last. "Mine is Princess Amethyst Treasure! She can summon and form stuff out of jewels! She has a love of beauty!" Diamond Tiara nodded. "Okay, as per the rules I'll be role play your spirit guide. Mewy! A pink cat with feathery wings! ... As you know, there aren't hit points in this game, but heart points. Your magical girl is defeated if they lose all heart. You've been summoned by the leading Magical Filly of your territory, Princess Bright Light! All bow before her as-" Scootaloo said, "HEY! Lightning Glitter doesn't bow to anypony! Let alone another magical girl!" Diamond Tiara said, "But, it's just part of the opening scene, it's not really-" Sweetie Belle added,, "Fine Cooking sneaks into the kitchen to see if she can borrow any recipes without asking while she's there to improve her magic!" "Huh!? But shouldn't you-" Apple Bloom asked, "If Ah challenge her to a battle and defeat her, do Ah become the new head magical girl 'round here? Ah'm gonna find out!" "Not if Amethyst Treasures beats her first!" Silver Spoon said, "Uh, I pretend not to know the rest of my squad... oh wait, that's automatically heart damage for abandoning my friends isn't it?" Diamond Tiara held her face in her hooves. - "And they acted like they were playing a 'kick in the door, hack and slash' Ogres and Oubliettes games!" Diamond Tiara said her hair frazzled. Princess Twilight said, "Maybe they're objecting to you being too controlling?" "TOO CONTROLLING?! I let them completely design their characters, even letting them use the expansion books when I didn't like the idea, I brought in Spike even though I thought it was weird, I did my best to not play favorites with Silver Spoon, and I did everything to make sure they could continue on the adventure so all that time designing their magical fillies wasn't wasted! And then they said I was trying to 'punish them' for not doing what I said, after their fight damaged the Crystal Love Tower (from them using area attacks in a confined space) and the dark forces invaded the tower. And accused me of fudging things when the other magical fillies were demanding they be given a time out!" "Are they under evil mind control magic?" "I checked, no." "... You know... when I played Call of Ponythulu, Rainbow Dash complained for a while, thinking the point was to FIGHT the monsters, and didn't understand why her character kept dying or going insane. And Applejack didn't understand why the truth should drive ponies mad... I had to explain to them in their language the kind of adventure Ponythulu was supposed to be... Maybe you need to speak to them in their language what kinda adventure the Frills And Wands setting should be." (If anyone wants to continue or writ the solution, go ahead.) Session 102.2 Mtangalion Even with all the changes in Ponyville lately, many of Sugarcube Corner’s regular morning patrons did a double-take, seeing *three* dragons sitting around a table, patiently waiting for their order and not making a ruckus or destroying anything. Pinkie Pie pronked out of the kitchen and plunked a pan of practically perfect pastries down on the table. “There you go!” she sang out. “This one’s on the house, because you get to be the first dragons to try my brand new sapphire-blueberry muffins!” “Thanks!” ‘Shining Quartz’ took a muffin, seeming amused that he didn’t have to wait for it to cool. “Now, here’s the first thing you need to know about fancy dining, pony style…” Then he took his first bite of the muffin, and his eyes bulged. “Oh my Celestia!” Suddenly, table manners were the last thing on his mind. He scarfed down the rest of the muffin, getting crumbs everywhere. “These are SO GOOD!” He grabbed a second muffin and started cramming that one into his mouth too. Spike rolled his eyes and started to take a bite of his own muffin, only for Quartz to snatch it right out of his claws. “Hey!” “MINE!” purred Quartz, grabbing muffin after muffin. “This one’s mine, mmmmf, and that one’s mine…” Worse, the gray and blue dragon starting *growing*, crushing the wooden chair he’d been sitting in. Pinkie gasped, looking around for their bucket of emergency ice water, but Garble stood up, shoving his chair back. “I got this.” He smacked a fist into a palm, then punched Quartz right in the snout. Quartz flew back, bounced off a wall, and crumpled to the floor, quickly shrinking back to normal once the spell of the greed growth was broken. Garble stood over Quartz, ignoring the panicking pony customers. “Dude, stop embarrassing yourself!” He leaned towards Spike and whispered, “Seriously, what rock has this guy been living under?” Spike wrung his claws, feeling a lot of different things… nervousness about knowing that Quartz was really Shining Armor and keeping that a secret from Garble… guilt for not thinking to warn Shining what could happen if he got too greedy… relief, knowing that Shiny had a dragon’s toughness right now and a little knock like that wouldn’t do him any lasting harm... Mostly, though, Spike couldn’t help but mope over the mess of squashed and half-eaten muffins. “I didn’t even get to taste one...” Pinkie patted him on the head. “Aw, don’t worry, Spikey! I’ve got another batch baking in the kitchen. Wait right here!” Pinkie hummed cheerfully as she tended to one of the ovens, the one which currently had a hoof-lettered sign reading “Gem dish - DRAGONS ONLY.” The flames in the oven seemed especially merry and bright this morning, almost hypnotic… Ponies are dull Dragons are bright Dragons have fun Both day and- “Hi there, voice in my head!” said Pinkie. She gasped. “Ooh, you’re new! Does that mean I should throw you a party? Not a tea party, of course, that didn’t go so well last time, but maybe since you’re an imaginary voice, I can imagine a party for you!” Pinkie grabbed her spatula and started turning the muffins over. “Spatula! Heehee…” Dragons can feast As they wish Dragons- “Gosh, do you like poems?” asked Pinkie. “You must really like poems! You should go be a voice in Garble’s head, he really likes poems too! He also likes Dragon Rap, but I don’t like it so much and he said my Pony Rap was lame and stupid, but that’s okay, Garble’s still a meany-pants sometimes but he’s learning!” Dragons are- “Cat facts! Did you know that cats conserve energy by sleeping up to fourteen hours a day?” STOP THAT! Pinkie giggled. “No, you stop it!” … Pinkie put on a serious brooding RPG hero look. “...” … Dragons are really neat. Your friends are turning into dragons, and you want to be one too. You should bake some turn-into-dragon cookies and eat them right now. Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm… Hmm! No, I don’t think so.” Half a world away, the Dragon Isles were simultaneously wracked by an earthquake and a firestorm, as Tiamat vented her rage. Bahamut gave her a smug grin. “Dear, did you really believe that you were going to scoop up ALL of ponykind’s heroes like so many checkers?” He leaned to one side, smoothly dodging the boulder she hurled at him. Session 102.3 Mtangalion “Seriously?” deadpanned Quartz the Dragon, aka Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire. “We’re having a secret undercover team meeting… at the Ponyville spa?” He splashed scaly feet in the hot tub, frowning at the curls of steam rising from the water. “You know, this doesn’t even feel warm…” “Hah!” Spike looked up from his borrowed copy of Dusklight: Dawn of the Kirin. “Finally, someone else gets it!” Lotus Blossom approached, bowing apologetically. “So sorry, friends, but hot tub cannot be any hotter, and regrettably, lava bath is out of question. I mean, lava, in building used by ponies? Who even does that?” Princess Twilight Sparkle sneezed violently, and was mortified to discover that she’d accidentally turned all of her History of Friendship students into griffons. “I am so sorry! I’ll get you all changed back right away!” “Hey, it’s cool, no rush!” said Gallus, who was strutting and displaying his plumage for the mesmerized griffon hen versions of Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus. Spike coughed into a fist. “Nah, it’s fine! I just pretend these spa visits are a trip to the pool.” He frowned at the Dusklight novel. “Also, this story is cheesy as Tartarus.” Princess Cadence gasped, sitting bolt upright in the hot tub beside them. “You take that back!” Spike smirked. “What, or you’ll take away my statue?” “I might!” said Cadence. “I roll a charisma check!” countered Spike. Ignoring that, Cadence leaned against her transformed husband, putting a foreleg around him. “You know, you might enjoy the spa more as a pony…” Quartz hesitated. “I… I just don’t know… I wanted to make this work, Cady. I thought it could solve everything…” Cadence frowned. “Everything… meaning?” Quartz clasped her hoof in his claws. “You and Flurry Heart being immortal, and me… well not. We don’t know if lightning will ever strike twice and make me an Alicorn Prince too. If I was a dragon, I could stay with you and Flurry for so much longer. I could even switch back and forth!” Cadence held him closer. “Oh, Shiny… You could do that, until you got older than a pony can be, and then you’d have to be a dragon full time. Would you really be happy that way?” They heard splashing, and looked up to see Spike close by, giving them a somber look. “There’s another thing… Something I’ve had to think about myself lately. Being a dragon means, well… outliving everycreature who isn’t a dragon.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Unless every other creature turned into a dragon too like Rainbow Dash, but that would be kinda crazy, right?” Applejack sneezed violently, and was alarmed to discover that she’d set one of her trees ablaze. “Quick, Mac, how do Ah do freeze breath? … No freeze breath, huh?” “Enope!” said Big Mac. Pony or dragon, some things stayed reassuringly the same. Quartz sunk deeper into the water, just the top of his head visible. “I was doing great at first, but then I started hearing this voice, slipping into my thoughts. Maybe it’s a side-effect of the transformation spell or something? How am I supposed to control myself when it feels like there’s always this voice in my head that keeps telling me to be… well, a dragon!? No offense.” Spike chuckled. “Heh, none taken. That’s probably just Tiamat.” There was dead silence around the hot tub. Quartz sat up, splashing hot water everywhere. “You hear a voice like that too, Spike? Since when?!” Spike blinked. “Um… since all my life? I mostly tune her out, though, especially since… that one time.” He grinned brightly. “I’d rather listen to Bahamut, anyway. He teaches us that dragons can also be noble, not just greedy!” “Noble dragons?” echoed Quartz. He gripped the hot tub, suddenly feeling dizzy. Ponies burn In time’s fire Dragons live long As they desire (A noble dragon holds fast to those he loves, for they are his true treasure.) Quartz gulped. “Cady, change me back right now. Please? I need to be clear-headed while I think about this, and I’ll think a lot more clearly as a stallion.” Cadence beamed, lighting her horn. “My pleasure. Of course, I can’t promise that I’ll let you think clearly, not right away. I’ve been without my handsome stallion for three whole days, after all...” “And, that’s my cue to go.” Spike hopped out of the tub, hunting for a towel. “If I wanted more mushy stuff, I would have kept reading the novel!” Session 102.4 Alex Warlorn "So Cozy Glow and Tirek are missing from Tartarus, and apparently have for a long long time.... Everything will be fine!" Twilight said with a hug grin on her face. "You've never gotten a better poker face," Spike remarked. Session 102.5 Ardashir "You know, with all these new dragons appearing in Ponyville, maybe we should start stocking entertainment better suited to them," Starlight said to Spike. "Uh, yeah," he said absently as he read his latest issue of Fireflash Comics, sent courtesy of Mina. "But what though? Not a lot of Dragonlands dragons would read about Fireflash, she's printed in 'that den of cowardly sellouts'." They stood near Garble, who was wearing a suit and vest that Rarity had gladly modified for him upon hearing of the date with Ember. He was holding a box full of rubies under one scaly arm and shifting uneasily from one claw to the other as he waited for Ember to finally show up for their date. "Besides," Spike shrugged, "dragons mostly don't 'get' art. Just ask Garble." "Hey!" Starlight and Spike jumped as Garble loomed above them. "That's, like, totally not true! Dragons have their own art! Not that we need a lot of it, we're not puny ponies after all. But we have some!" He gave a superior sniff. "I've seen it. In old lairs. Lots of times!" "Really?" Starlight waved one hoof. "Okay, give. What 'art'?" "Dragon comics!" "Hah!" Garble showed his fangs as Starlight laughed. "Come on, Garble! What did they draw them on, cave walls?" She winced as he reached over and knocked on her head. "Duh, yeah, where else?" Garble grinned. "Dragons used ta use cave paintings and carvings to teach the hatchlings what they needed ta know. Well, finally somedragon decided ta tell stories that way. About the same character. The Golden Dragon!" Garble yelled the last and every pony in range of his voice jumped. Most ran, too, with Spike and Starlight holding their ground. "He, like, fought all the greedy backstabbing ponies and griffons and sellout hoardless dragons who helped them. Not that we believe that any more, heh-heh." He grinned nervously as Starlight and Spike glared at him. "But Golden Dragon was awesome. The dragon who drew him taught all of us how ta be dragons." "Yeah, he's the one we can blame for making us savages," a new voice broke in. All three turned. Garble gulped. Ember stood there, her scales and armor polished, looking imperious and magnificent. She sniffed at the sight of Garble. "What, Garble, you still haven't made a set of armor? How can you engage in fire-breathing and rock-crushing contests with me if you're dressed like some pony?" "Ya mean I don't have ta wear this? Yes!" Garble tore the suit from his scales. "Hey, hold on," Spike flew up to Ember. "Whatever happened to this 'cave comic dragon', anyway?" Ember shrugged. "He vanished about the time that Dragontown," she growled, "started up. Who knows where he went?" And far away in Dragontown, Mina showed her last customers of the day out. She locked the door and walked down into the massive lair beneath it. Inside it a huge dragon with a family resemblance to both her and Master Babylon was carving scenes of action into a huge plaque of mounted stone. "Hey, Dad! The latest issue of Fireflash didn't sell as well, maybe you should trim those ten-page-long scenes involving dragon politics?" "Hmmph!" He snorted a gout of flame. "I never had this problem back in the Dragonlands!" "Yeah, you did when you criticized Torch. That's part of why we're living here, remember?" Session 102.6 Alex Warlorn The Mane Pets sat around for their weekly O&O game. Philomena as the Overseer. Angel as a barbarian/thief. Gummy as a wild mage. Tank as a fighter. Opalescence as a cleric to the goddess of vanity and bloodshed and greed. Owlowiscious as a wizard. And Winona as a druid. Philomena asked, "Have you noticed how our masters have begun to ignore us as of late?" Angel huffed. "Speak for yourself! Everypony still pays attention to me!" The rabbit clearly took mountains of pride in that! "If you ask me, you're just projecting! Just because Sun-Butt stopped paying attention to YOU, doesn't mean the rest of our masters have!" Gummy remarked, "None of you fools have noticed how we started out as perfectly mundane animals and those of us with exceptional smarts were deemed the exception, not the rule?" Owlowiscious remarked, "I wouldn't say that. Spike thought Twilight would throw me out for not accepting pony morality and eating mice as is my natural compulsion." Tank asked, "Don't owls also eat rabbits and cats?" Opalescence hissed, "Just try it!" Philomena coughed, "I just mean, it's like we've been pushed aside. Like there isn't enough time in our master's lives for us anymore...like we've been replaced." The pets looked at each other, then looked down from the one in the storage room they were using for their game... and spied down on the student six. Sandbar said, "WHAO! I just felt a shiver go down my spine!" Winona asked, "Can we please get back to playing the game? We need to rescue all the wizards that the big purple dragon trapped in his enchanted books!" Session 102.7 Mtangalion Garble folded his arms, looking about as deep in thought as he ever got. “So Ember wanted a traditional dragon date this whole time? Hah! What was I so worked up about? But now I need a suit of armor and… oh!” Garble snapped his claws, which startled Starlight Glimmer until Spike put a hand on her shoulder and quietly reminded her that dragons could do it too, not just Discord. “I know where I can get some dragon armor!” said Garble, grinning sharply. “Princess Sparkle-Bright’s gem castle has a whole room full of the stuff!” Spike blinked. “But, that armor is…” Ember arched a brow, then pointed the Bloodstone Scepter. “If it was made by dragons, then it should belong to dragons. Show me!” Ten minutes later, Garble was tightening the straps on a chestplate and looking pretty pleased with himself… not noticing that Ember was licking her lips watching him. Starlight, meanwhile, had quietly drawn Spike off to one side. “Spike, aren’t those the suits of dragon armor that Twilight recovered from the Castle of the Two Sisters? She’s been restoring them for the Canterlot Museum! She won’t be happy if Garble and Ember get into some dragon courtship game and bash them to bits.” Spike nodded, frowning. “Actually, I’m more worried about them finding out that this armor is from Princess Luna’s old trophy room.” Starlight gaped at Garble, then back at Spike. “You mean, every one of these suits of armor…” “Came from a dragon that Princess Luna personally defeated in war or single combat,” said Spike. “Dragons aren’t big on wearing a *loser’s* armor. Not unless they’re staking their own reputation to avenge them.” “I like it!” boomed Garble. “I just need to fix the wing guards.” “Big Macintosh does some blacksmithing for his farm,” offered Starlight, glad for the distraction. “We could ask…” Garble wasn’t even paying attention to her. He breathed fire on one of the offending metal plates until it glowed cherry red, and started molding it with his bare claws. Starlight backed away, sweating profusely. “Right! No need to tell Garble or Ember about the armor!” She laughed nervously. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to spoil their date, would we?” Session 102.8 Mtangalion Sunburst had never officially been appointed Royal Vizier. Really, he was just the official Crystaller, but someone had to keep the nobles from spending the Empire into the poorhouse while Cadence was away. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah! Thank you so much for coming on short notice…” Wolf claws click-clacked on the throne room’s shiny crystal floor. “Yes, yes, what is emergency?” grumbled Iosef. The large, muscular diamond wolf yawned profusely, remembering a bit late to cover his fangs with a paw. “Very busy, much important work to do for pack!” He nodded to himself. An ear splitting wail from down the hall made both of them jump. “Want mama!” cried Flurry Heart. “Want papa! WAAAHHHH!” Sunburst grinned too broadly, twitching. “I really, really hate to impose, but you did such a good job of calming her down last time…” Iosef’s ears drooped flat and his thick fur spiked. “Not pink terror again! Do not want!” He started to slink away… The crying suddenly stopped. “Puppy? PUPPY!” A brilliant golden glow vaporized an entire wall, and Flurry Heart flew through, little hooves outstretched. “Hehe, puppy!” Iosef somehow leapt three feet off the floor, paws windmilling, and took off, zooming around a corner. “Play hide and seek!?” Flurry zipped around the corner, but found only a bored Crystal pony guard, holding a spear at attention. “Huh!? Where’d puppy go?” She furrowed her brow adorably, grunting like she was trying to fill her diapers, and sparks shot from her horn, forming a blinking arrow pointed straight at the guard. “PUPPY!” Iosef yipe yipe yiped, leaping straight out of his guard costume and sprinting down another hall. No good… Flurry teleported right in front of Iosef and started hugging the stuffing out of him “Ack! No, bad!” he barked sternly. “Iosef’s WOLF, not puppy! Ponies watch pony cub, wolves are for watching wolf cubs!” Flurry looked like she might burst into another crystal-shattering tantrum. “But… wanna play with puppy! Want! Want! Want!!” Her little horn flashed… and suddenly Iosef had a much bigger pink terror to deal with... an impossibly pink wolf cub with a floofy purple tail and swirls of blue around her ankles. “Well, that’s new,” mused Sunburst, wincing as Iosef got bowled over by a tackle-pounce and slurped on. He looked out a window, shaking his head. “Princess Cadence, where are you?” Session 102.9 Ardashir "Okay, that's the last of them." Twilight cast a last Trueform spell. With a squawk that turned into a growl halfway through Smolder was restored to her draconic form. Nearby stood Silverstream and Ocellus, looking relieved to be back in their true forms, and Gallus, who looked disappointed. "Now, no more accidental spellcasting. Hopefully." "What coulda caused you ta start casting screwy spells like that, anyhow?" Gallus grumbled, his wings still spread. He'd been in the middle of a griffon courtship dance when Twilight began restoring the other students. Stalking to a nearby window, his claws clicking on the stone floor, he looked out and said, "The last time this happened was when Cozy Glow was messing with all the magic." "She better not be doing that again! Not that she could, heh!" Twilight hurriedly said as the students looked at her, confused. "Because she's still locked up! Her and Tirek, right where they ought to be." She began backing towards the door. "In fact, I'll go back to my office and start reviewing those contingency plans for her escape that I don't need!" Twilight raced out of the room so fast that the door slammed shut behind her from the rush. It opened long enough for her to stick her head back in. "Uh, why don't you all break out one of the old games and relax with that? I'm sure that being transformed must have been very exhausting." She ducked back out before they could ask anything. "O-kay..." Gallus shook his head. Ponies. He turned to the de-griffoned Smolder. She was examining her wings, making sure they were covered in leathery skin and not feathers. "Hey, I heard you saying that Garble and Princess Ember are finally on that date. What do dragons do when they date, anyway?" "Well, not mushy pony stuff," Smolder began examining the boxed games on a high shelf. "Maybe they'll try fire-breathing contests, or rock-lifting." She picked up a box labeled 'Diplomacy'. "Hey anyone wanna try..." "NO! No no no!" Ocellus flew over, her wings buzzing, to take the game and put it up on a high shelf out of reach. She dropped to the floor and shuddered. "Queen Chrysalis used to have us play that one all the time back in the hive. She loved how it got us fighting with each other, said it was a great way to teach us how to be tricky." She looked ashamed. Smolder set one claw over her friend's withers and gave her a quick hug. "Ooh, but Smolder, what else do dragons do on dates?" Silverstream called. She flapped up to stand on top of a large, pony-size world globe in the room. It covered much more of the planet than the older ones had. Less than half was now labeled 'unknown territory'. "Come on, tell us. I want to know!" "Heh, well, fishing for one thing." Silverstream's looked shocked. Smolder grinned. "Lotsa dragon couples bond over the competition and shared risk." "Wait, 'shared risk' of fishing?" Gallus took down the old box set of Crystals & Rainbows and flew over to a table with it. He began setting the rulebooks out. "You're kidding, right?" Smolder just smiled. ### "YES!" Ember flew up from the water of the biggest lake near Ponyville. Beneath her a thicket of barbed tentacles lashed in fury, cephalopod ink turning the water black. More ink dripped from her armor. "I have to hand it to you, Garble, you really do know some great fishing spots!" Below, Garble rose to the surface, gasping for air and pounding one fist into the eye of the huge freshwater kraken that was wrapping its tentacles around him. It narrowed a swollen eye on him and spat more ink on the young armored dragon. AT the center of those tentacles, set deep in crimson flesh, a huge beak snapped hungrily. "See, I told ya!" Garble roared to Ember. He swallowed a mouthful of water and ink, spat it out. Above him Ember wheeled in delight before she dove back on the kraken, breathing fire. "Wow, Dad was right," he knocked one grabbing tentacle away. "Dragonesses really DO love to go fishing!" Session 102.10 Alex Warlorn Chrysalis congratulated her new brood, GMing over a game of Crystals and Rainbows. "Well done my precious babies. You have destroyed the town without using violence and without revealing yourselves. Mommy is proud of you." The now fully grown changelings grinned at their mother's praise. Session 102.11 Mtangalion Grogar scowled deeply, looking over the ritual circle. The very stones of the cavern sang discordantly, resonating with the flow of power moderated by six darkly-glowing gemstones. “Cozy Glow!” he growled, stamping a hoof. “I did not retrieve those artifacts so that you could replicate your previous pathetic failure.” The little pegasus flew over and bowed in midair, a bit mockingly. “Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Grogar! I have a much better plan this time. After all, I had my bestest-best penpal right here to bounce ideas off of!” Lord Tirek chuckled darkly. “Indeed, we’ve already accomplished much, thanks to certain skills which I alone possess on our… team… thanks to the time when I held all of the magic of Discord.” Stepping forward, the centaur inhaled deeply, bending the stream of primal magic and consuming enough to grow nearly as tall as the cavern ceiling. Then he breathed it right back out into the magical flow, seething with clashing colors and patches of plaid. “It’s a shame that I cannot drink the cosmos dry of magic right here, from the tap as it were… Alas, it would be too much, even for me.” Chrysalis cackled, rubbing her holed forehooves together. “And as the magic that those ponies depend on becomes increasingly chaotic, my *loyal* children will be strategically positioned to take full advantage.” Grogar stroked his goatee. “Intriguing…” In the woods near Sweet Apple Acres, there was a chorus of young screams from inside the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse, and then the Crusaders themselves came flying and galloping out, just ahead of a wave of bloodthirsty reptilian soldiers. With the Crusaders also wearing fantasy armor and robes, the whole thing could have been mistaken for a particularly intense LARPing session… until the clubhouse bulged and exploded, burst apart from within by a tremendous black dragon. “Button Mash, what the hay are ya doing?!” shouted Apple Bloom. “You were supposed to bring our game figures to life, not summon the Undead Dragon King Alefor to Equestria for real!” Equestria’s newest Alicorn Prince spun in midair to block a blast of lava breath with a quick shield, looking mortified. “I don’t know what went wrong, girls! The magic just… went out of control!” “Let me help!” Pyro the dragon swooped in and drove the whole front rank of scaly soldiers back with a headbutt charge. The purple dragon smiled grimly. “I’ve fought Alefor before.” More help arrived… Garble landed, grinning toothily. “Oh, hey! More entertainment for our date.” Dragon Lord Ember landed by his side, Bloodstone Scepter at the ready. “Garble! Did you arrange this?” Garble’s ears reddened a bit more. “I, uh… well… no. But why let a good brawl go to waste?” Ember grinned savagely. “Good answer.” She raised a brow ridge at Pyro, though. “Why do you not bow to your Lord? A rebel?!” She shook her head. “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, it’s time to fight!” Session 102.12 Alex Warlorn With Spike back behind the OO screen, he informed the mane six. "Reports around the kingdom, no, around the entire land have spoke of little girls, none older than thirteen, have been kidnapped by a being of light!" "OH NO!" Fluttershy gasped. "Let me at'em!" Rainbow Dash swore. AJ and Rarity nodded their heads in agreement. Pinkie Pie shuddered. Twilight looked determined. "The King, the Emperor, the Council Speaker, and Blood Chief, have stopped blaming each other long enough to offer a fortune for any who can solve this case." "Keep the reward!" AJ said the Paladin. "Ah'm doin' this one on the house!" "She doesn't speak for all of us!" RD the Rogue swore. "As you discuss what to do next, a kindly old unicorn mare, introducing herself as 'Granny Niceness'. She is magenta fur colored with a purple mane. She says she knows whee the children are. "They were kidnapped by a Solar! An Angel! The mad creature seeks to protect them from all corruption! Please! Help return these poor dears to their true families!" "YOU GOT IT!" AJ swore. "My own grandchildren were kidnapped, I was a once dearie a powerful wizardess, but those days are behind me. But I can still provide a portal to where the Solar is holding them!" "Well girls, we wanted a big adventure after we sent Garblous The Ancient Red Dragon to his grave, looks like it's time." Twilight said. - On the other side of the portal... the heroes found a land of pretty birds, happy bunnies, flowers, blue sky, happy sun and moon... and lots of little girls well fed, well dressed, and well taken care of. "Hello ... I'm Jenny! Who are you?" One of the little girl asked. "Granny Niceness sent us to rescue you!" RD shouted. "... I've never heard of her." The filly responded. "It's okay, she's related to one of the other girls here." A glowing golden pony with wings made of light descended. "Welcome heroes... are you here to offer your protection to these innocent souls from evil?" "YEAH! YOU!" AJ said. "I am protecting them!" "You're keeping them caged, and confinement is injury no matter how it's justified!" Fluttershy's druid shouted. "Let's get'em!" Pinkie Pie the bard wielded her banjo like a club. "Don't hurt our angel!" Several of the fillies raced up and formed a wall between the heroes and the solar. Twilight said, "My sorceress uses Sleep on the foals, then I cast wall of force on them! And it's on!" -SEVERAL GRUELING ROUND OF COMBAT LATER- The Solar lay in a heap, bleeding glowing white blood. "You... you do not know... what you do... you aid evil itself in its plans... these children are doomed if you take them from here. In this place they will never age... freed from the monsters they will be forced to become against their will!" "Yeah yeah we get it, adults are bad, children are good, but that's part of life!" Rainbow Dash snorted. "Granny Niceness will be so happy to have her foals back," Fluttershy smiled. "GRANNY NICENESS?! You fools! She will-" The Solar cries out as he is stabbed through the heart from behind, and vanishes into sparks of light. Granny Niceness stands behind him, her staff in hand, glowing white blood on it. "GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!" Granny Niceness said. "Wha? Granny how are you here?!" Fluttershy gasped. "I followed you. I was worried you wouldn't have the stomach to finish Pipsqeakius off... But now he's gotten rid of. We can take the fillies back. Good job. Here's enough gold for you lot to buy your own castle and the land around it, and the staff to sustain it for the rest of your mortal lives." "Oh wait!" Fluttershy said. "I know one of the girls' parents from the town I'm from, I can taken her back for you." "That won't be necessary, I wouldn't want to burden you." "Oh it's no burden at all." The sleep spell begins to wear off... and of the fillies screams in terror at the sight of Granny Niceness. "AHHHH! The nightmare lady! No! I'm dreaming I'm dreaming! Pan said she can't hurt me here!" "The solar is dead Draggle." Granny Niceness said coldly. "That's not my name-! It's-!" "It's your real name. Nice the day I birthed you." "WHAT!? You said you were her grandmother!" Rarity gasped. "... I forgot you damn idiots were still here. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to kill you too." The old woman's form morphs... into an ugly old pony that is mostly skin and bones, with hooves like razors, and goat horns growing from her head. She lets out a wicked laugh. Her cutie mark was a moon with the face of a skull with a worm inside it. "A HAG?!" Twilight gasped. "Ah'm a paladin! Ah shoulda detected if she was evil!" "You do realize your detect evil only activates if you purposely use it right?" Spike asked. "Oh. Right." "WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. Twilight said lowly, "Spike kept feeding us clues, but none of us picked up on it... Hags resemble normal girls until they hit puberty... at which point their personalities and forms twist into their adult forms. They usually give them to good aligned families to raise without their knowledge... If this plane kept them from aging... then it would protect them from becoming Hags." "AGH! We were working for the bad mare!? How could we fall for such a stupid cliche!?" Rainbow Dash swore. Spike said, "Cliches are cliches because they work." The Hag said, "It's a shame that we need you stupid mortals to sustain our numbers. Without a steady stream of our spawn," "That you left in the hands of others to raise like cuckoos in the nest." "Oh we EAT the child, then give birth to one identical before returning it. So TECHNICALLY it's their child, but also mine." "THAT MAKES IT WORSE!" Rarity screamed. "The point is that without our spawn, we Hags would go extinct. Who would exploit emotionally vulnerable teenage girls after a fight with their parents? Who would murder a pony's beloved just before their wedding? Who would control the slave market of the nether world? Who would bring random pointless misery to the world? Can't you see fighting against me is wrong?!" Pinkie asked, "We just finished fighting the strongest angel there is... can we taken on a Hag now?" AJ snorted. "Like it matters! CHARGE!" (to be continued by ..... ?) Session 102.13 Ardashir "Hah!" The Undead Dragon King Alefor roared as he breathed another blast of lava at the CMC, Button, and their three dragon allies. As Button hastily blocked that one too, he laughed. "Even if I don't recognize the realm, it will still be mine!" He thrust a claw at Ponyville. "Attack, my loyal minions!" "I don't think so, Alefor!" Pyro flew at Alefor's face. The huge dragon lurched back with a roar as Pyro rammed into him."I beat you before, I'll do it again!" A sudden lash of a giant claw sent him rolling head over heels to stop at the hooves of the CMC and Button. "Uh, maybe with a little help?" "He had Cinder to help him in the original fight," Sweetie Belle wheeled on Button. "Button! Maybe you can bring her here to help Pyro?" "I don't know," Button looked nervous. He pointed a hoof at Pyro. "I'm not sure how I brought him here." Another massive fire blast flew right above their heads. Button ducked barely in time. He whinnied to see the tip of his horn smoking and hastily put it out. "Better figure it out fast, pal!" Pyro shook his head and got up, claws scratching at the dirt. "We're gonna need all the help we can get." Behind him, Ember and Garble plowed through the regrouped reptilian warriors, sending them flying. Alefor looked at them in disgust. "Who are you hatchlings to defy the King of all Dragons?" "What!" Ember flew up in front of his face. She looked like a blue speck there. "You're speaking to the Dragon Lord." She raised the Bloodstone Scepter, and it began to glow fiery crimson like a star descended from the heavens. "And I demand your obedience!" Alefor stared at her in utter silence for a long moment. Then he laughed in scorn and with another blast of fire, sent Ember hurtling to the ground. "Is every dragon in this world insane?" He stomped at her. Garble barely snatched her in time and pulled her back. "That toy means nothing to me!" He drew himself up with a hiss. His wings spread, blocking out the sun itself. "Now, all of you creatures, submit to me and perhaps I'll spare you to become my slaves!" The CMC and dragons could hear Ponyville starting to panic. The sounds of galloping hooves and frantic ponies filled the air. "Not another monster attack!" Mrs. Cake ran past, her foals bouncing in their saddlebag-carrier. Pinkie Pie hopped along. "Must be Wednesday!" She waved her hoof at Button, the CMC, and the rest as she hopped past. "Hey, good luck!" "Call the Princesses! Call the Element Bearers!" Daisy and her two friends raced past. "The horror! The horror!" "Neighsay warned us this would happen if we let dragons into Equestria!" Spoiled Rich bumped into an annoyed Pyro. "Uh, no offence!" She galloped for home. Button looked from Sweetie and her friends to Alefor. The huge monster sneered at him, fangs glistening. For an instant the Alicorn colt looked ready to run. Then he firmly set his hooves. '"Okay, buddy, you asked for it." Button drew himself up and called to Garble. "Bring Miss Ember here, and Pyro," he pointed to a spot beside him. "You stand there!" When they did so Button's horn began to glow. A smell like sulphur mixed with the clear ozone smell of the air preceding a thunderstorm began to gather. "What do ya need Ember for?" Garble growled. Ember just shook her head, eyes rolling. "She's a dragoness like Cinder," Button responded. "That oughta make it easier to conjure her up." Alefor sniffed and looked disgusted. "What is this?" He looked almost uneasy as both Pyro and Button smirked at him. Button's Gamecolt began to float, surrounded by blue sparks of magic. The sparks began to gather together, forming into a lean draconic form. One that burst apart to reveal a violet dragoness with lighter purple scales on her belly and under her wings. She didn't look entirely like Pyro; she bore a slight, almost familial resemblance to Ember. Pyro looked delighted. "Hey, Cinder!" "Pyro?" The purple dragoness smiled to see him. Her smile slipped away as she looked at the CMC and Button. "Uh, okay, what are they and what's going on -- YOW!" She hurtled into the air, barely dodging a lava blast from Alefor. "Him again?!? What does it take to stop this guy?" "Let's find out!" Pyro cheerily cried as the two dragons flew for Alefor. "Hey, little guys!" Garble ponderously flew after them. Still shaking her head, Ember followed. "Like, wait for us!" Button looked on with pride as Pyro, Cinder, Garble and Ember took the fight to Alefor. He lashed at them, roaring as they dodged his attacks and pressed their own home. Scootaloo looked up alongside her friends. "Uh, did we help or make this even worse?" Session 102.14 Ardashir Granny Niceness cackled (well, Spike did) and vanished as the Mane Six charged her. "Huh?" Dash looked around, keeping her daggers ready. "The hay? I thought spellcasters hurled fireballs into your face when ya charged them?" "Not hags!" Twilight's character began casting a See Invisibility spell. "Their magic is like witchcraft. Charms, compulsions, invisibility and illusions..." Niceness reappeared just as Dash yelled, "Ahhh! I can't see!" Niceness reached for her throat with razor-like hooves. She jumped back with a yell as Applejack charged her and attacked. "Curses and debuffs." Twilight finished with a sigh. Even as she spoke Niceness pointed her horns at Applejack. A sickly grayish light struck AJ, and she stumbled as though suddenly weakened. "Durned Ray o' Enfeeblement," she groaned, her sword dropping. A sudden vicious blow from the hag dropped her, wounded. "Killing a Solar and a nosy meddler paladin?" Granny Niceness reared to trample Applejack. "This is my lucky day!" As she plunged her hooves down, cheery music began playing. She laughed and missed. "HEY!" She giggled. "I o-only laugh when something - snicker - awful happens -- HA!" "Or when I make it happen!" Pinkie played magical music, strumming her banjo. As the hag fought against the laughter, she began playing a new tune, one that sent new strength through their limbs and fired them with courage. "Get her, girls!" Rarity trotted away from the sight-restored Dash, who charged the hag. The hag tried to twist away from her daggers, but shrieked as one penetrated her moldering hide. She glared at Dash, her eye seeming to grow twice its size and bulge from the socket. Dash froze, shrieked like a little filly and ran. "The hay, Spike!" "We told you, Dash," Twilight noted primly where she sat. She pointed her hoof at Dash's character sheet. "You need to work on your Will save." "Pity ya can't try that in real life." Applejack muttered, and ducked as Dash hurled her dice at her. They missed to bounce off the far wall. Dash went to get them, grumbling. Fluttershy the Druid shivered and a moment later a dire bear stood where she had. The bear rose on its hind legs and roared. The air shimmered and three more bears only slightly smaller appeared beside it. With mighty roars the sleuth of angry brown bears and one cave bear charged the hag. Granny Niceness managed one pathetic shriek before she went down under several tons of angry bear. "...and the hag is being reduced to chunks." "YES!" Fluttershy pumped one hoof in the air. "Take that, you evil witch!" She caught herself and smiled at her friends. "Uh, I mean, sorry I didn't leave anything for you girls." "That's fine, dear," Rarity said as her character finished healing Applejack. "I gotta tell y'all," The Earth pony groused as she helped to heal her friends and the still dismayed kids. "Ah'm beginnin' ta get those players that say druids are kinda OP." A rumble came from outside, followed by several loud bangs. "What is that?" "That?" Dash returned to the table. "Oh, just the CMC and Button and Garble and Ember and two funny-looking dragons I've never seen before beating up some great big dragon and his army of monsters." She took her seat, unconcerned. Her friends looked at her in disbelief. Finally Twilight spoke. "Uh, do they need any help?" Even as she spoke there came one massive blast outside, followed by a despairing wail from a massive set of lungs. It was joined by three familiar voices cheering: "Cutie Mark Crusader Dragon Tyrant Destroyers, Yay!" "Hey, we helped! Tell them, Pyro!" "Aw, let them have their fun, Cinder." "Defeating a monstrous magical tyrant?" Rarity sniffled and wiped a single tear from her cheek. "Oh, little sister, you're growing up so fast!" Session 102.15 Mtangalion At the forefront of the battle, even Garble and Ember took a few steps back. Not because they were afraid, or anything lame like that! They were… assessing the situation! Apple Bloom had somehow summoned some of the homemade rocket fuel that she’d somehow brewed up for their Cutie Mark Crusader Space Explorers adventure. She held another moonshine bottle grenade in hoof, ready to throw. Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed with a pure black aura, but she showed no signs of Dark Magic corruption at all, thanks to the training she’d quietly been getting from Alisa. She readied another Destruction spell, just in case. And Scootaloo was in her dragon form, ready to add more fuel to the fire! “You little dork!” said Garble, bonking Button Mash on the head. “Did you give them some kinda video game powers?” He folded his arms, sulking. “I want powers too…” Button glared at him, rubbing his head with a hoof. “I might have leveled them up a little bit? Mostly that’s just them, though.” The colt chuckled. “I’m an Alicorn and they’re still a little scary...” Cinder crouched, pawing at the ground. “Stay focused! We don’t know what he’ll do next. Pyro, get ready to grab any gems or powerups that appear!” Pyro shuffled awkwardly. “Um, this world doesn’t really work like that…” Scootaloo thumped to the ground beside them, mildly surprising them both. “Oh, yeah! We should start blasting *before* the smoke clears. I know how this goes!” Ember snorted, and flew over to disperse the smoke herself with a strong downdraft from her wings. The revealed field of battle was littered with fallen minions, but no giant dragon. Instead, there seemed to be a hole punched into the air itself, its edges grinding like broken glass. “I like your enthusiasm, kid, but I think you blasted him hard enough already.” Button Mash clapped his forehooves to his cheeks, letting out a strangled gasp. “Bad… uncontrolled planar rifts are really bad! I’ve gotta fix this before we have planets crashing into each other, or worse, a crisis crossover!” The Alicorn colt lit his horn up in a blaze of amber light, visibly straining. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then the rift shrank down into a smooth-edged oval. Boulders rose from the shattered ground, stacking together into a stone arch that framed the portal, and then most bizarrely of all, floating golden letters appeared, spelling out “THE DRAGON REALMS”. The whole apparatus looked exceedingly solid and stable… and unfortunately quite permanent, too. Poor Button Mash looked ready to freak out… again, but Cinder beamed and nodded like this was a perfectly normal thing that happened when a tough enemy fell, and Pyro actually whooped for joy to see a way home at last, grabbing Cinder and spinning her about in a midair dance.