Baa-Ram-Ewe!

by Darkonshadows

90. Blotted out.

-Equus, Canterlot, Twilight-

“Are you sure?” I asked while looking from Sunburst to Starlight with some hope, this would solve the lost situation, but… the downsides are quite terrible.

“Yes, we can bring them back, but they’d have to come back through… er… Tambelon.” Sunburst winced at having said that. “Surviving that place without Grogar noticing their presence would require that we somehow get a message to them to let them know they will end up there. Any message we could send through Tambelon will likely be seen by Grogar if he is as powerful as the cultists say he is. You guys only faced Discord disguised as a false Grogar, but everyone saw how powerful his bell was.”

“How quickly would we be able to get help or open a portal from Tambelon to Equus, also would we be able to keep Grogar in?” The plan could work, the magical schematics these two made were exemplary and with the help of multiple other unicorns. “The real Grogar is said to be immensely powerful even without his bell, which we have sealed away in a safe location for a last ditch ‘nothing else will help things’ emergency. The only people who know where it is are Fizzle, Cadence, Me, Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, Shining Armor, Spike, Celestia, Luna and… ugh… the Rogue Sun Priestess Jaded La Perm.”

“Okay, I can understand most of those… except for Pinkie Pie and Jaded La Perm.” Sunburst was well aware of the time Pinkie got a hold of Grogar’s Bell, everyone was, as even Discord was a bit frightened by the idea of infinite everlasting parties he saw a glimpse of in Pinkie’s eyes. “Dare I ask, why do those two lunatics know where it is?”

“They are wild cards and are likely to succeed in retrieving it when direly needed.” That caused the two to raise their brows at me in disbelief, I sighed and expanded on my reasoning. “I can trust Pinkie to get to it quickly and handle the power just long enough to give a black eye to whatever warranted the bells use. As for Jaded La Perm, she’s the guardian for the artifact known as the ‘End of Immortality’ and would take the use of Grogar’s Belle seriously. She may be a jerk, but set her on a course for solving a problem and she’ll do just that in the most ridiculously spectacular way possible. Still can’t look at the Statue of Harmony, Ms. Liberty, in Manehatten without thinking about how she’s a living statue these days. At that city is well protected from giant monster attacks…”

We all visibly shuddered in memory of the numerous weird choices Jade made in the course of taking down the earth pony known as Stochastic Labor. Poison Joke was now somewhat illegal to cultivate just on the principle of what happened. The cure for Poison Joke was available in every town in Equestria, even if Poison Joke didn’t exist anywhere near said town.

“Anyway, we would need to set it all of it up ahead of time to make an instant portal to Tambelon to send Pom backup when she and The Lost end up there should we do this. We’ve managed to definitively figure out Tambelon’s frequency and how to draw our lost to it the next time they try to jump worlds.” Starlight looked a little pensive as she spoke up. “This will take a few months, but making it so that the Great Demon Goat Grogar can’t escape… that’s asking a lot of us and the various unicorns working on the retrieval project. We can send people in with a floor bound portal that will only stay open for a few seconds, long enough to send backup through without anything getting out. We don’t know where they will arrive in Tambelon once sent in there. Getting anyone back once they are in Tambelon will be an even bigger issue and well… we don’t exactly know how we would go about stopping Grogar from trying to escape. We’re thinking some kind of stealth portal that he would have to be physically present to actually see, it would need to be absolutely impervious and airtight to all clairvoyance based magic. Grogar can’t escape if he doesn’t know it’s there personally, but we will need to give someone the method to actually locate the portal once we open it.”

“Well… if that’s the best we got, then I might have to approve it... though I don’t like the idea of sending anybody from Equus into that realm where they can randomly land in hot water.” I had my issues with having anything to do with Tambelon after they narrowly avoided going there. “If you can assuage my fears and make it safer to send people there from here, then we might actually have something.”

“Well something that might make you feel better about this would be the time that Pom has likely spent with Ocellus, if they don’t hate each other outright, could probably go a long way to helping Changeling and Lambkin relations.” Did the world just seem a little bit brighter when Starlight said that? I’m hearing a garbled chorus of angels promising possibilities, but not certainties.

“I withdraw all objections about sending people into Tambelon when the time is right, but how are you going to draw the lost straight into Tambelon exactly and make it safe to transport in backup? I need evidence that this is even possible Starlight.” I was soon going over a pile of notes with Starlight, Sunburst and several other unicorns that came in who were a part of this complicated project.

If we had to bring them home this way, then we had better be ready to deal with all the issues involved, we’d need strong volunteers willing to go in and bring them back.

Fizzle was going to hate this… because we might actually need to tell her wife Jaded about all this. That and Tianhuo, the champion of Huoshan, would definitely be at the front of the line to head into Tambelon as backup and would actively volunteer regardless of the dangers once she caught wind of all this.

We also need to get in contact with the active searcher Oleander to tell her about this, we could use her expertise in dimension hopping on this.

-Earth, Duckberg, Mcduck Manor, Morning, Smolder-

“In conclusion, granola is a viable snack.” Huey made for a decent friend, if a little bit too rooted in that Junior Woodchuck stuff. At least he had survival skills comparable to Pom. “Though it isn’t for everyone.”

“I can agree with that.” Yawning, I got up and stretched out. “Now what kind of granola do you think is the best? The ponies back home have some amazing granola mixes and with how all the food tasted in the last world I was in… well let’s just say I’m glad to be in a world where taste actually makes sense again.”

“What in blazes?!” The old, and rather short, duck that just entered the room was wearing a red coat and a top hat. “What is a dragon doing in my home Huey?!”

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be that Uncle Scrooge guy they told me about?” From what I figure out, yep this was the richest guy in the world that was pointing his cane at me. “I’m Smolder, nice to meet you. Sorry to take up residence in one of your guest rooms, but my friend Ocellus needed a comfortable place to recover from her coma and we dropped here at your mansion from a different dimension. So we’ve been traveling around trying to find a way home.”

Scrooge looked at Ocellus curiously, she was definitely something he hasn’t seen before. He had likely seen dragons before, but he definitely hasn’t seen anything like Ocellus’s comfortable form laying on the couch.

“So have you had my family running around the world to get something to help your friend here?” He asked bluntly.

“No, they’ve been using their contacts to find my other friends that are lost, they’ve only seen one of them and they happen to be with the newest version of these guys called the Cooper Gang.” For some reason I was expecting more of a reaction out of Scrooge, he just tilted his head at me curious and motioned at me to go on. Apparently he didn’t worry about a gang of thieves stealing from him. “The only traveling your family has done for me, is to that Mesa City Vegas place to confirm that one of my lost friends had been in the area. We have no clue where she went from there. We’re quite sure that wherever the Cooper Gang shows up next, my friend Shanty and her buddy Dodo will be with them. Not sure what Pom is up to, she’s our designated caretaker and she’s the other one we really need to look for now to have an idea what she’s getting up to.”

“Well you’re an honest dragon, I can tell from your eyes.” Scrooge continued to scrutinize me. “Didn’t think I’d ever meet someone like you.”

“Well it was bound to happen eventually that we would meet a benign creature that can Dewey friendship!” Really wanted to take out my ribbon and smack Dewey with it as he came into the room saying this.

Following him was Louie, said green hoodie wearing duck was lazily drinking from a can of Pep.

“Do you ever smack Dewey for that?” I asked Scrooge, then turned to Dewey. “Also, I literally go to a school where ‘friendship’ is taught, I would be surprised if I couldn’t do friendship given that I’m a good student. Anybody can be good at that school as long as they can connect with someone.”

I had loyalty down, nothing was separating me from Ocellus and nothing was going to hurt her while I was awake and aware.

“No, don’t want to ruin the brain cells he has left in that wee little head of his, beside the lads never going to stop anyway. You kind of get used to it really.” Clearing his throat Scrooge looked away from Dewey and at me. “So I hope you understand that while living under my roof, you will be cared for as guests. Just don’t keep freeloading beyond the point we find your caretaker and she can actively take care of you.”

“Trust me, she isn’t freeloading, she’s been feeding her friend near constantly… almost at the expense of her own health.” Louie then drained the rest of his can. “It’s a bit weird how her friend eats, but I can respectfully say she’s not freeloading and I would know… we’re kind of freeloading in your home and we pay you back in helping you on your adventures. Family discounts help, but your discounts are tiny Uncle Scrooge.”

“Yeah, don’t expect me to go on adventures, because I’m not carrying my comatose friend around everywhere.” Moving over to Ocellus I took her right hoof in my left claw and ran my right claw over her head as I sat next to her.

“What does she eat, you haven’t been doing anything inane as feeding her your blood have you?” Did Scrooge think Ocellus was a vampire? Well maybe one of the emotional sort.

“Funny way to ask what my friend eats.” I pulled Ocellus into my lap and held her. “She eats love. Any that is freely given to her and any that is ambient in a room that wouldn’t be missed. You have no idea what it’s like to love someone so hard for so long without a break, it… is… draining! Her recovery is coming along well though… or at least I think it is. I’m not a doctor, but she’s been moving more and more each day. As soon as she does wake up, I won’t have to push myself so hard.”

“Anything particular I should know about your friend?” Scrooge asked.

“She’s magic, Lena said you would have a problem with that in the mansion.” I silently curled up around Ocellus protectively while looking at Scrooge. “She can shapeshift to gain some attributes of what she turns into, but she can never actually equal the original at full strength or ability. Otherwise she’s the sweetest little cuddle bug you’ll have ever met and she really likes reading.”

“So like a weaker succubus… only less deadly I take it?” Tilting my head at Scrooge I was about to ask when Dewey spoke up.

“What’s a succubus?” I had an idea Dewey, but Scrooge would confirm it in a few seconds given he said it was deadly.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, Goldie reminds me of one at very least…” That confirmed it Scrooge, so something like Chrysalis and actually far more effective at hurting their victims. “I just hope you know how to defend yourself lass, because even if you don’t go looking for adventure around here… it has a way of finding you.”

“Really? It’s been pretty…” I started to say.

A nearby window was smashed inwards and a large black cloaked figure with a strange gauntlet gazed around the room and his eyes settled on Ocellus.

“Quiet around here.” I finished lamely.

“So you’re the ones creating that strange magic!” Didn’t like the way he was pointing his gauntleted hand at us, or more specifically the guy was pointing it at Ocellus.

“It’s The Phantom Blot!” As he said this the red cap wearing Huey tackled the completely cloaked in black person with green glowing eyes. This didn’t knock him over, but it did stall him. “Smolder, get Ocellus out of here, now! He’s going to try and drain the magic out of her.”

Dewey quickly joined his brother by ramming into this Phantom Blot guy.

I didn’t need to be told twice as I flared my wings and took off and out of the living room into the foyer while carrying Ocellus with me.

Phantom quickly shook off the two, knocking them both to the floor and he surged after me with his gauntlet raised. He narrowly avoided Scrooge whacking him with his cane and lashed out to send a blocking Scrooge skidding backwards.

“Give me that magic!” Avoiding the beam of energy that launched from the gauntlet of the distracted guy trying to attack us, I flew up the stairs.

“What’s this guy’s deal and why does he want to take magic from Ocellus?!” I already knew what that would do to Ocellus, and that wasn’t going to happen.

I wasn’t about to let some weird guy that randomly burst through the window kill her!

Louie’s empty Pep can smacked into the back of the Phantom Blot’s head, he turned around to swipe at Louie. I stopped at the top of the stairs to watch as Louie dodge around Phantom’s blows and tried to find a moment to knock him over.

“Guy hates magic and thinks he can destroy every source of it, he’s one of Lena’s enemies because of something Magica did!” That’s all I really needed to know Louie, Lena’s supposed aunt had to be the worst aunt in the world. I really couldn’t think of anyone worse that I’ve ever heard of, it’s like calling my mother and father aunt and uncle to remove them one step from my life.

Louie quickly was kicked in the gut and sent rolling away, he wasn’t much of a fighter and I seriously doubted there was anyone of Pom’s strange caliber coming to help. Well maybe Webby, but she was busy somewhere else with her sisters.

This was all up to me then, good thing I’m always wearing my combat ribbon these days.

“He does realize that destroying all magic would be a bad thing and could actually end up killing all life on this planet right?” Not that it hadn’t been attempted before back in Equestria or elsewhere on Equus.

Cozy Glow was the most notable monster in recent memory, given she had killed a lot of people in critical condition in the Equestrian hospitals when they lost the ability to keep those patients in magical stasis. Not all of those people were ponies either, thankfully the hospitals did have unicorn doctors to work under pressure without their magic.

Quite a few doctors lost their licenses that week because they only relied solely on magic and forgot how to do healthcare related things by hoof.

“He really doesn’t care about that Smolder!” Huey yelled up the stairs after us as Phantom was attempting to chase us down. “If he has to burn the world down, then that’s what he’ll do!”

I flew into the hallways avoiding the beams coming from the gauntlet that threatened to end Ocellus’s life. I didn’t try for the rooms as I didn’t want to move into a dead end quite yet, also this guy was pretty fast for someone who was covered from head to toe in what looked like a heavy inky black cloak.

Maybe I did want to corner myself… I was looking into rooms that would cause minimal damage should I blast some of my fire in one of them.

I found one and flew upwards to corkscrew into it, once inside I quickly shoved Ocellus underneath a bed and turned around to stand guard in front of it.

If needed, I would greed growth.

I undid the ribbon on my left horn and held it at the ready while taking in a breath of air. As he surged in front of the doorway, I blasted him with a fireball.

He went through the door across from the room I took refuge in and while he was getting up, I whipped the ribbon forward and swiftly yanked the gauntlet off of his right hand.

He looked surprised for a moment to see his gloved hand and then I lashed the ribbon around his right ankle and yanked him off his feet causing the back of his head to hit the floor.

While he was groaning I struck out and smacked him several times, he was only blocking my attacks before the boys and Scrooge came in. Scrooge motioned me back and then quickly knocked him out with a golf swing of his cane’s curved portion to the head and went to call the police.

Huey immediately started tying up The Phantom Blot, Dewey helped me get Ocellus out from under the bed and Louie, being as lazy as he usually seemed, just stood off to the side making commentary as he held The Phantom Blot’s gauntlet.

“Sorry about all this Smolder.” Dewey stated with a warmhearted tone as he helped me carry Ocellus back to the couch.

“Yeah, we tend to have it far worse than this.” Glaring at Louie, he back up and raised his hands.

“That could have killed Ocellus had it hit her, she needs her magic to live!” I was just impressing on him how life or death that situation just was for us.

“Hey guys, did you know I have a cousin in Camden Town in Britain… well a cousin of flesh and blood and not shadow, but you get what I mean.” Stated Lena as she walked in looking over her phone. “Man that Cruella is considerably worse than Magica, at least Magica isn’t actively trying to kill me and make it look like an accident. So guys… wait, is that… where is he!”

Having finally noticed the gauntlet Louie was carrying, Lena’s form immediately changed in a powerful burst of magic. The tips of her forehead feathers changed blue, as did her eyes and she was now wearing a costume of white, green and blue and was lightly glowing with the power of… huh she’s using friendship magic like our teachers do.

“Huey is taking care of him while we wait for the police to come pick him up.” Dewey answered quickly.

“Show me.” Lena stated flatly and with a hint of anger. We made it back to the room and found the blot trussed up in various hard to undo knots. “I really didn’t expect to see you again so soon Blot.”

“Yes, and you won’t be seeing me in a second, since 'we' are making a full retreat!" What did Phantom mean by ‘we’? A flash went off and by the time I could see again The Blot was gone from his spot and looking out the nearby open window I saw someone in an odd costume running off with his tied up form. "We’ll come for that magic again, mark my words!”

“Darn it, I knew that was far too easy, we forgot about Pepper the Egghead!” Louie groused out.

“Please tell me that you guys can actually keep Ocellus safe…” The looks they were sending each other was quite worrying.

-Midday, Camden Town, International Police Investigation Site, Judy-

“Looks like trouble in Camden Town, it’s not very often you hear of several criminals trying to off a kid all at once, even if the kid is emancipated and genius enough to run a company. Luckily, he hired a decent bodyguard.” I looked over my notes. “This is pretty messed up Nick, this Cruella is a huge sleaze ball.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like we can bring her up on charges when she’s already in jail and wasn’t anywhere near the crime scene Funny Bunny.” The biped fox at my side was getting statements from various people about what happened at the top of the town’s tallest building. “We finally nailed Gaston at least.”

-Evening, Dalmatian Home, Pom-

I walked in and was immediately faced with an upset looking Dalmatian.

“Okay, I’ve been let down and your back, now are you going to train me to help you or am I going to have to annoy you constantly until you give in?” Dolly was such a cute, athletic and wiry dog, but she’s making a big mistake in thinking she can handle me.

I knew so many things about dogs, it was ridiculous that Dolly even thought that she had something of a chance.

I didn’t want to actually hurt Dolly, so being entirely passive aggressive was my best option.

Calmly reached into my satchel, I slowly pulled out a plastic jar. One that I had Hunter buy for me as an early payment.

I unscrewed the lid, scraped a small dollop out of the jar and gently wiped my hoof off on the top of Dolly’s nose making her go cross eyed at what I left behind.

“What the…?! You have no idea how much I hate it when someone does this to me… no, wait… maybe you do!” Dolly proceeded to start trying to lick the peanut butter off of her nose and she was soon flailing about and spinning sideways on the floor trying to get at it. “You are so lucky that this very distracting Pom! No, my peanut butter! You all know the rules, she left it on my nose, so I’m going to be the one to get it!”

I just calmly walked by the Dalmatian while screwing the lid back on the jar, having chosen peanut butter that wasn’t very oily to make sure it wouldn’t harm any of the dogs here.

Her amused brothers and sisters looked like they wanted some of the peanut butter too, but their mother Delilah told them no and to let Dolly suffer in indignation.

Delilah, being a nurse dog, did ask me about the brand and found herself appraising it as dog friendly.

I’m actually going to cook my vegetables for dinner this time, some of the dogs might even enjoy my cooked meal if they were brave enough to ask for a sample. I’m making enough for a few extra hungry bellies aside from my own.

Author's Note:

Yeah, not even Smolder or Ocellus are perfectly safe.