Portals. Portals Everywhere!

by Piece Bot

Chapter 22 - Wrap Up Party

When Draigo awoke, he found that there was land on the horizon. He stood up and stretched out the kinks in his body before bellowing, “LAND HO!” for all to hear. A chorus of screams and cheers as every pony on the ship leaned over the edge to have a look at this land the dragon bellowed about.

“Fluttershy! There’s land!” Rainbow shouted into the Captain’s Quarters, having taken over for the umpteenth time when Fluttershy got too tired to steer them.

“There is? Oh goody.” Fluttershy whooped softly, looking out the window.

Hearing the ponies below him scream and cheer, Draigo poured more power into the water and air manipulations to give them as much speed as possible. He didn’t care if the ship sank once they were at the harbor. He just wanted to get these ponies home already.

Seeing the ship rapidly approach land now, Fluttershy ran out to the control panel and rapidly shut it all off, letting the ship power down in an effort to slow to a stop at the harbour.

Draigo cut off the air, water, and time manipulations as he heard the engines stop. He figured Fluttershy knew what she was doing and let the ship glide the rest of the way, unpowered.

Coasting to a stop in the harbour, all the night dockworkers were more than a bit surprised to see a whole boat load of ponies suddenly appear out of what appeared to be thin air. They all scrambled for cover at the strange phenomenon that appeared.

“We’re nearly home.” Fluttershy cried quietly, letting tears of joy run down her face.

“I know! Isn’t it awesome!” Rainbow said loudly, giving Fluttershy a hug.

“Don’t celebrate too much otherwise Pinkie will think she missed out on a party and appear out of nowhere,” Draigo commented as he stood on the roof above them, having heard them due to an open window.

“Oh right. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise of having the whole town return spoiled too soon.” Rainbow called out to Draigo and slowly lead Fluttershy out of the bridge.

“Now, we just pile everyone who can’t fly onto my back and fly home like we flew to get to this ship,” Draigo commented as he glided to the docks, grew to his full size and extended a wing to the ship.

Just like before, Applejack and Rarity corralled the ponies into a single file as they walked onto Draigo’s back. The various Pegasi went into a semi-organised formation around Draigo as both Applejack and Rarity climbed on to his back. Fluttershy opted to remain near Rainbow as she hovered next to her.

Draigo noticed Fluttershy was keeping her distance from him and he couldn’t blame her, he was a monster after all. He followed the same procedure as before and took off after a running start. They were soon on their way to Ponyville and the comforts of home.

As the empty shell of Ponyville came into sight, the ponies stopped their talking as they could not actually believe they were home. They stared at the familiar streets as Draigo circled the town, landing a bit aways from it on account of his size. He promptly laid down and extended both wings to allow the ponies to disembark as quickly as possible.

Seeing him extend both wings this time, the town split up into two groups and disembarked. Soon as they did, they took off running to the town, eager to restart their lives. The only ones left with Draigo were Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow.

“Not going into town?” Draigo asked when he noticed the four mares stay with him while the others rushed into Ponyville.

“I would but mah farm and family took off that way. Ah just wanted ta thank ya again, Draigo. You’ve been mighty helpful,” Applejack thanked him with a tip of her Stetson and took off after her family, heading towards the farm.

“I can’t believe my eyes. Is this actually Ponyville?” Rarity wondered out loud as she slowly began to walk towards the town.

“My home’s up in the clouds. I’m just waiting to see if Fluttershy needs any help, is all.” Rainbow replied, looking over to Fluttershy who stood a fair bit away from the dragon.

“She’ll need help, Rainbow. It might be a lot or it might be a little, but she’ll need it,” Draigo told her as he stood and turned toward Canterlot.

“This about that monster thing?” Rainbow whispered to Draigo as she hovered up next to his ear.

“Yes, she asked me for details and I’m afraid they’re now stuck in her head,” Draigo said as he glanced at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy immediately looked away when she caught Draigo’s eye, unwilling to view him as a friend for the moment. Rainbow looked down and gave a salute to Draigo.

“I’ll try and help best I can. You have my word!” Rainbow said, and flew down to Fluttershy, picked her up around her barrel and flew off towards her cottage in a burst of rainbow light.

Draigo took off for Canterlot castle without a backwards glance and was soon landing in the royal gardens as he shrunk down to Celestia’s size.

“Now, where is everyone?” Draigo wondered as he walked towards the castle.

Crystal sighed, a bored look on her face as she looked out the window. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to find Joseph there, tapping on that spud of his. “You still talking with that yam? Give it up, he won’t respond.” Crystal said with another sigh and patted Joseph on the shoulder as he gave her a glare. “I’m going to see if Draigo’s back. You coming, Twilight?” Crystal asked the purple Unicorn.

“Sure, there’s nothing better to do. I’ve already found out all I can about the both of you.” Twilight said with a shrug and they both left Joseph to his tinkering. Walking outside, they both looked around and breathed in the fresh air.

As Draigo walked towards the castle, he heard hoofsteps and footsteps coming from inside of the castle. He stopped behind some bushes and saw Twilight and Crystal walk out and take a deep breath.

“Didn’t take you for an outside mare, Twilight. Figured you’d still be holed up inside researching Aperture, Joseph, Crystal, or something about magic,” Draigo commented as he hid behind the bushes.

“Who said that?” Twilight immediately asked, looking around quickly to try and spot the voice.

“No idea.” Crystal said and whispered something into Twilight’s ear. Her face lit up and then a cheeky smile adorned Twilight’s face.

“It was us bushes,” Draigo said as he sank into the ground and then covered himself up. Crystal’s denial had sounded a little off so he had decided to trick them instead.

“I didn’t know bushes could speak. Is that a thing here?” Crystal asked, walking through the bushes she knew the voice originated from in case they were.

“Not that I know of. Unless somepony put a magic spell on them.” Twilight reasoned, casting her magic to see if she could detect signs of life other than herself and Crystal.

Draigo had moved to right beneath the bushes roots and cursed himself as the roots tickled him. He couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles. Raising her head instantly, Crystal walked back through the bushes and stopped in the middle of them.

“Twilight, let me tell you a story of something back home. I’m not sure if you will laugh at this but here goes: A guy who was tired with life in the big city decided to take a vacation and go to the mountain, so he rented a chalet in the wilderness. One day, as he was strolling, he got to the edge of a precipice. He carefully looked down and backed quickly, amazed: "gee, is this deep!". He took a pebble and threw it in, to see how long it takes until it gets down. It took a while, so he thought "that's really deep"; then he found a big stone and tossed it, and when it hit the ground with an almost inaudible sound he reckoned "this is what I call deep".

“Having nothing else to do, he started to look around and found a large piece of rail. He strained a while, as it was pretty heavy, rusted and muddy, but he managed to push it over the cliff, and after some time, when he heard it hitting the ground with a big blast, he reasoned: "now that's something!". He had just seated himself to rest and start meditating at the abyssal dimensions, when he saw a goat, bulging-eyed, heading at maximum speed directly to the bottomless pit. There was nothing he could do, in no time the goat got on the edge and jumped. The man was dazzled, "suicidal goat, who would have thought of that"; he was still under the strong impression of the goat's act, when a shepherd came by.

“"Howdy there, did you happen to see a goat?", the shepherd asked. "Don't ask me" excitedly answered the man, "you've never seen anything like that in you life: a goat just came in galloping and jumped over the cliff with no hesitation". The shepherd couldn't believe his ears; even more stunned than the man, all he could say was "How was this possible, I'm asking you, how in the world was this possible, I had tethered it to a large piece of rail!" Crystal finished with her hands in the air, waiting for some sort of reaction.

“I don’t get it.”Twilight said as she tilted her head to the side.

Draigo could no longer hold in his laughter as the root continued to tickle him. He laughed and laughed so loud he was sure that anyone above him would hear him. So, he froze hoping he hadn’t been discovered quite yet.

Twilight jumped a bit in surprise as she heard the ground laugh. “That, is not natural at all.” Twilight commented, moving to Crystal where the laughter seemed to be the loudest.

“I knew that joke was funny! It even made the ground laugh!” Crystal crowed, stepping backwards as Twilight cast a spell underground to see if there was anything under there.

“There’s something large under the ground.” Twilight reported back to Crystal.

“Is that so?” Crystal asked with a raised eyebrow.

Draigo decided to go deeper to avoid further roots as he navigated his way to the statue of Discord.

“That’s odd. The life sign moved rather quickly towards the statue garden.” Twilight said, looking in that direction as she let go of the magic in her horn.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go there!” Crystal said and ran towards the statue garden with Twilight on her heels.

“Can you pass me that? I think I nearly got him working again.” Joseph asked Pinkie as she handed him a screwdriver.

“I don’t think it’ll work.” Pinkie said with a slightly glum look.

“If not, then I’ll make it work!” Joseph said with an edge of insanity to his voice as he unscrewed a couple of things on the potato.

Draigo popped his head out from the ground slightly to check if he’d been discovered. Seeing a foot rounding the corner, he reached out with his magic and grabbed a potted plant. He levitated it over the area where he believed the being would be and let it fall before going back underground.

Feeling her tail twitch a fair bit, Pinkie seemingly disappeared from Joseph’s view as she reappeared directly behind Crystal, biting on her shirt and pulling her out of the way of a falling plant.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Crystal asked in shock as surprise as she felt herself be pulled back and thrown on the floor.

“My tail was twitch a twitching!” Pinkie said hurriedly as if that would explain everything.

“I don’t get it.” Crystal said as she mimicked the same motions Twilight did earlier.

“Just don’t question Pinkie Pie. Ever. I found that out the hard way.” Twilight advised Crystal as she walked around them to find a smashed potted plant. “What I want to know is why there’s a smashed potted plant here.” Twilight said and quickly cast her spell again, trying to identify that large life form from earlier.

Draigo was now right beneath Discord’s statue. He made a series of small holes that he could hear through and waited for someone to come closer.

“Come on, come on.” Joseph muttered to himself as he screwed the last bit of technology back into the potato, Hearing something that sounded akin to a croaky “G’Day,” Joseph shouted with glee and ran outside, shouting that he had gotten Crikey back online with a very insane edge to his voice now.

“Do you hear that?” Twilight asked, pricking her ears at the far off crazy laugh.

“That’s just Joseph. I think he’s finally cracked it.” Pinkie said with a shrug and hummed to herself as she wandered around the statues.

“I think so.” Crystal agreed, hearing some sort of Australian slang permeate the air as it got closer.

Draigo, hearing Crystal and Pinkie get nearer, made the ground soft enough that he could ‘rise from the dead’ with the earth gently falling off him instead of it exploding into dust. He then waited for an opportune moment to grab one of their legs.

Deciding to look at the Discord statue closer, Crystal walked over to it and stopped just short of the holes in the ground. She leaned over and looked at each part of it as closely as she can because she doesn’t think she’ll get to see him close up again.

‘That’s it, just a little closer.’ Draigo thought as he heard footsteps come near to the statue but not close enough for him to grab quite yet.

Not being able to see his face properly, Crystal stepped closer and up on her tiptoes so she could actually see his face in detail. “Discord is a really chaotic creature.” Crystal mumbled, not knowing she had stepped over the holes.

Draigo silently stuck a claw through the earth and grabbed Crystal’s ankle as she examined Discord’s face. He proceeded to slowly sit up and allow the earth to slowly fall off of him.

Crystal gave a small shriek as she felt something grab onto her ankle. Looking down from her examination, Crystal found an earthy claw attached to her ankle. Not bothering to look anywhere else, she immediately began to stomp as hard as she could against it with her other foot.

As Draigo was slowly sitting up, he felt his claw and wrist being stomped upon. He thanked his lucky stars that Crystal hadn’t used her magic as she stomped. If she had then he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to use that claw for a couple days while it healed properly. Draigo quickened his ascension through the soft earth as the stomps continued to rain down upon his exposed limb, adding groaning noises as his head broke the surface.

“What!?” Crystal shouted, ceasing her stomping her stomping for a bit to try and find the groaning noise. As she did, she found that Twilight and Pinkie were nowhere to be seen. “Some friends they are.” Crystal mumbled.

Breaking through the surface of the earth, Draigo extended his other claw out and rolled toward Crystal while he continued to moan and groan. As he ended his roll on his belly, he acted as though he would grab her free leg with his other claw. He was a little disappointed that no one else was around for the practical joke.

“Where is she?” Joseph asked with a manic look in his eyes.

“Where the statues are.” Pinkie said calmly while Twilight was freaking out. Giving them both a nod, he followed the two mares towards the statues where they found Crystal being grabbed by what appeared to be some sort of zombie.

“A zombie?” Joseph asked in disbelief.

“Who’s there?” Crystal asked as she gave another small shriek at the feeling of another claw grabbing onto her other ankle.

Continuing his act, Draigo began to pull Crystal down to try to get at her ‘brains’, repositioning his claws as needed.

Crystal looked down at herself in a panic, feeling the earth begin to swallow her up. Noticing this, Twilight and Pinkie ran up to her and bit onto the bottom of her shirt as they tried to pull her up out of the ground.

Draigo felt more resistance to his pulling as he heard two sets of feminine grunts. He was really surprised that Crystal hadn’t tried to punch his head or anything else with her magic. He thought that Crystal was more the fight than flight kind of person. Well, that was just one more thing he had found out about her. This didn’t stop him from continuing to drag her under the surface of the gardens.

Grunting with exertion as she tried to free herself, Crystal placed her hands on the ground when she felt it slip by in an effort to halt her progress. By this point, Twilight and Pinkie had moved their mouths up to the collar as they tried to find better purchase in actually getting her out.

Once Crystal’s hips were below ground, Draigo repositioned his claws onto her hips before continuing to pull her under.

Feeling the claws move up to her waist, Crystal immediately tried to kick her legs but found that they couldn’t move due to being pinned in the earthen walls. Raising her arms as she felt her chest began to go below ground, the two mares unsuccessfully helping her backed away. Joseph grabbed onto Crystal’s hands instead in an effort to pull her out of the ground.

Draigo felt even more resistance as he saw Crystal’s abdomen below the surface. He continued to gently pull her below and prepared to cover her mouth should he get her down with him completely. He’d then try to recruit her for another round. Only if she wanted to, though.

“Come on…” Joseph growled, pulling with all his might on Crystal’s hands. Feeling them slip, Joseph suddenly let go, stumbling backwards and falling onto the ground. Crystal sucked in a breath as she felt her head be consumed and closed her eyes as well.

Feeling the resistance let up, Draigo gave Crystal a quick pull to bring her all the way under and promptly covered her mouth with a claw.

“Shh, it’s just me,” Draigo whispered to her, “Do you want to help with another round?”

“HHMMM!?” Crystal’s voice was muffled in surprise as she looked at the dragon.

“Oh, right,” Draigo said as he removed his claw from her mouth.

“You? You were the one that did this!?” Crystal shouted in what she hoped was a harsh whisper.

“Yeeees?” Draigo said as he gave her a sheepish smile.

“Whhhy?” Crystal whined, breathing out a bit of smoke into his face.

“I thought that it’d be funnier than it turned out to be,” Draigo answered in a depressed voice, “Why didn’t you just punch or kick me with a magical attack?”

“It’s only funny if there are two or more parties involved in actually setting it up. I didn’t use my magic because, honestly, I can’t really think straight when my feet are immobilised.” Crystal answered, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’ll help you, but only if we both work together in the joke.”

“Okay, okay, I’ve seen the error of my ways,” Draigo said as he held his claws up in defeat, “What do we do?”

“The zombie thing is nice but I don’t think they would fall for it twice. Especially since Pinkie is with them. We need something else.” Crystal answered and tried to move her arms, only to realise that they were still stuck in the earth. “I think I’m a bit stuck here.”

“Oh, sorry,” Draigo said as the earth moved around to give them both enough room to move their limbs, “Any ideas? I’d offer some, but seeing how my last idea turned out…”

“Right. We could shake the statues and make it seem as if they’ve come back to life?” Crystal suggested, shaking her limbs to get the soreness out of them.

“Hmm, that’s good, but Discord’s statue isn’t a statue. It’s actually him turned to stone so that would probably make the princesses go on high alert,” Draigo explained.

“Well, I was going to say to not shake Discord’s statue because of what just happened but that’s another good reason. Hmm.” Crystal replied, sitting down on the earth and lighting her hand on fire. “We need something else then.”

“How about the classic one of tapping them on the shoulder only to disappear?” Draigo suggested cautiously.

“That could work.” Crystal mused, tapping her chin in thought. “If we’re fast enough then, yeah it could work. Plus, it’s simple so there’s that too.”

“Alright, you tap them and I’ll make you disappear by bringing you back underground. I’m just glad it was you and not Twilight who showed up first, she’s claustrophobic,” Draigo told Crystal as he began to make a tunnel system.

“She is? I wonder if she’s like that back home.” Crystal said as she watched the tunnels form by her fire light.

“I only know about Joseph’s Twilight because I rescued her from the crystal caves below Canterlot,” Draigo admitted as he finished the tunnels.

“I guess these tunnels lead to wherever the others are up there?” Crystal guessed, standing up.

“That’s right. I made sure where they are with a bit of my power while I was making the tunnels,” Draigo explained, “Who do you want to do first?”

“Well, Twilight, seeing we’re talking about her. It is interesting that she’s claustrophobic though.” Crystal answered with a wry smile.

“Alright, this way. It is, isn’t it? You’d never expect someone who spends so much time inside a closed room to be claustrophobic,” Draigo said as he led Crystal to Twilight’s position.

“It’s always the quiet ones ….” Crystal said with a sigh and shake of her head.

“Yup. Okay, she’s right above us. I can’t tell which way she’s facing, though,” Draigo told her as he looked at the ceiling of the tunnel.

“The whole plan will be ruined if we pop up in the exact direction she’s facing.” Crystal muttered, turning her head to look up at the ceiling as well.

“She … she just vanished.” Twilight muttered, facing the last position she had seen Crystal in, too shocked to even cast a spell to see if she was still alive.

“Well, I’ll make a small hole and look through it to see the direction she’s facing,” Draigo told Crystal as he created a hole to the surface and looked through it, “Ah, she’s facing where you were pulled under.”

“Perfect.” Crystal said with glee, rubbing her hands together and accidentally creating sparks as she did. Walking to where she thought she needed to be standing, Crystal looked at Draigo.

Draigo raised Crystal up on a pillar of earth as he made a hole for her to pass through, “I’ll wait for a second once you’re up and then bring you back down while filling in the hole.”

Crystal gave him a thumbs up and heard a conversation going as her head broke the surface. Bringing her arm up, Crystal poked Twilight hard on her back before hearing a yelp from the Unicorn.

Draigo quickly brought Crystal back down and covered their tracks so no one was any wiser, “How’d it go?”

“I poked, she yelped.” Crystal said with a shrug and a wide grin.

“You okay there, sheila?” Joseph asked Twilight, leaning against one of the statues as he looked at her sudden outburst.

“I-I think so. I don’t know. I think something just poked me.” Twilight said, her ears flopping as she tried to rub at the sore spot.

“Who’s next?: Crystal asked, lighting up her hand again as she walked to Draigo.

“I think we should save Pinkie for last since she’s not normal,” Draigo reasoned.

“Good idea. She’ll catch on the instant I poke her thanks to that weird Pinkie Sense of hers,” Crystal nodded, walking down the tunnel to the little hub Draigo had created underneath Discord’s statue.

“Alright, follow me,” Draigo said as he walked down another tunnel.

“This one goes to the Aussie. Right. I wonder if that yam he keeps talking about actually does speak back.” Crystal wondered out loud, following Draigo down the tunnel.

“There’s no way a potato can talk. He’s as crazy as I am powerful,” Draigo said as he came to a stop, “Okay, same procedure.” He created a hole and found that Joseph was looking toward where Twilight was standing before.

Crystal walked over to a patch of earth that she thought was behind Joseph. Extinguishing her flames, she felt Draigo lift the earth under her. As her head broke the surface, Crystal immediately jumped up behind him and grinned, shouting “BOO!” at him while diving back down just in time for Draigo to cover the earth behind her.

“Crikey!” Joseph shouted, ducking down as he covered his ears.

“What?” The potato questioned.

“I think something just yelled boo at me.” Joseph answered, scratching his head as he realised nothing was going to attack him.

“Okay, time for the biggest challenge. Pinkie Pie,” Draigo said as he lead Crystal down another tunnel and toward their last target.

“It’s going to be tough.” Crystal muttered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

“Like french bread,” Draigo agreed as he created a hole to figure out which way Pinkie, was facing at the time.

“Indeed. Which way she facing?” Crystal asked.

Looking over to her two friends, Pinkie let a laugh escape her lips as she witnessed their reactions. “I wonder if I’ll be scared?” Pinkie asked herself curiously.

“She’s looking in the direction of Twilight and Joseph,” Draigo told Crystal as he continued to watch the hyperactive mare.

“This will definitely be tough.” Crystal mumbled and walked into position. “Ready.” Crystal said with nervous apprehension.

“Okay, she’s still facing the same direction,” Draigo said as he lifted Crystal up while keeping an eye on Pinkie. Scratching her ear, Pinkie felt a series of signals run through her body to tell her that something was coming up behind her. Spinning around before anything had time to blink, Pinkie put her hoof directly on the spot she thought the thing would come from.

“Crap, she moved,” Draigo muttered as he brought Crystal back down, “Pinkie seemed to know exactly where you were going to appear.”

“Dammnit. Let’s try a different position.” Crystal suggested, moving to the other side of the tunnel.

“Right, fingers crossed,” Draigo said as he lifted Crystal up once more.

Feeling the same signals run through her, Pinkie spun back to where she was facing before and immediately jumped to where she suspected it to appear.

“Not again,” Draigo whined as he lowered Crystal back down, “I think we both need to do it at the same time so she can’t tell which one is going to appear first. We’ll just have to hope she holds still long enough for one of us to get her.”

“Sounds good.” Crystal answered, getting ready to rise up again.

Draigo took up the position opposite of Crystal and lifted them both up at the same time. He created a small hole for him to look through as they both neared the surface.

Feeling a whole slew of signals run through her body, Pinkie began to jackhammer up and down quickly as she moved over to a seemingly random spot.

“Twwiiliiight!” Pinkie shouted, her voice vibrating as she pointed to a spot a few feet in front of her. “Teelepoort theere!” Not bothering to question her eccentric friend, Twilight immediately teleported to the spot Pinkie indicated.

“Why did you want me to teleport here?” Twilight asked in confusion.

Hearing Pinkie enlist Twilight’s help, Draigo encased Twilight’s hooves in earth and moved her next to Joseph. Draigo hoped Twilight wouldn’t realize that what he’d just done was very similar to what he did the last time he was summoned and ruin everything.

“Hey, sheila. How’s it going?” Joseph asked, watching her seemingly glide towards him.

“No .. idea …” Twilight said slowly as she looked down at her hooves in concentration. “I was standing while moving … there is earth holding my hooves in place …” Twilight mused, furrowing her brows as she tried to figure out why she moved.

“Twilight, where you going?” Pinkie called out as her jackhammering slowed down.

“I’m fine!” Twilight called back and returned to her investigation. “Where have I seen this before…?”

Draigo took the opportunity to raise himself up and poked Pinkie before he rapidly descended and filled the hole back in. He then lowered Crystal, grabbed her, and ran for the hub.

“We did it! We surprised Pinkie!” Draigo said excitedly, “Twilight is on to me by now, though.”

“Whoo!” Crystal whooped as she went limp in Draigo’s grip. “We actually did the impossible!”

“Ouch!” Pinkie shouted as she jumped high into the air at the poke. Both Twilight and Joseph watched her fall back down and land on all four hooves again.

“That’s it! I know who has been poking us!” Twilight shouted triumphantly as she figured it out. “It’s Draigo!”

“What? No way. The voice that yelled boo at me definitely sounded female.” Joseph countered.

“Then it would have been Crystal.” Twilight surmised with a sharp nod of her head.

“What do we do now? Show ourselves?” Draigo asked as he calmed down after being so excited about succeeding.

“May as well. There’s no one else to scare around here.” Crystal replied with a shrug.

“Alright, plain or exaggerated entrance?” Draigo wondered out loud with a claw to his chin.

“Exaggerated!” Crystal said immediately, getting an excited look on her face.

“Rock star entrance it is,” Draigo said as he created a thick fog around them. He slowly raised the two of them on a square pillar as the fog gathered around them, “Would you like to do the pyrotechnics?”

“Of course.” Crystal said with a smile and lit up her hands, sending twin streams of a fire and crystal combination up into the sky. The crystal contained within the fire let beams of light dance around as the flames hit them.

“Impressive ingenuity,” Draigo complimented her as he added some lightning to the fanfare. They were soon above ground with the thick fog rolling away from them, obscuring them from view.

“What’s this?” Joseph wondered while the other two tilted their heads at the fog. All three of them watched in curiosity as the source of the streams of light got brighter and brighter until eventually, there was a dim glow in the middle of the fog.

“Mares and Aussie, please welcome back, with a round of applause. Crystal! and! Draigo!” Draigo announced as the fog cleared and they came into view.

There was a smattering of applause, with Pinkie applauding the loudest.

“Whoo!” Pinkie shouted in delight as she chuckled at her friends’ vacant expressions.

“I thought they would have been a bit more enthusiastic than this.” Crystal whispered to Draigo.

“We must have blown their minds with our entrance,” Draigo whispered back.

“I don’t think that’s it.” Crystal whispered as she looked at Twilight’s face. “Does Twilight look angry to you, or is it just me?”

“Um,” Draigo studied Twilight’s face for a second, “Crap, get ready to run for it.”

“Not this again.” Crystal groaned, remembering what happened the last time the both of them ran away.

“Twilight, I think you better calm down. It was only a practical joke.” Joseph told Twilight slowly, kneeling down next to her.

“‘Tis was all in good jest, sheila.” Crikey spoke, having finally gotten back online after all of Joseph’s tinkering.

“Who the heck was that and where are they?” Draigo asked after hearing a voice he couldn’t put with anyone in present company.

“It was me, the BLOODY YAM!” Crikey shouted, testing out how many decibels his voice could reach as Joseph held him up.

“See? I told you two I wasn’t crazy!” Joseph said with a grin.

“No way. He was telling the truth!?” Crystal’s jaw dropped while looking at the potato battery.

“It’s just Twilight using a spell to get back at us for the practical joke, right?” Draigo asked as he looked between the spud and Twilight.

“Do you see my horn glowing?” Twilight asked skeptically, gesturing with a hoof to her unlit horn.

“Nooo, but you could’ve learned to perform magic without lighting your horn for stealth purposes,” Draigo said as he refused to admit the potato could talk.

“That’s just not possible. I need to light up my horn to use my spells. See?” Twilight smirked as she levitated a stick in her magic. “And before you ask, nopony is powerful enough to multitask with two different spells.” Twilight added as she held a hoof up to stop the question.

“Heh, keep telling yourself that, Twilight. I’ve seen Celestia multitask a lot,” Draigo responded as he scrutinized the spud on Joseph’s gun.

“Fine. I’ll give you that.” Twilight said with a sigh. “How can we prove Crikey isn’t speaking by some sort of magic?” Twilight asked, looking up at the spud on the portal gun.

“Easy,” Draigo said as he froze everything beside Joseph, Crystal and himself, “I know Crystal can’t make things talk and that Joseph can’t use magic. So, if the spud talks like this then I’ll grant Twilight and Fluttershy one wish that’s within my power to grant.”

“Here, catch.” Joseph said, taking Crikey off of the prong and throwing the potato to Draigo. “Twilight, I get but why Fluttershy?” Joseph asked, sitting down and laying his gun across his lap.

“I need to repay her for her kindness and try to undo something that was foolishly said,” Draigo told Joseph as he caught the spud in his claw.

“G’Day, dragon. Didn’t think it would take this long for a lizard to get the fact that there’s a talking spud.” Crikey told him as he got caught.

“Did you just call me a lizard!?” Draigo yelled at the potato in his claw, “Do you realize who and what you’ve just insulted?”

“I did, no and no.” Crikey replied.

“I am Draigo, a Primordial Dragon. I have the power to do just about anything I please and right now it would please me to either hear you apologize or shut up,” Draigo said as he levitated the spud in front of his face.

“Oh fiine. I’m sorry for calling you a massive lizard. Happy?” Crikey drawled.

“No, but I accept your apology. I’m also sorry. There is much on my mind after the recent events that transpired and I snapped at you when I shouldn’t have,” Draigo told the potato as he levitated Crikey back onto the prong of Joseph’s gun and unfroze the world, “Twilight, what is one wish that I can grant for you?”

“A wish?” Twilight asked, eyes blinking owlishly at the sudden question.

“Yes, you may take your time thinking of what it is. I should have told you this first, but the citizens of Ponyville are back, safe and sound,” Draigo told the group as he looked at the town in the distance.

“They are!?” All four of them asked at the same time, looking out towards the town.

“Where did you find them?” Joseph asked.

“Turns out Queen actually did tell me where they were. I just thought she was sending me to an ally of hers so they could try to beat me. Anyway, they were in Thestralia, inside a cave,” Draigo told them without taking his gaze from Ponyville.

“Thestralia? Really? I thought a city being called Canterlot was bad.” Joseph said with a groan.

“Queen actually did tell you where they were? Why did you keep it a secret then when we asked what you two talked about?” Crystal asked, looking up at Draigo as she stamped a foot in protest.

“Like I said, I thought she was sending me to my potential doom,” Draigo told the miffed mage, “Joseph, you’ll get used to the names, eventually.”

“Of course I will.” Joseph muttered.

“What are we standing around here for? Let’s get to Ponyville already!” Twilight said impatiently.

“As you wish,” Draigo said as he picked them up and took off as he grew to his full size.

“What? I didn’t wish for that,” Twilight protested.

“It’s just an expression, Twilight. You’ve still got your one wish,” Draigo told her as Ponyville grew before them.

“Oh.” Twilight replied, blushing in embarrassment.

“You said you found them in Aus-Thestralia. Wouldn’t it have taken quite a while to get back here with the whole town?” Crystal asked, holding lightly onto one of Draigo’s spines.

“Time manipulation,” was all Draigo said in response.

“Gotcha.” Crystal commented.

“Look! Ponies! Real ponies!” Joseph said in delight, pointing towards the looming town.

“Are you sure about that?” Draigo teased as he flew over the town to give them a good view. Looking down at the town, everyone could see that the citizens were indeed back as the town felt a lot more lively than before, when it was populated by robots.

“Don’t do that.” Joseph said quietly to Draigo.

“Whoo! The town is back! I need to throw a super-mega-duper-fun party for the entire town now!” Pinkie told the group.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself,” Draigo apologized as he landed on the outskirts of town, laid down, and extended a wing toward town.

“It’s fine.” Joseph said with a sigh and slid down the wing with the others close behind.

“I need to get started on the party right now! Catch you later!” Pinkie shouted as she ran into town, making a beeline towards Sugarcube Corner.

“I’m going to visit Fluttershy’s cottage and see if I can’t grant her, her wish,” Draigo said as he took off for the cottage near the Everfree.

“Alright, we’ll catch you later then.” Crystal said with a wave and walked with Joseph and Twilight towards the library.

Seeing Fluttershy’s cottage, Draigo landed a ways off, shrunk down, and walked to her front door. He knocked lightly and prepared for the worst as he waited for someone to answer.

“Coming!” A raspy voice called out. Turning the knob, Rainbow opened the door to find Draigo standing there. “Draigo?” Rainbow asked in mild surprise.

“I’ve come to grant Fluttershy a wish, so long as I’m able to do so,” Draigo told Rainbow as he looked at his claws, afraid that Fluttershy wouldn’t get over what he’d told her.

“Okaaay. You can come in, but I’m not sure Fluttershy is so keen on seeing you at the moment.” Rainbow said, stepping to the side to allow Draigo in.

“I didn’t expect her to be,” Draigo responded as he slowly walked into the home of the one he’d hurt the most.

“I’ve tried to help her best I can, but all she keeps doing is staring at the wall blankly while blinking erratically. She even mutters something about a monster every now and then. I tried to snap her out of it but I can’t seem to do even that.” Rainbow explained as she lead Draigo to where Fluttershy was currently holed up.

“She’s worse than I’d feared,” Draigo said as he followed Rainbow, “The monster she’s muttering about is me. I can help, but it’s an extreme measure.”

“How will you help her?” Rainbow asked, nudging the door to Fluttershy’s bedroom open to reveal Fluttershy with a dishevelled mane and feathers from her wings sticking up at weird angles.

“By wiping her memories of that conversation. I’d prefer if she chose to do so or I’m forced to do it, but I’m not sure if she’ll even talk to me,” Draigo told Rainbow as he stepped into Fluttershy’s bedroom.

Hearing a voice that wasn’t Rainbow’s, Fluttershy stiffened and slowly turned around to have a quick glance at the source. Revealing a tear-streaked face, Fluttershy whimpered as she held Draigo’s gaze for a few seconds. Blinking rapidly, the image of Draigo was replaced by a more monstrous version. Seeing this, Fluttershy tried to crawl backwards away from him but ended up hitting her back against the bedside table.

“Fluttershy, my dear, sweet, innocent Fluttershy. I’ve come here to grant you one wish that is within my power to accomplish,” Draigo explained as he laid on the ground and broke his eye contact with Fluttershy.

“Blood … monster … monster … blood … images … too much.” Fluttershy murmured, attempting to shut her eyes so she wouldn’t look at him anymore. It didn’t work because the images Draigo planted in her mind seemed burned on to the back of her eyelids.

“She’s gotten a lot worse than when you left. I just didn’t realise it was this bad,” Rainbow said softly, giving Fluttershy a concerned look.

“Yes, before she would at least talk. Now, she can’t even look at me without seeing the mental images of the scenes I depicted. I disgust myself,” Draigo said as he stood up and walked over to Fluttershy’s broken form, “If she is to return to how she was before then I must get rid of the memories of that conversation.”

“No … get … away …” Fluttershy whimpered while futilely backing away as the dragon got closer to her. Blinking as her mind desperately tried to filter out the grotesque images, her bloodshot eyes rolled a bit as she began to hyperventilate.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. This is for your own good. I’ll apologize as much as you want afterward and grant you that wish,” Draigo said as he grabbed her head in both of his claws. He delved into her mind and found those horrid memories. Wasting no time, he destroyed them so that not even an echo remained.They would never plague Fluttershy again.

Tears forever streaming down her face, Fluttershy screwed her eyes shut as she let out a soft scream when Draigo grabbed her head. After Draigo had wiped her memories clear, she slumped forward, a much more peaceful look on her face than before.

“She needs rest,” Draigo said as he placed Fluttershy under her blankets, “I’ll stay with her just in case she needs more help.”

“Mind if I stay as well?” Rainbow asked.

“I wouldn’t mind the company and she could use a familiar face around when she wakes up,” Draigo told her as he laid down on the floor next to Fluttershy’s bed.

“Thank you. I want to see her get through this alright just as much as you do.” Rainbow stated, giving a little flap of her wings to get onto the bed. “You’ll be okay down there?”

“It’s quite comfy compared to the cave floors I slept on for eons. Besides, I’m pretty sure I’d break her bed if I laid on it,” Draigo replied with a chuckle.

“I’m sure you would.” Rainbow replied with a light chuckle, getting comfortable on top of the bed sheets.

“You should get some rest yourself after looking after Fluttershy like you did. I’ll wake you if something happens,” Draigo said as he watched Rainbow get comfy.

“Alright.” Rainbow said with a slight yawn, resting her head on the mattress as she fell asleep.

Several hours passed by with nothing happening. Draigo kept a vigilant watch over the two sleeping mares and smiled broadly as he noticed Fluttershy begin to stir. He immediately shook Rainbow awake and pointed at Fluttershy as she continued to wake up.

“Huh? What?” Rainbow asked as she was shook awake and looked around blearily for a bit before spotting Fluttershy stirring.

Opening her eyes and blinking slowly, Fluttershy yawned as she stretched underneath the sheets. Finally seeing her vision focus, Fluttershy found a dragon and Rainbow on her bed. “Oh. Hello.”

“Hello, my dear Fluttershy. I’m so very glad you’re awake and doing well,” Draigo said as tears began to form in his eyes.

“Doing well? I’ve always been well. It’s just that I think I had the scariest nightmare of my life last night.” Fluttershy said as her vision focussed some more on the dragon.

“Of course, of course. I actually come bearing a gift. One wish that I can grant,” Draigo said as he turned his tears into vapor with his magic.

“A wish?” Fluttershy asked, moving into more of a seated position. “Whatever for?”

“Atonement for past sins,” Draigo told her the honest truth.

“Oh. How do you grant this wish then?” Fluttershy questioned the dragon.

“I grant the wish by using my powers and abilities. So long as I can accomplish it, you can wish for it,” Draigo explained. Fluttershy took a breath and looked softly at Draigo.

“Okay then … I wish for you to put guards in my mind. I want them because I want to block out as many nightmarish images as possible so that I can try and help as many ponies and animals as I can.” Fluttershy explained. “If you can do it, that is,” she added.

“You shall have the best guards possible,” Draigo told her as he gently placed both claws on her head. The process didn’t take as long as Draigo had feared, only about an hour, “Done. Now, guards aren’t worth being called guards unless they can both protect you and destroy whatever slips through. Should something slip through just think about destroying it and the four draconic guards I’ve placed in your mind will destroy it.”

“Thank you, Draigo. I’m sure I will be able to handle even more problems now thanks to this.” Fluttershy thanked him and tapped against her skull to show what she meant. Slowly getting up and out of the bed, Fluttershy walked over to him but stopped as she felt something that was a little bit wet on the floor. “It’s wet here.” Fluttershy said and looked down at the miniature puddle to the wall and then over to her two friends. “Why?” She asked in confusion.

“Oh, um, no need to worry about that. I’ll just clean it up.” Rainbow said with a soft blush, trying not to reveal the fact that the puddle was what was left of Fluttershy’s tears from earlier as she zoomed out of the room to find a mop.

“She’s too slow,” Draigo said as he turned the puddle into steam.

Watching the steam rise, for a split second, Fluttershy thought something flashed across her eyes but took no heed of it as it was gone before she could register whatever it was. Looking to Draigo, she smiled and trotted up to him so that she could hug him.

“Thank you.” Fluttershy said, although she had no idea what she was thanking him for.

“You’re very welcome. Here, Joseph has this as well, but should you ever need my help, hold this and call out. I’ll be sure to come,” Draigo said as he put a copy of his token on her bedside table.

“I’ll be sure to do that then.” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“I got the- oh. He he. Forgot about your powers, Draigo.” Rainbow said with a smile, slyly pushing the mop and bucket to the side behind the wall. “How you doing Fluttershy?”

“I’m doing fine.” Fluttershy said with conviction.

“That’s good to hear since I believe Pinkie has a party planned for the whole town,” Draigo said as he idly walked about the room.

“A party?” Fluttershy asked.

“That will definitely make everypony get back into the swing of things.” Rainbow said, watching Draigo walk about.

“Let’s go check to see how she’s doing. It can’t be easy getting a party ready for an entire town,” Draigo said looking at the two mares with him with a smile.

“It’s Pinkie. She should be nearly done by now.” Rainbow said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

“When it comes to parties, Pinkie really knows how to get things done quickly.” Fluttershy added.

“I know what you mean. Mine didn’t even need a day to bake a cake big enough for me while getting everything else ready,” Draigo said as he reminisced about his welcome party, “Has she thrown a party of this scale before, though?”

“Not that I can remember.” Fluttershy answered, tapping a hoof on the bottom of her muzzle in thought.

“Well, if what you say is true then by the time we arrive the party will have already begun,” Draigo said as he walked out the bedroom door only to stick his head back into view, “Where would she hold such a big party?”

“Town square. Only place big enough to hold the entire town in one place.” Rainbow said automatically as she trotted towards Draigo. Looking behind to see if Fluttershy was coming, Rainbow asked, “You coming or you gonna grow cobwebs?”

“I’m coming, don’t worry.” Fluttershy answered as she trotted after her, seeing an image flash by as fast as lightning while doing so.

Draigo let the two mares lead him to Town Square. As they approached, Draigo could hear the mumbling sound of many conversations going on at the same time. He smiled and looked over the crowd fondly as it came into sight.

“Mares, stallions and other creatures. Welcome to Pinkie’s Mega Party Extravaganza! I had a speech prepared but threw it out the window along with a couple of typewriters. I’m just glad to see that every citizen of Ponyville is back in piece. Now enjoy the party!” Pinkie said into the microphone that Mayor Mare gave her up on the stage. When she finished, a loud cheering erupted from the crowd as music began to pump through speakers strategically placed around the square for optimum sound.

Draigo was laying down and enjoying some party food as he watched the goofiness of the ponies. He had always enjoyed pony watching. He was enjoying it so well that he failed to notice the occasional odd look that the ponies gave him. Some of them were still wary of him, apparently. He didn’t mind as ever since helping Fluttershy his mind hadn’t been plagued by the echo of Queen’s last words.

“Hey, Draigo!” Crystal called out, walking up to the dragon after having finally found him. “Took me a while to find you. I had to get away from Joseph and his talking potato for a bit.” She said, sitting down near him.

“Really? You can’t get away that easy, sheila.” Joseph said with a grin, holding Crikey in his hand. “What’s been happening, Draigo? Did you help Fluttershy?”

“Yes, she’s back to her normal self and has four powerful draconic guards with her now,” Draigo said with a huge smile.

“Really? I can’t see anything though.” Crystal said, looking towards Fluttershy who was talking with Pinkie up on the stage.

“And you never will. They are mental guards that I put into her so she could block out and destroy any unwanted image or memory,” Draigo explained as he watched Fluttershy.

“That sounds cool. Sounds like she could be the ultimate helper now.” Joseph commented.

“She still needs the mental fortitude to hear the bad things while not remembering them. Not remembering the bad is almost as bad as forgetting the good. She must find a balance if she’s to truly be the ‘ultimate helper’ she could be,” Draigo expounded to them.

“That actually makes sense. Listen, you never gave me a token for me to summon you when I left your world.” Crystal told Draigo.

“Oh, that’s right. Here,” Draigo responded as he pulled a copy of his token from between his scales, “Just hold it and call out. It should work for anyone.”

“Got it.” Crystal replied while holding his token in both hands. “Alright, I’m ready to go home now. Tell everyone I said bye.” Crystal told Joseph when she turned to him.

“You going so soon?” Joseph asked her.

“Yeah, there’s no knowing how much time has passed back home while I’ve been here.” Crystal said with a soft sigh as she turned her gaze from Joseph to Rainbow, who was flying about the party, simply enjoying herself.

“Well, it was good to see you again, Crystal. Stay safe and, if you haven’t already, tell Rainbow how you feel and take her on a date,” Draigo whispered the last part so only she would hear him.

“Good to see you too.” Crystal said as a soft blush adorned her face.

“Since that’s the case, Crystal, your contract is complete.” Joseph said with a shrug. Giving a smile and a wave, Joseph tossed his own token to Crystal before she fell down the portal. It closed after her, leaving a white scarf wrapped around a rock. Joseph picked it up and placed it into his pocket.

“I’m not sure if there’s anything else that’s happening around here after the party,” Joseph said slowly.

“Then I should get going as well, my friend. Celestia may have my original token, but she can’t be everywhere at once,” Draigo said as he stood up and gazed over the crowd of ponies.

“Wait!” Twilight announced her arrival in a burst of magic.

“Yes, Twilight? Can I help you with something?” Draigo said, a little concerned at how frantic she seemed.

“Um, yeah. I know what I want to wish for and I wanted to catch you before Joseph sent you back.” Twilight said as her heart rate slowed.

“Well, you have good timing. What is it you’d wish for?” Draigo asked with a raised eye ridge.

“Okay. I wish for Spike to forget about what I did to him when you were last here. I’ll be able to live with the guilt but I won’t be able to live, knowing that he secretly doesn’t like a part of me for doing that to him.” Twilight explained.

Draigo gave a heavy sigh, “Bring him here and I’ll make sure he forgets.”

“Thank you!” Twilight teleported away to find Spike.

“Is what she’s asking for right?” Joseph asked curiously.

“What is right and what is wrong is something decided by each person,” Draigo responded, “I told her I’d grant anything within my power and that is one of them. I’ll ask Spike before I make him forget and if he’s truly against it then Twilight might have to change her wish. That is all I can do.”

“I just hope she knows what she’s doing.” Joseph said as he watched Twilight teleport with Spike to them.

“Twilight said you wanted to see me?” Spike asked curiously.

“Yes, Spike. Earlier, Twilight asked me for something. That something was for you to forget what she did to you the last time I was here. If she had asked for her own memories to be wiped I wouldn’t hesitate. Since she asked for another’s memories to be wiped. I feel that I must ask you if you want to forget that memory,” Draigo explained as he laid down in front of Spike.

“Twilight wants me to forget memories? Did she say why?” Spike asked, not bothering to look at Twilight because he felt betrayed by her for a second time.

“She doesn’t want to live knowing that you hate part of her. She’d rather live with the guilt than have you hate even a part of her,” Draigo explained Twilight’s reasoning.

“The guilt of putting me through what she did. She wants to live with that rather than know I hate a part of her?” Spike said slowly, wanting to confirm what he heard.

“That’s right, Spike,” Draigo said with a nod.

“Will it hurt?” Spike asked as he sighed after looking at Twilight for a bit.

“No, you won’t feel a thing besides my claw on your head,” Draigo told him.

“Fine. But only the memories of Twilight’s prank.” Spike said after taking a deep breath in an effort to prepare himself.

“Of course. Is that truly what you wish for, Twilight?” Draigo asked for confirmation in case she had changed her mind.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Twilight told him with a nod.

“So you have wished it, so it will be,” Draigo intoned as he put a claw on Spike’s head. Following the same process as Fluttershy’s memory wipe, Draigo delved into Spike’s mind. Moments later, Draigo took his claw off of Spike’s head and watched Spike for any side effects, just in case, “It is done. He no longer remembers that memory.”

“The only thing I remember from that is feeling sad and then Ember appearing from somewhere.” Spike responded, scratching the back of one of his claws.

“Ember, yes. Remember her and focus on her,” Draigo encouraged Spike, “Satisfied, Twilight?”

Spike did as instructed and focussed on remembering Ember.

“Yes, I am. Thank you, Draigo.” Twilight said softly.

“You’re welcome, Twilight. Remember, summon me when you need help. I’m always glad to be of assistance,” Draigo said and then nodded to Joseph.

“I need to find Ember. Catch you later, Draigo.” Spike said and waving bye, walked into the crowd of ponies to do just that.

“So, I take it you’re ready to go home?” Joseph asked him.

“Yes, I’ve concluded all my business here and tied up all the loose ends. Now, I must go face the foes in my world,” Draigo said as his eyes hardened at the last sentence.

“Alright. Draigo, your contract is completed.” Joseph said with a smile.

A portal opened before Draigo as Joseph finished his sentence. Looking back, Draigo smiled and stepped through the portal and vanished in a flash of black light. An hourglass was left behind where the portal was before it vanished with Draigo.

---

Elsewhere, machinery and gears began to turn as an assembly line was activated. Putting the levers into place, two robots, one pink and one purple, continued what their mother could not finish.

Author's Note:

I want to thank Danger A. Dragon for helping out. This was really fun to write. On a side note, the next chapter may not be out for a while because I really need to focus on homework and real life stuff but I will write bits and pieces of it whenever I have some free time.

Comments

[Grassy Blade]

Did you REALLY get your replica portal gun dirty?!

[Piece Bot]

6782687
I know it does, that's why I had him step backwards. My reasoning behind that is that he has hooves, right? So if he has hooves, then he must have horseshoes, which are made of metal.