//------------------------------// // The God of Dreams // Story: Salvation from the Stars // by PhycoKrusk //------------------------------// There were seven of them; brassy, orange spheres almost as large as Flick was and marked with differing numbers of stars that didn’t look stamped or painted on as much as they were simply part of the metal. Even when they were separated, Flick could feel strong magic within them. When the last of them was finally placed with the others and then began to pulse with bright golden light, that magic felt even greater than it should have, as if they were even mightier than the sum of their parts suggested. “What happens now?” he asked, looking away from the Dragon Balls and up to Moori. Besides the two of them, many more Namekians had gathered when the spheres were collected; almost one hundred altogether, by Flick’s reckoning. “Now, we summon the Eternal Dragon, Porunga, so you can ask Him for help,” Moori stated. “Dragon?” Flick asked, before returning his attention to the Dragon Balls. Really, he should have probably expected that. “I hope he’s in a good mood.” He couldn’t shake the feeling that something seemed somehow ‘off’ in the way Moori spoke of Porunga. Imagination running wild, surely. “Stand back, everyone,” Moori stated — even though they were all a short distance from the Balls already — before reaching the hand not grasping his staff outwards, palm forward. “Takkaraputo popurunga pupirittoparo!” For several moments, nothing happened, and Flick was about to question this when he realized how still the air had suddenly become. An instant later, the Dragon Balls pulsed with bright, golden light and Flick winced away from them not because that light was painful to him, but because the magic he’d felt had suddenly become even greater than he thought possible; it felt as if he were in a rainstorm that left him soaked to his bones. The Balls pulsed a second time, and the sky grew dark, although it was not from clouds or even the dark of night, but pitch black as if a great curtain had been drawn over the whole world. The Balls pulsed a third time, and then seemed to explode. Golden magic raced upwards into the sky, like a bolt of lightning in reverse, forcing Flick to shield his eyes. It seemed as though that bright light would never disappear, and then it dimmed, even if it did not vanish. Flick dared a glance, and when he looked upward to the sky, the awe that he felt was replaced with fear. In that moment, he understood what it was he’d heard in Moori’s voice that seemed off: Reverence. Porunga — for the Creature that Flick saw above could have only been Him — filled the sky: He was the largest thing that Flick had ever seen, far larger than any dragon from Equus. He looked as though the upper body of a Namekian had been placed atop the head of a great serpent, His tail coiling only once as it descended to the ground where it met with the Dragon Balls. His chest and His massive arms were thick with corded muscle. Iron-black spikes jutted outward from His wide shoulders, and His head bore four matching horns. His face more closely resembled a mix of a Namekian with a baby dragon , with a short, rounded snout, two antennae reaching from His forehead, and eyes that burned like miniature, red suns, but He was still unmistakably a dragon: An Eternal Dragon, just as Moori had said. Flick had never seen a god before, but as he stood at Moori’s side, looking up and doing everything he could to stop shaking, he knew that Porunga must be one. You have brought together the seven Dragon Balls. Flick fought with everything he could to avoid curling into a cowering ball. When the Eternal Dragon spoke, He was not heard so much as He was felt: His voice was greater in force — if not volume — than any rockslide or earthquake the changeling had ever experienced. Speak now, and I will grant you three wishes within My power. “Great Porunga,” said Moori, speaking loudly and without the fear or trepidation that Flick felt so strongly. “A friend from the stars has wishes he would like to ask of You. Would You permit him to make his requests in his own language, rather than the language of Namek?” For a brief moment, Flick’s chest filled with panic until the Dragon spoke again. That is against protocol, but I see there is no harm in it. This time. Moore nodded once, and then looked to the changeling standing next to him. “Go ahead, Flick. Speak clearly and say what you mean, and if they are within Porunga’s power, He will grant your requests,” he said. Flick swallowed hard, but nodded and took a half-step forward; he did not dare move any closer. “G-great Porunga,” he began, pausing to get his nerves under control before he once again addressed the Dragon that could probably kill him with a stray thought. “My-my home planet Equus is covered by terrible storms that are draining the life and magic from itpleasecan—” He stopped, took a deep breath just as he’d once seen Princess Twilight do, and tried again — “Please, can You stop the storms from happening now and ever again?” The Dragon hummed as He considered the request, and it felt as though the entire world rumbled along with Him. Your wish is unacceptable. “W-what?” Flick stammered, still stunned that he was speaking with something so terrible. To end these calamities for all time is beyond even My power. “Oh….” Moori looked to Flick for a few moments and, seeing the changeling not handling the turn of events well, turned his gaze upward. “And what of the storms occurring right now?” he asked Porunga. “If you cannot end these storms for all time, can you at least put a stop to the ones that are happening right now?” The world rumbled again as the Dragon considered the request. All at once, His red eyes burned even brighter and Flick forgot, however briefly, his fear of Porunga as he felt a new surge of raw magic wash over his horn, his senses overwhelmed; if before he felt as if he was in a fierce rainstorm, now he felt as if he were dropped in a great river. It shall be so. You wish is granted. In another instant, the flow of magic ended, the glow of the Dragon’s eyes faded, and Flick gasped for air for several seconds before he found his voice again. “Thanks, Elder Moori,” he said weakly. “Of course, Flick, but gather your wits quickly,” Moori replied. “You still have two more wishes, don’t forget.” Swallowing his concerns again, Flick nodded and looked at the ground for a few seconds, and then turned his attention up to the Dragon once again. “Great Porunga, the storms that you ended have left the lands of Equus barren and without life or magic. Can you restored the land to the way it was before the storms appeared?” A challenging request, but well within My power. Your wish is granted. Again, Porunga’s eyes glowed with the angriest light that Flick could imagine, and again, he felt the sensation of being submerged in a great river of magic. Moments later, both faded, and Flick again struggled to reorganize his thoughts. “One more, right?” he asked. “I don’t even know what to ask for, now. We have what we really needed.” “Why not use your last wish to return home?” suggested Moori. “I’m sure that your Queen and Princesses would be overjoyed to see you returned safely, especially after saving the entire planet. Flick paused, and thought silently for a long while. Too long. I have a very full schedule. Make your last wish quickly, so that I may depart! The changeling cliched and threw a worried gaze upwards, relaxing only slightly when he saw that his doom did not appear imminent. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and spoke. “Great Porunga,” he said. “The changeling Queen, the Equestrian Princesses, and so many others have given so much to combat the storms. Please, if you can, would you restore all the leaders of Equus and also Discord to their full strength so they can continue to protect everyone?” It is done. Flick did not have time to brace himself for the third surge of magic, it came so quickly and faded just as fast. How mighty Porunga must have been to have done so much, so quickly, and with so little effort! I have fulfilled all of your requests. Farewell. The Dragon shone with piecing, golden light, and transformed back into a bolt of lightning. His tail tip shot upwards from the ground to meet the rest of Him in the sky, and the resulting orb — seemingly as bright as the sun — pulsed once and then exploded, seven streaks of light flying in seven directions, vanishing from sight in moments. The sky lightened to day again, Porunga was gone, and so were the Dragon Balls. “Wow,” was all Flick could say of the experience. “Yes, that is how most react the first time they see Porunga,” Moori said. “As well as Shenron, the Eternal Dragon of Earth. I suspect it would be the same for any such Dragon. Today, though, it’s you that I’m most impressed by.” Flick looked to the elder with surprise. “Me?” he asked. “Indeed. It would have been very easy to ask Porunga to send you home. We’d asked Him once to reconstruct an entire planet, and then to revive all the good-hearted people who’d been slain by a terrible monster, millions upon millions of lives, and He was able to do both easily. I’m certain you knew or at least suspected He could send you back without issue, but you still decided to use that wish for others. Surely, you’d like to see the results of your quest.” Flick scuffed his tarsi against the ground. “Of course I wanted to see it,” he said with an edge of uncertainty in his voice that dulled into confidence as he continued to speak. “But just because the storms are gone and the land is restored, what if something else comes along and the Queen or the Princesses or Discord needs to take care of it? What good would it do then to come all the way here if it just gets undone again? The planet can survive without me, but it needs the Princesses and the others. Even if I never make it back home, this is worth it.” With a bright smile, Moori placed a hand on the changeling’s head. “You have a good, pure heart, Flick,” he said. “And while your world may survive without it, it will be all the poorer for not having you there. We’ll do what we can to help you return so you can spread that light to others.” Flick simply smiled just as brightly in response, grateful to have found such wonderful friends in his world’s darkest hour.