Enter the Dragon

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The sun had risen not too long ago over another day in Canterlot. Most of the citizenry were going about their daily business as usual. Shops were open for business and ponies were beginning to smell breakfast being cooked. This day was going to be glorious. Though one detail kept it from being just another day in Canterlot, the giant smoke trail that was slowly covering the sky.

Princess Celestia woke from her slumber, having gotten used to raising the sun in her sleep long ago. “Princess! The sky is going dark from smoke emanating from a mountain!” It took her a little while to realize she wasn’t alone in her bedchamber, she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep due to the nightmare. Upon looking around she saw one of her maidservants breathing heavily with a panicked look upon her face.

“Hmm, let me see what’s going on. While I'm doing that, would you kindly bring me my morning tea?” Celestia calmly said, hoping that her calm manner would have an effect on the panicked servant who went to do as she was asked. “Ah, there’s the problem.” Adjusting her telescope away from her previous night’s stargazing, she could clearly see into the cave that was continuously emanating smoke. What she saw surprised her since she didn’t think that he would be the type to take hundred year naps.

She had noticed the return of the maidservant with her tea due to the heavenly aroma wafting up to her.“Never fear, my little pony. Go rouse two pegasi guardsmen and have them report to me. I'll be waiting here to keep an eye on the situation.” Celestia said while she took the proffered cup of tea in her magical aura.

The servant, calmed by Celestia’s words and presence, left to do as she was bidden. Not long after two pegasi in golden armor landed on Celestia’s balcony. She looked them over to see if there were any troubles from their sleep. It wouldn’t do for either of them to be too tired. It would be a long flight and they would need their strength.

“We’re going to go see the cause of this smoke trail. I need both of you to stay calm and not offend him too much, he can be a bit touchy when he’s tired.”

“Who is ‘he’?" asked one of the guardsmen.

“Hmm? Oh, he is someone most ponies don’t truly know of since he tends to disguise himself for his travels. You may be able see who and what he is once we get there.”

“Yes, your Majesty. Is there anything about him that we should know about before getting there?” the guardsman asked, truly wondering what the Princess had gotten him and his partner into. Not that he didn’t trust his ruler, he just liked knowing more about a situation than a basic ‘Wait and see’ kind of deal.

“Only that we should be safe," Celestia answered hoping everything went as she thought they would.

They had arrived at the cave’s mouth after their leisurely but long flight. When they looked in they couldn’t see any fire, no light at all actually. Both guardsmen were on edge at learning that the smoke wasn’t made from a fire.

“Your Majesty, there’s no fire here. Is the smoke being created by that ‘he’ that you mentioned on the way here?" asked the nervous guardsman. He wasn’t sure he actually wanted the answer to his question but the safety of his ruler came before his own fears.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. It seems he’s gone down for a hundred year nap. Though, I could have sworn he said he and the other dragons didn’t actually need to sleep so long,” Celestia answered in a very matter of fact way.

This did nothing for her two escorts as they realized she was talking about a dragon. They immediately put themselves between Celestia and the cave opening, doing their best to do their duty as escorts for their Princess.

Celestia couldn’t help but smirk a little, she knew that their shielding of her was nigh futile. She quickly regained control of herself and started toward the cave, dodging her guards’ attempts to keep her away.

“It’s okay, he shouldn't hurt me or even want to hurt me. I'm just going to go have a quick conversation with him and then we’ll leave.” she said, almost chuckling at how her guard thought they could protect her from a dragon. “Just wait outside and make sure nopony enters before I'm back.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” the guards said with a salute. They took up their positions outside of the cave mouth to await Celestia’s return. They hoped it wouldn’t take too long since the Princess still had to open her day court. They knew that they’d get blamed by their superiors if she was late.

Not too long after Celestia had entered the cave, about 20-30 minutes, she reemerged. The guards immediately fell in by her side. They glanced at Celestia periodically, checking for any kind of injury. This did not go unnoticed by the Celestial ruler.

“I'm uninjured and am actually quite pleased to have ventured out here," she said, knowing how worried her guards were about her getting injured.

“Very good, Your Majesty.”

“Now, let’s go back and have something to eat. I'm sure both of you are famished.” Neither of the guards would admit it, but they were. Taking up position with their ruler, the three took off for the castle.

Upon arrival Celestia dismissed her escort and proceeded to the dining hall. There she saw her sister had waited for her, no doubt a tad worried when she wasn’t there as she usually was.

“Dost thou know what time it is?" Luna blurted out after Celestia had taken her seat at the table.

“I'm sorry, dear sister. I was out checking the source of the thick smoke in the sky,’ Celestia stated.

“Oh? And, what didst thou find as the source? Some wild fire?” Luna asked curiously.

“No, a fire isn’t the cause of this smoke. It’s a dragon.”

“What?! A dragon is causing this? How shall we handle this blight?”

“I'll write a quick note to Twilight asking her to relocate the dragon.” Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle after saying this.

“We do not see what’s so funny about this, Sister.”

“Oh, right. Well, once you see the dragon responsible you’ll understand. In fact, I think we should up a scrying pool so that we can watch the events unfold.”

“Dost thou believe that the Element Bearers can’t handle this?”

“Oh, they’ll be able to handle it but we’ll talk more about the situation after I've sent off the letter and had my morning coffee and meal," Celestia said as she began to write out her letter to Twilight.

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In Ponyville, at Golden Oaks Library, Twilight was hard at work researching what the smoke could mean and what could cause it. She knew it was bad for the environment and wanted to do something to make the smoke dissipate. Little did she know that a letter was on it’s way to explain everything.

Spike was in the kitchen making Twilight a snack when he felt a familiar sensation in his gut. He stood clear of Twilight’s food and let out a belch of flame. A letter from Celestia formed from the flame and he caught it while it was in the air. He grabbed Twilight’s snack in one hand with the letter in the other and went to show Twilight.

Twilight was so engrossed in her research that she hadn’t hear Spike’s belch. She was finishing one book in her giant pile when she was interrupted by a sandwich being placed in front of her.

“Thanks Spike," Twilight said as she levitated the sandwich toward her.

“There’s a letter from Princess Celestia as well, Twi,” Spike said as he handed the letter over to Twilight.

“A letter from the Princess? Wonder what she needs?”

“Twi, the princess can send us a letter without needing anything,” Spike deadpanned.

“You’re right, but with the smoke outside, I'm sure she’s sending this to me with some sort of assignment.”

“Hmm, that makes sense," Spike said as Twilight began to read to letter to herself.

“Well, Spike. It looks like I'll be gone the rest of the day. Please start packing some things for me while I go get the rest of the girls,” Twilight said as she exited the library, in a hurry to gather her friends.

Outside, in Ponyville, everypony was acting like nothing was amiss. The only one who wasn’t was Fluttershy, but she was so quiet that no one was paying attention to her as she tried to get their attention about the smoke.

“Listen up! Smoke is spreading over Equestria. But, fear not. I've just received a letter from the Princess that the smoke isn’t coming from a fire,” Twilight announce to the crowd

“Oh, good," Fluttershy responded in relief.

“It’s coming from a dragon," Twilight continued not hearing Fluttershy say anything.

“A d-d-dragon?" Fluttershy said in a fearful voice.

Once the girls were back at Golden Oaks they talked about what they could do about a dragon snoring. At first they were in disbelief that they could do anything. The only ones that were positive about the situation were Rainbow Dash and Twilight. They talked about what they would need and how to get there. It was going to be a long day for all of them.

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Draigo was happily smoking the cragadiles that he'd caught the other day up in a remote cave away from anything. They’d been smoking for a few hours now. He'd decided to use the maple trees that he'd found in the Everfree. It’d take awhile longer for them to finish, but he had nothing better to do.

Draigo thought it was nice of Celestia to stop by earlier, if unexpected. Turns out that he'd been generating a lot of smoke and the amount was worrying her citizens. He told her that he'd be done by the end of the day. Smoking entire cragadiles, sans the guts, takes a really long time and he had to make sure the juices produced by the process weren’t wasted. She'd told him that she was going to be sending a group to check on him sometime today. Heck, she said she'd be sending her protege and her friends. It interested him that she now had a protege. The last time he'd seen/talked to her she was still getting over banishing her sister to the moon. Huh, wonder how that turned out. It’d be nice to see Luna again. He reminisced about Luna and Celestia while resting his eyes.

Sometime in the evening Draigo heard some voices outside of his smoking cave. He couldn’t really hear what they said since he was deep within the cave. After a little while he heard some hooves clopping on the cave floor. It was most likely the group that Celestia sent to check on him. The creature seemed to be looking around for him. Not that hard to find him since he's freaking huge, though his scales do seem to absorb light if he's not directly in a light source. When he is, he's very awe inspiring. Anyway, he opened his eyes to see who had come into the cave. He saw a purple unicorn mare standing a ways away from him. Her mouth was working but no sound was coming out. His eyes had derailed her thought process. His eyes were a swirl pattern of red, green, blue, and grey coming out of a slit pupil. He could change them to normal eyes if he wanted to though. They were a little stunning when first seen.

"Hello, little one. Have you come to help me smoke my meal? There's nothing left to do. It's just a waiting game now," He said before Twilight could recover from her shocked reaction.

"Um, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry for interrupting your nap but your snoring is creating a lot of smoke. We've been sent to ask you to nap somewhere else. Equestria can't survive a hundred years covered in smoke," Twilight said doing her best to persuade him to move his "nap" elsewhere.

"Well. First, who do you believe you are talking to? Second, who told you to have me move? And third, I'm not moving anytime soon; so, what are you going to do now that you haven't persuaded me to move?" He asked, he'd kill some time while his meat continued to smoke behind him.

"I’m not sure who you are, Princess Celestia didn’t tell me when she sent me to relocate you. I’m thinking of what we’re going to do," Twilight responded rather quickly.

"Celestia sent you? What is your relationship to her?"

"I'm her personal student."

"Ah, I see," he said. So this is the one she sent to check on me? Celestia must be in one of her moods and watching this somehow.

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Luna and Celestia were smiling and eating popcorn as they watched these events unfold through their scrying pool. They were hoping for some entertainment after their shared evening meal. They wouldn't be disappointed.

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"How many did you bring with you? You did say 'we'. I'm sure you must have brought an army or a specialized team since you were told you'd be dealing with a dragon," he said as he lifted his head up and turned to get a better view of this pony.

"Oh, um. I brought my five friends with me. We are all that's needed for this mission," Twilight replied with a bit of fear and pride mingled together.

"Well, my name is Draigo. If it comes down to a physical confrontation then you'll really want that army or the Elements of Harmony with their bearers. Now, your attempt has failed. Will your friends each try something or is this the extent of your group's efforts?" He asked in a slightly mocking tone as he closed his eyes and put his head back down like before.

"We are the Element Bearers. We won't give up until our mission is accomplished!" Twilight responded as she turned and started trotting out.

So, these are the new Element Bearers. Well, let’s see what they’re made of. He could hear Twilight leave. After a short wait he heard another set of hooves coming towards him at a much more relaxed pace.

“Excuse me, darling. I just couldn’t go home without telling you how gorgeous your scales are. Your spines look very sharp and it would be a shame to let such a great looking dragon, such as yourself, stay cooped up inside when you should be out letting the world see your beauty," the pony said.

He opened his eyes to see this marshmallow colored pony who had a purple mane and tail that were coiffed. She’s a unicorn like Twilight but has a completely different air about her.

Oh boy, she’s one of those people. He really didn’t like dealing with people, ponies, whatever when they are giant flatterers.

The next thing he knew she's looking around the cave as if looking for something. He had a hunch about what she might be looking for but he let her ask since he has plenty of experience with waiting and listening.

"Darling, where's your hoard? Every dragon has a hoard. Well, except for Spikey-Wikey but he's different."

"I don't travel with nor do I have a traditional hoard," he said with slight irritation in his voice.

"What? Then you're like little Spikey? It's great to hear that there's another dragon who has overcome their greed and not hoarded. Though, a little disappointing. You must be a great dragon to not hoard like the other dragons do. That means that you really should get out of this dark, gloomy cave and show off your great looks," Rarity said trying to get back on topic.

Draigo has never liked being flattered or complimented this much since he viewed himself very differently than everyone else. An idle comment or a simple compliment, that's all he needed. This much had made him a little miffed. Draigo decided to let a little of that out so he wouldn't hurt any of them if they got physical.

“Do you think flattery will keep you alive?" he said in a mildly threatening tone. Though, to Rarity it sounded a lot worse than he thought.

Rarity somehow turned paler and then sprinted from the cave. Huh, I should work on how my voice sounds a bit more often. It had been a long time since he'd had proper social interaction with anything besides other immortals who understood what it is like. Well, it's been awhile for those interactions as well.

Apparently the ponies still hadn’t given up since what seemed to be a pink Earth pony came waddling in dressed up as…something. He wasn’t sure what she was trying to dress up as. All he knew she was trying to make Draigo laugh not knowing he'd just gotten through with Rarity's flattery and was still a little riled up from that. In truth, she’s not bad but it’s going to take more than whatever it is she’s doing to make him laugh right now. During a lull in her performance Draigo used some of his power to manipulate the earth under two of her flippers to encase them in the ground. She tried to pull them out but ended up popping out of both of them and rolling on the cave floor. Her costume was beat up but she looked fine.

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The Princesses were rolling on the floor with how Pinkie was dressed and were shocked at his response, but quickly went back to laughter after remembering Pinkie's outfit and antics.

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Draigo saw Pinkie waddle back out of the cave. He had just enough time to relax a bit and sigh when a blue pegasus came flying in looking irritated.

“Get! Out!" she said right before bucking him in his face. This didn’t hurt Draigo but he was quite surprised by her willingness to attack something so much bigger than herself.

“If it’s a duel you want then it's a duel you will get! Hit me with your best shot!" he shouted as he stared her down from his prone position.

Rainbow gasped and then bolted for the cave entrance.

He followed the pegasus outside and saw her hovering above the others that come in and an orange earth pony. He could sense one other pony around, but he couldn’t see any trace of her. As he stepped outside his scales caught the sun and showed their true colors. Depending on the angle you look at his scales they could be a multitude of different colors. Draigo had just enough room to show off his full size while leaving plenty of room for the group of ponies. This is a feat in and of itself considering he takes up almost an entire hoofball field at his normal size. That his presence is intimidating is an understatement, though he tries to keep it in check. The ponies started gazing in wonder and fear as they saw his true size and colors.

“You, the blue pegasus. Do you mean to challenge me? If you do, I accept your challenge. Though I can understand if you’ve changed your mind since seeing me out here. If you don't want to fight by yourself then I'll let you all attack me together. I've always preferred single combat though. If you should beat me then I’ll grant each of you a prize of your choosing, if it’s within my power," Draigo said as he tried to figure out where the last pony was. Twilight said she brought her five friends. Counting her there are only five ponies in front of me. He liked knowing where everyone in his area is, especially when there’s a possibility of them coming into the middle of a fight.

"Alright, you're on. We'll fight as a group" answered Rainbow cockily.

"The condition for your victory is to hurt me and my victory conditions are if you give up or can no longer fight. Do you accept? Also, I only know one of your names. Tell me your names before we fight so I can feel like I'm not fighting some bad guy's generic henchmen."

"We accept your terms. We don't know what 'henchmen' are but it sounds like we should be offended to be them. This is Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack," Twilight answered for the group. Each mare nodded her head when they were named off. He'd already seen all but Applejack who was the orange Earth pony with a blonde mane and tail.

After the introductions were done everyone got ready for the fight. Draigo simply laid down so his side was to them and watched as they huddled together, obviously planning something.

They broke their huddle and immediately started attacking him. Twilight and Rarity were working together to hurl boulders, they obviously knew dragons got more immune to magic with age. Applejack was bucking apples and occasionally coming up to buck his foreleg. Pinkie had brought out a small blue cannon and started firing what seemed to be confetti and streamers but actually had a cannon ball with each shot. Rainbow was attacking his head with everything she had.

He watched all this happen and only countered the boulders and cannon balls by manipulating them to fly off course enough to miss. The cannon balls were harder to move since they were smaller and faster than the boulders but not one hit their mark. The cannon balls were the most likely to actually hurt him though. Everything else he basically ignored.

This lasted until Draigo noticed each of them flagging a bit. He decided to end the fight before they couldn't stand up anymore. Draigo manipulated some air and used it to knock them all back towards the boulder they had huddled by. None of them seemed like they were hurt, just really tired. He relaxed thinking that they were going to give up with their best efforts thwarted.

Little did Draigo know that their best effort had yet to show. He rapidly brought his head closer to the downed ponies to make sure they were still alive since they'd stopped moving a little after the gust of wind ended. Suddenly, a butter yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and tail flew towards him with indignation shining in her blue eyes.

"How dare you! How dare you try to hurt my friends!" the pegasus shouted. It only came up to normal talking levels for whatever reason.

"Huh, a pegasus with magic in her eyes. I haven't seen that in quite awhile," he said as she continued to hover in front of his face.

"I want you to apologize to his friends and then go somewhere else for your nap," she said in a no nonsense manner.

"Hmm, no."

"What did you say mister?"

"I said 'no'. I won't apologize. They chose to fight me and I didn't hurt any of them. Any injury they have they got from kicking or hitting my nigh-impregnable scales. You should work on your 'stare' a bit more though. At this level I'm guessing that you can only use it when you're on an emotional high. Eventually, you could use it whenever you want to," he said gaining a confused and worn out pegasus resting on his snout. She had come down from her emotional and adrenaline high quickly after hearing he'd caused no harm to her friends.

"Now, I know you want me to leave, but it'll be dark soon and my smoking is almost done. I'll give you two options: you can stay the night out here with me or I can give you a ride home once my smoking is done," Draigo said as he lowered his head to the ground to allow the yellow and pink pegasus to climb down and go check on her friends.

"Wait, yer jus smokin' somethin' in there? Then, why's the smoke so thick?" asked Applejack as if she hadn't heard this before.

"Yes, did Twilight not tell all of you when she came out? The smoke is thicker than I thought it'd be because of the magic in the maple trees I used combined with the magic in the fire I breathed on it to start the process off. It should dissipate sometime tomorrow since I'll be done in just a bit," he explained. Most of it went on deaf ears since they were glaring daggers at Twilight.

"What? I thought he'd come up with a reasonable lie!" Twilight explained.

"Well, what do you girls want to do? Camp out or get a ride?” Draigo asked.

"First answer some questions," Twilight said.

"Go right ahead. I'll answer almost any question. There's a few even your teacher didn't get an answer to though. Let's limit you to four questions for now since it’s late in the day," Draigo said while getting into a comfy position.

"Huh? You know Princess Celestia?"

"Yes, back before she was a princess."

"Wow. Okay, that just makes me have even more questions! What kind of dragon are you? How were you able to make every shot miss when we were adjusting every time? What are you smoking? Don't you hold any animosity towards us for fighting against you?" Twilight rapidly fired off without any hesitation.

"I’m a Primordial Dragon who can manipulate the elements. I’m smoking some cragadiles and no I don’t, there's no reason to," he replied.

"Primordial?! Then that means..." Twilight said and then tapered off into her own thoughts.

"For us less knowledgeable ponies, what's 'primordial' mean?" Applejack asked after it seemed like Twilight would be awhile.

"Primordial, when applied to a being, means it existed since the beginning of time," he told them. That they were shocked was an understatement. It took them a little while to process this.

Since the questions had ended for now, Draigo went to get his meat. He grabbed all the cragadiles and brought them out on a slab of rock that floated ahead of him.

When Draigo arrived back outside the girls were having what seemed to be a chat. He set down the slab with the cragadiles on it and then laid down next to it. This apparently didn't disturb their conversation as they kept on like he wasn't there. Draigo decided to start eating his smoked cragadiles while he waited for them to notice he'd returned. He had picked up his first cragadile when he figured out their discussion topic. They were discussing how the town would react to him landing in it, how to calm or warn the citizens, and, at least for Twilight, what to write to Celestia.

Once he'd figured this out Draigo popped the smoked cragadile into his mouth and started savoring the taste of maple smoked meat. The sound of bones being broken made the girls whip around to look at the source. When they turned to look at him he swallowed his food and waited for them to say something.

"We'll take you up on your offer to bring us back to Ponyville. We're just not sure you'll be able to land in town. We're certain that everypony will panic and hide in their houses though," Twilight said. She seemed to be the voice for the group.

"Okay, I'll land outside of town. Just let the ponies come meet me and ask me questions. I'm sure once they understand a bit more about me they'll calm down. I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon," Draigo said knowing that most fear is of the unknown and the unfamiliar, most. He quickly popped another cragadile into his mouth and put the rest into one of his claws.

"That sounds like a great idea and thank you for the ride," Twilight said as the rest of the group echoed the sentiment.

"Climb aboard then and we'll be off," Draigo said as he extended a wing to the ground.

Once the girls had settled and secured themselves Draigo started a slow ascension. He didn't want to have anyone fall off or be too frightened since the yellow pegasus, who'd been introduced as Fluttershy, had to be carried up due to fear induced paralysis. It seems she's afraid of full grown dragons. He'd have to fix that sometime, for her sake.

Draigo took a nice slow pace of sixty miles an hour, and looked back to check on his passengers once they were high enough to not hit anything but cloud. They were all having trouble holding on, since they were still tired from the fight, so he slowed his pace to about half his original and apologized for going too fast. They continued at this speed so they could relax a bit more and Draigo could hear directions given by Rainbow since Twilight wasn't familiar with how to get back by flying.

Soon enough a small town could be seen far below us. The sun was just setting so, unfortunately, Draigo’s shadow covered the entire town due to their elevation and his size. This caused all the little specks below them to disappear inside the buildings. Draigo sighed and began a gentle descent so he could land on the outskirts of the town without any of the ponies falling off or getting sick. He landed and started to walk closer to town so the girls could get home before it got too dark.

"Alright girls, here you go," Draigo said as he once again extended a wing to let them off.

"It's too late today for a meet and greet so we'll hold that tomorrow," Twilight thought out loud.

"Awwwwwww, I wanted to throw him a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party," Pinkie complained.

"Just think of it this way Pinks. Tomorra you'll have time to throw him an even bigger party," Applejack consoled her.

"Oh, you're right. With how big he is I'll have to make an even bigger cake than usual!" cried the pink party pony.

"Well girls, I'll see you in the morning," Draigo said as he walked further from town so he wouldn't disturb anyone.

The girls all wished him a good night and walked into town. As for Draigo, he walked for a little while then laid down to finish the smoked cragadile. As Draigo munched, he thought of trying to send a message to other beings like himself. It had been eons and the memories of the events before he became as he currently is are all very faded due to not accessing them. He could still remember that he wasn't always a primordial dragon and some songs but everything else only brought pain, besides he'd given up finding a way back. For now, he was going to attempt to send that message.

It took him awhile to think of the form this message would take. While he thought he sang this song. He knew the lyrics and ending didn’t fit him but the mood and meaning truly did. Though he didn't know who was singing with him near the end, he thought he was alone.

He finally decided on creating something with his power over the elements. Thinking of its form Draigo drew on his power and hoped that he could make it without having to go through each step one at a time.

A ribbon of earth, fire, wind and water appeared and slowly gathered together. At the meeting point a blinding light emanated forth. Once the light stopped Draigo could see exactly what he created.

Below him was a small hourglass. From its top each element flowed down endlessly. They swirled once they met the glass of the piece while flowing down into the hourglass. One would think they'd reappear on the other side but these didn't. The flow would never end, just as his life as a primordial dragon would never end.The empty bottom of the hourglass represented his time before he was changed, it had stopped flowing to never appear again.

It seemed, to him, that it took next to no time but when he looked up at the night sky he noticed that the moon had progressed halfway across the sky. With that in mind Draigo quickly shrunk in size so he could handle the hourglass without accidentally breaking it.

Taking it in claw he thought of his message to any who got this item. Into it he spoke these words: I am Draigo, a primordial dragon. To those who find this hourglass. Know that I'm here should you need help. I will give my protection to those I deem worthy. I will give my attention to those who need to talk. Finally, to those who misuse this item and others like it. You shall know my wrath.

Having finished his message he tossed the hourglass through the portal that had opened. One, the original he assumed, landed in his claw. Draigo stowed it away between his scales so that he could give it to someone trustworthy. With this done he went back to his original size, laid down and fell asleep thinking of the events tomorrow would bring.

Meet and Greet

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Draigo’s dreams were filled with bipedal creatures that seemed familiar, but he could not recall what they were called. They had no fur and wore a wide variety of clothing in just as many colors and designs. Some even wore armor and weapons.

He looked around to try to assess where he was. He was in what seemed to be a castle’s common area. There were signs and these creatures everywhere. Draigo was about to go ask one what was going on and where they were when he noticed his own form.

He was bipedal and armored in iridescent plates that formed something similar to his scales. Draigo reached up and felt a helmet as well. Looking down he saw a sword in its scabbard strapped to his waist. Bringing the sword out a bit revealed it wasn't made of metal but some material that was far too smooth and light to have been smithed. His legs were covered in the same armor as his arms and torso. The only thing standing out was the piece of jewelry around his neck. It seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

He awoke with to the sound of a multitude of hooves coming closer to him. Thankfully it wasn't an army, just a really big herd of ponies. It didn’t take him long to realize that Twilight and her friends must have organized this so the town could come and meet him as he'd suggested. Before the group got too close Draigo rose up and stretched, joints popping could probably be heard by all of the ponies even at this distance. He didn’t want to startle them with his size quite yet, but his limbs were a bit stiff from sleep. After his nice stretch, Draigo laid back down and folded his wings in while assuming the least threatening posture a dragon his size could manage.

Once the group got close enough, he could see that it was indeed Twilight and her friends leading the herd of ponies towards him. It seemed like every single citizen came out to see what/who had flown overhead and scared them yesterday evening. Draigo even noticed a small purple and green dragon whelp among them. Huh, I didn’t expect to see a dragon living among ponies like this. There’s usually a big commotion about it and none of these ponies even flinch when they’re so close to the whelp.

Soon enough the group stopped and the girls and the purple whelp continued forward. Figures that they are still a little nervous since there’s an unknown dragon around. One can hope, but no one can change the instincts that a natural prey item has around an apex predator. You can only let them get used to one being around.

“Good morning, girls. Good morning, little whelp. I did not expect to see a dragon in this town," Draigo said when the group was close enough that he didn’t need to shout to be heard.

“Hey, don’t call him names!” Rainbow said coming to the defense of the young dragon.

“What name? Whelp or wyrmling is what we call dragons of his apparent age," he explained.

“Oh, sorry," Rainbow apologized.

“It’s alright. I'm sure this town doesn’t get dragon visitors very often, if at all. So, most ponies wouldn’t be familiar with the terminology that dragons use. Anyway, did you girls have a plan or was this going to be a spontaneous Q&A session?” he said while looking at the nervous group of ponies in the distance.

“It’s basically going to be a Q&A session. You are free to answer or not answer a question though we’d appreciate you answering as many as you can," Twilight said.

“Ah, I see. It seems like the adults are the most cautious. So, would you mind if I made a request?” he asked.

“As long as it’s reasonable," Twilight

“I'd like you, girls, to get some foals to come over with you to break the ice. It doesn’t have to be many. I just know that if everyone here sees that I'm not going to do anything to the foals that the adults will relax more and come forward with their own questions," Draigo explained while trying to assess the overall feeling of the crowd of ponies.

“We know just the ones for the job," Applejack said.

“Good, please bring them over.”

With that Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack went into the crowd and returned shortly with three fillies in tow. Rainbow had an orange and purple pegasus, Rarity had a white unicorn with a curly purple and pink mane, and Applejack had a yellow and red Earth pony. The last two he assumed were siblings of their older counterparts. Draigo did notice that all three fillies were missing their cutie mark, though. Huh, thought by now they’d have them. Well, all things in time.

“Draigo, this is ma sister Applebloom," Applejack said introducing her charge.

“This is my sister Sweetie Belle," Rarity intoned.

“And this is Scootaloo," Rainbow said introducing the last of the three.

“It’s nice to meet all three of you," Draigo said laying his head on the ground so the ponies didn’t have to get cricks in their necks from looking too far up all the time.

The three fillies spoke at the same time, with different accents and variations, but the message was the same 'Hi, Mr. Draigo'. It's amazing how many accents are in this one town.

"I'd like you to choose one question each, for now. Choose whichever question you'd like me to answer the most. You'll be able to ask more questions afterward," he said hoping that with three questions the rest of the ponies would feel more comfortable to approach him. He was prepared for it to take many more, though.

"Could ya help us get our cutie marks?" Applebloom asked.

"How old are you?" Sweetie Belle followed up right behind.

"Can you do tricks like Rainbow Dash?" asked an expectant Scootaloo.

A deep chuckle escaped his lips. Ah, the innocence of children. He did his best to show as little of his fearsome teeth as possible while he smiled so as to not frighten them.

"Yes, I can help you discover what your cutie mark is. The last count I had on my age put me at 13.8 billion twenty-six, give or take a few hundred million years. I can do some tricks that Rainbow Dash can and some she can't do. Would you like to see one?" Draigo said nonchalantly. He hoped that they would forget about his age so they wouldn’t freak out any more than necessary.

"Yes, please."

"Uh huh"

"What's it going to be? Some aerial maneuver? Breaking the sound barrier?" Scootaloo asked eagerly.

"No, I'll perform a trick right here. Pick one kind of jewelry. Earrings, a bracelet, a necklace, etc. I'll then make that for each of you." Draigo said as they grew very eager. The two with sisters looked at them before receiving a small nod each. Looks like it went as I hoped.

The three fillies huddled together to figure out what they wanted. It didn't take them long, though. They broke their huddle with wide smiles on their faces.

"A necklace!" the three said in unison.

"Okay, a necklace it is," Draigo said as he summoned three crystals from the ground.

"Hold still for a few moments please."

Once they'd done so he levitated the three crystals close to their necks. Draigo then wrapped each crystal around until it made a custom fit necklace for each filly. He let the crystals sit and settle for a second and then enhanced them. Draigo decided to make them hard as diamond and as tough as steel.

"There, those necklaces will survive almost anything. I've left them as plain crystal but once you get a cutie mark. I can put that into them if you'd like." Draigo said, figuring they'd love the customizable and durable but pretty jewelry.

He wasn't sure what their reaction would be, but a giant gasp and then glomping as much of his face as possible was really surprising. There hadn't been many who were comfortable enough to give him physical affection while he was in this form. Draigo smiled and returned the gesture by putting a single claw around them as they clung to his face.

After they separated everyone seemed to relax a bit. It was at this time that he remembered another youngster whom he had forgotten to meet.

"Now, before I forget again. What is your name, little wyrmling?" Draigo asked the small dragon standing next to Twilight.

"My name's Spike Solaris," Spike answered.

"It's good to meet you, Spike. My name is Draigo," he said as he looked over at him.

"Is there anything that you would like to ask me, Spike?"

"Well, I've always wanted to know who my parents were. I doubt you'd know though so it's okay," Spike said in a bit of a depressed way.

"I may not know who your biological parents are, but I created the dragons on this planet. So Spike, how's it feel to meet your maker?" Draigo said while trying to hold back a chuckle. His joke was horrible, but he couldn't help but laugh a bit.

This little revelation had shocked not only Spike but everyone else as well. Hopefully they didn't hear that bad joke then. He waited until someone, anyone, shook off their shock enough to say something. While he waited he decided to exercise his powers a bit and create a copy of Spike, out of earth, in front of him. It didn't take long to do since he didn't go into the greatest of detail, but you'd have a hard time telling the difference at a glance.

The revelation must have been more shocking than he thought though since they were still shocked to the point of not being able to talk or give any other reaction after a few minutes. Maybe I shouldn't have told them that? Oh well, it's already been said. Maybe if I dropped some water on them they’d come out of it. Draigo tapped back into his power and brought all the water from their town water tower. He separated the water into two blobs to get the two groups of shock victims at the same time. He brought the blobs of water over each group's heads and let it fall on them. If that didn't bring them out of their shocked state, he doesn't know what would.

The ponies gasped and then looked at him with irritated expressions. So, he once again manipulated the water to condense back into one big blob and back into the water tower. This left the ponies dry once more but staring at him.

"I can manipulate all of the elements," Draigo said in explanation to the unspoken question they were obviously wanting the answer to.

"Now, Twilight. I know that you want to ask me a lot of questions right now. I'm going to limit you to three questions, though. The reason being that if I answered every question your nerd brain could think of we'd be here for years," he said to preemptively cut off Twilight. Draigo had assumed from her enthusiastic response yesterday as well as going silent while obviously still thinking things over that Twilight was a nerd.

"Argh, fine but I'll be asking more questions later on," Twilight.

"That’s fine. Go ahead and ask once you've figured out which three you'd like answered right now," he said.

"Why is there another me here now?" Spike asked.

"Ah, I decided to make a copy of you out of earth, to practice my dragon creation power, while you were all just standing there," Draigo explained.

"Okay, here are my questions. Did you know Starswirl the Bearded? What should I know about raising dragons? How does your magic work?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I knew Starswirl but he didn't know me in this form. Dragons need lots of high-calorie food for them to grow properly. Gems are an excellent source of calories, but they are needed in a high number if eaten by themselves. Also, plenty of exercise for when his wings grow in. Eventually, he'll need a bigger living area than he has right now. Spike's going to get to be very big, eventually. Nowhere near my size but bigger than any building I can see in this town. If you build him something that is big enough for my size then he should be fine. He'll also have to develop his own 'hoard' sometime. It doesn't have to be items or anything physical just something he values. Finally, be ready to help him practice his fire breathing and other normal skills as he grows. His fire breath will get more potent and his size changes will make him seem clumsy because he's not used to being that size. My magic works according to my will. I think of what I want to happen and it happens. I don't have to move a muscle if I don't want to. With each form I take, my magic changes a bit. When I'm in a smaller form I have a lot more detail and precision. While I'm like this I can move a lot of mass at one time but I'm not as precise," Draigo expounded upon all those who were listening. "Spike, have you eaten any meat since you were hatched?" he asked.

“No, meat isn’t something ponies are comfortable preparing or procuring,” Spike answered.

“We’ll be changing that sometime in the future. Now, does anyone else have any questions?” Draigo called out.

"Why are you here?" asked a random pony from the crowd.

"Were you the one making all that smoke yesterday?"

"How long are you staying?"

"Where are you staying at?"

"What's your favorite music and favorite color?"

"Do you have a special somedragon?"

"Where do you normally live?" the last pony said then the questions died down while they waited for his answers.

"I came here to drop off Twilight and her friends. I did cause the smoke yesterday and it should dissipate sometime today. I'm going to be staying, now, to visit some old friends that live in Equestria and keep an eye on a few interesting developments. I'll be staying for an indefinite amount of time and I'm not sure where I'll be staying, that's still to be determined. My favorite music depends on my mood, but I listen to rock more often than others. My favorite color? Well, I don't really have a favorite color. No, I don't have a special somedragon because no dragon lives as long as I do and it'd be too easy to make them do something that they don't necessarily want to do. I'm normally moving between different caves, but I did hide my nontraditional hoard inside one of them. As such, I have many places to call home but I don’t have a place to stay near here."

"Well, y'all are welcome to come stay with my family and I at Sweet Apple Acres. It's the only place in town that somedragon your size would be able to fit. Course, you'll have ta meet the rest of ma family. They're still at the farm workin’ the orchards," Applejack piped in.

"Thank you, Applejack. That's very kind of you," Draigo replied while standing up.

"Well, let's get a move on then. We're burning daylight," Applejack says as she began to trot off towards home.

"Everyone, if you see me around town don't be afraid to come ask me more questions. I look forward to getting to know each of you better," Draigo said as he began following Applejack while turning the copy of Spike into dust.

It was difficult walking through town at full size so Draigo decided to shrink down to about the size of a house. It was much easier, but he still had to mind his tail. If he wasn't careful it would cause a lot of damage to his surroundings.

They were both quiet as they walked through town. Draigo was taking in the buildings and businesses that they passed and Applejack was concentrating on getting back home.

After a while of walking the buildings grew sparse and a wooden fence with a sign above an opening appeared. The sign read 'Sweet Apple Acres' and the space between it and the buildings was just big enough that Draigo could go back to his full size, his tail was still between two buildings, though.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, Draigo. We grow the best apples in all of Equestria," Applejack said with an excited tone.

"Thank you again for letting me stay with you and your family, Applejack," Draigo said as he walked over the fence since the sign was too low for him to walk under.

"Well, I'm afraid that the biggest room that we have is out in our barn and even that's not gonna be big enough for you. We'll think of somethin’, though. Now, I'll be introducin’ ya ta ma two other family members, Big Mac, and Granny Smith. Granny is, of course, ma granny and Big Mac is ma older brother," Applejack explained.

"Well, I can always either shrink my size or change into another form. If that'd be less of a hassle for you," he commented idly while looking the property.

"Can ya really do that? You said so earlier, but none of us were sure you were serious. If'n ya could, that'd be mighty helpful," Applejack responded.

So, right before Applejack's eyes he shrunk down to about a head more than Celestia's height. He remained on all four legs since it's still a more comfortable posture, unlike teenage dragons nowadays. Her expression while he did this was priceless.

"I can shrink and change form, but I really do appreciate the ability to be at full size if needed. So, thank you once again for your hospitality," he said once he was done shrinking and by her side.

"Well, if that don't beat all. The others are gonna be mighty surprised when they see ya like this," Applejack commented.

"I'm sure they will be and that Twilight will have even more questions for me because of it," he responded.

"Yep, that's Twilight for ya. Always trying to learn somethin' new," Applejack said with a cheerful tone.

"Is there anything I should know about before meeting your family?"

"Well, Big Mac doesn't talk a lot and Granny tends to forget things but they're mainly just regular ol ponies. Though Granny will probably put ya ta work since y'all are stayin' with us."

"Ah, that does make sense since you live on a farm," Draigo said as a large wooden building appeared over the hill. It was much larger than the houses were back in town. Out on the porch in a rocking chair sat an old green pony with her mane up in a bun. She was peacefully rocking back and forth until she spotted the pair walking towards her.

"Well, it took ya long enough with that meetin' ya had ta go ta. Now ya come back with some young dragon in tow. He yer new special somepony there Applejack?" Granny Smith said curiously.

"Hay no! He's new in town and don't have a place to stay. I offered ta let him stay here since before jus' recently he was bigger than our house," Applejack quickly responded with a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Hello, my name's Draigo. It's nice to meet you, Granny Smith. Just so you know, I’m much older than you think I am. You have a lovely home with lovely scenery," he said while gesturing to the house and fields around it.

"Why, thankee Dago. We're simple apple folk, but we do what we can. Now if'n yer stayin' with us then I'd like y'all ta help out with some chores," Granny said.

"Of course, I'll help out as I can. There will be times that I won't be able to help, but hopefully those are far between each other," he said letting the name mistake slide since she's probably hard of hearing.

"Well, even Applejack has those days. Speakin' of which, Applejack, why don't you go introduce our new resident to Big Mac. You two can then help out until lunch is ready," Granny said while pointing in the direction we should go to find Big Mac.

With that, they headed off to find Big Mac. It didn't take long to find him since he stood out from everything else. He was a large, red earth pony with a straw colored mane and tail. He was busy bucking apples from trees then putting the baskets full of apples into a nearby cart.

"Hey, Big Mac. This here is Draigo. He'll be stayin' with us fer a while," Applejack said introducing him.

"Howdy, Draigo. It's nice ta meet ya," Big Mac said in his deep voice.

"It's nice to meet you too, Big Mac. What can I do to help?" Draigo asked.

"Ya look strong enough, even at this size, ta buck apples. So, why don't ya try that. Jus go over to a tree and kick it as hard as you can," Applejack suggested.

"Alright, let's give it a shot," he replied.

Draigo stepped up to a tree that still had its apples, turned around and kicked it. He ignored what Applejack told him and used about a quarter of his strength, he knew his full strength would've been too much. The tree was whole but completely uprooted and lying on the ground as a result. He quickly went over and picked the tree up. He put it back in place and manipulated the earth so it seemed like nothing happened.

Applejack and Big Mac had both seen what happened. They came rushing over to see if the tree was damaged. They both let it out a relieved breath when they noticed no lasting damage was done.

"I think I'll just use my powers to get the apples down for now," Draigo said as he looked at the two relieved siblings.

"That might be a good idea, Sugarcube. Was that your full strength?" Applejack asked before going back to work.

"No, that was about a quarter of my strength at this size. At my full size, I’ve yet to find a challenge for my strength. Now, how many trees do you want to do before the day is done? I know lunch is going to be soon, but I'm wondering the end goal for today," Draigo asked as he readied his magic.

"That was only a quarter of yer strength?! Remind me never to get on your bad side. As for the apple trees, well, we usually don't keep track. I'd say we'd want at least fifty trees done before dinner this evening," Applejack said over her withers as she bucked a tree after recovering from his newest revelation.

"Okay, fifty it is then," he replied as he applied his abilities to fifty trees within his sight.

A few minutes passed before an army of apples came floating over to the two Apple siblings. They stared in amazement at the amount of apples before them. Draigo walked over to them and sat down. He let them stare for a moment longer.

"You said fifty trees. This is fifty trees worth of apples. Now, where do you want these?" he asked.

"Uh, huh? How'd you do that? I thought you manipulated the elements?" Applejack asked in amazement.

"There's water in apples, right?" he asked.

"Eeyup"

"I simply manipulated the water inside the apples. At this size, I'm limited on the amount I can manipulate but I'm much more precise. This isn't even my limit. I think I could get about triple this amount and still be fine. I’d have to be really careful, though," he replied.

"Well, alright then. Put those apples over in the barn then come back and do some more. We've got about 2500 apple trees and they all need to be harvested within the next three weeks."

"Okay, I'll be back. This'll be done within the week if I keep to just one trip per day at this capacity," he called over his shoulder as he walk towards their barn.

Granny Smith apparently saw the mass of apples floating through the air because she was at the barn by the time he got there.

"Hello, Ms. Smith. Is there a certain place you'd like me to put these apples?" he asked as he approached the barn.

"What in tarnation? How're those apples floating in the air?"

"Oh, right. That's me. I'm using my magic to help out since I'm a tad too strong to buck the apples out of the trees," he replied.

"Okay, then. How many trees is this anyway?"

"This is fifty trees worth."

"Well, lansakes. It usually takes all day to get that many bucked, gathered, and put away. If'n ya can do this multiple times a day then we'll get this harvest done in record time," Granny replied in astonishment.

"I'll do his best, ma'am," he said as he put away the apples with the others he saw inside their barn.

Granny was walking back to the house when he exited the barn. Draigo walked back to the where Applejack was and continued the same pattern as before. This continued for another couple of hours when they heard ringing coming from the house. Applejack and Big Mac set down their baskets and brought the cart back to the barn to unload it. They then headed to the house for lunch.

Lunch was a simple fare of sandwiches, apple juice, hay fries, and some gems for him. It was nice being able to sit and talk during a meal, it's something Draigo’s missed over the years. The first time this happened was with Celestia and Luna. That meal had a different atmosphere due to them still getting used to ruling a nation, though. This one was relaxed and easygoing, a dragon could get used to this.

Shortly after lunch was done they could hear somepony singing. As the singing got closer they saw that it was Pinkie Pie singing while bouncing towards the house. Once she saw them on the porch she waved and headed in our direction.

"Awwww, you shrunk. I even made a super-duper huge cake for you," Pinkie said once she got close enough to see it was truly Draigo next to Applejack and not some other dragon.

"Don't worry Pinkie I can increase my size very quickly. Now, is there something you came here for?" he asked the pink party pony.

"I came to officially invite you to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. It's going to be at eight at the public park and everypony is going to be there. Don't be late!" Pinkie said as she hopped in circles then left just as she came, singing a different song. Draigo could make out the words 'Dragon, dragon. Rock the dragon. Dragonball Z.'

Those words stirred something inside of him. They seemed so familiar yet he couldn't recall where or when he'd heard them. It would come back to him sometime, hopefully.

*********************************************

It was time to leave for the party. They had gotten a lot of work done so everyone was able to go at the same time. Pinkie had said that she made a 'super-duper huge cake' for him. Knowing this Draigo grew back to his full size in front of the house and extended a wing to the ground. This made the two members of the Apple family who hadn't seen his full-size freeze until they saw Applebloom and Applejack walking up his wing and onto his back.

Once everyone was on he gently ascended into the sky and took off toward the park. Draigo set a leisurely pace so that those who weren't used to flying could enjoy the ride. Especially since his body is wide enough that they don't have to look at the passing ground below them.

It didn't take him long to spot the park since it was a huge open area with party decorations galore. There was plenty of space for him to land and to stay at his current size. Pinkie had taken into consideration both his size and the space that the ponies would take up so no one felt crowded.

After a gentle descent and landing, he let his passengers off. They were greeted by Pinkie and went down to the main party area. There were a lot of ponies and there were quite a few who seemed at ease around him, but a lot were still uneasy. Heh, it’s their loss if they either aren’t comfortable around me or just plain don’t like me. Either way, fine by me.

In the middle of everything was a three tier cake that was just the right size for him to eat like a single slice. There were other cakes around that one for the ponies to cut up and distribute. There were also multiple punch bowls, candy, pinatas, pin the tail on the pony, and a dancing area. A white unicorn with purple sunglasses was at a mix table keeping the music going.

Draigo took his cake and went to an area where he could watch all that was going on, without getting in the way. He would have joined them, but he was afraid of ruining their fun. Besides, he enjoys people watching, well ponies in this case. He munched on his cake as he watched them party. The cake was a nice rich devil's food cake with chocolate buttercream icing, one of his favorites.

A few ponies walked up to him to welcome him to town. He thanked them and wished them well. There were others who came over to take a picture with him. He enjoyed posing for those photos, especially the ones who asked me to look fearsome. Throughout the night he enjoyed watching the antics of the ponies, especially when it involved Pinkie.

As the time progressed the ponies started to filter back into town. Draigo had finished his cake awhile ago and was now just watching the ponies and chatting with those who wanted to talk.

Eventually, the Apple family came over and he extended his wing so they could climb on. He followed the same routine as before. Making sure to be gentle and smooth with every movement.

They arrived back at their house with an uneventful flight back. He shrunk back down so he could fit through the barn doors and was shown where he'd be sleeping.

The hay loft of the barn was fairly clean and had some blankets and a pillow set out for his use. It's not as bad as it seemed at first, though. They'd given him a nice pillow and blanket, they seemed fairly new. There's also plenty of straw that he could use as a mattress. Compared to caves and their stone floors this was great. He’d have to find a better solution eventually, though. Maybe create his own place on the outskirts of town or just commission his own place. For now, he’s got a comfortable situation. He can even practice with his magic in practical situations instead of his own created ones.

There is one thing that he noted. The night feels better than they have for quite awhile. It feels safe. The moon and stars are more lively and inviting. He decided to spend a little while gazing at the night sky before retiring for the night. I'll have to thank Luna for her beautiful night when I see her again.

Hellfire

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Dreams can be funny things. They can be good or bad. They can even be memories from your past. This dream was the latter of them.

Draigo was back in the castle grounds. He was walking and looking around to see what wares were being sold. One booth caught his eye. It was set up in a way that it could be broken down and stored very quickly, even for one person. This booth had lots of jewelry and other nicknacks that drew the eye by shining in the sun.

Only one person was manning the stall. She looked like a typical gypsy girl and nothing seemed off about her or the booth. As Draigo went in, the gypsy turned and offered a friendly smile. She walked over and asked him if he was looking for anything in particular. He told her that he was looking for a piece of jewelry that would stand out with his armor. She thought for a bit and then led him to a display in the back.

It held a single pendant that seemed to be of very high quality. It was round and looked like a reptilian eye. The main difference was that the ‘iris’ was four different colors in a swirling pattern that emanated from the ‘pupil’.

“The gems and stone used for this piece are top grade material. The red is ruby, the green is an emerald, the blue is sapphire, and the gray is spinel. The black pupil is obsidian that was smoothed and polished. All of these materials were worked by a top notch gem worker. The price you’d pay for this in a jewelry store would be astronomical. Since this isn’t a jewelry store and since I’m having trouble getting rid of it. I’ll sell it to you for $400. I can guarantee that there’s nothing wrong with it and that it’s exactly as it seems. I only say this since I’ve tried giving the same deal to many others and they all thought it was cursed or something. Anyway, what do you say? We got a deal?” the gypsy said without letting him get a word in edgewise.

“Hmm, okay. I’ll take it. There’s no such thing as curses, magic, and those other supernatural things. I really don’t understand people that are superstitious,” Draigo replied and took out four hundred dollars from the leather bag attached to his waist.

“Thank you and have fun. Don’t go too crazy with your new body and powers. I’m not sure where you’re going can handle it,” she said as he put the pendant around his neck.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked as his vision faded and everything turned black. He felt himself being pulled through a void. The things he witnessed inside were something no person should have to see in their lifetime.

Draigo awoke from his dream breathing heavily. He hated nightmares like that. It was still dark out and he hoped he hadn’t awoken any of the Apples. Once his breathing was under control he went out for a walk.

********************************************************************************************************

It had been a few weeks since Draigo started living with the Apples. Applejack for one was glad for the extra help around the farm. She didn’t realize that having a dragon around could be so useful. His magic and strength made even the hardest tasks seem almost mundane.

Applejack had gotten into the habit of going out and checking on Draigo every morning, since he tended to fall back asleep if left alone. She hadn’t slept well last night and so had woken up earlier than usual. It was still dark when she was on her way to check on him. When she was a ways from the barn she saw the dragon walk out of the barn. He looked like he needed to get something off his chest so she followed him at a leisurely pace.

After walking a ways away from the barn, Draigo grew to his full size. He didn’t notice Applejack following him due to him brooding over his nightmare and the memories it brought back into focus. These weren’t pleasant memories and neither was his mood. He needed to vent a bit so he went to an area of the farm that was wide open. He didn’t have to worry about damaging anything out here.

Applejack grew more and more concerned as she followed Draigo. She’d never seen him act like this. She saw him stop out in an area of the farm that was left alone for future development. She wasn’t sure what he was doing out here, but she decided to wait and see. She found a tree that would completely conceal her and hid behind it. She hadn’t waited long when she heard something she never expected out of the dragon. He began singing.

Luna, Celestia
You know I am a justly drake
Of my power I am very proud

Luna, Celestia
You know I'm so much fairer than
The common, greedy, crass, ignorant drake

Then tell me, Celestia
Why I see her standing there
Why her smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul

I feel her, I see her
The sun caught in raven hair
Is blazing in me out of all control

Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning
Desire
Is driving me insane
It's not my fault

I'm not to blame

It is the gypsy girl
The witch who set this flame

It's not my fault

If that world

Made the gypsy so much
Stronger than I was

Help me, Celestia
Don't let this siren get away
Don't let this fire sear my flesh and bone
Destroy this deceiver
And let her taste the fires of hell
Or else let her come here for me to burn

He set himself on fire at the first mention of the gypsy. Manipulating even more fire around him as he sang. He created a flame version of the gypsy and then blew her apart with purple hued flame. He continued to manipulate the flames as he sang. The flames started as red. At each mention of ‘hellfire’ the flames would turn purple and when he mentioned ‘dark fire’ the flames went black.

Hellfire
Dark fire
Now gypsy, it's your turn
Choose me or
Hellfire
Give in and you will burn

There'll be no mercy for her

Only mercy for me

She will give in
And she will burn!

As he finished his song he sent a pillar of blue flame, that took up almost the entire empty farmland he was in, rocketing skyward with all of his power. He felt a little more strain on his reserves than he thought, but powered through it. At this Applejack ran to tell Twilight and the other girls what had happened. She sprinted toward Golden Oaks like a pack of timberwolves was right on her heels.

********************************************************************************************************

In Canterlot Luna and Celestia were discussing the grand galloping gala. The plans were well under way and the tickets had been sent. The only thing left to do was oversee the preparations that would start in a couple months.

They were interrupted when their room was lit up from an unknown source. They quickly went to the balcony and witnessed something neither had seen before. A pillar of blue flame that reached higher than either of them could see.

They knew only one being who could produce this much power and it worried them beyond belief that he was using so much power.

"Sister, We'll go with some of our Night Guard to see what's going on. Please remain here to placate those that come here in a panic," Luna said as she rushed towards her room.

"No, Luna. For him to display such power....something profoundly disturbing must have happened. I'll go with my guard. It's almost dawn and this will most likely stretch out well into the day," Celestia said as her words froze Luna at the door.

"Very well, Sister. We shall be here when the ignorant nobles and confused citizens come asking us for answers," Luna said as she watched Celestia don her armor.

********************************************************************************************************

In a distant land, another being noticed the flame pillar and knew instantly who had created it. It had been a long time since he’d last seen his old enemy and he looked forward to the day that they once again met on the battlefield. Thinking of their reunion he stood up and started traveling toward the distant pillar. Our fight will be sooner than you think, Draigo. Your hide will make a wonderful addition to my home and bring some much needed pride back into those I’ve created.

********************************************************************************************************

Applejack burst through the library’s door and quickly shut it behind her. She slumped to the ground gasping for breath. It was only once she’d regained some of her breath that she looked around and saw the shocked and concerned expressions of Spike and Twilight. She hadn't even noticed them coming down the stairs from their bedroom.

“Gotta talk to ya about Draigo. There’s something wrong and we should all be afraid,” she said between gasps of breath.

“What happened? I’ve never seen you like this before. Not even when Nightmare Moon came back,” Twilight said curious as to what had scared her friend so much.

“Well, I was on ma way to check on Draigo when I saw him leave the barn. He didn’t look none too happy and it seemed like he needed to talk about somethin'. I followed him at a distance so he could settle down a bit. Once he stopped he still didn’t seem ready to talk so I hid behind a tree while I waited fer a better opportunity ta talk to ‘im. Then he started ta sing. It started out all fine, but he then set himself on fire and was using a lot of fire for other things. The words he was singin’ went from calm to furious. I saw him turn the fire from red, ta purple, ta black, then ta blue. Didn’t ya see the giant pillar of blue flame?” Applejack told them after she'd caught her breath.

"Wait, that was him? When we looked at the pillar we couldn't see the end of it. How much power does he have? That probably woke up all of Equestria. What was he singing about?" Twilight asked in a rush, worry apparent in her voice.

"He was singin' about some gypsy girl and how he wants her to burn. Hay, he was even asking Princess Luna and Princess Celestia for help," Applejack

"That's not good. He obviously loathes that gypsy. I'll write a letter to the Princesses, in case they don't already know. I believe the best course of action would be to get him to talk about it. Do you know where he is now?" Twilight asked as she started writing her letter.

"I've got no idea. I ran here as soon as he created that there pillar. He could be anywhere by now. I'll go get the girls and we can search for 'im," Applejack said as she trotted toward the door.

"No, that won't help. If we assume that he can change his form like he said then we won't find him unless he wants us to," Twilight explained.

"Well, what do we do then? Sit around and wait? There's a pissed off PRIMORDIAL DRAGON out there and nopony knows what he'll do. You saw the pillar. We've got ta do somethin'!" Applejack shouted out of frustration.

"Applejack! We're not doing nothing. Now that the letter has been sent we'll go to where he was to see if he's still there. If he is we'll talk to him. If he's not then we'll try to figure out where he went, even if it is nigh-impossible to find him," Twilight explained as she gathered her things together.

"Okay Applejack, let's go check on him," Twilight said as she put Spike on her back.

The three of them trotted toward Sweet Apple Acres. On the way, the sun finally rose into the sky. It was easier going now that they could see further ahead of them. It took longer than Applejack's sprint, but Applejack was glad since her muscles were still recovering from that mad dash.

Upon arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, they were met by the rest of the Apple family. Each had a concerned look on their face and ash on their hooves.

"All y'all okay? Where's Draigo?" Applejack asked.

"We went ta the area that pillar came from and it's empty, just burnt ground. Are ya sayin' Draigo did this?" Applebloom said.

"I saw it with ma own eyes. He was really upset about some gypsy he was singin' 'bout." Applejack explained.

"Do any of you have an idea where he went or at least a direction?" Twilight asked.

"Nnope," Big Mac replied.

"Well, let's go look at the burned area to see if we can find any clues," Twilight said.

"Any idea who this gypsy could be Twi?" Spike asked.

"Hmm, did he describe the gypsy at all Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Only that she had raven hair and fire in her eyes. I don't think that last one means anythin' about how she looks, though. He did create something that had long hair out of his fire, but I didn't recognize its species," Applejack said in contemplation.

"Well, it's more than we had before. Now, if only we can find something to indicate a direction he went in," Twilight said as the clearing came into view.

As soon as they arrived they heard the sound of wings flapping. They looked toward the source and noticed Princess Celestia and her Day Guard flying towards them. The Princess looked concerned, confused and was fully armored. No one had seen her like this since the last war.

All present were in awe. Celestia stood there with her ethereal mane and tail somehow braided. She wore golden chainmail below golden plates. Her wings had golden plate mail along them and the first two feathers had a thin metal covering them that could be used as a weapon as well as the spike that was at each wing joint. She wore a helmet that had her crown incorporated into it that would cover her head and cheeks while allowing her horn and mane to be unencumbered. A battle axe was strapped to her right side and a sword to her left.

"I had hoped Draigo would still be here. Seeing his display of power earlier was very disconcerting," Celestia said as she and her guardsmen landed. The guards quickly form a circle around the area and awaited further orders.

"Princess Celestia! You saw the pillar in Canterlot? Do you have any idea where he would've gone? None of the Apples saw anything and we just arrived," Twilight said as she and the others bowed.

"Yes, Luna and I were discussing gala plans when we saw the pillar in the sky. I first met Draigo a long time ago. Whenever Luna or I tried to find him we'd give up after a while," Celestia said as she looked over the area.

"Did you notice anything as you flew in Princess?" Twilight asked.

"No, the only thing I noticed was the scorched area's size. I believe that should you measure it. The circle would be about fifty meters in radius. I'll have my guard search for him. We don't know how his mood will affect his decisions," Celestia remarked as her guardsmen took off to set up a standard grid search.

“Now, I want you and your friends to go about your daily business. There’s nothing else for you to do except calm the town and wait until Draigo returns. I’ll be joining the search in short order. So, if there’s anything I should know besides what you wrote in the letter. Please tell me now,” Celestia said.

“Yes, Princess. The only information we didn’t tell you was that Draigo apparently made a fiery construct of the gypsy he was singing about and Applejack couldn’t identify her species. She apparently has raven hair. That’s all we know about the gypsy,” Twilight told her.

“Thank you, Twilight. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a friend to find. I just hope he lets me,” Celestia said, the last bit under her breath.

With that Celestia took to the sky in the direction of the mountains. She figured that Draigo would hide there since it’s all too easy to hide in the numerous caves therein.

****************************************************

Draigo had settled into the foothills of a nearby mountain. It had taken more out of him than it should have when he used that amount of power. He was taking deep breaths and listening to the sounds nature provided. He'd always enjoyed and was calmed by these sounds.

He realized that he'd have to apologize to the Apples for burning almost an entire hectare of land. That could wait until he'd gotten everything out of his system. It had been quite awhile and he still was riled up from the memories that dream had brought up.

He continued listening to nature and thinking about the extra amount of power it took for his earlier display, but he soon found he could hear two familiar voices in the distance. At first he couldn't place them but as they grew closer he realized that they belonged to Rarity and Spike. Draigo quickly concealed himself and continued to listen.

"Okay, we'll split the gems 60/40. With the forty going to me," Spike said.

"That sounds splendid Spikey. Now, let me locate some gems," Rarity said as she lit her horn.

Soon enough the two stopped talking except for the occasional comment on gem location and amounts found.

Draigo peeked over a ridge and saw them both at work. Rarity seemed to only locate the gems while Spike dug them up and put them into a little red wagon. Neither noticed as Draigo watched them from a distance.

This continued until three diamond dogs ran out of a bush and grabbed Rarity. Spike tried to fight them off, but they had better reach and strength. The young dragon didn't even touch them before they disappeared into the ground with Rarity in tow.

As soon as Draigo saw this he flew down and looked Spike over. Spike wasn't hurt just tired and worried about his friend.

"Stay here Spike. I'll go get her back. There's no need to panic," Draigo said as he shrunk and changed into a bipedal form.

Draigo had changed into the bipedal form he had before he was changed. He decided to modify the armor he had before, though. What was once iridescent scale mail was now crimson and gold plate mail, mainly. His helmet has a long red plume and a golden face mask. A crimson and gold cape flapped as he moved. A shield and spear were on his back and a golden hatchet was strapped to his waist.

"Okay, but you've got some answering to do when you get back! That pillar, you disappearing, and now you changing forms! There're a lot of questions!" Spike yelled at him as he sunk into the earth.

****************************************************

Rarity had been chained to a wall while the diamond dogs decided how best to make her find and dig gems for them. She wasn't very comfortable since she had to stand on only her hind legs.

The diamond dogs were far enough away that Rarity couldn't tell what they were saying all the time, but she heard things like 'torture', 'branding', 'kindly ask', and a few others. She didn't like the sound of any of them except for being kindly asked.

As she was dreading the outcome of their discussion she saw two eyes coming from the darkness. The eyes were glowing with power and she tried to get as far away from them as possible. She didn't know and didn't care who those eyes belonged to, she just wanted to get out of these restraints since they were rusty and were leaving marks on her pristine fur.

She didn’t have to wait long to see who those eyes belonged to. They belonged to a biped covered in armor. She assumed that he wasn’t any good, just like the dogs. Rarity began to formulate how to get out off this new predicament. She figured that she could talk her way out but knew that she could probably distract the creature long enough to make a run for it if needed. Rarity was in the middle of a thought when the creature, who the dogs hadn’t noticed due to bickering, began to attack the diamond dogs.

The creature didn’t use any of the weapons it brought with it, just it’s armored limbs. Punching, kicking, headbutting, and anything else it could do to inflict damage to the dogs. The commotion had alerted the rest of the dogs in the area and reinforcements soon arrived. The biped turned and engaged its newest foes. The dogs did their best, but they were only able to leave gouges in the creature’s armor. It seemed that the biped was concentrated solely on offense, not caring about getting injured. Their battle raged on as more and more dogs showed up. Rarity had lost count of the dogs once their unconscious bodies started making piles against the walls.

Once the sound of battle ended Rarity looked around and saw that the biped was the only one left standing. She hoped that it would let her go after it saw she wasn’t a threat. As she thought this, she watched as the creature started walking towards her. She started to panic a bit since she hadn’t heard it speak even once so far and didn’t know its intentions. She closed her eyes and looked away as it steadily got closer. She could hear its footsteps getting closer and closer. They stopped and she felt the chains connected to her restraints being grabbed. She then fell to the floor after hearing the chains break. She looked up and saw the creature reach down for her forelegs. It grabbed the restraints and pulled them apart like they were made of paper. Rarity rubbed the areas that had been in contact with the metal. She soon realized that the circles of rust residue that was left by the cuffs would need much more than rubbing to get rid of.

Rarity looked up at her rescuer and wondered what he was going to do now. She figured from the creature’s body shape that it was a male. She could still hear the diamond dogs moaning from their beat down and it served as a reminder of what he could do.

“Um, well, thank you. Thank you for saving me. I don’t know who you are but I would be more than willing to give you a reward for this kind deed,” she said as he began to reach down once more.

“You’re welcome, Rarity. I don’t need a reward or prize, but I wouldn’t turn down something if you truly insist upon it,” he said as he picked her up and cradled her bridal style.

“Do I know you? Your way of speaking seems familiar. It's very similar to a new friend of mine,” Rarity explained as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck.

“Oh? Who is this new friend of yours?” he said as he carried her further into the cave system. He couldn’t help but smirk inside his helmet.

“His name is Draigo and he’s a dragon. He disappeared earlier today after frightening most of Equestria. Princess Celestia even deemed to go and search for him herself. I do believe that she is still doing so as we speak,” Rarity said as she relaxed into his grip. For some reason, she felt very safe around this creature.

“So? What do I call you kind sir? Also, what are you? I’ve yet to see a creature like you. The closest to you that I’ve seen are Minotaurs,” She asked hoping she hadn’t offended him by referring to Minotaurs.

“Ah, right. None of you have seen me like this before. Well, I’m what you’d call a human and you already know my name,” he said as he stopped below a hole that had light shining down it.

“It’s not very gentlecoltly of you to leave a lady in suspense like that,” Rarity pouted.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he looked up into the hole.

“I apologize. I believe though that my next little demonstration will help jog your memory,” he said as they started to ascend into the hole.

Rarity looked down and saw that they were still standing on solid ground even though they were clearly moving.

“The only one I know who can do something like this is Draigo. You’re Draigo!?” she cried in surprise.

“The one and only. I had told Applejack that I could change forms and I believe that she told the rest of you. It seems that fact might have slipped your mind or most of you thought I was just stretching the truth for entertainment, or something. In the past, I regularly changed my form so that I could blend in and travel in peace. I would only return to my true form if a fight was beyond the form I had chosen. Now, i tend to keep to my draconic form and this one. There’s truly no need for others, unless it’s for fun,” Draigo explained.

After a short ascent, they reached the surface. They appeared exactly where Draigo had sunk into the earth and Spike was waiting for them.

“What took you so long?” Spike asked.

“Sorry, there were more dogs down there than I initially thought. They put up a decent fight but couldn’t penetrate my armor,” Draigo explained as he walked over to him.

“You okay Rarity?” Spike asked.

“Yes, perfectly fine. Draigo’s prompt rescue saved me from being hurt. It didn’t save my fur from being blemished, though. I’ll be scrubbing this rust residue for hours!” Rarity exclaimed while she showed Spike the blemishes.

Draigo and Spike were chuckling at her remark when they heard flapping wings approach them. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw Princess Celestia, still in her armor, landing nearby.

“I thought I sensed your magic from this area Draigo. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you in a bipedal form. Are you feeling better or did something try to attack you back at Sweet Apple Acres?” Celestia asked.

“It’s nice to see you again, Celestia. It’s also been awhile since I’ve seen you wearing that armor. Nothing attacked me at the farm. Several somethings attacked me just a few moments ago, though. Some bad memories were refreshed last night and I tried to get the rage out of my system. I’m fine now thanks to the catharsis I experienced during my fight earlier. I’m sorry to have worried you. I’ll make sure to make it up to you and the others. For now, though, let’s get these two back to town,” he said as he grew a pair of wings and took off with Rarity still in his arms.

Celestia grabbed Spike in her magic and took off after him. They were joined by any of Celestia’s guards that saw them. Celestia had one of them inform the rest of the guard that they could return to Ponyville. All were silent as they flew. Draigo knew that Celestia would lay into him once they were alone.

As they flew over the town many looked up to see the pair fly by. There were a few who bolted for a building, but many saw Celestia and relaxed since she was flying beside the new being.

They soon reached Rarity's boutique. Draigo put Rarity down as she bolted inside to begin scrubbing hey hooves clean. Spike stood outside with Celestia and Draigo.

"Okay, care to explain a bit?" Spike asked.

"I'll answer what I deem you need to know," Draigo answered.

"Okay. What is that form? Why did you create that giant pillar? Why did you disappear on us? You had all of us really worried. If Princess Celestia hadn't told us to go about our business we'd have been looking for you as well," Spike proclaimed in an annoyed tone.

"This is my first form. My form before becoming what I am today. I created that pillar to try to get rid of a sensation inside of me. It didn't work as well as I had hoped so I went away so that I wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone while I calmed down," Draigo answered with a patient tone.

"While that is all nice and good. There is much more I'd like to talk to you about Draigo," Celestia chimed in.

"Spike, please tell Rarity that I can create all the gems she still needs. Now, I must go to Sweet Apple Acres to fix the land that I burned," he said as he ignored Celestia and took off once more with her hot on his heels.

"You won't get out of this that easily Draigo!" Celestia yelled at him.

Draigo dreaded being alone with her at the moment. He knew the power of her lecturing. It was one of the things he feared in this world.

They flew along and soon landed at the Apple family house. Draigo walked up and knocked on the door. After a while of waiting and receiving no answer, he walked off toward the area he burned.

It wasn't a long walk, but it seemed longer than before. It didn't help that he was pointedly ignoring Celestia. She had been glaring at him ever since they left the boutique.

As he got closer he noticed each of the Apples were working to get rid of the ash that covered the area. He silently reached out with his magic and overturned a quarter of the scorched land. Doing this added the ash and everything else to the ground as a fertilizer for the future.

The Apples looked up and gasped when they saw the pair walking towards them. Each were apprehensive about the crimson and gold being. Draigo stopped at the edge of the scorched circle and continued to overturn the earth.

"I'm sorry. There's no excuse for this. I'll return this land to how it was," Draigo said with a sad but serious voice.

"Draigo? Is tha you?" Applebloom asked.

Draigo nodded his head in response as he overturned another piece of the land. The Apples got off the scorched area and trotted over to the pair. They stopped a couple feet away and looked him up and down. Applebloom and Applejack stepped closer. Applejack gestured for him to lean down. Draigo complied and got hit by both ponies. Applejack hit his head and Applebloom kicked his shin. Neither hurt but he reacted none the less.

"Okay, I may have deserved that," he said as he rubbed his head and shin.

"Ya think? Ya scare me worse than Ah've ever been scared, ya burn our land, disappear without a word and then come back like it's nothin' big and in a different form ta boot!" Applejack ranted at him.

"Well, I'm sorry I scared you and made you worry so much. I disappeared so I wouldn't take anything out on someone who doesn't deserve it. It's out of my system now," he said as he finished turning the rest of the land over.

"Now, is there anything I can do, besides restoring the land, to make it up to you?" Draigo asked the family before him.

"Nnope,” Big Mac replied.

“Well, there’s nothin’ ya can do for us but the Princess seems ticked at ya. Ya might want ta be askin’ her instead of us,” Applejack said.

“Yes, she’s been trying to bore a hole in my armor ever since we left Spike and Rarity at the boutique. I should probably go tell the rest of the girls that I’m back and everything is alright. I don’t want to have them being worried any longer than necessary, “ Draigo said as he desperately tried to not be alone with Celestia.

“Oh! I can go do tha for ya, Mister Draigo!” Applebloom said as she ran off to do so.

Crap, there goes that idea. Guess it’s time to face the music. Draigo turned to look at the still glaring princess.

“Celestia, is there anything I can do to make up for the trouble I caused you?” Draigo asked while looking down into Celestia’s eyes. She only came up to his shoulders while in this form.

“Come to the castle with me. There are more things we need to discuss, besides this incident. I’d like Luna to sit in on this as well. She’s still back at the castle taking care of the citizenry in my absence,” Celestia said as she took off with her guard.

“...I’ll see you guys later,” Draigo said to the Apples and sighed as he took off after Celestia.

Court Conundrums

View Online

Draigo and Celestia were flying away from Sweet Apple Acres towards Canterlot when the guard ponies Celestia brought with her formed around them. Draigo hadn’t realized how many she had brought with her to search for him. It seemed like she had brought every single pegasi on duty. He didn’t know what to think about that. Whether she was truly concerned about his safety, her citizens safety, or figured it would take this much for her to find him. Well, it was probably a mixture of all of those reasons.

As soon as they were within the boundaries of Canterlot Celestia released her guard. Each guard seemed reluctant to leave their ruler without an escort, but they obeyed none the less. With the guardsmen gone, Celestia changed her flight course. Draigo followed behind her and realized they were headed toward the royal gardens. She must want some privacy for our discussion.

As they landed they were greeted with the sounds of birds chirping and a babbling brook. The gardens were peaceful and serene. There were many places within the gardens that would afford them privacy. So, it surprised Draigo when Celestia walked into the castle. Draigo changed back into his draconic form, now only a little taller than Celestia, and followed her through the castle. He felt his magic reserves deplete even further, just as he did with the pillar and his initial form change.

They stopped by Celestia’s room so she could change out of her armor and into her regalia and continued their journey. In a few minutes, they were just outside of the throne room. Many panicked voices could be heard on the other side of the doors. Celestia seemed reluctant to go through the doors, but one glance at Draigo gave her a bit of comfort. He was the reason for the panicked voices, but Celestia couldn’t help feeling comfortable around him since they had known each other for so long.

With a deep breath, Celestia brought her ‘politician mask’ on and walked through the doors with Draigo walking a couple steps behind her. The panicked voices didn’t stop as she trotted up onto the dais to sit in the throne connected to Luna’s. Luna, for one, seemed relieved when she saw Celestia enter and sit down. Luna was unsure why Celestia had brought Draigo along but took comfort knowing he was here and unharmed. They both looked down at the gathered ponies and Celestia realized why they didn’t stop. No pony was looking at the throne. They were so panicked that they had apparently forgotten about Luna’s presence and had started deliberating amongst themselves. Luna explained that she had gotten them to quiet down a few times, but they would work themselves back into a panic after a few murmurs of doubt. She had continued this pattern a few times before she gave up and hoped they would burn themselves out.

Draigo ignored the gathered mass and wrapped himself around the sister’s thrones with his head, neck, and forelegs on Celestia’s side. He figured this could take awhile. He truly didn’t care what happened with the mortals gathered here, but he did care what happened with the two immortals in front of him.

A few minutes passed as Celestia waited patiently for either a quiet moment or one of her subjects to notice her presence. Neither happened so she began to sing, to try to calm them and make them realize she was present. Luna and Draigo joined her after they figured out which song she was singing.

The panicked ponies looked up to the throne and enjoyed their rulers’ song. The song was calm and beautiful. It had the exact effect Celestia was hoping for. The crowd noticed Celestia sitting next to Luna and looking at them with her warm smiling face. They relaxed seeing that but tensed when they saw Draigo wrapped around the thrones with his tail twitching back and forth beside Luna’s throne. None of them spoke however as they waited for Celestia to address them.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, I assume you are all here concerning the pillar that was seen early this morning. That issue has been dealt with and normalcy has been returned. I will answer a few questions to help ease your minds. Now, one at a time please approach the throne to ask a question,” Celestia addressed to them.

“Who is the dragon behind you, Princess?”

“His name is Draigo. He is an old friend,” Luna answered.

“Why is he here?”

“He is here to discuss a few things with us,” Celestia said as she got a curious glance from Luna.

“Will you tell us what caused the pillar?”

“That would be me. I created that pillar,” Draigo chimed in as he smirked at them.

The ponies took a collective step back at that statement. After a little pushing was seen a unicorn with a flame cutie mark stepped forward with a skeptical look on his face.

“How could somepony your size create such a massive pillar? Dragons can breathe fire, but none has ever been seen or heard of breathing flame anywhere near that size. You must be lying for your own benefit. You aren’t even a fully grown dragon. You probably can’t even match my best flame spell. Now, get away from the princesses you overgrown skink!” the pony ranted.

“I'm not a pony and you would do well to remember to not tread upon a dragon’s pride unless you can back it up. I’ll give you one shot,” Draigo said as he stepped out from behind the thrones and slow walked down the dais.

“I’m sorry. He deserves this for what he’s said,” he told the royal sisters.

Once Draigo was on the ground in front of the dais he faced the pony and spread his wings to their full wingspan. He growled and bore his fearsome teeth in a display of predatory intimidation. Everypony took a few steps away from their compatriot as he began to shake from the aura coming off of Draigo.

“You may cast your best fire spell whenever you want,” Draigo said as he laid down, still glaring at the shaking pony.

“D-Don’t blame me if you get hurt, you cocky dragon!” the pony said as he charged and fired his spell.

A massive bolt of fire rocketed toward Draigo, hitting him square in the chest. Flames erupted and covered a 25-foot area. The pony began to laugh in triumph. After a few moments, his laughter died down and the flames receded. As the flames receded Draigo reappeared. He was still laying there looking at the pony. The flames completely extinguished and the pony looked on in disbelief. Draigo wasn’t even phased. Nothing around him was burnt, not even the ground around him bore any trace of the fire spell.

As the ponies continued to look on in awe Draigo went one step further. He began to grow in size. It wouldn’t take him long to fully grow usually, but he took his time so he could snake his tail and neck around. He didn’t want to destroy anything unnecessarily. Once he finished growing the ponies were backing up in fear. He blocked the princesses from their view due to taking up over half the room's height. The challenging pony was cowering on the ground expecting some form of retaliation.

Draigo looked down upon the foolish pony and flared his aura. The pony looked like he wanted to run but was frozen in place by the amount of fear Draigo had induced in him. Draigo shrank back to his previous size and resumed his position behind the thrones.

“That will be all for today. Court will reopen tomorrow. Lieutenant, escort these ponies out and then make sure no one enters the throne room,” Celestia ordered as she smiled at Draigo.

“Thank you for not hurting him. I know how insulting that was for you to hear. Would you please come out from there so we don’t have to turn around to speak to you properly,” Celestia said once the room was cleared.

“He wasn’t worth it. So, besides talking about the giant episode I had this morning, what did you want to talk about?” Draigo said as he walked around to lay down in front of them. His wings were tight to his body and his tail twitched back and forth, indicating his apprehension and nervousness.

"First, how have you been? It's been a long time since we've both seen you and there wasn't much time to catch up when I visited you in that cave. Did you ever find someone special?" Celestia asked hoping to break the tension Draigo was holding onto.

"I've been well. It has been a long time since we last caught up. Even with all that time I haven't found anyone special. There were interesting people but none that interested me in that way," Draigo said with a thoughtful look.

"We are sorry to hear that. Thou art a wonderful drake. We had assumed you'd find someone. What dost thou think of the Element Bearers?" Luna asked

"Their dynamic isn't bad, but they need to work on their power output. With the amount I witnessed, I'm surprised they made it through the Everfree. Sure, Pinkie's cannon would deter most things but I doubt she uses it as a weapon very often. There was too much confetti and streamers coming from it to be an actual fighting tool." Draigo still didn't know how Pinkie pulled that cannon out of nowhere and it took a moment for him to stop trying to figure it out.

"The one I'm worried about the most is Fluttershy. She's very kind but if it comes down to a fight she'll be a liability as she is. She has an excellent ability, but she can't use it at will right now. She could be a great deterrent. To be so she'll need to get used to actively accessing the magic in her eyes without being on an emotional high." Draigo paused to go over their fight in his head. It hadn't been a long fight, but it was long enough for him to figure some things out.

"I suggest giving Twilight and Rarity combat magic lessons to widen their repertoire. Rainbow and Applejack are very physical and need armor, they all do, and close combat training. Pinkie seems like a support role more than anything. She'll need some training to predict who needs what kind of support. Finally, Spike will be a great asset once he grows some more and gets some training," Draigo listed off.

"We expected something like this, but tis still surprising how much thou canst glean with a single combat scenario. We will suggest to our ponies that they train and acquire some armor for protection. Whether they do so or not will be up to them," Luna commented.

"Fair enough. Are they at least guarded right now? I would assume so since they wield this country's last line of defense," Draigo asked.

"We have some 'plainclothes' guards down there as well as the town guard. The plainclothes are there should Twilight and her friends need the help. So far, they haven't. Now, what were you thinking using that much power so visibly and so early in the morning! You could have hurt somepony! You obviously didn’t think about the consequences of that light show! We’ve got an entire country on edge due to your recklessness! An ENTIRE COUNTRY! Do you realize how much work that’s given Luna and I!? Not only that you had both of us worried that something horrible had happened to you!" Celestia shouted as she grabbed him and shook him. Once she stopped she sat right in front of him and waited for his answer.

Draigo was stunned by the sudden display. He’d been expecting a lecture from her but didn’t expect yelling and shaking to accompany it. He noticed that Celestia had the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She had obviously worried about him more than he’d thought. Draigo looked anywhere he could, just not at her, while trying to think of a way to alleviate this situation. With a sigh he then gently embraced her.

"I'm sorry. A memory that I thought I'd never think of again was brought back to the forefront of my mind. There is a single being that I loathe the most. The gypsy who sent me to this universe and turned me into what I am. I've gotten over being like I am, but I still seek retribution for being forcibly sent and changed," Draigo spoke as he held Celestia close. He motioned for Luna to come over. As she walked over he unfurled his wings and held out one of his arms. He embraced them both with his arms and wrapped his wings and tail around them.

"I'm sorry I made you worry so much. Please. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you both," Draigo softly spoke as they held each other.

"Stay. Stay with us. We've missed you and being able to do things like this. You're one of the few that we don't have to say goodbye to after only a century. So please, stay with us," Celestia pleaded while Luna nodded her agreement enthusiastically.

"As you wish," he responded as he gently squeezed them.

Eventually, Draigo broke the embrace and wrapped himself around their thrones once more. He decided to grow just enough that he could completely encircle the thrones as the two sisters retook their seats. Celestia summoned one of her guards and had him bring her captain of the guard to the throne room.

It didn’t take long for the captain to arrive. He was a white unicorn wearing purple armor with a two-toned blue mane and tail. Upon entering, he noticed that both his princesses were present and that a strange dragon was with them. Once the fact that a dragon was wrapped around the royal thrones finally clicked in his head, he began to charge a spell.

“Shining Armor, we know thou art just trying to protect us, but we are in no danger. If anything, attacking him would put thee in danger," Luna informed him.

This caused his magic to sputter out. He looked on at his princesses and finally noticed that neither of them showed the usual signs of being under duress. He then looked closer at the dragon and noticed its eyes and scale colors.

"You wouldn't happen to be called 'Draigo', would you?" Shining asked.

"What is it to you?" Draigo answered. He would've been more pleasant but was insulted that this so called 'captain' thought he'd hurt his friends.

"My sister sent me a letter telling me about a dragon, matching your description, who was living in Ponyville. She also mentioned that he was staying with her friend, Applejack," Shining told him.

"Who might your sister be?" Draigo asked.

"My sister is Twilight Sparkle."

"Huh, I can't see any family resemblance."

"Now that you mention it; neither can I," Celestia piped in.

"Most ponies say that, but the family resemblance is in our magical auras," Shining told the group.

"We've gotten off topic. Shining Armor, Draigo will be staying with us from now on. He is a friend of ours. Please tell the rest of the guard so they don't get hurt," Celestia told her captain of the guard.

"Begging your pardon Princess but 'get hurt'? I'm confident that myself and a group of five others could take him on without getting hurt," Shining said with pride.

"I'm going to ignore that semblance of a challenge, Shining Armor. Perhaps one day I’ll test your mettle,” Draigo responded with a mild growl.

"Now, now. There's no need to get worked up again after you just intimidated that other group, Draigo," Celestia spoke in a calming voice.

"You're right, Celestia. Not that it was very difficult. I digress. Shining Armor, while I'm sure your guard is adequately trained I'm also sure they've yet to encounter something like myself. I’ll do my best to keep to this form while around the castle and city area. If your guard should encounter a being that is unusual, have them ask it to change into draconic form. Should they refuse or change into the wrong draconic form, deal with them as necessary,” Draigo explained.

“Do you agree with him, Princesses?”

“We see not why his advice should be ignored. Dost thou, Sister?”

“Hmm, no. That seems like a wise precaution to me. See to it that it gets implemented as soon as possible, Shining Armor. Now, do you have any questions or concerns, Captain?”

“None at this time, Your Highness.”

“Very well, you are dismissed.”

Shining Armor saluted and left. Once more the three were left alone. Each of them were thinking of how different their lives were going to be now that they were living in the same place. They were just enjoying each other’s company when Celestia remembered something.

“Draigo, I’m sorry to say but since you staying with us happened so suddenly...we won’t have a place for you to sleep tonight,” Celestia said with a little worry in her voice.

“Hmm, would you be opposed to me sleeping in the treasury? It’d be no different from how the other dragons sleep on their hoards. I won’t be claiming it as my own unless you tell me to,” Draigo inquired.

“So long as you allow those ponies who access it for their jobs here in the castle to do so, I see no problem. We will arrange a room for you as well, should you feel the need for an actual bed,” Celestia answered as she imagined the reaction of the first pony to walk into the treasury seeing a dragon sleeping on top of the royal treasury. She’d have to put up a sign or something until her staff got used to Draigo being here. For now though she’d enjoy the change of pace that his presence instilled.

"I'll need to send Applejack a letter explaining the new arrangements. Now, are there any duties you'd like me to perform now that I'm living in your castle? It’s only right that I pull my own weight," Draigo wondered.

"Well, have you considered doing weather patrol? It’d be killing a few birds with one stone. You’d be able to patrol the city and surrounding land, have the citizens get used to you being around and earn a few bits. I know you don’t need the money but not everypony takes crystals and other precious items for payment," Celestia.

"Okay, I'll give that a shot. I’ll contact the weather team captain tomorrow. Now, I do believe it's time for dinner," Draigo said noticing it had gotten fairly late in the day.

"Wouldst thou join us tonight?" Luna asked.

"Twould be my honor. There is something very important I need to give you as well as tell you about," Draigo spoke as he stood up.

The private dinning hall the princesses used wasn't a long walk from the throne room. As they settled into their respective chairs servants appeared as if from nowhere. The food was brought out and placed on the table as if a feast was planned. The presence of a dragon didn't seem to phase ponies at all as they came and went in a blur. The food looked great and he took special note of the bowl of gems in front of him.

Before Draigo knew it, the table was filled and the sisters were serving themselves as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He decided to follow suit and soon had his plate filled with food. Before either of the princesses began eating, Draigo cleared his throat to get their attention.

"There's something both of you should know. The dream last night made me remember more than just my hate for that gypsy. Those memories are also tied to this," He said as he reached between his scales and brought out the hourglass he made. "This is called a token. It allows others to summon me for help and I can use their token to summon them. There are many objects like it in other universes. They are created by beings known as 'Displaced'. Displaced are beings that are originally from another universe that were transported to their current universe via magic. Most of these beings gained powers due to this. I am one of those beings. I want you to have this token so that you may summon me, should the need arise," he explained as the royal sisters examined the hourglass.

Celestia enveloped the proffered hourglass in her magic to get a closer look. After a moment, she reached out a hoof cautiously. When her hoof made contact, Draigo's message played out in her mind. Celestia's eyes went wide for a moment but quickly returned to normal before sweeping to Draigo.

"I take it that you heard the message I put into it?" he asked as Celestia removed her hoof from the hourglass.

"Yes, I did. Is there anything else we should know about?"

"There's a possibility of others finding a token and summoning the displaced it's associated with. Some of the displaced are good while others aren't. Should either come through, tell me and I'll deal with them. I'm setting up these measures because I can't be everywhere at once and I'd rather not have some unknown being messing with your two or our friends." Draigo answered as he gazed out a window.

"Draigo, we appreciate the concern but we can take care of ourselves," Celestia responded confidently.

"While I know both of you are very powerful, there are bound to be beings as strong, if not stronger, than I am. Heck, there's probably some that can bend reality," he told them.

The two sisters were a tad shocked at Draigo's admission. They looked at each other, hoping they had misheard and saw each other's shocked expressions. They had both believed that no one could be as strong, let alone stronger, than their draconic friend.

"That should be everything you need to know about the Displaced. There's one other be-"

Draigo was interrupted by a white hoof being placed over his mouth. He looked at Celestia with a curious expression. Celestia removed her hoof and smiled at him.

"I believe that we've talked enough for today about gloomy and stressful subjects. I propose that, once we've finished dinner, we all head to my room to roast marshmallows, tell stories, and enjoy each other's company."

"What a most wondrous idea, sister. We second the aforementioned proposal." Luna said as she clopped her forehooves together in excitement.

"As you wish," Draigo relief as he began to eat the wonderful smelling did before him.

The meal progressed in content silence. Each of the three immortals merely enjoying being in each other's presence. Soon enough they had finished eating and Celestia grabbed Draigo by the claw to guide him to her room, Luna following right behind them.

Two guards were posted outside of Celestia's room. They came to attention as the princesses and their guest arrived. Word had already spread about Draigo apparently since neither guard even batted an eye as he was pulled into Celestia's room by the self-same princess. The guards relaxed once more once the door was shut behind them.

Draigo was impressed by how luxurious yet practical Celestia's room was. There was just enough finery to know that it was a princess' room but not so much that he had to be careful where he stepped. Along one of the walls was a good sized fireplace that had a log cabin already built inside of it. Before Celestia could light the fire herself, Draigo blew a small stream of fire onto the logs. Roasting sticks and marshmallows were quickly distributed. Draigo opted to use his claws instead, though.

The festivities continued long after the fire had consumed all its fuel. The stories, jokes, and reminiscing were only interrupted by the raising of the moon and lowering of the sun. With each passing hour after the sun set the room's temperature steadily dropped. None of the three felt like missing a single word so both the fire and blankets were ignored. Instead, the two Alicorns scooted closer to Draigo since he radiated heat like a furnace. This made Draigo a bit uncomfortable, he liked them more than others, but he wasn't sure how he felt exactly. He was also uncertain how they felt about him.

After a while Draigo found both of the princesses had fallen asleep against him. Not wanting to wake them, and thus incur their wrath, he just slipped his wings over them and fell asleep himself. A dragon could get used to something like this. That's going to take quite a bit more time, though.

The next morning Draigo woke to find that both princesses were gone. He figured that they were taking care of their royal duties and took off from Celestia's balcony to see about getting a job with the weather team. Not long after he took flight he grew to his full size so he could get there faster. His flight was interrupted by a portal opening up right in front of him. Whoever is on the other side of this is very lucky that I had a wonderful night and I'm feeling really generous.

***********************************************************************************************************************

In another part of the world, a pure white dragon was laying on his horde and chuckling to himself. He played with the artifact that he wore around his neck. There were a few embedded gems that looked full while the rest had a hollow look to them. The dragon tenderly ran a claw across those that were full, feeling the power resting inside of them. It was only a matter of time until he would fly out and challenge the being most of his race thought was a god. After his inevitable victory, he would claim the right that should be his already and then overthrow all who opposed him.

Magical Source, Mystic Force

Author's Notes:

Holy Crap! This took forever to edit, re-edit, and then have someone proofread for me. Thank you to Dangerbrony for helping with the proofreading/editing. The link is to the chapter AvexedAuthor and I crossover in. Both that chapter and the next chapter I'll be posting are crossovers with mature stories. I've changed my rating to mature so that I can add links to any story I crossover with and so I don't have to censor other author's work when they come to my story. If this changes your opinion of the story or me please know that I tried to keep my story to a 'teen' rating so that as many people as possible could read it. Anyway, I'm rambling now. The next chapter will be out in a few days once I've re-read it a few times for editing. After that, it'll be awhile since I'm now out of chapters that I've been working on or already finished writing.

Welcome to Insanity

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Draigo had just returned from being summoned by Jhurdan and was settling down for a nice nap. He'd chosen a nice cliff that offered a wonderful view of Canterlot. It had been a very nice experience with Jhurdan and he’d like to go to other worlds and meet more people. There was the added bonus of being able to test out whether or not his reserves got drained while in other worlds as well as this one when he used his powers. Hopefully, he could figure this out before he couldn’t use his powers anymore.

There were, of course, dangers in every world that he could visit. There was even the possibility of him not being able to return on his own due to some magic or other shenanigans. That’s why he had given Celestia the original token he’d created. Now he could be summoned by anyone and not worry about whether he was needed in this world. As he was thinking of his token a rift opened up and deposited something right in front of him.

The object looked like a white spider with two red blades crossing over it. Hmm, don’t remember seeing this symbol before. Draigo reached out with a claw and lifted it from the ground. Once he had touched it a message was heard coming from it.

“Greetings, Displaced. If you are holding this token, then you are eligible to enter a… Competition. More information shall be given if you choose to summon one or more of my assistants. They are all Displaced such as yourself. Time Spinner,” It said.

Draigo was curious about what kind of ‘competition’ this was going to be and decided to summon this ‘Time Spinner’.

“Time Spinner, come and explain more about this competition. If you should pique my interest I will be more than happy to join in,” Draigo said while holding the token in his claw.

As soon as he said that, a red, orange and yellow vortex appeared. It held a demonic aura to it, and Draigo heard three feminine screams as the same number of ponies ran out, with one covered in some kind of white substance.

“Are you three alright?” Draigo asked as he examined the three mares that looked similar to Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. He noticed that ‘Twilight’ had wings and a different cutie mark, Rainbow’s colors were off and she had horns instead of ears, and ‘Fluttershy’ had a red and white top hat on with a red mane and white tail instead of pink. The differences were noticeable enough that he knew they weren’t the ponies he knew down in Ponyville.

‘Fluttershy’ noticed him first, and cowered away. “U-um… Girls...?” She had a strange voice that was sort of annoying to Draigo.

‘Rainbow’ turned to ‘Fluttershy’ and asked, “What is it Shout? Did she get ya?” Dash’s voice sounded metallic, almost like a robot. “If she did, I swear I’ll kill her!”

‘Twilight’ noticed Draigo next, her eyes widened a bit, “Well, crap… Rainbine, look.” Her voice was demonic and had a bit of an echo to it.

Rainbine turned to Draigo and groaned, “Not this again…” Followed by a growl from the Twilight, and a weak attempt to seem strong by Shout.

“Well, I was expecting only one being from that and I got three. Are any of you ‘Time Spinner’?” Draigo said as he encircled them with his tail and neck in case they tried something.

“At least he didn’t threaten us like the last two…” Shout said quietly.

Rainbine came up to Draigo’s face and pronounced, “Nope! Could we go to Sugarcube Corner? I heard from Brutal’s girlfriend that they have the best milkshakes!”

‘Twilight’ ignored her and stepped forward. “Hello, I’m Brutalight Sparcake. This is Rainbine Dash, and the shy one is Fluttershout.”

“No, none of us are Time Spinner. He’s our Displacer, and the token should have said that one or more of his assistants would come and offer information.” Rainbine said.

Fluttershout flicked the white goo that was on her away. “I need a bath…”

“Ah, it did say that. I had assumed the token was set to summon him, though. Oh well, either way I get more information. Before that, Miss Shout. Would you like hot or cold water?” Draigo asked as he prepared to use some of his power.

“Uh, hot…” She replied.

Summoning some water, Draigo formed it around the mare and began to heat it up slowly.

“Just tell me when to stop heating the water.”

After a little bit, Fluttershout nodded, indicating it was good.

Draigo stopped heating the water and held its temperature steady so she could enjoy her bath.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any shampoo, soap or anything else, but a good hot bath is something I’m glad to provide,” he said as he watched her begin to scrub off the white substance.

“Okay, on to business-” Brutalight started before getting cut off by Rainbine.

“Hey! Celestia isn’t evil here, right?”

“No, she isn’t. She’s a very benevolent ruler that I’ve known since before she became a princess,” Draigo answered the robotic sounding mare.

“Finally! Ya hear that Brute? A nice Princess. So I win the bet!” Rainbine announced with pride.

Brutalight glared at Rainbine, “I get it. They’re not all alike, now shut up.”

Rainbine started dancing on air, singing “I got one hundred bits!” Over and over.

“Now, I do have to tell you that she will fight for her kingdom and those dear to her. So, stay on her good side. Have you run into a lot of ‘evil’ Celestia’s?” Draigo asked curiously.

Brutalight shuddered. “Just to name a few, there was the one that killed a Displaced’s friend for no reason, the one that’s been trying to kill a heroic Displaced and his Twilight, and ours… The molester… Ugh…”

“Yeah, we were just runnin' from her! She freaks us out…” Rainbine said, “She’s mostly evil, and insane…”

“Well, I’m glad you got away. I’m sorry to hear that there’s bad Celestias but not surprised since there’s too many universes for there not to be some. We’ve gotten off topic, though. What can you tell me of this competition and the current participants?” Draigo asked to hopefully bring them back to the reason they were summoned.

“Oh, yeah… Apologies.” Brutalight began, “About a few days ago, two Displaced’s, Lee Connors and Darth Folteren engaged in a battle. There were several harsh things both sides did and said, and now the two are murderous to each other. Lee chopped Folteren’ daughter’s wing off, and Folteren cut Twilight’s horn off while also doing severe damage to her by electrically shocking her. Now there’s a war between Displaced… Mostly harmless, though.” She waited for Draigo’s reaction.

“Who started all of this and why?”

“Time Spinner was trying to exterminate a little douche named Killjoy through the two Displaced. They seemed to be friendly towards each other until Killjoy tricked Lee into injuring Scootaloo, Folteren’s daughter. Lee made a rude comment about Folteren not being a good father, and Folteren blew it. Even after everything was fixed, Folteren tried to attack Lee and Time decided that a brutal free for all wasn’t worth the damage they could do in Lee’s world, so he made the War of Shadows, where Displaced can join Lee’s Alliance of Heroes or Folteren’s Empire of Nightmares.” Brutalight elaborated as she scrubbed Fluttershout’s back.

“It’s all so pointless.” Shout mumbled.

“While I agree that most wars are pointless, Miss Shout. The one’s who started the fighting never see it that way, at least in the beginning. Now, did Lee ever apologize or try to make things right?”

“He did, but Folteren cut his crush’s horn off. And in this war, no Displaced will get hurt. If you die, you’ll just be sent back home for a bit.” Brutalight added.

“Hmm, interesting. That precaution is mainly for those that don’t have some form of immortality, I’d assume. Is there anything at stake here or is it all to try to assuage hurt feelings? Also, are both sides fairly even for power or is one side far outshining the other?” Draigo asked, he figured he knew the answer to the first question already but wanted to confirm his thoughts.

“Well, the winner get’s to injure the loser and cripple their adventure. So if Lee wins, Folteren loses his empire he built up and gains an injury. If Folteren win’s, Lee loses some of his powers along with Celestia knowing who he’s with, which is Twilight Sparkle. As for the power levels of both sides-” Brutalight was once again cut off by Rainbine.

“It’s mostly fifty-fifty, even if you count that Lee’s got TWO mutherfudging dragons and Folteren… I’m not sure he has any… But Folty’s got Sylar! A guy who’s power is as strong as EVERY SINGLE BEING IN A UNIVERSE!!! Guy could take on just about anyone… But that might be stretching it…” Rainbine slowed, “I think Lee’s got Metroplex, the Autobot Transformer base, but Spinner has a solution to that.”

“Oh? There’s other dragons in this war? Well, that is interesting. The others are interesting, but I haven’t heard of them before,” Draigo said sounding more interested than before.

Rainbine giggled, “I wonder why. Metroplex is a city, and Sylar is from a TV show called Heroes. He’s a villain that kills super humans and learns what makes them tick. Usually by cutting your head open. Him and Jubilee joined each side, Jubilee joining Lee’s and you know Sylar. They will do anything you say, so be careful what you do.”

“I’ll remember that for when I encounter them, thank you. Are you girls participating as well or are you just doing things like this?”

“We’re not sure which side to join. Most likely Shout is going neutral, and Rainbine is thinking of joining Lee while I’m thinking of joining Folteren.” Brutalight exclaimed, “As for our friends, Rarifruit is going with Lee, Pinkis is a Folteren fan, and Apple Pills isn’t even going to come.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, there’s a few more questions I’d like to ask but I think I’ll be joining Folteren’s side. Lee’s got the other dragons so I’d like a chance to test my mettle against them. Do participants get anything?”

Brutalight looked more eager to help, “If you join Folteren, you get an Insanity Shard. It amplifies all of your abilities, but causes you to go berserk. You’ll gain Folteren’s friendship, and he’s a good ally to have. He’s a father of three fillies, he’s a ruler of his Equestria, he has an army of Battle Droids, and he’s a Sith Lord.”

“You can also ask for stuff from the dark lord himself, so there’s a possibility of more.” Rainbine added, “Look’s like Flutter’s done.”

Draigo pulled the water away from Fluttershout and flung it over the cliffside. “Feel better, Miss Shout?”

She nodded, “Yes, thank you.”

“What is your name anyway?” Asked Rainbine, tilting her head.

“Ah, forgive me. My name is Draigo and I’m a Primordial Dragon,” he said as he stood up and stretched out all of his limbs. “I’ve got one last question then we can head over to Sugarcube Corner for those milkshakes.”

As Rainbine shouted in victory, Brutalight asked, “Yes? And what would that be Draigo?”

“Since this is a war, I’m assuming that we are meeting somewhere and having a massive fight. Would I be correct in assuming so?”

“No, it’s more… Okay, so Folteren and his generals Chaos Jenny and Cole MacGrath will give you missions. You can, if you want, have a one on one battle, two on two, or three on three if you want, and points will be given to your side should you win. It’s like Super Smash Brothers, or even Pokemon’s wireless link ups. But for the main fights, you must defeat special foes like Shining Armor, or a Displaced that’s been set up at a base. Take over a base, or obtain info. Depending on what the Empire wants to give you as a mission. Obviously with your size, you’ll be destroying bases along with beating enemies.” Brutalight said with happiness that seemed like Twilight when she’d be teaching someone.

“Yeah, yeah, he gets it. Can we go now?” Rainbine asked impatiently.

“I’m not always this big. I live with Celestia and Luna in their castle. To fit I shrink down to their size, but that hardly matters right now. Let’s get those shakes. Now, Fluttershout and Rainbine can fly but can you get to Ponyville from here, Brutalight?” Draigo asked forgetting she has wings.

“I’m an Alicorn, I can handle it.” She fluttered her wings a bit. She took to the air confidently and followed the others.

“You sure Brute? I saw you faceplant into Canterlot yesterday…” Fluttershout said teasingly.

Brutalight was silent for a moment, “... I hit a bird…”

“You hit a bird and it knocked you out of the sky?” Draigo asked disbelievingly.

“Oh! I think Derpigun said Brute had Ornithophobia, the fear of birds!” Rainbine said, causing Fluttershout to cackle with laughter.

“I’m confused how a being who has what amounts to bird wings is afraid of birds, but everyone has something that makes them unique. Now, are you sure you can keep up, you three?” Draigo asked as he took to the skies and waited for them. Rainbine quickly followed with the same speed as Dash, followed by Brutalight who had average speed and then Fluttershout, who had less than average. They seemed to keep up pretty well though.

“Alright, let’s go get us some milkshakes. Last one there, beside Flutter, has to try one of Pinkie’s experimental cupcakes!” Draigo shouted as he sped toward Ponyville.

Rainbine sped ahead while Brutalight desperately tried to out fly them… She was going to lose so bad.

As they sped toward their ultimate goal of Sugarcube Corner. A certain cyan pegasus was out for her ten seconds of clearing the skies. As she finished up she looked in the direction of Canterlot and noticed Draigo was coming at a speed she hadn’t known he could pull off. As she continued to observe him she noticed a pegasus out in front of him with another behind him. She decided to meet them halfway and say ‘hi’.

“Oh, I should warn you. My Twilight isn’t an Alicorn. Be ready for a freak out should we meet her, or any of the others really,” Draigo yelled so they could hear him over the wind rushing past their ears.

Not long after he warned them Draigo noticed Rainbow coming towards them. He braced himself mentally for the coming tide and hoped for the best. It wasn’t long til Rainbine and Rainbow saw each other and stopped to hover just feet away from each other. Strangest thing was, Draigo thought he saw Rainbine blush.

As Draigo approached them he didn’t hear anything besides their wing beats. “Hey, Rainbow. What brings you out here?”

“Well, I just finished clearing the skies over Ponyville in ten seconds flat when I saw you flyin’ with two pegasi towards Ponyville. Who are your new friends anyway?” Rainbow asked with a curious expression on her face.

It was about the time Rainbow finished her question that Brutalight flew up from behind Draigo.

“Oh, crap! This is a long… way to Ponyville…” She said in between pants while Rainbine tried shying away from Dash.

“Wait, that pegasus has a horn and looks like Twilight. What the hay is going on, Draigo!” Rainbow yelled at Draigo.

“I’ll explain more once we’re on the ground, Dash. For now, let’s just say they are visitors. They heard of the milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner and wanted to try some before they left,” Draigo explained as he looked behind him to check on Fluttershout. She’d arrived a second later, looking less fatigued than Brutalight. More content than anything.

“Brutalight, can you make it the rest of the way or would you like to rest for a bit? We should go a little slower so we can arrive as a group. I think it’ll be better should the other girls see you three. Though by now everyone in town has noticed me due to my sheer size.”

“Then why don’t you shrink?” Asked Fluttershout.

“Well, I do need to shrink to fit into the buildings and it will cut down on the amount of ponies that notice us. Thanks, Shout,” Draigo said as he shrunk down to a little taller than Celestia. “Now let’s continue before Brutalight collapses from exhaustion.”

“Or a bird…” Muttered Rainbine before getting slapped by the Alicorn.

Their journey to Sugarcube Corner continued on in awkward silence. They soon found themselves outside of Sugarcube Corner. There were only a few ponies inside of the bakery and Pinkie was manning the cash register when they entered. The pink pony let out a gasp and rushed over as soon as she saw Draigo and the three new arrivals.

“You must be new in town. I should know since I know everpony in Ponyville. I’m going to throw you three of the best ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ parties ever!” Pinkie said excitedly as she bounced up and down in front of the trio.

“Um, thanks. You must be Miss Pie that Draigo told us about. I’m Sparcake, this is Bine, and that’s Shout.” Brutalight said, making sure to avoid telling Pinkie the truth until everypony else was there.

“Pinkie, could you get us four milkshakes and gather the rest of the girls?” Draigo asked hoping to keep the hyperactive party pony from annoying his guests too much.

“I’d like chocolate.” Said Fluttershout.

“Gimme a raspberry, please,” Rainbine asked.

“I would like a vanilla…” Brutalight looked tempted to say something else, but held back. “I’ll get our seats.”

“I’ll take a gem shake if you’ve got it Pinkie. If not, give me a chocolate. Oh, do you have any cupcake recipes that you’ve been experimenting with?” Draigo asked as he followed her toward the counter.

“Oooh, I just got done baking some Cherry Blueberry truffle cupcakes. Would you like to try one?” Pinkie said as she rung up the milkshakes.

“Yes, please. Thank you, Pinkie. How much do I owe you?”

“That’ll be six bits, please. I’ll get the rest of the girls once those shakes are done,” she said as Draigo pulled out six bits from between his scales.

“Thanks, how long do you think that’ll take?” Draigo asked as Pinkie began making their shakes.

“Oh, fifteen to twenty minutes.” she responded as she finished off the first shake.

“Okay, we’ll be here,” Draigo said as he walked over to the table Brutalight had grabbed for them.

“Well, it’s going to be about twenty minutes before everyone is gathered. Until then, let’s enjoy our shakes,” he said as he took his seat.

Brutalight started muttering lyrics to a song. “So what if I’m crazier than crazy, so what if I’m sicker than sick… Desperate… Desperate… So what…”

Rainbine started sipping her drink while humming a tune that matched Brutalight’s lyrics. Fluttershout shoved the two, stopping them from continuing.

“Sorry, they’re impatient ones.” Fluttershout apologized.

“It’s fine. Be warned, though, the residents here have been known to jump into random musical numbers when they hear someone singing. It’s fairly amusing to watch from afar though,” Draigo said with a chuckle.

“I once saw a guy use that to escape…” Brutalight said. “He ended up in the Everfree Forest, though… Meh, he’s fine, though.”

“Huh, good tactics. Bad choice of destination, though,” Draigo said as Pinkie showed up with the rest of their shakes and then left in a pink blur of motion. “I think Pinkie underestimated how fast she is. At that rate, she’ll have the rest of the girls here in no time.”

“Meh. She’s like my friend Cupcake… The psycho’s got fast legs, but she’s oblivious to it…” Fluttershout said.

“Well, is there anything you'd like to talk about while we wait?” Draigo asked as he drank his shake.

“Maybe… About you. Who were you before getting Displaced?” Fluttershout asked.

“Me? Well, I was working a decent job and had just completed my armor for a renaissance fair. My name is still the same. It got me made fun of a bit since it’s a fairly uncommon name, but I learned to like it. Other than that my life was fairly ordinary,” Draigo said as he sipped at his drink.

“I don’t think it’s funny,” Said Fluttershout, “I know some people who got teased for their name. Right, Brutalight?”

Brutalight nodded, “And if you didn’t realize, I was who she was talking about.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. To some people, it’s just easier to make fun of people to gain a little happiness than to try to be happy for real. They take the easy road where as true happiness takes more work than that. Is there anything else you’d like to know? I think we have enough time for one more question before everyone is here.” Draigo said as he tried to change the subject.

“Yeah?” They asked in unison.

“Yeah, so ask away if there is any that is.”

“Why’s everypo-” Brutalight was interrupted again by Rainbine.

“Do you have any crushes?” Two loud slaps echoed throughout the bakery. Fluttershout and Brutalight had both slapped Rainbine.

“Hahaha, I think your friends disagree with your choice of question. I do have two mares that I like more than the others,” Draigo said as he used his straw to stir his shake.

Rainbine reached over the table and lightly hit his shoulder, “Atta boy! See? That wasn’t as bad as last time!”

“Last time Folteren nearly cut you in half.” Brutalight scolded. “But, this makes me curious. Who?”

“Celestia and Luna. They are immortal like myself and treat me like a friend instead of a ‘god’ or something to be feared. They were the first to do so. I’m unsure if they like me the same way, though,” Draigo said as he gazed out the window.

“Oh, friend zoned, huh? And two sisters? Well, s’not too bad I guess. If they do, though, then you may have to pick one. I’m hoping for the best, dude,” Rainbine said.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ve been meaning to choose between the two, but I’ve been putting it off. Now that I’m living with them, though….It just means I have to choose quicker.”

“Don’t choose until you’re one hundred percent sure they do feel the same. I’d hate for you to choose and find out that one doesn’t love you that way.” Rainbine sighed, “Are they here yet?”

“Who’s here, silly filly?” Pinkie said as she popped out of nowhere. Rainbine yelped, jumping into the air.

“The Elements of Shmarmorny.” Brutalight said plainly.

“Oh, they’re right outside. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow were busy, though. They'll meet up with us later,” Pinkie said as the rest walked through the doors of the bakery.

Brutalight cleared her throat in an attempt at gaining their attention.

"Ah, they're over there girls," Twilight said as she began to walk over.

They all froze mid step once they saw Brutalight sitting at the table with Draigo. "Why don't you take a seat, girls? You'll probably need it," Draigo said to break the silence and was punctuated by Fluttershout sipping on her shake.

"Everyone this is Brute, Shout, and Bine."

“You can say our real names,” Brutalight said, standing up. “I am Brutalight Sparcake, Princess of Insanity… These are my friends, Fluttershout, and Rainbine Dash.” Brutalight pointed to the others, who waved back in confusion and shyness. “Back home, we are the Elements of Insanity along with our friends, Rarifruit, Apple Pills, and Pinkis Cupcake.”

"I summoned them here do they could provide me with some information about an event that's going to be happening soon. I haven't told you this yet, but they and I are alike. None of us were originally like how we are now. We're known as Displaced and there's many more of us." Draigo explained to them.

"Well, we knew you weren't normal Draigo, but now there's others like you. Are there going to be more 'Displaced' showing up from now on? Do the princesses know about this? Is there anything else we need to know about?" Twilight said as she began to panic a bit.

“First of all, we aren’t exactly like him. We’re more like a darker you. And for your questions, yes, maybe, probably.” Brutalight began, “I’m confused that you aren’t surprised I look like you… Or that Fluttershout and Rainbine are exactly like Shy and Dash.”

"Well, I was surprised and still am. Enough so that I decided to see how things played out before throwing questions at you one after another. I mean after Princess Celestia sent us to 'move a dragon'. We've all learned to slow down, listen and figure things out before we decide on the action needed. It didn't help that the dragon we had to 'move' ended up being Draigo." Twilight explained, "If I had listened to what he said instead of jumping to conclusions we could've solved the problem with having to fight him."

“Okay, enough on the recap… Wait,” Rainbine paused before she burst out laughing, “She’s- She’s more level headed than you! Ha!”

“Shut up, wingboner!” Brutalight snapped.

Rainbine slowed down, “Hey, it was one time. One time!”

“Can we get back on topic featherbrains?” Fluttershout said. The other two glared at her, silencing her.

"Well, you three seem like really close friends. It only takes one time, Rainbine. Then you never hear the end of it," Draigo quipped.

Rainbine crossed her hooves in a pout, blushing furiously. “Don’t make fun of it…”

“Anyway, Shout has a point. We got off topic… What was the topic anyway?” Brutalight asked.

"That's a good question, Brute. I think it was...Why you three look like Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow. I'm not sure, though," Draigo said.

Brutal took a deep breath. “Me, Rainbine, who at the time was named Tim Stones, Fluttershout whose name was Riley, four of our friends, Rainbine’s sister, Apple Pill’s sister, and Rarifruit’s sister went to Brony-con, a place where fans of Equestria- in our world, there are stories of your adventures -gathered and enjoyed each others company… sort of… I was forced to go in a costume of a fan made character called Brutalight Sparcake. We all dressed as Elements of Insanity, and we bought some stuff that sent us to a messed up version of Equestria where Celestia was crazy, and you girls were oblivious. There’s our story of how we were Displaced. Rainbine still has her sister, and so do the others.”

"Our adventures are stories in your world? Celestia is crazy and our counterparts were oblivious? Does that mean that we aren't the elements of harmony over there?" Twilight asked.

“No, it’s just that Celestia used your counterparts to protect herself. It’s a version of Equestria that Celestia never forgave Luna and sent her back to the moon after her defeat. We were able to show you the error of her ways pretty quickly though at the loss of a friend… We’re still trying to beat her.” Brutalight responded.

“It’s just so awful!” Cried Fluttershout, “I don’t even know what she covered me in!”

Rainbine groaned in embarrassment, “It’s not that bad…”

"Oh, you poor thing!" Fluttershy said as she walked over and hugged Fluttershout.

"I'm afraid of the answer, but which friend did our counterparts lose?" Twilight asked with a bit of dread on her face.

“It was, um… Th-the… Um… Pink one…” Brutalight said a quietly.

"I died!? Oh, that's so sad. I'm right here though. So, enjoy this cupcake. It's on the house," Pinkie said as she slid a chocolate cupcake onto the table.

Brutalight took it in her magic, cut it up into three slices, and shared it with the two other Displaced ponies. “It wasn’t quick either…” She mumbled shakily as she took a bite.

"Pinkie has a point. She's right here and doing fine. It's obvious that it's a horrid memory. I can't imagine seeing that. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Twilight said as she put her hoof to Brutalight's shoulder.

“I’ve been through a lot… So many deaths in such a little time. The mourning, the loss of laughter was just the start. But, I’ve grown used to it…”

“She has!” Rainbine added before ducking an energy bolt. “Sorry…”

“I just didn’t want Pinkie hearing about her own death.” Brutalight finished. Shaking her head, she returned to the table and started drinking her milkshake.

“She’s… Um… She’s a bit stressed. I’m, um… I don’t know what to say. Don’t feel bad for us, there have been some ups and downs, but that’s life.” Fluttershout said. Rainbine grumbled.

“I’m bored… I’ll see if the rocks here are tougher than back home.” Rainbine said as she started flying towards the door.

“Be back in less than an hour,” Brutalight ordered, to which Rainbine just waved her off.

"Well, should you ever need help call me," Draigo said as he handed a copy of his token to Brutalight. "I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you."

“You too,” Brutalight said, taking the token in her magic. “And if you ever need me, here is my token.” She handed Draigo a silver cross with a circle, matching her cutie mark. “I’ll send Rainbine if you fail in your quest of love. She’s gone through rejection.”

"Thanks, hopefully I won't need her services," he responded as he took her token and placed it between his scales.

“Are we going? I was just starting to like it here…” Fluttershout sighed.

Brutalight looked to Draigo, “So… Is that it? Are we to go now?”

"You may stay as long as you'd like," Draigo offered.

“We’ll stay a bit longer. I’m sure Twilight has questions I can answer about where we come from, who we are, a bit more about Displaced or the events in our world. Fluttershout might want to hang out with the rest of the Elements, and I bet Rainbine would love to shoot things or see Rainbow Dash a couple times.” Brutal said as her magic encompassed the milkshake, and all of the contents disappeared. She burped loudly, “And that’s the sign that the tank is full…”

“Hey! I was still drinking that!” Fluttershout whined.

“Well, I can get the other girls together here at Sugarcube Corner for Fluttershout. Twilight can host you at Golden Oaks and then I can go entertain Rainbine. How does that sound?” Draigo suggested.

“Sounds good to me!” Said Fluttershout happily, “I haven’t really met the girls on good terms! It’s always been fighting with or against…” Fluttershout squeaked excitedly.

“If you remember from my story, we’re all fans of you girls, each having a favorite pony and that pony is who we dressed up as. She’s mostly a Fluttershy fan, yet she likes all of you… I guess she’s the biggest fan, but nowhere near Dash’s obsession with the Wonderbolts or Dar… Sorry, that could have ruined it.” Brutalight explained so Shout’s squeal wasn’t taken the wrong way.

“Ah, of course. How about this, we gather Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack and then gather together at the Golden Oaks Library,” Draigo suggested.

“Um, sure. I’ll meet you there, Sparkle,” Brute trotted out the door and flew off.

“She’s… Usually in a worse mood…” Shout muttered.

“Hmm, I’m going to follow her. Twilight, could you take Fluttershout, Fluttershy, and Pinkie to get the rest of the girls? I’ll make sure to get Rainbine with Brutalight.” Draigo said as he started to follow Brutalight while giving her some privacy.

“Of course, come on everypony let’s go get the rest of the girls together for a little party,” Twilight said as she walked out the door with the others in tow.

Draigo did his best to discreetly follow Brutalight, but he was never very good at stealth. He was sure that she knew from the very get go that he was following her.

She landed in front of the Library and turned around, “I’ll tell Folteren that you shouldn’t go on any stealth missions. What do you want?”

“Figured you’d know I was following you. Dragon wings aren’t meant for stealth so I’ve never put much effort into it. Anyway, are you okay? I know that your experiences have left you mentally scarred and stressed, but if there’s anything that you couldn’t tell the others please tell me. I’m concerned for the ‘leader’ of the resistance in your world.” Draigo said with concern heavily tinging his voice.

Brutalight groaned, “Ugh, what… Do you want me to tell you that in the past half month I’ve been through that I’m just mentally scarred? I’m terrified, I’m genderbent, my girlfriend was killed and brought back to life, I’m supposed to help my Twilight take down a sun controlling psycho, I need to fight three insane Displaced that are more powerful than me, I’ve killed, seen cannibalism from my friend, my other friend is a useless druggie, I’ve pretty much ruined my friendships with every one of my friends, I’ve nearly been raped by a thousand-year-old horse, I am a horse, I can eat nukes, and I’m a demon… There, happy?”

“No, I’m not. I’m pissed. I’m pissed that those ‘displacers’ are thinking it’s alright to send people to places without their consent. I’m pissed that anything and everything can happen to any one of us Displaced. I’m pissed that there’s so little I can do to stop it even though I now have immense power. What I can do is come to your world and help. There’s no longer any if’s or maybe’s. I’m coming to your world and helping you. I will not stand by while others are suffering. If you say no, I’ll just follow you using your token. This ‘war’ that Time Spinner started is nothing compared to this.” Draigo ranted as fire and lightning danced across his entire body. The electricity was intense enough that it was creating its own ozone layer around his body and the fire was turning black with his rage. “I'm sorry, ever since I became a dragon when my temper flares it really flares. It's also gotten easier for things to make me angry. Now, let’s go unwind a bit we could both use it.”

Brutalight nodded, “Uh, thanks. My world right now is in a no summoning zone. I’ve been traveling through time with the rest. Right about now is when I got Displaced.” She used her magic to pass through the door, “Wanna read a book?”

“Sure, reading is quite calming. Two things occurred to me just now, though. One, does both sides have an equal amount of ‘generals’? If not, are you considering recruiting to even it out? Two, are we allowed to bring an army of our own or is that just for Folteren and Lee?” Draigo asked as he entered the library.

Brutalight chuckled, “Well, no. Lee has three generals, and Folteren has two. But, the way they use those generals makes it even. Lee uses one as a host since he doesn’t want his normal host to fight. So it is pretty much equal. And no other high-ranking generals can join, but you can become a minor like Lance, Sylar, and Jubilee if you’re close to the leader or Time Spinner. As for bringing an army, let’s just say yes, and that you can fight with Zerg, Battle Droids, and even Pinkie Pie clones…” She shivered, “Those things scare me…”

“There can be more than one Pinkie? That doesn’t sound like a good idea. Anyway, I can either bring all the dragons from this world with me, use any dragons that happen to be there as my army, or create it on the spot. Being a primordial dragon has its perks.” Draigo said as he searched for a good book to read.

“Um… That might not be such a good idea… Alduin is one of Lee’s minor generals, and he’s dead set on killing Folteren. He can control dragons, as well as use Symbiotes to enhance his power. He’s not allowed to control other Displaced dragons, but if you two try and control dragons, it’ll get confusing. I’ll see if Time Spinner can fix that. Oh, and the other dragon you’ll be facing is Deathwing.” Brutalight explained.

“Huh, well there goes the idea of trying to control them. Oh well, I was kinda expecting that. Anyway, anything specific you’d like to read? They seem to have a fairly broad selection here.”

“I’ll just browse and see what I’m intrigued by.”

“Okay. I’m actually surprised Spike hasn’t come down after hearing us. He might be out helping one of the others now that I think about it. Oh well, we’ll probably see him once everyone is gathered.” Draigo explained as he picked up one of the Daring Do novels. “I’ve yet to read this series, but I’ve heard a few good things about it.”

Draigo settled in front of the empty fireplace to await the arrival of the rest of their group. He hoped that things would go smoothly but figured something or another would go wrong. Opening his book to the first page Draigo began to read but kept his senses open so he’d know when the others were close by. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long for them to arrive.

A few minutes later Draigo heard hoofsteps approaching the library. He set his book down and turned his head toward the front door.

“Welcome to Golden Oaks public library everypony,” Twilight said as she opened the door to let everyone in.

“I see you made good time gathering everyone, Twilight,” Draigo said from his spot by the fireplace. As he said this, all of the elements of harmony walked through the door and looked between Twilight and Brutalight. They looked a bit confused, but it seemed Twilight had explained enough that they wouldn’t freak out.

“Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow. This is Brutalight Sparcake. You’ve already met Fluttershout, I presume. Twilight, did you happen to see Rainbine anywhere?” Draigo said as the group dispersed to their preferred seat.

“No, we didn’t see her anywhere. We were hoping Brutalight would know a likely location she could be found at.” Twilight answered as she sat down in a beanbag chair.

“She’ll be here in a few seconds,” Brutalight said, “I summoned her here.”

“Brute!” Rainbine’s voice interrupted, “Apple Pills said Pinkis ate Berry Punch! Again!”

Rainbine flew in through a window and landed with a ‘thump’.

“She’ll be fine, it’s the seventh time she’s eaten that drunk.” Brutalight grumbled, “Rarifruit has it covered. Only AssSpike and Magic Mare would scare me.”

“I’m guessing that’s a fairly normal occurrence? Well, if you’re not worried about then we’ll just roll with it. Rainbine, meet Rarity and Applejack. You’ve already met Rainbow, earlier today.” Draigo said introducing the last of the visiting Displaced to everyone who’d yet to meet her.

Rainbine did a mock salute, “Rainbine Dash at your service!”

“Now, I’m sure there are questions that everyone has. How would you like to handle this Brute? Everyone raises their hoof, take turns, or just have everyone blurt them out?” Draigo asked.

“I say we have a line!” Rainbine suggested. “Anything personal or simple can be taken by me and Shout-Mouth, but anything more sciency is Brutal’s territory. Things like what we are yadda, yadda…”

“I could have said that better,” Brutalight said with a bit of amusement, “But she does have a point. Okay, questions that are a bit more complicated go to me, and personal will go to the others. I’ll still do some personal, though.”

“What is the fashion like in your world?” Rarity asked before anypony else could think of their first question.

“A complicated one to start off with? Okay,” Brutalight thought a moment. “It’s quite like this world’s, but the fashion business has dried up a bit. Only our Rarity and Rarifruit make dresses, and even then it’s only a few occasions that anypony even feels like wearing anything.”

“Thank god… I hate those frilly dresses Fruit keeps giving me… Oh, the girliness…” Rainbine groans before getting a light smack from Fluttershout.

“I’m with ya on that one. Rarity keeps trying to make me really girly dresses instead of awesome ones,” Rainbow said while she hovered in the air.

“It never hurt anypony to look their best, darling,” Rarity responded.

The three pony Displaced suddenly cringed, “Though, if you take Rare and Fruit’s dresses out, the fashions a bit more… dirty…” Brutalight shifted uncomfortably.

“I hate pole dancing…” Fluttershout mumbled.

“Ah, so it’s that kind of fashion. Rarity, you don’t need to know about ‘that’ fashion.” Draigo chimed in.

“Next question! This is getting awkward!” Rainbine growled.

“Okay, you three obviously aren’t ‘normal’ ponies. So, what exactly are you?” Twilight asked as she summoned a notepad and quill.

“Another one… Oh we-” Brutalight was cut off by Rainbine.

“I’m a cyborg, a pegasus with replaced limbs that act like weapons!” To punctuate this, Bine’s right foreleg turned into a long laser blaster twice her size, “I’m also fused with a monster.”

“I’m fused with a monster as well, but I can give ponies a heart attack if I scream loud enough. I’m not sure exactly what I am, though.” Fluttershout said.

“And I’m a demon, fused with two monsters to give me twice the power.” Brutalight finished.

As Twilight was writing this all down, Draigo decided to ask a question. “You asked me this earlier. Do you three have anyone special in your lives or have a crush on someone?”

Rainbine grimaced. Brutalight took a step forward, “I have a marefriend back in our universe. Her name is Derpigun, a cyborg like Rainbine.”

“Nope, I don’t have any special somepony or crushes.” Fluttershout said.

“I- Uh, had a crush once, but they rejected me.” Rainbine summed up.

“So, even somepony that looks as awesome as you has mushy feelings?” Rainbow asked.

Rainbine growled, “They weren’t mushy! I had a momentary lapse, but that’s over now. Lost a friendship because I was stupid. I guess the loyalty I thought they had was false…”

“Touchy subject…” Fluttershout added.

“Well, what do y’all do fer fun?” Applejack asked to hopefully bring the mood in the room up a bit.

“Oh! I take care of animals from time to time!” Fluttershout said happily.

“And I hurt animals…” Rainbine said darkly, which received a smack from Fluttershout again.

“I knew you were the one who did it!”

“I knew I didn’t care!” Rainbine shot back mockingly.

“And I,” Brutalight started as she sent a wave of magic towards the arguing ponies, who fell on the ground moaning in pain, “Don’t have much fun since everypony’s an idiot.”

“I practice flying…” Moaned Rainbine as she stood up.

“And I help Rarifruit with her problems.” Fluttershout chimed.

“Next question?” Brutalight asked.

“What’s your favorite food?” Pinkie asked as she bounced around the room.

“I think anything in mass quantities is good.” Brutalight said dreamily.

“Pasta stuff,” Rainbine answered.

“I like carrots and raspberries.” Fluttershout added.

“Um, do any of you have a pet or favorite animal? If you don’t mind answering that is.” Fluttershy whispered as she partially hid behind her mane.

“Well, Shout has a bunny named Devil, she’s a sweet little thing, though. I have a Raven, meaning I don’t have a fear of birds, and Bine has a slug named Bomber.” Brutalight said proudly.

“I didn’t choose it, Shout thought it’d be funny giving me a slow pet like Dash.” Said Rainbine.

“Back home, Pinkis has Chewwy, one of Gummy’s babies, Rarifruit has Blaze, a german shepherd, Apple Pills has Slowbro, a sloth, and Derpigun has a wasp named Waspinator.” Shout listed.

“Oh, those sound like wonderful pets,” Fluttershy commented with a smile.

“Hey, everypony. What’s going on?” Spike said as he entered the library.

“Oh, just a little Q&A with our new friends, Spike. Where have you been?” Twilight asked as she turned to address the young dragon.

“I was helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders with one of their ideas. Nothing was damaged and nopony was hurt, though,” Spike answered while walking to the kitchen for something to eat.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Did any of them get their cutie mark?”

“Nope, they are still blank flanks. They’re not that discouraged, though.”

“... Next question.” Brutal pushed.

“You said that our adventures were stories in your world. Care to elaborate?” Twilight said finally asking her biggest question.

“Simple,” Brutalight started, “In our world, there are… Books, that detail your adventures from the Nightmare Moon incident to… Future evils you face. It shows the lessons you learn, and the chapters end with the letter to Princess Celestia. When we were sent to our Equestria, there’d been four books, you’re still around the first, though.” Brutalight said.

“And like Brute said before, we dressed as a fan version of you girls, choosing our favorite characters that also happened to match our personalities. Like Brute here! She’s a stressed out nerdy leader type who loved Twilight’s character.” Rainbine stated.

“So, then your favorite character was Rainbow and Fluttershout’s was Fluttershy. Correct?” Twilight asked as she jotted down all of this new information.

“Yep! I always enjoyed Dash’s character because I found her struggles in the books awesome!” Rainbine stated.

“Of course you liked me the best. I’m just that awesome!” Rainbow piped in as she rubbed her hoof on her chest.

“I found Fluttershy more relatable to me.” Shout mumbled.

“And Twilight was enjoyable to read about.” Brute added, “I guess we just enjoyed the ponies that seemed like us… Well, in the beginning at least…”

“Are the dragons where you’re from any different than ours?” Spike asked from the kitchen.

“Yeah! They’re wimps or jerks!” Rainbine stated.

“They’re mostly the same, but there are some that rival Twilight in intellect. Either that or they are brutes.” Brutalight explained, “But I’m not sure how different they actually are from here.”

“Well, that sounds about the same. Though the dragons I created here all have magic beyond their fire breath. Mainly elemental magic; water, earth, air, and the like.” Draigo chimed in.

“Well, we have Blood Dragons. They aren’t common, but the thing is they can turn into literal blood. I’m trying to meet one myself, but it hasn’t bared any fruit.” Brutalight tried to offer.

“Next question, dragons bore me…” Rainbine exclaimed.

“Of course they do,” Draigo mumbled. “What’s been your fondest memory since being Displaced?”

They thought about it for a moment, then Brutalight started, “Mine was when I learned how to use my magic properly. That, or when I took Derpigun to our first date in Equestria.”

Fluttershout was next, “Mine was when our Fluttershy gave me Devil.”

“Meeting our Rainbow was cool, but being her friend was even better. Although, doing the Sonic Rainboom topped it all!” Rainbine said.

“You can do the Sonic Rainboom? We’ll have to have a race sometime, if you’re up for it.” Rainbow quipped at the cyborg-pegasus.

“Please, I’m one hundred and twenty percent better than you,” Rainbine said rudely.

“Rainbine!” Fluttershout glared, “How could you say that? She didn’t do anything to you here!”

“Wait, I did something to you in your world? What the hay?” Rainbow asked in confusion.

“You broke your loyalty…” Rainbine whispered darkly as she sat down.

Fluttershout stepped closer to Dash, “You and her kinda lost your friendship after the other you rejected her. After that, the other you didn’t want to see Rainbine again and cut all communications with the Elements of Insanity.” She whispered.

“Look, I’m not your Rainbow. I get that she hurt you and I’m sorry about that. I don’t know why she rejected somepony as awesome looking as you, but it seems to me that it’s her loss. Now, do you want to race or are you going to give me another excuse to chicken out of it?” Rainbow challenged.

Rainbine glared at Rainbow, “You’re on.” And the cyborg pegasus was outside in a matter of seconds.

“Next question?” Fluttershout asked.

“How long are you going to be staying here?” asked Spike as he took a seat next to Twilight.

“Just for today. I’m having too much fun answering questions.” Brutalight answered.

“And that’s a reason to leave?”

“No, it’s a reason to stay. I need to go back because Molestia’s still on the attack. But I can stay a day for relaxation.” Brutalight replied. “Now I have a question to ask all of you. How does it feel, knowing others have your body and are vastly different. I’m kinda underwhelmed at your reaction and lack of interest in your doubles.”

“Well, to tell the truth. I’ve been trying really hard not to go over to you and examine every aspect of your body. I know about personal space and am trying to not invade it. There’s got to be all kinds of information that can be gleaned just from examining your coat, let alone all the other samples I’d be taking.” Twilight rambled.

“Um, it’s a little creepy looking at myself without a mirror. It feels so different. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those mean things.” Fluttershy whispered as she cowered behind Draigo and her mane.

“And we can kinda guess Rainbow’s reaction since she’s now racing her double,” Applejack added.

“And the rest of you? In our place, we have doubles of each of you, and the CMC.” Brutalight said as images of alternate versions of the Mane Six appeared. Applejack with a black mane, Rarity with a pink mane, Pinkie with a red coat and straight mane. “Apple Pills, Rarifruit, and Pinkis Cupcake are like us, but with unique twists.”

“Black hair, huh. Well, just from physical looks mine’s not too different. I’m not quite sure how to feel about it, though. I mean, it’s kinda weird knowin’ there’s more of me and tha’ at least one of em looks like that. How is she different from me, though?” Applejack responded.

“Apple Pills is a southern farm girl, but she had a lot of illnesses, so she took medications. When we were Displaced, she grew an obsession over pills.” Brutalight started.

“And now, anytime she sees a bottle, she literally goes flying like a rocket after them screaming ‘pills’ at the top of her lungs.” Fluttershout finished.

“That’s both disturbing and sad to find out. It must o’ really messed up the farm work. Can she at least buck apples?” Applejack asked as she cringed at the information she was told.

“She could at first…” Brutalight started again.

“But then some idiot made it so that pills randomly materialize during the worst moments. You have no idea how many conversations have been interrupted, and how many times we had to fish her out of a well or Pinkis’ stomach.” Fluttershout finished again.

“She dove into somepony’s stomach? Okay, that mare really needs to get some professional help. It’s for the best.” Applejack said as she put her stetson to her chest.

“We all need that, but Apple Pills and Pinkis can’t get any because Pills bit the doctors ear off - they sewed it back on - but her fixation on pills is so strong, just the mention of it causes her to go bonkers. It’s part of the fusion I told you about with the monster. We inherit the monster’s powers and some of their personality.” Brutalight explained.

“And there’s no way of undoing the fusion or seeking help from other sources?” Twilight asked.

“Haven’t found any, and if we ‘unfuse’ as you say, we turn into you. That top hat, Bine’s cybernetic limbs, and my wings would vanish. But, as I’ve learned, take that away, and you lose anything they gave you. So Shout would lose her right eye, Bine would lose her life support, etc. We’d most likely die.” Brutalight answered.

“Ah, it’s a catch 22. You don’t want the quirks that the fusion gave you, but without the fusion you wouldn’t be alive. That just makes me want to get my claws on those displacers and teach them a lesson. That’s easier said than done, though,” Draigo growled.

“What is my double like, darling? Surely she’s not as bad as the others. I mean sure her mane would look better in a different color, but she is still a fashionista like myself.” Rarity nervously asked.

“Actually, you’re right. She’s the least messed up out of the ten of us. She’s still a fashion lover and designer in training, but her only quirk is that she’s a coward, and she’s often not helpful. As well as a bit deceitful. But, she has better magic than a normal unicorn and can even teleport and change species.” Brutalight explained.

“She’s also a bit whiny,” Fluttershout added.

“Are you sure she’s whining and not complaining? There is a difference you know,” Rarity said trying to put a positive spin on things.

“Oh, she’s whining.” Both said.

“She isn’t annoying, though. We don’t hate her, it’s one of the forced quirks. She used to be a confident mare before the fusion.” Shout comforted.

“Oh, well. I’m glad to hear that she was better before that dreadful fusion happened. It is saddening to hear that a once proud mare has been so degraded by something that was so needed. I do think that if I were to change up her ensemble that she’d be a bit better, though.” Rarity said the last part with confidence.

“Well, I used to be a normal bookworm who loved literature, now I’m bitter, and I like to cut things with daggers.” Brutalight responded, “And Shout’s a bit of a jerk, but she’s good at holding it in.” To that, Fluttershout shrugged.

“Well, there should be a silver lining to everything. We just need to find it. Now, let’s see. Brute, you now at least can cut up ingredients for meals without cutting yourself with the knife, like I do. Shout, now you can be assertive even if it’s in a rude way. If you hadn’t fused with those monsters you’d have all the setbacks that we are working to overcome ourselves. Did you ever try to think of it that way?” Twilight asked hoping that she could brighten their outlooks.

“Are you joking? Cutting food? Really? I’m an Alicorn with magic, I don’t have a fear of cutting myself, and neither am I good.” Brutalight shot back.

“I hold it in because I’ve hurt ponies feelings.” Fluttershout said, “Assertive is one thing, bullying is another. But thank you for trying.”

“Well, it was worth a shot. I thought for sure it’d work, though,” Twilight replied.

“It was a good try Twilight, but we have to remember that their world is nowhere near what ours is and has thus changed them to better fit it,” Draigo said in an attempt to have everyone rethink their natural response of ‘try to put a positive spin on everything no matter how small’.

“I think the only good thing in our universe is Rainbine, Apple Pills and Rarifruit’s little sisters the Cutie Mark Creeps,” Fluttershout added in an attempt to help their consciousness.

“Oh? How so? Over here, the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing their crusading usually means some sort of damage is about to happen.” Twilight asked curiously.

“Well, it’s the same back home with the girls, but they do more damage and help our sanity. Especially for their sisters. Though I’m still a little scared of Karateloo’s random power after seeing her ride a barn through the sky…” Fluttershout explained.

“It’s worse than Pinkie’s random powers. Most of the time her face goes every which way!” Brutalight groaned, “Sweet kid, crazier than anyone...”

“Creepy Bell and Francie Bloom aren’t as nuts. Creepy has messed up ideas and Bloom’s just along for the ride,” Shout said.

“It’s good to hear that even in another world those three can bring entertainment to ponies. Though, I don’t think I have that random of powers. It’s just a Pinkie Sense after all, you silly filly.” Pinkie chimed in cheerfully.

“You say that, but you pop out of nowhere, can keep up with Rainbow without even trying, found a book Twilight needed in under a second after hearing the name, I’ve seen you stretch like taffy, you make a cute little bounce noise when you hop, you can remember the birthdays of everypony in Ponyville, can eat large quantities in a single bite and I’ve seen your future… It gets crazier.” Brutalight lists off.

“Of course I remember everypony’s birthday, I throw them a party each time after all. The book stuck out like a sore hoof in the ‘E’ section…"

“Finefinefinefinefine! I get it, you’re not random. Wanna hear about Pinkis or what?” Brutalight said in slight annoyance.

“Of course! She kinda reminds me of my family. I’m the only mare in my family without a straight mane. So, what’s she like?”

“She used to be a party animal like you, but when the fusion happened, she went…” Brutalight struggled for words.

Fluttershout provided, “Batshit crazy.”

“Yeah, that. She started off fine, but then she started having… cravings. We had to start feeding her meat, and she ate more than the Elements of Insanity combined. She became mean, spiteful, depressed, and homicidal after our Pinkie was killed. She’s quizzical, skeptical, and even easily annoyed. She’s the worst of us. She used to be so happy and cheerful…” Brutalight sighed, “She, like Rainbine and Rarifruit who lost loyalty and generosity, lost her laughter.”

“Well, all she needs is some laughter then. I guess that’s easier said than done, though. Maybe if she came here I could get her laughing again. Of course, I don’t want to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do, that’s never fun.” Pinkie replied keeping her cheerfulness.

“Maybe. I’ll try to fix things, and if that doesn’t work, I can always send her to a universe full of Pinkies.” Brutalight said playfully, “But, onto the next question-”

“I would have won if I didn’t bump into that raincloud!” Rainbine’s voice sounded like a playful angry as her and Rainbow flew in.

“Sure you would. Just admit it, you got distracted by how awesome I am.” Rainbow replied playfully.

Rainbine shrugged, “Maybe I felt a bit sad at how much cooler I am.” She playfully nudged Rainbow.

“Welcome back Rainbows, care to join?” Brutalight asked rolling her eyes.

“Join? Join what? You guys are in the exact same spots we left you in. That means you’ve just been talking this entire time. It wasn’t a long time admittedly but still.” Rainbow said as she hovered next to Rainbine.

“You’re not the least bit curious about your double there, Rainbow?” Draigo asked.

“She’s cool looking, fast, and can kick flank. What else is there that I need to know?” Rainbow responded as quirked an eyebrow at Draigo.

“Well, how about everything else? She fused with a monster and gained some kind of quirk that most likely changed her in a bad way.” Draigo shot back.

“As far as I’m concerned she’s a great mare. Sure, she’s been a bit rude but that was because of the things that the other Rainbow did to her. It’s fairly natural to not be nice to somepony who’s hurt you.” Rainbow answered with a good bit of logic for the athlete.

“Rainbine’s bad quirks are hotheadedness, trigger happy-”

“Hey, I’m actually proud of that!” Rainbine interrupted.

“-Her emotions are all over the place, she sometimes tunes everything out, and she’s shot more friends than foes.” Brute listed off.

“Pinkis isn’t much better in that regard, and I’ve shot plenty of baddies!” Rainbine defended.

“You’re the one who shot Brutalight’s wing nearly clean off, you hurt our Fluttershy’s animals, you shot Apple Pills, you even nearly killed our Rainbow, and you’ve been hacked before.” Fluttershout listed off.

“I- I didn’t mean those things!” Rainbine glared. “You guys are just hatin on me!”

“Those sound like legitimate concerns to me Rainbine,” Draigo pointed out.

Rainbine shot him a double take, “Not you too! Did Brutalight mention when she killed Trixie? Or when Fluttershout injured our Fluttershy by screaming!?” Rainbine was shaking.

“No, they didn’t. All of you have very concerning faults and mistakes. I’m not trying to hate on anyone and I apologize if it seemed like I was,” Draigo said as he watched Rainbine shake. “Not every one of the quirks you gained are ones you can be proud of. The fact that you are proud of any of them shows that you are either a tad bit more resilient to the changes or the changes didn’t actually change you all that much. I’m unsure which is the case. Either way, as long as you keep being this close with your friends you’ll never truly be alone.”

Rainbine sighed, “Yeah, whatever…”

Brutalight looked at her wrist as a watch appeared. It seemed to vibrate, and after a few seconds a voice was heard.

“Brutalight! Pinkis is starting ta really freak us out here!” It sounded like Fluttershout, but with a more southern accent.

“I’m hungary! Feed me your intestines!” Another, higher pitched voice shouted out.

The communication was cut off and Brutalight groaned, “Pinkis is trying to eat everypony again…”

“Dang it! What’s wrong this time? Are the Changelings not her thing!?” Rainbine asked with a disgusted look on her face, “I get sick everytime I’m around her…”

Fluttershout looked queasy, “Me too…”

“It sounds as if you might be needed sooner rather than later. I wish I could come and help, but I remember what you told me, Brute. I’ll wait until that no summon zone is lifted. Just remember to call me and I’ll be there in a flash.” Draigo said as he got stood up.

Brutalight nodded. “We’d really appreciate that…”

“Yeah, and maybe you could bring the girls. I bet Pinkis could use that cheer up and Rarifruit could take some fashion tips from Rare.” Rainbine suggested.

“Of course, I’ll definitely bring them along when I come.”

“Maybe then we can have a rematch, Rainbine. I don’t have many rivals over here since the only ponies fast enough would be the Wonderbolts and they don’t have time for a casual race,” Rainbow chimed in.

“Sure thing!” Rainbine leaned closer to Brutalight and whispered, “Can I get those upgrades we talked about? I think I’m starting to lose my touch.”

Brutalight giggled demonically, “Sure thing. Well, see you at the war!”

“I’ll kick your tail in between your legs!” Rainbine said before vanishing with a wink.

“Maybe next time I can show you Devil.” Fluttershout faded into red.

“Anything you guys wanna say before I go?” Brutalight asked.

“You guys are welcome here anytime. I hope things smooth out for you and keep your chin up. This ‘war’ will be a great way for you to relieve some stress. May my Celestia’s sun and my Luna’s moon protect you in your time of need.”

“Thank you…” A sad smile crossed Brutal’s face as she disappeared, leaving a bottle of DNA samples from each pony in separate jars.

“Well, Twilight. Looks like you got those DNA samples you wanted.” Draigo said as he levitated them over to her.

“They may have been screwed up, but they weren’t actually ‘bad’ ponies after all,” Twilight said as she looked fondly at each of the jars now in her magical aura.

“With that I must go and inform Celestia and Luna of the new developments. I’ll talk to you later girls.” Draigo said as he left the library and flew off toward Canterlot.

Now, what’s the best way to tell them without them ripping my head off?

Dancing Cadenza Part 1

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The day started well enough. Draigo was enjoying his breakfast with the Princesses, but couldn’t keep from glancing at them both nervously. He had told them about the ‘war’ that he was recruited into a few days ago and had avoided them for a couple days afterward. They didn’t take it well.

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Immediately after he told them they had donned their armor and weapons and then proceeded to try to cripple him so that he couldn’t go. Their battle raged throughout the castle and above Canterlot. It would have gotten all the way to Ponyville had Draigo’s wing membranes not gotten shredded into confetti. Draigo was trying to talk to them and defend himself the entire time. His words fell on deaf ears as the Princesses started to target his legs. Going through such pain to try to make them understand was worth it if it actually worked. Throughout the entire debacle, Draigo had noticed differences between the two sisters. Luna kept calling out changes to their tactics and Celestia would listen. Celestia would be the one dealing most of the damage while Luna tried distracting him so Celestia could get a blow in. Sure, Draigo was better in almost all categories than both of them, but through their teamwork they were able to overcome him, in this instance. After hours of fighting, all of them were tired and the battle finally ended. Draigo came out of it with his wings shredded and one leg completely useless while the other three were heavily damaged but usable. The two sisters were exhausted but unscathed.

Getting back to the castle took awhile for Draigo since he had to hobble back on three injured legs while Celestia and Luna flew off after regaining some energy. The ponies that saw him were shocked at the amount of damage he had taken and started murmuring about the possible reasons why their rulers had fought him and allowed him to come back into the city. The ponies of Canterlot knew of him but still thought he was the stereotypical dragon which meant they didn’t want anything to do with him and just wanted him to stay away from them, their city, and especially their beloved rulers. Draigo ignored them as he walked back to the castle and made a mental note of those ponies who were the most hostile towards him.

Once back at the castle Draigo proceeded to the room that Celestia and Luna had prepared for him. While he liked the royal treasury and was very comfortable in it, it didn’t offer as much privacy as he initially thought it would. He had been told how to get to his room by the guards at the front gate but couldn’t picture where in the castle it actually was. Turns out that he could see both Celestia’s and Luna’s rooms, marked by their cutie marks, from his doorway, along with another door that had a crystal heart drawn on it. This fact made him more comfortable as well as nervous. He wondered about the third door and vowed to check it out once he had healed from his wounds. He didn’t want to scare anypony unintentionally. Once in his room, Draigo flopped down on the provided bed and promptly fell asleep.

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Even though he was fully healed from his wounds--it had only taken a day or two--he hadn’t been able to talk to either princess even though they regularly had him for breakfast and dinner. He suspected that they were having him dine with them so that they knew he was still around even though neither would say a word beyond each invitation.

This cold shoulder treatment had distracted Draigo enough that he had forgotten about finding out who lived in the crystal heart room, if anyone. It wasn’t until today that he had remembered about that little tidbit. So, after breakfast was over Draigo went to find out. He walked over to the door and knocked.

“One moment,” came a female voice from behind the door.

Draigo took a step back from the door as he heard hoof steps coming from the room. The door opened and he was met by a pink Alicorn with a pink, purple, and yellow mane and tail and a cutie mark that matched the crystal heart on the door. She seemed a little surprised to see him at her door.

“Oh, hello. I had thought you were Shining Armor or one of the servants. You’re Draigo, right? I’ve heard about you from my aunts and coltfriend. I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” Princess Cadenza said as she smiled at Draigo.

“Yes, I’m Draigo. It’s nice to meet you, Princess Cadenza. I have been wondering who or what was behind this door for a little while now. I would have come to find out earlier, but I didn’t want to frighten anyone with the appearance I had when I first noticed your room. I’ll be living down the way a bit, apparently. Celestia and Luna prepared the room for me, but I didn’t think they’d have me live so close to them,” Draigo said with a bit of a blush, that somehow showed through his dark scales, at the last part.

“Oh, I see. To think you’d be interested in both of them. It’s not uncommon for ponies to have an interest in one of my aunts, but to like them both? That is next to unheard of. You, sir, are in quite the pickle when it comes to the affairs of the heart,” the Princess said with a smirk.

“What? How? Who?... Ugh, yes, I admit it. I like both Celestia and Luna. Don’t you dare tell them. If you do, I’ll deny everything,” Draigo said hoping that Princess Cadenza would keep quiet about his feelings.

“My dear drake, I would never. It would ruin my fun,” she muttered the last bit under her breath, "Now, would you like some help and/or advice? I am the Princess of Love, you know.”

“Um, sure. May I come in? I’d rather talk about this in private, if that’s okay with you, Princess Cadenza,” Draigo said as he fidgeted his wings and tail.

“Of course, come in. Also, call me Cadence. I’ve never gotten used to ponies calling me princess and you already call my aunts by their first names so it’s a bit weird having you call me princess,” Cadence said as she stepped aside so Draigo could enter her room.

“Thank you, Cadence. I’ve known Celestia and Luna for quite awhile so even though they are now princesses it feels weird calling them as such. Anyway, where do you want to start?” Draigo asked as he surveyed the room. It had a lot of pink in it, a lot. He stood out more in here than he did basically anywhere else he’d been so far and it made him a little uncomfortable.

“First, take a seat. Being comfortable is very important when talking about sensitive things. Next, relax and think about each of them. There will be things you like about each, but the one you should choose will be the one that makes you feel right. She will make you want to be better and bring out the best in you," Cadence told him as she sat on a couch.

"Ah, of course. It's so simple most people forget about it. Thank you, Cadence. I'll do just as you suggested," Draigo said as he sat in an easy chair, "Oh, who is your coltfriend? I'm sure he's very important if a princess such as yourself is dating him."

"Shining Armor."

"He's your coltfriend?" Draigo asked then laughed himself out of his chair after Cadence nodded.

"What? Why are you laughing so much? Shining is a great stallion."

"Oh, it's just that he seems really arrogant, foolhardy, and incompetent. When he first met me he tried to fight me then said something that was basically a challenge after he’d been told I was a friend of the princesses. If not for Celestia being there I would have taken that challenge," Draigo said with a smirk on his face as he one more took his seat.

"And that's a bad thing? Aunt Celestia and Luna told me of you, but not all that much. Care to enlighten me on how fighting or challenging you makes him arrogant, foolhardy, and incompetent?" Cadence asked with a raised eyebrow and indignation in her voice.

"Follow me to the guard training ground and I'll show you," Draigo said as he walked to her balcony and took off.

They were at the training grounds in short order and headed over to the target range. Guardsmen saluted Cadence as she walked by and then followed them out of curiosity. By the time they reached the range the guards had separated Cadence and Draigo, thinking she needed to be guarded against the dragon before them. Upon noticing that Cadence could barely see him due to the guards, Draigo grew to his full size.

"This will be a three-part demonstration. First, I'll take out some targets then all of you gathered here will fire spells at me. Finally, I'll ask the unicorn that's strongest with shields to create their best shield," Draigo told them as he watched some of them cower at his size.

Cadence took a hesitant step back. She had heard the story about the day Draigo first got to the castle, but she hadn't realized how big he truly was since most ponies that told the story couldn't agree on how big he grew. She shook off her fear and trotted over to him.

"The one that's best at shields is Shining Armor, it's his special talent. Should we send a guard to get him or would somepony else do?" Cadence asked as she looked at Draigo in a bit of awe.

"The next best would be fine, but I'm sure that he'll end up here after the first or second demonstration," Draigo told her with a smirk.

Draigo then took a couple steps forward and created a ball of plasma that he threw at the first two targets. Cadence went slack-jawed and couldn't speak, she'd seen plasma before but not in this quantity. He proceeded to pull a giant piece of the earth up and then destroyed it with a thousand bolts of lightning that made the earth and lightning rain down on the remaining targets. Cadence didn't even notice as some guards erected a shield around her, she was so shocked. To finish things off, he created a tornado that had pikes made of ice and blades of water in it. Cadence and the guards would have been blown back by the tornado's wind speed, but another shield was erected around them all.

Shining Armor had arrived just in time to see Draigo's tornado be created. He had been coming to inspect the guard's training when he noticed the beginning of the demonstration. Shining had erected his shield after noticing the wind's force was going to blow the gathered ponies away.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Shining yelled at Draigo,"You could have hurt or even killed somepony!"

"Oh, just showing Cadence why you're arrogant, foolhardy, and incompetent for trying to fight or challenge me without knowing the whole situation or even a hint of how powerful your opponent is. So far, I think she'll agree with me. Now, on to the next part," Draigo said as he walked to the now clear end of the range. The drain is still present here. I had hoped it would stop. Okay, after I’ve made up with Celestia and Luna I’m figuring out how my magic reserves are being drained.

"WHAT!? You endangered my marefriend? Why is she even here?" Shining shouted at the dragon.

"I'm here because I didn't believe him, Shiny. When he said those things about you I just had to find out why he thought so. He brought me here and is demonstrating why he thinks of you like that," Cadence explained as she trotted over to her coltfriend.

"Now that you are here Mr. Captain of the Guard," Draigo said mockingly,"Perhaps you could have your men fire their strongest magical attack at me. It could be individual or a group casting. Either way is fine with me, so long as it's the strongest they've got," Draigo called from across the range.

Shining growled at Draigo's mocking tone as he rounded up all of the unicorns in the group of guards and had them start building up a group attack. Shining took it a step further and had the pegasi and earth ponies grab ranged weaponry. He then arranged them so that every single one could attack Draigo at the same time. He wouldn't let Draigo's endangering of his marefriend and mocking him go unpunished. The dragon in question noticed this and just let it happen.

Once the group spell was charged and ready, Shining Armor gave the signal for everypony to attack. Arrows, javelins, spears, and a few others flew along with the massive magical attack. Every projectile flew straight at the waiting dragon.

All of the attacks hit Draigo at the same time and were enveloped in blinding light due to the massive spell going off. Smoke and debris festooned the area. Silence reigned after all the debris had fallen. Nopony could make out if Draigo was still there or not and no one dared approach where he was. None of them wanted to possibly see his mutilated and punctured corpse, strewn throughout the area.

A light breeze stirred the smoke just enough that they could see a leg or two. Suddenly, the area was cleared by a gale. The ponies closed their eyes and turned their heads to shield them from any smoke or light debris hurting their eyes. When they opened them and looked at the newly cleared range. There stood Draigo like nothing happened. There weren't any weapons sticking into him and there was no sign of the magical attack even touching him. The assembled ponies’ jaws hit the ground. The spell was cast by a group of twenty unicorns, each one was now catching their breath from the effort, and the weapons were fired or thrown by a group of forty pegasi and earth ponies. While this group represents a small portion of the guard this amount should be able to take on two to three adult dragons, at least, and have a fairly good chance of beating all of them. Especially if they could concentrate on one of them at a time, like they just did.

A low rumble was heard as everypony picked their jaws off the ground. They looked in the direction of the noise and saw Draigo doing his best to keep his laughter in and under control. The dragon was having a hard time standing due to his efforts and quickly laid down so he could concentrate on holding his laughter. This didn’t work as moments later his laughter escaped and he then held his gut as he rolled back and forth with mirth.

After his laughter subsided, Draigo walked over to the assembled ponies and noticed that he had two new audience members.

“Hello, Luna, Celestia. How much did you see?” Draigo asked as the rest of the ponies finally noticed the arrival of their diarchs, who were promptly saluted.

“We didst see everything that hast happened since thou entered the training grounds,” Luna replied.

“Would you care to explain what you are doing and why?” Celestia intoned.

“Well, I was talking with Cadence and the topic of who her coltfriend was came up and I told her what I thought of him after his first impression. She asked me why I thought that way and so I decided to show her. Now, are you going to stop me here or can I finish with the last part?” Draigo asked the two sisters.

“So long as nopony gets hurt and the mess that’s created gets cleaned up, I have no problem with you continuing,” Celestia said as she summoned a cushion for herself and her sister.

“Thank you, sister. We wish not to miss the climax of this ‘demonstration’ of thine, Draigo. We have not seen thou show this much power before and we art curious as to what could culminate an already great show,” Luna told him as she and Celestia took their seats.

“Oh, it’s fairly simple actually. I’m going to ‘pop’ Shining Armor’s ‘bubble’. Shining Armor, cast your best shield spell. You may borrow the power of as many unicorns as you'd like if they have any power left. Heck, you can even borrow the power of the three Alicorns that are present as well, if they are willing to help. I don’t want to hurt you so cast it and don’t maintain it,” Draigo said as he turned his attention from the princesses to the guard captain.

“All unicorn guardsmen present, lend me your power. Princesses, would you mind lending me your power? I’d like to put this dragon in his place for looking down on our combined power,” Shining said as he started to empower his shield spell.

The princesses responded by adding their magical might to the already impressive pool of magic. Shining Armor was having trouble controlling the spell due to the sheer amount of magic being poured into it. Eventually after much groaning, moaning and neck cramps, Shining Armor cast the shield. With the amount of power at his disposal, he was able to make the shield super dense.

“Wow, Shiny. I never knew you could be this dense,” Cadence quipped. She couldn’t help but giggle a little so she covered her mouth with a hoof to try to hide it.

“Very funny, honey. Now what, dragon?” Shining asked irritably as he looked through his very opaque shield.

“Now, I break your shield,” Draigo said as he swing both of his paws at the shield surrounding Shining.

The shield held tight after Draigo’s initial attack and Shining’s attention was fully on the massive dragon attacking his shield. Draigo then clamped down on the shield with his jaws, still the shield held. Draigo then battered it with his wings and whipped it with his tail. After all of that the shield had only developed small cracks on it. So, Draigo continued the pattern of claw, claw, bite, wing, wing, tail. It took one full minute of non-stop attacks for Draigo to finally break Shining Armor’s shield spell.

“Heh, in that amount of time we would have figured out something to trap you. You’re not as all powerful as you thought you were, Draigo,” Shining said triumphantly.

“Oh, really? Well, you should look behind you,” Draigo returned as he pointed behind the stallion before him.

Shining looked behind him and noticed a pitfall with spikes at the bottom of it. He took a few steps away and then looked between Draigo and the pit.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to hurt anypony? I could have died if I fell into that,” Shining said indignantly.

“Oh, please. I only uncovered that pit right before you looked behind you. If you had taken a step or two back then nothing would have happened at all. Also, that was neither my full strength nor my full speed when attacking. If this were a deathmatch then you’d never stand a chance,” Draigo said as he lowered his head to Shining’s level.

“That is more than enough from the both of you. Shining Armor, you have been arrogant and foolhardy to even think of fighting or challenging him, with or without your guardsmen supporting you. It took twenty-one unicorns and three Alicorns to create a shield that he destroyed handily while he created a pitfall without anypony noticing. Draigo, you too have been arrogant. You thought that you could handle everything on your own and be able to overpower everypony here, my sister and I included. Please reflect on the events of today,” Celestia lectured the two.

“Of course, Celestia.” “Of course, Your Majesty,” the two intoned at the same time then glared at one another as they noticed their similar wording.

“Oh, one last point. Every unicorn that helped you is now completely exhausted. That wouldn’t be something you’d want to happen in a fight. I’ll be in Ponyville if you need me,” Draigo commented as he took to the skies, blowing Shining Armor and a few other guards off their hooves.

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I'm almost to where that pillar came from. Hopefully, it won't take too long for me to find Draigo. The creature thought to himself. He was looking at the small town of Ponyville in the distance. He looked over and saw Canterlot gleaming on its mountain. After a few seconds of looking he noticed a dragon flying from Canterlot and heading toward Ponyville. There he is. That dragon is going to be very surprised to see me show up and then destroy him. The creature continued walking toward Ponyville so that his arrival would go unnoticed. He'd arrive in Ponyville with enough time to fight Draigo that very day.

Dancing Cadenza Part 2: Crystal fight

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A portal appeared over Ponyville as Draigo flew out of it. The town had grown used to the giant dragon by now and barely any of the ponies fled into their homes as he flew overhead. The weather was excellent for a day out flying and the pegasi were making the most of it.

As Draigo flew about he noticed a rainbow contrail moving towards him. He decided to land near Twilight’s library so that he could talk to this particular pegasus while he rested a bit.

“Yo, Draigo. How’s it been? It seems like forever since you last came into town,” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered in front of Draigo.

“It’s been good, Dash. My theory was proven correct and now I just have to figure out how to get rid of this power drain,” Draigo told her as he lowered his head towards the door of the library, “Twilight, you in there? I need to find a book.”

“One moment,” Twilight called from inside without noticing who had called her outside, “Oh, it’s nice to see you again, Draigo. What book do you need to find?”

“One on magic power to see if there’s some object or being that can suck away at my magical reserves. Got anything?”

“Hmm, let me check,” Twilight replied as she returned inside to check her book inventory.

“Take your time. I’ve got plenty of power left. It’s just really annoying,” Draigo told her. As he finished his sentence something bounced off of his head and onto the ground.

The object looked like a piece of cloth but had felt a lot harder and heavier than just cloth. Draigo picked it up delicately and a message played inside of his head.

“I am fire, I am light. If you need a way to light the darkness that surrounds you or just to have someone to talk to, I will be there. Wear this scarf and in a burst of flames, I will come running.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” Draigo commented as he shrunk down to about Celestia’s size and unwrapped the cloth. It was a white scarf that had dragon scales as its pattern.

“Well, let’s see what this guy’s like. It’ll be nice to have someone like me to talk to,” Draigo muttered to himself as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. A pillar of flames appeared in front of him and out of the flames, a pink-haired female came flying out.

“Gray, you bastard! Give me my vest back!” She shouted at the flames, standing up and stomping back to the flames. Out of them, a black vest with gold trim flew out, smacking her in the face. Growling, she grabbed her vest and chucked it back at the flames, only for them to no longer be there. “I hate it when he does that,” She muttered, stretching her back and cracking a few bones.

“Having a little spat with your boyfriend?” Draigo asked with a smirk on his face.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” The girl replied angrily, walking to her vest and picking it up, not even bothering to turn around at the voice.

“If you say so. Is this your scarf? I was kind of expecting a guy since the voice I heard was definitely male,” Draigo said as he unwound the scarf and floated it over to the girl using a bit of wind.

Quickly dusting the vest, she put it on and left it hanging open. Finally looking up, she found the scarf he was talking about. Quickly grabbing it, she wrapped it around her neck and sighed at the familiar comfort.

“Definitely mine. The message you heard was when I was male. I actually am the person you summoned, I just had a bit of a gender swap.” She answered, turning around and brushing her pink bangs out of her face.

Draigo grew back to his full size as the girl before him wrapped the scarf around her neck. He then checked on Twilight inside of the library. Twilight was still looking for a book that could help him. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was hovering next to Draigo’s head with her mouth wide open.

“How did you do that? One moment there’s nothing, then a pillar of flame, and then this weird thing pops out of nowhere. Your powers are even stranger than I thought they were, Draigo,” Dash said as she gestured with her hooves.

“Oh, this isn’t my doing. What summoned her was the scarf and the action of wrapping it around my neck,” Draigo explained to the bewildered pegasus, “What is your name, young lady?”

“Crystal,” Crystal answered, gaping up at him when she finally saw what belonged to the voice. “You are a dragon. That is awesome!” She crowed. Finally registering what the blue pony said, she glared up at her. “I’m not a thing. I’m just weird.”

“You’re the first whatever you are that I’ve seen. So, you’re a ‘weird thing’ for now,” Dash told her as she flew down to Crystal’s level.

“Crystal is a human, Dash. Most Displaced are,” Draigo told Dash as he lowered his head and looped his neck around so that they had a bit more privacy from prying eyes.

“Those things that Lyra keeps going on and on about? I thought they were a myth.” Dash commented as she flew around Crystal to inspect the new arrival.

“I don’t remember meeting this ‘Lyra’ before, but humans like Crystal, and myself actually, aren’t a myth. Now, Crystal. You’ve got two choices. One, stay here and wait for the biggest nerd on the planet to find out about you arriving and then asking you more questions than any school test ever. Or two, come with me to a more secluded area for a nice chat and possibly a bit of sparring.” Draigo gestured towards the library as he mentioned the ‘nerd’ and then towards the lake in the distance for the secluded area.

Crystal's eyes followed Dash as she shuddered at the mention of the ‘nerd’. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked towards the lake that the dragon had gestured to for the second option. “The second option sounds a lot better to me. Also, I don’t think I caught your name.” She cocked her head to the side as she rubbed her arms up and down.

“Ah, where are my manners. My name is Draigo. Are you cold? I can help warm you up as we fly to the lake if you’d like,” Draigo told her as he extended one of his claws out for her to climb onto.

“Nah, I’m not cold. I never get cold. This just helps comfort me.” Crystal explained and felt a bit queasy at the mention of flying. “Also, I think I’d rather not fly. I get motion sickness if I ride something I don’t consider a friend. Sorry about that, Draigo.” Crystal told him, stopping the rubbing of her arms.

“That’s quite alright, Crystal. That is a strange quirk you’ve got, though. Hmm, think you can run to the lake without completely exhausting yourself?” Draigo asked as he stood up and extended his wings.

“Ha! Of course, I can. I’ll even race you there.” Crystal said with a snort of laughter, getting into a running stance.

“A race? Count me in,” Dash said as she landed next to Crystal.

“Alright, don’t cry when you lose, Crystal,” Draigo said as he got ready to take off, “Ready, set, go!”

Draigo took off with a massive sweep of his wings, knocking the two below him to the ground from the sheer amount of air that he displaced. Dash was quick to recover and was soon in hot pursuit. Cartwheeling sideways to recover, Crystal took off after them, her legs pumping as she slowly caught up to them.

“Oh, she’s not so slow after all. Try to keep up with this then,” Dash challenged as she shot forward, creating her signature rainbow contrail behind her.

“Not this time, Dash,” Draigo called to her as he increased his wing beats and parted the air in front of him with his powers to give him a little edge.

“You two won’t get away that easy. Karyū no Kagizume!” Crystal shouted as her feet lit on fire, effectively propelling her forward as she jumped in the air and made herself perpendicular to the ground.

It wasn’t long before all three of them were at the lake and cooling down from their race. Rainbow had won, but just marginally. Draigo had gotten second, but only due to how long his neck was since Crystal had propelled herself through the air like a rocket. They sat or laid on the ground and enjoyed the sun and scenery around them.

“So, Crystal. You’ve got fire abilities. Anything else?” Draigo asked as he laid spread out to absorb as much sun as possible.

“I can literally stand in the middle of a patch of flames and not get burned. I can also make crystal.” Crystal answered, holding her palm out and focussing on it. A small crystal shard formed from her skin and the sun reflected off of it, creating spots of light that were dotted around them. “That’s about the extent of my powers. I can create more than this, I just don’t want to exhaust myself.” She added as she leaned back on one of her hands, her vest on the ground nearby.

“Oh? Sounds like some of the dragons that I created,” Draigo said matter of factly as he levitated the crystal over to him to get a better look at it.

“There is no way you created the dragons. For one, they’re missing or presumed dead. Two, you don’t look like something that managed to create awesome, flying lizards.” Crystal said in disbelief, sitting up and adjusting the bandages on her chest.

“Ah, mortals and their disbelief,” Draigo said with a sigh, “Okay, dragons may be gone from your world, but they are thriving in mine. Describe a dragon you’d like to see.”

“How about one with red scales and orange spikes?” Crystal asked, not really believing him.

Draigo tapped into his power reserves and began creating the described dragon. The outline first appeared in the air and then got more and more detailed. As it turned solid, the colors of its scales and spines began to show. Finally, once it was completely solid and had its spikes, wings, and everything else it dropped to the ground with a soft thump. The dragon stood up and looked at Crystal. It wasn’t very big, about the size of Spike, but it walked on all four legs toward the girl before it.

Staring in awe with her mouth gaping open, Crystal watched as Draigo created the dragon she asked for. When it began to move around and walk towards her, she slowly closed her mouth and watched it as she gently petted its head.

“Wow … it’s gorgeous … you are an amazing individual.” Crystal breathed and praised him.

“Heh, he’s not even the most amazing that I’ve made. Heck, I made two kinds of dragons. A winged dragon, like him and me, and a more Asian style dragon.” Draigo said as he shrugged off the praise, “When you’ve got nothing but time and powers like that you tend to experiment and fine tune the creation process.”

“Sounds like you had a good time creating the dragons.” Crystal said with a smile and felt her belly rumble. “Got any fire? I’m hungry, or at least, that’s what my stomach is telling me.” Crystal asked, stopping her petting for a bit to stretch her arms.

“Does it matter about the heat or color of the fire?” Draigo asked as he quirked an eye ridge at the strange request.

“Not really. I just want it to give me some energy back.” Crystal said with a shrug, not phased by the strange look both of them were giving her.

“Wait, you’re going to use fire to give you some energy? Do you eat it or something?” Rainbow asked as she trotted over to the lake and splashed some water on herself.

“I eat it. That not a normal thing here? Eating flames?” Crystal wondered, watching Rainbow intently.

“No, eating flames isn’t normal here. I can technically eat anything and everything to gain energy, but fire isn’t usually one of my choices,” Draigo explained as he looked to where Crystal was watching so intensely, “Something wrong with Rainbow or do you like her rump that much?”

“Rainbow’s a pony here. I was too busy looking around to notice it before.” Crystal answered, tearing her gaze from Rainbow and back to Draigo as the rest of his question registered with her. “No, I’m actually into someone else,” Crystal replied, drawing circles as she looked at the ground near her legs.

“Of course I’m a pony. What else would I be? Don’t worry about the staring. I’m just too awesome for ponies not to,” Rainbow told her cockily as she trotted back to the group.

“Oh? Someone I know or perhaps someone unique to your world?,” Draigo asked her as he summoned a crimson flame onto his now open claw, “Here’s that fire you asked for.”

“More like a whole different world but I can’t say anything more beyond that,” Crystal answered Draigo cautiously. “Back on my world, you look more human than pony but still have pony traits, such as your wings and rainbow trail.” She continued, turning her attention to Rainbow, and continuing to look down at the ground. She looked up though at the mention of a flame. Standing up, she walked over to Draigo and grabbed the flame in her hands. “Thanks for the meal,” She said, thanking him and then stuffed the fire into her open mouth.

“Huh, looking like a human...that just seems weird to me. Anyway, I’m going to go find a nice cloud and chill for awhile.” Rainbow said as she readied herself for flight.

Right before Rainbow could take off, the trees nearby shook violently and the birds took to the air in alarm. Out of the forest walked a white dragon with a serpentine body, no wings, and two horns protruding from its skull. It looked like the exact opposite of Draigo and its gaze swept over to the three as they stared at the newcomer.

“There you are, Draigo. It has been a long journey, but I can finally challenge you. Come and meet your fate you fake god,” the dragon shouted at him.

“Oh, long time no see, Shen Long. You’ve come all the way across the world and the first thing you want to do is die? What a shame. You used to be such a great dragon. I remember the day that I first created you. How long has it been now? Five, six million years?” Draigo asked as if the answer didn’t really matter.

“It has been four billion years. You created me and my mate, then you left. It was only a few years ago that I realized that you truly aren’t the god of dragons. Now you must pay for your deceit. I’ve trapped your energy in this artifact and now that you’re powerless, I can kill you and rule over all the dragons.” Shen Long brought out an artifact that looked like a pendant made for a dragon his size.

“Hmm, as interesting as that would be, I’ve got a guest. Besides, I doubt you could beat her, let alone me. If you need me to stop the fight I will, Crystal,” Draigo said as he stood. He towered over Shen Long at nearly double the size overall.

“You think I can’t beat this little...thing? That is insulting. Come little beast, I’ll use you as a warm up for my fight with Draigo,” Shen Long said as he stalked toward Crystal.

“Yeah, yeah, give me a sec,” Crystal mumbled, waving a hand at the white dragon while she tightened the bandages around her chest.

Shen Long didn’t wait and launched a torrent of fire at her as she was adjusting her bandages.

Not bothering to look up as the flames hit her, she automatically opened up her mouth and sucked the flames in, feeling more energy coalesce inside her than before. Once she was done tightening her bandages, she smirked at the dragon.

“Double meal. First time for everything. You ready to start?” She asked, standing still with her hands on her hips while bouncing on the balls of her feet lightly.

Shen Long wasn’t fazed by his flames being consumed and took a swipe at her with one of his claws followed close behind by his other.

Crystal backflipped as she dodged the first swipe and feeling the air part, felt herself thrown far off to the side, making a crater where she landed. “That hurt my everything.” She groaned once she stopped and held her side as she stood up, feeling her hand become sticky with blood.

“Draigo, you’d let such a frail thing fight your battles for you? Not only are you a fake and an abandoner, but now you are honorless as well,” Shen Long spat at Draigo, “Small being, why not join me in battling Draigo. It would bring much honor to you and would save you from an all but certain death at my claw.”

“She doesn’t have to listen to your deluded speeches, Shen. Also, from the little I’ve seen of her abilities, you’re in for more of a fight than you think,” Draigo commented as he looked down at Shen Long, “Rainbow, go tell Twilight to send a message to Celestia for aid,” Draigo whispered to Rainbow as the pegasus hovered next to his head.

“On it,” Rainbow replied as she sped off toward the library.

Growing crystal around the wound, Crystal figured it would have to do for now as she ran towards Shen Long with a slight limp. “Hey, you dragon reject! I’m still here!” Crystal shouted as she gathered flames in both of her fists. Combining both of them, she clapped her hands together and shot a massive fireball towards the dragon.

Shen Long turned toward the diminutive being and couldn’t react as the fireball connected with his head. He had figured that since it was fire that he wouldn’t be affected by it and cried out in pain and shock as the fireball exploded. Quite a few scales flew from him, leaving the skin beneath exposed.

“I was going to let you live, but now I’ll make sure your death is slow and painful,” Shen Long said as he took in a breath and released a torrent of water from his maw.

“I wouldn’t have taken the offer anyway.” Crystal retorted and her eyes widened when she saw the torrent of water come for her. “Draigo, I need your help here!” She shouted as she skidded to a stop before the wall of water, knowing that she won’t be able to stop it. Draigo immediately parted the water around Crystal and into the lake behind her.

“Well, Shen. It seems your warm-up is over,” Draigo said as he stepped between him and Crystal, “Get to a safe distance. Help should arrive soon.”

“Got it,” Crystal said, silently thanking him for stepping in. Looking for a place that would be far enough away, she spotted a hill behind the flattened trees. She bolted for it, shedding her crystal shell along the way.

“Now, you get the fight you wanted, Shen,” Draigo said as he slowly walked toward his created ‘son’.

Shen Long took the opportunity to launch an all-out attack against Draigo as he walked forward. Blast after blast of water and fire erupted toward Draigo as Shen Long attempted to overwhelm him.

Draigo was unphased by the onslaught. He used his magical might to make both fire and water go harmlessly into the sky. Once he reached Shen Long, Draigo unleashed a flurry of blows. Claws, teeth, and wings went into a blur as they struck at Shen Long. Draigo adjusted where he aimed his attacks with each new blow so that Shen Long wouldn’t be able to block or redirect them.

Blood, scales, and flesh flew in every direction as the fury that fueled Draigo shone in his eyes. Never before had Draigo felt such a burning feeling. He continued to attack and demolish the form before him even well after Shen Long’s life had ended.

Draigo suddenly stopped as he felt something touch down on his back. Looking back, he saw Princess Celestia with a look of concern on her muzzle. It was only then that Draigo looked back and saw what had become of Shen Long. The lower half of Shen Long’s body was intact but broken while the only evidence that was left of the upper body was strewn about the area.

Having gotten to the hill, Crystal turned to see the tail-end of the fight. This made her eyes widen in horror at the sheer ferocity that Draigo fought with. The crystal around the wound in her side dissolved as she sat in shock, making it bleed out and herself to slowly fall unconscious.

“Hold still, young one. We shall treat thy wounds whilst my sister calms Draigo,” Luna said as she touched down next to Crystal. Crystal couldn’t do a thing as she shivered uncontrollably due to being unconscious from the loss of blood.

After Draigo had calmed down sufficiently, he looked back at Crystal with concern etched onto his features.

“Worry not, Draigo. Our magics are strong and she shall make a full recovery within a couple of hours,” Luna told him as he looked down at them both.

“Thank you for coming so quickly. It can’t have been easy. Allow me to carry her to the castle so that she can rest and be attended to as needed,” Draigo said to both Luna and Celestia as he picked Crystal up and started the flight back to the castle.

********************************************************************************************************

After a couple hours of rest at the castle and some more tending to by medical ponies, Crystal began to stir from her sleep. Draigo took notice of this since he hadn’t left her side and brought over a glass of water and a pitcher.

With Crystal’s eyes fluttering open, she felt a residual stinging pain in her side as she groaned. “My everything hurts.” She said softly and slowly sitting up, Crystal took the offered glass of water and then a sip later, she coughed, a speck of blood flying out and into the water.

“Damn, if only I could use my Aether right now I’d be able to fully heal you in an instant. I’ll see if there’s a medical staff member outside the door,” Draigo said as he observed the blood in the water and then opened the door to check outside.

What he found surprised him. Celestia and Luna were waiting just outside, looking worried and overworked.

“Perfect timing, ladies. Would you cast another healing spell on Crystal? She just coughed up a bit of blood,” Draigo asked the two.

“Certainly, I had hoped she’d be doing much better by now,” Celestia commented as she walked into the room with Luna and Draigo close behind her.

After having seen the blood fly into the glass, Crystal carefully put it aside and gingerly checked herself for other scratches the medical staff may have missed. Feeling something sticky along her abdomen, Crystal looked down and found a fine scratch stretching across it, weeping tiny drops of blood.

“How did that get there?” She asked herself softly and looked up when she heard hooves on the floor. “You must be the Princesses,” She observed, suddenly going into a coughing fit.

Seeing this, Celestia immediately cast her healing spell and held until well after the coughing fit was done, “You are correct. I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling better. Well, better than I was after the fight.” Crystal answered, leaning forward as she crossed her arms over her abdomen. “I still feel pain in my side, but it should go away in a bit,” She added.

“Thou must be more resistant to magic than We first thought. Our healing spells should have mended all the injuries thou hast sustained,” Luna commented with a little worry showing on her face.

“What kind of magic did you use?” Crystal asked in return as she tensed up at Luna’s comment.

“You are very welcome, Crystal. We used basic healing magic that we ramped up a bit to compensate for the size difference between you and the typical pony. While you were out, Draigo filled us in on the events of earlier today. The battle was seen by almost all of Ponyville since it involved colossal sized dragons. I think the one most affected by it was Spike. He doesn’t really know the customs of the dragons here and was shocked when he found out that the entire fight was basically for ‘leadership over the dragons’. Anyway, these events have not affected the gala’s schedule and we would love to have you if you are feeling up to it,” Celestia informed them as she used her magic to scan Crystal for any missed injuries.

“Oh. Thank you for that then.” Crystal said, visibly relaxing. “I would love to come to the gala. Only problem is, I’ve never been to any sort of dance or worn a dress before.” She continued, not noticing Princess Celestia’s scan. “I’m sure I’ll feel up to it by the time it rolls around.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be going as well and I’ve never been either. Celestia has told me about past galas, though,” Draigo said and then leaned closer to Crystal, “I’ve got a plan to liven it up and you’re welcome to join in.” Draigo winked and then produced some flames, “Here, try eating something. It’ll probably help the healing process.”

“I’m never one to say no to a free meal,” Crystal said with a soft smirk and taking the flames Draigo gave her, slowly started to eat them. “Of course, I’ll definitely join in on whatever plan you have,” Crystal said through a mouthful of crackling flames.

“Well, we shall leave you since we have to organize the rest of the gala,” Luna commented as she left the room.

“Crystal, with your permission I’d like to try using a different healing spell on you since you’re still coughing up blood, have stinging on your side and have a bun in the oven. It’s a spell I’ve been developing in hopes of it affecting Draigo, should he need it. It’s been in development ever since the day Draigo told us about this ‘war’ he was recruited into,” Celestia told her as Draigo smiled at the amount of care Celestia seemed to hold for him, even after she had beaten him silly.

“Ah, dammnit. I thought I wouldn’t have to tell you about that.” Crystal said, feeling angry at herself but it soon cleared. “You’ve got the permission for using the spell. As long as I know what it is, then I’m fine with it.” She said.

Celestia lit her horn with her golden aura and it intensified as she started to cast the healing spell. Crystal’s entire body became engulfed in the magic’s golden aura as Celestia continued to cast the spell. This spell seemed to drain her quite a bit more than the spell before had. After several seconds of holding the spell in place, Celestia released the spell and scanned Crystal’s body once more. When she found no wounds left she let out a triumphant cheer and her smile couldn’t have been any bigger. The spell she’d been developing had worked and this gave her hope that she could succeed in healing Draigo in the future.

“The spell has worked like a charm and with no ill effects on the future generation. It seems that to heal you properly I had to treat you as if you were a dragon instead of a pony,” Celestia told her with a big smile.

“Good to know,” Crystal said with a relieved sigh. “I suppose that makes sense, though, considering I’m what’s called a Dragon Slayer back in my world,” She said absently as she did a check for herself. There wasn’t any pain in her side and she didn’t feel any blood coming up. “The spell really did work,” Crystal confirmed.

“I’m glad to be of service. What do you mean by ‘dragon-slayer’, though,” Celestia asked as she looked to see if Draigo reacted to this news?

“Ah, that would explain why your fire magic affected Shen Long. I doubt it would work the same on me, though,” Draigo said as if he had heard that Crystal said something about the weather outside.

“Of course it won’t. There are just as many Dragon Slayers as there are dragons. What I mean by Dragon Slayer is that a person or pony is taught magic by a dragon. This person or pony can then do all sorts of things, like, cover their body in whatever the dragon taught them and all sorts of stuff. If a Dragon Slayer actually kills a dragon, then they themselves become a dragon.” Crystal explained, putting her hand on fire to demonstrate what she meant.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that you didn’t kill Shen Long. Unless you want to be a dragon,” Draigo thought out loud, “Anyway, don’t you have a gala to organize Celestia?”

“That I do. I’ll see you two later,” Celestia said as she trotted out of the room to help Luna with the gala preparations.

“Now that she’s gone, I’ll tell you my plan to liven up the gala,” Draigo said as he closed the door so they could talk without being overheard.

“Which is what?” Crystal asked, placing a hand under her chin. “Whatever it is, it had better be good.”

“Oh, it's good,” Draigo said as he transformed into a human form with far less clothing than previously, “I’m going to show up in this form and have some music blaring as I burst through the doors and start doing muscle poses. If you join me then you wouldn’t have to wear a dress and you’d be highly entertained by the looks on all of the attendants faces. Not to mention Celestia will be glad of the change of pace.”

Crystal’s jaw dropped when he transformed into a very muscular human with barely any clothing on. “I … um … words not working right now.” She said, closing her mouth and blushing a bit. “That will, uuh, definitely liven up the gala,” She added after a few moments of flapping her mouth open and closed. “How do I exactly fit into … this?” She asked, waving her arm at what he looked like.

“Well, you could be a female version of this and join in or you could distract the band that’ll be playing so the music will be heard by everyone. I’m sure that the band will stop once the doors fly open and that the speakers that my other partner in crime will be using are going to be loud enough, but it is an alternative if you don’t feel comfortable being like this in front of a giant crowd,” Draigo told her as he paced back and forth.

“Female version sounds tempting,” Crystal said slowly, looking down at herself and tried to imagine if she could actually pull it off. “I can’t really see myself doing that. It’s not that crowds frighten me, it’s just I can’t really see myself like you.” Crystal said after careful consideration.

“If it’s the amount of clothing that you wouldn’t be wearing then rest assured. We’d have to go get you some sort of outfit since I’m just transforming into it and don’t actually have any article of clothing. I’m not trying to persuade you, just clarifying what it would be like,” Draigo said as he resumed his draconic form, “Oh, I forgot to mention that we’d be wearing masks so that we could slip away and then return later to enjoy the free food.”

“The clothing doesn’t bother me either. I don’t even really care about the amount of clothing. It’s just the muscles that I can’t see myself having.” Crystal clarified. “Masks are good to wear as well.”

“Ah, self-image issues,” Draigo said as he looked at the young woman before him, “Look, the only reason I’m doing muscle poses is because I can transform into what you saw before. You, on the other hand, have less muscle due to being a girl. So, instead of doing muscle poses, why don’t you do poses that will show off that rocking body of yours? You have a body that a lot of ladies would kill to have.”

“Oh, really? If that’s all then I’m perfectly fine with the first option. Quick question, are there any clean bandages around? These seem to be sticky with something.” Crystal agreed and pulled a bit at the bandages on her chest.

“I’m sure we can find you some in the medical wing as we go get the clothing you’ll need. Oh, don’t worry about the monetary value of the clothing. I’ve got more money and gems than I know what to do with and can create more if I really need to,” Draigo said as he produced a ruby from out of nowhere to prove his point.

“Now I’m really sold if all the expenses are taken care of,” Crystal said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She went to grab her vest, but she only grabbed air. “My vest must still be near the lake. If it wasn’t shredded in the fight that is.” Crystal said with a small frown, looking out the window.

“We can check for it later and if we can’t find it I’ll talk to Rarity about replacing it. She still owes me for saving her from some diamond dogs and if you can describe it she can make it,” Draigo told her as he placed a claw on Crystal’s shoulder to try to comfort her a bit.

“That would be great. I would ask my own Rarity to see if she could make it, but we’re not exactly on the best of terms.” Crystal said with a small sigh and looked over to the dragon. “We have a party to plan, don’t we?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We do. Shall we get going? There are plenty of clothing stores here in Canterlot and my other partner in crime is here as well. We’ll stop by the medical wing first, though,” Draigo said as he walked out of the room and toward the medical wing of the castle.

“Sounds good to me. It’ll be interesting to see who your other partner is.” Crystal said, following him after closing the door behind them. “Something’s been bugging me, though. Celestia said something about a ‘war’. What ‘war’ is she talking about?”

“Oh, it’s this stupid fight that two Displaced got into and the being that displaced them decided to turn it into a full-blown war between Displaced. Celestia and Luna shredded my wings and then made one of my legs useless while the others were heavily injured after I told them about it. The only reason I agreed to join was the chance to fight dragons that could possibly be close to my power,” Draigo said, sounding very annoyed.

“I may have struck a nerve there. Now that you told me it’s between a couple of powerful Displaced, I’d rather have Gray ice me over and over before going there.” Crystal said with a slight shudder, feeling her bandages come loose a little as they neared the medical wing.

“It’s just really, really stupid to turn a fight between two people into a ‘war’ that involves unrelated parties. The original two seem to be about the same power wise, but I’d love to just squash that stupid being who blew it out of proportion. Anyway, I’m rambling. Now, on to the shopping district,” Draigo said as he navigated them through the castle hallways.

“Off to the clothes store are we? This’ll be fun.” Crystal told him, hugging herself and rubbing her arms up and down.

“Yep, my partner’s hotel is close to the shopping district as well,” Draigo told her as they neared the entrance to the castle, “I put her up there since she actually lives down in Ponyville. All in secret, of course.”

“Of course. It’s a she, is it? How did you bring her up here then? Mission Impossible style or just an airlift during the night.” Crystal asked, placing her arms behind her head as they walked through the entrance.

“Oh, she just got a ride with a friend of hers who was already coming to Canterlot to perform at the gala,” Draigo told Crystal as they continued to walk towards the clothes store, “That way she’s not associated with me and the surprise has less chance of being found out.”

“Aww. Thought it would have been more exciting than that.” Crystal said with a slight frown but perked up a bit as she tried to figure out who the partner could be. “It makes sense, though, to not ruin the surprise.”

“Oh, believe me. If she hadn’t told me about her friend coming up here anyway, I would have flown her here myself during the night,” Draigo admitted as the first store came into view, “Now, think about the outfit you’d like to wear. We’ll be at the first store in a minute.”

Crystal fell silent as she thought hard about what her outfit could be. Every once in awhile, as she thought of an outfit she liked the sound of, her face lit up, but that was it for any sort of communication Crystal had.

The first clothing store came into view and the pair entered the store as a bell jingled over their heads. The clothing inside of the store varied from high end to everyday. Most of the store was for mares and a bit of it for stallions. The clothing, though designed with ponies in mind, seemed like it could be simply modified to fit a bipedal frame.

As they were browsing through the clothes a salespony came trotting up to them. She was a tan-furred earth pony with a gray mane and tail with a spool of thread and a needle for her cutie mark.

“Hello and welcome to my store. Is there anything I can help you with?” the mare asked, she balked as she finally noticed that her two customers were a dragon and what looked like a very small minotaur without any horns.

“Yes, my friend is in need of some clothing for a costume party we’ll be attending tonight,” Draigo told the salespony.

“What kind of clothing are you looking for, ma’am?” the mare asked Crystal curiously.

“Do you have anything in red?” Crystal asked the pony, crouching so that she was eye to eye with the salespony.

“We have plenty of clothes made from red cloth. Are you looking for a dress, shirt, or something else?” she told Crystal as she trotted towards the fancier section of the store.

“I’m looking for a short dress … and a small shirt,” Crystal said, her thoughts cycling through the outfits she had thought of before.

“Any particular material you’d like it to be made of?”

“Either satin or cotton. I haven’t decided about that yet.”

“Very well, we’ve got both and can make anything we don’t already have made. Now, what kind of dress? Something poofy? Figure hugging?” the mare asked as she went through the dresses hanging up before her.

“I don’t really like poofy so figure-hugging would be better for me,” Crystal answered, leaning forward as she scanned the various articles of clothing. “Yeah, definitely figure-hugging,” Crystal said as she thought through about the choice some more.

“Alright. Now, since you want a shirt as well. Did you want the dress to be backless and/or strapless?” the salespony asked as she brought a few dresses out that matched the criteria so far.

Crystal narrowed her eyes as she looked at the few different dresses. Running the choices through her mind once more, Crystal figured it would be better if she went backless but with straps to keep it in place.

“The backless strapped one sounds good to me,” Crystal said, nodding to herself.

The salespony took away any dress that didn’t match what Crystal wanted and left the two or three that still fit.

“Okay. Now that we’ve narrowed it down to these select few. Which would you like to try on?” the mare asked as she took each dress off the rack so Crystal could get a better view of them. All of the dresses were red and were backless with straps. Each were made of satin or cotton and had a slit for easier walking.

“Remember, the price doesn’t matter and it’s how you feel in the dress that really counts,” Draigo chimed in from across the store. He’d stayed near the entrance since clothes were no longer necessary for him.

“Oh, right thanks for reminding me,” Crystal called out to him. “Can I try this one on?” Crystal asked, showing the salespony the dress she had chosen.

“Of course, right this way,” the mare said as she lead Crystal to the fitting rooms. Heading into one of them, Crystal closed the curtain and changed into the dress, leaving the bandages on underneath. Looking at herself in the mirror, Crystal ran her hands over her body and struck a few poses to see if the dress stretched well enough. Satisfied that it did, she changed back into her regular baggy pants and sandals and walked out of the change room, holding the folded dress in her arms.

“This one’s perfect for me,” She said with a beaming smile.

“Alright. How about the shirt then?”

“Anything orange for the shirt?” Crystal asked, tapping her finger against her chin.

“Orange is an unusual choice, but we do keep a few for those ponies that either choose it or have a color scheme that it would compliment,” the mare remarked as she pulled out her selection of orange shirts.

“Yeah, well, I’m trying out a fire colour scheme. Orange and red sounded like good choices for that.” Crystal retorted and took a look at the different shirts.

“I meant no offense. It’s just that very few ponies wear orange except for when they need something that can be seen easily. Of course, you’re not a pony...I digress,” the salespony replied, “Will any of these shirts fit what you had in mind?”

Giving them a once over, Crystal touched one of them and found that she really liked the feel of it. Shifting her dress over to one arm, Crystal grabbed the shirt and showed the salespony the bright orange of it. “This one does. This one definitely fits my needs.” Crystal said with a smile.

“Excellent, let me ring those up for you,” the mare said as she trotted toward the register. Crystal followed her and looked over to Draigo to smile at him.

“Sorry this is taking so long,” She told him once they got near.

“Not a problem, we’ve got plenty of time. Now, how much do I owe you?” Draigo asked as he walked toward the register to pay for the clothing.

“That’ll be one hundred and eighty bits, please.”

Draigo reached between his scales and pulled out the correct amount of bits, “Here you go.”

“Thank you and come again,” the salespony called to the pair as they left the store.

“Let’s pick up some non-descript full face masks and then head to the hotel to meet with our other partner,” Draigo said as he walked toward a magic tricks and prop shop.

“Sounds good to me,” Crystal said, grabbing the clothes Draigo bought for her and carrying them in her arms, followed him to the store. “Thanks for paying for these by the way.”

“You’re very welcome. I’m glad that I could put some of my money to good use,” Draigo said as he walked up to their next stop, “We should be able to find some masks in here.”

Upon entering the store and being directed to where the masks were kept, the two found some masks that would work perfectly for their needs. They were soon paying for their masks and on their way to the hotel to meet with their fellow cohort.

“Now, the pony that you’re about to meet doesn’t know that I’ve added you into the plan. So, she might not talk about it until I can explain,” Draigo said as they walked into the hotel.

“That’s fine with me. I’ll just stand quietly until you explain why there’s another human in Equestria. That’ll be great to listen to.” Crystal said sarcastically.

“Right, I’ll make it quick. I don’t think she’ll freak though since she lives in Ponyville. That place has a lot of odd occurrences and they tend to take everything in stride because of it. Unless it’s something blatantly dangerous, then they tend to hide in their houses or nearby buildings,” Draigo told Crystal as they stood outside the door of the pony’s room, “None of them know I’m human, by the way. The only time I’ve been in my human form I was covered from head to toe in armor and they never saw what was underneath.”

“Oh. Well, then you’ll have to explain why TWO humans are in Equestria. But since you claim she’s from Ponyville, I’m sure it will go over smoothly now that I’m thinking about it,” Crystal said, cocking her head to the side.

“Yep, that’s going to be a really fun conversation to have later on. For now, I’ll just say that you are like me,” Draigo said as he knocked on the door.

The two of them heard hoofsteps from behind the door. The sound stopped for a moment and then two thuds were heard as the door shook a little.

“Oh, it’s you Draigo.”

The pair then heard the locks on the door be undone. The door opened after a blue aura surrounded the doorknobs and the room’s resident let them in. Draigo stepped through the doorway and then laid on one of the two beds in the room.

Scratching her head in confusion at who this ‘partner’ could be, she stepped through after Draigo and stood to the side awkwardly, rubbing one of her arms.

“Hi?” Crystal asked the pony, giving her a small wave.

“Sup, name’s Vinyl Scratch,” the pony said as she closed the door and then turned to face her two guests with her purple sunglasses covering her eyes. Vinyl was a white furred unicorn with a mane and tail that were blue and lighter blue striped. She used her magic and redid the locks on the door while facing the unknown being in the room.

“Vinyl, this is my friend Crystal. Crystal, this is Vinyl Scratch or DJ Pon-3,” Draigo introduced the two, “Crystal here is like me and will be joining us tonight.”

“So, we’ve got another shapeshifter, huh? Well, welcome aboard. Has Draigo told you what exactly is going to happen tonight?” Vinyl asked Crystal.

“He said something about bursting in a fanfare, striking poses, wearing masks, speaker hijacking, and the band, along with everyone else, having hilarious reactions.” Crystal counted off on her fingers, placing her clothing on the other bed.

“Well, there won’t be any speaker hijacking, but everything else is correct. I’ve got some portable speakers ready to go that will definitely overpower the band that’s playing. I just hope Octavia doesn’t get too mad at me. It never pays to have a roommate mad at you,” Vinyl replied as she trotted over to the nearby desk chair and took a seat.

“I bet it doesn’t. I’ve got an idea that could probably entertain the guests some more but may cause collateral damage. Wanna hear it?” Crystal asked, lying on her front on the bed.

“I’m all ears, my dear,” Draigo said as he turned his head toward Crystal.

“We could put on a fire show. After the posing, I figured we could dance while doing some fire tricks.” Crystal suggested.

“Ah, that would add a bit more of a ‘wow’ factor to it. Celestia and Luna will most likely know who’s responsible, even if we didn’t do the fire show. So, let’s do it,” Draigo responded with a grin.

Crystal gave a whoop and pumped her fist in the air. accidentally sending a crystal shard into the ceiling. Looking up, Crystal grimaced at it. “Whoops. I thought I had a handle on that.”

“No worries. If your powers are similar to mine then the more emotional you get the more they are affected. For example, I lost my temper a while back and created a pillar of flame that took out almost an entire hectare of land and extended so far into the sky that I was afraid I’d catch the atmosphere on fire,” Draigo told the young dragon-slayer.

“You did what?” Crystal said in astonishment, her eyes blinking owlishly. “What on earth could get you so riled up like that?”

“A very bad memory that I thought was buried. It was of the gypsy who displaced me and my first experience with the void,” Draigo growled when he thought of the gypsy, “Thankfully some stupid diamond dogs decided to kidnap Rarity while I happened to be watching and I was able to calm myself even further.”

Crystal put her hands up in the air, making her head fall to into the mattress. “Sorry I brought it up. Didn’t think you would act this way.” Crystal apologized, but it was muffled due to her face being squished into the mattress.

Draigo sighed, “No, I’m the one that’s sorry. It’s something that I should be over. Sure it’s a bad memory and if that specific gypsy shows up here, somehow, I’d love to give her a piece of my mind. None of that is a good reason to lose my temper or growl. You’d think that a being of my age would be able to get over something like that. Heh, some primordial dragon I turned out to be. Can’t even act properly.”

“You’d think but frankly, some things are hard to get over. Especially if you hate that thing with a passion.” Crystal told him, lifting her head up and resting it on her now-lowered arms. “Vinyl, what song you going to use for the plan?”

“Well, the song for when you two burst in is called ‘The Pillar Men Theme’. Since you want to dance afterward and show off your fire stunts. I’ll have to come up with something appropriate. Any suggestions?” Vinyl replied as she propped her head on one of her hooves.

“Hmm. How about ‘I Burn Remix’? Do you have that one?” Crystal asked, lifting her head up slightly.

“Does it sound like this?” Vinyl replied as she played the song she hoped Crystal meant. Bobbing her head to the beat, Crystal gave a soft smile, showing her sharp teeth a bit.

“That’s the song,” Crystal replied.

“Well, now that the songs have been chosen and Vinyl knows about you joining us. How about we go look for your vest? If I fly us we can be there in twenty minutes. We’ve still got a few hours before the majority of the crowd is at the gala,” Draigo said as he looked at the clock between the two beds.

“My vest? I almost forgot about that!” Crystal exclaimed, shooting straight up. “Of course you can fly us there. I just hope it’s not in pieces.” Crystal added, blinking a bit as she looked out the window.

“Alright, let’s go,” Draigo said as he jumped out the window and hovered in place.

“We’ll see you later, Vinyl.” Crystal said, and giving her a wave, ran up to the window and jumped out, landing on Draigo’s back. “To the lake!” Crystal announced grandly, pointing to where said lake was.

“To the lake it is,” Draigo replied as he sped away towards the lake in question. He grew to his full size once he was far enough away to not smash any buildings and increased his speed. The pair were by the lake in no time and began searching for Crystal’s vest.

As soon as they touched down, Crystal immediately ran to the place where she last saw her vest. By the lakeside. Quickly moving her hands over the ground, Crystal couldn’t feel any sort of cloth there. Scanning as well as using her hands, she tried to see if she could spot the vest.

“Found it!” Crystal cried out, spotting it floating in the lake. Running up to the lake’s edge, Crystal jumped in and began to swim out to it. Grabbing it, she tread water and held it up triumphantly.

Draigo tapped into his power and brought Crystal back to shore in a sphere of water, “Blast, that drain is still there. I guess I forgot to destroy that thing Shen was using to steal away my power.”

Crystal smiled at him as he brought her to shore. “I can find the pendant for you!” Crystal announced, swimming to the edge of the sphere and sliding out, shaking herself to get most of the water off her.

“Sure, shouldn’t be too hard since it’s sized for a dragon,” Draigo answered as he watched the happy woman below him.

“Shen Long was here … wasn’t he?” Crystal asked as she ran to the previously known location. “So it should be somewhere around here. Or maybe on his … body …” Crystal trailed off as she observed the mutilated remains of the white dragon.

“I’ll search his remains if you’ll search elsewhere. The last I remember he had it in one of his claws,” Draigo told Crystal as he walked over to what remained of Shen Long.

“Right. Okay.” Crystal said in a small voice. Turning around so that she couldn’t see what remained of Shen Long anymore, she began to slowly search the nearby flattened trees. “If it was in one of his claws, then could it have gone in the lake?” Crystal asked hesitantly.

“It could have since I was so merciless that parts of him flew everywhere. I’ll look there after I’m done searching his body,” Draigo replied as he searched Shen Long’s remains for the pendant.

Crystal looked behind and near all the flattened trees yielded no results. Sighing, she placed her hands on her hips and tried to think of where else the pendant could have gone to. Seeing that the only place left was the lake, Crystal began to walk to the water, in spite of her growing fear.

“No luck over here. How about you?” Draigo asked as he turned to see Crystal walking towards the lake’s edge.

“No luck here!” Crystal said over her shoulder as she inched towards the lake. Holding her breath as she ducked her head underwater, she tried to look around but could only see inky blackness. Gasping for air as she brought her head back up, Crystal immediately began to swim out towards the middle of the lake. Taking a deep breath, she held it in and dived, trying to look for the pendant.

“I can’t find it!” Crystal shouted when she went back up to the surface, angrily slapping the water in front of her.

“Well, we’ve searched everywhere else so it’s definitely in the lake somewhere,” Draigo said as he walked away from Shen’s corpse and toward the lake, “Let me get rid of the water, for now.” Draigo extended his wings to their maximum span and began to manipulate the lake’s water. Soon enough there was a massive orb of water floating by Draigo’s head as the lake stood empty. He’d made sure that Crystal would land softly on the lake’s bed so that she wouldn’t get injured again.

Crystal took one look around the lakebed and found the massive pendant Shen Long had shown them. Glancing back to Draigo, Crystal slowed her breathing and held her hands out, covering the pendant in a thick layer of black crystal. Walking backwards slowly, she imitated grabbing it in the air. Lifting her hands up, the amulet lifted up as well. They both moved at the same time and when she eventually got back to the shore, she lowered her arms, causing the pendant to drop with a loud thud.

“There ... we go.” Crystal panted, kneeling down in near exhaustion.

“Thank you, Crystal,” Draigo said as he returned the water to the lake and grabbed the pendant before raising it to eye level, “Something so small has been such a pain in my side.” He crushed the pendant in his claw and felt the stolen reserves return to him.

“No problem,” Crystal replied with a tired smile, getting up and walking over to him. “We should probably head back now.”

“You’re right. Care for a bit more energy before we take off?” Draigo asked as he extended a wing for Crystal to climb on.

“No thanks. I’ll be fine.” Crystal answered, climbing up onto Draigo and nestling herself in the gap between a couple of his spines.

“Alright, let’s go see how Vinyl is doing and get ready to ‘entertain’ the gala-goers,” Draigo said as he took to the skies with strong, smooth wing beats.

Dancing Cadenza Part 3: Dinner and a Show

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Draigo and Crystal were soon flying over the city limits of Canterlot and heading toward the hotel that housed Vinyl. As they passed over the walls, the citizenry was split between running for cover and smiling as they recognized Draigo. The hotel wasn’t far from the city walls if you flew and they were soon landing in the street in front of the hotel.

“Alright, let’s get to the room so that you can change and then we’ll head out to the castle,” Draigo said as he shrunk down and walked through the hotel’s front door.

“Coolio,” Crystal said as she slid off his back before he changed. Walking through the front doors after him, she found a few ponies looking at her and she wasn’t sure if they wanted to run, or if they should wave. “Canterlot ponies seem a lot more skittish,” Crystal whispered to him.

“There’s a lot less weird things that happen here than in Ponyville. I’m pretty sure the nobility here would be useless if something strange did happen,” Draigo explained as he continued towards Vinyl’s room, “There is a disadvantage to living in a place that has the only three Alicorns, the royal guard, and the only Primordial Dragon living in and guarding it, even if it is just being unprepared for dangerous events.”

“Never really seen Canterlot back home. I was dumped in a snowy region which I later found out was the Crystal Empire and then I rode in the train all the way to Ponyville. So I wouldn’t really know how the nobles there would act.” Crystal said with a shrug.

“Wait, that place came back? It’s been missing ever since Celestia and Luna defeated Sombra, way back when,” Draigo told Crystal as they reached Vinyl’s room. He knocked on the door and was promptly let through by the DJ.

“It went missing? I didn’t even know it WAS missing. When I landed, this smoke monster thing came after me so I ran and eventually found a city full of crystal.” Crystal answered with a slightly surprised expression, bouncing slightly on the bed she left her clothes on.

“What are you two talking about?” Vinyl asked as she closed the door and walked over to them.

“Oh, the Crystal Empire. Nothing to be concerned with,” Draigo answered as he brushed the subject off as if it was unimportant.

“If you say so. You guys ready for this? It’s gonna be great!” Vinyl exclaimed as she pumped a hoof in the air.

“Crystal needs to change and then we’ll be all set.”

“Yeah, that,” Crystal said, pointing to Draigo and then to her clothes. Leaving the shirt on the bed, Crystal grabbed the dress and walked into the attached bathroom, closing the door behind her. In what seemed like no time at all, she opened the door again and came out wearing the red dress with her original clothes folded. Placing them next to the shirt, Crystal adjusted the straps and smiled. “Now I’m ready.”

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Vinyl said as she grabbed Crystal’s clothing in her magical aura and trotted out the door, “I’ll put your clothes with my gear for when you’re done.”

“Sure, okay.” Crystal said and looked to Draigo. “What do you mean the Crystal Empire went missing?” She asked him once she figured Vinyl was out of earshot.

“Sombra took the city with him when he was defeated and it’s still gone right now,” Draigo told her as he made his way out of the room.

“Ohhh. Gotcha. My Equestria must be ahead of you then. That makes sense.” Crystal said, nodding her head and following him out the door, locking it behind them.

“Apparently it is. It’s not a big deal, though. The empire will come back eventually and then I’ll deal with Sombra myself if the ponies can’t handle him,” Draigo commented as he saw Vinyl waiting with their masks, “Ah, right. Won’t do for someone to recognize us if we want to go back to the gala later on.”

“That would not do at all.” Crystal agreed, grabbing her mask and putting it on her face. “I can barely see out of this. But it should work just fine.” She said, her voice muffled slightly by the mask.

“Yep, I’m only wearing one so that Celestia and Luna won’t harass me about the stunt later on,” Draigo admitted as he put the mask under one of his wings.

“Fine by me.” Crystal said with a shrug and pointed at the wall to her left. “That where the gala is?”

“Yeah, it’s in the ballroom of the castle. We’ll have a little walk across the drawbridge and then we’ll burst through the doors as Vinyl blares the music through her speaker system,” Draigo ran through the plan one last time, “Ready?”

“Yup. Just wondering how we’ll burst through the doors.” Crystal said.

“Oh, I’ll take care of that with a little application of power,” Draigo said as he transformed into the very exposed version of his human form and put on his mask.

“This should be very fun then,” Crystal said in glee, keeping the mask in place by fusing crystals to the underside of it and her face. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.” She continued.

“Neither can I. Now that I think of it. We’ll get two reactions tonight. One for our initial appearance and then again when we show up later. Huh, two for the price of one,” Draigo said with a finger to his chin as they walked across the drawbridge.

They were soon at the two massive doors leading directly to where Celestia was greeting her guests.

“Showtime,” Draigo said as he forced the doors open with some wind.

Music came from the speakers that Vinyl had set up as the two walked into the room and began to do their poses. Draigo stuck to muscle poses mainly with a few that seemed fairly normal. While Crystal struck poses that would make any man in the room lust after her with a few blown kisses for added effect.

The reaction of the gala goers was to stare at the two as if they had two heads each. The only ones to have a different reaction were the three Alicorns in attendance, who were smiling and giggling, and a group of six mares that were each trying to figure out who would do something like this.

Getting sick of doing the same poses, Crystal decided to turn it up a notch by having minuscule flames dance along her body, making it look like she was glowing while striking a few more sexy poses.

As she did this Draigo made his own body glow by imbuing it with light magic. He continued to strike muscle poses and decided that a few blown kisses to the mares in attendance wouldn’t hurt, especially towards the Alicorns.

Soon the song was over and a new one took its place. Draigo walked over to Crystal and whispered, “How would you like to do this?”

“We could try sparring with our fire but not really hit each other?” Crystal whispered back.

“Sounds good to me, just try not to hit too many things that look expensive otherwise the guards will interrupt us,” Draigo told her as he struck a fighting pose.

“Perfect,” Crystal commented and striking a similar fighting pose, faced down Draigo.

Draigo opened up by throwing a punch that sent a fireball careening toward Crystal.

Dodging the fireball by moving to the side, Crystal stuck her hand out at the same time and caught it. She let the flames dance in her hand before flinging it back to Draigo.

Seeing his own fireball coming at him, Draigo placed his right arm below his left and put them out as if he were going to block the incoming fireball. Once he felt the fireball touch his skin, he brought his left arm up and his right arm down at the same time. The fireball broke apart and dissipated in a shower of embers.

Bringing her hands into fists, Crystal put them in front of her and gave a few quick jabs to the air, sending multiple fireballs in quick succession. She quickly followed that by kicking her leg into the air, sending a stream of flames after the fireballs.

Draigo bobbed and weaved, dodging the fireballs. He then brought his hands together with his fingers extended and palms facing each other. As the stream of fire neared him he stuck his hands out and parted the stream, letting it pass by him. In retaliation, he created a couple of flame daggers that extended from the bottom of his fists and charged at his partner.

Seeing Draigo create a couple of flame daggers, Crystal created a couple of flame daggers from the bottom of her fists too. In addition to this, a fine layer of crystal covered her hands so that she wouldn’t get unnecessarily hurt. Seeing Draigo get closer, Crystal crisscrossed her arms and brought them up to her face, ready for his attack.

Noticing all this, Draigo threw a punch straight at Crystal’s crossed arms. He held back enough strength that she wouldn’t get more than a bruise from blocking it. He knew it was all for show, but wanted it to look fairly close to a real fight so that the audience was more entertained. Besides, she really couldn’t do all that much harm to him even in this form.

Feeling him punch her arms just hard enough for a bruise to form, Crystal let out a hiss and uncrossed them. Raising both her daggers, Crystal brought them down, aiming straight for both arms. Intending to graze them, Crystal lowered the heat of the flames but kept the brightness up so that the audience wouldn’t realize anything was amiss.

Draigo let her attack through and felt his skin get a little burnt as her daggers passed by. Letting out a grunt, he threw a punch at her head that he knew would miss due to the momentum that her attack carried. He then jumped back and prepared for her next assault.

Smirking behind the mask as he missed hitting her head, Crystal jumped back to her original position and eyed him down. Dissolving the daggers, she breathed and laid her hand flat, slicing the air with it to send a stream of flames his way.

As Crystal jumped back, Draigo took an aggressive stance. When she sent her blade of flames towards him he copied the motion and sent his own on a collision path with her’s. When the two flames met they created an explosion that filled the area with a thick cloud of smoke. Taking advantage of this, Draigo charged into the cloud of smoke and reappeared right before Crystal with smoke trailing off his body.

Crystal gave a small gasp, stumbling backwards when he suddenly appeared in front of her. Giving her hands a small shake, she shot her arm forward and covering her fist in the same amount of flames as her daggers, punched him in the arm as she stepped back towards him.

Grunting from the blow to his arm, Draigo threw a right hook as he covered his fist in crystal and fire. He was aiming for Crystal’s right arm, hoping to give a blow for a blow.

“You’re not the only one who can use crystal to their advantage,” Draigo told her quietly.

Grunting as Draigo hit her arm, she brought her foot up to his stomach and tried to push him away from her.

“That was very surprising,” Crystal whispered to him.

As Crystal kicked his stomach, Draigo grabbed her ankle with his left hand and lifted her from the ground. “What’s so surprising? You saw me create a precious gem earlier today,” he said as he threw her high into the air.

Feeling herself be flung, Crystal gasped in surprise and flailed her arms to try and catch on to something. Seeing nothing to grab onto, she fell back down on her back, cracking the floor.

Draigo flinched as Crystal hit the floor, he thought he’d given her enough time to correct herself and land on her feet. Charging in as if to finish the fight, Draigo brought his foot up and gave an exaggerated stomp towards Crystal’s abdomen. He’d have to make sure she didn’t have need of medical attention once they were done.

Eyes widening at the stomp, Crystal rolled out of the way just in time to see him stomp the floor where she mere seconds ago. Getting into a kneeling position, she threw a fireball at him, not willing to do anything more advanced than that.

Draigo winked at Crystal as he watched the fireball come towards him. He let the fireball connect with his head and promptly collapsed to the floor as if he’d been knocked out by the hit.

Draigo rose after a short amount of time on the floor and walked over to Crystal. “I’m getting kinda hungry, you?” he whispered to her as he looked out at the crowd of ponies.

“Yeah, I kinda am.” Crystal whispered back and gave a wave to the crowd.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” he told her as he raised an arm and then quickly brought it down as he created a wall of smoke between them and the ponies, completely obscuring them. Grateful for the veil, Crystal gave a sigh and ran out the doors before the smoke could dissipate. Draigo followed close behind as they made their way to where Vinyl had her synthesizer hooked up to her speakers.

“Any injuries that need to be looked at?” Draigo asked as he transformed into his draconic form.

Breaking the crystals apart as she took her mask off, Crystal coughed a bit of smoke while stretching her back.

“None that I can feel.” Crystal groaned as she stretched.

“That’s good. That fall looked like it could’ve really hurt,” Draigo commented as he grabbed Crystal’s clothes and handed them to her.

“It did, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I figured if I can handle fighting an actual dragon, then I can definitely handle a small fall.” Crystal said, taking her clothes and putting the orange shirt on over her dress.

“I figured you were fairly tough, but I sometimes forget how frail other beings are since my own defenses are really hard to get through,” Draigo said as he watched Vinyl start to pack up her equipment.

“Hmm. Did you see what we did, Vinyl?” Crystal asked her, stretching her arms into the air.

“Oh, yeah. It was awesome! The reaction was hilarious and the fight afterwards caught even the Princesses off guard.” Vinyl exclaimed as she put her speakers in their travel case.

“That’s fantastic!” Crystal said in glee, clapping her hands together. She heard her stomach growl and clutched her abdomen. “All that fighting made me hungry, though.”

“Hahaha, would you prefer food or flames?” Draigo asked, curious to find out which she preferred for actual hunger.

“Food. Proper food. My stomach needs to grind something every once in awhile.” Crystal answered, chuckling a bit.

“Alright, let’s go back to the gala and enjoy the buffet that Celestia and Luna have put together for us. Oh, don’t worry about not getting an actual invitation. You and Vinyl are my plus ones,” Draigo explained to them.

“Thanks, Draigo. I’ll be spending most of my time near Octavia, though,” Vinyl said with a grin on her face.

“That’s completely fine, Vinyl,” Draigo said as he turned to Crystal, “Are you going to change or go back inside in the outfit you fought in?”

“I’ll keep the shirt on, I’ll just change into my pants as well,” Crystal said, looking around for a place to change.

“Allow me,” Draigo told her as he brought a circle of earth up around Crystal so she’d have some privacy while she changed.

“Thanks.” Crystal thanked him and quickly changed, leaving the dress and vest folded up. “I think this looks good,” She said, jumping up onto the lip of the earthen circle lightly.

“Okay, I’ll seal off the circle so no one runs off with your clothes. This may be Canterlot, but crime still happens, no matter who says otherwise,” Draigo said as he closed the circle and lowered it a bit to be less conspicuous, “Now, let’s go. I’m starving and I’m pretty sure there’ll be at least some meat for visiting dignitaries.”

“That’s good to hear,” Crystal said, rubbing her stomach as she watched the earth mound lower. “What kind of dignitaries? They other country representatives or something?”

“Yeah, there will probably be some griffons, minotaurs, zebras, and possibly a dragon sent by whoever is in charge right now. I kinda doubt the dragons would show up, though,” Draigo said as he walked towards the very doors they’d burst through earlier.

“Sounds like a cool meeting,” Crystal replied and recognised the doors they crashed through earlier. “There’s no back entrance or something? I think the ponies would put two and two together if we went, in the same way, we went out.”

“I think that’s giving them a little too much. The Alicorns, on the other hand, they’d definitely figure it out. Let’s enter through the garden instead. There’s an entrance that leads straight into the ballroom as well as a zoo of some kind,” Draigo cringed when he thought of Celestia and Luna figuring out that it was him who pulled that stunt off.

“Ooh! A secret passageway! That just screams murder to me.” Crystal said, following Draigo as he changed directions.

“Murder? Who’s going to kill someone with this many powerful beings right inside?” Draigo asked curiously as he navigated around the castle and into the royal gardens.

“I don’t know. I usually associate secret passages with murder mysteries. Seems like the perfect place for the killer to slip away.” She said, shrugging. Looking at the gardens, she saw that there were many statues there. Noticing one that caught her eye, Crystal walked up to it and found that it was made of all sorts of different creatures. “Is this Discord?” She asked, pointing to the statue.

“Yes, it would apply to him and me if we had actually fought all out. Since we didn’t and I finished him quickly, no mortal will lose a thing. When Discord ruled, there was no way to tell the time. Day and night changed at random times. There were areas where gravity didn’t work, the rain was chocolate milk, the ground was checkered in a multitude of colors, and a whole lot of other things. He liked changing things up daily to keep the chaos fresh,” Draigo told Crystal, “Okay, I gotta ask. What did you mean when you said you had your gender swapped? You were a guy and then a girl? You didn’t have ulterior motives for keeping that body, right? Also, how long have you been a girl?” Draigo raised an eye ridge and waited for her response.

“I’ve been a girl for about three months actually. I’m just going to say that someone showed me it was much better being a girl than a guy and let’s leave it at that. The way you described how Discord ruled sounded like it was pretty chaotic.” Crystal said, scratching her cheek and inspecting the statue closer.

“Three months and you’re already pregnant? You work fast, my friend,” Draigo commented, “I’m pretty sure the words ‘Spirit of Chaos’ tell you what he’s all about. Is there something interesting about his statue? Oh, who convinced you to stay like that? Twilight? Pinkie? Perhaps it was another Displaced, even if it is extremely improbable?”

“Yeah, well, it was mutual.” Crystal replied with a slight blush. “I’m a bit dense so it may have to be repeated a couple of time for it to get through.There’s nothing particularly interesting about it, I just wanted to see what he was like up close. None of them. It was someone completely different. You’re not that far off with the third option though.” Crystal answered, looking at Draigo carefully.

“Good, good. I was kinda afraid that Discord was escaping from his prison somehow,” Draigo said with a relieved sigh, “Oh? Related to a Displaced or very close to a Displaced?”

“Related. You going to quit with the questions or do I have to suffer through more of them?” Crystal answered with a furious tone in her voice.

“Oh, I’ll stop. Twilight, on the other hand, will never stop until she’s satisfied so be careful,” Draigo said as he chuckled at the frustrated mage.

“Oh man. Forgot about her for a minute there.” Crystal mumbled, running a hand down her face.

“Yeah, it’s kinda easy to forget with what has happened today,” Draigo admitted as he thought of something, “Have you asked for advice from Cadence about you and your lover? Have you met her yet?”

“No, I haven’t asked yet but I have met her. She was the first princess I met, actually. But she’s rather busy at the moment.” Crystal trailed off, looking around at the other statues.

“How is she busy? She doesn’t even seem to have any ‘royal duties’ as far as I’ve seen.” Draigo asked as he started to walk toward the ballroom entrance, “Come on, it may be a buffet, but they’ll stop bringing food out after awhile.”

“Not so much royal duties. She’s more taking care of a baby Sombra rather than taking on royal duties.” Crystal answered, quickly following after him.

“Wait, Sombra’s still alive?!” Draigo said as he froze mid-step, “Do you realize what he’s done and is capable of? Do you realize the impact that will leave on the crystal ponies when they learn that their tormentor is alive and being looked after by their new princess? Cadence is ruling the Crystal Empire, right?”

“Yes, he’s still alive! I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, but I know something turned back Sombra’s biological clock. His mind may not really be there because it apparently has never happened before. And yes, Cadence is ruling the Empire.” Crystal said in a hushed whisper as they walked into the ballroom proper.

“Ugh, for your and the Crystal Empire’s sake I hope his mind isn’t there. If he shows signs of his mind still being there then call for help or use the elements on him again or something. I’m unsure what the original plan to defeat him was, but that would probably be the best bet since I’m guessing the preparations for it were fairly complete before whatever happened, happened,” Draigo whispered to her as the ponies stared at the pair of them, “See something interesting, puny mortals?” Draigo asked the crowd of ponies in a harsh voice.

“That may have been a bit harsh,” Crystal muttered, patting Draigo on his leg. Looking around at the crowd, she bared her sharp teeth and saw with satisfaction the entire crowd move back a bit. “I’ll be sure to keep all that you said about Sombra in mind,” Crystal added.

Draigo sighed, “Sorry, thinking about Sombra and knowing that, had I been in the area, I could’ve helped. It gets me riled up, which has been a lot easier since I became a dragon. Anyway, let’s see what has been prepared for us to eat.”

“Let’s.” Crystal agreed and walked through the crowd of ponies, making a beeline for the buffet.

Draigo followed her as he flared his frightful aura. The crowd of ponies parted before him as if they were wheat being blown by the wind. “Heh, it’s the simple things that you have to remember to appreciate.” He grabbed a plate with his magic and proceeded to fill it with an array of food items.

“The simple things are better appreciated if they are seen from a different perspective,” Crystal said, grabbing a plate and filling it with various food stuffs.

“Hmm, you have a point. Where would you prefer to sit? We could join the Princesses, try to find Twilight and her friends or just go back outside to eat in private,” Draigo said as he looked around to see if he could spot the lavender unicorn, just in case.

“I actually want to see Twilight and her friends, believe it or not. It would be a nice change to answer a few questions compared to everything that happened today.” Crystal answered.

“Well, you’ve got a point,” Draigo said as he continued to search for Twilight and her friends, “There they are. They’re fairly close to Celestia. I guess being her student has its advantages.” Draigo proceeded to walk toward the group of mares and heard them talking about the stunt they’d pulled earlier.

“I think they were aliens,” Pinkie said as Draigo and Crystal walked up to the group’s table.

“Huh, she’s closer than she thinks,” Draigo whispered to Crystal as they got close enough to draw the entire group’s attention.

“Very close.” Crystal whispered. “Hello. I’m Crystal, a friend of Draigo’s.” Crystal said, introducing herself. “Quick question though. Do you know where the bathroom is?” She asked, feeling a bit queasy from unintentionally smelling all the different foods.

“The bathroom is down that hall, first door on your left,” Draigo informed his guest, “Before you ask Twilight. Yes, she’s a Displaced like myself. She’s, well, a human.”

Crystal quickly put her plate on the table and giving a quick wave, bolted for the bathroom.

“WHAT!? She’s human? I thought they were a myth that only crazy ponies believed in,” Twilight exclaimed as the rest of the group chuckled at her reaction.

“Yep, she’s human. You know what else? So am I,” Draigo said as he set his plate down on the table and transformed into his armored human form as his concern for Crystal’s health grew. He removed his helmet to prove he truly was the same as Crystal.

The reaction that he got from Twilight and the others was jaws hitting the table with eyes as wide as their plates.

Wiping her mouth dry as she walked back, Crystal closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Getting back to the table, she opened her eyes and looked around. “What did I miss?” She asked.

“Oh, I just told them that I’m a human and showed them what I look like to prove it. That reaction of theirs never gets old. They did a similar one when I told them I was a primordial dragon,” Draigo told Crystal as he chuckled before he began to eat the food on his plate.

“So, you’re telling me that I could’ve been getting information about a new species this entire time!? Argh, do you even realize how frustrating that is?” Twilight asked Draigo. She looked at Crystal and began to scrutinize them both for any information she could glean from their appearances.

“Is that what he said? I thought it was just me avoiding you for the entire day.” Crystal said, scratching her cheek as she pushed her plate away, not feeling particularly hungry at the moment.

“Oh, there’s that, but what Twilight means is that she could’ve been pumping me for answers had she known I was human earlier. Good thing I kept it a secret until now,” Draigo told Crystal and muttered the last bit to himself.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Crystal asked Twilight, who continued to scrutinize them closely.

“Anything. For instance, you’ve got a bruise on your arm as well as a burn. Also, you seem to have a slight shine to you as if you’d just gotten done with a hard workout. You don’t have any fur except for on your head and your forelegs have those weird ‘things’ on the end of them instead of hooves. Finally, you just dried your mouth after coming back from the bathroom, indicating that you most likely threw up. Need I go on?” Twilight said as she demonstrated her observational skills.

“No, because I’m going to tell why I have all those things that you said. The bruise is because I bumped into a door frame, the burn is a tattoo. You are observant because I actually was working out a bit before I got here. The fur on my head is called hair and the ‘things’ on the end of my forearms are my fingers. I threw up in the bathroom because I’m-was, sick.” Crystal said, folding her arms as she stared at Twilight; nervous about her near slip-up.

“So, those things at the end of your forearms are called fingers? They seem awkward to use,” Twilight asked trying to clarify the information she’d just been given.

“Yes, these are called fingers and they are attached to our hands. You get used to them after awhile and they are what enable us to hold things without the use of magic,” Draigo answered the curious mare as he wiggled his fingers to show her what part he was talking about.

“Fascinating. Crystal, why do you have sharp teeth all around your mouth while Draigo only has them in four spots?” Twilight asked as she produced a quill and pad of paper.

“Because they make me become nightmare fuel.” Crystal said with a shrug and smiled, showing off her teeth. “To be honest, though, it’s a dragon thing. The character that I became had sharp teeth because he was trained in magic by a dragon. I must’ve gotten them when I got transported to my Equestria.” Crystal clarified after seeing their faces.

“Does that mean you have dragon magic as well? What’s it like? I’ve tried asking Draigo, but he didn’t really know since he’s been like this for so long,” Twilight asked as she jotted down everything that was being said.

“That’s cute. You’re like a living typewriter. Anyway, using dragon magic feels like you’re getting this big buzz every time you use it, sort of like after having about a hundred cups of coffee. I can’t really explain it that well, but that’s what it feels like for me. It must be different for each magic user.” Crystal answered, scratching the back of her head.

“Ooh, ooh. Do you sing about your hated enemies like Draigo?” Pinkie asked out of the blue.

“That was a one-time thing. You’ll never hear me sing again,” Draigo said with a bit of panic in his voice.

“Why? Y’all had a wonderful voice, even if it did scare me half to death,” Applejack piped in.

“Personal reasons,” Draigo answered with a bit of blush showing.

“No, I don’t sing. Never really seen the reason to do so in the first place. I didn’t know you sing, though! You should sing a song!” Crystal said, slapping Draigo on the shoulder.

Draigo sighed, “Any requests? I can tell that none of you girls will give up unless I sing so I might as well sing something you’ll like.” He shifted back into his draconic form and grew to a little taller than Celestia. If he was going to sing, he was going to do so in comfort. He stood up and waited to see if any of them had a request.

“You heard of ‘Summer Lovin’?” Crystal asked, looking up at Draigo.

“Yep and if memory serves I’ll need a partner to properly sing it,” Draigo said as he began to walk toward Celestia and Luna’s raised table.

“Celestia, would you sing a song with me? It was requested and I need a partner to pull it off,” Draigo explained to the surprised princess of the sun.

“What song is it and who requested it?” Celestia asked curiously.

“The song is called ‘Summer Lovin’ and everyone at Twilight’s table wanted to hear me sing. So, would you join me in singing it?” Draigo asked, hoping she would agree.

“Hmm, I do remember a song by that name. If Twilight and her friends would like to hear it then I’m glad to help you out,” Celestia said as she stood and joined Draigo at the edge of her raised platform.

Draigo started the song and Celestia joined in flawlessly. They were soon engrossed in their singing. They didn’t even notice Luna give them both a knowing smile or Twilight and her friends start to dance to their song. Soon enough the entire ballroom grew silent as they listened to the song of the powerful duo. After a little bit, all of the mares echoed Celestia while the stallions did the same for Draigo. It was now a full blown musical number.

The song continued for a little bit then as it ended the pair looked out over the crowd of ponies and flinched when applause erupted from everyone attending the gala.

“Thank you, Celestia. It was fun,” Draigo said softly with a bit of a blush somehow showing through his scales.

“Yes, we should do it again sometime,” Celestia told him as she returned to her table.

Draigo slowly walked back to Twilight’s table and before anyone could say a thing he began eating once more.

“That was something. You two sing really well together.” Crystal complimented him, eating from her plate after finishing her dancing.

“Yes, you and Celestia were really good, darling,” Rarity piped in.

“The song was okay, I guess,” Rainbow said as she looked away from everyone.

“Alright, alright. Isn’t there something else you could talk about?” Draigo said without looking up from his plate.

“We could talk about me doing basic elemental spells, but that can be left for another time. I’d rather talk about why you didn’t say that you had such a good singing voice.” Crystal said, resting her head on both her fists.

“Well, it’s never come up before,” Draigo said as he played with his food with one of his claws, “To be perfectly honest, I’ve never thought of my voice as ‘good’, more like intimidating. That’s why I’ve only really sang when no one else could hear me or so I thought.” Draigo looked at Applejack with a mild glare.

“Hey now, ah thought you were upset and needed to get somethin’ off yer chest,” Applejack said defensively.

“So why do I get the feeling you two don’t really like his singing?” Crystal asked, pointing to Draigo and Applejack.

“It’s not tha ah don’t like his singin’. It’s just that last time I heard him sing he had fire dancing across his body in the middle of the night and then burned up almost an entire hectare of ma land with that pillar he created,” Applejack answered, “It scared me worse than anythin’ ever has before.”

“Of course I don’t like my singing. Didn’t you hear me? I’ve always thought my voice was more intimidating than anything. Why would I want to be intimidating while singing something that isn’t meant to be an intimidating song?” Draigo told her energetically.

“No, I just usually filter that stuff out,” Crystal said absently, chewing on some of her food. “That hectare burning sounds like it wasn’t a good thing, though,” She added.

“I went back and fixed it after I’d calmed down properly. Heck, Celestia is my witness,” Draigo muttered as he looked down at the floor.

“Yep, it’s true. That hectare was empty so nothing got destroyed except for some grass,” Applejack clarified.

“At least trees didn’t get burned otherwise you would actually have something to argue about.” Crystal said, looking first to Applejack, then the princesses. “They look different here than from where I’m from,” She muttered. “What am I saying? Everyone here looks different.”

“Really? What are they like in your world?” Draigo asked as Twilight once more brought out her quill and notepad.

“For one thing, even though they still are the Princesses, they also govern the magic guilds in my world. They also look more human than pony and still have pony traits.” Crystal said, trying to remember what Celestia and Luna looked like back home, considering she’s only met them a few times.

“So, you blend in a lot better than I do when I’m in my human form. That actually sounds kinda nice. I mean, even when I’m a dragon I stand out. The only way I don’t stand out is when I’m trying to hide my identity from everyone,” Draigo told her as he finished off his plate of food.

“That so? Now that I’m thinking about it, every pony at this table is different. Twilight’s job is the same there as it is here. Taking care of the library. Rainbow does not have wings, but she can use wind magic to lift herself up so there’s that. Pinkie is a baker, Rarity is a dressmaker and holds her Boutique close to the Fairy Tail guild and Applejack is a farmer and sells whatever she produces in the marketplace. Also, all of you are more human than pony in my world.” Crystal rattled off as she screwed her eyes shut in an effort to compare the two.

“Huh, doesn’t actually sound all that different, besides them being more human. Pinkie helps out in a bakery, Rarity is a dressmaker and owns her Boutique, and Applejack is a farmer and sells a good majority of what is produced. Rainbow seems to be the most different of the bunch,” Draigo explained as he pointed to each pony as he mentioned them.

“Fluttershy also takes care of animals,” Crystal added, finally opening her eyes as she remembered Fluttershy.

“I-I take care of animals as well,” Fluttershy quietly said from across the table, “There’s quite a few that live in my cottage with me too.”

“Yep, not all that different,” Draigo commented as he propped his head up with one of his claws.

“You do? That’s good to know.” Crystal said with a nod and looked over to Rainbow. “You okay there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just really hard to imagine not having wings to fly with,” Rainbow responded as she was snapped out of her stupor by Crystal’s question.

“Darling, I know it may be a bit personal, but do you have a special somepony or somepony you’re interested in over in your world?” Rarity asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Uum …” Crystal said dumbly, blinking owlishly at Rarity. “Yes … why do you want to know?” She asked nervously.

“Oh, I’m just curious about the relationships in your world and I’m wondering if they are similar to ours like our professions are,” Rarity told her.

“All that I know for sure is that Twilight and Pinkie are together. Other than that, everything seems to be up in the air.” Crystal said with certainty.

“Twilight and Pinkie? I’m sorry, darling. I just can’t see that,” Rarity said skeptically.

“Believe it or not, they are together. I don’t even know how they got together since they appeared before I even landed in my Equestria and frankly, I don’t want to know.” Crystal said, laying her hands flat on the table.

“I’m not into this mushy stuff, but I am curious if the me in your world has somepony she’s interested in,” Rainbow said as the other mares around the table nodded their heads in agreement.

“I would like to think she does, but I have no clue. I think all of you are still single, excepting Twilight and Pinkie.” Crystal answered.

“Well, there you have it, ladies. Now, can we change the subject? It seems that all you girls want to talk about is love and relationships. And yes, I know that sounds like I think you’re stereotypical girls, but I don’t,” Draigo told the group of girls before him.

“Sounds to me like ya jus’ don’t want us askin’ about your interests there, Draigo,” Applejack quipped.

“That would be preferred, yes,” Draigo answered nervously.

“What don’t you want to tell us?” Crystal asked innocently, clasping her hands and bringing them up to the side of her face.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Draigo responded as he looked out the window towards the garden.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing~” Crystal sang.

“Think back a bit to that thing that you didn’t want me asking about. Cause I can easily set them on you,” Draigo counter attacked and hoped she would actually remember.

“What thing?” Crystal asked, trying to figure out what he meant. Thinking back, she remembered it as her face fell. “Oh right. That.”

“Yep, though now that the girls here know that there’s something I want to hide they’ll probably push me to tell anyway,” Draigo admitted and looked sidelong at the rest of the table. The girls, especially Rarity, could smell interesting news about who he liked, “Crap, I was right and I really don’t feel like running away.”

Crystal didn’t say anything. She just let her head rest on the table as the blush slowly intensified as her eyes looked at the group.

“I’ll take my secret with me to the grave,” Draigo proclaimed, “I’ll take yours with me as well,” Draigo whispered to Crystal.

“Now, darling, there’s no need for that. Just tell us what we want to know and we can continue on with our night,” Rarity said with a gleam in her eye.

“Ha, it’ll take more than that to make me spill the beans,” Draigo challenged as the mares went into a huddle, “Celestia save me.” He intoned under his breath.

“Save you? What about me? Wait. Am I even safe?” Crystal whispered in a panic, looking at the huddled mares.

“They’ve smelled a possible new relationship with one of their friends. They should concentrate on me until I’ve told them. That should be long enough that you will be forgotten,” Draigo hurriedly whispered to Crystal without taking his eyes off the huddled mares before him.

“Oh no.” Crystal squeaked, watching as the mares broke off from their huddle. “We’re doomed.”

“I’m afraid so. It was an honor fighting alongside you, my friend,” Draigo said melodramatically.

“Yup. Nice knowing ya,” Crystal said with a gulp and a scared look on her face.

When the mares broke their huddle they began to assault each of their victims in turn, giving them just enough time to partially recover their nerves. It was only a matter of time before one of them broke down.

Turns out that Draigo was the weaker of the two when it came to resisting ‘peer’ pressure.

“Alright, fine. I’ll answer your question if it will make you stop,” Draigo said as he broke down before the onslaught of the mares.

“Alright, then darling, who does Crystal like?” Rarity asked with an evil grin on her face. Crystal merely crossed her arms and smirked at Rarity.

“Why would I say who I like?” She asked.

“Oh, darling, you misunderstood. I was asking Draigo since he seems to know who you like,” Rarity clarified for Crystal.

“Ohh. Good luck with that then, considering he doesn’t even know …. dammit!” Crystal cursed, trailing off as she realized she left herself open for a verbal onslaught.

“Well then, let’s focus on you then, Crystal. What is he or she like?” Rarity asked as the mares’ attention focused on the female mage.

“Well, uuh … I vote for a tactical retreat!” Crystal said, sweating bullets while raising her hand up. “Who’s with me?”

“Vote seconded,” Draigo said as he rushed toward the door to the gardens after he’d put Crystal onto his back.

“Those mares are crazy!” Crystal shouted, ducking her head under the archway of the door as they went past it.

“They’re all single and thirsty for a relationship so when they sense a friend likes someone they latch on like leeches,” Draigo told her as he checked behind him, “Crap, they’re pursuing us and Rainbow’s catching up quick. Ideas?”

Looking around the gardens, Crystal saw the entrance to a hedge maze. “Will the hedge maze work?” She asked, looking behind to check on their pursuers.

“It won’t stop Rainbow or Fluttershy, but it’ll definitely allow us to lose the others,” Draigo told her as he steered toward the maze’s entrance.

“I have an idea on how Rainbow and Fluttershy won’t be able to get us. You go one way, I’ll go a different way. Just trust me.” Crystal said, sliding off his back and once she hit the ground, began running towards on the side paths peeling off from the entrance. Heading into one, she ran her hand on the top of the hedge, concentrated and managed to make crystal cover her path of the maze, acting as a roof. Having done so, Crystal continued running, anxious to lose the mares.

“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” Draigo said to himself as he ran in the opposite direction of Crystal.

“Now I see the flaw in my plan,” Crystal muttered, skidding to a stop just the edge of the path she had taken. Looking above to see if either Fluttershy or Rainbow were there, Crystal ran into a different path, not bothering to place any crystal as it would just consume her energy.

“There’s no use in running, Crystal,” Rainbow called from above her chosen target, “We can get Draigo anytime since he lives here. You, on the other hand, don’t.”

“Crap.” Crystal panicked, looking above to see Rainbow flying there. Looking in front of her, she found she had reached a dead end. “Why did it have to be a dead end?” She groaned and throwing all logic out the window, made herself catch fire and ran straight through the hedge wall and into the path beyond.

“You’re really lucky that the hedge maze is still green, Crystal. Otherwise, you would have set the entire place on fire. I still don’t suggest doing that again,” Rainbow commented as she flew lazily above Crystal.

“Okay, I get it! Fire bad for hedge.” Crystal mumbled and ran in a completely new direction. “I hope Draigo is faring better than I am,” She muttered, skidding around a corner.

At that moment, Draigo was feeling a lot more confident about escaping since Fluttershy was the one pursuing him. That confidence would vanish in the next few moments.

Fluttershy, knowing she was a slow flyer, recruited the aid of the animals in the gardens. A flock of birds dive bombed Draigo and began to peck him all over. While the pecking did nothing the amount of birds made him slow down enough for Fluttershy to catch up.

“Agh, go away you stupid birds,” Draigo cried out as his vision was effectively blocked by the feathery assailants.

“I’m sorry Draigo. I really didn’t want to do this, but we really need to find out who you and Crystal like,” Fluttershy told him in a very nice way for what she was doing to him.

“You’ll never take me alive, copper,” Draigo called out, “Please be able to get away somehow Crystal,” He muttered to himself.

Reaching yet another dead end. Crystal skidded to a stop, panting as she tried to think of something to get away.

“Are you okay? You seem to be in a lot better shape than what your performance indicates,” Rainbow wondered as she hovered in front of the panting woman.

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine,” Crystal said flippantly before resting her elbows on her knees as she leaned down.

“Uh huh, sure you are,” Rainbow said as she landed in front of Crystal and tripped her, “Just sit there and answer some questions.”

Crystal shot Rainbow a glare when she fell but leaned back into the hedge slightly anyway. “Fine. What questions? I thought the interview was over when we ran out the hall.” Crystal muttered.

“Well, kinda. See, the others still want to know about who you like. So being the loyal and awesome friend that I am, I gotta find out as much as possible while they’re getting here,” Rainbow explained to the irked human.

“Oh, really?” Crystal huffed, crossing her arms as she laid down on the ground and looked up at the sky.

“Yep. So, make this easy on both of us and spill the beans,” Rainbow said as she pointed at Crystal with her hoof.

“The only thing I’m telling you is that it’s a she, happy?” Crystal said in frustration.

“Not really cause I’m talking about mushy feelings,” Rainbow told Crystal as she stuck her tongue out in disgust, “I’ll do it for my friends, though. Any particular reason why you don’t want us to find out who you like?”

“Because unlike your friends, I like keeping my romantic life secret from anyone I don’t know, even if they look like someone I do know. Now will you quit asking?” Crystal growled, thumping her fist against the ground, leaving a scorch mark where she hit.

Rainbow took a couple steps back from the angry woman and sat on the ground with a sigh.

“Yeah, I get ya. I don’t want the others to know about who I like either,” Rainbow admitted with her ears drooping to the side.

“At least that makes two of us,” Crystal muttered bitterly, even though her gaze had softened. Sitting up and drawing her knees to her chest, she then stared angrily at the ground in front of her.

“I mean, I’ve worked really hard on my image and if they found out they’d never let me hear the end of it. The rest of the town would then hear and see me as soft. I’m not soft! I’m tough!” Rainbow exclaimed as she struck a pose she thought would make her look tough.

“Ha!” Crystal barked harshly, looking at Rainbow for a split second before turning her gaze back to the ground. “You’re the toughest pony I know.”

“Thanks, that means a lot coming from someone like Draigo,” Rainbow admitted and then quickly went to clarify, “A Displaced, that is.”

Draigo was then seen flying above them while a flock of birds pecked away at him. He was only able to fly over the hedge and a little ways away before he crashed to the ground. The birds made it really hard for him to flap his wings properly.

“Get away, you’ve already grounded me,” Draigo said in frustration as Fluttershy and the rest of the girls came over the hedge to land between Draigo and Crystal.

“Do you give up?” Twilight asked.

“I give up, but that doesn’t mean I’ll tell you anything,” Draigo responded, “Besides, I really don’t want to hurt any of you and that’s basically what I’d have to do to get away.”

“I got no problem doing that,” Crystal muttered vehemently.

“Did they hurt you?” Draigo asked as he looked at Crystal intently.

“Nope,” Crystal answered, gazing darkly at the ground in front of her.

“Then don’t hurt them. It’s that simple,” Draigo said to the brooding, pink haired woman.

“I’ll think about it if they don’t ask anymore questions about who I like,” Crystal answered, glaring daggers at Twilight.

“Okay, fine. I won’t ask about who you like and neither will the rest of the girls,” Twilight said as the group nodded in agreement even though they were a tad disappointed. They were mostly ashamed that they had made their guest so angry.

“Oh, I feel terrible for not being kinder,” Fluttershy admitted, “Is there any way we can make it up to you, Crystal?”

Crystal snapped her attention to Fluttershy, slowly softening her gaze as she looked at her. “Maybe a little consideration for the privacy of other ponies,” Crystal said, getting up and dusting herself off.

“I reckon we can remember that,” Applejack replied, “If it weren’t fer us pushin Fluttershy to stop Draigo from runnin then I’m sure she would’ve stopped. The fault lies with everypony besides her.”

“Since that’s the case, then why didn’t you send Twilight after Draigo? Or even have her cast some sort of scanning spell to tell you what you wanted to know? It would have saved us a lot of trouble.” Crystal said, crossing her arms and glaring at the farm pony.

“Well, for one Draigo is immune to magic and I know I can’t keep up with him, especially if he flies away. Second, I could’ve cast a spell to tell me your locations, but keeping you in one place would’ve been impossible without being able to see you. Also, I don’t know any spells that let me read another’s mind and I don’t think there is such a spell,” Twilight explained as she backed away slightly from the glaring gal.

“I wasn’t talking about reading minds. I meant to see if you could cast a spell that can tell you if we were lying or not. A lie detection spell that could be used by listening for heartbeats.” Crystal clarified, pinching the bridge of her nose while placing a hand on her hip. “Or maybe even a full-body scan. Who knows?”

“Oh, right. Well, that doesn’t do us any good if you don’t answer the questions and you obviously didn’t want to,” Twilight told Crystal as she blushed from embarrassment.

“I don’t but,” Crystal sighed, looking at Twilight. “I’m going to tell you something. Hopefully, it will tide you over till I come back.” She then turned her gaze to Draigo and gave him a smile. “I want you to be ready to send me back immediately after I say it, okay?”

“Ready to fire, Ma’am,” Draigo said as he saluted and stood up.

“The real reason why I went to the bathroom so quickly is because … I’m expecting.”

“Crystal, our contract is complete,” Draigo quickly intoned as the six mares squeed in joy as they tried to run up and hug Crystal.

Before they could, Crystal disappeared into a portal that appeared beneath her feet. When she fell, she hit someone, making the mystery person curse loudly.

“Stuff you too,” Crystal said loudly to whoever she had hit as the portal closed, leaving behind a white scarf wrapped around a rock.

“Well, that was a fun day,” Draigo said as he picked up the scarf wrapped around its stone, “I hope she does well and remembers that I’m here should she need me.”

********************************************************************************************************

Little did they know that their entire day had been observed and studied by a being in a distant land.

“Next time, Draigo, you won’t get away so easily. Then, when you’re gone, this planet will be mine to do with as I please,” the being said, laughing evilly at the end.

Holidays with Magnus

View Online

Draigo was relaxing in a pool of lava inside of an active volcano after his most recent bout with the ‘war’ he’d been recruited into. He was having a very nice time until he noticed a red daemon appear before him that just shouted ‘Hey, I’m a daemon. Shoot me!’ without saying a word.

“No interdimensional boundary can contain me!” Magnus shouted as he tore a hole in reality.

“What are you talking about, daemon!?” Draigo shouted at the red daemon with horns on his chest armor.

“None of your business, overgrown handbag.”

“I am not a handbag, but you are target practice,” Draigo said as he hurled lightning at the daemon before him.

“Are you sure? Because my brother had one that looked remarkably like you that he gave to a girl he favored. If not, I can always fix that.”

“Die, you daemon,” Draigo said as he encased the daemon in an earth prison.

The red giant casually walked out of the earth. “Former daemon, thank you.”

“So you are a daemon! Now die like the rest,” Draigo said as he emitted light in hopes that it would kill it.

“Former. And you can’t kill me. I’m not here.”

“Yes you are, you’re standing right in front of me. I will not fall prey to your tricks,” Draigo said.

“This is merely a projection I use to travel the void.”

“Well, that’s a first. Someone who actually travels the void beside those stupid Displacers. I’ve traveled the void of space, but I know that’s different.”

“I find it rather tame compared to the Warp but most things are, in truth.”

“Crap, you’re one of the Warhammer people like Ahriman or Kharn, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but those two are so far beneath me it’s laughable. I haven’t seen either one in over 11,000 years mind so they may be more powerful than I remember. If you see Ahriman again do me a favor and tell him his father is still disappointed in him and then hit him really hard.”

“Okaaay, um, you’re his dad?”

“In a manner.”

“Well, I can certainly do that. He won’t like me for doing it, but I can do it.”

“Great. It’s what he deserves for turning 90% of his brothers into what amounts to dust golems.”

“He did what!?”

“To be fair, he was trying to keep them from turning into horrible mutants. He did go behind my back, though.”

“Uh huh, this involves Chaos, doesn’t it?” Draigo deadpanned.

“Slightly. The spell was mostly non-chaotic but that bastard Tzeentch certainly helped.”

“Freaking Chaos! First they mess with corpses and now I find out that they turned perfectly good living people into golems. What next, sending babies across the universe?”

“My brothers and I, yes.”

“It’s already happened!? Holy crap. There’s no way I can look at Ahriman and his Chaos Warriors the same way ever again.”

“Did he tell you about killing countless Eldar in an attempt to find a library?”

“He doesn’t really talk about himself, at all.”

“That’s odd. He usually loves to brag about how much he’s ‘accomplished.’ It’s always been a failing of his.”

“Anyway, you are Magnus the Red, yes? I recognized you after I’d calmed down from my initial reaction,” Draigo admitted as he slumped further into the lava pool.

“Magnus the Red, former daemon prince of Tzeentch and son of the Emperor of Mankind. Who are you, dragon?”

“I am Draigo, a Primordial Dragon.”

“Primordial? Interesting, primordials tend to be very powerful and wise. However, I also tend not to trust them.”

“I am very powerful, yes. The wisdom is kinda hit and miss. It depends on the situation really.”

“And the whole trust thing?”

“Well, that’s mutual right now considering I know nothing of you, why you’re here, or anything beyond your name really.”

“I travel the void searching for signs of my family. Your soul just happened to somewhat resemble my father’s.”

“A skeleton on a golden toilet has a soul that is similar to mine? I’m not sure whether to feel honored or ticked off.”

“First, the Golden Throne is an exquisite piece of machinery. Second, all large souls tend to look the same from outside the universe. I’ve had quite a few false positives in the last millennium. Most of them turn out to be Celestia or Luna, though.”

“Huh, they should have attracted you to this world even if I wasn’t here considering they stand a chance of beating me as a team.”

“Oh, they’re souls are quite large as well. It’s one of the reasons I chose to come here. Three large souls increased the chance that one of them was the Emperor.”

“Makes sense. Now that you’re here and have found out that the Man-Emperor of Mankind isn’t here, would you like to stay a bit and celebrate the winter holidays with me?”

“Why would you call him that? As for the holidays, perhaps. As I said I don’t entirely trust primordial beings but the knowledge they can share is usually quite valuable. Can you provide some reason I should stay?”

“Oh, I saw this thing back on earth where the golden skeleton himself said he wasn’t a god and was then called ‘Man-Emperor of Mankind’ instead of ‘God-Emperor of Mankind.’ It’s still kinda fuzzy, but interacting with the other Displaced has really jogged my memories of Earth. As for a reason to stay. Wouldn’t studying me and my powers be worth it since I’m probably one of the few primordial beings that would let you do so?"

“That seems redundant and asinine. If you are willing to let me study you, though, I think I will stay.”

“Alright, youngling. Should we go to the castle to see what they have planned for the holidays or should we go to Ponyville instead? I assume you know about them both, right?”

“Just because you’re old doesn’t mean I’m young. Canterlot would be nice. I haven’t been there in a while.”

“Really? How old are you, Magnus?”

“21,000 years give or take. Not much compared to you, I know, but still older than most living beings.”

“True, you’re still ‘young’ in my book, though. Just like Deathwing and Ahriman.”

“Anyway, I can’t really use my powers without a great deal of effort without a local Warp. Do you mind giving me a ride?”

“How can I give you a ride if you can walk through solid earth like it’s nothing?” Draigo asked as he got out of the lava pool.

“I can make myself tangible with a bit more effort. Though, less than if I tried to fly or teleport.”

“Ah, okay. Well, climb up and don’t fall off.” Draigo said as he extended a wing for Magnus to climb up onto his back with. Magnus quickly climbed onto Draigo’s back and grabbed onto one of the many spines protruding from his back.

“Hang on tight. I didn't plan on having passengers when I picked this volcano to relax in,” Draigo called out as he quickly ascended into the air and into an almost vertical climb out of the volcano. Once out, Draigo leveled off and banked toward Canterlot. It would be a fairly long flight for a pegasus to make, but for Draigo, it would only be an hour or two since he could climb faster and then dive down when he was close enough to his home.

Soon enough they were flying over Canterlot as a good portion of the ponies below them ran into the nearby buildings to escape what they perceived as a threat.

“Welcome to Canterlot. We’ll be touching down in the Royal Gardens before we enter my home.”

“You live in Canterlot then? Not common for Displaced if what I’ve seen on my travels is any indication.”

“I live in the castle to be precise,” Draigo said as he landed in the gardens and once more extended a wing for Magnus to slide down.

Hopping off of Draigo’s back Magnus took the time to look around and compare the Gardens to his own version. “The garden here is quite nice even in winter. I’d love to talk to the gardener and swap stories.”

“Huh, now that I think about it, I’ve never noticed a gardener taking care of this place. I know there is one, though. I’ve never grown plants myself, but that’s mainly because I can eat anything for sustenance.” Draigo admitted as he shrunk down to Celestia’s size and slowly walked toward the castle.

“Technically speaking, so could I. I don’t find minerals appealing, though. I started an underground garden like we had on Prospero to put some variety into my diet. I do miss the wine Ahriman used to produce. It was one of the few alcohols I tolerated.”

“Can you even get drunk or be affected by alcohol? Cause I’m pretty sure I can’t anymore,” Draigo said as he led Magnus to his room.

“Not at all. It’s the reason I don’t drink any. Most alcoholic drinks taste horrible to me and without the benefit of getting drunk there really isn’t a point. I suppose if I drank enough it might have some effect like my brother Russ,” Magnus said as he trailed behind.

“He’s the wolf, right? I remember some info about Warhammer from back on Earth. Like my name’s origin and some other things, but as I said earlier it’s still pretty fuzzy,” Draigo said as they passed Celestia’s room.

“Yes, my brother the wolf fetishist. Also, your parents named you after Kaldor Draigo? Did they want you to be hated by everyone?” Magnus laughed as he shook his head at the absurdity of it all.

“Laugh it up, laugh it up. I was made fun of when I entered high school because of my name,” Draigo growled, “My parents told me that they wanted me to be as awesome as Kaldor Draigo when I grew up, but all it did was make me hate him and his Grey Knights.”

“Good. No one should ever like the Grey Knights. They were clearly Malcador’s attempt to recreate my legion and it’s insulting how highly they think of themselves.”

“Didn’t he die before the Grey Knights were formed?” Draigo asked as they passed Cadence’s room.

“Yes but he was the one to set everything up for their formation. He and his knight-errants hid the supplies to make them on Titan shortly before the Siege of Terra.” Magnus scowled at the thought of the purely psychic chapter. Why did they get such perfect gene seeds while his sons had to suffer such horrible mutations as a price for their gifts?

“Okay. Well, here’s my room. You’ll find Luna’s further on just like Celestia’s and Cadence’s were earlier on,” Draigo said as he entered his room and laid down on his reinforced bed, “Now, let me change. This form is very, very comfy and much more powerful, but I find I get better reactions in my humanoid form.” Draigo then began to shift into a bipedal form. Black armor with gold lines appeared before a black cape trimmed with gold and purple lining flowed off his shoulders. Horns appeared on his helmet as well as his pauldrons. Where his eyes would be was a single glowing orb. His gauntlets had one-inch claws on each finger and a golden sword hung on his hip.

“An interesting transformation. However, the two of us together may give some of the ponies a heart attack. Perhaps I should change to something a bit less intimidating.” As he spoke his armor seemed to pull into itself before flowing back out in a white Greek robe. “Not as elegant as my armor but significantly easier for the frail in heart.”

“Mannnn, toughening up the ponies around here is one of the reasons I go around like this. You’re right, though, we’d probably end up accidentally scaring one of them to death,” Draigo said as he stood next to Magnus, “You’re a lot taller than I had originally thought.”

“Hmm, 4 meters might be a bit much for some ponies.” Magnus started to shrink until he was the same height as Draigo. “There, that should help a bit.”

“Alright, let’s go check on Celestia. She should be in ‘court’ right now,” Draigo said as he left his room and started to navigate to the throne room.

“Is her court as much of a joke here as it is in my world? Most of her petitioners come for petty reasons better solved by law enforcement or minor politicians.”

“Yep, seems about right, unfortunately,” Draigo said as he quickened his pace as he remembered some of the idiots that had tried to get Celestia involved in their petty problems.

“It seems your Celestia, like mine, is far too kind for her own good.”

“Yep, that’s why I go in like this and also one of the reasons I like her,” Draigo said as he gestured to his current form.

“I would very much like to see a court for myself. Perhaps my presence can be an additional help," Magnus said. He gestured for Draigo to lead the way in case the palace was different in this world.

As they both entered the court, Celestia’s eternal calm was very nearly broken. It was not every day that two large humanoids entered her court. Her years of training, however, kept her focused on her current petitioner even with such a mundane problem.

“So you see Your Highness, I really do need a few more minutes of sunshine each day for my health. If you might deign to intervene I would be most gracious,” a skinny brown unicorn stallion said. The look on his face made it clear that he thought he had already guaranteed his victory.

“I do see. Did you talk to your local weather manager about this health concern?”

“Oh, well, no Your Majesty.”

“I see. I’m afraid I cannot intervene until you’ve first spoken to him or her and provide a doctor’s note about your condition.”

“Did you just bother your Princess with a matter that could’ve been handled by your doctor and a weather manager?” Draigo asked as he strode over to the diminutive pony as he drew his golden sword. His sword had a double-headed eagle as its crossguard and was set ablaze once it was completely drawn from its sheath.

“Is that a replica of Father’s sword?” Magnus asked once he saw the Aquila and blazing blade.

“Yes, it is. I always liked the Emperor’s weapons and decided to duplicate his sword for an extra bit of intimidation factor,” Draigo said as he continued to slowly walk towards the petitioner.

“A good choice then. Though you can’t truly appreciate its splendor until you see him wield it himself. I know many warriors were driven to distraction by his presence on the battlefield.”

“Makes sense. Now, answer the question, whelp,” Draigo said as he pointed his flaming sword at the pony’s throat.

“Y-y-yes, I thought it’d be given more weight if the Princess were to take care of the matter,” the brown unicorn said as he trembled before Draigo.

“If someone had dared to try the same in my original reality they would have likely been killed by the Emperor’s bodyguards. The Custodes didn’t like anyone approaching the Emperor and wasting his time would be even worse. Luckily no one was foolish enough to try, unlike you little pony. Consider your fortune to have such a benevolent ruler.” Magnus looked down on the trembling pony with little sympathy.

“I’m tempted to do the same, but I’m willing to let you go without a scratch on one condition. You never come before Celestia for something mundane or petty again. Understood?” Draigo told the pony as he brought the flaming blade ever closer to the pony’s coat.

“Y-yes, of course. I-I’m sorry to have taken up your valuable time, Your Majesty,” the pony said as he backed away while inclining his head before he turned tail and galloped out of the throne room.

“There. One less annoying pest to worry about. Does anyone else have something to petition Celestia about?” Draigo yelled to the gathered ponies that had scheduled an audience with their ruler.

A light blue unicorn mare trotted up to Draigo with a look of determination on her face.

“Yes, I’d like to talk to the Princess about the ridiculous amount of bits spent on fixing Ponyville,” she told him.

“Finally, an actual concern that can’t be handled by a local government official. Please proceed,” Draigo said as he walked with the pony before continuing along to stand beside Celestia on her throne’s platform.

Seeing that Draigo wasn’t leaving anytime soon, many petitioners left. After all the petty and mundane petitioners had left there were but a few left that had actual concerns for their Princess and everything proceeded smoothly.

After a couple hours of listening and discussing different topics of concern, all of the petitions were done and Celestia closed court for the rest of the day.

“Now that court is over, would you mind introducing your guest, Draigo?” Celestia asked.

“Of course. This is Magnus the Red. He’s a Displaced like myself and he’s kinda here and kinda not. Care to explain a bit more about that, Magnus?” Draigo asked.

“Of course. To begin, this is not my real body. This is merely a psychic projection around a fragment of my soul. I’ve been searching the multiverse for any signs of my family and this search is what brought me here. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a false positive,” Magnus said in his best lecturing voice. “Draigo was kind enough to invite me to stay for the holidays and I’ve decided to accept.”

“How unfortunate that you have lost your family. You have my sympathies and I welcome you to Canterlot and my castle. If there is anything that you should need just let one of the staff know and we will do our best to accommodate you. I assume that you already know who I am, but I will introduce myself, just in case. My name is Celestia and I’m one of the diarchs of Equestria.” Celestia said after absorbing the information Magnus had told her.

“I have had the honor of meeting many Celestias in my travels. I have always found them to be wise and just rulers. Thank you for your hospitality,” Magnus said as he gave a slight bow.

“You’ve yet to visit universes with Displaced in them, haven’t you,” Draigo said rather than asked.

“I’ve observed a few but never entered. It was always obvious my family wasn’t there.”

“Makes sense. I know you haven’t visited other Displaced universes because a lot of them have Celestia as a villain or not very benevolent of a ruler. It’s unfortunate, but my Celestia was the first one that another Displaced had even heard of being good instead of evil.” Draigo explained to Magnus.

“Another reason I don’t have much contact with other ‘Displaced.’ From what I’ve seen, most are self-entitled children desperately trying to be adults. They are not welcome in my world and so I don’t interfere with theirs.”

Draigo sighed, “If you get an invitation to join ‘The War of Shadows’, quickly decline and don’t summon the representative(s). I have the unfortunate fate of being stuck participating. It turns out that the ‘war’ is more a contest and was caused because two Displaced had an incident and their Displacer decided to blow it out of proportion. That’s what it seems like at least,” Draigo said in an annoyed voice.

“Noted. Now, let us speak of happier things. If I’m not mistaken Hearth’s Warming is soon and it wouldn’t do to be so negative.”

“You are quite right on both accounts, Magnus. Draigo has the tendency to let depressing thoughts clutter his mind and thus speaks of them often. It is something that I will be trying to remedy in the future,” Celestia said as she eyed Draigo, “Oh, do look out for my sister. If she sees you before you are introduced she will most likely try to ‘vanquish’ you.”

“Thank you for the warning. Perhaps a different form would allow for a different first reaction. How does she do with children? My Luna has a weak spot for them but I’d rather not assume.”

“She still acts as though it were a thousand years ago, but she dotes on the foals that don’t flee when they see her. It’s an unfortunate side effect of becoming Nightmare Moon,” Celestia explained.

Grinning, Magnus began to shrink down until he was barely up to Celestia’s knees. He lost his muscle definition, his face rounded out, his crimson hair poofed out into a wild mess behind him and one of his front teeth disappeared. “How do I look?” Magnus asked in a significantly higher voice.

“Well, kinda an obvious statement, but like a kid from ancient Greece that spent too much time in the sun and got into the dyes used for clothing,” Draigo said while trying not to laugh.

“Perfect, just like back on Prospero. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it right after so long. I wasn’t exactly a kid for long,” Magnus said as he shot Draigo a slight glare.

“Man, I should have tried that earlier. It might have saved me from getting my wings clipped,” Draigo said as he scratched his helmet’s cheek.

“I’m afraid not, Draigo. With the news you told us, we would have just ‘spanked’ you into submission. Even if in hindsight it was futile,” Celestia said with a giggle.

“True, you didn’t have to leave me outside of Canterlot with three heavily injured legs and the fourth useless while I couldn’t fly, though. I was afraid that your more extreme subjects would try something when they saw the state I was in while walking through the city,” Draigo told her.

“Moving on. What plans do we have for today? Or do we have any?”

“Well, the only event that comes to mind is the play being put on by Twilight and her friends that depicts the union of the three tribes,” Draigo admitted.

“That play’s always been inaccurate though entertaining to watch I suppose.”

“Yep. Wanna help think of other things we can do since that play is the same year after year?” Draigo asked.

“Socializing’s never been my forte,” Magnus admitted as he shook his head

“You think a being who spent ten plus billion years by himself is going to be any good at it? Yeah, no. Do you have any holidays that you celebrate during this time of year? I mean there’s always Christmas, but I’m curious about your culture,” Draigo said.

“Not really. I suppose we could celebrate Sanguinala, though. I never celebrated it in my world considering I was on the wrong side of that war. And the whole daemon prince thing. But, Sanguinius and I did get along quite well before the Heresy so I don’t see a reason not to now.”

“Oh man, it’s strange hearing this coming from a kid. Anyway, let’s go see Luna while we talk about what we can do. I’m sure Celestia has some government paperwork that she’d like to finish early so she can relax and enjoy whatever she has on her schedule,” Draigo told Magnus as if Celestia wasn’t right next to him.

“I do, but do remember that it’s rude to talk like somepony isn’t here when she’s right next to you, Draigo,” Celestia told him before standing and slapping Draigo in the face with her tail while walking off.

“You know that your tail just passes through when it’s like that, right?”

Celestia stutter-stepped for a second before continuing on her way with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Well, let’s go introduce you to the rest of the royalty,” Draigo said before changing into his draconic form and leading the way to Luna’s room.

“Oh? Is Cadence here as well?”

“Yeah and she’s still dating that incompetent guard captain as well,” Draigo said with a bit of disgust.

“It’s not his fault the guard is largely unnecessary. Without a conflict, I doubt they’ll ever get any better and with such powerful rulers and the Elements I don’t think they’ll ever get one.”

“That’s all too true. Add onto all of that the fact that I’m here as well and you get squishy guardsmen.”

“Let’s hope nothing happens where they’re necessary.”

“Truly. Anyway, you might get glomped, you are forewarned,” Draigo said as they neared Luna’s chambers.

“Again, noted.” Magnus steeled himself for whatever horror may lie in the room ahead.

As they rounded a corner, a door with Luna’s cutie mark on it and two Thestral guards outside of it could be seen down the hallway.

“Hail, we come seeking an audience with the beautiful, Princess Luna,” Draigo said to the guards as he and Magnus neared them, “Oh if you know older English then use it. She’ll like it and understand you better.” Draigo added as an afterthought.

“Still getting used to the new vernacular?”

“Yep, I’ve been trying to help, but it’s been hit and miss.”

The guards seeing that it was Draigo who requested the audience parted after knocking on the door three times without a word said.

Draigo barely touched the door before a midnight blue aura opened the door for them.

“I think she’s trying to be all mysterious again. It’s adorable,” Draigo said as he slowly walked into Luna’s room with a grin on his face.

“I can understand a need for mystery. I often find it lends a certain something to the situation,” Magnus said nodding his head.

“Who is this child thou hast brought with thee, Draigo?” a voice was heard to say from within the darkness.

Magnus nodded to Draigo, trusting him to deal with the eccentric royal.

“The child’s name is Magnus, my moonbeam. He hast traveled far to find his family that hast been scattered across the universe,” Draigo said without trying to find Luna in the gloom.

Suddenly Magnus was glomped from behind as a midnight mane engulfed his form.

“We art sorry to hear of thine afflictions. How canst We not try to comfort thee with hugs and nuzzles?” Luna said as she squeezed and nuzzled the ‘child.’

“They’ve been gone for a really long time. Sometimes it feels like millennia since I last saw them,” Magnus said with as much sorrow as he could muster. Difficult when he was trying not to smile.

“Oh, thou poor child. Allow Us to help sooth thy weary heart,” Luna cried out as she picked Magnus up and brought him over to a table laden with confectionery delights, “Thou canst have any of these confectionaries thou wouldst like.”

Magnus surveyed the table before settling on what appeared to be a chocolate ball. He was delighted to find it had been stuffed with peanut butter. After several moments of chewing, he hugged Luna as tightly as he could. “Thank you, Aunty Luna.”

As Draigo was watching these events unfold he had a hard time keeping his laughter under control so as to not blow Magnus’ cover before the Primarch wanted it uncovered.

“Is there anything Aunty Luna canst help thou with, Nephew?” Luna asked with a comforting smile.

“Draigo scared me when we went to Aunt Celly’s court. Can you protect me from him?” Magnus made his eyes as large as possible with tears forming in the corners.

“I did no such thing, Luna. I’ll admit that I got rid of a pest for Celestia, but that’s all.” Draigo said as he held up his claws in a submissive gesture.

Luna’s eyes widened before she leveled a deadly glare at Draigo. She stepped in front of Magnus and extended one of her wings as a pseudo-shield.

“He pulled out a really scary flaming sword and threatened to kill somepony for talking to Aunt Celly. I was really worried.” Magnus sniffled a bit and hugged Luna’s leg to sell the story.

“Well, he has me there. The idiot pony was trying to get Celestia to take care of a weather problem because he needed a few more minutes of sunshine every day. He didn't even have a doctor's note. I intimidated the unicorn and got any others like him to leave,” Draigo admitted as he backed into a wall.

Luna could believe what she was hearing, but couldn’t believe that Draigo would do so in front of a child as young as Magnus. She stomped a hoof in anger that left minor cracks in her floor before sending a blast of magic at Draigo that she knew wouldn’t do anything besides make him aware that she was very displeased with his behavior.

“Then he stood by the throne to make sure nopony could be comfy speaking to Aunt Celly.”

“They shouldn’t be comfy speaking to her anyway, in my opinion. That’s beside the point, though."

“The point where you’re really mean and scary?”

“Says the kid who I’m pretty sure will look like a big red daemon when he grows up. Now, Luna, stay away from your armory. I mean it,” Draigo said as he noticed Luna’s eyes flick toward the door of her armory.

“You have an armory? Can I see it?”

“Mine personal armory is not a place for children to visit. Perhaps when thou art older We can show thee, perhaps,” Luna said as she brought out a shield and sword in her magical grip.

“Cool!” Magnus backed off a bit and prepared to watch the coming spectacle. He grabbed a few more of the snacks to further enhance the atmosphere. Just as planned.

“I’d love to say ‘he’s lying’, but that would be lying. Luna, are you really going to fight me in front of the ‘child?’ Cause that makes you just as bad if not worse than me,” Draigo said. Luna returned her sword and shield to their rightful places but remained between Magnus and Draigo with a very cross expression on her muzzle.

Magnus’ smile quickly turned to a scowl as he returned several of the snacks to the table.

“Be that as it may, Draigo. Thou shouldst know better than to do such things in front of innocent minded children. Thou shouldst be ashamed of thyself. We shall think of a proper punishment once We have calmed down enough to properly think of one,” Luna said in a very pissed Royal Canterlot voice.

Draigo had reacted quickly enough that Luna’s decibel level was returned to normal for him after the first sentence. His ears were still ringing from the close proximity, though.

“Well, perhaps there’s a way I can make it up to you, Luna?” Draigo asked after the ringing in his ears had subsided enough that he didn’t have to shout to hear himself speak.

“Thou shouldst be making it up to Magnus, but We have been meaning to ask thou for a favor. Wouldst thou allow Us to enter thy dreams? Thou art the only being We’ve never been able to help while in the dream realm and We wouldst like to change that,” Luna told Draigo with a small amount of blush appearing on her cheeks.

“That’s super cute, Aunty. I didn’t know you two were a couple,” Magnus said with a small smirk on his face

“We’re not a couple,” Draigo quickly replied, “Wish we were, though,” Draigo muttered under his breath.

“I heard that.”

“You heard nothing, nothing!”

“He’s scaring me again!”

“Draigo, control thyself!” Luna said as she was both confused and worried.

“Ugh, it’s all Magnus’ fault,” Draigo said as he slumped to the floor.

“That’s what my brothers used to say. Then Dad put me on trial for having the same powers as he does,” Magnus said with no small amount of bitterness in his voice.

“Thine own parent put thee on trial?” Luna asked she was shocked at what Magnus’ father put the child through.

“He didn’t want to. But most people in the Imperium didn’t really trust me and kept bugging him about it so he didn’t have much choice. I blame Russ and Mortarion more than anyone.”

“Thou poor child. Come here so Aunty Luna can hug you and never let go,” Luna said as she levitated Magnus over and into her outstretched hooves.

“Yeah, then Russ broke my back during a fight.”

“How didst thou survive a broken back while fighting thine brother? Thou shouldst not fight with thine brethren,” Luna said as he voice took on a sterner tone.

“It was all Horus’ fault. He told Russ that Father wanted me dead. I had to make due without a body for ten thousand years after that.”

“Ten thousand years... but... thou hast been alive for that long?” Luna asked in confusion.

“Yep, he’s older than you and has been playing you like a fiddle, Luna,” Draigo told her.

Luna immediately dropped Magnus and walked over to Draigo’s side before glaring at the supposed ‘child.’

“I didn’t mean any harm. Celestia said you would try to vanquish me so I de-aged myself to seem less threatening.” As Magnus spoke he grew in size until he was back to his original size. This had the curious effect of changing his pitch significantly as he spoke. His armor flowed back out from his robe and a sword appeared attached to his side. “I’m sorry for the deception but the opportunity to play a joke on Draigo was too much. I’ve been trying to fool a primordial for a very long time and couldn’t help but give it a shot here. In my defense almost none of what I said was untrue,” Magnus said as he bent over to make sure his head didn’t go through the ceiling.

“Besides actually being scared, you mean,” Draigo said as Luna reclaimed her senses.

“I said ‘almost none.’”

“We admit that had thou shown up as thou art right now that We would hast fired a few magical bolts at thee. Nonetheless, We shall meet out a proper punishment for thine deception and almost making Us engage Draigo in combat. Thou art sentenced to remain as a child whilst thou art introduced to Our niece,” Luna said in an official sounding voice

“Very well then. I even promise not to stir up trouble. The two of you will have to keep a straight face if this is going to work, though.” Magnus promptly shrunk himself back to his previous form. “I haven’t been this small since I was one. A shame really, it can be quite fun.”

“We find thy lack of faith disturbing,” Luna said as she trotted out of her chambers with the two Displaced in tow.

“I did fairly well keeping my emotions in check while you were having your ‘fun’ with Luna,” Draigo added as they walked down the halls toward Cadence’s room.

“True. Any suggestions for what to do with Cadence? I hate repeat performances.”

“Well, I think you’re just going to have to wing it, my little daemon,” Draigo said teasingly.

“Call me that again and I’ll rip out your soul and feed it to an actual daemon.”

“Geez, can’t take a little teasing? Oh, you said that you were a fragment of your soul. What’s your main part doing right now?"

“Just not about the daemon thing. My body is currently reading a book while waiting for the Elements to do something about Nightmare Moon.”

“Thou art doing nothing to help? Thou art worse than We had previously thought,” Luna said over her withers.

“I am helping but I can’t do anything too big. A shield while they sleep or a secret passage into the castle are as much as I can do. If we were to come to blows I fear I would be forced to destroy you and that is something I cannot abide.”

“Why can’t you abide her destruction? You like her or something?” Draigo asked as he glanced down at him.

“I’ve watched Celestia and Luna since they were both born. They are the greatest champions of harmony Tethra has and I fear what would happen without either of them.”

“Okay, I can believe that. Alright, Cadence’s room is right around this corner. You should think of how you’re going to act.” Draigo rounded the corner and quickened his pace so he was side by side with Luna.

“Tis going to be very entertaining to see Princess Cadenza’s reaction after the ‘child’s’ true identity is revealed,” Luna said with a giggle.

Walking up to Cadence’s door, Draigo knocked and waited for a response. They immediately heard hushed voices, quick hoof steps, and the sound of a door closing. Draigo couldn’t help but grin as he thought about what those noises meant. This is going to be even better than I thought.

+Indeed, Draigo+

How the...who?...Right, psychic powers. Crap, not even my thoughts are safe now.

+Relax, I promise not to delve too deep.+

I wouldn’t suggest it anyway since I have more memories than time in this body. I have no idea what it would do to someone’s mind even if they are someone as powerful in psychic abilities as you. Anyway, back to Cadence.

“It’s taking her a bit, isn’t it?

“That it is. I think I’ll be a little rude with the justification that I heard some strange noises and became concerned for her safety,” Draigo said as he quickly opened Cadence’s door as he entered her room.

“Everything okay in here, Cadence?”

“Ah! Draigo, you scared me. Everything is alright. I was just, um, cleaning,” Cadence responded.

“Is that why you’re out of breath and look really red?” Magnus asked as innocently as he could.

“Who is this child? He’s not yours is he, Draigo?” Cadence asked, glad for the easy change of subject.

“Daddy finally decided to introduce me to everyone,” Magnus said with a glance in Draigo’s direction.

Draigo sighed but decided to play along with the farce. “This is Magnus. I found him while taking a bath. Magnus, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She is very nice and knows a lot about love.”

“Hi, Princess Cadenza. It’s really nice to meet you,” Magnus said as he beamed and closed his eyes.

“It’s so very nice to meet you as well, Magnus. Please, call me Cadence,” Cadence told the ‘child’ before her, “Now, why don’t we all take a seat and enjoy some nice tea and snacks?”

“Tea’s yucky. I do like snacks, though.”

“I’m with the boy. Are you sure you’re fine, though, Cadence? I heard some strange noises that didn’t sound like cleaning,” Draigo said as he walked over to a nearby closet.

“Yes, I’m fine. There’s no need to search my room, Draigo.”

“Who said I was searching?” Draigo said as he put his claw on the doorknob, “Magnus, would you like to see what Cadence has in her closet? There could be all sorts of fun things inside.”

“Yay! I like exploring.”

“Verily, keeping a child entertained with just snacks is nigh-impossible,” Luna said as she took a seat on a couch that gave her a view of the closet in question.

“Oh! If that’s what you’re looking for then those are in a different closet. That one has nothing but clothing inside,” Cadence said as she edged toward the closet.

“I bet there’s treasure. If I had treasure I would hide it in the boring closet too.”

“N-nope, no treasure there. I keep the treasure map in my desk in a false bottom,” Cadence said as she tried to direct Magnus’ attention elsewhere in hopes that Draigo would follow his ‘son.’

“Where?” Magnus asked with false enthusiasm.

“Over there in my desk. Why don’t you go see if you can find it while I talk to your Dad and Aunt Luna?” Cadence said as she pointed to her desk on the other side of the room.

“What would you like to talk about, Cadence?” Draigo asked as he sat down next to Luna on the couch. He decided that whoever or whatever was stewing in the closet could patiently wait to be revealed.

“Well, have either of you thought about spending time with your significant other during the holidays?” Cadence asked as she glanced between the two. Magnus snickered as he glanced between the two.

+Yes, Draigo. Any plans?+

None of you business, Magnus. “Cadence, you know my situation,” Draigo said with as straight a face as he could.

“Our significant other? Dear Niece, it would be wonderful to spend the holidays with somepony like that, but We’re unsure of how the stallion would react to an invitation given by Us.”

Crap, she said ‘stallion’ and that usually means a pony. “I’m sure that the lucky stallion would accept and spend more time with you, Luna. Isn’t that right, Cadence?” Draigo asked hoping to liven Luna’s spirits up a bit.

“Yeah, Aunty Luna. Anybody would love to spend time with you. I bet Draigo wishes he could.”

“Don’t you have treasure to find, Son?” Draigo asked giving Magnus a mild glare while he blushed a bit.

“I agree with Magnus. Anyone you ask would be delighted to spend the Holidays with you, Aunt Luna,” Cadence said with a sly wink to Draigo.

Draigo coughed into his claw a bit, “What about you, Cadence? Any plans with that wimp of a guardsman?”

“Why yes, I do. We’re going to spend as much time together as possible and have a romantic dinner the night before Hearth’s Warming.” Cadence told them as she beamed and bounced a bit on her couch while ignoring Draigo's barb at her coltfriend.

“Sounds lovely. Speaking of Dull Cloth, where is he?” Draigo asked as a sound was heard from the closet.

“There’s a monster in the closet. I’m gonna blow it up,” Magnus said as he summoned as much fire into his hands as he could. A considerably difficult task without a local Warp to call upon.

“Nonononono. This monster is a good monster. He hasn’t harmed a hair on my head since he started living in there and it’ll be such a pain to replace the door and all the clothing inside,” Cadence quickly said after she had recovered enough from the shock of seeing the young Magnus summon so much fire. She went over to the closet and placed herself between it and the flame wielding youth

“Now, Magnus. Cadence is right,” Draigo said before pausing for dramatic effect, “Wait until Daddy opens the door to blast it into oblivion. That way her door and clothes will be saved.”

“Fine. This isn’t really easy so could you hurry?”

“Of course, my son,” Draigo said before hurrying past Cadence and quickly opening the closet door. Upon the door’s opening, a disheveled looking pony in purple and gold armor tumbled onto his face and out of the closet, “Well, son. Here’s your monster. Don’t miss.”

“Kay.” Magnus wound back his hand. “Another one down.”

“Wait, he’s not a monster. He’s my coltfriend,” Cadence shouted as she dove on top of the prone pony.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, the looks on your faces! I may not get along with this pile of flesh, but he’s better than the other incompetent guardsmen we’ve got and I don’t want to see you crying over a grave for a good long time,” Draigo said as he slapped the floor with his tail in merriment.

“Captain Armor, why wouldst thou hide in a closet?” Luna said as she hid a giggle with a hoof, “The two of thee shouldst know better than to do something like this, though. Shame on the both of thee.” Luna had started jovially but had finished with a stern gaze passing between Draigo and Magnus.

“Sorry, Luna. I couldn’t help myself when I heard the scuffling from behind the door. I just had to embarrass Armor on this one. You know that neither of us likes the other,” Draigo told the upset Alicorn of the night.

Magnus decided to continue to play his role and looked down in shame. He dismissed his fireball and shot a glance towards where Shining was recovering his dignity. Or at least, what he could.

Shining Armor stood up and glared at Draigo. “Your kid nearly incinerated me because of you. You need to teach him when to use his powers and when not to use his powers.”

“This was the perfect situation to use his powers. He thought there was a monster in the closet and was ready to defeat it. I couldn’t be prouder,” Draigo said with a Cheshire cat grin.

“You sound just like Russ, Shining. Always going on about control while having no idea what they’re actually talking about. My power is under control. If it wasn’t I wouldn’t have been able to get rid of it,” Magnus said. His childish appearance not at all matching with his attitude.

“See? Everything was under control and the situation called for a little force since we didn’t know who or what was in the closet. Oh, congratulations on coming out of the closet, Shining,” Draigo said with a small chuckle.

“Very funny, Draigo. At least, I have somepony who cares about me and will be there when I need her. You? You’ve been single for your entire life. How’s that feel?” Shining said as he glared daggers at Draigo.

“Wanna take this outside, Armor? Let’s see how well you do without your guard to help,” Draigo said as loomed over Shining Armor and returned his glare.

Luna and Cadence shared a knowing look and nodded to each other. Cadence pushed Shining away while Luna did her best to keep Draigo from following. The end result was the two combatants were separated to opposite sides of the room. Shining into a corner while Draigo remained where he was standing, both still glaring at each other. Magnus merely looked on in amusement as the two hotheads got a dressing down from their significant others.

Once the two had calmed down sufficiently they were allowed to go sit on two separate couches with each of the mares sitting next to their respective hothead. Tea was served to the three ponies and grape juice was served to Draigo and Magnus. Magnus’ cup had a sippy lid on top so that the ‘child’ couldn’t spill his drink as easily.

“So, you’ve been making out with Armor while no one was around. Be careful you don’t catch anything. All kinds of diseases have been passed that way,” Draigo said matter-of-factly as he sipped his juice.

Both Cadence and Shining Armor choked on their tea when they heard Draigo’s statement.

“We would like to tell thee that there’s nothing to be ashamed of, but We would have done the same in thy place,” Luna admitted.

“How old is Magnus, Draigo?” Cadence asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“How old does he look?” Draigo answered her question with another question.

“Well, I can’t really tell to be honest,” Cadence admitted, “How long has he been here?”

“He just arrived today,” Draigo honestly answered.

“You mean he’s been by himself for who knows how long!?” Cadence exclaimed.

“Well, I’m not sure. The boy hasn’t really told me much since I found him,” Draigo admitted as he gestured to Magnus.

“Magnus, how long have you wandered the wilderness? Did you have a family or others with you before you met Draigo?” Cadence asked with concern permeating her entire being.

“I had a young mare with me before I met Draigo. We got along pretty well. I’m not sure how long, though.”

“Oh, you poor child. What happened to the young mare? Did you two get separated? I wish there were some way we could help you.” Cadence sipped her tea and offered some snacks to Magnus.

“She travels around doing shows. It feels like we never separated even if we’re not close anymore,” Magnus said with a winning smile and small tilt of his head. Hopefully, Cadence would eat that up.

Cadence soon had tears welling up in her eyes as she walked over and hugged Magnus. Magnus quickly made sure she would actually feel something when she touched him.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but we had best be going. I had only intended to introduce Magnus to you. He, Luna, and I are going to go make some plans to help celebrate the holidays,” Draigo said as he stood and slowly walked to the door.

“It was good to meet you, Cadence. You too, Shining, I guess,” Magnus said. He got off the chair and started walking to the door. While being a child could be fun he was eager to return to his normal self. Or as normal as a fragment of a soul could get.

“‘Twas good seeing both of thee. We bid thee a good day and happy holidays,” Luna said as she followed the two Displaced out the door.

“Let’s go back to your room, Luna. It’ll provide the most privacy.” Draigo started walking back to Luna’s chambers as he noticed her quickly catch up.

“What do you need privacy for, Draigo?” Celestia asked as she walked from the direction of Luna’s chambers. “Nothing inappropriate I hope,” Celestia teased.

“You are more than welcome to come along to find out, Celestia,” Draigo commented with a smirk on his face. “I’d actually prefer you to join us in our fun.” Draigo slid his tail along Celestia’s wing as he walked past her.

“I hope I’m invited as well,” Magnus said with the most innocent smile he could manage on his childish face.

“The more the merrier, my troll of a friend,” Draigo called to the diminutive Primarch.

“Now, I really hope it’s nothing inappropriate considering we have a child joining us. Wait, this is a child, right?” Celestia asked as she scrutinized Magnus’ form.

“Not quite but Luna forbade me from returning to my original form until we were done talking to Cadence. Now that we are further away I suppose I shall transform back.” His form once again grew as his robe flowed back into itself and his ornate golden armor once again adorned him.

“Twas a punishment for tricking Us and almost making Us join Draigo in combat,” Luna explained as they walked towards her room.

“I’m sure pranking Cadance had nothing to do with it,” Magnus said with laughter in his voice

“We would never even consider pranking Our dear niece,” Luna said with a grin.

“Yes, it's not like we get bored with our daily routines and take opportunities to change them up or anything,” Celestia said with a grin of her own.

“Then you didn't send your student and her friends to ‘relocate' me just so you could watch what happened, right?” Draigo said over his shoulder. Celestia and Luna blushed for a moment before chuckling as they remembered the events of that day.

Celestia cleared her throat, “Of course not. That was to help develop them for future encounters.”

“An important endeavor to be sure. If your future is anything like what I’ve foreseen for my own they will need all the experience they can get just to survive.”

“Speaking of survival. I know I said that we should let them choose whether to use armor or not, but after speaking with other Displaced I’ve decided to get them all armor whether they like it or not,” Draigo said as Luna’s chambers came into view.

“Armor is a good idea. However, it takes training to use efficiently. Without that training the armor could just as easily get them killed,” Magnus pointed out.

“True. That’s why I’ll have Shining Armor, the least incompetent guard, give them some training while I attend to some other matters. Recent events have made it necessary that I leave Equestria for a while,” Draigo explained as he brushed past Luna’s guards and into her room.

“Does this have to do with your latest ‘war’ experience or the dragon you dispatched? Both have been fairly recent,” Celestia asked with concern in her voice.

“The dragon. I must go to his roost to visit his mate to make sure things are going well and to replace him so that the dragons over there have their leadership back again. While Shen’s mate is just as powerful as he was, one dragon can’t lead an entire race of dragons without major losses due to the power struggle to become the next leader. This is something I’d rather not happen if it can be helped,” Draigo explained as he closed the doors behind them. “Anyway, time to discuss what we came here to discuss. The holidays and celebrating them.”

“A more pleasant subject to be sure.”

“We already have plans to watch the Hearth’s Warming play that Twilight and her friends are putting on. Is there really anything else needed?” Celestia asked.

“Well, that’s good for Hearth’s Warming, but what about for those that don’t celebrate it or want to celebrate another holiday. Back on Earth, we had Christmas during this time of year and Magnus said something about Sanguinala. I’d like to try to celebrate or, at least, incorporate aspects of both of these this year,” Draigo said as he gestured to Magnus.

“As a warning, Sanguinala is not nearly as jovial as the others. With it, we celebrate the sacrifice of my brother, Sanguinius, as his death allowed the Emperor’s victory over Horus.

“Why do you celebrate something like that then? Isn’t that something you usually mourn over?” Celestia asked.

“As I said it is somewhat less jovial than Hearth’s Warming. However, it is still a celebration. If he had not died there is a good chance Humanity would have died instead. One life for the lives of trillions.”

“That was a noble sacrifice indeed then,” Luna said.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you were on the wrong side of the battle to celebrate Sanguinala?” Celestia asked, remembering their conversation from the throne room.

“Yes, unfortunately, I was one of Horus’ generals. Though I had nothing to do with what happened on the Vengeful Spirit.”

“Weren’t all of the primarchs technically his generals since he was Warmaster of the Imperium?” Draigo asked quizzically.

“Up until the Heresy. At that point, we split in half. Nine for the Emperor, nine against him.”

“Ah, right, okay. Anyway, I know how to celebrate Christmas. How do you celebrate Sanguinala? Dress up as Sanguinius or something?” Draigo asked.

“On some planets, yes. Others have feasts or funeral processions. The only common factor is decorating with Blood Angel heraldry.”

“Blood Angel? Who or what is a ‘Blood Angel?’” Celestia asked with a slight cringe as her imagination got the best of her.

“The name of Sanguinius’ legion. Their emblem is a drop of blood with white wings spread on either side.”

“Well, since it’d most likely be just you and me celebrating it, what would you like to do? Celestia and Luna seem to already have plans for tonight so we’ll most likely have to celebrate without them,” Draigo said.

“If I could eat while in this state I would suggest a feast. As it is, perhaps I could tell you stories of Sanguinius’ greatest triumphs and perhaps get a tree for Christmas.”

“Sounds good. I can deliver some presents while we’re out as well,” Draigo said with a smile.

“Are we playing Santa as well? I’m going to draw the line at transforming into him. You can do that.”

“If I transform into him then we don’t have any transportation so I’ll stay as I am,” Draigo said

“So it’s agreed neither of us are turning into Father Christmas then?”

“Yep, no old Kris Kringle for Equestria. Just a dragon and the ghost of a primarch,” Draigo affirmed.

“Speaking of my noncorporeal status, I may need to leave without much notice so if that happens please don’t take offense.”

“Okay, good to know. Make sure to send your token to me when you get it created as well. You do know about tokens, right?” Draigo said as he brought out a copy of his own token.

“Yes, though I’ve never made one. I’ll be sure to get you one before I go. A Christmas present of sorts.”

“I’ll give you mine right now so that we don’t forget about it,” Draigo said as he put his token next to the incorporeal primarch.

“I’ll make sure to bring it with me when I’m recalled.” Magnus picked up the hourglass and tucked it into his collar.

“Anyway, let’s go find a tree and let these lovely ladies continue with their plans,” Draigo commented as he strode to Luna’s balcony while his tail brushed each of their chins as he passed by. Both of the alicorns couldn’t help but blush due to the meaning behind Draigo’s gesture. They didn’t know if Draigo knew the significance of it but assumed he did.

Magnus walked past the incoherent alicorns and lept off of the balcony. The nonchalant act brought Celestia and Luna out of their thoughts. “Could he fly?”

“He said he could with great effort, but he just jumped off the balcony and landed on the ground,” Draigo explained to the worried royalty behind him.

“You didn’t stop to flirt more did you?” Magnus called up to Draigo.

“Flirt? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Magnus,” Draigo said as he glided down to join Magnus.

“I never thought a primordial like you would be so romantically inclined.”

“No really, what in the great beyond are you on about?” Draigo asked

“You slid your tail beneath their chins. That is the height of flirting for ponies, at least in my world.”

“I what!? Oh crap, did I do that subconsciously?” Draigo asked as panic started to set in.

“You didn’t notice how badly they were blushing? I swear they were catatonic for a few seconds.”

“They were? I didn’t look back at them once I’d gotten to the balcony,” Draigo admitted.

“The observational prowess of a being as old as time, ladies and gentlemen,” Magnus said as he clapped sarcastically.

“Hey! I can keep track of everyone in battle. Apparently I need to remember to keep track of everyone all the time. That and to look before I leap,” Draigo said defensively.

“Apparently,” Magnus agreed with a small chuckle.

“Well, let’s go search for that tree since that’s the only thing we’re missing really,” Draigo said as he glanced up at the balcony and found both of the princesses watching them. He quickly looked away with a massive blush on his face due to the revelation Magnus had given him.

Magnus nodded his consent and together the two walked off into town. Magnus once again expanded to his original height now that there were no ceilings for his upper body to disappear into. While he was fine being any size this size was always the most comfortable to him.

“So, Sanguinius was the primarch with blonde hair and wings, right? I kinda remember him being a powerhouse and really respected,” Draigo asked to fill the silence as they searched for a Christmas tree.

“He was. Sanguinius was one of the greatest of us. In physical combat, only two other primarchs could hope to match him. I was not among them. Despite his strength, he was humble and courteous and often held himself back subconsciously. He was one of the few brothers I considered a friend.”

“So, tell me of one of his great triumphs as we continue our search. I’m not even sure that we’ll find a tree within the city actually,” Draigo said.

“I will start with the Siege of Terra. The palace had already been overrun. Only Eternity Gate stood between the forces of chaos and the Golden Throne and the Emperor. Ten thousand traitor marines massed to try to force the gate. Sanguinius alone stood in their way. For hours, Sanguinius held off the tide of traitors slaying them by the hundreds. Reinforcements finally arrived and relieved him but before he could rest a Greater Daemon rose from the horde to confront him atop the gate. The battle was fierce, blows being exchanged at a pace no mortal could follow. Sanguinius’ exhaustion eventually caught up to him and he was thrown to the ground by the Bloodthirster. Before the final blow was struck Sanguinius surged into the air seizing him by ankle and wrist. Upwards and upwards Sanguinius flew until at the peak of his flight he brought Ka’Bandha down across his knee breaking his back with a resounding crack.” Magnus gestured emphatically throughout his retelling hoping to paint the scene before him.

“Holy crap, that’s a lot of enemies to face by yourself and still claim victory. Are all his fights like that? Cause if they are, I really don’t think he’s human,” Draigo said in awe.

“We’re so far removed from mainstream humanity we might as well not be. Though, most of his fights weren’t like that, no.”

“Well, alright then. How about we get the biggest tree in town?” Draigo suggested with a mischievous grin.

“To be frank, if two beings our size got an average tree it would look more like Charlie Brown’s,” Magnus said as he gave a shake of his head.

“All too true. I think the biggest one is in Blueblood’s backyard,” Draigo said as he steered them toward Blueblood’s mansion.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending it to us. He’s always been able to see reason after all,” Magnus said with a completely straight face.

“We are talking about the same Blueblood, right?” Draigo asked.

“Technically, no. From your reaction, I’d guess this world’s Blueblood is more like the rest of the nobles then.”

“Yeah, he gets along with his ‘cousin’, but is fairly despised by most of the mares and scorned by the stallions. Unless they’re after something then they brown nose like none other. Personally, I’m unsure what the kid is actually like. I’m sure he puts up a facade for the public but whether he keeps that facade up for everyone or not is still to be seen,” Draigo explained.

“Well, we are about to find out. Before we continue, I think it only fair to extend an invitation to him if we are to commandeer his tree.”

“Of course, we must be civil if we are to figure out the truth about Blueblood,” Draigo agreed.

With that agreement, the two turned up the long drive towards Blueblood’s front door. Once they were at the front door Draigo knocked on the door to the rhythm of Mario’s theme song. A maid soon opened the front door and froze in place upon seeing the two beings before her.

“Hello, we’re here to see Prince Blueblood. Would you please inform him of our arrival?” Draigo asked the terrified mare.

The maid frantically nodded her head and rushed away from the door. After several minutes of waiting, they saw the same maid approaching with a nervous look on her face. “The master will see you. If you’ll please follow me?”

“Of course, thank you,” Draigo said as he followed the maid further into the mansion. They were soon entering a private library that had a fire going in its hearth. A white unicorn with a blonde mane and tail with a compass rose for a cutie mark was sitting in an easy chair while reading a book and sipping hot chocolate from a mug.

“Good evening, gentlestallions. How may I help you this evening? I, of course, recognize Draigo from his time at the palace though I’m afraid I don’t know you sir…?”

“Allow me to introduce you two then. Prince Blueblood, this is Magnus the Red. Magnus, this is Prince Blueblood, nephew to the Princesses,” Draigo said.

“A pleasure to meet you, Prince Blueblood. We are here to inquire after an evergreen we might use for the winter holidays. As you can see we are both rather large and so we would like an appropriately sized tree to properly celebrate. You are, of course, welcome to join us if you should so desire,” Magnus said with the respect due royalty.

“Hmm, a reasonable request considering how large Draigo can get. I don’t need a tree of that size so you may use in my backyard so long as you don’t destroy the rest of the garden getting it out. I would hate to have my gardener overworked due to a single tree being taken. As for joining you, I’m afraid I already have plans and must politely decline,” Blueblood told them politely.

“Thank you for your understanding and for allowing us to use your tree. Any damage that is caused from me taking your tree will be repaired before our departure. You have my word,” Draigo said as he inclined his head towards Blueblood.

“Excellent, my maid will show you to the backyard. Happy holidays and a merry new year to you both,” Blueblood said as he raised his mug in farewell.

“Happy holidays, Your Highness.” Magnus gave a small bow and turned to follow the now much calmer maid.

Upon arrival in the backyard, the maid left them with a curtsy. The desired tree was plain to see and stood at ten meters tall. Closer inspection of the tree revealed it was a noble fir and it had branches covering the entirety of its trunk. Draigo slowly and carefully began to work the tree from the ground. It took a few minutes of concentrated effort, but Draigo finally got the tree out of the ground with minimal damage to the surrounding area. He quickly fixed the damage as he’d told Blueblood and filled in the hole where the tree once stood.

The trip back to the palace was made in companionable silence, both enjoying their own thoughts of the coming festivities. As they entered the palace gardens they set about finding a good spot to plant their tree. Draigo settled for making some bouquets out of some flowers and planting their tree in the vacant flower bed after trimming its roots a bit.

“There, any suggestions for decorations? I was thinking a bit of frost covering the entire tree would help give it more shine and maybe some gems here and there for more colors,” Draigo said as he envisioned how their tree would look.

“It’s traditional to put an angel on top. Why don’t we commission a local seamstress to make a likeness of Sanguinius?”

“Well, I think that Celestia has a royal seamstress in the castle, but I think supporting one of the businesses in the city would be more in line with the holiday spirit. With that in mind, I can’t really think of a seamstress in Canterlot since I don’t need clothing,” Draigo said with a slight shrug of his wings.

“Perhaps Cadence would know one that could work on such short notice.”

“With the amount of clothes she has I’m pretty sure you’re right. Let’s go ask before we start actually decorating the tree,” Draigo said. The pair were soon in front of the pink alicorn’s door.

“Hopefully, we aren’t interrupting anything this time. They might start to hold it against you.”

“Hmm, couldn’t care if Armor held it against me, but I do like Cadence. Well, only one way to find out without resorting to some sort of power,” Draigo said as he knocked on the door with a heavy claw.

“What is it, this time, Draigo? I’m still upset about how you interrupted my time with Shiney and almost got into a fight with him,” Cadence shot at Draigo once she had opened her door and saw who it was.

“You know he and I don’t get along. I do apologize for interrupting your time with him, even if it was funny knowing that he was shoved into a closet. I brought you some flowers to help make up for that and there’s something I’d like to ask you about,” Draigo said as he brought a bouquet out from behind his back and presented it to Cadence.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Draigo, and they smell lovely. Wait, aren’t these from Aunt Celestia’s garden? Does she know about this?” Cadence asked as she put the flowers in a vase anyway.

“Yes and no. Don’t try to change the subject. We’ve got a question for you,” Draigo said as he shook his head to try to focus on what he was here for.

“We? Is Magnus with you? I don’t see the little guy,” Cadence asked as she turned back to look out the doorway.

“Hello again, Cadence.” Magnus had shrunk back down to fit in the hallway but still towered over Cadence.

“WAAAGH! You’re not Magnus! Magnus is a nice little boy, thing. Okay, I’m not actually sure what to call him, but he’s small and nice. You are big, wearing armor, and obviously much older,” Cadence scrutinized as she got into a fighting stance that her aunts had taught her and charged her magic.

“My apologies but it was Luna’s idea.”

“Dang it, Aunt Luna. Well, how much of what I was told was actually the truth?” Cadence asked as she face hoofed after being told Luna was part of the encounter.

“Well, I did find him while I was bathing and he is young enough to be my adopted son. I doubt he’d want to be adopted by me, though,” Draigo admitted.

“At 21,000, I don’t really think I need a father figure anymore. Of course, finding Father is one of my goals but there is more to it than a desire for parental acceptance.”

“I figured as much. Is there anything else we’re forgetting about while we are disclosing the truth to her?” Draigo asked as he watched Cadence’s expression turn from combative to understanding to shocked within moments.

“As far as I’m aware the only deception was pretending I’m a child. Besides your avoidance of your crush on Luna, anyway.”

“Ugh, I still can’t believe I did that with my tail while not knowing I did it. I really need to keep track of my tail more whether I’m around them or not,” Draigo said as he wrapped his tail around one of his hind legs.

“Okay, what did he do?” Cadence asked both nervously and curiously.

“Brushed his tail under Celestia’s and Luna’s chins as he walked past the two of them. You should have seen their faces.”

“YOU WHAT!? Shiney hasn’t even done that to me and we have been dating for months now. Do you realize what you’ve done?” Cadence said as she rounded on the now cowering dragon.

“Um, maybe? How bad did I mess up?” Draigo said as he backed away from the yelling pink pony.

“Well, that depends. What was their reaction to him doing that? If I guess right then Draigo didn’t even notice their reactions,” Cadence stated as she bore down on Draigo.

“Well their faces were red enough to be mistaken for my own and they were catatonic for at least five seconds before I jumped off the balcony.”

“Wow, now that’s a reaction. Draigo, you basically just admitted that you love them both without knowing how they feel about you. You’ve just passed the point of no return in your relationship with both of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cornered you the first chance they get and force you to make the decision you’ve, hopefully, been thinking about for months,” Cadence told him as she watched the color literally drain from not just his face, but his entire body.

“Once again the resilience of primordial beings shine through in your example, oh lord of drakes.”

“Shut it!”

+Fine, it’s shut.+ Magnus broadcast telepathically.

What shenanigans are you doing, this time, Magnus?

+You asked me to shut my mouth so I did.+

Draigo sighed, “I have experience in battle and with many other things. Romance is not on that list and I’m afraid of messing up our friendship.”

“Well, there is a bright side to this…” Cadence said.

“And that is?”

“If you really did mess up your friendship with them then you have until the sun blows up and takes the entire solar system with it to fix the damage,” Cadence said with a cheerful voice.

“Not helping with the situation at hand, Cadence,” Draigo mumbled out sadly.

“She has a point, you know. Beings such as we can afford to take the long perspective. What are a few decades, after all.”

“While that is true and I literally have all the time in the world, I’d prefer and will do anything to keep from being alone anymore. I’ve already spent billions of years alone and I’m tired of it,” Draigo said resolutely.

“I suppose I can understand that. I latched onto the first pony to talk to me in nearly ten thousand years and to this day, I keep an eye on her descendants. My Cadence being one of them, actually.”

“Okay, you and I are friends in your universe and I was the first one to talk to you? How did that work? Also, did you just allow us to communicate with each other using your mind?” Cadence asked.

“Just basic telepathy. In truth, I’ve only spoken to Cadence a few times right after her ascension to give some advice. Her ancestor was a maid over a thousand years ago. She was the first to speak to me in the tower I was trapped in.”

“You were trapped in a tower, but had maids attending to you? How didn’t you escape or did you escape? I’m sure you could’ve figured something out if there were ponies bringing you stuff,” Draigo said.

“Throughout my ten thousand years there I was physically unable to leave. It started as a cave and no matter how I tried I couldn’t walk out. Most of my powers were denied to me so all I could do was travel the Great Ocean.”

“Anyway, we actually came here for a reason beyond my mess up with Celestia and Luna. Cadence, do you happen to know of a seamstress who’d be willing to make something for us? We need a decoration made for our Christmas tree,” Draigo said.

“Well, there is Sassy Saddles. She’s more a manager for a boutique than a seamstress, but she’ll be able to help you out with your request,” Cadence quickly supplied, “Just remember to think about your other problem as well. You never know when they’ll show up or where.”

“Yes, well, right. Um, where is this ‘Sassy Saddles’ to be found?” Draigo awkwardly said.

“You’ll find her in a boutique called ‘Sassy Socks’. The store specializes in leggings, but will make anything if a customer requests them to,” Cadence said.

“Socks? Really? I haven’t seen a single pony wearing them, but if you recommend them then I’ll support their business with our request. Thank you, Cadence,” Draigo said as he walked out the door before his love life was brought up again.

“Giving them flowers like you did with me won’t hurt. Just don’t use their flowers for it,” Cadence called after him.

“Are you sure that wouldn’t exacerbate the situation? Flowers can be quite romantic after all.”

“Yes, but I know something that none of them do, Magnus,” Cadence said with a giggle.

“Oh?” Magnus raised an eyebrow in question.

“Yep, I know how they each feel about each other. Comes with being the Princess of Love. Honestly, all three of them just need to be pushed in the right direction,” Cadence said.

“Far be it for me to question that. I’ve never had any romantic involvements just knowledge from observation.”

“Oh? Well, you should let the other party know that. I can sense somepony’s love directed toward you,” Cadence told the primarch.

Must be my daughter Magnus reasoned to himself. “Thank you for your help, Cadence. Good luck with Shining, not that you’ll need it.” Magnus gave a wave as he left the room.

“Are you coming or do I have to try to describe Sanguinius from my fuzzy memories?” Draigo called from the hallway. Magnus passed by him with a small nod.

“Okay, the shopping district is close by so this shouldn’t take too long. With a name like ‘Sassy Socks’ getting directions shouldn’t be hard either if we happen to get lost somehow,” Draigo said as he caught up with Magnus.

“To be honest, I’m not sure the patronage of two large, intimidating, non-ponies is going to help their business much. Perhaps more gentle forms?”

“Gentle, gentle…..Any suggestions? The only forms I’ve used have been for either intimidation or hiding from everyone who knows me,” Draigo admitted.

“Perhaps just a noblepony. Less intimidating and more prestige for the shop.”

“Okay, that sounds reasonable,” Draigo said as he changed into a black unicorn with a dark green mane and tail while his cutie mark was a lightning bolt.

“I’ll just use one of the personas I’ve taken across the last thousand years.” Magnus shrank into a rather large red pegasus with ivory hair and a serpentine sun for a cutie mark.

“Well, you’ll stand out for sure, then again, I don’t exactly blend in either,” Draigo said with a significantly higher voice than his draconic form. The pair of ponies set off to find their destination while they chuckled about each other’s appearance.

In the end, they asked for directions to the store to save time. The store was fairly non-descript but had a mare wearing socks on each of her hooves for its logo. Upon entering the store, they noticed a distinct lack of customers or staff.

“Hello? Anyone here?” Draigo called out as he entered the store.

“Huh? Ooh, customers!” cried a feminine voice from the back of the store, “I do apologize for the wait. I was working on a new project.”

“No worries, my dear. My friend here has a special order that he’d like to place,” Draigo told the mare as she trotted over to them. She was a tall, slender, light blue unicorn with an orange and yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was hidden due to the black dress she wore.

“I was wondering if you would be able to make a decoration for the top of our tree. I know it isn’t your usual work but you were recommended by a friend and I trust her judgment.”

“Oh? I have two questions before beginning your order. Who recommended me and what decoration would you like me to make?” the mare asked as she brought out a pad of paper and a quill from under the counter.

“Her name is Cadence. As for the decoration, it is a bit unorthodox. I was hoping for a plush resembling my brother, Sanguinius.”

“So, Cadence thinks highly enough of my skills to recommend me for things like this. I must admit, I’m flattered. Now, what does your brother look like and do you have a material you’d like me to use for this?” she asked before her eyes widened a bit, “Ah, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sassy Saddles.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Saddles. My name is Magnus and this is my friend Draigo. Perhaps showing you would be a bit easier than trying to explain. I doubt you’ve seen someone quite like him.” Magnus proceeded to project his memory of Sanguinius into the shop. A tall, beautiful human stood there. His long blonde hair ran between his white wings. The red of his armor contrasting with the white pelt he wore as a cloak.

“Ah, he’s similar to that being that shows up to Princess Celestia’s day court. I go every now and then to see what the nobility thinks is fashionable. Quit a bit better looking than the other, though, Is that fur that he’s wearing around his shoulders?” Sassy said as a shudder went through her body.

“A carnodon pelt, yes. It made the mistake of attacking him during a campaign and his men made it into a cloak as a commemoration.”

“I’ve got no idea what that is, but that’s okay. I’m not sure I want to know. What materials would you like me to use for this decoration? Also, how big do you want it to be?” Sassy asked as she started to sketch the image on her pad of paper.

“You may use whatever material you think is best though I was thinking felt. Perhaps an appropriate size for a grown mare to hold at night.”

“Well, he’s pretty enough...I mean, any particular reason for it to be that big?” Sassy asked quickly after her Freudian slip.

“A gift for my daughter.”

“Ah, okay. I can have this finished in a couple hours since I’ve got nothing else on my plate, unfortunately,” Sassy told the big red pegasus.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You seem to be a good pony and well-composed to not freak out about my brother being a giant bipedal warrior.”

“Well, after having a giant dragon flying overhead and seeing that bipedal being in the Princess’ castle something like this seems fairly tame, even if he is wearing fur,” Sassy told them with another shudder.

“How much do we owe you for this special project?” Draigo asked.

“Hmm, factoring in the time it’ll take to complete plus estimated cost of materials...Well, I’ll have to see which materials will work best for each aspect of it. I’ll let you know the amount after I’ve completed it. Is that satisfactory, gentlestallions?” Sassy said.

“Yes, that is satisfactory. Once you’ve completed it send word to the castle for Draigo and I’ll be able to get it. Is there anything else you need to know?” Draigo asked with a winning smile.

“No, that is all I’ll need. If that is all, gentlestallions, allow me to start working on this project for you,” Sassy said and waited to make sure there was nothing else the two needed.

“If you were to get into a fight with a good stallion friend and he wanted to make up for it, what would you like him to do to make up for it?” Draigo asked cautiously.

“Okay, how bad did you mess up?” Sassy asked she figured that the unicorn was talking about himself instead of somepony else since most ponies did that when in this kind of situation.

“Accidental flirting with her and her sister at the same time in the same room,” Magnus provided like the incredibly helpful person he is.

“Ooooh, how did he manage to mess up that badly?”

“His tail gets away from him sometimes.”

“Wait, wait, wait. If you say his tail gets away from him and he’s this flustered about it--” Sassy said as she gestured to Draigo who was blushing up a storm while grumbling to himself about treacherous demons and runaway tails-- “then did he do this?” Sassy said as she brushed her tail across Magnus’ chin.

“Precisely.”

“You’re going to have to grovel and hope that they make you their slave for a while instead of any alternative punishments. In fact, I suggest offering to do anything they say for a day or two before they can say anything else,” Sassy told him as she grumbled about nonreactive stallions.

“Thank you. I think I’ll do just that. Let me know if you have any troubles with the order,” Draigo said as he slowly made his way to the door while making sure his tail was where it was supposed to be and doing as it should.

“It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Saddles. I look forward to seeing your work.” Magnus gave a polite nod before turning to leave the store

“Well, let’s get back to the tree and decorate it while we wait for you plushie to be finished,” Draigo said as they started to make their way back to the castle.

*************************************************************************************************************

Several hours passed as the two decorated their tree. By the end, the branches were covered in a light layer of frost and hundreds of multicolored gems. They looked at the tree and gave a nod to each other in satisfaction.

“That plush of yours should be ready any time now. Once we have it then we can put it on the top of our tree to finish it off. I’m just glad we weren’t interrupted during our decorating. It’s really annoying to try to get back into the groove of something,” Draigo said as he admired their handy work.

“About the plush, could you do something to protect it from the weather? I really would like to give it to my daughter.”

“You actually have a daughter? I thought you made that up as a half truth,” Draigo said.

“Adopted, of course. I hadn’t really thought of it until it came up but I realized she would like something like that.”

“Well, directly manipulating the elements is what I do the most. I don’t have confidence when it comes to enchanting things like that. So, I can protect it directly while it’s here, but I think we can get either one of the Princesses or Shining Armor to give it a proper enchantment,” Draigo said.

“Thank you, Draigo.”

“What are friends for? Besides, if I can help make a lady happy then I’m glad to help,” Draigo said as a royal guard walked out of the castle.

“A message for you, Sir,” the stallion said before levitating a piece of paper over to Draigo and then quickly trotting away.

“It seems your plush is done. Let’s go pick it up,” Draigo said as he took a large bag of bits out from between his scales and changed into his previous unicorn form. Magnus followed suit and started towards downtown. It didn’t take them as long as before to get to Sassy Saddle’s store and they were soon inside and inspecting Magnus’ order.

“Splendid work, Ms. Saddles. It’s much better than I imagined. Cadence was right to recommend you.,” Magnus said with a smile on his face. “It’s good to see him again, even if only like this.”

“I’m glad you approve. I had initially wanted to try using silk or satin but found that felt worked the best. Now, the amount that is owed is 300 bits,” Sassy said as she moved behind the cash register. Draigo brought out his bag of bits and counted out 300 bits.

“I’ll keep you in mind should I need anything involving clothes or cloth in the future,” Draigo told her as she put the pile of bits into her register.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sassy. I hope fortune favors you.”

“Here’s a little something for being so professional,” Draigo said as he put his hoof on the counter and slowly brought it up while producing a diamond rose.

“Wha, but, that, uuuh,” Sassy spluttered as she watched the rose being created.

“Oh, and another little revelation for you. I am the dragon known as Draigo as well as the bipedal warrior you’ve seen in court every now and then,” Draigo admitted with a chuckle at Sassy’s wide open mouth.

“I thought you just shared a name! Admittedly I had some suspicions when you said to send the message to the palace but I never thought you would actually be him.”

“Hahaha, well. I didn’t think you’d handle it this well. Well, we should be going. Have a happy Hearth’s Warming, Sassy,” Draigo said as he levitated Magnus’ plush behind him and began the journey back to the royal gardens.

Back in the gardens, the two beings put the Sanguinius plush at the top of the tree and secured it there with a couple of branches. The two were proud of their tree and were basking in its radiance when two sets of hoof steps were heard behind them.

“Tis a wonderfully decorated tree,” Luna complimented as she gazed at the various gems on the tree.

“That it is,” Celestia agreed. Upon hearing their voices, Draigo twirled around and backed away slowly.

“Something the matter, Draigo?” Celestia asked.

“He’s scared the two of you will flay him alive for earlier.”

“They’ve already done something similar. So, yes actually. Though, in an emotional way this time,” Draigo said as he spread his wings for a quick takeoff, just in case.

+What happened to that begging thing Sassy told you to do?+ Magnus sent to Draigo

Instinct, that’s what. The last time something this big happened I had to hobble back to the castle on three heavily injured legs. Draigo replied to Magnus’ telepathic message.

+Well, I suggest you start while they’re still in a good mood.+

“Please, I’ll do anything to make up for what I’ve done. So please, don’t send me away and stop being my friends. Please... please, I don’t want to be alone anymore,” Draigo said as he touched his head to the ground and laid his wings out in subjugation and tears of both fright and sadness welled in his eyes.

“Lift thy head, Draigo,” Luna said softly. Draigo left his head where it was and shut his eyes tightly.

“Do you really think we would send you away when we asked you to stay with us in the first place? Having you here is something that we both want and will always want, Draigo. If you truly want to make up for what you’ve done then we won’t stop you, but know that neither of us thinks less of you for expressing yourself,” Celestia said as she walked over to the prostrated dragon and lifted his head so they were looking into each other’s eyes.

“Tia speaks the truth. We would rather Discord be set free than have thee leave our castle. We will take thy offered services, though. We would not look a gift dragon in the mouth. So, after Magnus has left We will take care of this matter,” Luna said as she joined her sister.

“There is something you can do for us right now, though…” Celestia said.

“What would that be?” Draigo asked with slight bit of dread.

“Dost thou not know the significance of the object above thy head?” Luna asked. Draigo looked up and saw a sprig of mistletoe hovering above their heads in Luna’s magical grip.

“Um, remind me. This is the first winter holidays I’ve spent with anyone in… basically forever,” Draigo admitted.

“I think it’s better to show than to tell. Don’t you, Luna?” Celestia said as she leaned in closer to Draigo.

“We do indeed, Tia,” Luna said as she too leaned closer to Draigo. The two sisters then kissed Draigo on his cheeks at the same time. Draigo’s jaw dropped to the ground as he felt them kiss his cheeks.

“Now, don’t you have some presents to distribute?” Celestia whispered into Draigo’s ear.

“Yes, I do,” Draigo whispered back then kissed each of the princesses on their cheek as he stood and strode to the edge of the garden, “I’ll be back in about half an hour. You can come with if you’d like Magnus, but I’m not sure how much strength you have left until you need to rest.”

“If it’s alright with everyone here, I would like to explore the library a bit. You never know what new knowledge can be found in a new reality.”

“You are more than welcome to peruse the royal library. Ask us if you want to read from an authorized only area, otherwise have fun,” Celestia said as she and Luna joined Draigo at the cliffside of the garden.

“Tis night now, Draigo, and we will not allow thee to travel alone while thou distributes your presents,” Luna told him as she took off into the night sky before he could object to them joining him.

“It will be a nice to fly with you two while I spread joy to all the good girls and boys,” Draigo said as he and Celestia joined Luna in the night sky. The three of them flew over Canterlot and Ponyville as Draigo sent gems floating to the ground as they passed overhead. Their journey didn’t take long due to Draigo growing to his full size thus increasing the area the gems were distributed to at one time and allowing them to take fewer passes over the two towns. Even though it hadn’t taken very long they had enjoyed their time together. As they touched back down in the gardens Luna and Celestia looked at each other and nodded. They trotted ahead of Draigo and caressed his chin with their tails before trotting away while giggling like school girls, leaving behind a dumbstruck dragon.

Feeling both confused and wonderful, Draigo headed to the library after he’d regained his senses. It didn’t take him long to find Magnus considering no one besides Twilight could compile that many books in such a short time and she was back in Ponyville.

“Find anything interesting?” Draigo asked as he walked around the makeshift book fort.

“...”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Draigo said as he finally got to an opening in the books and saw Magnus with his nose in a book. The title of the book that held Magnus’ attention was ‘Theoretical Thaumaturgy: a Guide in Four Parts: Volume 4.’

“So, which theory are you reading about?” Draigo asked curiously.

“Theoretical combining of pony and non-pony magics for societal advancement.”

“So, their magic plus mine or yours, if yours is considered ‘magic, basically. I know that’s dumbed down a lot, but that’s what it’s talking about,” Draigo said.

“In basic terms, yes. The series so far is decently written with plenty of sources to check for more arcane lore. I find the one of the best ways to find tidbits is to find a large research tome and see everything it cites.” Magnus glanced up from his book for the first time since Draigo entered. He had a small smile on his face and a fire in his eyes. There was little that he loved more than attaining new knowledge.

“Alright, bookworm. I’m glad we had something that piqued your interest. How goes the fight with Nightmare back in your world?” Draigo asked.

“The potential Elements of Harmony are currently sleep in a cave. I expect they will reach the castle sometime late tomorrow. At that time, we will recall our fragments so we can speak to them fully.”

“Makes sense to want to be all there for a first encounter. Any of them psykers like you?” Draigo asked as he laid down next Magnus’ chair.

“Unfortunately, no. Psykers are quite rare among the ponies. Since I saw their species first emerge there has been only a handful of psykers and most of them incredibly weak. I hypothesize it is the abundance of magic but don’t really have a way of testing it.”

“Hmm, you’d need a way to get them into an area with no magic while the warp was still accessible, at the bare minimum,” Draigo said as he tilted his head to the side.

“And there is no area without magic on Tethra,” Magnus said with a hint of frustration. “I’ll just have to wait and see if they become more common in the generations to come.”

“So, psykers aren’t common, but the warp is still present. Doesn’t that mean that if daemons were to somehow come through that they would have a veritable buffet of bodies to possess? They can possess people, right?” Draigo asked with a bit of concern.

“Yes, though you are remembering slightly wrong. Daemons find it infinitely easier to possess psykers. They can use their innate connection to the warp as a bridge of sorts. Fortunately, Tethra is well protected from the local daemons. It’s all the things crossing from my original world I’m worried about.”

“So, Earth?”

“Yes and no. We called it Terra though it was once Earth. So far nothing too dangerous has crossed over. A few ships have crashed into the planet, the occasional bit of technology. They’re coming more frequently now and I’m not sure how long it will be before something I can’t handle comes through. I’m strong but even I can’t defeat an entire Waaagh! by myself.”

“Ah, okay. You’re like me where you’ve lived longer in that body than your original except yours came with memories and abilities instead of just abilities,” Draigo said.

“Not quite. This is my original body. At least, one of them. Whatever dragged the two of us from our worlds merged us into one being. Magnus’ mind was so much stronger it quickly asserted control of their combined selves. The other memories are still there and pieces of his personality but I consider myself Magnus rather than Jared.”

“Gotcha. Now, if I remember correctly, a Waaagh! is a giant group of orks or greenskins or whatever you’re going to call them that is going from planet to planet fighting everything in their path and generally making life miserable for everyone else,” Draigo said.

“Correct. It seems more of your memories are returning.”

“Yeah, it seems the more I hang out with Displaced the more I remember about the culture they are displaced as. Such as you, I keep remembering more and more about Warhammer 40k while I’m around you. Anyway, if something happens where you need more firepower summon me. I know I haven’t shown you a lot of my power, but trust me when I say that, if I was lucky, I could kill Tzeentch, if,” Draigo explained.

“That would be a feat indeed considering he’s empowered by the ambition and desire for change of an entire galaxy.”

“Oh, I’m not saying it would be easy. I’m just saying I could. So something like an army of orks trying to get ‘stuck in’ would fall before me like wheat before a power sword,” Draigo said.

“I may do that. I would prefer to leave the defense of any given reality to the inhabitants, though. If things become dire enough I will consider calling you,”

“I’m with you on that one. I’m here if you need me, that’s all.”

“A small warning should that happen, don’t expect my full self to be as agreeable as I am. We specifically made this shard more light hearted and open than our normal self.”

“Ah, okay. Reminds me of myself when other Displaced are around. I act differently than I normally would. I mean, a grand majority of the Displaced can’t live more than a hundred years. Why should I care about someone who’s going to be gone in the blink of an eye? Why? Heck, even those that are considered immortal can, usually, die in combat. Those are the lucky ones in my opinion, though.”

“All is dust. Nothing is eternal and so we must learn to appreciate things while they last. It can be difficult for ones such as you and I but increasingly necessary as time goes on.”

“True, though I think the Displaced, at least, aren’t one of those things. If we take into account what you’ve seen plus what I’ve experienced then the Displaced are interesting, but are overall ignorable.”

“True. It is rather easy to ignore things in other realities. You just need to concern yourself with your own and be content with that. I wish I could do that.”

“You can be content once you find the rest of your family or, at least, your dad, right? If so then, there’s, at least, a foreseeable end. Anyway, let’s get off this depressing topic. What is your favorite thing to eat?”

“Currently, grilled chicken breast with marinated grilled vegetables. Might I assume you’ve come to favor gems?”

“Gems are wonderful, but I find meat is scarcer here and, therefore, more a delicacy. Adding gems to a good steak or to cragadile or manticore or any meat really makes it so much more that it’s ridiculous. My mouth is watering just thinking of that combo,” Draigo said as he licked his lips and teeth. “Do you have any hobbies besides gardening and researching things that pique your interest?”

“Travelling the Warp is always fascinating, though, that might count as research. I also like to assemble models and paint them if necessary. Something about it is relaxing. It’s why I helped invent them nearly a hundred years ago.”

“Ah, okay. I’m like that when fishing. I haven’t fished in a really long time, though,” Draigo said.

“Well, perhaps we can go together once we don’t have any guests over, Draigo,” Celestia said as she appeared from behind a bookshelf.

“How long have you been there?” Draigo asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Magnus, Draigo’s room is going to be vacant tonight if you wish to use it,” Celestia said as she approached them. Draigo gulped at his uncertain night but smiled when he remembered recent events.

“Thank you, Celestia. I believe I’ll retire for the night. Good night to the both of you,” Magnus said as he got up to start returning the books to their proper places.

“Come with me, Draigo,” Celestia said as she turned and started to walk out of the library.

********************************************************************************************************

The next day was filled with celebrating Sanguinala, Christmas, and Hearth’s Warming. Magnus told everyone of the tales of Sanguinius, presents were shared, and the union of the three tribes was remembered and retold. All were happy and content to celebrate. Things took a turn when the evening came around and the time for Magnus to leave got further and further into the forefront of everyone else’s minds.

“They have entered the castle. There’s only a matter of minutes before either Luna is returned or I must intervene. It has been a pleasure to be here. I will leave you a token in case you need me. As a warning I have no idea if the token will summon all of me or just another fragment.” Magnus handed over the token he had created the night before. A small pyramid of glass filled with a small piece of the warp pulled from, his reality. “Don’t let anyone look into it for too long. The Warp is dangerous even in such a small form.”

“Will do. Here’s mine, you dropped it when you changed into your pony form,” Draigo said as he took Magnus’ token and handed him the hourglass.

“Celestia and Luna, thank you for your hospitality. I can only hope I will get along as well with my world’s though I doubt it.,” Magnus said as he gave a small bow and then a shrug as he finished speaking.

“It has been a pleasure, Magnus. If you are ever back in our universe, you are welcome to come and research some more,” Celestia said with a smile.

“Twas entertaining to have thee here. We look forward to possible future encounters with thee. We hope that our counterparts can get along with thee as well,” Luna said.

“If your main body is as you’ve described then your relationship with your princesses might be a bit rocky. They will most likely be fairly tolerable for a while, though,” Draigo added.

“Perhaps. Remember: all is dust. Farewell.” With his final words, a hole in reality opened to the void and the fragment went screaming back to his physical body.

“All is dust!” Draigo called after Magnus in hopes that he might hear.

“Come, Draigo. You still have to do whatever we want since you are making up for your ‘mistake’, remember?” Celestia teased as she and Luna giggled on their way back to Celestia’s room.

“Coming, Celestia,” Draigo called as he picked up his pace to catch up to the two sisters. He couldn’t help but hum the tune of ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ as he walked behind Luna and Celestia.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Coming of Age

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It has been a few months since the winter holidays. Draigo had left the castle and Equestria not long after Magnus had left. He had gone to check on the Asian dragons he’d established with the hope that he could keep them from killing each other to win the attention of Shen Long’s mate. Celestia and Luna were saddened that he had to leave, but understood why and would send him letters with any news they thought he should know about. They were especially sad that Draigo was gone when Spike succumbed to his greed and tore Ponyville apart in his greed induced growth. That letter had been hard to write since they knew Draigo thought Spike had great potential, but they also knew that he should know about it.

Spike was glad that the towns ponies had forgiven him for what had happened that day and had gone back to their normal routines once they remembered that he was usually very nice and considerate. This didn’t stop Spike from beating himself up over the event and wondering who he truly was. He had gotten some info about being a dragon from Draigo, but he still didn’t know what it meant to be a dragon and it was really bugging him.

“Spike, I’m going to go help Rainbow talk to Fluttershy about joining us in observing the dragon migration. Would you be a sport and whip up some snacks for us? Thanks,” Twilight said as she trotted out the door of the library.

“Sure thing, Twi,” Spike called after her. He began making some cookies, cupcakes, and other assorted snacks while he contemplated what it meant to be a dragon. He knew that making blueberry muffins had the potential to leave a stain on his scales for a couple days so he made sure to wear the apron Twilight had gotten for him. It wasn’t the manliest apron ever, but he appreciated not having to scrub and scrub at stains on his scales. In truth, the stains weren’t really that noticeable to anyone besides himself, but he didn’t want anyone thinking he couldn’t take care of himself. Soon enough his snacks were complete and he loaded them onto a tray that he put on a cart to take to the trench Twilight had told him about earlier.

On the way, Spike couldn’t help but admire the dragons flying through the sky above. He couldn’t wait for his wings to grow in so he could join them. He knew he’d make a great dragon even if he didn’t know what that actually meant. As he neared the trench that Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack were hiding in, he noticed that his friends were admiring the aerial acrobatics that the dragons were performing before one dragon got hit by another and blew some fire towards the trench. Spike had gotten a little worried that one of his friends might’ve gotten hurt, but noticed that Twilight had thrown up a shield spell to protect them. He had a bit of a chuckle when he noticed that Rainbow had gotten a little soot on her face before Twilight’s shield was fully up.

“There, that should hold for awhile,” Twilight said after her spell was complete.

“Couldn’t you have done that a tad bit earlier? I know that the trench and camo are to help us not get noticed by the dragons, but that shield would’ve been nice from the start,” Rainbow complained as she wiped the soot off.

“If Twilight had put the shield up from the start then the dragons would’ve known where you guys were from the start. Besides, she probably wanted an unobscured view of the dragons for everyone,” Spike explained as he started to hand out the snacks.

“Yeah? What would you know about dragons, Spike? You aren’t exactly what we’d think of when somepony mentions dragons,” Rainbow said with hoof pointed at Spike accusingly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, Spike. Ya don’t act like the dragons up there and I don’t rightly know why you’d want to,” Applejack said.

“Of course, Spikey-wikey doesn’t act like those brutes. He’s far too cute. Just look at those chubby cheeks. Aren’t they just adorable looking?” Rarity chimed in.

“Cute? Adorable? I’m a guy and a dragon. We aren’t supposed to be cute and adorable, right?” Spike asked nervously.

“Now, Spike. I’m sure Rarity just means that you’re unique and don’t act like other dragons,” Twilight said in an attempt to make the situation better.

“I don’t act like other dragons?”

“Of course not, silly billy. Other dragons don’t make nice food for their friends,” Pinkie said as she took a bite of a cupcake.

“They also don’t wear frilly aprons,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Hey! It was a gift from Twilight and getting stains out of scales takes forever,” Spike explained with an embarrassed blush on his face.

“Uh huh. Stains. Right. None of us have ever seen you or any other dragon with stains on their scales,” Rainbow said while gesturing to Spike and the multitude of Dragons above them.

“Just because you can’t tell doesn’t mean that the stains aren’t there,” Spike said as he began to walk back to the library.

“Spike’s right, Rainbow. We wouldn’t want any of his cute scales being damaged or tarnished from some accident,” Rarity said as she watched Spike.

“There’s that word again,” Spike mumbled to himself.

“Isn’t it just adorable the way Spike waddles off in anger?” Rarity asked.

“Argh! Waddle? Adorable? Cute?” Spike said angrily as he picked up his pace. He was soon out of earshot of the five mares in the trench. Spike pondered everything he’d heard as he journeyed home.

Soon enough Spike was back in the library and enjoying a nice gem salad while trying to find a book that could tell him more about dragons. He'd decided to ask Twilight about what she knew about his origins and everything else she knew about dragons. He'd then realized that he should be looking for whatever he could find as he waited for Twilight to return home and was thus began searching.

After several hours of searching, Spike had found nothing. None of the books in the library had information about dragons. He found this ridiculous considering Draigo lives in Canterlot Castle and somepony could've asked him about dragons and written a book with what they learned. Apparently even the friendliest, and most willing to answer questions, of dragons was still too much for ponies to handle. Ugh, what did a dragon have to do to find out about his own species go out on a journey to find a dragon to ask? Wait, there’s hundreds if not thousands of dragons flying overhead.

“Everything okay, Spike? You have a crazy look right now,” Twilight said in concern as she walked in and noticed Spike standing amongst all the books in the library.

“Yeah, everything’s just fine, Twilight. I just figured something out after searching the entire library for anything on dragons. Turns out we don’t have a single book about dragons,” Spike casually replied.

“What!? Are you sure that there isn’t a single thing about dragons amongst all these books?” Twilight asked.

“Yep, not a one. Anyway, I’m kinda tired from searching the entire library. Could you put the books back? I’m gonna go get some rest since I’m going to have a busy morning,” Spike said as he headed for their bedroom.

“Sure, Spike. Why will you have a busy morning, though?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Oh, that’s going to be a surprise. Night, Twi,” Spike said as he climbed the stairs.

“Oh, okay,” Twilight said with a bit of concern in her voice.

Spike woke up earlier than normal and began preparing things for the journey he was going to embark on. He got a sturdy stick, a big handkerchief, and some things to eat along the way. He was almost done with his prep when Twilight came down the stairs.

“Where are you off to, Spike, and why do you have to take that much food with you?” Twilight asked both curious and concerned.

“Oh, right. I’m going to go join the dragon migration and find out what it means to be a dragon,” Spike said nonchalantly.

“Did Spike just say that he was going to join the dragon migration?” Rainbow asked as she and Rarity stood in the doorway, having arrived just in time for Spike’s announcement.

“Spikey, you shouldn’t even associate with those brutes,” Rarity said.

“Yes and those ‘brutes’ are the only way I’m going to find out about dragons since Draigo hasn’t returned and there’s no book about them in the entire library,” Spike said as he shouldered his bindle and started to walk out the door.

“Wait, this is crazy, Spike. I’ve done some crazy things in my life and even I think this is crazy,” Rainbow said as she barred Spike’s way.

“So what? I’m not waiting around for Draigo to come back to find out who I am or what it means to be a dragon. Nopony even knows when he’ll be back,” Spike returned as he stepped around Rainbow and out the door.

“Wait! Spike, please be careful. I’m all for you finding out who you are and what it means to be a dragon. I just want you to be safe so Pinkie Promise that you’ll be careful and keep out of trouble,” Twilight said as she, Rarity, and Rainbow stood on the doorstep.

Spike sighed before performing the needed actions and necessary words for a Pinkie Promise. He then walked off while waving without looking back at the three mares.

It took a couple days, but Spike finally caught up with the dragon migration. He’d had to go up and down mountains, through blizzards, wind and rain, but he’d endured it all. He was now in a land full of volcanic activity.

Climbing up the mountain that most of the dragons seemed to be going to Spike was able to find a large group of full grown dragons with a few teenage ones as well. He decided that the teenagers were more his speed and quickly ran down to see what dragons were like.

“Um, hi. My name’s Spike,” he said awkwardly.

“You sure your name isn’t Shrimp?” teased a purple and yellow scaled dragon whose eyes were hidden behind what seemed like hair.

“Yes, my name is definitely, Spike,” Spike returned forcefully.

“Whoa, calm down, pee wee,” a fat brown dragon said.

“It’s Spike not ‘pee wee.’ I may take being called names by my pony friends but that’s because I know them and those names aren’t hurtful,” Spike said.

“Ponies? That explains why we haven’t seen you before. Now guys, let’s take it easy on the little guy or he might fly away. That is if he had wings!” A red and orange dragon said as he picked Spike up by the tail to show the rest that he had not wings and then dropped him. “You’re no dragon. You’re definitely a pony in disguise.”

“I am too a dragon,” Spike said desperately trying to remain tough.

“Alright, prove it,” the red and orange dragon said.

“How?” Spike wondered.

“By acting like one. Who’s up for a belching contest!” called the red and orange teenager. The rest of the teens cheered so loud that they woke up a few of the adult dragons that were taking naps after their long journey. An odd dragon that was pure black except for his eyes took notice of the teens and the young whelp with them.

The first to go was a white and pink dragon who belched a flame that was seven feet long. Next was the purple and yellow dragon who belched a flame that was eight feet long. The third to go was the fat brown dragon who belched a flame that exceeded twenty feet long.

“Alright, pee wee. Let’s see you beat that,” challenged the red and orange dragon.

Spike walked over to where the others had belched from and waited for a second to build up a belch. Just as he was about to try to belch he felt a sensation that let him know that a letter from one of the princesses was on its way. Spike belched up a small amount of flame and the letter fell to the ground. The red and orange dragon picked it up and read a bit of it.

“Hey, guys. Little Spike here is pen pals with a namby-pamby pony princess,” he said and began to chuckle. Once he began chuckling a big black tail whipped around him and brought him face to face with the pure black dragon.

“What did you say about a ‘pony princess’?” asked the black dragon.

“I called her namby-pamby. What’s-” the red and orange dragon got out before being squeezed by the tail that held him.

“Which princess?”

“The letter said Princess Celestia,” the red dragon said before being flung across the crater and into the cliff face.

“You just called the Princess of the Sun, the one who raises and lowers the Sun, ‘namby-pamby.’ Do you even realize how stupid it is to insult her or her sister? Do you!?” yelled the black dragon as he walked over to the teen he’d thrown.

“There’s no way a pony can do that,” replied the teen as he slowly pulled himself from the imprint he’d left in the rock.

“If you actually believe that then you’re even more stupid than that pony whelp over there,” the black dragon said as he gestured to Spike with a wing.

“Hey, I’m way stronger than him and I’m older as well,” shot the insulted teen.

“I have no doubt that you’re stronger than he is. That’s not the point. Have you heard of Draigo?” asked the black dragon as he pinned the red teen in his own imprint.

“The dragon that’s called the god of dragons by some while the rest aren’t even sure he exists? Yeah, I’ve heard that he’s supposed to be this freakishly powerful dragon that not even the eldest dragons can stand up to,” the teen replied.

“Well, let’s put it this way. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were to team up then they stand a chance of beating him. Not so namby-pamby now, are they?” the black adult dragon said with a sneer.

“No... no, sir.”

“Good. Now, I have some advice for the pony whelp,” the black dragon said as he looked Spike in the eye before picking Spike up in one of his claws. The adult dragon then took off into the sky and brought Spike to a set of clouds that overlooked the migration area. “Remember the advice I’m about to give you whenever you are having a hard time, young one.” He then snapped his claws and some music began to play.

Put your faith in what you most believe in
Two worlds, one family
Trust your heart
Let fate decide
To guide these lives we see

A paradise untouched by war
Within this world cursed with hate
A simple life, you’ll live in peace

Softly tread the ash below your claws now
Two worlds, one family
Trust your heart
Let fate decide
To guide these lives we see

Beneath the shelter of Celestia
Only love can enter there
A simple life, you’ll live in peace

Raise your head up
Lift high the load
Take strength from those that need you
Build high the love
Give up the greed
Your good life is waiting
For greed is no stranger here

The black dragon had been motioning to two areas that they could see during his song. One of the volcanic area that the migration was in and the other was a forested area far in the distance.

No words describe a dragon’s greed
No words can heal a broken heart
A dream is gone, but where there's hope

Somewhere something is calling for you
Two worlds, one family
Trust your heart
Let fate decide
To guide these lives we see

The black dragon set Spike down with the teens again and walked over to where he sat with the weirdest looking dragon. The weird dragon somehow had three sets of eyes: one where they normally would be, one in its mouth and another on its chest.

“That disguise only worked because none of the other dragons have noticed the two sets of extra eyes you have. The fact that there's another dragon that looks just like you is extremely weird,” the dragon said to his ‘guest.’

“Yes, well. The adult dragons don't seem to care and the teen dragons are just too stupid to notice,” replied the top set of eyes.

“Yep, the sulfur also covers up the smell of pony and perfume. Seriously, why did you wear perfume when you knew you'd be in a disguise?” The black dragon asked.

“One must always smell as good as they look whether they are in disguise or not,” replied a haughty voice from the dragon’s rear end.

“If you say so, Rarity, but that perfume would have blown your cover if the sulfur wasn’t as strong as it is. I get why you followed Spike, Twilight, but it was completely unnecessary. He can stand to toughen up a bit. Don’t you agree, Rainbow?” the black dragon asked.

“How do you know our names and why aren’t you ripping us to shreds for being ponies? I thought that we’d be in big trouble if the dragons found out we were ponies,” Rainbow asked.

“Yes, do tell how you knew we were ponies and our names. The only dragons we know are Spikey-wikey and Draigo and you don’t look like Draigo. You have neither his size nor his coloration,” Rarity said as she peeked out from beneath their costume.

“I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s see how Spike handles this situation. Remember he’s a lot tougher than you think he is,” the dragon said as he turned his attention back to Spike and the teen dragons.

“Look, Spike. What we did before isn't ‘acting like a dragon.’ That was just a simple belching contest between guys. You don't have your wings and you're obviously too young for the coming of age ceremony. It's the coming of age ceremony that will really tell how much of a dragon you are,” the red teen explained.

“So, how old do you have to be for the ceremony?” Spike asked.

“You have to be at least sixteen. Each of us already did the ceremony a few years ago,” explained the teen.

“Well, it just so happens that I am sixteen,” Spike said firmly.

“What? There's now way a dragon your size is sixteen. You'd be closer to our size if you were,” the teen stated.

“That's the same reaction that everypony else has when I tell them my age,” Spike said in a depressed tone.

“After the ceremony, no one will be able to say that you aren't a dragon or disbelieve your age. We'll have to get one of the adults to administer the ceremony. Hopefully, we can find one that can be convinced that you are sixteen,” the teen said as he started to look around at the gathered adult dragons.

“How about that black one?” Spike suggested.

“That odd one? Hmm, you might be right…” the red teen kept looking around while he had a look of thought on his face.

“Odd? Why is he odd?” Spike wondered.

“Look around, do you see a dragon beside him who’s a single color? That and he’s the only one I know of that’s defended ponies to another dragon. Quite odd for a dragon. He might be our best shot for getting the ceremony started, though,” the red teen said as he looked at the black dragon sitting next to a really deformed one.

“Speaking of odd. What’s your name anyway? You and the others never told me,” Spike said.

“Right, I’m Garble. The purple guy is Spear and the big brown one is Clump,” Garble said as he gestured to his fellow teens. Spear and Clump both gave a small wave when introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you, Garble. Now, should we go ask that black dragon about the ceremony?” Spike asked. He was more comfortable talking now that he’d found out the other dragon’s names and they’d become nicer than before.

“Yeah, he’s our best bet since, as I said before, I don’t think any of the other adults would believe that you’re sixteen,” Garble said as they began to walk over to the aforementioned dragon.

Spike’s gut was working itself into tighter and tighter knots the closer they got to the black adult. The only thing keeping him going was the fact that he was going to go through a ceremony that every dragon went through when they turned sixteen. He'd be one step closer to knowing what it meant to be a dragon after this was over.

“So, why have you all come to me? Surely after our last encounter you'd be wary of even getting near me,” said the big dragon as they drew close enough for him to talk without having to yell at them.

“Yes, but we need to ask you something,” Grable replied.

“Yeah, I need to go through the coming of age ceremony,” Spike said.

“The coming of age ceremony? Which one?” asked the adult.

“There's more than one ceremony!?” the young dragons exclaimed in unison.

The black adult chuckled a bit. “Of course, there's more than one. Do you realise how long we live for? If there was only one at sixteen that would be like having a ceremony at two years old for ponies and never having one again.” The deformed dragon looked like it was going to say something. “That's just an example and it's not very accurate when it comes to scaling the lifespan difference between ponies and dragons.” The deformed dragon relaxed a bit after it heard this.

“Now, the ceremonies are all fairly similar, but each can result differently. If this young dragon is actually sixteen then who knows what the result will be.” The dragon explained while examining Spike.

“What could some of the results be?” Spike asked, hoping for good news.

“I think it's better to find out than for me to tell you. Let's go to the middle of the crater. I'll oversee your ceremony.” The big adult stood up and slowly walked down into the crater while Spike and the others rejoiced in their success.

Once everyone was gathered in the middle of the crater, the adult dragon laid down and gestured for Spike to come over.

“Okay, I'm going to help you find your inner energy. Once you've found it it'll be up to you to release it and make it flow throughout your body. Only once it’s circulating through your entire body is the ceremony over. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days depending on the dragon. Now, close your eyes and I’ll pour some of my energy into your inner energy as a guide.” The adult raised a claw and lightly touched Spike’s forehead as Spike did as instructed.

Spike could feel a foreign energy enter his body moments after the black dragon had touched his forehead. It felt like ice was flowing into him while electricity coursed through his veins. After Spike had gotten used to the sensations he felt the energy connect touch another ball of energy. This one was warm and familiar yet foreign. It kinda felt similar to how he felt when he sent letters to the Princesses. He delved further into this energy. He allowed himself to be swallowed in the energy inside of him.

“He’s made contact with his inner energy. It’s a waiting game now,” the black dragon said as he retracted his claw. Spike was a statue now that he’d delved into his energy.

Minutes passed as they waited for Spike to open his eyes. Once he did, they were all shocked at what they saw. Spike’s eyes were an emerald green all over. Emerald energy began to crackle and pop across Spike’s body.

“Run! Get as far away as you can! His energy is going wild!” The black adult yelled to everyone in the general area. Dragons were seen flying and running away as fast as they could. Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity took a little longer to react but eventually Twilight was able to teleport them away.

Moments after Twilight had teleported them away, the three ponies looked back to the mountain they were once on only to see the top get enveloped in a ball of emerald energy. The three stood stock still as they watched the energy dissipate, worry evident on each of their faces. Once the energy was completely gone from sight they started their trek back up the mountain.

When Spike opened his eyes, he noticed that the crater edges had been smoothed and were now curved down like a giant ball was could be set inside. He was also floating in a pool of lava that extended over the entire crater floor. The gem piles and everything else that used to be on the crater floor was gone. Spike raised an arm to rest a claw on his head and noticed his claw seemed a bit bigger. He looked down and noticed that his entire body had grown to about the size of Twilight. His back itched a little and he felt two bumps when he started to scratch the itch.

“You okay down there, Spike?” called Garble as he flew down into the pool next to Spike.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I've got these bumps on my back, though,” Spike said in a bit deeper voice than normal.

“Bumps? What are you talking about?” Garble asked with a raised eye ridge.

“There’s a couple bumps on my back that weren’t there before the ceremony.” Spike said and rolled onto his belly to show Garble.

“Huh, those bumps are where your wings should be. Well, you are bigger as well. Looks like the ceremony worked, but where did the black dragon go?” Garble asked as he looked around the area for said dragon.

“No idea. One moment I’m closing my eyes and feeling I was going to die...the next I’m waking up in the middle of this lava pool looking like this.” Spike said, gesturing to his body.

“Well, wherever he went to doesn’t really matter. The success of your ceremony calls for a raid in celebration and for you to get used to your new body.” Garble told Spike as he thought about where to raid.

“A raid? I don’t see how a raid can be celebratory,” Spike asked.

“Yeah, a raid lets us feel our blood coursing through our veins and a rush of adrenaline. There’s no better way, besides fighting other dragons, to feel like a dragon, Spike,” Garble explained to Spike as a look of ecstasy formed on Garble’s muzzle.

“Well...if that’s what’s it’s like then I’ll give it a shot. When do we go?” Spike asked, a bit of anxiety and nervousness building inside of him.

“Right now! We’re going to go raid a Phoenix nest!” Garble shouted enthusiastically as Spear and Clump flew over to hover nearby. “Okay, one of you get Spike. We’re gonna let him feel what it’s like to be a dragon.”

After Clump picked Spike up, the group flew out of the crater and over a nearby forest. They banked this way and that in search of their intended quarry. After a while of searching, they finally spotted a glimpse of red and gold feathers in the distance.

"Okay, Spike. Go over there and get the parents away from the nest. We’ll fly in and raid it once they’re gone,” Garble instructed as he gestured toward the intended Phoenix nest.

With a nod, Spike timidly approached the tree that held the Phoenix nest. He’d only encountered one Phoenix before and that was Celestia’s pet, Philomena. He had no idea how he was going to draw them away beyond trying to hurt them, he’d prefer not doing that. So, he began to think in silence while studying the nest and its occupants.

“Just throw something at them and run away, Spike. We only need a small amount of time,” Garble said as quietly as he could while still allowing Spike to hear him.

“Oh, okay…” Spike muttered as he picked up a rock and tossed it at the nest. It soared over the heads of the nest’s occupants. Spike blew a raspberry at them and then legged it away from the nest as the grown Phoenixes gave chase. He ran for a bit before he tripped over a rock. As he rolled over the parents were right on top of him before they heard noises back at their nest and flew back, leaving Spike untouched. He let out a sigh of relief and made his way back to the nest area in hopes that Garble and his friends had already done what they needed to do.

On his way back, Spike found an egg that was yellow with red flames patterns. He gingerly picked it up so as to not accidentally break it while he was still getting used to his new body.

“Freaking Phoenixes. Making us run into trees and blinding us. This raid was a total bust,” Garble muttered as he got back to where the nest area was.

“Hey, Spike found an egg!” Spear proclaimed.

“What cha waiting for, Spike? Smash it!” prompted Clump.

“That’s the reason we raided their nest, Spike. Phoenixes are small, but they are still a threat to young dragons should the dragon be stupid enough to enter their turf while mating season is going on.” Grable explained to Spike.

“Okay, that makes sense, but smashing a single egg means nothing. Besides, I was just a lone egg and I was able to hatch. I’m going to give this egg the same chance and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind!” Spike declared as he held the egg protectively.

“So, we won’t say a thing. We’ll just smash it ourselves!” roared Garble.

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” called the deformed dragon who’d stealthily walked up on the group while they were talking.

“You? What are you going to do? It’s still three on two!” yelled Garble in disbelief.

“I think you mean four on three, pal!” yelled another voice as the deformed dragon revealed itself to be Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.

“I’m normally not one for violence, but I won’t let you lay a talon on a single scale of his cute little head!” Rarity said, her voice growing more fierce by the moment.

“Three ponies are coming to the rescue of a dragon? You three obviously don’t know what you’re getting into!” Garble declared with a growl.

“No...they don’t. I, on the other hand, do.” declared a cool, calm, and authoritative voice.

The group looked around trying to find the source of the voice, looking everywhere besides up.

A sigh was heard emanating from the clouds above them. “Why does no one ever think to look up when looking for someone? Well, it just means that there are still things to learn. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

Upon hearing the voice again, everyone looked up to see Celestia standing in her battle armor upon a cloud. The look on her face when they saw her made a chill run down everyone’s spines.

“P-P-Princess Celestia!? You came to help us!?” Twilight asked, not believing that the princess deemed this a big enough event to intervene in personally.

“Yes, Twilight. After I received your letter, I scryed Spike as soon as I freed myself from my paperwork and redid the spell every day. I didn’t see much to be worried about until a giant orb of energy obscured my view. I informed my guard that Luna was in charge and raced here after donning my armor and arming myself. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did not expect to see my Spike being bullied by his fellow dragons. This does explain why the letter I sent earlier today wasn’t responded to, though.” Celestia calmly explained as she glided down and landed in between the three dragons and her ponies.

“Wait, you’re Princess Celestia? You don’t seem that tough to me. That adult must have been bluffing to try to save Spike from being embarrassed,” Garble reasoned.

“Oh? I don’t seem tough to you? Well, perhaps Draigo will seem tough to you. I really would prefer not to fight if I don’t have to,” Celestia said as she brought out Draigo’s token. “Draigo, you are needed to show three upstart dragons their place! Heed my call and return to my side!”

A few moments passed and nothing happened.

“No...no… no, no, no! It’s supposed to summon him to me! Why can’t I summon him!? Something must be wrong!” Celestia said worriedly before trying to summon Draigo over and over again.

“Pr-Princess?” Twilight asked timidly as she tentatively approached her teacher.

“Draigo was supposed to be here! He was supposed to have joined the migration and return to Canterlot after it was done! I even sent him a letter telling him about Spike coming here!” Celestia told them, concern and worry quite vivid in her voice.

“He was? We didn’t see...Wait, wait. That black dragon! It must have been Draigo in disguise! That would explain how he knew who we were even while under our disguise,” Twilight reasoned triumphantly.

“Yes, that does make sense, Darling. He pulled something similar when he came to rescue me from those horrid Diamond Dogs.” Rarity said thoughtfully.

“So, where is he now? It’s not like he can up and disappear into thin air. Can he?” Rainbow asked.

“Spike? Do you have any idea where he went?” Celestia asked hopefully, ignoring Rainbow's question.

“No, I don’t. Sorry. The last I remember he was helping me with my coming of age ceremony. When I came to, he was nowhere to be seen.” Spike told her.

“Hey! Stop worrying over a dragon that most likely doesn’t even exist. We’re right here!” complained Garble after he and his comrades had been ignored for awhile.

“Oh, right. Twilight, take Rarity and Rainbow and secure a safe zone a good distance from here. Spike, I want you to stay here and see this.” Celestia said, her voice cold and full of authority.

“Yes, Princess. Come on, girls!” Twilight said before grabbing her two friends and heading quite a ways away from the area to secure the safe zone.

“Spike, my son, this will show you just how tough dragon scales are. Remember this and do your best in the future to protect our nation and its citizens.” Celestia said once Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity were out of earshot.

“Is it okay for these three to hear you call me your son, Mom?” Spike asked, worried about their little secret being leaked by Garble and the other.

“Oh, it’s quite alright. By the time I’m done with them they won’t want to remember this day let alone be able to remember it.” Celestia told him, her voice started motherly and ended up cold as ice.

“You’re his mom!? No way! I knew he was ponyish, but I didn’t realise how ponyish he really was un-...Wait. If you’re a princess. Then, that makes him a prince. Well, there’s still no way you can make us forget. You’re just a pony with wings and a horn that’s also bigger than normal. We’re dragons. We’re gonna win and smash that egg!” Garble declared as he and his fellow dragons charged Celestia.

Seeing this, Celestia drew her axe with her magic and swung the flat of the axe head into Clump’s head, sending him flying face first into a nearby tree. She dodged the attempts made by Garble and Spear to knock her into Spike by just a hair’s breadth each time.

“You two will be joining him soon,” Celestia told Garble and Spear, coldly. She swung her axe again and knocked Spear out cold, his body slumped to the ground.

“Any last words, young dragon?” Celestia asked as Garble stood rooted to the spot by both fear and disbelief in what he’d just seen a pony do. “You know, your basic knowledge about ponies is completely off. You didn’t even know that I’m an Alicorn and am the strongest kind of pony. You only have your own ignorance and personality to blame for this beating. Once you come to you should rethink how you handle situations. Oh, wait. You won't remember any of this. A pity. You really could use some time to think about how you handle situtations.”

“Uh...Uh...Wha-wha-wha...no, no, no. This can’t be happening!” Garble shouted before Celestia silenced him with the flat of her axe head.

“See, Spike? Dragon scales are tough enough that even hitting them on the head with a metal axe head only causes them to be knocked out.” Celestia said cheerfully.

“Yes, I see that, Mom. You’ve demonstrated your point quite well.” Spike deadpanned.

“I have, haven’t I?” Celestia said as she picked Spike up in her magic and placed him on her back. “Now, let’s get you, Twilight, and her friends back to Ponyville. And, Spike?”

“Yes, Mom?” Spike asked curiously.

“You’ll always be my son. No matter how big you get. So, if you’re having troubles, please, come talk to me about it. I’ll always make time for you.” Celestia said in a very motherly tone.

“Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate that.” Spike said with a warm smile. “Actually, could I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course, dear,” Celestia replied right before they came upon Twilight and the others.

“Is everything alright, Princess?” Twilight asked as she trotted forward to meet Celestia.

“Everything is fine, Twilight. I’m going to bring Spike back to Canterlot with me to keep an eye on him while we resolve what’s going on with his body.” Celestia told Twilight, gesturing to Spike’s bigger body and the two bumps on his back.

“Really? Oh, thank you, Princess! When I saw how much Spike had changed I was worried that we wouldn’t have the resources needed to help him, should he need help. I’ll be able to rest easier knowing that he’s with you in Canterlot.” Twilight babbled out.

“I’m more than glad to help out, Twilight,” Celestia said with a giggle. “Now, I must be going. I probably won’t you see again for another few months. Unless you decide to come visit.”

“Of course. Well, have a good flight, Princess. Make sure to behave yourself, Spike. I’ll come to visit soon,” Twilight said before teleporting the Rainbow, Rarity, and herself back to Ponyville.

“Shall we get going, Spike?” Celestia asked as she spread her wings.

“Yeah, it’s going to be nice to be home again,” Spike replied as he gently grabbed onto Celestia’s armor.

“It will be good to have you back, my son,” Celestia replied with a warm smile before taking off for the castle.

Spike lay on his old bed scratching at the bumps on his back that had grown since they had first appeared.

“Man, these things are itching up a storm. Wonder what they are? I mean, they’ve grown and itched, but that’s about it,” Spike complained as he continued to itch at the bumps.

“Hmm, I too wonder what they are. I have some guesses, but I’ll keep them to myself for now,” Celestia said as she walked into the room, Spike had been loud enough for her to hear him from outside.

“Hi, Mom. Yeah, guesses are about all I’ve got right now. I really hope that they tur-GAAAAAAH!” Spike cried out in pain a held his sides, chest, and back as best he could.

“Spike! What’s going on! Are you okay!?” Celestia said concern evident in her voice. She lit her horn and cast a continuous healing spell on Spike in hopes of easing his pain.

This continued for what seemed to be hours. When it ended, Spike lay there on his belly with two new wings that had a wingspan twice the length of his body.

“Well...at least...it’s over...and I...have some awesome...new wings...to boot,” Spike gasped out in between gulps of air.

“Yes, Spike. They are wonderful. Very suitable for a drake such as yourself,” Celestia said in praise as she examined Spike’s newest appendages.

“Think Draigo will teach me how to fly when he gets back?” Spike asked.

“I’m sure he’d be more than happy to, Spike,” Celestia told him with a smile. She was still worried about Draigo’s whereabouts and what was happening to him. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash would also be willing to teach you while he’s absent. I will be trying to summon him every now and then to hasten his return.”

Celestia left the room after making sure Spike was comfortable. She took out Draigo’s token and tried once more to summon him. The attempt failed, again.

“Where are you Draigo? Don’t you know how much you are missed and needed here? Can’t you feel me trying to summon you?” Celestia wondered as she walked to Luna’s chambers. “Luna and I have something to ask you when you return to us, Draigo. I just hope... that you are safe.”

Training to Death

View Online

~THIRD PERSON POV~

Skye brushed aside some foliage on her way through the Everfree. She grumbled a bit on how they couldn’t come up with anything else but ultimately let it go. She stretched a bit and nearly blacked out when something fell on her head. Hissing in pain, she rubbed at the top of her skull and looked down. The item that fell looked to be an oversized hourglass, with four different elements swirling from top while never reaching the bottom. She crouched and picked it up, turning it upside down to see if it actually worked like one.

“Okay, this is unusual.” Skye muttered and nearly cried out when a message sounded out in her head. ‘I am Draigo, a primordial dragon. To those who find this hourglass, know that I’m here should you need help. I will give my protection to those I deem worthy. I will give my attention to those who need to talk. Finally, to those who misuse this item and others like it, you shall know my wrath.’

“Draigo … the dragon. Why do I not find that hard to believe?” Skye said out loud, unknowingly activating the hourglass.

A portal opened before her and out stepped a big armored man. His armor was black with golden accents. Not an inch of his body could be seen due to the armor and helmet that he wore. As Skye examined him she noticed that each of his gauntlets’ fingers had a claw on them and that the helmet only showed a single glowing orb for the man’s eyes.

“A skeleton? Well, I’ve seen just about everything now. Are you the one who summoned me?” the armored man inquired.

“Summoned? I suppose so.” Skye echoed, pulling her hood over her head. “I’m apparently the Grim Reaper here. Although how that works out, I got no idea,” she added, moving closer to inspect the man closer.

“Ah, a new Displaced. This ought to be interesting. If you’re the ‘Grim Reaper’ then where’s your scythe? Everyone knows that Death wields a scythe.” The man said as he allowed the female skeleton to examine him to her satisfaction.

“It got stolen by the Jersey Devil.” Skye said casually, stepping away from the man to give him space.

“Jersey Devil? Huh, got more mythology going on than normal, eh? Who all have you met so far and do they like or hate you?” the man asked. “Oh, my manners are slipping. My name is Draigo.”

“Draigo, huh? My name’s Skye. It looks like I have a mixture of them, considering a bloody Harpy tore through the throne room.” Skye explained, and considered his other question. “I’ve met ponies. It was a shock to the system, that was,” she answered, not really sure what Draigo meant by the question.

“I bet it was. Which ponies have you met? Celestia? Luna? Twilight?” Draigo asked to help clarify his previous question. “I hear a bit of an aussie accent to you. You originally from Australia?”

“Oh. I’ve met Celestia and Luna. No idea who this ‘Twilight’ is unless you’re referring to the awful book series.” Skye gave a shudder at that but otherwise, kept her voice neutral. “Celestia’s a pain to be around, mainly because she imprisoned me for something I allegedly did and yes. I’m from Australia but moved away a few years ago. I kept in touch with my cousin fairly regularly but that stopped a couple of days ago when I got executed.”

“Well, that makes two Aussies that I know...You got executed!? Wow, that’s harsh. I’m sorry Celestia is a pain. Not all of them are like that. Mine is quite nice. I guess your first few days of being a Displaced hasn’t been all too pleasant. Maybe I can help out with that.” Draigo said in an apologetic tone while taking in their surroundings.

“The execution was meant to be fake. It wasn’t. After I died, I became a skeleton, with this cloak and a scythe. No idea where my scythe is now but I’m sure that the Jersey Devil isn’t far from it. Who’s the other Aussie you know?” Skye shrugged and moved further into the forest. “While you’re here, why don’t you help me play bait?”

“The other Aussie is a guy named Joseph. I met him awhile back and helped him with a few problems. What are we bait for?” Draigo said as he followed Skye into the forest. She stiffened slightly at the name but continued walking regardless.

“Joseph? Likes to tinker with things? Loves science?” Skye asked, moving her head from side to side before picking a random direction. “We’re bait for a Harpy, the Jersey Devil, both, or possibly something else entirely.”

“Yep, when I first met him he had modified his portal gun to shoot two types of goo. Are we trying to kill whatever we’re bait for or something else?” Draigo wondered as he extended his senses out.

“No fucking idea. The only thing Clover told me was that I was bait. Nothing else was said beyond that.” Skye answered and rested against a tree trunk. “I don’t remember Joseph ever owning a portal gun.”

“Well, Joseph is a Displaced. Just like you and me. He probably got it when he was sent to his Equestria. There’s an aperture science building there as well. Wait, did you say ‘Clover?’ As in Clover the Clever?” Draigo asked, freezing mid-step when the realization of Skye’s words hit him.

“Not so sure about the ‘Clever’ part but that’s what she introduced herself as. Why you ask?” Skye asked, watching him freeze.

“If she’s here then Starswirl the Bearded is as well...Luna is still Luna, right?” Draigo asked in a very concerned voice.

“Starswirl is here as well. When I spoke with her a few hours ago, her eyes flash when she mentioned ‘subjects’. I didn’t think anything of it so I just shrugged it off.” Skye said thoughtfully, cringing when a far-off screech sounded.

“Crap, two bad things happening at the same time. Okay, first. Luna is going to become so jealous of Celestia that her being will become corrupt and turn into a being known as Nightmare Moon. I’m not sure if that can be avoided, but try to help her as much as possible. Compliment her night, stay up with her, try to keep her mind off of Celestia, get some citizens to visit her during night court, get some of them to compliment her night, anything to help boost her confidence and see that she is still loved and wanted. That is more important than that eerie screech we just heard. Finding and stopping whatever that was is still important. It’s just not as important as Luna.” Draigo rambled as he paced back and forth. “While being bait is what was planned. Why don’t we just go toward that screech and capture whatever it is? I’m sure that’s what Starswirl would want. He was, and still is, the biggest nerd I’ve ever met. Even Twilight Sparkle, who won’t be born for about 1000 years, isn’t as big a nerd as he is!”

“You’re saying for me to be kind to Luna? I’ve done nothing but be kind to both Princesses, and Celestia still hates me! But, Luna is a bit more compassionate so that may help somewhat with this Nightmare Moon thing you’re talking about. We could try and capture the creature but I got nothing to capture it with.” Skye said finally, having processed the information dump. She leaned away from the tree and strode in the direction the screech came from. “You mentioned Displaced and other Equestrias. What’s that about?”

“Displaced is short for dimensionally misplaced. Each of us typically gets their own version of Equestria. You were sent here via execution, not very nice, and I was sent to mine when I put on a necklace I got from a gypsy at a renaissance fair. The hourglass that you held before I showed up is my token. You should have heard a message when you grabbed it. Tokens allow others to summon a Displaced.” Draigo explained and then waited to make sure Skye understood and didn’t have any questions

“Renaissance fair? That’s where I got executed.” Skye murmured then shook her head to clear the memory. “I think I have a token already,” she said thoughtfully, thinking back to when she first arrived. “Something hit my head, and it turned out to be a cackling skull with an apology note. I did what the note said, threw it up into the air … and then it vanished. Haven’t seen it since.”

“That sounds like creating a token. I got my original copy back, though.” Draigo said as he tapped his chin. “I’ll probably find your token in my world when I return. Anyway, Displaced can be good, evil, and somewhere in between. Each Equestria is in it’s own universe and each is different. They can have similarities, but each one is unique. Like mine for example. I created the first four dragons in my Equestria and have given them powers and size that only my world has. Ah, my princesses are nice and caring as well. Any questions so far?”

“Having a nice Celestia would be a good change of pace.” Skye commented, and nearly clapped her hands over her head as the screech from earlier sounded much closer. “But one question I do have is this: how did you create dragons? I haven’t seen you do anything other than talk,” she said bluntly after recovering from the screech.

“Well, I created them with my powers. You know that screech that almost makes your nonexistent ears bleed? Well, once I hear it I then make it so that the intensity is much less, for me. That’s why I don’t have to cover my ears. That’s also only one of my powers. What would you like to help capture these things?” Draigo asked.

“Depends on which creature it is.” Skye muttered and looked up to see if it was flying about anywhere. “Both the Jersey Devil and the Harpy have wings. If it’s something else then we’re screwed.”

“Why would we be screwed if it’s something else? Flying is always an advantage.” Draigo said as he searched the area for anything that moved.

“Because I don’t know what else lives in this forest!” Skye turned and shouted at him. “It could be just these two creatures, or it could be a whole bunch of them! Who the hell knows!?” she continued, barely noticing both their shadows lengthening further than what they should have been.

“True, but that doesn’t mean we’re screwed. So long as we keep alert we should be fine.” Draigo said in a calm voice to Skye.

Skye snapped her jaw a couple of times before finally relenting. She looked at the ground in embarrassment and saw that their shadows were longer than before. “Are our shadows longer or is it just me?” Skye asked, looking up at Draigo.

“It’s not just you. I think we’ve found our first mythological beast. Any idea what it is?” Draigo said as he kept an eye on their shadows.

“Nope. Never seen anything like it. But something tells me that they can manipulate shadows.” Skye replied wryly and stepped into the shadow that was cast by a nearby tree. She felt something pull at her cloak and immediately stepped back out. Skye turned and saw the barest glimpse of a wispy black hand before it faded back into the trunk’s shadow. “That … is scary.”

“I won’t disagree. Well, the only way I know how to fight shadows is with light. I’ve got no idea how to capture these things, though.” Draigo said as a small shiver went through him.

“Problem with that is, that we cast shadows wherever we go so there’s no telling if they’re following us or not.” Skye said and tried to move away from the shadows as far as possible. “What am I doing? There’s no way we’ll be able to stop them!”

Draigo sighed. “There’s a way, but we’ll be broadcasting exactly where we are to everything within a few miles. Knowing that, would you like me to stop them?”

“If it means you will stop sinking into your own shadow, then yeah.” Skye said quickly, running up to Draigo as the shadow demons gently pulled him down.

“Do calm down. There’s nothing to worry about. Even you, as Death, can’t kill me forever.” Draigo said as he began to emit light from his very being. The light slowly intensified until the entire area around them had no shadows for the demons to hide in.

When they felt the light, the demons retreated as silently as they came from deeper within the forest, where no light could be found. Skye looked around quickly to see if anything moved, not even realising that the light was of a great intensity. “I don’t think - spoke too soon.” Skye sighed as two screeches sounded out from the trees above them. “Of course they’re up there. Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Should we even the playing field and join them in the sky?” Draigo asked.

“I don’t see why not. Think you can toss me up there? I can hover and it seems to be done by instinct. I can’t really control it yet.” Skye shrugged and pointed up to the tree tops.

“Toss you? While I can toss you, I think getting you used to the feeling of floating will help you the most,” Draigo said as his armor melted into his body and turned into scales. Wings, spines, claws, and a tail grew from his body as his neck and limbs lengthened and he began to grow. He stopped growing when he was double the size of Celestia.

Skye backed away from the transforming man and wondered why he wouldn’t transform before. Soon as she moved her gaze from the tree tops, a deformed, black horse swooped down with leathery wings, landing with a thud. It looked to the skeleton, recognising it from when it attacked the castle. Skye turned her head to look at it and saw her scythe sticking out of its shoulder.

“So that’s where it got to,” she said grimly and faced the monster fully. “This is what? Round three?”

The Devil only howled in response and charged at her, the horns atop its head lowered as it tried to ram her. The Devil missed as Skye floated out of the way with the feeling that there was a cushion of air beneath her.

Draigo smirked at the Devil as its attack hit nothing but air. “Pick on someone closer to your own age, like me.” He then yanked the scythe from the Devil’s shoulder and passed it up to Skye.

Skye took the scythe and swung it experimentally, feeling relief at having the weapon back. “I think this evens the playing field a bit more.” Skye commented, wobbling a bit on the cushion of air. She hadn’t got used to the feeling of floating yet. She looked down at the Devil and laughed harshly before trying to pinpoint the location of the other monster that screeched.

“It definitely evens the playing field for you. For them? They were screwed from the beginning. Would you prefer to take the Devil on to even the score or deal with whatever has been screeching?” Draigo asked as he toyed with the Devil.

“I’d love to even the score. You can probably take on the other monster, which I’m pretty sure is a Harpy.” Skye answered, and pointed to a nearby treetop. A head with black feathered hair and a fairly pointed feminine face poked out from between the leaves. The leaves did little to hide her striped body. She had taloned feet and brown striped wings which were tucked against her sides in an attempt to make her look smaller. Draigo lowered Skye down to the ground as he examined his feathery foe.

“It is a Harpy indeed. Well, if you need some help call me.” Draigo said before taking off towards the harpy with a massive beat of his wings. Skye simply nodded and leaned on her scythe slightly.

“Round four. Do you have a grudge against me or something?” Skye asked her foe and watched it get ready to ram her again.

The Harpy screeched at Draigo and took off into the sky with a flap of her wings, knowing that he was coming for her. Draigo smiled and gave chase to his agile opponent, increasing his wing beats to gain some speed. Once the Harpy reached her preferred height, she turned around and flapped her wings at him, creating a gust of wind that was intended to push him back.

“Do you realise how little air your feathered wings push compared to mine?” Draigo asked as he powered through the gust of wind. His speed dropped some, but with a few wing beats his speed was back up. The Harpy gave a worried screech and flapped higher. On every down stroke she made with her wings, razor-sharp feathers flew down towards the dragon.

“This is going to hurt if I stay at this size,” Draigo said after a couple of the feathers had left wounds along his body. He dropped his speed and wove through the rest of the feathers as he slowly grew bigger and bigger.

Skye dodged to the side as the Jersey Devil tried to ram her yet again. She turned and drew her scythe along its back, making sure to not get stuck again. “Is this all you do? Ram and tackle? There’s got to be more to it than that!” she taunted, trying to get it to do something different. The Jersey Devil merely howled and tried to punch her with its clawed hands, not letting the pain in its back deter it.

The Harpy was astonished at the sight of the dragon growing in size. Not really knowing what else to throw at it, she spread her wings wide and began to flap them in quick succession, creating a series of storm clouds and sending them towards Draigo.

“Storms? Man, I hate flying in storms. It’s hard to just sit back and enjoy the flight. You’d better send your strongest storm at me, though. I mean look how big I am.” Draigo commented, noticing the clouds coming together. He was at his full size and took up about a football field in each direction.

The Harpy heard what he said and smirked, giving stronger flaps. The storm cloud forming in front of her slowly grew until she deemed it a good size. She then sent it towards the others, making one giant storm cloud that spanned a couple of acres in either direction.

“Well, I did ask for her strongest storm now didn’t I. Well, nothing to do but go through it.” Draigo said to himself as he continued head long into the storm cloud before him.

Skye looked up and found a massive storm cloud. She gritted her teeth when thunderclaps sounded out and felt herself tossed into a nearby tree.

“I think he may have cracked a few ribs.” Skye groaned, and slowly got up, leaning onto the tree for support, her scythe nearby. She looked at the Jersey Devil and found it getting ready to ram her again. She looked between the tree and its lowered horns before getting an idea. It howled and began to charge. One it got close enough, Skye moved to the side and gave a bark of laughter at seeing its horns embedded in the tree trunk.

In the storm cloud, lightning flashed, thunder clapped and mini rain storms with clumps of hail formed within Draigo’s way.

“Not that I don’t need a good workout, but I think it’s about time to show this puny being what I can do,” Draigo said as he got to the middle of the storm. He hovered in place and stretched out his forelegs while he tapped into his magic reserves. After a few moments, a giant gust of wind dispersed the giant cloud with Draigo as its epicenter.

The Harpy shrieked in surprise and was blown a bit away by the gust of wind. She recovered quickly and flew around to Draigo’s front. Once she got into position, she desperately flapped her wings at him to let loose a barrage of sharpened feathers aimed mostly at his face.

“Not that this hasn’t been a nice fight, but I do have a new Displaced to look after.” Draigo said as he spun in placed and used his tail to send the Harpy towards the ground. He took the feathers mainly in his back and cried out from the sheer amount that hit him.

The Harpy moved backwards and watched the dragon’s tail swing in front of her. She then moved around back to his front and waved before she let out a high-pitched shriek at him.

“So, it’s a vocal contest now?” Draigo wondered in a louder than normal voice as the shriek rang through his ears. He took a deep breath and let out a massive roar in response to the Harpy’s shriek. The Harpy covered her ears and instinctively tucked her wings against her body and went into a free fall. Skye watched the Harpy fall down and land with a thud, creating a miniature crater.

“That’s it? I thought she would have put up more of a fight.” Skye muttered, having only caught the tail end of it.

Draigo landed next to the Harpy and wrapped her up in a cocoon of earth. “She put up more of a fight than I thought she would. Then again, I was going easy on her.”

“You were?” Skye asked, and looked over to the Jersey Devil, its horns stuck in the tree trunk. “This one kept ramming me. When I looked up at the storm cloud, it tossed me into a tree. That,” she pointed to its current predicament, “is the result of the fight. I didn’t think it would be that stupid.”

“Yes, I was. I could’ve just wrapped air around her before she even took off. There are many things I could have done, but it’s more entertaining when you actually fight your opponent. Shall we deliver these two to the cranky sun and jealous moon?” Draigo said as he wrapped the Jersey Devil in its own cocoon of earth.

“Sunbutt will definitely appreciate it, not to mention Clover and Starswirl.” Skye agreed, taking her hood off and eyeing the two mounds of earth. “How we going to get them back to the castle though? I don’t even remember where it is.”

“Are you afraid of heights?” Draigo asked as he levitated the two monsters in front of him.

“We’ll soon find out.” Skye replied, watching him levitate the monsters with interest. “When we get back, I hope that they have cages set up for these two.”

“If they don’t then I’ll just create some.” Draigo commented as he wrapped some air around Skye and brought her onto his back. “Grab onto the spine in front of you so you don’t fall off. Let’s see how Celestia and Luna respond to a dragon flying toward their castle.”

“From what I’ve seen of Celestia, she’ll most likely be extremely suspicious, paranoid and I think she’s a bit racist too. But I think that’s more towards me than anything else.” Skye muttered, grabbing onto the spine in front of her as well as keeping a tight hold on her scythe.

Draigo took a couple languid steps before beating his wings to take flight. He gained some altitude and began circling around in wider and wider circles. Once they had spotted the castle he flew directly towards it at a leisurely pace.

“We should probably fly overhead before landing so I can dodge whatever they direct towards us.” Draigo said as they got near the perimeter of the castle.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Skye agreed, looking down at the castle. “I don’t think they’ve spotted us yet anyway.”

“How can they not spot a dragon the size of a football field? Are they blind or just incredibly inept at observing?” Draigo wondered aloud.

“Simple. They never look up.” Skye said with a shrug.

“They’re prey items that inhabit the same world as dragons, harpies, devils and who knows what else. They better learn to look up. Especially when a shadow passed over them.” Draigo said as he circled around to find a spot to land.

Skye hissed when a bolt of searing heat narrowly missed them. She peeked over the side and found Celestia flying up towards them.

“Why don’t we scratch what we just talked about?” she asked nervously.

“That’s one out of how many?” Draigo asked. “Try that again and you’re in for a world of hurt, Celestia. I don’t appreciate being fired upon when I’ve done nothing to either you or your ponies.”

“She did the same thing to me.” Skye grumbled. “Princess, why don’t you try talking instead of firing for once?” she asked the princess once they were level with each other.

“‘Tis easier to shoot than to ask.” Celestia answered as she powered up her horn threateningly.

“We caught the monsters, though!” Skye protested, pointing to the levitating objects in front of Draigo. “You can’t tell me you aren’t pleased by this.”

“The way I see it, you’ve got two choices, Tia. Either let us land and see what we’ve brought you or you start a fight with a being older than time itself. Which would you like to do?” Draigo said in a frighteningly cheerful tone. Celestia merely narrowed her eyes at him and flew down, not bothering to answer him.

“I don’t think she likes those choices.” Skye commented.

“Heh, that’s because I basically gave her an ultimatum instead of actual choices.” Draigo said as he followed Celestia.

“That most likely made her less likely to like you.” Skye said, watching the ground get closer and closer.

“I only need one Celestia to like me. Mine.” Draigo commented as he landed in a big clearing near the castle.

Skye slid off Draigo, landing in a crouch as her scythe clattered to the ground next to her. She picked it up and walked around to his front, watching Celestia do the same.

“Are these the monsters?” Celestia asked, pointing a hoof towards them. Draigo uncovered each of the monster’s heads while leaving the rest of them encased in their cocoons.

Skye moved away from them when the Harpy gave an especially loud shriek that nearly broke the nearby windows, sending cracks running through them. The screech also made Skye’s bones fracture slightly, despite how far away she was from it.

“Has Skye captured them?” Clover asked, running outside and slowing to a stop near Celestia.

“We’ve captured these two, yes. Let me do one thing before we continue.” Draigo said then formed a bubble around the Harpy’s head. “There, no sound will get out of her unless I allow it.”

“Put the two monsters in the dungeon.” Celestia commanded a group of wary guard ponies to transport the two monsters to specially designed cages. She then turned to both Skye and Draigo,”I will speak to thee in the throne room,” she ordered of the two of them before going into the castle herself.

Clover watched the guard ponies pick up the monsters and decided to follow them towards the dungeon.

“We don’t have a choice, do we?” Skye said rhetorically.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Draigo said as he shrunk down to Skye’s size. “I wonder where Luna is right now?”

“No clue.” Skye sighed and lead Draigo inside. “I don’t really know what she does but you did mention a night court earlier, so she’s probably sleeping.”

“Yeah, that’s most likely true. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, though.” Draigo said.

“I was imprisoned for a couple of days so anything is possible really. I just hope Celestia doesn’t shoot on sight.” Skye said and lead the way to the throne room, opening up one of the big double doors. She walked in and looked around for the princess. “She did say the throne room, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did. If she does shoot then I’ll return fire. It’s her own fault for being too aggressive from the get go.” Draigo said as he spread his wings instinctively.

“That is because we live in a world full of monsters who attack on sight. Mine sister has had to adapt how she sees things.” Luna sounded out from behind the pair.

“Luna! It’s very nice to see you. I’m glad that you’re here.” Draigo said with a big smile as his tail wagged back and forth like a happy dog’s would.

“Doth I know you?” Luna asked quizzically, tilting her head to the side.

“Nay, thou dost not know Us. We have been summoned to this world by Skye. Wouldst thou accompany Us in visiting thine sister? She is hard to look upon due to her alabaster coat. We would prefer to look upon azure tones.” Draigo said as he brought out some old english words from his memory.

“I … shall accompany thou in visiting mine sister.” Luna said at length, liking the compliment he gave her.

“You know how they speak?” Skye asked, surprise evident in her voice.

“Of course We know how they speak. Dost thou not know how to speak in the olden tongue?” Draigo asked without taking his eyes off of Luna.

“No. It does my head in every time they speak. It’s just through sheer luck I was able to answer them at all.” Skye answered, shaking her head at Draigo’s continued usage of the olden tongue.

“Mine sister said that she would be down in the dungeons with Clover the Clever.” Luna said with a chuckle at Skye’s reaction. She then moved further into the throne room and beckoned for them to follow her.

“Then why did she say to go to the throne room?” Skye wondered out loud.

“Tis a way of showing who is in charge. She has us go to a room and makes us wait for her to show up. A ploy that shall not work for we have fair Luna to keep us company until Tia shows up.” Draigo said as he followed Luna into the throne room.

“So it’s a sign of authority. Great.” Skye muttered, following the both of them. “How long will it be until she shows up?” Skye asked, directing the question to Luna.

“Mine sister said that she wouldst not be long. How didst thou catch the monsters?” Luna replied, sitting down just in front of her throne.

“We caught one through trickery. It was quite stupid and got itself stuck in a tree. The other could not handle its own kind of attack. Once they were subdued We encased them in earth for transport.” Draigo explained.

“And thou can manipulate the earth?” Luna asked, genuinely interested in this.

“That and more, my Princess.” Draigo said as he bowed his head and extended his wings in a shallow bow. “Wouldst thou like a demonstration?”

Luna inclined her head to him, giving him permission. “The room is yours.” Luna answered. Skye moved to stand behind Luna to get a better viewing position.

Draigo warmed up by recreating Luna’s cutie mark out of ice. He then proceeded to show his prowess with a multitude of different elements. Creating a pillar of water that became an arch, a fire star, an earthen likeness of Skye, a small tornado, and a gold diamond ring sized to fit Luna’s horn.

“There are many others, but these are the ones We use the most.” Draigo said as he levitated the ring onto Luna’s horn. Both Luna and Skye clapped at the end.

“That was impressive.” Luna said, blinking a bit at the ring.

“I knew you could move earth but I didn’t you could do those other things too.” Skye said and stared a bit at the ring. “That’s a nice ring.”

“I can manipulate every element. That includes time and space, Aether, and Nether. Aether and Nether are life and death respectively.” Draigo explained. “Thank you. It's one of the few pieces of jewelry that I've made. I do hope that you like it, Luna.”

“It is a thoughtful gift. Thank you, dragon.” Luna said, bowing her head slightly in thanks. Skye went to speak but her attention was drawn to the doors, where Celestia was walking in.

“The other princess is here.” Skye said, moving away from Luna to stand beside Draigo.

“Greetings, Tia. Thine sister was kind enough to keep us company in thy absence.” Draigo said with a turn of his head toward Celestia.

Celestia ignored him for the moment and went to sit on her throne. Once she was decidedly comfortable, she looked down at the two of them.

“We art glad mine sister kept you company. We have a question. How did thou get here without Us being notified of a dragon?” Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Draigo reached between his scales and pulled out a copy of his token before transforming into his human form. He then tossed Celestia the hourglass.

“That hourglass is thy answer. Skye found a copy of it and activated it unknowingly.” Draigo explained.

Celestia caught the hourglass in her magic and inspected it. She noticed the way the different strands moved about and filtered down into an empty bottom-half.

“This is a strange contraption. It is not a timepiece, yet it looks like one.” Celestia commented, her soft anger giving way to curiosity. “Thou said that Death activated this unknowingly?”

“Yes, twas evident since she knew not about Displaced, as thou dost not know. If thou say Our name while holding that hourglass and say a brief message then thou shalt summon Us.” Draigo said in explanation of the tokens’ activation.

“How did thou come by this?” Celestia asked Skye, looking at her.

“It fell on my head.” Skye said simply, rubbing a bit at the place where it hit her. “That thing is lethal.”

Celestia nodded and then turned her attention back to Draigo. She looked at him for a bit and considered something before sighing to herself.

“We thank thee for helping with the capture of the monsters. They wouldst surely be of use to us.” Celestia told him.

“Thou art welcome. Tis there anything else that thou need help with while We art here?” Draigo said as he returned to his draconic form.

“Can thou send the skeleton back to Tartarus?” Celestia asked him.

“You still on about that!? I’ve never even been to Tartarus, so how do you expect me to go back there?” Skye said in disbelief, her lower jaw hanging open a bit.

“She speaks the truth. She comes from a planet called Earth, like myself.” Draigo told the princess.

“She never explained where she came from.” Celestia replied.

“Thou didst not ask, sister.” Luna said, looking between the three of them as they spoke.

“If you want me to go back so badly, then give me directions and I’ll find my own way there. Happy with that?” Skye asked.

“I doth not know where it is.” Celestia answered unhappily.

“I would only be able to help in my world. It would be folly to assume the location of Tartarus is the same in this world.” Draigo told them. “Wouldst thou happen to know, dear Luna?” Luna shook her head.

“I doth not,” she said.

“That’s just great! One wants me to go back to a place I’ve never been before, and they both have no idea where it is.” Skye sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that this world is the same as yours in terms of layout. Where would Tartarus be then?” Skye asked Draigo.

“Deep in the Everfree forest embedded in a mountain that no one can find unless they already know where it is.” Draigo said.

“That’s certainly helpful.” Skye said sarcastically, running through different options of where it could be. “It doesn’t really matter though, does it? I’m sticking around indefinitely so you may as well get used to me.” Skye said, looking at Celestia blankly.

“There is another way to find Tartarus. I've never liked using it, but I could search for it using Nether manipulation. If it’s the place all souls go to then it will be the highest concentration of Nether energy.” Draigo said in a sad tone.

“I’ll find it myself. It’s fine. If she wants to get rid of me that badly then I’ll leave and search for it on my own. Since I’m already dead I’ve got eternity to find it.” Skye said with a shrug. She clenched and unclenched her fists at the thought but other than that, her stance was neutral.

“Depending on the type of immortality, you could still be able to be killed. My type allows me to be killed but I only stay dead under very specific circumstances.” Draigo explained.

“Well, you remember how loud the Harpy’s screech was when you unearthed her head? It was so high-pitched, I felt some of my bones fracture slightly. So high-pitched frequencies is a weakness I discovered. Other than my own stupidity, I got no idea on what other weaknesses I have.” Skye explained, sitting down on the floor and laying the staff of her scythe across her lap.

“So, you don't actually have an eternity to find Tartarus. Heck, you don't even have a grasp on your powers.” Draigo said. He started to pace around the room.

“No, but I’ll learn about what I can do eventually. That was just an over exaggeration anyway. I know I don’t have eternity but, theoretically, I do.” Skye explained. Celestia and Luna watched this exchange curiously, unsure if they should interrupt or not.

“Eventually? Do you even realize the position you're in? A Displaced is usually the single most powerful being in their universe. That doesn't mean that they are unbeatable! You are now the biggest target in this universe for any and all baddies. Heck, even as powerful as I am. I'm only one of the primordial beings in my Equestria. They can kill me and anyone else in my world. You've most likely got something similar. Understand now? You've got to get ahold of your powers ASAP.” Draigo ranted at the new Displaced.

“Hey! I’ve only been here three days! Today is my third day! I’ve spent most of the time here imprisoned in the dungeon by that lunatic that calls herself a princess so don’t blame me for wanting to go out on my own. I’ve already died and I don’t plan on making that a second time. You want me to get ahold of my powers ASAP? Then teach me! If not, then I’ll find some other way to figure out how to use my powers.” Skye ranted, getting up quickly and storming over to Draigo while saying this.

“That's a great idea! I'll teach you how to use your death abilities. I'm warning you, though, I won't go easy on you.” Draigo said with a wide grin as he turned to confront the angry skeleton.

“Idiot says what?” Skye asked herself, all anger gone from her voice as she stopped herself from walking right into him. “What?” she repeated, trying to figure out if he was joking or not.

“I'm going to teach you how to use your powers! This isn't going to be easy for you.” Draigo told the new Reaper.

“How can you teach me if I don’t even know what my powers are? I’ve got sort of an idea thanks to my notes back home but I ultimately don’t have a clue.” Skye said, backing away slightly from the dragon, suddenly fearing for herself.

“Your powers are similar to my Nether manipulation with a few extras, like your scythe. All I have to do is teach you about your death powers and everything else is gravy!” Draigo said in an excited yet fearful tone.

Skye clapped her hands and turned to face Celestia and Luna. “After me calling you a lunatic, Princess Celestia, I am not sure if you will let use any training grounds.” Skye said nervously. To her surprise, Celestia smiled at her.

“‘Tis fine. Thou art able to use the training grounds. Mine sister and I wouldst like to see this training for ourselves.” Celestia said, with an encouraging nod from Luna.

“What?” Skye asked in surprise and looked at Draigo. “Did you expect that?”

“No, I didn’t. I thought that Tia would be disinclined to acquiesce your request.” Draigo admitted. “Though, we are talking about training death powers. We will have to have suitable targets every now and then. So, I suggest using the forest during those points in the training and that the Princesses keep a distance away should anything go awry. We don’t need them dying on accident.”

“That would be a bad thing for Equestria.” Skye murmured. She looked between the both of them though and wondered what brought on the change. “Why did you agree, though? You think he’s going to pound me to dust?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I think.” Celestia answered, still having that same smile from before. Skye sighed and looked to Luna.

“Princess Luna, can you tell us where the training grounds are?” she asked her. Luna nodded and walked towards the throne room doors.

“The training grounds are this way. Mine sister and I will make sure to keep a fair distance when thou uses suitable targets.” Luna promised, and lead the three of them to where they needed to be.

“Celestia is way too agreeable all of a sudden.” Skye whispered to Draigo, twirling her scythe around her arm.

“Yes, it’s a bit odd. She probably thinks that once you have a hang of your powers that you’ll be able to find and go to Tartarus. Just how she wanted you there in the first place.” Draigo said as he watched Luna leading them to the training grounds.

“I got a bad feeling about her.” Skye commented, watching Celestia cautiously for a bit before looking back to the front as they rounded a corner.

“Hmm, we’ll have to keep an eye on her if you, a Grim Reaper, have a bad feeling about her.” Draigo said.

“Eh? I’m sure I’ll get a hang of the feelings. For the moment, I just want to figure out how my powers work.” Skye replied.

“The first thing we’ll do when we get to the training grounds is find your source of energy. I’ll help a bit, but I’m only used to helping dragons find their source of magic. So, it might take awhile.” Draigo told her.

“Good luck helping me with that then.” Skye said with a chuckle, looking up and around as they entered an unfamiliar part of the castle. After a few more twists and turns, the group found themselves at the training grounds, which took up a lot of space. It seemed to span an entire football field with an impressively high ceiling. There were training dummies littered about but it didn’t seem like any of the guard ponies were using it.

“Thou art luck today is an off day.” Celestia observed.

“Thine guardsmen art lucky that they aren’t here. None of the powers we are going to be training are laughing matters and all of it can be considered ‘dark magic’ in one way or another.” Draigo explained as he walked into the center of the training grounds.

Skye shuddered and followed after him, standing a bit away from him awkwardly. The princesses walked over to a couple of benches that were set up for the guards for when they wanted to take a break during training.

“So what did you say was first? Finding my source of magic or something like that?” Skye asked.

“Yes, we’ll find your source of magic.” Draigo said as he walked over to Skye. “Sit down in a comfortable position. I’m going to pour some of my magic into you. It should either flow into your source or avoid it all together.”

Skye stared at the dragon for a few moments before sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed. She placed her scythe next to her and looked to Draigo for the next course of action. Draigo put a claw on her forehead and let some magic flow into Skye’s body. Skye tried to screw her eyes shut but then remembered she didn’t have any. So instead, she let the magic flow through her and out again. As it did, she then realised that there was a part in her where the magic didn’t flow, instead, it just avoided it all together. Could that be the source of her own magic?

Draigo pulled his claw back after a few moments. “Feel any area that my magic either avoided or pooled into?”

“Yeah I do. For some reason, the magic is completely avoiding the area where my heart used to be.” Skye replied, looking up at Draigo as she put her hood over her head.

“Well, the next step is accessing that power. Try to tap into your ‘heart.’ For me it feels like fire, ice, lightning, along with a few other elements are coursing through my veins. You need to find out how it feels to tap into your power” Draigo explained.

Skye tried to figure what he meant before mentally feeling around where her heart used to be. She thought she found something but it felt cold. “Extremely cold. That’s what it feels like. Not icy cold, but more … cold silence, I guess?”

“Like there's a cold void that sucks all the warmth from your very being and won't allow a single sound to be heard?” Draigo asked.

“When you put it that way, yeah. But then again, I got no warmth to begin with.” Skye replied, not even bothering to attempt facial expressions anymore. It was just too difficult.

“That's the feeling I get when I use nether manipulation. You'll have to get used to that feeling if you want to use your powers. Now that you know where and how to tap into your powers we'll move on. Is there anything about your new self that you feel confident with or about?” Draigo asked.

“What do you mean?” Skye asked, tilting her head to the side before standing up.

“Something that feels familiar or feels right when you use it. Your scythe, your body, obviously not your powers, but something.” Draigo listed off.

“Oh. My body then. I may be a skeleton but it’s still my skeleton, if that makes any sense.” Skye said, stretching a bit before tapping her foot against the ground. “Surprisingly, I don’t have any broken bones.”

“Okay, tap into your power and do some exercises. While doing so, try to have your power go into your movements and everything about your exercises.” Draigo said as he demonstrated what he meant. With each movement of his jaw electricity jumped for each of his teeth and across his entire body.

Skye eyed the electricity for a bit before doing as he asked. She felt around her ‘heart’ for a bit before finding that cold feeling again. She then raised her fist up and slowly clenched and unclenched it, trying to get the cold feeling to travel through her bones. It eventually did and found small, black wisps curl off her fingers.

“This is going to take some getting used to.” Skye commented.

“If you think that's hard then it would be next to impossible during a fight.” Draigo tapped into his power and performed some attacks. Black energy could be seen flowing from his claws, wings, tail and fangs. “Once you get to this level we'll work on techniques and sparring, with and without your scythe.”

“What did I say back in the throne room? I’m still getting used to actually having magic, let alone controlling it.” Skye replied, looking at the black wisps on her fingers with interest. She closed and opened her fist again, letting go of the cold feeling for a bit. “I just need time to get used to this first before we get to the hard stuff.”

“Don't get me wrong. The level I showed you is magnitudes above what you just did. You're progressing fairly quickly, but you're right, it'll take time to get used to. The sparring and techniques will only be after you’re more used to things, I promise you. Now, let's continue your exercises.” Draigo said as he resumed his own exercises.

“Continue how? The only thing I’m doing is opening and closing my fist.” Skye said, leaning slightly on her scythe.

“Is your energy flowing through your entire body? Are you able to get those wisps from anywhere besides your fingertips? These exercises are to get you used to your power and using it as your body is moving around. So, try running, throwing punches, kicking, things that you'd be doing during combat.” Draigo said as he hit the floor and left blackened claw marks.

“If you want me to do all that, then let me fight you in your human form. The best way to learn is by doing.” Skye shrugged, walking to one of the training dummies. She tapped into her magic, noticing that it was a lot easier this time, and went to punch the dummy while letting her magic flow through her.

“I thought you didn't want to spar, but alright. Come at me.” Draigo said as he changed into his human form and took up a fighting stance.

Skye looked over her shoulder, mildly surprised at him taking her up on her offer. She turned fully and let her magic flow through her as she ran up to him. She prepared her scythe and swung it at his head, not noticing black wisps trail off the blade.

Draigo charged forward and lowered his right shoulder. Skye’s scythe would hit him, but only with the staff. He let his magic imbue his body once more, his entire body becoming darker. As his shoulder made contact with Skye’s chest, Draigo let out some of his energy to affect the level of fear Skye felt.

Skye managed to hit Draigo on the back with her staff, surprised that he charged. She gave a groan when he hit her and stumbled backwards a bit. When she got her bearings and looked back at him, she could see elongated claws on Draigo’s hands. This made her shake her head to see if it was just an illusion but it didn’t go away.

“What did you do when you made contact?” Skye asked, a bit of fear leaking into her voice.

“Fear inducement. I used this along with my frightful presence to help Joseph get rid of some robots. You should be able to do the same. Truthfully, I don’t even need to touch you to use it. The amount of fear you have right now is about what prey feels when they are being stalked by a predator. With enough fear someone can go from competent to useless in mere moments.” Draigo explained as the black energy around him intensified into a black aura.

“That would be why your claws look longer than normal.” Skye muttered, switching her scythe from left to right. “Let’s try this again. I want to try and get my fighting skills up to scratch.”

“Alright. Remember that a weapon like your scythe has an area where you’ll only hit with the staff instead of the blade if you opponent is too close to you.” Draigo said as he conjured a golden sword that had a double headed eagle as its crossguard into his right hand. “I’ll be using Nether manipulation along with every stroke of my blade. Each will be a sample of what you should be able to do yourself. Fear is only the beginning.”

“Of course it is.” Skye groaned. Switching her scythe back to her left hand, she got into a fighting stance. “I hope I know what I’m doing,” she said to herself, letting her magic flow through her and into her scythe, watching as it turned a darker colour.

“Good, you’ve learned to imbue your weapon with your magic.” Draigo said as he began to slowly walk towards Skye. His sword’s blade went from gold to black as he walked.

“And that means what, exactly?” Skye asked, noticing his weapon change colour as well.

“It means that you’ll be able to have a further reach for if you have to touch someone for your powers to work. Or for dramatics, like this!” Draigo said as he plunged his sword into the ground and conjured some ghosts that floated out of the ground.

“That’s just dramatics?” Skye asked with a laugh and went to try something with the ghosts. She lifted up her right hand and pointed it at one of the ghosts. “Something simple. I want to see if I have control over these. Try doing a backflip,” she explained and ordered the ghost to attempt to do her bidding.

“Yep, I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to touch anything to use my powers.” Draigo said as the ghost did a backflip and an army of them appeared behind Draigo. Skye felt delight at the backflip and leaned to the side to look behind Draigo and pointed to the army behind him.

“Did you summon those ones?” Skye asked him.

“Yes, I did. I wonder if any of them have something to say to their Princesses?” Draigo said as one of them floated into his body.

“I’m sorry, your Majesties. I died in a training accident and was unable to help protect our kingdom.” a voice said through Draigo’s body.

Celestia stood up at this, tilting her head in curiosity at Draigo. She walked up to him and tried to place the voice he used.

“‘Tis fine, trainee. We accept thine apology.” Celestia said as she bowed her head slightly. “Are these others the same as thou?”

“All of them are guardsmen, Your Majesty. Some have regrets from being defeated in battle while protecting this castle while others never got a chance to tell a significant other how they felt. It varies from pony to pony.” the voice explained.

“I feel like crying now.” Skye sniffed.

“Do not worry, Skye. While each of them have regrets, they are able to move on. This one inside me is actually the only one with strong enough regret to actually want to say something.” Draigo explained.

“So you want me to try and send them on?” Skye asked, looking out over the many ponies. “There’s a lot there,” she added with a whisper.

“Yes. I summoned them from the Nether and can return them myself, but this is good practice.” Draigo said as the spirit floated out of him. Skye watched the spirits for a bit before walking up to one of them. She crouched so she was eye-level with it and tried to figure out what to say to them.

“Hello. Can you say why you’ve stayed behind?” she asked the spirit.

“I wasn’t able to tell my friend goodbye or that I loved her.” the spirit explained with a bowed head and droopy ears.

“What was her name? Can you remember that?” Skye asked gently.

“Her name was...Clover. She was studying with some really important pony. I can’t remember much else.” the spirit said as it wracked its memories for details. Skye gave a soft gasp at the name but there was no other reaction beyond that.

“I know who Clover is. I’ll let her know what you told me.” Skye said at length, wracking her brain for what she hoped was an appropriate response.

“Reconciliation is great, but if you do it for each spirit you meet then you could be doing that forever. As I said, each of them can move on. All you have to do is send them on their way. How you do that is up to you.” Draigo said in a mood shattering explanation.

“What else am I meant to say? I couldn’t think of anything else.” Skye said, standing to stretch for a bit; mentally glaring at him for ruining the moment.

“You don’t have to say anything, if you don’t want to. This is going to sound cold, but I would just send them on without a word.” Draigo said as he gestured to the army of ghosts.

Skye sighed and gave a nod, knowing that it seemed to be the best way. She crouched in front of the spirit she talked to before and saw black wisps curl off her right hand. She extended it and placed it on the pony’s shoulder, willing the spirit to move on. After a few seconds, the pony seemed to give off a sigh and moved upwards in a cloud of white smoke.

“It may be cold, but it seems to be the most efficient way.” Skye said softly.

“Try sending multiple of them at one time. After they’re all gone we’ll continue sparring.” Draigo said as he turned to face the army he’d summoned.

“Let’s see if this will work.” Skye said, moving back a bit and holding her scythe in both hands. Watching it turn dark, she sliced the air, sending a wave of black energy towards the army, making about half of them move on as the wave passed through them. “Hey, it does work,” she said delightedly.

“Good job, Skye. Let’s send the rest of them on over. It was cruel to summon them back to the living world, but it was necessary for practicing your abilities.” Draigo said.

Skye gave a nod as she sent another wave of black energy towards the rest of them. Once she had made sure they had all moved on, turned around and looked at him.

“Sparring? Right, fighting skills, all that.” Skye said a bit distractedly.

“There will be some things I use during our fight that you won’t be able to do. Just try to think about things that you’d think a Grim Reaper should be able to do and try it out.” Draigo said as his sword’s blade became half white and half black.

“Sounds good to me.” Skye replied, holding her scythe loosely by her side.

“Rule one: Keep a good grip on your weapon!” Draigo shouted as he used some dark earth to knock Skye’s scythe from her hand. Skye got startled when Draigo shouted. She watched her weapon sail across the room and land point first in the floor.

“Oh come on!” she shouted, running after her weapon.

“Rule four: Never turn your back on an opponent.” Draigo said as he tripped Skye from behind. He then placed himself between her and her scythe. Skye gave a small shout as she fell to the floor, her arm falling out her cloak.

“What happened to rules two and three?” Skye got up and grabbed her arm with her other hand. Looking at it, she got an idea and then tossed it behind Draigo towards her scythe. “I think I’m able to control my arm,” she whispered and concentrated, feeling her arm move across the floor rather quickly.

“I’ll tell them to you when they come up, like right now. Rule two: Never underestimate your opponent.” Draigo said as he levitated Skye’s scythe into his left hand. The scythe seemed to have some dark electricity flowing through its blade.

“Never underestimate your opponent, huh?” Skye asked and pointed to the bottom of the scythe where her detached arm had grabbed on to it. She concentrated and forced her arm to move up the staff, stopping just short of Draigo’s own arm.

“Very good, but you’re still disarmed.” Draigo said. “How do you plan to take back your scythe?”

“Um, clicking my fingers?” Skye asked uncertainly. She had no idea if it would work but it was worth a shot. She clicked the hands of her right hand and watched the scythe vanish, only to reappear in her hand with her arm still attached to it. “I’m actually surprised that worked. I was only joking!”

“Very good, Skye. That’ll help surprise your foe when they think you no longer have access to your weapon. Though…” Draigo said before charging at Skye and swinging his sword in a downward arc. “Rule three: Don’t get distracted and pay attention to your surroundings.”

Skye looked to him, then up as she noticed what he was doing. She brought her scythe up to try and block the downward stroke, feeling vibrations go through her as the blade struck.

“I got to pay attention all right,” she muttered.

“Good reactions. Do you know what your antithesis is?” Draigo asked as he continued to swing his sword at Skye at a variety of angles.

“Life?” Skye asked as she attempted to block each strike. When she couldn’t block it in time, it hit her bone, causing her to cry out.

“Correct. Don’t be surprised if there’s something here that tries to use it against you.” Draigo said as the white part of his sword bled some white energy into Skye. As the white energy coursed through Skye’s bones, she felt the bones knit back together. It proved to be too much though as she blocked the next strike with her staff and jumped out of range.

“What did you do?” Skye asked as she bent over to catch her breath.

“Aether manipulation is the white energy. Aether is able to heal anything among other things. I tried healing you a bit so you could continue to train. Was it too much?” Draigo wondered as he let Skye catch her breath.

“Yes, it was! I’m dead. Sure, healing bones is fine but it kept going and tried to give me my body back. It can’t. I can’t get my life back and I can’t get my body back. It was painful being stripped of it the first time and I’m definitely not going to go through that again just to get it back.” Skye tried to explain.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you pain with that. I guess I’m too used to healing living things. This is good to know for the future, though.” Draigo said, trying to find something positive about the incident. Skye mentally poked her tongue at him and stood up, keeping a tight grip on her scythe.

“Ready to go again?” she asked angrily, clearly mad at him taking the healing too far.

“Whenever you’re ready, milady.” Draigo said as he readied himself. Skye nodded and poured some more magic into her weapon, making it turn a deep black. She ran up to him and swung the scythe towards his feet but kept her eyes on the rest of his body, waiting to see what his next move would be. Draigo jumped up and over Skye’s head as he turned in midair. He then swung the flat of his blade towards Skye’s own feet.

Skye’s swing kept going when Draigo jumped. She stumbled after it stopped, spun and noticed Draigo had tried to swing for her legs as well. Thinking for a bit, she walked up to him to try and get a good look at him.

“Can you take off your helmet? I want to have a look at your eyes.” Skye asked, realising that they eye slit was too dark to see anything.

“Thought of something, have you? Well, let’s see if it works.” Draigo said as he took off his helmet with one hand. His face was very masculine and he had dark brown hair with ice blue eyes.

“It’s this sense that I have only just figured out.” Skye murmured and peered into Draigo’s eyes to see if this sixth sense was right. After a few moments, she stepped back and held her head, crying out a bit in pain. “You … killed one of your own kind ... in a flash of furious rage.”

“Yes, I did. His name was Shen Long. He believed that by killing me that he could rid the rest of the dragons of the delusion that I’m their god. I had summoned a girl named Crystal earlier that day and he was about to kill her even though the fight was basically over.” Draigo explained as he took a few steps back from Skye with shock evident on his face.

“You felt anger, rage and a white hot anger at what he did. It looked to go by in a flash but it took all of five minutes to completely eviscerate him.” Skye droned on, sounding like she was recounting memories. “A few memories flowed into me when I looked into your eyes. Apparently they are ‘windows to the soul’.” Skye continued wryly, not even noticing the shocked look on his face.

“That memory is one I shared with Joseph’s Fluttershy. I regret ever telling her about it.” Draigo admitted. “That’s probably why that particular memory is so strong in my mind.”

“Sorry for doing that. I didn’t realise it would be so painful for both of us.” Skye apologised and scratched her skull. “I think that’s enough training for today,” she said.

“It’s alright. I don’t regret killing him and would do so again. Fluttershy is not a pony who is used to violent actions. So, she got mentally scarred from me telling her about it. I helped her through it and she’s now even tougher now because of it, but I still regret telling her in the first place.” Draigo explained. “This does seem like a good ending point for today’s training. You should still try to think of more abilities you can use, though.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Skye replied and walked over to where Luna and Celestia were sitting.

“Enjoy the show, Your Majesties?” Draigo said as he walked over to pick up his helmet.

“We did. ‘Tis very interesting to see two powered creatures train.” Luna answered with a smile.

“Is that what a human looks like?” Celestia asked him.

“Yes, this is what a human can look like, Celestia. I’m human just like Skye. Well, we were human.” Draigo said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Let me put it this way. That’s a human with skin, this is a human without skin.” Skye added, gesturing to Draigo and herself.

“Thine body structures art different though.” Celestia said as she looked from one body to the other.

“Does a stallion have the same body structure as a mare?” Draigo asked. “I’m a male human and Skye is a female human.”

“No, they do not.” Luna answered and then realised what he was getting at. “Oh, I see now.” Luna added, nodding and standing up.

Draigo had a grin on his face before his armor disappeared to be replaced with only a loincloth. “This is the closest you’ll get to a side by side comparison of Skye and myself.” Draigo then struck a few poses to show off his muscular body.

“‘Tis an apt comparison.” Celestia commented after observing the two of them for a few moments.

“For some reason, I don’t feel self-conscious when I do this.” Skye said with a shrug, taking off her cloak to reveal just the bare bones. “Princess Celestia appears to be fine with us now, which is a huge relief.” Skye added after noticing that Celestia was no longer being hostile towards them.

“Huh, I thought for sure that you wouldn’t take off your cloak.” Draigo said as he walked over to stand next to Skye. “Yes, having one of the rulers turn from an enemy to a friend is always a good thing. Not sure why she changed her mind, though.”

“After seeing thou fight and going over the monster attack in the throne room, I see no more reason to be hostile. Forgive me, it was just as mine sister said. This is a hostile world and I have had to adapt my tactics when meeting new subjects.” Celestia explained, nodding her head to Luna.

“I completely understand, Celestia. It’s just hard to have a mare who you like acting hostile towards you. I’m sorry for almost instigating a fight.” Draigo said. “It did help that the other mare I like was there to help explain things.” Draigo added.

“You like your versions of the Princesses, right?” Skye asked him, feeling her bones begin to shake. Concerned with this, she placed her cloak back on and sighed in relief when they stopped shaking. She looked to Celestia and Luna to gauge their reactions and found staring dumbfounded at Draigo.

“Yes, I do and they seem to like me as well. I’m still not 100 percent on that.” Draigo said as he changed into his draconic form. “You would not imagine how much more comfortable it is in this form.”

“Yeah, I can’t.” Skye said. She looked out the window and found that the sun was starting to set. She looked back to the Princesses and noticed that Celestia had her horn lit up. “I thought you weren’t being hostile anymore.” Skye said nervously.

“I am not being hostile. I am lowering the sun so mine sister can raise the moon in its place.” Celestia explained as she brightened up her horn.

“What?” Skye asked, jaw nearly dropping to floor.

“Celestia raises and lowers the sun while Luna raises and lowers the moon. They aren’t called the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon for nothing. I had to help my Celestia out for about a thousand years, though.” Draigo explained.

“Uh…” Skye trailed off as she looked between the sun and Celestia, not really processing the information. “How - what?” Skye spluttered. “Princess of the Sun, and Princess of the Moon. One controls the sun. The other controls the moon. Yep. Sure. That’s plausible.” Skye added, walking away from them and to the training room doors. “That’s just perfect!”

“In some universes they are goddesses who are connected to the sun and moon. They always control the sun and moon, though. It makes for wonderful political leverage against other nations.” Draigo said as he followed Skye.

“I bet it does. Being the Grim Reaper. Fine. Monsters in Equestria. Fine. A planet full of talking horses. Fine. Using magic to raise the sun and the moon? Not fine. That one takes the cake!” Skye ranted, moving through the doors and taking off down the hallway.

Celestia and Luna looked to each other before following after Draigo and Skye, wondering what she was on about.

“Well, it can also be called Celestial Energy manipulation. Like I said, I had to help Celestia for about a thousand years.” Draigo said in hopes of making it seem more plausible for Skye.

“Wait, hang on. You helped your own Celestia for a thousand years with the sun and moon?” Skye asked, dialing it back a bit on the rant. She stopped walking and leaned on a wall to look at him. “Why did you have to help her if she could do it with Luna’s help?”

“Luna was incapacitated and there wasn’t a way to bring her back up to snuff. So, I raised and lower the moon for a thousand years. Celestia still doesn’t know about that, though. She thinks she did it herself.” Draigo told her, glad that she had calmed down a bit.

“Ah, okay.” Skye said. It took a bit for her to think through the information. She looked behind Draigo and found Celestia and Luna to still be a little ways off. “Is that after this Nightmare incident happened?”

“Yes. Luna was banished to the moon by the Elements of Harmony wielded by Celestia. After a thousand years she came back and her corruption was purged by a new set of Element Bearers.” Draigo told her in a very quiet voice.

“Hmm. Okay.” Skye said after a bit. “Do you get hungry? Surprisingly, I don’t get hungry anymore.”

“I don’t necessarily need food to survive. It’s nice to take a break and enjoy the tastes, but my body doesn’t need food to function. It is made of the elements themselves afterall.” Draigo explained.

“Well then.” Skye replied. “I’m going to check on the monsters down in the dungeon. You want to come with me?” she asked him.

“Well, if these guards are as inept at their jobs as mine are then it’d be good to check on them. Any idea how to get to the dungeons?” Draigo asked.

“Hahaha no.” Skye said with a chuckle and turned her attention to Celestia and Luna, who had caught up by now.

“Sister, I need to attend Nightcourt. Can thou show these two to the dungeons?” Luna announced, asking her sister to give them directions. Celestia agreed and pointed her head in the way of the dungeon.

“Thank you, Celestia. Luna, if we don’t see each other again. Know that it has been a pleasure and that your nights are beautiful.” Draigo said before walking in the direction Celestia had indicated.

Courting the Night's Emotions

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~THIRD PERSON POV~

Skye noticed Luna’s cheeks darken a little before following after Draigo and Celestia. “These dungeons have multiple levels, don’t they?” Skye asked, remembering her trip back up into the castle.

“They do. We only needed to use them once before, when we captured some of Sombra’s forces. Our dungeons were overflowing so we built some more rather quickly to contain them.” Celestia explained.

“Ah, the Crystal Empire. It’s sad that the entire thing disappeared when Sombra was defeated.” Draigo said in a somber tone.

“Very sad. Equestria lost a good amount of ponies with Sombra’s defeat.” Celestia said morosely and opened up the entrance to the dungeons with her magic. She then lead the both of them down the stairs towards the bottom of the staircase.

“I’m lost. What’s this ‘Crystal Empire’?” Skye asked.

“The Crystal Empire is a land to the north of Equestria. It’s citizens were the Crystal Ponies. They were called this due to how their coats were partially translucent and shined like crystal. Sombra was a ruler there. He ruled with an iron hoof and wielded dark magic to keep his ponies in line. He enslaved them and made them mine crystals all day long. When he was defeated he somehow took the entire Empire with him into oblivion.” Draigo explained.

“Oooh … Spooky.” Skye said sarcastically. “How does one pony take an entire empire with them into oblivion? From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think that’s possible here.”

“Oh, it’s possible. With enough dark magic one unicorn can obliterate an entire city. That’s why it’s now forbidden magic. That and the users tend to become corrupted by the magic they are wielding.” Draigo told the skeptic. “The empire was also just one city, somehow. I never did understand why a single city was called an ‘empire.’ It’d be like only this castle being an entire kingdom.”

“That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it? Making an entire city disappear just because he was defeated?” Skye asked, following them as they walked around the corner once they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“It is. Apparently Sombra never learned to share and thus wanted the city to be his or no one's. I have heard from other Displaced that there's a possibility of it showing back up, but who knows for sure.” Draigo said.

“If it does, that’s going to be a sight to see.” Skye commented. “Princess, are we close to the monster cages yet?”

“The monster cages are nearby. We just have to walk a bit longer.” Celestia answered, frowning a bit at the conversation that was taking place.

“This may not be the most pleasant conversation, but it'll help Skye get used to her new home world.” Draigo said as he noticed Celestia’s frown.

“Sounds like I’ll be learning a lot in the next few weeks.” Skye replied.

“You have no idea.” Draigo told her.

Skye went to say something but was interrupted by a howl. “He really needs to stop that.” Skye sighed, recognising the Jersey Devil’s call. “I thought the sound would have carried further than this.”

“Square corners help to keep sound waves from traveling as far. I did expect it earlier than this, though.” Draigo explained.

“Clover and Starswirl placed sleeping enchantments on the beast. They most likely wore off.” Celestia said, flattening her ears against her head at the screech. When the group rounded the final corner, they saw two specially designed cages holding the monsters. Clover and Starswirl were taking down notes on the way the creatures acted and hadn’t noticed anypony near them yet.

“Find anything interesting or useful? Clover? Starswirl?” Draigo asked as he stuck his head between the two. Both ponies gave a start and stepped back a bit from the sudden head intrusion.

“Dear dragon, we hast more findings than we know what to do with.” Starswirl answered, recovering quickly.

“These creatures are particularly noisy. We have taken the proper precautions and used magic to dull our hearing against the screams.” Clover added.

“Why not just use a sound proofing spell on the cages? Surely you don't need to hear them the entire time you're observing them.” Draigo suggested.

“We doeth a soundproofing spell but deactivated it because we needed to see how high their screeches can go. We were in the middle of taking notes about the screeches when thou arrived.” Starswirl replied, tapping his quill against a piece of parchment.

“Hmm, how didst thou get past mine sound manipulation on the Harpy?” Draigo wondered.

“We hath not touched the Harpy yet. Thy sound manipulation is still intact.” Starswirl responded.

“We wanted to test this Devil first.” Clover added, taking down a few notes as the Jersey Devil howled again.

“I see. That is very wise considering the Harpy can actually attack with its voice.” Draigo said.

“It can?” Clover asked, blinking in surprise.

“Yes, it can. That's the main reason I made it so no sound could escape. If you want to study it then I suggest that you leave its vocals for last.” Draigo told her.

“We shall take that under consideration.” Starswirl smiled, lighting up his horn to surround the Jersey Devil’s cage with a soundproofing spell before looking at the Harpy cautiously. “Doth they need food?” he asked, pointing to the monsters in the cages.

“Probably. I'm only familiar with dragons, though. You know whether they need food or not, Skye?” Draigo told the group.

“I’m completely unfamiliar with the Harpy but with the Jersey Devil, I would say that it most likely eats meat.” Skye answered him.

“Where would thou find meat?” Clover asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Well...right about here or here.” Draigo said as he poked Clover in two different spots. “Meat is muscle. Any living creature, besides bugs and insects, contains meat.” Clover poked her tongue out in disgust.

“That is horrible.” Clover said, immediately backing away from the Jersey Devil.

“I used to eat meat too but I can understand how you would think it being horrible.” Skye told Clover as she sat on the floor.

“That's just the circle of life, Clover. There are beings that eat plants and there's beings that eat those beings. Do my teeth look like they're made to eat vegetation?” Draigo asked and opened his jaws wide. Clover shied away from the dragon at seeing his sharp fangs.

“N-no, thou doth not.” Clover started to sound a tiny bit scared and lowered her tweed hood a bit more.

“Do not worry, Clover. I may eat meat, but I only eat meat that would kill others. My teeth may be designed to eat meat, but I eat everything, literally.” Draigo said as he produced a gem, tossed it into his mouth and chewed it up.

“That is most interesting, dragon.” Starswirl said and jotted down a few notes about the gem eating. “Doth most dragons eat gems?” he asked curiously.

“I know not about thy world, but mine dragons love to eat gems.” Draigo told the curious unicorn. “I just transferred that I have forgotten to introduce myself beyond Skye. My name is Draigo.” Draigo’s scales darkened a bit from his embarrassment.

“Greetings, Draigo. I suppose Princess Celestia and Skye told thou about us?” Starswirl assumed and wondered if he should take the soundproof barrier off of the Harpy cage.

“Yes and no. Skye told me she had met Clover the Clever. From that I guessed that Starswirl the Bearded was around. I met both of thee in my world. I am much older than you may think.” Draigo told them.

“Ah.” Starswirl responded. He looked over to Skye and raised an eyebrow at her.

“What?” Skye asked.

“Thou told Draigo about Clover, but not about me?” he asked.

“I know Clover a bit more than I know you, besides, it was the first name that popped into my head.” Skye protested and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked to the Harpy and watched it try to scream at them. “That Harpy is not going to be happy if it manages to get out.”

“Then make it scared enough that it doesn't want to leave.” Draigo suggested.

“What? Through fear inducement?” Skye asked, continuing to watch the Harpy.

“Yep, it's more useful than most would think.” Draigo said.

“Okay, fine. How did you get me to be scared of you back in the guard’s training room?” Skye asked.

“This might take you a little while at first. Fear inducement is a mind altering ability. I put my magic into your mind and felt the fear in your mind grow. If I had increased it enough I could have disappeared from your sight while standing before you.” Draigo explained.

“So it’s a mind thing. Okay then.” Skye said, clapping her hands and cracking her knuckles. “I doubt I’ll get this on the first try,” she added. “How should I go about doing this then?”

“Pool your magic in a hand. Point a finger, or whatever feels best to you, and imagine your finger extending to touch the Harpy.” Draigo said as he demonstrated. His claw became pitch black before he raised it toward Starswirl. After a moment, the energy could be seen extending to almost touch Starswirl’s nose. “It didn't matter where it touches so long as it touches them. After it's hit the target feel around for their fear and make it expand. The amount of fear you want your target to experience will depend on how much you expand their already existing fear. ” The stream of magic formed a ball at the end that steadily grew in size.

“I'm not sure I can do that.” Skye said uncertainly as she flexed her right hand. Starswirl backed away from the ball of darkness but kept listening to take notes down later.

“You never know until you try. If you can’t then I’ll make it so the Harpy will never want to leave its cell.” Draigo said as he let his magic dissipate.

“True.” Skye shrugged and felt her magic pool in her right hand. Black wisps spilled over the sides as she raised it up and slowly extended a finger towards the Harpy. She imagined it reaching out and touching the Harpy. As she did, her black magic extended from her finger but didn’t quite make it all the way, stopping just before the bars of the cage. “I managed to do something at least,” she muttered.

“It’s a good start.” Draigo said encouragingly. “Now I’ll give it a shot.” Draigo looked at the caged Harpy and his body grew dark. The Harpy suddenly seemed to scream and backed into a corner of the cage. Even though no sound could be heard, everyone who looked inside could tell that the Harpy was terrified of being this close to the door as it tried to get as far away as possible. “Did I tell you that making my magic visible isn’t necessary?”

“No.” Skye replied, shutting off her flow of magic and looking between the Harpy and the door of its cage.

“What didst thou doeth?” Clover asked, eyes widening at the sight.

“I amplified her fear to about the level of a phobia. Just looking outside the door will be enough to send her into a panic attack. It would be even worse if there’s someone outside of the door.” Draigo explained for the nerdy unicorns.

“So she has agoraphobia now?” Skye asked for clarification and looked back to Draigo.

“When you put it that way, yes. She’s afraid of going outside the cage and even more afraid of anyone standing outside of it. So, agoraphobia for a very specific situation.” Draigo told her.

“Cool.” Skye commented and stepped away from the door. “What time is it?” she asked the group.

“Seven-thirty at night.” Celestia answered and watched Clover and Starswirl with amusement.

“We have been collecting findings for this long?” Clover asked.

“I’m guessing you also forgot to eat dinner. Which I suggest you get.” Draigo suggested. A memory of Twilight doing the same came to his mind.

Clover and Starswirl looked sheepishly at the dragon. “We only meant to be down here an hour or so. Studying these creatures got so interesting.” Starswirl explained, with Clover nodding along.

“Oh, I know someone who’s exactly the same. It’s no big deal, but you should probably get something to eat while you’re remembering.” Draigo said with a knowing smile. An audible growl sounded out from both ponies, causing them to look down in embarrassment.

“Me thinks we should start heading back up.” Skye said helpfully, turning and walking back the way they came.

“This way, Death.” Celestia pointed and watched Skye turn around and walk in the other direction.

“Don’t worry. Castle’s are made to be confusing for those that don’t live in them. It’s part of the defenses.” Draigo told Skye as she walked past him.

“Of course they are. Why wouldn’t they be?” Skye asked rhetorically and turned her head a hundred and eighty degrees to look behind her. “You coming or what?” she asked before turning her head back to the front.

“Of course I’m coming.” Draigo said as he followed Celestia and Skye. Starswirl and Clover looked at each other before catching up to the others.

After a bit of walking and turning corners, Skye dropped back to whisper to Draigo, “How does the Nightmare Moon incident even happen? Far as I know, she’s seems kind and caring.”

“Well, she becomes jealous of her sister, the citizens don’t appreciate her night, they don’t come to her night court, etc. She basically feels unwanted and unneeded. Eventually she becomes either insane or corrupt and transforms into Nightmare Moon. She fights Celestia and then Celestia uses all six elements of harmony to banish her to the moon.” Draigo explained in a whisper.

“Seriously? It’s a jealousy thing?” Skye asked in disbelief.

“Imagine having a sister who shined so brightly that you were forgotten about and ignored. Wouldn’t you try to do something to change that? Well, Luna tried to make eternal night so that she wouldn’t be forgotten and her nights would be appreciated again.” Draigo said.

“That’s why you said those things about me trying to get some ponies to attend her night court and appreciate her night?” Skye asked, nodding her head from side to side as she imagined what Draigo said.

“Exactly. It may be inevitable, but you never know what may help.” Draigo told her. Skye sighed and began to climb the stairs after Celestia.

“I’m not sure what will work, but I will try my best to not let this happen.” Skye said determinedly. She thought about what he had said and figured that it may not be a bad thing to compliment the Princess of the Night. She hasn’t really seen any of it but maybe the night ahead wouldn’t be so bad.

“That’s all I can ask for.” Draigo said as his gaze returned to Celestia.

“What is this other ‘me’ like?” Celestia asked once she reached the top of the staircase.

“Well, she’s kind and understanding. You look the same. She can be both motherly and frightening at the same time and she packs a wallop behind each of her strikes in combat. She mostly stays in Canterlot Castle to keep the kingdom running, but when she’s really concerned with something, and doesn’t believe that just her student and her friends can handle things, she’ll go out herself.” Draigo said with a dopey smile plastered on his face.

“From what I’ve seen of this Celestia, she’s all fright.” Skye commented dryly.

“That is certainly something.” Celestia replied, ignoring Skye’s comment. She turned back around and led the group towards the dining hall. They past by the throne room on the way and Skye took a peek inside to see if there were any ponies around. The only occupants seemed to be Luna, the guards and a few ponies wishing for help but other than that, it was empty.

“Does Luna get many visitors during night court?” Draigo asked as they past the throne room.

“No, she barely gets any. This is the most I have seen in a long while.” Celestia said sadly. “I canst do anything about it because my subjects believe me to be sleeping,” she added.

“Hmm, what would happen if they knew you weren’t sleeping, Celestia?” Draigo wondered.

“I doth not know. My subjects know not to disturb me when night falls though.” Celestia answered, stopping just to the side of the door and peeking in stealthily.

“Well then, excuse me.” Draigo said as he walked through the throne room’s doors. He made sure that no pony could see Celestia as he walked past her.

“What are you doing?” Skye asked, watching him curiously.

“I’m giving Luna some company.” Draigo said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I will come with you then.” Skye said with a sigh, not really getting why he was doing it.

“The three of us will dine and join you three later.” Celestia smiled and lead Clover and Starswirl further in the castle.

“If you’re wondering why I’m doing this it’s because I like her and seeing her like this makes me want to do all I can for her. Besides, every now and then I get to mess with the mere mortals that come in with really stupid issues that a Princess isn’t needed to handle.” Draigo said after hearing Skye’s sigh.

“That’ll be fun if she gets any more ponies in.” Skye replied and took a quick look around. The ponies that were in attendance hadn’t noticed them yet except for Luna, who gave them both a smile before returning to her duties. Draigo smiled back and stealthily made his way toward her throne. Skye stayed back. put her hood up and hid in the shadows, watching the colourful ponies carefully.

“Your Majesty, another monster attack has happened and me and my village were wondering what thou art doing about it.” A dark beige stallion with a blonde mane told Luna.

“We hast captured two of these beasts. Plans are in place to try and capture more of them.” Luna answered wearily, giving a soft sigh when she saw that the pony wasn’t satisfied.

“Then why is the sun not out longer for our safety? We can at least better protect ourselves when we can see the monsters,” the stallion argued. Luna’s eyes flashed for a brief second but managed to stop herself from lashing out at him. She took a few calming breaths and continued.

“I shall ask mine sister and see if she can do anything about it.” Luna said finally.

“Are you kidding me? The sun out even longer? Do you want the guard to become so tired that they fall asleep at their posts?” Draigo shouted from right behind the stallion. “Besides, ponies need the night to sleep properly. You all can sleep soundly at night because Princess Luna and her guard are here. So, you better appreciate all that she does for you.”

The stallion jumped in fright and immediately turned around, feeling terrified at the sight of the sudden appearance of the dragon.

“Oh, look. The widdle stawion is scared.” Skye piped up from the shadows, only showing her skull to him.

“I ...I wouldst have thou know that these monster attacks are serious!” the stallion said bravely, despite feeling terrified.

“Are they? Then it’s a good thing I captured a monster earlier today, now isn’t it? You see, Princess Luna knew that capturing monsters would require extra help. So, she asked me and my friend to help.” Draigo said as he hooked a claw towards Skye’s skull. “Now, is there anything else you wish to bring up to your Princess of the Night?”

“N-n-n-no, Your Majesty!” the stallion all but shouted as he ran from the throne room, making the other couple of ponies waiting their turn extremely nervous.

“Who’s got the next issue?” Skye asked the two ponies that were left. Draigo walked up and laid down next to Luna as Skye inquired about the next issue. He then laid his head at her hooves.

One of the ponies, a mare this time, stepped forward with shaking legs. “I have an issue with nightmares. Why art the monsters causing these getting worse?” she asked carefully.

“Because I have been dealing with my own nightmares and hath not had the chance to settle mine subjects’ nightmares.” Luna answered calmly. “I shall deal with them when I am confident in my ability to do so.”

“Do not fret, little one. Princess Luna is very good at getting rid of nightmares. So, keep your chin up and remember that she is doing her best for her subjects.” Draigo said in a comforting tone without moving his head from its position.

“Th-thank you, Your Majesty.” the mare said, bowing her head before walking out the throne room. The pony that was left was simply too scared to speak so he left without a word.

“Thank thou for thy help.” Luna said, letting out a breath she had been holding in. “‘Tis been increasingly difficult to deal with these issues.”

“Thou art most welcome, Luna. We must admit that helping with ponies like the first is quite fun. Hast thou any other duties to perform this night?” Draigo inquired. Luna shook her head.

“No, We hath done mine duties for the night.” Luna replied.

Skye looked out the window and heard her lower jaw clang on the floor as she looked at the sky. She tried to form words but resigned to pointing energetically at the night sky.

“I think Skye has seen the beauty that thou weaves during the night, Luna.” Draigo said as he noticed Skye’s energetic motions. Much to Luna’s delight and amusement, Skye nodded her head quickly.

“We art glad thou hast taken a shine to mine night.” Luna said with a smile. She then lit up her horn and wrapped Skye’s missing jaw in her magic and waved it in front of Skye’s face. Skye tried to reach for it but Luna moved it out of the way.

“What’s the matter Skye? Luna got your jaw?” Draigo asked with a chuckle as he watched Skye try to grab her lower jaw.

Luna laughed as she kept Skye’s jaw out of reach until eventually, she grabbed it and jammed it back on her face.

“That was not funny.” Skye said at last. She couldn’t help but giggle a bit though when Luna continued laughing at what she had done.

“We beg to differ.” Draigo said as he tried not to laugh too much.

“Sure you do.” Skye said sarcastically and walked up to Luna, sitting down on Luna’s other side.

“We art not sorry we didst that.” Luna said after calming down. “Why didst thou come to mine Nightcourt? I thought thou went down to the dungeons,” she asked.

“We did, but it turned out that Starswirl and Clover forgot to eat dinner. They art dining with thine sister right now.” Draigo told her. “I could not help but come and give thee some company after seeing the attendance of thine court.”

“Those three art the most I hath seen in awhile. Usually ‘tis one or two.” Luna said sadly. “‘Tis humorous that Clover and Starswirl forgot their dinner, though ‘tis not unusual.”

“I bet not. It’ll be worse for a little while now that they have two monsters to study.” Draigo said. “What dost thou do with thine time after court is over?”

“I retire to mine chambers and gaze at mine night. With thou two being here, I may change my mind about that for tonight.” Luna answered.

“Didst thou have an idea of what we can do now that thou hast company?” Draigo wondered.

“I never really had company at Nightcourt. Mine sister usually sleeps by the time court is over.” Luna answered simply. “What ideas didst thou have?”

“Dost thou fancy a night flight? Tis one of mine favourite times to fly.” Draigo admitted with a bit of blush showing.

“That wouldst be lovely.” Luna agreed, her cheeks darkening slightly.

“You two have fun, I’ll just take a walk around the castle and try to figure out the layout.” Skye said with a knowing tone.

“Try floating about as well. You still have to figure that one out.” Draigo suggested as he stood up.

“Right, that would be nice to figure out too.” Skye agreed and gave them a wave before heading off to explore the castle. Luna stood up as well and looked to Draigo.

“What didst she mean by her tone?” Luna asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Um, well...I’m not quite sure.” Draigo said evasively. He then began to walk towards one of the broken windows. Luna thought for a bit, then followed, flaring her wings in preparation for the flight.

“Thou knows what Skye meant but I shalt not push thee about it.” Luna replied.

“I’ll tell thee if thou canst make me drop below the treeline.” Draigo said as he flew out the broken window.

“That a challenge?” Luna asked, taking off after him. She gave a few flaps and was soon flying side by side with him.

“Tis a challenge indeed.” Draigo told her as he began to gain some altitude.

“I accept thy challenge!” Luna smiled and immediately flew to one of the nearby clouds. She used her wings to shape it into a crude battering ram. She then flew away from it, turned and picked up speed until she bucked a side of the battering ram, shooting it off to Draigo.

Draigo’s eyes widened as the battering ram cloud careened towards him. He dove toward the trees to gain speed and leveled off right before the tops of the trees. The battering ram hit his tail, but he just barely stayed above the treeline.

Luna narrowed her eyes and tried to think of something else that could get him below the treeline. She still flew quite aways above him and then smiled cheekily as an idea struck her. She flew to a group of storm clouds and gathered them up and used her wings to direct them towards Draigo. Once they were on top of him, she raced towards the cloud group and bucked them, forcing a few lightning bolts to go off.

“What art thou...Oh, crap!” Draigo said as he tried to dodge the lightning directed at him. He successfully dodged a few, but then was hit by a rather large one. He thought he was going to be okay until a tree came out of nowhere and he flew right into it.

Luna watched the results triumphantly until a rather large tree sticking out of the forest shook with a large impact. Growing increasingly concerned, she flew down below the tree line until the tree that shook came into view.

“Draigo?” she called out, noticing the way he looked.

“HAHAHA! Well played, Luna. Well played. I did not expect thou to use lightning.” Draigo said as he got his legs and wings in order.

“Thou … thou art fine?” Luna asked as she hovered in place and looked over to the tree where a mark in the shape of Draigo’s face was implanted into it.

“Well, yes and no. I can still fly, but I think I hurt something in my face. Wouldst thou come and see if there’s anything wrong about it?” Draigo asked as he stood up and examined his wings. Luna quirked a brow and flew over to him. She lighted down and tried to get a good look at his face.

“Thou wants me to look at thine face?” she asked slowly for confirmation.

“Yes, I canst tell that there is something hurt, but I’m not quite sure what since mine face is just varying levels of ache from hitting yonder tree.” Draigo said as he lowered his head to Luna’s level.

“Thou did leave the tree with a good first impression.” Luna said with a slight laugh and gently touched Draigo’s face to see if it hurt anywhere.

“Ah, I did tell thou that I would reveal what Skye meant by her tone if thou got me below the tree line.” Draigo said as Luna began her inspection. He winced a bit when she touched his eye ridge and again when she got near the spines on his head.

“Thou wilt sport bruises.” Luna commented at his winces. “What didst Skye mean by her tone?”

Draigo gave Luna a peck on her cheek. “That is what she meant, dear Luna. Or more specifically she meant this to be a date between us.”

Luna’s cheeks darkened considerably at the revelation. “She meant for this to be a date?” Luna asked in faint surprise, although she kept feeling around Draigo’s face for anymore sore spots.

“That’s why she didn’t come with us. She wanted to give us some space.” Draigo said and gave a cry of pain when Luna got near one of his concealed fangs. “I think I broke at least one tooth.”

Luna jumped back a bit at the cry and considered what he said. “I feel sorrow for breaking thine teeth. Skye … ‘tis wouldst do her well to get her priorities reorganised.”

“Don’t feel sorry, Luna. I challenged you to get me below the tree line.” Draigo told her as he reached out a claw and made her look into his eyes. “Besides, I heal very quickly and it was truly worth it to see the true beauty of the night. You.”

Luna stumbled over her words as her cheeks darkened a lot further than before. As she thought through his words further, joyful tears welled up.

“I speak nothing but the truth, Luna.” Draigo said as he enveloped her in his arms and wings. Luna didn’t speak as she let Draigo hug her, crying happily. “Th-thank thou, Draigo.”

“Thou art most welcome. Wouldst thou like to know something about thine sister?” Draigo asked in a quiet tone. Luna gave a few hiccups as she quietened down.

“Know what?” Luna asked while wiping her eyes with her hooves.

“Thine sister stays up to enjoy thine night. T’would not surprise me if she were awake at this very moment gazing at thy night sky.” Draigo told her.

“I never noticed mine sister gazing at the night I created.” Luna said softly, shaking her head to figure out if it was true or not.

“She told me herself that she didn’t know what would happen if your citizens knew that she didn’t sleep until late at night. Apparently they think she goes to sleep when the sun goes down.” Draigo told her. “If thou wants we could see if we can spot her enjoying thy night.”

Luna laughed at what her subjects thought her sister did after taking down the sun. “Mine subjects obviously hath no clue on what mine sister doeth after the sun sets. I hast no clue if she even gazes at mine night.” Luna said with a hint of anger in the last part she said. She quashed it though to nod at Draigo. “Can We see if mine sister enjoys the night?”

“As thou wishes so thou shalt get.” Draigo said as he slowly released Luna from his embrace. He spread his wings as a white energy shone throughout his face. Luna squinted at the bright light and walked backwards a bit as she was released and spread her wings to take flight.

“I know not which room is thine sister’s. Lead the way mine Princess.” Draigo said as the white energy dissipated.

“Mine sister’s chambers art on the east side of the castle while mine art on the west.” Luna explained as she gave a few flaps to get ready.

“Ah, for the sun rises in the east and the night begins when it sets in the west.” Draigo said as he joined Luna in preflight warm ups.

“Convenient, ‘tis not?” Luna smirked and took flight and hovered in place while waiting for Draigo to finish.

“Yes, very convenient.” Draigo said with a smile as he took to the skies. Luna flew in front and slightly to the side as she lead Draigo back to the castle.

“How didst thou become a dragon of thine ilk?” she asked suddenly, looking back to make sure he was following.

“I bought a necklace from a gypsy at a fair. Once I put it on it transported and transformed me. I still don’t understand how or why, but I no longer want to go back to how I was.” Draigo told her as he continued to follow her.

“Doth thou not care for thy home?” Luna asked, nodding as he told his story.

“If I were to somehow get home there’d be no one that I’d know. I’ve spent almost fourteen billion years as you see me.” Draigo admitted.

“That is horrible.” Luna commented sadly.

“Yes, but I have been able to create a pseudo family in the form of the dragons back in my world and have found two wonderful mares that can keep me company through the ages.” Draigo said with a toothy smile.

“Still, thou hath not been able to see thine family in ages. Doth thou not miss them?” Luna asked, and saw that the castle was in sight.

“I missed them for about ten billion years. During that time I was continuously alone. After that I filled my time to the brim with creating my dragons and exploring the planet I settled on so that I wouldn’t have time to miss them.” Draigo told her. Luna blinked at that and lead Draigo around the side of the castle towards her sister’s room.

“I know not what that must have felt like but that doth not mean I canst imagine it.” Luna told him. “I doth not know what I wouldst doeth without mine sister.”

“I believe she feels the same way, even if she doesn’t show it.” Draigo said. “Now, how shouldst we see if thine sister is enjoying the night? We wouldn’t want to be caught until we knew for sure that she is enjoying it…”

“I wonder what she thinks about it when she looks up.” Luna mused as she lead Draigo to a higher altitude once she noticed that her sister was looking down. A few tears shone in her eyes but fought them back in case her sister hadn’t looked up yet.

“I’m unsure of what she is looking at, but she is up much later than either thou or thine subjects believed.” Draigo said as he tried to figure out what Celestia was looking at.

“This much is true.” Luna agreed and tried to look at what her sister is looking at. “Doth thou have a clue as to what she is gazing at?”

“I think that she is thinking on something and not really looking at or seeing anything.” Draigo replied.

Luna thought on this for a bit. “Though, I wonder what she is thinking about. I hath never spied on mine sister before, this is new to me.” Luna said and moved further into the castle’s shadow when she noticed her sister move her head up a bit.

Draigo got a mischievous smile on his face as an idea occurred to him. “I think I can find out what she is thinking about. Wouldst thou like me to try?”

“Yes, please.” Luna answered.

“Okay, I’ll be back.” Draigo said as he pecked her on the cheek and flew around to visit Celestia. Luna blushed and kept watch on the two of them.

“‘Tis you, Draigo.” Celestia smiled when she noticed him fly near her. She stepped back from the balcony in case he needed room to land.

“Greetings, Celestia. I couldn’t help but notice your pensive look as I flew overhead.” Draigo said as he landed in front of Celestia. “What art thou thinking so hard upon?”

“Twas thinking about this monster problem. I doth not think that it would keep me up so late.” Celestia admitted.

“Hmm, hast thou talked to Luna about the subject? She is thine sister and fellow ruler of Equestria.” Draigo said.

“I hast not.” Celestia shook her head. “She is mine sister and I doth not want her to worry about this.”

“Thy concern is touching, but me thinks that thine sister already worries about that and many other things.” Draigo told her.

“Like what?” asked a shocked Celestia. “I was unaware she hath other problems.”

“She worries that thine citizenry doth not appreciate her or her night. She worries that thou art like unto them. She worries that she is no longer wanted or needed.” Draigo said in a concerned tone.

“She doth worries about such things?” Celestia asked concernedly.

“She hath not told me this, but I know she is worried nonetheless.” Draigo said. “She cried tears of joy when I told her that her night was beautiful. Wouldst she do that if she was not worried about her night and it being appreciated?”

“She wouldst not.” Celestia sighed in agreement. “Why hath she not told me this?”

“Thou art busy during the day and she believed that thou were asleep not long after her night began. She must think you have not the time for her concerns.” Draigo told her. “Whether this is actually true or not I cannot say.”

“I-what?” Celestia asked, not really believing what he said. “She believes I doth not have time for her?”

“As I said: I’m unsure if she truly thinks that. Hast thou tried talking to her about anything beyond thine royal duties?” Draigo wondered. Celestia shook her head.

“No. These monster attacks have taken up all our time in recent years so ‘tis difficult to find the time for a one on one get together.” Celestia admitted.

“Wouldst thou like the time for one right now?” Draigo asked.

“I would but ‘tis she not attending Nightcourt?” Celestia asked confusedly.

“She had all of three ponies come to Nightcourt. I helped her hasten one that needed it and another left without saying a word. The third was a simple issue and didst not take long. She is therefore done with Nightcourt.” Draigo explained.

“I thought there were more than that when We looked in on her earlier.” Celestia said softly.

“Tis true what I have said. For you see, I have gone flying with her this night. The bruising on mine face is proof.” Draigo said and proudly bore the bruising as though it were a medal.

“How doth a dragon get bruising?” Celestia asked, an astonished look on her face.

“By flying face first into a very sturdy tree.” Draigo said with a chuckle. Celestia’s eyes widened at that and she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before finally settling on some quiet laughter.

“How and why did thou fly face first into a tree?” Celestia asked.

“I got hit by a lightning bolt that somehow made me think I was higher than I actually was.” Draigo told her.

“Did mine sister hit you with a lightning bolt or was it a stray thundercloud?” Celestia asked as she whipped her tail from side to side.

“Thine sister did hit me with a well aimed lightning bolt. I had challenged her to make me fly below the tree line, she succeeded.” Draigo said with a shrug at the end.

“I doth not think mine sister was capable of such a feat.” Celestia said with a mildly impressed tone in her voice.

“In truth, I wanted her to succeed so I allowed the lightning to hit me. Had I wanted, it would have been redirected.” Draigo admitted and shot a bit of lightning off of the balcony to demonstrate.

“Still though, I didst not expect Luna to actually partake in combat.” Celestia said, eyeing the lightning bolt as it sailed into the distance.

“Combat? If it was combat then it was very one sided. I only flew around and dodged.” Draigo clarified.

“Far as I know, mine sister doth not partake in combat. This is surprising for me.” Celestia admitted and finally looked up towards the night sky. “The sky, it’s beautiful,” she breathed.

“Thou needst to talk to thine sister more if thou dost not know that she would accept a challenge when she wants the reward for winning. And of course the sky is beautiful. Luna puts a lot of effort into it.” Draigo said.

“This is the first I hath seen of it in a while.” Celestia admitted, and sighed, looking to back down to to Draigo. “Where is mine sister. I really need to talk with her.”

“If she is where I left her then she is right...about...there.” Draigo said as he pointed to Luna’s hiding spot.

Celestia looked to where Draigo was pointing and found a dark blue, flowing mane studded with stars. “She hath been hiding there this entire time?” Celestia asked and watched Luna fly down towards them.

“Varily. Thou underestimates her sneakiness.” Draigo said as Luna touched down next to them.

“I couldst not help myself. I eavesdropped by using a sound-enhancing spell.” Luna admitted when she landed and looked at Celestia with red eyes. “How couldst thou not know enough about me?”

“The same way thou thought she wast asleep not long after thine night began, Luna. Jumping to conclusions and not communicating with each other enough.” Draigo told her.

“Ever since these monster attacks started decades ago, thou hath become recluse and barely spoke to me.” Luna told Celestia. “Why?”

“Because I doth not want thou to worry about these attacks. “ Celestia said simply.

“Yet Luna had a petitioner tonight that came about the monster attacks. If the attacks stopped, would you two talk to each other more?” Draigo said as he looked out at the forest.

“Yes, but I doth not see that happening any time soon. There are more monsters than the two locked up in the dungeons.” Celestia said readily.

“I want Us to talk to each other more on a daily basis, not when these attacks are over!” Luna stamped her hoof to try and show how angry she was.

“We art talking now, art we not?” Celestia asked rhetorically.

“Thou art talking, yes, but neither of thee know the other like a sister who lives in the same castle should. That much is evident.” Draigo said as he made gestures in the air as if he were calculating something.

“This shows how far apart we hath grown and how much talking we hath not done.” Luna said sadly, sitting down and looking at the balcony floor forlornly.

“Draigo, doth thou know how we patch Our relationship?” Celestia asked, observing Luna’s saddened state.

“Set aside time everyday to chat with each other about anything besides thine royal duties. Set aside more time everyday to do activities together. Oh, the most obvious thing would be to remember the Elements of Harmony: Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Kindness. When those come together they create the sixth element: Magic or Friendship. Surely you who have wielded them would remember all of this.” Draigo expounded as he continued his air calculations.

“Yes, We remember how the Elements work.” Celestia said curiously. Luna looked up at the mention of friendship and wondered if that would actually work to patch up her relationship with Celestia.

“Why would that work for Us?” Luna asked sadly.

“Art thou not friends with thine sister? Doth friends not forgive one another and make up? Friendship is the key for without it both the elements and relationships don’t work.” Draigo said as he finished his calculations and turned on the both of them.

“Friends doth make up?” Luna asked curiously and looked a tiny bit hopeful.

“Friends get into arguments. Yet they forgive each other and make up. Tis the same with thy sister. Both of thee have forgotten what the elements actually represent. For harmony is not one of the things between thee. Now, forgive thy sister, make up, and strive to be better.” Draigo told them both.

“Forgiving mine sister wilt not be easy.” Luna said at length. “Especially since she hath practically ignored me after Discord’s chaotic invasion.”

“If that were actually true then the elements would never have worked and Discord would still rule. Thou may feel that way and it may take a very long time for true forgiveness, but each of thee have said thou want to talk more. Start there and take small steps in getting to know each other again. Both of thee will have more time after I take care of the monster attacks so start rescheduling.” Draigo said with a confident smirk.

Both Luna and Celestia looked at each other warily before slowly nodding at each other. Luna smiled sadly at Celestia while Celestia smiled cautiously at Luna.

“Art thou willing to forgive me, dear sister?” Celestia asked softly.

“If We take this in small steps, like the dragon suggested, then there may be room for forgiveness, Sister.” Luna replied to her.

“Well, it’s either that or one of you gets banished to the moon/sun.” Draigo admitted offhandedly.

“Hey, look! I- what’s going on here?” Skye asked from a bit beyond the balcony, tilting her head in confusion.

“Oh, I just told them that they either forgive each other or one of them gets banished to the moon/sun.” Draigo told Skye, not even realising that she was actually floating around.

“That’s a bit on the nose but I’m glad the two of you are actually making up.” Skye said casually to the both of them.

“We wilt take things slow but we shouldst be better off for it.” Luna said softly with a small smile on her muzzle.

“I think a phrase Joseph uses would fit here. Good on ya, Sheila.” Draigo said in his best Aussie accent. “Looks like no one is going to get blasted with the elements for a good long while and that’s a good thing.”

“That accent was terrible.” Skye said bluntly.

“I’ve only been around the accent for a few days so of course it’s terrible. I just couldn’t not try using it.” Draigo said with a shrug of his wings.

“Princesses, it’s good to hear that the both of you are trying to repair your relationship with each other.” Skye said and bowed respectfully. She then looked at Draigo’s back and tapped it with her scythe. “Were you a therapist back on Earth?”

“Nope, I’ve just had a really, really long time to think about things. That and I live with Celestia and Luna. So I know what they’ve done to start repairing their relationship after Luna got back from her thousand year stint in the moon.” Draigo told her.

Skye floated around to Draigo’s front and sighed. “You live with the two mares you like?” she asked in disbelief.

“I’ve got a separate room in Canterlot Castle, but yes. They basically made it so I couldn’t say no when they asked me to stay with them. What with the almost tears, sad expressions, and desperation in their voices.” Draigo admitted.

“That’s what I call being desperate.” Skye commented.

“They’re immortal and they wanted someone near them that they didn’t have to say goodbye to after a hundred or so years. That’s one of the reasons that I didn’t really develop friendships until I met them for the first time. I got tired of goodbyes.” Draigo explained.

“I take it back then. It’s more sad than anything else.” Skye amended and floated down to the balcony floor.

“I can’t say otherwise about that.” Draigo admitted after a moment of thought.

“Do you notice anything different?” Skye asked suddenly, concentrating a bit and slowly floated up and down. “I finally figured it out!”

“Wait, you’re floating?” Draigo said and observed her movement. “You are! Great job. Can you do that while doing other things or does it take a lot of concentration so far?”

Skye, Celestia and Luna smacked their foreheads in unison. “How dense are you? I’ve been floating this whole time! Besides, I don’t know if I can do other things while floating, for now, I just want to get this down pat until it’s second nature to me.” Skye answered.

“Um...it depends on the moment.” Draigo said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Any idea how wind affects you?”

“Not yet.” Skye replied. “I’ve only just figured out how to move up and down.”

“Well, there’s no time like the present.”Draigo said as he flapped his wings towards Skye.

“What?” Skye asked and immediately blew away with the wind, only managing to stop herself from hitting the castle wall just in time. “What’s the big idea?” she called out.

“Well the big idea was for you to get used to your abilities.” Draigo said with a smirk. “Wind seems to affect you to a great degree. It’s like you’re a freakin’ sail.” Draigo observed.

“Of course it does! I’m a skeleton, I can’t be any less aerodynamic! The wind just goes right through me!” Skye argued, slowly floating towards the three of them.

“Well, hopefully that will change once you’ve gotten used to it. So, who wants a safe zone from the monsters?” Draigo said to change the subject. Celestia and Luna both shot their hooves up like they were little foals again before having no idea on what the safe zone could be.

“A safe zone?” Luna asked, slowly bringing her hoof back down.

“An area that the monsters can’t enter into.” Draigo told them.

“That sounds simple enough.” Celestia said, bringing her hoof back down as well. Skye floated down and tapped a finger against her skull.

“How big will the safe zone be?” she asked him.

“The castle and some surrounding area. Will that suffice?” Draigo said. “I can make it bigger if needed.”

“That area is a fairly large one. Art thou sure thee hast sufficient magic?” Luna asked, standing up and walking towards the balcony railing.

“Well, I’ve been like this for fourteen billion years and have been using my magic and building up its reserves since day one. Think that will be enough?” Draigo said.

“That shalt be more than enough.” Celestia said and looked at Luna for a moment before returning her attention to Draigo.

“Now, there is one condition that you may not like.” Draigo told the group.

“What condition?” Skye, Celestia and Luna asked at the same time.

“I have to claim the entire area as part of my hoard.” Draigo said both quietly and sheepishly.

“What’s a hoard?” Skye asked, utterly confused by the concept.

“Well, for normal dragons it’s a pile of treasure they claim as theirs. For me and my dragons it’s whatever they believe is valuable that they collect. If I claim the entire area as my hoard that basically means I own anything and everything associated with it. Which is why you may not like it.” Draigo explained.

“So would that also mean any living thing inside it as well?” Skye asked.

“Yes, it would. It wouldn’t really change anything for anyone besides me. If something tried to steal, destroy, or claim for their own any part of my hoard I would instinctively defend my hoard to the death. This shouldn’t apply to ponies, though.” Draigo clarified. “I’m just not sure if anyone wants to be ‘owned’ by another being.”

“If you claim this castle, you ‘own’ everything in it as well, including the Princesses, Clover, Starswirl and me?” Skye asked, backing away a bit and trying to think this whole claim thing through.

“Anything and everything, yes. I won’t take anything and it’ll only change how I react to anything that attacks this place while I’m here. Once I’m gone the effect will remain and nothing more.” Draigo told them.

“Oh. I get it now. I’m up for it then.” Skye said, raising her hand and looking at the princesses. “Ultimately, it’ll be up to you two to decide.” Skye said sheepishly after noticing their looks.

“To tell the truth, this is my last ditch idea to defend my Equestria. With this I’ll be able to apply a magic powerful enough to keep everything out, should we want it like that, and I do mean everything.” Draigo told the hesitant princesses.

“Thou wants to claim this castle and the occupants, to protect Us from the various mythical beasts?” Celestia asked in trepidation.

“Yes, it’s only for protection. Nothing else, I swear upon my love for my Princesses.” Draigo said as he knelt down and spread his wings across the floor.

“How doth thou show thine claimage on this castle?” Luna asked with slightly less hesitation than her sister.

“I spread my magic and smell around the entire area. For the smell, all I’d have to do is fly or walk around enough, nothing obscene.” Draigo told her. “Oh, there’s also a ritualistic phrase I must say.”

“An incantation?” Luna asked curiously.

“Basically, yeah. I’ll be saying it while I spread my magic.” Draigo said to Luna.

Luna beckoned for Celestia to follow her away from Skye and Draigo so they could talk about the hoard idea in private.

“I don’t think they’ll take to it.” Skye said as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Well, no being wants to be owned by another whether it’s just for protection or not.” Draigo replied.

“Sad but true.” Skye replied. “Do you have enemies of your own that caused you to come up with this idea back in your Equestria?”

“Yes, I do. They are fellow primordial beings, according to the info I got on my trip to visit the Asian dragons.” Draigo told her.

“That can’t be a good sign.” Skye commented and thought of something Draigo said earlier. “With Joseph, do you remember him mentioning any family when you hung out with him?”

“Hmm, he had a talking potato named Crikey who was apparently his friend. Other than that he didn’t mention any family.” Draigo said with a thoughtful look.

“I don’t think- wait. A talking potato?” Skye asked in surprise. “HA! He’s finally cracked it!!” Skye announced before bursting out in laughter.

“That’s what I thought as well. Then I isolated the potato from any other sources of magic and it talked to me. It was kinda rude.” Draigo told her.

“It actually does talk?” Skye asked through fits of laughter.

“Yeah and it’s name is Crikey. I don’t know how to explain it, but I put it inside a time bubble and made sure there weren’t any people inside it who could make it talk. I had to grant two wishes because of that as well.” Draigo said in a slightly miffed tone.

“So you made a bet with Joseph?” Skye asked, not really noticing that Celestia and Luna had finished their conversation and were now listening in.

“I told him that I’d grant Twilight and Fluttershy one wish each if it turned out he wasn’t crazy and the potato could actually talk.” Draigo clarified.

“What art thou speaking of?” Celestia asked them.

“Oh, just another Displaced that happens to be my cousin. Have you two come to a decision?” Skye asked, smoothly switching topics.

“He’s your cousin!? Talk about a small multiverse. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone named, Jason, Derrick, or Sora would you? They’re some of the few other Displaced I’ve met.” Draigo asked after hearing that Skye and Joseph were related.

“I heard of Derrick back on Earth. I hung out with the same group of friends he did, apparently. I joined after a bonfire incident happened and you just solved the mystery. He’s been Displaced. No idea who the others are though.” Skye announced and looked back to the princesses.

“Well, hang onto your cloak because Derrick is now Crystal and she’s preggo.” Draigo told her, ignoring the two Alicorns nearby for now.

“Derrick … is now Crystal. Derrick turned into a girl and managed to get pregnant. How does that even work?” Skye asked in disbelief and walked over to the balcony and leaned against it. “I don’t even know who Derrick is, I only know the group of friends he hung around with and on the day of my death, they told me a bit about him. I apparently joined their group two months after Derrick disappeared so there’s that.”

“Well, I’m unsure who changed Derrick, but it was probably some really powerful being who was bored.” Draigo told her.

“I’d blink if I could. Wait, isn’t Crystal the girl you mentioned that was nearly killed by the dragon you had killed?” Skye asked, remembering him saying something about a Crystal.

“The one and the same. She was pregnant and still decided to fight a four billion year old dragon. She definitely has guts.” Draigo responded.

“How far along was she if she decided to fight a four billion year old dragon!?” Skye asked in shock, now ignoring the princesses for the moment.

“I believe she said four or five days.” Draigo said as he thought back to that date.

“We hath come to a decision.” Celestia said a lot more loudly than necessary, nearly going into the Royal Canterlot voice and wanting to put a stop to this conversation and tried to steer it back on track.

“Ah, right. What is your decision?” Draigo asked after letting the ringing in his ears subside a bit.

“Give me a sec …” Skye called out, her skull visibly vibrating from the frequency.

“The both of Us have agreed to thee claiming this castle for thine hoard. On the condition that ‘tis only for protection and nothing else.” Celestia said forcefully while Luna watched Skye’s skull vibrate in amusement.

“I accept your conditions and swear to do my best to protect this area while I’m here.” Draigo said in a very official sounding voice.

“Thank thee.” Celestia responded with a slight bowing of her head. Luna walked over to Skye and cautiously tapped her skull with a hoof to see if she responded.

“Art thou okay?” Luna asked concernedly.

“Fine! Don’t tap!” Skye shouted, the ringing in her skull going up and down in frequency.

“I’ll take care of claiming this area in the morning. That way anything watching can see me and will know what they’re going up against should they be stupid enough to try to attack after getting past the magic I’ll set up.” Draigo told Celestia as he laid a opened claw on top of Skye’s skull to help absorb the vibrations.

“‘Tis a sound plan.” Celestia agreed with a slight yawn. “I need to rise in a few hours to raise the sun,” she added.

Skye felt the vibrations leave through the top of her skull and slowly felt her head go back to being a normal skull. “That loud voice knocked me around for a bit. Did they agree or not? I couldn’t really hear them.” Skye commented.

“This castle and everything else shall be mine come morning so long as it’s only for protection.” Draigo said as he wondered where they were sleeping tonight.

“Oh, great. Glad they agreed to it as well. Any idea where we’ll be sleeping tonight?” Skye said, clapping her hands in delight.

“I shalt show thee to thine chambers. We discussed this at length after agreeing to Draigo’s claimage.” Luna said and looked to the both of them.

“Oh, thank you, Luna.” Draigo said with a slight incline of his head.

“Yeah, thanks.” Skye said. Luna inclined her head to Draigo and then beckoned for the both of them to follow her.

“We shalt see thou later in the day for a talk.” Luna told Celestia as they went past, who nodded with a smile.

“We shall. See thou later on, dear sister.” Celestia replied and watched them leave through her chamber doors.

“Are we in guest chambers or something else? Cause I’ve slept in my princess’ treasury before.” Draigo asked as he followed Luna.

The guards stationed outside Princess Celestia’s chambers did a double take when they saw three different beings walk out instead of the usual one being Princess Celestia.

“Thou shalt reside in guest chambers for the time being.” Luna answered. “Unless thou hath other preferences.”

“Well, I do, but they involve my princesses and I found that the treasury doesn’t offer much privacy.” Draigo replied.

“Thou wouldst prefer to rest in royal chambers rather than a treasury?” Luna asked confusedly as they turned a corner into one of the many guest chambers in the castle.

“Yes, but it’s more about who is there than the actual room. It’s very nice to fall asleep with a body or two pressed against you.” Draigo clarified.

“Ah. So ‘tis more for warmth than area size?” Luna asked again.

“I wouldn’t qualify then.” Skye commented.

“I’m plenty warm by myself, but it’s reassuring to know someone or some people are comfortable enough around me to fall asleep. There have been plenty of ponies in the past who ran away screaming before I could say a word when they first met me.” Draigo answered.

“I believe I understand now.” Luna replied and looked over at Skye in concern when she heard sobbing sounds coming from the skeleton.

“Something wrong, Skye?” Draigo asked after noticing the sobbing sounds.

“It’s … nothing. I’ll be fine … once I get to my room.” Skye replied through a few hiccuping sounds.

“Uh huh, not buying it, Miss Waterworks. What’s up?” Draigo asked again.

“Noth *hic* ing. I’m fine!” Skye replied with the same answer, just hoping that her room was close by.

“Maybe you’re a little homesick now that you’re going to sleep? Or maybe you’re sad because you don’t need sleep now that you’re the Grim Reaper?” Draigo said as he started to guess what was wrong.

“If I was *hic homesick, it would have *hic* hit me when I was imprisoned.” Skye tried to evade the guesses by lowering her hood over her face.

“Hmm, true. Was it something I said that triggered this?” Draigo wondered. Skye remained silent but it was broken by her hiccuping.

“Ah, so it was. I’m sorry for bringing up a sad memory for you.” Draigo apologized. Skye shook her head in response to that. Luna opened a door near the next corner with her magic and lead the both of them inside. Once they were all in, she closed the door behind them and turned around to try and help sort out this problem.

“Okay, you’re sad and/or upset about something. What can we do to help?” Draigo said to the hiccupping skeleton.

“N-Nothing. If I say I’m fine, then I’m fine!” Skye answered.

Draigo walked over and wrapped a wing around her. “I’m sorry, but that’s the wrong answer.” He gave her a squeeze and hoped she’d say something besides ‘nothing’ and ‘I’m fine.’

“Of course it’s not the wrong answer. It’s the right answer for me. I’m fine and the two of you don’t need to be concerned about me!” Skye repeated, trying to to dodge the issue at hand.

“Once again, that’s not the answer we were looking for. Do you care to buy a vowel?” Draigo asked in game show announcer voice.

“A towel?” Skye asked, thinking he pronounced a ‘t’ instead of a ‘v’.

“A vowel, dear. If you are actually homesick and lied about it before, know that I’ve been there. For ten billions years at that.” Draigo told her.

“I don’t want to buy a vowel, I want to go home!” Skye shouted in a moment of confused and angered weakness.

“Ah, so it is homesickness. Luna and I are here for you. What can we do to help?” Draigo said in a calm, understanding voice.

“Nothing, I’m fine, I don’t want to go home.” Skye answered as she reverted back to bottling up her feelings.

“Do you know how a bullet is fired? There’s pressure that builds up behind it and forces it out the barrel. If you keep bottling up your feelings you’re just going to blow up later on and regret it, most likely. I know I have.” Draigo told her.

“Of course I know how a bullet is fired. Once it is, it hits home in a target, just like how I want to go home.” Skye said and immediately covered her mouth after the fact.

“Go on, let out your rage, your sadness, and everything else. You’ll feel better afterwards, trust me.” Draigo said.

“But I don’t want to! If I do, knowing what I know about myself, then I could probably kill Princess Luna!” Skye shouted in anger, not even realising she had gotten into a fighting stance with her scythe held out in front of her.

“You think I’d let something happen to her while I’m around? You’re dead wrong.” Draigo said firmly. “Do you know what happened when I blew up after bottling up my rage and sadness?”

“Dead? That’s what I am! I died and I won’t be able to go back home because of it!” Skye raged at him, ignoring his questions.

“You’ll be dead in more ways than one if you don’t let out your feelings. Heck, I almost destroyed my entire planet because I did exactly what you are doing.” Draigo said.

“‘I’ll be dead in more ways than one’?” Skye repeated. “How the hell does that happen?”

“Emotionally dead. Right now you’re fine, but once you blow up due to bottled up emotions you’ll slowly die emotionally if you keep bottling them up afterwards. Do you never want to feel happiness again? Cause that’s possible.” Draigo said as he grabbed her scythe’s staff.

“No, I don’t! If I can’t go back home, then I don’t want to feel anything anymore! It’ll be perfect for when I finally head off to Tartarus!” Skye cried, tightening her grip on her scythe and pulling it back towards her.

“Let me tell you that you could be way worse off than you are right now. You could be a pony that has to run away from her ruler because that ruler is trying to hurt you or do very bad and explicit things to you. How do I know this? Cause I met three mares who have to do that on an almost daily basis while they deal with quirks they have absolutely no control over. So, think they don’t want to feel anything anymore? Well, they don’t, but they let their emotions out so that if they somehow find a way home they aren’t going home as a zombie.” Draigo told her as he remembered Brutalight Sparcake’s and her friends’ situation. He pulled the scythe towards him in hopes of wearing Skye down physically so she would let go emotionally.

“Who art these mares thou speaketh of?” Luna asked Draigo suddenly.

“Good for them. I can’t go home so I think I can let myself not feel anything!” Skye replied, taking back her scythe before suddenly letting go of it.

“Those mares are hopefully no one you ever meet that in the same kind of situation as Skye and myself.” Draigo said to Luna. “Now, who said you can’t go home? If you think you can’t go home due to you ‘dying’ then think again! Anything is possible in the void and in the multiverse. Anything!” Draigo stepped back a bit and held onto Skye’s scythe, surprised she had let go so early.

“I don’t think I told you what kind of death I got dealt. Decapitation. If I go back, I will be inhabiting a headless body that is most likely in the ground by now. So no, I can’t go back home because my old body won’t be there, happy with that answer?” Skye asked coldly, snapping her fingers and summoning her scythe back to her side before suddenly swinging it at Draigo’s head in a cold rage.

Draigo watched the scythe coming towards him and caught it with his teeth at the last moment. He bit down and shattered the scythe’s blade. “What do you call that underneath your cloak? All it needs is some flesh and you’re all set. Like I said anything is possible!”

Skye flung the staff across the room, barely noticing it being caught in azure magic. “I call this a skeleton. I can’t get flesh, considering this ‘void’ you mentioned stripped me of it in the first place!”

“Then was what you said earlier a lie when you said my magic was trying to give you flesh? If it tried then it can succeed. You’ve only seen the tip of both my abilities and magical might. You want to fight then bring it. You want to kill something then kill me. Whatever it takes to make you feel better.” Draigo said in an equally cold voice as Skye’s from earlier.

Skye let her magic pool in her hand, slowly darkening the bone as some of it spilled over the sides of her open palm. She tried to induce fear in him by letting her rage pour into her magic as well when she extended multiple tendrils out to him.

“Good try, but my draconic form is nowhere near as weak as my human form. Like this, I’m immune to magic. It sucks when I get injured, but otherwise it’s handy.” Draigo said as he confronted the tendrils of magic. “So, hit me with your best shot.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do, but it doesn’t appear to be working!” the worked up skeleton said, cutting off the flow of magic. “Just leave me alone for the night, I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning.” Skye said softly, a stark contrast to how she was acting moments before.

“Sure, you’ll be fine in the morning. You’ll have something else to keep your mind off of this. That doesn't mean it’s gone or over. You’re going to need to let someone in who you trust enough to listen and be there for you when you get like this.” Draigo said with a sigh. “That obviously isn’t Luna or I.”

“Yeah, obviously.” Skye muttered and finally took a look around the room. There was a neatly made bed in a corner, along with a few odds and ends that could have passed for tables. “I suppose this is my room?” Skye asked, Luna.

“If that is what thou wishes.” Luna responded, finding it exceptionally hard to imagine this skeleton being sad. She looked a bit downcast as she left the room, waiting for Draigo to reappear outside as she closed the door behind her.

“Know that I'm here if you decide you want to talk about things.” Draigo said and walked out of the room to join Luna.

“Don’t count on it.” Skye said bitterly and watched the door close behind him.

“Skye is not forthcoming with her inner turmoil?” Luna asked when Draigo walked out the room.

“Nope. She's going to eventually blow up over something that isn't really a big deal at this rate.” Draigo said as he shook his head.

“Skye is making a ‘big deal’ out of it, though.” Luna responded as she began to lead him over to the west side of the castle.

“This is something that is a big deal until she gets over her homesickness. Down the line she could blow up because of a stubbed toe or something insignificant like that. If she doesn't learn to open up to someone or let her feelings out, that is.” Draigo told her as he followed her lead.

“That doth not sound like a good plan with the way she is handling her feelings for the moment.” Luna replied morosely. “A change of subject. How wouldst thou like to sleep in mine chambers? I thought about it while thou were trying to get Skye to open up.”

Draigo stutter stepped when he heard Luna’s proposal. “That sounds wonderful. Thou dost not mind sharing thy chambers with me?” Draigo asked, a bit surprised that he had gained her trust in such a short amount of time.

“I wanted to thank thou for starting reparations on Our relationship. I am more trusting than mine sister is.” Luna explained as she giggled a bit at Draigo’s stumble.

“Thou art most welcome. I'm glad I could help the both of thee.” Draigo told her with a smile. “Unfortunately, I was unable to help the princesses in my world in the same way.”

“That is most unfortunate.” Luna replied. She lead him down the now familiar halls, knowing that they were almost to her chambers. “I am glad that thou agrees with mine decision on thy sleeping arrangements,” she added with a smile.

“I'm glad that thou thought to offer this arrangement.” Draigo replied with a smile of his own. “Tis been awhile since I've had such arrangements and I truly do miss this arrangement. Tis a very thoughtful gift, Luna.”

“After what thou said about thine own sleeping arrangements back home, I thought it would be better for thee.” Luna said slowly as she tried to explain her reasoning further while her cheeks darkened a bit.

“Well, thank thee. This will be a wonderful night’s sleep.” Dragio said cheerfully as he avoided looking directly at Luna and his scales darkened as well.

“I canst agree more.” Luna replied happily. Soon enough, they rounded the corner into the final hallway. “Mine chambers art just up here.” Luna indicated where they were by slowly opening the door with her magic before they walked up to it.

“Didst thou send thy guard away or didst thou not have a guard posted outside thine chambers?” Draigo wondered as he didn’t notice any night guard in the area.

“I doth not hath a guard posted outside mine chambers. Most of them are too sleepy to guard me at night.” Luna replied with a small sigh.

“Hmm, art there no Thestrals thou couldst recruit? They make up a majority of the Night Guard in my world.” Draigo inquired as they entered Luna’s chambers.

“If there art any Thestrals, We hath not discovered any to recruit.” Luna said and stepped to the side so Draigo could walk in fully.

“Tis sad to hear that. They make wonderful Night Guard since they are nocturnal.” Draigo said as he fully entered her chambers.

“They are?” Luna asked, her ears perking up slightly at this.

“Varily. They are also known as ‘Bat Ponies’ in my world. They are also more competent than their Day Guard counterparts, for some reason.” Draigo explained.

“Mine sister’s guards art competent for now but they quail in fear whenever a monster attacks.” Luna responded and sat next to the door for the time being.

“Tis almost as bad as incompetency since the monster attacks have been going on for decades now.” Draigo said a bit grumpily. “I can not stand incompetent guards.”

“Maybe I should talk with mine sister about disciplining the guards.” Luna suggested, more to herself than anything.

“Perhaps, but for now we should retire lest we not get enough sleep before thine sister raises the sun.” Draigo suggested. Luna nodded in agreement and gave a small yawn before walking up to her bed. She stopped before it though and turned back to Draigo.

“Where and how wouldst thou sleep?” Luna asked with a quizzical look.

Draigo cleared his throat a bit. “The last time I had this arrangement I slept while side by side with mine partner. My wing draped over her to act as a blanket.” He told her as his face felt like it would catch fire.

“This an intimate thing?” Luna asked, blinking a bit.

“Twas mainly because I was feeling protective, but it can be called intimate.” Draigo explained. “Mine body radiates heat and she still wanted a blanket so I extended a wing over her since adding a blanket would have been sweltering for her.”

“It was more for protection then?” Luna asked as she hopped up onto her bed.

“Twas, but only by a hair. This was after I had accidentally brushed her chin with mine tail.” Draigo told her. “She decided that she would have me join her for the night as a way to ‘punish’ me for it. Of course, the smile on her face gave her away.”

“Hmm.” Luna hummed and thought on it for a bit. “I suppose thou sleeping with me on mine bed wilt be fine,” she said slowly.

“Just let me know if thou gets uncomfortable. Thine comfort and sleep is more important than where I sleep.” Draigo said as he slowly joined Luna on her bed.

“I shalt. For the most part, I shouldst be fine.” Luna said wryly as she laid down comfortably. Draigo laid down next to her and curled his tail and neck around her leaving her enough room to move around.

“Tis good to hear. I wouldst hate to disturb thine sleep for more comfort for myself.” Draigo told her as he settled down and draped a wing over her.

“This is most certainly warm.” Luna commented as she snuggled into his embrace a bit.

“Tis good to hear.” Draigo said as his eyes started to droop before closing. A soft snore could be heard from him as small smoke plumes escaped his nostrils. Luna giggled a bit before following suit.

Medicine Sucks

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~THIRD PERSON POV~

Later on in the day, Luna woke up with a yawn. She opened her eyes and shook her head for a bit as she tried to figure out what the leathery feeling on her back was. She crawled out from underneath it and further onto her bed. After a bit, when she managed to wake up fully, she realised that the leathery feeling was Draigo’s wing.

“‘Twas a pleasant sleep.” Luna whispered to herself as her cheeks coloured. Draigo felt around with his wing a bit after Luna got out from under it. The wing folded against his body after finding nothing beneath it. Luna tilted her head at Draigo curiously as she watched his wing fold up.

“He looks peaceful.” Luna murmured after a bit. Draigo stirred a bit before muttering some words in a language Luna didn’t understand before settling back down. She flicked her ears at the language and wasn’t sure if she was familiar with it. “That language is odd,” she murmured before reaching out to shake him for a bit.

After a bit of shaking, Draigo’s eyes opened up and he let out a big yawn. He proceeded to stand and stretch his entire body to rid it of any kinks. Looking around, Draigo noticed Luna looking at him.

“Good morning, Luna. I hope thou slept well.” Draigo said after he was done stretching.

“Good morning, Draigo. I didst sleep well after thee draped thy wing over me.” Luna replied, smiling brightly at him.

“Tis good to know I can bring comfort to others.” Draigo told her. “Shouldst we go check on our emotional skeleton of a friend?”

“We shouldst, lest her emotions run rampant again.” Luna agreed, hopping off the bed and over to her door.

“Tis a worrisome affair, but one that she must go through,” Draigo said as he stepped off the bed and joined Luna.

“When thou was sleeping, an odd language thee spoke. Not sure what if it was familiar or not.” Luna said, quickly leading towards the room they left Skye in.

“Hmm, my dream was about the Asian dragons I recently visited so it was probably one of their languages.” Draigo told her as he matched her pace.

“A group of dragons thou hath created?” Luna asked with interest.

“Yes, they are almost complete opposites of me appearance-wise. They have no wings. Long, slender bodies, like unto a snake, and hair on their heads and ends of tails.” Draigo told her as they continued their journey to Skye’s room.

“Thou created opposite-dragons?” Luna asked him as she kept up the pace and soon rounded a corner into the hallway that Skye’s room was in.

“Yep, I also created dragons that look like me. Though, I truly only created the first pair of each race.” Draigo explained.

“What happened with those pairs? They went off and did their own thing?” Luna asked.

“Basically. The only thing the two races have in common is a sort-of religion that somehow got started by their descendants. The religion worships me as their god.” Draigo told her.

“Thy … descendants? worship thou as a god?” Luna asked in confusion.

“They do. Even though I have never once claimed to be a god.” Draigo said.

“Ah.” Luna said simply and opened the door to Skye’s room with her magic. The both of them walked in and found Skye rocking back and forth slightly in a corner of the room.

“Okay, what happened?” Draigo asked in a concerned voice.

“Just … old ... memories.” Skye said slowly as she moved her head about from corner to corner, not really seeing the dragon and princess in the room.

“I know what you mean. They tend to come up just when we don’t want them to.” Draigo said to the fledgling reaper.

“No … I just need my pills. I usually have them every few days to keep some monsters out of view. Monsters only I can see for some strange reason.” Skye tried to explain as she lowered her hood over her face in an attempt to block out her vision.

“Seems like they are spiritual monsters if only you can see them.” Draigo said.

“Worst part about this is that I can’t take pills anymore because I don’t have a functioning body to process them, not to mention they’re back home on Earth so we can forget about that.” Skye explained further while her rocking got a bit faster.

“Hmm, that is a problem. What do they look like?” Draigo asked.

“They’re little red pills I got prescribed to since I was ten years old. Ever since getting them, I’ve seen monsters but they’ve also kept them at bay. It’s a drug meant to help with my mind.” Skye answered as she measured the size with her forefinger and thumb.

“Interesting, but I meant the monsters. Anyway, do you know the ingredients in the pills?” Draigo asked.

“They just look like shadow creatures. Nothing more. One has a mask and he seems very nice but I haven’t really spoken to him. The only ingredient I remember in the pill was something called ‘ektoplomatin’. Apparently it’s an ingredient only found in South America.” Skye replied.

“Hmm, perhaps the Everfree has a similar plant. You don’t happen to know what it looks like, do you?” Draigo wondered.

“Nope. Never saw it in its plant form.” Skye answered as she kept her head down and looked to the floor.

“Well, is there anything you’d like us to do?” Draigo asked as he tried to think of something he could do.

“Which being prescribed thou to take these? Tis that human thou wast speaking with in thy dreams?” Luna asked. Skye nodded at her, too sunken into her memories to question how the princess could go into others’ dreams.

“Hmm, you sure he was actually a doctor? Sounds like the drug made the monsters appear in the first place.” Draigo said after thinking about what Skye had told them some more.

“I guess I could always see them but just never noticed?” Skye said uncertainly, terrifyingly unsure of what was real or not. “I don’t really know if I’ve gone into withdrawal yet or not.”

“How long has it been since your last pill?” Draigo asked.

“Four days, I believe. No, scratch that. Five. I took a pill the day before I got Displaced.” Skye responded.

“Well, that’s long enough for withdrawal symptoms to appear. Any idea how to get the ekto stuff besides going to South America? That seems to be the only solution.” Draigo said.

“That’s a hard no.” Skye said forcefully, curling up into a ball while shaking violently.

“Is she withdrawing into herself?” Luna asked.

“She’s gone into a fetal position. So, yes and no. You’re going to have to endure it until we can figure something out I’m afraid.” Draigo told the rocking skeleton.

“That … is not .. going to go down well.” Skye squeaked uncharacteristically.

“No, it definitely won’t. I might be able to do something after I claim this area for my hoard, but until then all I can do is help you get through this.” Draigo told her. Skye couldn’t respond as clacking bones sounded out from how violently she was shaking. Draigo reached out with his magic and dampened the vibrations until they were gone.

“Skye, hang in there. I can claim this area in minutes. I just need to get outside.” Draigo said.

Luna frowned at Skye and directed Draigo the quickest way to fly out of the castle. She promised him that she would keep watch over Skye and let him know if her condition worsened.

Draigo quickly flew up above the castle and spread his arms out to the side as he grew into his full size and hovered in a vertical position. His body began to glow and particles of magic began to descend into the entire area.

“I, Draigo the Primordial dragon, due hereby claim this castle, its surrounding area and all who reside therein as part of my hoard. Let all those who hear this know that I will defend this place and its residents with my life. Only those who have been authorized by myself or my representatives may enter here.” Draigo intoned as his magic embedded in everything in the affected area. After his magic permeated the entire area he glided back down to see how Skye and Luna were doing.

“Greetings, Draigo. She hath not rested throughout the night.” Luna said and pointed to the bed. Its sheets were unwrinkled and it looked like it hadn’t been slept in in ages. “‘Tis something that hath bothered me since thou left.”

“I don’t think she needs to sleep anymore, but I could be wrong. I’ve claimed the area for my hoard. Has she gotten any better or worse?” Draigo asked.

“She hath hiccupped and given a few shakes.” Luna replied as she continued to observe Skye in concern.

“Okay, so monsters can’t attack this place anymore. That lets me go into the forest and search for the plant, if it grows here, without worrying about monsters coming to get you guys.” Draigo told her. “Problem is, we’ve got no idea what it looks like.”

“I doth not know what this plant looks like either.” Luna said sadly, watching Skye shake rapidly a bit, then calm down slightly.

“Skye’s the only one who has even a chance of knowing what it looks like and she already said she doesn’t know.” Draigo said as he tried to think of a solution.

“Maybe I couldst go into her dreams and locate the plant?” Luna asked uncertainly. “This shalt be a last resort if we canst think of nothing else to find the plant.”

“Do you have a book with pictures of the plants that grow in the Everfree?” Draigo asked.

“Starswirl and Clover shouldst know which book we have need of.” Luna answered.

“Where would they be right now?” Draigo said.

“With the new capture of these monsters, then they wouldst be in the dungeons.” Luna said.

“Got it.” Draigo said as he rushed out of the room. He moved past Luna and Skye as fast as he could and made his way toward the dungeons. Once he found Starswirl and Clover he dug his claws into the floor and ground to a halt just short of running into them.

Clover and Starswirl whirled around at the sudden intrusion, a fearful look in their eyes before recognising who it was.

“Draigo, what art thou doing here?” Clover asked, surprise evident on her face.

“I need a book that has pictures of every plant that grows in the Everfree.” Draigo said as he breathed heavily.

“Why wouldst thou need a book on botany?” Clover asked as she quirked a brow underneath her brown tweed hood.

“I need to find a plant that contains ekto...ekto...ekto something. Skye needs it for medicine.” Draigo said as he struggled to remember the ingredient’s entire name.

“Ekto ... “ Clover repeated and tried to think if she remembered the rest of the word.

“Skye needs this ‘Ekto’ plant for medicinal purposes?” Starswirl asked.

“Yes, she’s already exhibiting withdrawal symptoms so we need to find it as quickly as possible.” Draigo explained to the unicorns.

“Clover, wouldst thou be able to show this dragon the book on Everfree Plants?” Starswirl asked his assistant once he realised how desperate Draigo sounded.

“Sure. It shouldst be in Our study chambers.” Clover replied and inclined her head to Starswirl.

“Alright, lead the way.” Draigo told her.

Clover complied and began to run towards her study chambers after sensing how desperate Draigo was to find this plant. Draigo kept pace with Clover as they wove through the castle to reach her study chambers.

“How quickly doth Skye need this plant?” Clover panted.

“Yester-day.” Draigo said between deep breaths. “It’s been … five days since ... she last … took her medication.”

Clover blinked at this and managed to run faster, getting to her study chambers in record time. She wrenched open the door and began rifling through the many books littered about to try and find the right one. Draigo stood in the doorway knowing that he’d only get in her way as she searched for the book they needed.

Getting increasingly desperate, Clover used her magic and levitated multiple books around her and rotated them around her head to find the book that way. “No, no, no, no …” she repeated this over and over, growing frustrated at not being able to find it. “Oh come on! This should be a lot easier to find!” Clover shouted to herself as she ran into the back of the room to look for it there.

“How many books do you have in here? The whole library?” Draigo asked as the sheer amount of books in the room finally hit him. A triumphant shout echoed from within the room as a book sailed out towards Draigo.

“Whoa!” Draigo exclaimed as he clapped his claws together to catch the flying book.

“Not the whole library, just half of it.” Clover admitted sheepishly, trotting out of the room and inspecting the book. “Is that the book thou wanted?”

Draigo opened the book and leafed through it to see that each entry had a picture of its described plant.

“Yeah. Now we just need to discover which is the plant that contains the ekto stuff then find it in the forest.” Draigo said as he began scanning each entry for that ekto word. Once he reached the middle of the ‘E’ section, he found a moss-covered tree with spotted bark as the picture and the title above it said ‘Ektoplomatin’.

“Okay, so it’s a moss covered tree. Now I just have to find a specific tree in a forest.” Draigo said in an exasperated tone.

“This tree hath spotted bark. It shouldst be easy … no it wouldst not.” Clover backtracked as she realised just where the castle was.

“Any ideas on how to quicken our search?” Draigo asked hopefully.

“No, sorry.” Clover said and flattened her ears in way of apology.

“Is this tree any bigger or smaller than the rest?” Draigo asked as he searched its entry for anything helpful.

“It details the height, colouration and the general area of where it grows.” Clover responded as she searched the entry with Draigo. “The general area is ... Everfree. That didst nothing for Us.” Clover said with a slight puff of anger.

“Is there a way for you to communicate with me if I were to leave to begin searching the Everfree for this tree? I ask because that could cut down on the time needed to find it and bring it back.” Draigo said as they continued to search the entry for helpful information.

“I hath no idea on such communication.” Clover said with an apologetic tone as she flattened her ears against her head again.

“Alright, don’t get down on me. I’m just thinking of things and asking about them as they come to me. Does this thing have any distinguishing features besides spotted bark? Cause that might not be the easiest thing to spot from the air.” Draigo wondered.

“Down here,” Clover pointed to a part of the description they overlooked. “It says that this tree usually hath red leaves throughout most of the year. The only time it doth not, is when Summer rolls around.” Clover read out loud.

“It’s not summer right now, right? Please tell me it’s not summer.” Draigo said as he began to leave the room.

“No … tis nearly summer though.” Clover said uneasily.

“Thank goodness. Where’s the closest spot to fly out of?” Draigo asked, relief evident in his voice.

“Out the library.” Clover said automatically and pointed to the double doors at one end of the corridor. “Through those double doors at the end.”

“Thanks, Clover. I owe you one.” Draigo said as he bolted for the double doors. Once there he threw them wide and took off through the nearest window. He was soon above the Everfree forest and searching for any sign of those red leaves.

After about twenty minutes of searching, Draigo finally spotted some red in the massive sea of green below him. He flew towards it and found a clearing to land in that was nearby his intended target. Upon landing, he saw that the tree indeed had red leaves and spotted bark. It wasn’t until he got to the tree that he realised one crucial thing he forgot to find out. What part of the tree was needed for the medicine?

Once he thought about his new conundrum for a moment he came up with an idea. If he didn’t know what part he needed then he’d just bring the entire tree. He grew to his full size and yanked the now small tree from the ground and took off back towards the castle.

Upon arrival at the castle, Draigo looked around for a place to put his cargo. He found a courtyard without a roof after a little searching and set the tree down in it as he shrunk down. He then flew back through the library to find Clover. Hoping the book would tell them which part to use for medicine.

“Clover! Can you hear me, Clover!?” Draigo shouted as soon as he got into the library.

“Doth not shout at me!” Clover shouted back, ears ringing as she walked out of one of the aisles. “Didst thou find the correct tree?”

“Sorry, and yes I did. I forgot to find out which part to use for medicine, though. So, I brought back the entire tree.” Draigo told her with embarrassment tinging his voice.

“Thou brought the entire tree here?” Clover asked in shock. She recovered quickly though and magicked the book out in front of her. “I hath tried to discern which part thou needs since thee left but this book doth not specify. So I came in here to find some more information.”

“Yeah, I put it in a nearby courtyard. Find anything before I shouted for you?” Draigo asked.

“I believe to hath found the correct tree in this book.” Clover said helpfully, magicking another book from the shelf behind her. She went through the pages quickly and went back to the page she was on before. It showed the same tree as before, except it contained more information than the other book.

“Hopefully we can make it into a paste or something to rub onto Skye. She doesn’t exactly have anything besides bones for a body.” Draigo said as he thought about the types of medicine he knew about.

Clover hummed and quickly scanned the page. “Either the moss … or the bark … or both. Mix them together with some red leaves to make it into a paste which thou can then apply to the affected area.” Clover recited from the book. “Doth that help?”

“Yes, it does. Thank you, Clover!” Draigo said excitedly and gave Clover a peck on the cheek. Not really thinking after everything that had happened this morning.

“Um.” Clover mumbled, her cheeks colouring at the kiss. “I art glad to hath helped thee,” she managed to say.

Draigo flew through the window he came in through, ignoring Clover’s blush, and landed in the courtyard next to the tree. He took a clawful of both the bark and moss then a clawful of the red leaves. Conjuring up some water, he ground the ingredients together with his bare claws as he added water to make the paste. After he was satisfied with the paste’s consistency he flew off toward the guest area of the castle.

Upon arrival at the guest area he saw Luna in the doorway of Skye’s room.

“How is she?” Draigo asked as he walked on only his hind legs.

“Her condition ... hath worsened considerably.” Luna said tiredly, noticeable lines around her eyes. “She hath started to … ‘suck the life out of the air’,” she said uneasily, giving off a large yawn and leaning against the doorframe for support.

Draigo gasped when Luna told him the extent of Skye’s condition. He then laid his tail across her withers and poured some Aether from himself into her to counteract any life she’d lost to Skye’s ability.

“I have the medicine.” Draigo told her as he held out both of his claws that were covered in the paste he’d made.

“That’s … good.” Luna replied, not really feeling the effects of Draigo’s Aether spell. Behind her, Skye hadn’t moved from her curled up position in the corner. Black magic pooled beneath her with one noticeable tendril hovering near Luna with another one slowly stretching out towards Draigo.

“Suck all the life from me that you want. I’ve got more than enough.” Draigo said as he reached down and started to rub the medicine onto Skye’s skull. He increased the amount of Aether that he was pouring into Luna after seeing the tendrils of black magic stretching towards them both.

The medicine reacted with Skye’s magic. As Draigo continued to rub it in, Skye’s magic slowly quietened down, the pool of blackness slowly disappearing with the tendrils of magic retreating as well. The one near Luna stayed close by her a lot longer than it should have before finally pulling back into Skye.

“Skye, can you hear me? If you can, nod your head.” Draigo said after Skye’s magic was under control.

“AH!” Skye screamed as she sat up, looking around quickly to see if there were any shadow creatures about. “What … what happened?” she asked quickly, barely noticing the occupants in the room.

“Well, I left to find that plant you needed for medicine. So, I’m unsure what all happened after you had curled up into a fetal position and forgot how to talk.” Draigo admitted.

“You left the room?” Skye asked confusedly. “You were in my room?”

“I’m in your room right now. So, yeah. Luna’s here as well. She stayed with you while I found and created your medicine.” Draigo told her.

“She was? I don’t need any medicine … who told you I did?” Skye asked, standing up and looking at both Luna and Draigo.

“You did, numbskull. You said that it made the shadow creatures go away and that the last pill you’d taken was five days ago.” Draigo explained.

“Before I got … Displaced.” Skye sighed and rubbed her face with her hand. “It’s coming back to me now. It’s rare but I experienced this a few times over the last fifteen years. I temporarily lose memory of what happened in the day up until I take it. Then it takes a few minutes to regain my memory along with a few questions,” she explained to the both of them.

“Well, I just gave you that medicine.” Draigo said as he showed her his claws that had leftover paste on them still. “You were sucking the life out of us at your worst.”

“That’s not Duotine. Duotine are pills. That’s just some paste.” Skye said immediately upon observing the paste. “I don’t remember sucking the life out of anything, though.”

“This paste contains that ekto ingredient that Duotine has in it.” Draigo told her. “Just look at Luna if you don’t believe me about the life sucking.” He gestured towards Luna. Skye raised a finger in objection, then looked towards Luna, focusing especially around her eyes where there were still noticeable lines.

“Oh.” Skye whispered as she took Luna’s new appearance in. “I didn’t think Ektoplomatin existed in Equestria.”

“It does, thankfully. There’s a tree in a courtyard that contains it in its bark, moss, and leaves. I guess that’s the entire tree then.” Draigo said.

Skye heard Draigo but kept her attention on Luna. She crouched so they were seeing eye to eye.

“I’m … sorry I did this to you.” Skye apologised.

“‘Tis quite alright. Draigo arrived just before I collapsed from thy withdrawal. I wouldst readily help mine friend again, if need be.” Luna said graciously, giving Skye a friendly smile.

“I hope this proves just how much you can trust us. If you still can’t open up to me then work with Luna. She can visit you even in your dreams.” Draigo said as he washed the remaining paste off his claws with more conjured water.

“She can? That’s an invasion of privacy.” Skye said as she stood back up, ignoring what he said about trusting them. “In a world full of mythical monsters and magical ponies, why can’t a pony visiting dreams at night be real too?” she said sarcastically.

“She only goes into dreams that need help. Nightmares, night terrors, and the like. It’s not like she just goes into dreams to spy on ponies. Helping is all she wants to do.” Draigo said, knowing it was a bit redundant.

“Uh huh, sure.” Skye muttered, not entirely trusting the two. “I didn’t want the both of you to see me like that. I honestly thought this would have happened sooner.” Skye said softly as she crossed her arms over her torso.

“Believe what you want. It’s the truth, though. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to go replenish my magic reserves after claiming this entire area and having my life sucked out of me.” Draigo said as he walked toward the nearest spot to fly away from.

“See you later then. We can train after you get back.” Skye replied, feeling a tinge of regret at something she knew she had no control over.

“Thou hast to recharge? I thought thy reserves were unlimited.” Luna followed with a questioning look on her face as Skye lagged behind them.

“I have a massive reserve, but I put too much magic into claiming the area. Right now if you were to test any molecule in the area for magic you’d see that they are filled to the brim. Add to that the amount of magic I used to keep you from dying and you’ve got one drained dragon.” Draigo explained. Luna nodded in understanding.

“How wouldst thou recharge? I doth not think there art any places to replenish thy reserves here.” Luna said.

“There’s multiple spots that keep moving around out in the Everfree that offer the highest amount of replenishment.” Draigo told her.

“Multiple spots around the Everfree?” Skye asked confusedly, seemingly trusting them up to the point of asking questions again.

“Yep, they keep moving and are almost never in the same spot. Any guesses as to what they are?” Draigo asked as he prepped for flight.

“Never heard of them before now so no.” Skye replied. “I’m going to see if Celestia has reverted back to her old self or not,” she added, giving Draigo a small wave before trying not to get lost in the castle.

“I hath not heard of them neither.” Luna echoed.

“Both of you have, actually. It’s called Magical Beasts. I hunt them and eat them and I get my energy back.” Draigo told her with a predatory smile. “Normally, I wouldn’t have to do this, but I still need to train with Skye.”

“Good luck hunting those Magical Beasts then!” Skye called out before she rounded the corner at the end of the hall. Luna backed up a bit from Draigo’s smile, not liking how it made her feel scared.

“Magical Beasts giveth thou thy energy back?” Luna asked uneasily.

“Yes. Resting and becoming one with the elements does as well, but this also lets me get some frustrations out at the same time. I can’t exactly tell Skye not to bottle things up if I bottle them up, now can I?” Draigo explained as he let his predatory smile fade away.

“That wouldst be hippocritical of thou?” Luna asked and sat on her haunches.

“Yes and I really don’t want to be a hippo.” Draigo said as he made a horrible pun.

“How quickly doth thou replenish?” Luna asked, not knowing he had made a pun.

“I’ll need a manticore or an entire Timberwolf pack at bare minimum. So, an hour or two? They aren’t the easiest things to find after all.” Draigo said.

“Alright. We shalt see thou later on in the day then.” Luna smiled, not really liking the fact he had to consume animals but knew that she had no say in the matter.

“That thou shall, Luna.” Draigo agreed as he took off to hunt for his prey.

Corruption

View Online

~THIRD PERSON POV~

TWO WEEKS LATER

Skye has trained hard with Draigo, slowly getting faster and a lot more cunning with how she used her magic. Luckily, with the red leaved tree still in the open courtyard, she hasn’t had any more withdrawals due to the fact that Clover helped her with some paste to apply to her forehead every few days. Her magic has gotten stronger and she has learned how to control it a lot better with Draigo’s help.

Skye is attending Celestia’s Day Court to try and get a feel for how the ponies handle their issues and politics. With what she’s seen so far, it’s been a lot of the same kind of pony asking for help with various mundane things. So it has been very boring so far.

“What does this next pony have to say?” Skye groaned, standing next to Celestia’s throne and looking like a demon from hell.

“Shhh. Mine subject probably hath a different request rather than the usual.” Celestia said, beckoning for the pony to step forward. A mare with a pale pink coat and a dirty blonde mane and tail with a cutie mark of intertwined cherry stems stepped forward with a panicked look on her face, unsure of how to react to the rather tall, cloaked skeleton.

“Your Majesty, I bring terrible news. Ponies within the neighbouring villages hath gone missing and the ones that come back hath been drained of their life force,” the mare said rather quickly, nearly stumbling over her words in her haste to get them out. Skye reacted before Celestia could speak to the panicky mare.

“Drained? What do the bite marks look like?” Skye asked. The mare looked between her princess and the skeleton, not really knowing whether she should answer or not. Celestia gave a sigh and nodded her head in acknowledgement of the mare’s plight.

“The bite marks art shaped like a triangle. ‘Tis that significant?” the mare gave Skye the details she wanted.

“Bite marks in the shape of a triangle ... oh you have got to be kidding me!” Skye said in an exasperated tone.

“What art thou complaining about this time?” Celestia asked her with a pointed look.

“It’s another monster attack. Which village has it been attacking most recently?” Skye rubbed her forehead and sighed, looking at the mare that raised the issue.

“‘Tis a village southeast of here,” the mare answered.

“Can you lead me there then? I want to make sure the monster is stopped.” Skye replied, gripping her scythe rather tightly. The mare looked to her Princess to see if it was safe for the skeleton to accompany her back to her village.

“Skye shalt accompany thou to thy village as mine representative, after she tells Us what monster she thinks is the cause of these attacks.” Celestia replied to the mare’s look.

“It’s a mythical monster from back home that was said to live on the border between Mexico and America. Not sure how true it was but the monster’s name is the Chupacabra. It does what this mare described to its victims. Drains them of blood and moves on.” Skye explained.

“It is known for targeting goats in our world, but apparently it likes ponies in this one.” Draigo chimed in, having heard what Skye had said as he’d stealthily entered the throne room. The poor mare backed in fright at the sudden appearance of a dragon.

“Th-th-there art also some g-g-goats that hath gone missing too,” the mare responded to this information with a terrified tone.

“Well, there’s no time to lose. I can fly you both there. Unless you’d like to try some long distance floating, Skye.” Draigo said.

“I need the practice. But I don’t think this mare wants to fly with something that she’s obviously scared of.” Skye replied, tapping her foot against the stone floor. The mare shook her head in agreement.

“Thou wants to go too?” Celestia asked Draigo in surprise.

“I’ll be there if Skye can’t handle the Chupacabra by herself.” Draigo told Celestia. “Besides, nothing has happened here for weeks. It’s gotten monotonous.”

“‘Tis true but thy training Skye hath been entertaining for Luna and mineself.” Celestia said with a slightly amused smile.

“What’s your name?” Skye asked the mare, figuring that it would be a nice thing to know if they were going to be together for the foreseeable future.

“Cherry Blossom.” Cherry answered.

“We most likely need to get to the village as fast as possible so, would you mind if I held you to make things flow faster?” Skye asked her, walking away from next to Celestia’s throne and more towards Cherry.

“I wouldst mind that very much.” Cherry said with a slight panic to her voice.

“It’s either you get carried by her or you ride on my back. Cause you’re too slow to run back there.” Draigo told the frightened mare.

Cherry’s panicked eyes flicked between Skye and Draigo before she finally relented and sighed.

“I shalt go with the skeleton. Those spines on thy back look too dangerous.” Cherry said in resignation, knowing that there was no arguing with the two beings.

“They aren’t dangerous when I’m at full size. I can carry about a hundred of you like that.” Draigo informed the pony with a slight pout. Cherry Blossom shook her head at the info, still wanting to go with her decision.

“Since it looks like we’re hanging out with each other for the next few hours, it would be better if you call me Skye rather than ‘skeleton’.” Skye replied.

“Sky is about all you’ll see for awhile as well.” Draigo said, not being able to resist the obvious pun.

“Hardy har har.” Skye replied to him, crossing her arms at him.

“Skye? Were thou born up in the clouds?” Cherry asked her, tilting her head at the odd name.

“No. We’ll have time enough for questions and answers after we leave.” Skye said irritably. She scooped Cherry up by holding her around the middle after sending her scythe to who knows where, knowing that it could come back to her at any time. She then floated a few feet off the ground and zoomed out of the castle, not bothering to look back and ignoring Cherry’s echoing squeals of fright for the moment. Draigo gave Celestia quick wave before following behind his boney friend.

After getting hurriedly said directions from Cherry, Skye lead Draigo towards the village, nearly dropping Cherry in surprise at all the cherry trees dotting the land. She coasted to a stop and looked for a place to land. Spotting one, she glided over and set down, letting go of Cherry at the same time. Cherry stumbled around before landing heavily on the upturned roots of a nearby cherry tree.

“This is a lot of cherry trees for one town.” Skye muttered an observation before gently helping the dazed mare back on to her hooves.

“I’m just gonna keep flying until there’s a more open area to land in. Plus, I get to watch the frantic ponies scurry inside. It’s been so long since they’ve done that that it’s kinda nice.” Draigo said as he flew overhead.

“You go do that then. I’m just glad that I have a reason to get out of the Everfree.” Skye called out in a joyous tone, giving him a wave as he flew by.

“Which … what … who?” Cherry asked, trying to shake her head out of her daze.

“Snap out of it!” Skye shouted, giving Cherry a rough shake.

“What!?” Cherry shouted back, snapping out of her confusion and glaring daggers at Skye.

“Sorry, you were dazed and I need to know where you last saw a victim.” Skye held her hands up in defense.

“The … pony who died was … where art everypony going?” Cherry switched topics as she watched the ponies in the town flee indoors at the sight of a gigantic shadow.

“They’re just fleeing from Draigo.” Skye said casually, walking into the village. “It’s a small village so I’m not surprised they’ve fled this quickly,” she added.

“’Tis a village that is still growing!” Cherry complained as she followed Skye.

“Yes, it is, but I don’t think it’s gonna get too big.” Draigo yelled down to them. He used sound manipulation to hear everything they were saying even though he was so far away.

Skye looked up and sighed, placing a hand on her forehead to block out some of the sunlight. “Where didst thou sight the last victim?” Skye asked her, barely noticing her words slip into their way of speaking.

“Over here.” Cherry said, directing Skye in the right direction.

“Behind the saloon?” Skye asked, following Cherry behind the building. When they got around the back, Skye ran a hand down her face at the sight of the body. The occupants of the village were probably in the middle of carrying it when Draigo showed up. “There art three bite marks on the neck. ‘Tis doth not tell Us much.” Skye sighed as she crouched over it.

“He was found in the orchard.” Chery supplied, barely containing herself from retching at the sight of blood around the wound.

“Here that, Draigo?” Skye called out, not looking away from her inspection of the body.

“On my way to the orchard!” Draigo yelled as he passed overhead.

“Draigo is taking care of the orchard. Hath there been any other locations that thou knoweth of?” Skye asked Cherry and noticed the sickly look on her face. Putting two and two together, she softly grabbed Cherry around the middle and took her out of sight of the dead body.

“We shalt see a lot of this. Thou shouldst hath told us of thy reaction to blood.” Skye scolded Cherry while she recovered.

“I doth not think it wouldst hath been a problem.” Cherry replied in a soft voice.

“Thou hath better get used to it.” Skye replied and waved in a random direction. “Shalt We find other locations?”

“Other victims hath been found on the other side of the village.” Cherry said helpfully, leading Skye to the opposite side of the village from where the cherry orchard was.

“I hope Draigo found something.” Skye muttered as she followed Cherry.

“Oh, I found something! I found some footprints and some blood. No Chupacabra, though!” Draigo yelled as he banked around for another pass over the town.

“Great!” Skye called back then repeated the word to herself. She rubbed the back of her head and looked at the ground for some footprints and other victim-related evidence on their way to the other side of the village. By this point, some of the local ponies had poked their heads out of their windows to have a look at what this strange duo was doing.

Cherry lead Skye to the entrance of some mountain ranges that bordered the village. “Another victim was found there.” Cherry explained when she pointed to the entrance.

“‘Tis dark … this shalt be great!” Skye said excitedly after observing the shaded entrance for a few moments.

“Want some light?” Draigo asked as he performed some aerial acrobatics. Skye looked up and observed his aerobatics for a few moments before shaking her head.

“I wilt be fine. I canst see clearly in the dark.” Skye answered, shading her sockets for a few minutes before turning and heading inside. Skye drew a hand across the wall, trying to feel if anything was on there. After a few moments, nothing appeared to be jumping out of her. Just as she was about to turn around and head on back out, a hiss sounded out of a rather large crack in the wall. She stopped in her tracks and froze for a second as a scaled tail slid around her neck.

“Thou shouldst knoweth something. I doth not have any neck to strangle.” Skye said smugly, clicking the fingers of her left hand to summon her scythe. Soon as it appeared, she swung the hooked sickle backwards and found delight in the creature’s howl of pain. The tail slithered off of her neck and back to wherever the Chupacabra was. She followed it with her head, wishing she could smile as she found the creatures hiding place.

Cherry got a panicked and terrified look on her face when the pained howl sounded out from the entrance. “”Twas th-that Skye or ... “ she tried to ask Draigo but trailed off, too scared to complete the sentence.

“No, that was the Chupacabra. Skye has yet to scream like that during our training sessions. Don’t worry, I’m right above you and can intervene at any given moment.” Draigo called down to her as he circled above.

“Got it!” Skye shouted back as she swung her scythe at the creature’s hiding place, getting it stuck in the crack. She tried to heft it out but soon quit when she felt her head fly off her neck. “‘Tis an unfortunate predicament,” she said to herself as she watched her body stand still before running after her head. A bit above her, she saw the Chupacabra snicker as its tail slid back behind it. Her body picked up her head and placed it back on her neck, swivelling it until it screwed on. She spun to look at the creature, only to find it camouflage and disappear from view.

“The creature disappeared on Us!” Skye shouted, floating quickly up and down the mountain range cave-like hallway to try and find it.

“How’d it do that? Is it part chameleon or something?” Draigo wondered as he continued to guard Cherry. “Anyway, try finding its shadow! Even if it’s invisible it should still cast a shadow!”

“‘Tis dark as night in here! How am I supposed to find it then?” Skye shouted back, slowing down and taking the time to concentrate on something that Draigo taught her. She felt around with her magic, sighing in relief as she sensed three different souls, with one just in front and beneath her. “Found it!” Skye announced and stepped on its tail and made it visible again. The Chupacabra turned around and struck her leg, trying to bury its fangs in her bone and made Skye cry out in pain.

“‘Twas a different pained scream than before ...” Cherry reported, laying her ears flat against her head.

“That it was. Seems the Chupacabra is putting up a good fight.” Draigo said as he landed and stood over Cherry.

“Give back mine leg!” Skye shouted, hopping up and down to try and follow the Chupacabra out of the entrance to the mountain ranges. It hissed as it spat out the leg and scurried forward, revealing that it was an overgrown lizard with spines, scales and a tail when it came into the sunlight. When it hissed, the three fangs in its mouth showed as it tried to find its next blood-filled victim.

“You can float! Why dost thou need a leg then?” Draigo reminded the Reaper.

“I doth need a leg to walk around when I get tired!” Skye argued, picking up her leg as she floated over to the Chupacabra. She watched it get poised to strike Cherry and gave it a hearty thwack on the head, effectively knocking it out. “Thou canst thank me later.” Skye muttered as she tried to put her leg back into place.

Cherry had scrambled into Draigo’s back leg to try and get away from the monster. Her eyes were pinpricks but they slowly got back to their normal size when she realised the fight was apparently over.

“I thank thee?” Cherry whimpered uncertainly.

“Cherry was safe whether thou whacked yon monster or not. Tis only proper to thank her, though, Cherry.” Draigo commented.

Skye did a double-take when she realised Draigo was standing near her and not flying around. She was too pre-occupied with the fight to notice otherwise.

“When didst thou land?” Skye asked, testing her leg to make sure it was working properly.

“About the time thy leg was stolen by the Chupacabra. I wanted to ensure that Cherry was safe in case the Chupacabra got away from thee.” Draigo told her as he covered a chuckle at her double take.

“Uh huh. We take this back to the castle for Starswirl and Clover?” Skye asked, poking the Chupacabra with her foot gently.

“I doth believe that they would be grateful for more research material.” Draigo said as he examined the Chupacabra.

“Thank thee for saving Our town.” Cherry said with a grateful smile, having recovered from the shock of actually seeing the Chupacabra.

“We art glad to hath helped.” Skye said with a nod.

“We shouldst get back before the Chupacabra wakes up.” Draigo said. “We bid thee have a good day, Cherry.”

“Good day, Skye and dragon.” Cherry said with a bit of a waiver to her voice then nodded her head to them and ran out from under Draigo and back to the village to tell them the good news.

“How wilt We carry this back to Starswirl and Clover?” Skye asked after waving bye to Cherry and mentally smiling at the cheers the village gave out.

“Same way as the others?” Draigo suggested.

“Entrapped in a mound of earth?” Skye asked as she thought back to how the Jersey Devil and the Harpy were transported.

“Yeah. That way even if it does wake up it can’t get away or hurt us.” Draigo reasoned.

“That is a good idea.” Skye agreed and pulled her hood over her head as she began floating. “It shalt be easier flying back.”

“Much easier for you. You won’t have a terrified pony in your arms.” Draigo commented as he wrapped the Chupacabra in a cocoon of Earth.

“‘Tis true but thou hath flown with earthen mounds before so it shouldst be easier for thee.” Skye said as she floated up and above him. “I wilt see thee back at the castle,” she added and began flying back to the castle.

“Thou shalt not get away that easily, Skye.” Draigo called as he levitated the mound before him and took off after Skye.

“Thou wants a challenge?” Skye shouted over her shoulder when she heard him.

“Let’s see how fast thou can go, Shinigami.” Draigo said as he pulled alongside her.

“Shinigami implies god of death. I am not one of them.” Skye argued and kept looking straight ahead in case any stray birds got in their way.

“Hmm, fair enough. Shall we begin the race on the count of three?” Draigo asked as he kept pace with her and ignored anything else in the sky.

“One … two … three!” Skye counted down and shot forward, keeping her arms by her sides in an attempt to make herself as streamlined as possible.

“Thou wilt find that I am faster than my size belies, my friend.” Draigo said as he increased his wingbeats and slowly, but surely caught up to Skye.

“Oh, really?” Skye asked and let the rushing air move throughout her body, noting that it was an unusual feeling. Getting used to it, she then began to move faster and slowly pulled away from Draigo.

“Thou art fast, but how long can thee keep up thy speed?” Draigo called to her.

“As long as necessary?” Skye called back uncertainly.

“Then we shall see who ends up at the castle first. Considering how long it took us to get to that village...I doubt you’ll last at that speed. I have been known to be wrong, though.” Draigo said as he thought about how far they had to go still.

“If thou sees me slow down, then go on ahead. I wilt catch up eventually.” Skye replied with an imperceptible shrug.

“If thou slows down I will pull ahead, but will keep within sight of thee. Just in case thou gets in trouble or can’t remember the way back.” Draigo told her as he kept his pace steady.

“‘Tis a giant castle in the middle of a forest. I shouldst be fine.” Skye commented as she kept up the pace.

“Tis true... Fine, I shall leave thee in the dust.” Draigo said as he increased his wingbeats and parted the air before him with his magic. Skye sighed and shook her head as Draigo passed her by, wondering why she ever agreed to the race in the first place. “Keep up thy pace. Tis good training for when you need to travel far away very quickly.”

Skye snorted and kept it up, watching Draigo slowly get further and further away.

“Ah, tis been so long since I went that fast. I wonder how long Skye will be?” Draigo wondered as he touched down back at the castle. He set the mound of dirt on the ground and waited to see. After roughly ten minutes of waiting, Skye touched down and nearly collapsed into a pile of bones, unused to flying so far or so fast.

“Art thou alright?” Draigo asked after seeing her rough landing.

“I am … fine.” Skye said, flopping forward in the middle of her sentence. “I am not used to flying that fast … or that far.”

“Tis only natural. Thou hast not needed to do so, but tis good to know how fast thou canst go and how far thou canst float. Knowing thy limitations and then increasing them is part of training.” Draigo said as he levitated the mound of earth and slowly started to walk towards the dungeons.

“Let’s get down to the dungeons. I doth not want the Chupacabra to wake up and howl.” Skye muttered, following Draigo.

“Yes, that wouldn’t be nice. Starswirl and Clover will probably be down there studying the other monsters, again.” Draigo commented as he picked up his pace to a normal walk while shrinking down to fit into the castle.

“Most likely.” Skye agreed, scratching the back of her skull as she pulled her hood down. “They wouldst be glad to find an unexpected third monster to study,” she added. “Is Princess Celestia still attending Daycourt?"

“I think that would depend on how many petitioners she has today. Luna won’t take over until night at the very least.” Draigo said as they continued to travel to the dungeons. Skye tapped her chin in thought for a while, not really noticing they had gotten to the dungeons until they started to descend for a long while.

“We wilt need to design a cage for the creature.” Skye said finally, realising that nothing had been prepared.

“Hmm, that we will. I think keeping it in the mound of earth will do until we design it, though.” Draigo said as he began to think about the cage’s design.

“That can work.” Skye agreed, waving at Clover and Starswirl when they came into view. Clover noticed and waved back, eyes lighting up at the earthen mound following Draigo.

“We bring thee a Chupacabra.” Draigo announced.

“A Chupa … cabra?” Starswirl asked slowly, eyeing the pile of dirt. “‘Tis that another monster?”

“‘Tis another one. We got called out to a village southeast of here.” Skye explained, trying to sound apologetic at the same time.

“When didst thou start speaking like us?” Clover asked, noticing the change in Skye’s inflection.

“I noticed it about the time we found out about the Chupacabra. I’m unsure if she’s been speaking thusly earlier or not, though.” Draigo said as he remembered something about Clover. “Didst thou know a guardsman, Clover?”

“I hath been speaking in mine modern tongue earlier. I mustn’t have noticed when I slipped into this dialect.” Skye said with a shrug.

“I didst know a guardsmen. He was mine friend but he died in battle. Why dost thou ask me this?” Clover answered, walking over to the mound to see how big the Chupacabra was.

“When I first started training with Skye I summoned some ghosts. One of them turned out to know you. He had a message for you that he left with us. He wants you to know that he loved you and he wanted to say goodbye.” Draigo told Clover in a reverent voice.

Clover froze in place, registering what he said but not really hearing it. “He said what?” Clover asked, a saddened look on her face and wondered if she had heard him right. “He … loved me?” Clover asked in a small voice.

“Yes, Clover. He loved you. He was probably going to tell you after the battle he fell in. I’m sorry for your loss.” Draigo told her in a comforting tone.

“I … I ...” Clover choked, tears welling in her eyes as she thought about the friend she had lost and slowly backed away from the group. “I need to …” she couldn’t complete the sentence and raced out of the dungeon.

“She needs some time.” Skye said softly, watching her go sadly.

“She does and we need to design a cage. We’ll train after we’ve completed the cage.” Draigo said as he returned his gaze to the mound of dirt.

“What I need to know is what this creature is capable of.” Starswirl said, all business after looking in concern at Clover’s retreating form.

“Turn invisible, bites ponies in three places to make it look like a triangle and has a prehensile tail.” Skye counted off, remembering her fight with it. Starswirl nodded, sighed and magicked a scroll of parchment and quill from under his hat.

“We shalt need these materials. Thou can find these easily enough in the Everfree, near the Drake mountain ranges.” Starswirl informed them, giving Draigo a list of materials.

“Alright. Anything I should know about the Drake mountain ranges before heading out?” Draigo wondered as he went over the list of materials.

“Nothing I canst think of.” Starswirl answered as he tried to think of anything particularly dangerous to do with the mountains. “Dragons couldst be guarding this material though,” he said and tapped one of the materials listed with a hoof to show what he meant.

“Well, if dragons are the worst thing there then this will be cake. The kind Celestia would gobble down.” Draigo said with a chuckle.

“Thou need any help with the materials?” Skye asked Draigo, not really sure if she could help.

“I don’t think I do, but if thou wouldst come with me, just in case. We wouldn’t have to make another trip.” Draigo replied.

“Good point. We shalt see thou later, Starswirl.” Skye commented, giving a wave to Starswirl before zooming out of the dungeon. “Thou coming, Draigo!?” Skye shouted from the top of the dungeon stairs.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Draigo said as he joined Skye. They quickly made their way outside and were soon flying towards the Drake mountain range.

A WEEK LATER

Skye continued to get faster and stronger with her magic. She constantly checked up on Clover to see how she was doing and it turns out that she was slowly getting back into the groove of things, though her eyes still looked puffy and red. Celestia and Luna had tasked Draigo with trying to get some rare fish that was found on the far side of the Everfree, where a giant lake was located.

“Man, it’s been forever since I’ve been fishing. I wonder how long it’s gonna take to catch the fish they want?” Draigo wondered as he looked forward to his trip. He checked the gear he’d been given and selected what to use.

Before too long, Draigo had his line in the water as he waited for a bite. He wasn’t sure how big the fish was going to be, but he was confident he could catch it no matter how big it was. Now, he just had to wait and see what happened.

The shadows lengthened while Draigo fished, slowly going from day to night as the sun set. Two glowing white eyes appeared behind Draigo and they moved about, casting an afterglow wherever they moved. A gnarled hand stretched out and gently tapped against Draigo’s back before zipping back into the shadows, the eyes disappearing as they moved to another spot.

Draigo spun around and tried to find whatever had tapped him on the shoulder. Seeing, hearing, and sensing nothing around, he returned to his task. The glowing orbs flashed red for a second before moving behind Draigo, fully moving out of the shadows. Oddly enough, it didn’t cast a shadow itself. A dark brown hood covered its head and a small cloak covered its spindly torso. A belt with odds and ends was wrapped around its waist with bandages covering its upper thighs. Its hands moved in circular motions as shadows moved above Draigo’s head and slowly descended down into him.

Draigo noticed some movement in the corner of his eye and quickly looked to see what was moving around. What he saw made his blood run cold. Shadows, nothing but shadows. Draigo gave a cry as he tried to fight the shadows, but he was only able to get the cry out before he blacked out. Satisfied with his work, and the way Draigo slumped backwards onto the grass, the creature nodded to itself before stepping into the shadows and retreating to someplace else.

When Draigo woke up he felt as if something was covering his body. He changed into his draconic form to try to get rid of the feeling. When the feeling persisted, he examined his body. Finding nothing there, he looked into the lake.

His features had changed. His sclerae were now black and his retinas were red with golden slit pupils. Purple flames, that provided the bit of light needed to see, were flowing from the corners of his eyes. His scales no longer showed the multitude of colors, they were purple and black. Every spine, claw, and fang was now serrated instead of smooth and conical. He looked...evil and he liked it. His instincts were telling him to go seek out prey and to claim everything that was valuable as his own. It sounded like a nice idea so he did just that as he flew in the direction of the castle.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, a great shadow fell over the castle, causing many of the ponies inside to cower in fear, even though they had no idea why. Skye shivered as she felt something move across her window and looked outside to see what it was. Her mouth fell open though when she saw a purple and black dragon heading towards them. She floated out the window and went to confront the dragon, keeping her guard up in case it was dangerous.

“Why, if it isn’t Skye. How are things?” Draigo asked as he got close enough to see who the blob of black was.

“Draigo!? What happened to you?” Skye asked, sidelining the question once she was close enough to hear him, shocked at his new appearance.

“Draigo? No, I’m no longer ‘Draigo.’ I am now Kar’Voth. I’m here to claim what’s mine. If you get in the way. I’ll have to eliminate you.” Kar’Voth told her.

“Kar’who? What sort of name is that?” Skye asked and looked into his eyes, trying to see if she can access his most recent memories.

“It’s an evil name that is fitting for a being like myself. Now, stand aside. I’m going to go claim the Elements of Harmony. Well, I already did that, but now I’m going to take them. After that I’ll raise an army of dragons and take over the world.” Kar’Voth told her as he flew by, on his way to claim the Elements.

Skye moved out of the way and thought about what he said for a minute before going after him. “I can’t let you do that, Kar’Voth!” Skye called out and summoned her scythe to her side. She swung it behind her and then at Kar’Voth, aiming for one his back legs.

“I won’t allow any delays to my plans!” Kar’Voth cried as he plummeted toward the ground before opening his wings to stop himself from crashing. He continued on after sending some black lightning towards Skye.

Skye followed him and nearly crashed into the ground herself when Kar’Voth suddenly changed course. She felt electricity hit her, making her bones clatter together.

“That wasn’t nice. So, I’m a delay now, huh? What happened to me being your friend?” Skye called out as she flew after him, trying to discharge the electricity at the same time.

“Well, when I woke up I realised that everything should belong to me. You already do. So, you’re just a delay to me owning everything else.” Kar’Voth explained as he shrunk and dove through the library’s window. Skye went after him, shooting through the window and nearly crashing into the wall opposite.

“I hate to do this to my own friend, even if he’s corrupted.” Skye muttered and watched him closely before sending a tendril of dark magic out towards him in hopes of draining his life force.

“You think I can’t sense your magic? Well, I can and it feels so familiar. Like the Underworld.” Kar’Voth said as he dodged the tendril of magic and rushed out of the library and towards the throne room.

“I thought you wouldn’t be able to.” Skye muttered and gave chase, swinging her scythe at his back legs once she was close enough.

Kar’Voth cried out in pain as the scythe bit into his legs. He slowed a bit due to the pain, but sent black crystals careening towards Skye to drive her back as he continued forward.

Skye groaned out in pain as the crystals bit into her arms and stuck there, making her drop her scythe.

“I can’t stop him. I need help with this.” Skye said quickly, changing course and flying over to the east side of the castle. Once there, she burst into Princess Celestia’s room, startling her awake. “I’m sorry to wake you, Princess but we have a problem..” Skye said hurriedly.

“What problem art thou speaking of?” Celestia asked, recognising the panic in Skye’s voice.

“I think Draigo has been corrupted and he’s after these things called the Elements of Harmony.” Skye said and watched Celestia quickly get out of bed.

“Draigo hath been corrupted? We need to get to the throne room.” Celestia ordered and ran for the Elements with Skye following behind.

At that moment, Kar’Voth had just reached the throne room’s doors.

“Hello, dear ponies. Don’t mind me. I’m just here for the Elements. Keep pleading your cases to Luna.” Kar’Voth said as he burst through the doors and headed towards the Elements of Harmony.

Luna stood up from her throne at what the dragon said, shock evident on her face. She recovered from it and ordered the ponies in attendance to flee the throne room. The various ponies listened and ran while Luna put up an ice-cold shield around the Elements.

“Thou shalt not get these Elements!” Luna shouted at the black and purple dragon.

“Dear Luna. I already own the Elements. You and Celestia allowed me to do so. Now I’m here to take what’s mine. That’s all,” Kar’Voth told her.

“We didst no such thing!” Luna protested, running towards the Elements in case her shield wasn’t enough.

“Oh, but you did, my beatiful night flower. Don’t you remember having that secret conversation with your sister as Skye and I had our own?” Kar’Voth said as he advanced on the Elements.

“Yes but that was when Skye and Draigo were present … thou art Draigo?” Luna said, now noticing the slight resemblance between Draigo and this one. She saw him get closer and desperately shot a spell at him to make him freeze in place. Kar’Voth raised a piece of dark earth between himself and Luna. It shattered when Luna’s spell hit it.

“I am Draigo no more. I, Kar’Voth, stand before you now. I don’t want to hurt one of my lovely and precious belongings so step aside, Luna.” Kar’Voth said as he continued to advance.

Luna shuddered in disgust at his words before letting off another ice spell, this time taking flight and flying above him.

“Thou art not getting the Elements, I wilt not let thou!” Luna repeated, hoping the repetition would get through to him.

“You see, Luna. That’s where you’re wrong. I always get what I want. I wanted to keep you from becoming Nightmare Moon. I got it. I wanted to claim this entire area as mine. I got it. I wanted to share your bed. I got it.” Kar’Voth said in an increasingly slow and creepy voice as he rolled out of the spells path and plunged the room into darkness. His voice never stayed in the same spot while he talked.

Luna made a disgusted look before the room was plunged into darkness. She lit her horn up to see if she could shed some light into the throne room. A yellow light joined hers as Celestia flew up to meet her.

“Sister, hath Draigo come by?” Celestia asked her sister, barely registering the disgusted look on her face.

“He is somewhere in this darkness.” Luna said in disgust and concentrated on her shield around the Elements. “I am not sure where he is at this point.”

“Why, hello, Celestia. Skye. Come to join the party? I was just explaining to Luna that I always get what I want. Isn’t that right, Luna?” Kar’Voth said. His voice moved around the area once more. “Oh, I do have a question for you. Which is your favorite Element? Personally, I like honesty quite a lot.”

“Loyalty.” Luna answered immediately while Celestia said that she liked Kindness the most. Skye wasn’t sure what they were going on about but she made use of this chatter by walking around in the darkness and trying to swing her scythe at Kar’Voth’s front legs this time in an effort to incapacitate him.

“Now, Skye. We can’t have you interfering so I’m going to trap you for awhile. Kay?” Kar’Voth said as he raised a black crystal to stop Skye’s scythe. He then raised more crystals that encased Skye on all sides with no gaps between them. Skye tried to get her scythe out but was soon caught in a crystal trap.

“Let me out of here, Draigo!” Skye shouted out to him, banging her fists against the inside of the crystal.

“I’ll let you out once I have the Elements...maybe.” Kar’Voth said as he made his way towards the Elements once more.

“Let me out right now, or so help me!” Skye growled at him, not believing he would let her out for a second. Celestia tried to fire some heat waves towards Draigo, momentarily lighting the entire room up before they dissipated.

“If you’re going to attack in the dark, Celestia. It’s much better to do something like this.” Kar’Voth said as he shot a stream of black fire at her.

Celestia felt the heat coming off the flames, letting her duck under them before trying to find Draigo again.

“If thou art such a coward, why not fight in the moonlight?” Celestia taunted.

“Taunts, Celestia? I’m far smarter than to allow you to know where I am while fighting you. For you see, I know how both you and Luna fight. I’ve experience this first hand in my world. So, I’m just going to take what’s mine and return later on with an army of dragons to claim even more things.” Kar’Voth explained as he once more blended into the darkness as he slowly made his way toward the Elements.

“Luna! To your left!” Skye shouted helpfully, seeing where Kar’Voth was. Luna responded by firing an icy beam towards her left, trusting Skye’s judgement on where the corrupted dragon was while Celestia went after the Elements herself.

Kar’Voth sent a stream of flame to counter Luna’s bolt and a flat pillar of crystal from the top of Skye’s encasement was sent to hit the skeleton’s skull to knock her out for awhile.

“Why are you making me hurt my precious belongings? All I want is what’s already mine.” Kar’Voth said and rushed toward the Elements as he heard rapid hoof beats getting close to them.

“Thou art saying non-sense!” Luna shouted at him. Celestia heard Kar’Voth’s claws beat faster against the floor and wondered why she didn’t do this earlier. In a desperate attempt on her part, she tried to levitate the six gems out of their housings and back to her so she and her sister could use them against the corrupted dragon.

“Well, time for a change of plans. I guess I’ll just have to get rid of one of you now that you’re this close to the Elements.” Kar’Voth said as he sent another flat pillar of crystal that hit Celestia on her skull, knocking her out. He let the darkness dissipate and stood between Celestia’s unmoving body and the Elements.

Luna fought down tears when she saw Celestia’s state. No longer believing it was Draigo, she gritted her teeth and flew down to Kar’Voth, putting a magical shield around herself as she barreled into him.

“That’s a good idea, my dear, but it’s all too easy to grab the ice and stop you through sheer brute strength!” Kar’Voth said as he dug his claws into the ice and pushed against it, stopping Luna just short of knocking him over. Luna flapped her wings to try and get some more speed out of them but soon realised it was all for nought. She felt Kar’Voth’s strength as he pushed against her ice wall and got an idea. She locked her wings against her sides and plummeted to the floor, rolling sideways as she tried to see if her plan worked. Kar’Voth flew through the air as he desperately tried to get his claws out of the ice. He ended up hitting the floor as the ice barrier shattered, leaving him free but stunned.

“Finally.” Luna muttered and ran up to the Elements herself, taking advantage of Kar’Voth’s stunned state. When she reached them, she tried to magick them out of their housings like Celestia did moments earlier.

“I see one problem with your plan, Luna. Celestia is needed to use the Elements. Unless you bear all six elements. Which I highly doubt.” Kar’Voth said as he saw Luna try to get the Elements free. He then charged towards Luna.

Luna ignored him, managing to free three of the Elements, the ones that worked only for her. She then heard him about to ram her and with tears flowing from her eyes, she made a desperate and possibly idiotic move and wrenched out the other three Elements, a small bit of the crystal remaining inside their housing. Luna made them rotate around her with her magic just as Kar’Voth got to her.

“That’s not possible! There shouldn’t be a single bearer of the Elements!” Kar’Voth shouted as he ground to a halt and stood rooted to the spot by fear.

“There is not a single Element bearer, true, but thou hath made me desperate.” Luna said angrily, making the elements rotate faster around her as she turned to confront the paralysed Kar’Voth.

“But you and the elements belong to me! How can some belonging turn on its owner and win? How? How!?” Kar’Voth shouted as he tried to think of a way out of the situation.

“We never agreed to let Kar’Voth claim us!” Luna shouted furiously, stepping forward and feeling a tiny bit of delight at seeing the tables turned.

“Curse you and your logic! I shall return and endeavor to make the world mine! You know I speak the truth for I’ve done nothing but that from the beginning!” Kar’Voth shouted in rage.

Luna didn’t bother answering, instead, she moved the ring of Elements from around her to her front. She felt them light up and quickly rotated the six gems, tears stinging her eyes as she watched a rainbow stream hit Kar’Voth, surrounding him in a bright light. Kar’Voth roared in agony as the light consumed him. The light then swirled around and out a nearby window before going to the moon and placing Kar’Voth in it. The dragon’s fearsome profile could now be seen on the moon’s surface.

Soon as she saw Kar’Voth’s profile outlined in the moon, the Elements dropped and clattered to the floor. With a pang of guilt, Luna observed missing pieces from three of the gems. She left them on the ground and quickly checked on Celestia, breathing in relief when she was found to be breathing. Luna knew Skye was going to be fine but wondered if Kar’Voth will ever let Draigo resurface.

Return of Kar'Voth

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A THOUSAND YEARS LATER

“Spike, do you know what today is?” Twilight asked her assistant as she pulled down a few books from the library shelf with her magic.

“Free Day, right? Why was it called that, anyway?” Spike asked her, climbing up the stairs to see if she needed any help.

“Spike, I’ve told you this plenty of times. But I suppose once more wouldn’t hurt.” Twilight gently said, turning from the bookshelf to one of the tables that had been set-up for studying. She placed the few books she had gathered on the table and waited for Spike to sit near her.

“Tell me again then. Why is today called Free Day?” Spike asked, sitting next to her and watched her crack open a book about fairy tales.

“Well, nopony knows, really. The only ones who truly know are the Princesses. Even though I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student, she hasn’t told me the true reason about it. As far as I’m aware, it’s been called that because they help feed the poor and help out the homeless ponies.” Twilight explained, suddenly frowning at her explanation. Even she didn’t believe the reasoning the Princesses have out but it was the only one they had to go with so everypony just went along with it.

“It’s called Free Day, because the Princesses help feed the poor and help out the homeless?” Spike asked, nodding in understanding.

“Exactly. There’s probably more to it though.” Twilight replied, flipping through the pages in the book before landing on one. “Elements of Harmony … see Dragon in the Moon. What? I just flicked passed the ‘D’ section and it didn’t say anything about a dragon.”

“You probably flicked through it too fast.” Spike commented, resting his head on a claw with his elbow on the table. Twilight rolled her eyes and slowly flicked through the pages until she reached ‘Dragon in the Moon’.

“This is just a legend about how the Princesses freed Equestria from some form of tyranny by sending that villain into the moon.” Twilight commented, trying to find some more information in the book.

“That would explain the draconic face.” Spike told her as he got up, feeling a belch coming on. He burped and in a whirlwind of green flames, a scroll appeared. Twilight caught it in her magic and quickly read through it. “What’s it say, Twilight?” Spike asked her curiously.

“It says that both the Princesses want to see us.” Twilight said, looking at Spike with a raised brow.

“Let’s go then! No use waiting around here.” Spike said with a grin and ran out of the library and into Canterlot proper. Twilight snorted and chased after him all the way to the castle, dodging the ponies in the street as she went past.

They both ran through the castle doors and into the hallways. She knew them like the back of her hoof by now and lead Spike to where the Princesses told them to meet. After a quick debate on which way to go, Twilight just snorted in frustration and lead Spike to the throne room. She walked in with Spike on her heels and waited patiently for the Day Court to finish before speaking with her mentor and princess. When she called for a break, Twilight took this chance and walked up to Celestia with Spike in tow.

“You wanted to see us, Princess?” Twilight asked after bowing.

“Both my sister and I wanted to see you but she told me to take care of it while she handled other duties for today. We wanted to see you because the town of Ponyville is in need of a royal helper this year. A disaster has befallen them recently and we need to stay here to oversee things in Canterlot. So, we'd like you to go, as our representative, to check and make sure everything is being done to help their increase of poor and homeless.” Celestia explained to her student.

“You want us to go to Ponyville? But what about my studies?” Twilight asked, obvious panic set in her voice.

“Your studies will be fine. I just want to make sure everything is okay with Ponyville. I heard it was a pretty big disaster.” Celestia answered with a quiet chuckle.

“Come on, Twilight! It’s Ponyville! It’s someplace outside of Canterlot that we’ve never been to before!” Spike said excitedly, trying to persuade Twilight to agree to this.

“Plus, it will give you a chance to make some friends.” Celestia added, nodding in agreement with Spike.

“Friends? I don’t need friends! That’s what Spike’s for.” Twilight protested, rubbing a hoof on top of Spike’s head.

“Thanks, but you need more friends than just me.” Spike said, taking Twilight’s hoof off his head.

“Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” Twilight said exasperatedly, knowing that there was no point in arguing with the two.

“Excellent. This checklist should help you with the disaster recovery efforts.” Celestia said happily, magicking a furled up scroll and giving it to Twilight. “Please make sure to make some friends. It’ll be good for you,” she added as a last piece of advice.

“I’ll see you later then, Princess.” Twilight said with a small smile and a wave, and lead Spike out of the throne room and towards where the chariots were held.

During the rest of the day, Twilight and Spike talked to the various residents of the town and soon found that there were five different mares in charge to help with the disaster relief. A butter yellow mare with a pink mane and three butterflies for a cutie mark was in charge of helping the injured animals. An orange mare with a blonde mane and a Stetson as well as a cyan Pegasus mare with a prismatic mane were in charge of lifting rocks and helping the various injured ponies along with a white mare and a stylised purple mane. The last pony was a pink one with a darker pink mane. She was in charge of making sure everypony stayed chipper and kept their spirits high.

While the sun went down and the moon went up, the shadow in the moon disappeared as the various residents went to the town hall for a final celebration of the day as well as for some final disaster relief efforts. They were hoping for both the Princesses to show up for some last minute morality points. When the mayor opened the curtain, nopony of note appeared.

“Dear residents of this town. I, Kar'Voth, am here to tell you that your princesses are mine, literally. You and the rest of Equestria will follow in short order, never fear. All I ask is that you obey me. You may live like you usually have, but I will own each of you!” Kar'Voth said in a very cheerful tone as he appeared on stage in a flash of black lightning. The ponies gathered spoke amongst themselves before a collective question was asked,

“Who’s Kar'Voth?” A chorus of voices sounded out in confusion. Twilight wracked her brain to try and remember if she had heard of him before and realised that the Dragon in the Moon and this Kar'Voth was most likely the same being.

“You’re the Dragon in the Moon!” Twilight called out, with various shouts of protest flung her way.

“Ding ding ding! Give the mare a prize!” Kar'Voth said. “Your prize is to watch helplessly as I claim all of Equestria as mine.” His voice went from cheerful and delighted to cold and unforgiving.

“What kind of dealy is that!?” Pinkie Pie shouted at him, not really liking the idea of being ‘claimed’.

“The kind where I get what I want and you ponies get to go about your everyday lives. Unless, you’d prefer to try to stop me and end up like your Princesses.” Kar'Voth threatened.

“I don’t know about anypony else, but I’ll sure try to stop you!” Rainbow Dash told him before flying up and bucking him in the face.

“Well, I see you want to join your Princesses.” Kar'Voth responded as he sidestepped the mare’s attempt to buck him in his face. He encased her in black crystals, but left her head exposed. “Now, be a good little mare and stay right there.”

“What’s the big idea!?” Rainbow shouted at him, trying to get free of the crystal to no avail.

“How’d ya reckon ya’ll gonna claim us?” Applejack called out.

“The same way I claimed the castle in the Everfree and everything inside it as mine.” Kar'Voth began. “Actually, it’ll be better if you just see it.”

“You claimed the castle in the Everfree?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“Maybe claiming the entirety of Equestria is not the best way to go about it, darling.” Rarity told Kar'Voth uncertainly.

“I don’t like that idea.” Fluttershy whispered, hiding behind her mane.

“Oh, it’s the best way to go about getting the rest of the world and I love this idea.” Kar'Voth said as he stepped off the stage and started to walk out of the building. “And yes, I claimed the castle and everything in it a thousand years ago.”

“Hey! Let me out of here! Don’t you dare leave me like this!” Rainbow protested when she realised the dragon was going to leave with her still trapped inside magic crystal.

“No. If I did that then I’d have to hurt one of my future belongings. I don’t like doing that if I don’t have to.” Kar'Voth said as he got to the exit and took to the skies as he headed toward the Everfree castle. Twilight went to go after the dragon but remembered the predicament that Rainbow was in. She ran back in and over to Applejack.

“Applejack, right? Are there any picks left over from picking apart the rocks?” Twilight asked. Applejack nodded.

“There sure is. What d’ya need them for?” Applejack asked, then looked over to Rainbow as Twilight gestured to her. “Right. Ah’ll get those picks then,” she said and raced out of the room to find the picks. A few moments later, she came back with about five picks and handed them to the five strongest ponies she could find, including herself. Then, they all went up to Rainbow and began to steadily pick away at the crystal surrounding her.

When they got the crystal to a thin enough layer, the crystal cracked around Rainbow. She burst out of it and took off after the dragon, not caring what anypony else said.

“Applejack spoke up, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy also spoke up.” Twilight mused then an idea got in her head to go with these four and chase after Rainbow. ‘Wouldn’t hurt to try.’ she thought and went to each of them, asking them to help her follow Rainbow to the Everfree. After some much convincing, they all agreed and rushed after Rainbow, heading towards the Everfree.

When they got to the entrance, four of the mares immediately walked in with the fifth cowering at the edge but after some coaxing from Twilight, Fluttershy walked in was a massive gulp.

“I-I don’t think w-we should be here.” Fluttershy whimpered to the group as she looked around fearfully.

“Don’tcha worry none, you’ll be fine with the four of us here.” Applejack reassured her.

“Rainbow was following that dragon and the dragon was going to the castle in the Everfree so that’s where we should head too.” Twilight reminded them. “Do any of you know how that disaster happened to begin with?” she asked them.

“From what I know, a big bang sounded out near the town square, making me wake up in a hurry. It was rather improper to wake a mare up before her beauty sleep is meant to end.” Rarity answered primly.

“Same thing happened to us even though we were nowhere near the bang.” Pinkie supplied, bouncing up and down along the path they were walking.

“So a big bang sounded and you all woke up from it this morning?” Twilight asked them, switching her gaze from pony to pony as they spoke. “Do any of you know the cause of it?” Twilight asked, trying to get to the bottom of this disaster mystery.

“No, sorry, Twilight.” Fluttershy apologised.

“It’s fine. It’s probably just another natural disaster anyway.” Twilight said casually. The group fell to silence for a few moments as they tried to think of what to say.

“Ooh! Anypony know good ghost stories!?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“Ghost stories? This is hardly the time for ghost stories, deary.” Rarity said with nervous laughter.

“If anything, it would be a nice way to pass the time.” Twilight told them, nodding to Pinkie. “Why don’t you start us off then?”

“The best ghost stories are based off events that can actually happen~” a ghostly voice told the five mares. The mares slowed their walking as they heard the voice.

“Was that you Pinkie?” Twilight asked her, looking around nervously.

“Nope. Must have been somepony else!” Pinkie said with a delirious smile.

“Who-who said that?” Rarity asked the air and feeling really stupid for doing so.

“I did~” said the ghost as it ran a hoof along Rarity’s spine. Rarity shivered and let out a gasp at the touch.

“Wh-wh-what was th-that?” Rarity asked in a small voice. She tried to see if she could spot anything but nothing could be seen.

“I don’t know but I don’t like the sound of them.” Twilight replied, trying to see if she could spot whatever those things were.

“Come out and face us!” Applejack shouted at the ghostly voices.

“We are already facing you, miss~” the ghost said as it and its comrades formed ranks in front of the five mares.

“That’s a lot of them.” Twilight said unnecessarily, coming to a full stop.

“Ghosts aren’t real! You just need to laugh at them to make them go away!” Pinkie said with a giggle.

“Ah don’t think that’ll work, Pinks.” Applejack warned her. “These ghosts seem to mean business.”

“Are you r-r-real?” Fluttershy asked one of them, giving a small eep when it turned its featureless face to look at her.

“We are very real, ma’am. Otherwise we would not be able to touch any of you~” it said as it put a hoof against Fluttershy’s cheek. Fluttershy shrunk away from the touch and gave another eep at the cold and slimy feeling.

“You may be well-mannered but you sure are cold.” Rarity gave a comment as she shivered, still reeling from the effects of earlier.

“What do you ghosts want?” Twilight asked them, refusing to move from her spot.

“We were sent by Kar'Voth as a delaying tactic. We were told not to lie to you as well~” one of the ghosts responded.

“So then why don’t ya’ll move out of the way and let us get back to business?” Applejack asked them.

“We cannot do that, ma’am. For we are the easiest of the obstacles set for you.~” said another of the group.

“Obstacles? There are more of you along the way?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“What am I telling you? All you have to do is laugh at them! It’s easy!” Pinkie interjected and walked up to one of the ghosts, chortling at it as if it had told a good joke.

“I highly doubt that would work, darling.” Rarity told her.

‘The unicorn is correct. We were summoned using dark magic and will not go away because of laughter.~” the group answered in unison.

“Aww. But that’s what I was always told to do! Giggle at the ghosties and they’ll go away!” Pinkie protested, ears drooping in embarrassment and sadness.

“So how do we pass by you then?” Twilight asked, sitting down and swishing her tail from side to side impatiently.

“It’s okay, Pinkie. You gave it a good try.” Fluttershy said to Pinkie with an encouraging smile.

“Thou must be honest with one another even if a lie would mean saving thy friend’s feelings. We will be able to tell if any of thee lie. Now, please tell each other something thou likes about each other and something thou hates about each other. We will be able to tell if any of thee lie.~” explained an obviously very old ghost.

“So you want us to say what we like about each other and something we hate about each other? We’ve only known one another for a few hours,” Twilight said as she reworked the old language in her head into words that she understood.

“Tis long enough to find something for each category if thou art friends.~” replied the ghost. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to say something.

“Pinkie, I like the way you manage to cheer everypony up even when they seem at their lowest.” Fluttershy told Pinkie softly. “The one thing I d-don’t like about you though, is the way you seem so chipper all the time. Don’t you have any other emotion that’s not ‘cheerful’?” Fluttershy asked her, getting bolder the longer she talked.

“What? You like how I cheer everypony up but you don’t like how I’m happy all the time?” Pinkie asked for clarification to which Fluttershy nodded. “Well let me tell you what I like and don’t like about you. I like the way every single animal in Ponyville want to be your friends. It’s a good quality in you. But the one thing I don’t like, is the way you’re shy all the time. Can’t you be less shy every now and then?” Pinkie asked the shy pony, causing her to retreat behind her mane.

While Pinkie and Fluttershy had a one-sided conversation, with Pinkie being the side that talked, Applejack and Rarity confronted each other.

“Rarity, Ah like how much dedication ya’ll put in making those dresses but the thing Ah don’t like about that, is the fact that ya get ponies trussed up in them, even if they don’t want to.” Applejack told Rarity, watching her friend reel from shock.

“How could you say such a thing?! I would never force a pony to try on a dress. In fact, I don’t like how stubborn you can be but I admire the loyalty you show to your friends.” Rarity shot at her, causing the both of them to end up in an argument.

Twilight watched the four, three, of them get into arguments and turned to the ghost that laid down the rules. “What can I say to them? I know so little about them it wouldn’t make any sense for me to participate in this,” she told them.

“Dost thou not see something right now that thou hates about any of them? Surely thou dost. Thou canst use their interactions that thou hast seen during this to find something you like about them as well. Canst thou?~” the ghost replied.

“The only thing I can see about them that I hate at the moment is them arguing!” Twilight shouted the last word at the four of them. The four mares stopped their arguing and looked at her in surprise. “The other thing, the thing that I like, is the fact that they joined me in chasing after Rainbow. If they wouldn’t, then I would have gone by myself,” she added, facing the ghost again and completely oblivious to what she just said.

“All of thee have spoken true. Thou may pass.~” the ghost replied as they dissolved into thin air.

“Come on, We don’t have a lot of time.” Twilight said, thankful that the ghosts finally dissipated. She then began a light trot, the other four following after.

“Ghost stories. Anypony have them?” Pinkie asked, speaking as if the ghost army never happened.

“Pinkie, we’ve just lived a ghost story. I don’t think anything more can be said about that.” Rarity told her with a shiver down her spine.

“Ah agree. Let’s put this behind us and never talk about it again.” Applejack said stubbornly.

“Never talk about it again? We just encountered live ghosts! Who else can say they did that?!” Twilight said suddenly, getting excited with what they just went through.

“N-Nopony, T-T-Twilight.” Fluttershy said nervously, her hoof slipping a bit on the ground.

“Exactly! It could the greatest scientific find ever!” Twilight said excitedly, nearly slipping onto all fours but recovered just in time. “Where did this crystal come from? It wasn’t here before.”

“Ah don’t know but Ah don’t like the looks of this.” Applejack stated, cautiously stepping on the crystal before slowly walking away from the group as her footing got more sure.

“Applejack!” Twilight called out, noticing that the crystal around the orange mare began to grow. She lit up her horn and stuck her tongue out, trying to see if she could levitate Applejack back to the group.

Applejack looked over and didn’t notice the crystal until was halfway up her body. She slowed to a stop and slid a few feet before stopping completely. She noticed the crystal with a look of trepidation and found that she couldn’t move her hooves at all.

“Come on, we need to save Applejack!” Twilight called out and slowly but surely lead the group over to Applejack, making sure not to slip. Soon as they got near, the crystal disappeared back into the ground, leaving Applejack relatively unharmed. “You alright, Applejack?” Twilight asked concernedly.

“Ah’m fine but Ah think we need to stick together with this one. It looks like that if one of us leaves this here group, then this crystal ground will trap us.” Applejack explained worriedly. The mares accepted that explanation with a bit of hesitation but ended up sticking together anyway purely out of fear. They made it to the end of the crystal path and sighed in relief at the same time.

“We didn’t lose anypony, did we?” Fluttershy asked softly. The other four shook their heads and were surprised that no other mishaps had occurred along the path. They struck out along the path again and made their way to the castle, knowing that it was their destination.

With some casual chatter along the way, the five of them walked around the bend and soon found themselves in pitch blackness where no light could be seen in either direction.

“This is highly unusual.” Twilight observed and waved a hoof in front of her face. She couldn’t see it so that meant extremely low visibility.

“There’s no light here at all. How are we meant to see where we’re going?” Rarity asked, walking forward cautiously.

“You’re a Unicorn, Rares. Try lighting that there horn up.” Applejack said as she tried to follow Rarity by the sound of her voice. Rarity lit her horn to give off some light but that too was swallowed by the darkness.

“No light so we have to be very cautious when walking.” Rarity said as she frowned at her horn before continuing forward slowly. Twilight walked forward as well before realising that Pinkie or Fluttershy hadn’t spoken up.

“You two alright?” Twilight asked when she found her way to the both of them. Fluttershy shook her head, which was no surprise but the surprise was Pinkie shaking her head.

“Pinkie? You? Scared of the dark?” Twilight asked in surprise. She thought that Pinkie didn’t show any fear.

“Dark with light is a good thing but ultimate darkness is bad.” Pinkie sounded like she recited that from a book.

“You’re that scared of the dark that you won’t move at all?” Twilight asked, offering Fluttershy a hoof for her to hold while she talked with Pinkie.

“I just said that dark with light to see by is a good thing. I’m not that afraid of it if it’s like that. But this? This is a whole different beast.” Pinkie replied, barely noticing Fluttershy take Twilight’s hoof gently.

“Well … why don’t you bite my tail then and just follow where I step?” Twilight suggested kindly, already having a hooful with helping Fluttershy walk with her.

“What if you move too fast?” Pinkie asked, suddenly standing up.

“I’ll be sure not to.” Twilight reassured her, turning around and offering her tail for Pinkie to bite on. She winced when Pinkie bit on it and tucked her head towards her chest but moved slowly through the darkness, holding tightly onto Fluttershy’s hoof to be sure she didn’t fall behind either.

Applejack and Rarity smiled when they finally saw Twilight emerge with Fluttershy and Pinkie close at hoof.

“What took you so long?” Rarity asked curiously.

“I-” Twilight was cut off when she felt a sharp tug on her tail. She looked behind and found Pinkie shaking her head vigorously. Twilight raised a brow at her and turned back, intending to talk to her about it later.

“I had to help Fluttershy along with Pinkie’s help,” she amended what she was going to say and smiled sheepishly at Applejack and Rarity.

“As long as y’all make it out in one piece, that’s fine by me.” Applejack said, turning around and walking down the path. The other four followed her.

“Why didn’t you want me to say you were scared?” Twilight whispered to Pinkie, making sure the others didn’t here.

“I don’t want them to think I’m not happy all the time.” Pinkie said simply.

“That’s no way to go about it. You need to let others know that you’re not just happy-go-lucky all the time.” Twilight told her, shaking her head at Pinkie’s response.

“I know but I can’t help myself.” Pinkie replied and quickened her pace to catch up to Rarity and Applejack. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at her, then at each other and went to catch up to the other three.

Some time later, Twilight noticed that the moon was high in the sky and grumbled that they haven’t been making quick enough progress.

“We need to get moving! The whole of Equestria is counting on this.” Twilight said exasperatedly.

“The ‘whole’ of Equestria?” Applejack asked her with a quirked brow.

“Have you forgotten what he said when he appeared? He said that he wants to claim the entirety of Equestria.” Twilight reminded her and looked up with a scowl as she heard a raspy voice shout out.

“Hey! Up here!” Rainbow shouted down towards them.

“Rainbow? Ah thought you’d have caught up to that dragon by now!” Applejack shouted up to her.

“I would but I got trapped by a wall of black wind!” Rainbow called out, flying down towards them with a wall of black wind following her. She tried to fly away from it but found another wall of wind blocking her that way. “This is getting a bit ridiculous.” She sighed and bumped into a wall of wind above her. The only way out seemed down but that was soon blocked by the ground itself. Rarity tried to rescue her but the wall of wind pushed her back.

“So, y’all are sayin that ‘the fastest flyer in Equestria’ is being stopped by wind?” Applejack asked as she began to giggle. “Isn’t tha somethin’ tha the easiest obstacle?”

“Hey! I’d like to see you try it!” Rainbow retorted.

“Admit it, RD. This is pretty funny when you think about it. I mean wind stopping a pegasus?” Applejack said. She laughed and wiped away a tear before looking to see how Rainbow was doing.

“Yeah, it is kinda funny for a pegasus who can control weather to be stopped by something so simple.” Rainbow admitted as she giggled. The black wind dissolved and Rainbow was able to fly onwards. “Catch ya later!” Rainbow called out as she flew away but was stopped short when she felt her tail yanked by something. “What? I was just about to-”

“No buts, Rainbow. You’re staying here where we can keep an eye on you.” Twilight said forcefully, but a bit of laughter escaped as she watched Rainbow dangle upside down with her tail stretched out in mid-flight.

“How d-did she get free?” Fluttershy asked as she covered her mouth with a wing to hide her smile.

“It was right about the time she admitted something and laughed.” Rarity recalled.

“Hello? Dangling in mid-air here!” Rainbow called down to Twilight. She let go of her tail and Rainbow plummeted to the ground catching herself in time by flaring her wings and flapping down gently.

“So, she laughed at herself?” Twilight asked.

“That sounds about right.” Pinkie agreed and shrugged, sitting down.

“We can’t go forward until we laugh at ourselves. This may be one of the harder ones.” Twilight sighed.

“Ya sure ‘bout that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded, forcing Applejack to walk forward to test it out. Soon enough, as she got close to a point on the path just ahead of the group, a black wall of wind appeared where she tried to go. She stepped to the side and tried to walk forward only to be stopped by the wind again. “Yup, we’re stuck. You’re right, Twilight.” Applejack said and walked back to the group.

“Now we have to laugh at ourselves but it will most likely be an honest thing like the first obstacle.” Twilight summarised, tapping a hoof against her chin as she slowly began to pace. Pinkie followed Twilight’s movements for a long while before speaking.

“What’s up, pacey? I didn’t think you paced, Twilight. Soon enough, you’ll pace a circle into the ground.” Pinkie jibbered.

“What? No I won’t. I can stop any time I want.” Twilight argued, continuing to pace in a circle.

“Sweetie, you kind of are.” Rarity supplied, pointing to the ground where Twilight’s head was currently bobbing.

“Nope. I’m just pacing like I usually do.” Twilight said in continuous denial.

“If this is how you usually pace, I’d hate to see the other places you walked.” Rainbow said as she chuckled a bit.

“Um.” Twilight blinked as the others disappeared from view, finally realising that she actually was pacing a circle into the ground. “Heh heh, oops.” Twilight laughed in embarrassment, climbing up out of the hole with Applejack’s help. “I believe that counts,” she continued.

“Rarity, you got a bit of dirt on your coat.” Applejack pointed out, hearing Rainbow snicker at Rarity.

“I do? Where?!” Rarity shouted, twirling place frantically to see if she could spot it.

“Other side.” Fluttershy said helpfully, pointing to the tiniest of smudges on her otherwise pristine coat.

“What? How did that get there?” Rarity asked, spinning around until she made herself. “Wait, I, heh heh. This may be a bit of a worry.” Rarity laughed, stumbling around until she fell against a tree. Fluttershy ran up to her and gently helped her up, laughing a bit at Rarity’s silliness.

“I’d like to see you laugh at yourself Applejack.” Rarity challenged, brushing off the bit of dirt as she laughed at how small it was.

“Ah don’t think Ah can laugh at myself, Rares.” Applejack said, watching Rarity with narrowed eyes.

“No, I believe you can. If I did then you most certainly can. So will you take up the challenge?” Rarity pressed, narrowing her own eyes challengingly at Applejack.

“Ah mean it. Ah doubt Ah can even come up with something to laugh at before the night’s over.” Applejack said stubbornly, eyes darting from side to side for a few second before refocusing on Rarity.

“There has to be something there, darling.” Rarity said in disbelief.

“What do ya want me ta do? Laugh at myself for being stubborn?” Applejack asked with a surprised look.

“That can work.” Twilight told her.

“Well Ah won’t!” Applejack stubbornly replied to Twilight.

“Listen to yourself! You’re being stubborn right now!” Rainbow called out now, laughing at something that AJ obviously wasn’t getting.

“Admit it Applejack.” Twilight smirked.

“No, Ah … fine.” Applejack relented and laughed a bit. “Ah’m stubborn yes, but I didn’t think it would be something to laugh about,” she added, feeling a few chuckles escape her before finally laughing softly.

“Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and myself can pass through the wind barrier. I’m sure Pinkie can pass through anyway because she just laughs at anything which leaves, Fluttershy.” Twilight said with a sigh.

“I’ll be fine if I get left behind. It’s okay.” Fluttershy said softly.

“No, it’s not. We’ve come this far, we may as well go all the way.” Twilight said to her and noticed that she hid behind her pink mane the minute Twilight raised her voice to a more normal level.

“You’re hiding behind your mane again?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle. “I thought you stopped that ages ago.”

“I wanted to stop, but it was just too easy to hide behind my mane.” Fluttershy told her as she peeked out from behind her mane.

“That’s ridiculous!” Rainbow teased, laughing at Fluttershy’s predicament. Fluttershy blinked at Rainbow for a bit before laughing, realising that Rainbow was right.

“You’re right.” Fluttershy said softly, smiling and laughing as she flicked her mane behind her ear. They all laughed at each other’s insecurities that they had showed while walking passed the wind wall. They made it through without a hitch and with no further delays, they ran towards the castle, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

They soon found the castle looming in the distance. As they ran up the path, they skidded to a halt in front of a great chasm with a broken bridge that had been connected between the castle and the cliff side.

“Argh! The castle is right there!” Twilight complained and stamped her hoof.

“We have no bridge to get to it either.” Applejack commented, sitting down and looking across the chasm. Rainbow flew down into the chasm to see if she could find the other edge of the bridge. Spotting it dangling on the castle side of the chasm, she grabbed one of the ropes with her teeth and dragged it back up, holding it on their side of the chasm.

“Brith here!” Rainbow called out through a mouthful of rope.

“That’s not a bridge. That’s half a bridge. We still need rope to hoist it up on this side so Rainbow doesn’t get too tired.” Twilight said with a bored comment.

“Ah got rope!” Applejack announced, reaching under her Stetson and bringing out a coil of rope. She handed it to Twilight who unfurled it and attached it to one end of the bridge with her magic. She extended it out and found that it only reached halfway.

“Do you have anymore?” Twilight asked Applejack. She replied by shaking her head. “What else can we use then?” Twilight asked and began to look around for any vines that could be used. She felt the rope combine with another aura of magic, causing Twilight to look at the bridge, only to find a purple tail that had been straightened out to be a makeshift rope.

“Rarity? You-Your tail!” Twilight said in surprise, noticing Rarity’s cut tail.

“It’ll grow back, Twilight. I just couldn’t stand being on this side longer than I have to, knowing that the dragon is in there somewhere.” Rarity reasoned and attached the sides of the bridge with her tail. Rainbow hesitantly let go of the bridge, watching it start to fall but stopped as the two pieces of rope grew taut and held it up.

“Finally!” Rainbow called and dashed inside, the other five scrambling after her.

“Didst thou now learn thy lesson back in the town?” Kar’Voth asked as he knocked Rainbow out of the air and into the others. The group fell over like bowling pins. As they struggled to get up, Rainbow recovered the fastest and rushed at him, bucking him in the face again.

“Thou Rainbows truly like kicking dragons in the snout, don’t you? Fine, try again without thy energy!” Kar’Voth said as he absorbed Rainbow’s energy until she had to land.

“What?” Rainbow asked weakly, barely able to stand as she limped back to the group.

“What did you do to Rainbow?” Twilight called out, placing a shield in front of the group in case he tried anything funny.

“We didst absorb her energy as We said We would. We dost not lie.” Kar’Voth told the group as six orbs of stone started to orbit around him. Twilight watched the orbs orbit him with her eyes.

“What are those?” Twilight couldn’t help her curious side, momentarily forgetting about the fight.

“These? These art mine Elements of Harmony. We didst claim them with the castle and those who occupied it. Such as Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded.” Kar’Voth explained to the quizzical unicorn.

“You ‘claimed’ the greatest Unicorn in history!?” Twilight asked in surprise, lowering her shield to let the others do what they want. Applejack watched Twilight’s reaction and reacted herself by running towards Kar’voth to headbutt him in one of his forelegs.

“We didst claim Celestia and Luna as well, Twilight.” Kar’Voth told Twilight as he looked down at Applejack. “Tis futile, Applejack.” He absorbed Applejack’s energy as she stood next to his foreleg. Applejack let out a groan as she slumped against his leg, too weak to even make an attempt to go back to the group.

“You claimed the Princesses as well?” Twilight asked in a small voice, a horrified look overcoming her features as she witnessed Applejack get her energy sucked out as well.

“Varily. Would any of the rest of the care to try something?” Kar’Voth inquired as he looked at each of the remaining mares. The other four were too scared to do anything, not to mention Twilight looking shell-shocked at having learned this new information.

“No? We see no reason not to begin the ceremony then.” Kar’Voth said as he walked towards the four remaining mares and the exit that was behind them. As a last-ditch effort, Twilight powered her horn and covered the exit in sparkly shield magic, knowing that it wasn’t enough to stop him but hopefully it would slow him down. She grunted with the effort of keeping the shield up while Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy tried to think of what to do.

“Oh? Thy magic feels similar to Clover’s, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps...Yes, tis so. Mine magic is already permeated throughout thy body!” Kar’Voth said in surprise.

“What the hay does that mean!?” Pinkie called out.

“It means that she has been mine since she was born for it seems that all of Clover’s descendants had mine magic passed onto them. Dost thou understand, Pinkie?” Kar’Voth explained. He had stopped the moment he’d found his magic inside of Twilight.

“So you’re saying that Twilight is descended from Clover and Clover was claimed by you in the past but that means that whatever magic you used that was inside Clover is also inside Twilight because she’s a descendant of Clover? That’s a bad case of genetics if I ever heard one.” Pinkie said in a rush, tilting her head from side to side as she talked.

“Correct, Pinkie. Mine magic is the reason why this castle wasn’t reclaimed by either the forest or beasts for the past thousand years.” Kar’Voth told the hyper mare. The three mares still standing looked to Twilight in concern.

“Why are you all looking at me? Because I have some freakish magic inside me from a thousand years ago?” Twilight snarked and glared at the dragon. “Why did you claim everything in this castle a thousand years ago? Just to have something belong to you?”

“Nay, at the time We were known as Draigo. We claimed everything, with permission from Celestia and Luna, to protect it from monster attacks.” Kar’Voth explained to the lavender mare.

“So you were corrupted then?” Twilight asked, her horn sparking as she kept the shield up.

“We know not what happened. All We know is that when We woke up we looked like this and felt so much freer than before.” Kar’Voth told he as he resumed walking towards the exit. Twilight kept the shield up and groaned as an utterly ridiculous idea entered her head.

“Kar’Voth, do you want to hurt your belongings?” Twilight asked, feeling sick when she knew that she was part of that category.

“We would prefer not to, but will if we must.” Kar’Voth replied.

“What would you do if I hurt myself then?” Twilight asked, trying to keep him talking as she went through multiple plans at once.

“We would heal you, but We have been unable to use such magic since We woke up like this, Twilight.” Kar’Voth admitted.

“You won’t be able to heal yourself either then if you managed to get hurt?” Twilight asked her third question, horn sparking multiple times as the spell kept flowing through her horn.

“Tis as thou hast guessed, but We do not see any of thee managing to hurt us.” Kar’Voth said confidently.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Besides flying, what else can you do?” Twilight asked, laying down on the floor as she concentrated all her strength into keeping the sparkly shield up.

“Well, We use Nether manipulation and dark magic. We have other abilities, but they are sealed.” Kar’Voth told her as he wondered what she was getting at.

‘He can’t use anything other than dark magic. That’s just great.’ Twilight sighed to herself and looked up to Kar’Voth. Fluttershy whispered something to her as she gestured towards the dragon. “You sure you want me to ask him that?” Twilight asked and focused her attention back on Kar’Voth. “Fluttershy wants to know if you can change form. I don’t know where she got that idea from though.” Twilight relayed Fluttershy’s message and watched Fluttershy whisper something to Pinkie.

“We hath not tried that since becoming aware of Our changes.” Kar’Voth admitted.

“Why don’t you try then, Mr. Voth?” Fluttershy asked in a bold move of her own.

“We art weaker in that form, but We suppose We should know what abilities are left to Us.” Kar’Voth said as his scales became metal full-plate armor that was pitch black with purple accents that covered his entire body. He had a cape on his shoulders that was black with purple lining. His gauntlets had one inch claws on each finger and a sword was strapped to his waist. Looking at the helmet he wore only one glowing green eye could be seen with purple flames pouring from it.

“This is your true form?” Twilight asked in a bored voice and flattened her ears when Fluttershy told her to.

“Who cares what he looks like? PARTY CANNON!” Pinkie shouted, pulling out a small white cannon with a blue rim and pink wheels from behind a nearby pillar. She moved it and aimed it before laughing hysterically and pulling the string, letting loose an explosion of streamers and confetti bags at a high velocity. Kar’Voth flew back about twenty feet as he took the cannon’s blast in his gut from ten feet away. It would have been worse if not for his armor.

“How did We forget about her cannon?” Kar’Voth asked himself. He looked up and noticed the Elements were on the floor where he had been standing earlier.

Twilight looked at the fallen orbs and remembered him calling ‘Elements of Harmony’. She didn’t really know what they were but stood up and ran up to them anyway, cutting off her flow of magic and powering down the shield. The other three followed her to the orbs and they instinctively grabbed one, not really knowing what else to do.

“No! Not again!” Kar'Voth yelled as he changed back to his draconic form and charged the four mares.

Twilight grabbed the other three Elements in her magic and ran to the side, and over to Applejack. “Do any of you know what these are?” Twilight asked them.

“Nope but he seemed angry that we got them.” Pinkie answered, giggling at Kar’Voth.

“Thou shalt not be laughing when thou hast no energy!” Kar’Voth yelled and absorbed the energy of Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, leaving Twilight for last.

“You sucked their energy out.” Twilight stated, staring calmly at the dragon. “I barely know these ponies but what I do know of them is that they stood up for each other, even when arguing.” Twilight shrugged as she sat down and even had the audacity to stare boredly at Kar’Voth.

“We shall give thee a choice. Keep thy friends or keep the Elements. I will take whichever thou dost not choose.” Kar’Voth told Twilight.

“I don’t even know what these things are.” Twilight replied and magicked the six Elements in front of her face to inspect them. “They’re just stone orbs. Why do you want them so badly?”

“We shall tell thee if thee hand them over to me.” Kar’Voth stated as he slowly walked towards Twilight.

“I’ll gladly hand them over when you tell me what they are.” Twilight said, magicking the orbs behind her when she noticed him move.

“We get them first then We’ll tell thee. Not the other way around, Twilight.” Kar’Voth told her as he continued to slowly walk towards her.

“You tell me first, then I’ll give them. I won’t take it any other way.” Twilight countered, levitating the Party Cannon stealthily as she realised her horn was still lit up from magicking the Elements near her.

“We didst not want to do this, but thou hast made Us.” Kar’Voth said as he reached out with a tendril of black energy and directed it toward Twilight. Twilight didn’t move from her spot, instead, levitated the Party Cannon next to his ear and pulled the string with her magic, causing it to make an extremely loud explosion with streamers and confetti going everywhere. Kar’Voth roared in pain as he lost hearing in one ear, was flung forty feet away and got a concussion from hitting the floor with his head.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief before running out of the room and further into the castle, looking back at her new friends for a brief second before disappearing around the corner. With the Elements in tow, she ran through corridor after corridor before finally tiring out in an open courtyard with a gigantic and oddly-leaved tree. She flopped against the roots that were hidden from the doorway and levitated the Elements close to her she could try and inspect them in peace. She heard a primal roar of rage emanate from the castle’s entrance.

“She’ll pay for that.” Kar'Voth said to himself after his roar. He started running down the corridors, looking for any sign that a pony had been here. With a thousand year’s worth of dust everywhere it didn’t take him long to find Twilight’s trail.

Twilight cringed at the roar and quickly set to work finding out how these stupid orbs worked. The first one she inspected had a star shape while the other five had a generic crystal shape. She set those in between the roots for now, hiding them out of sight to inspect the starry one. ‘It’s just a star etched into a rock. There’s nothing special about this at all other than the fact that it was a star and the others weren’t.’ Twilight shook it to see if it would activate that way but nothing happened. “Oh come on. You have to work somehow.” Twilight muttered to herself.

“Oh, they do, but you’ve run out of time to figure it out.” Kar'Voth said as he stood in the doorway leading into the castle.

Twilight peeked her head around the wide trunk of the tree to find the dragon standing in the doorway. “Hey. How’s it going?” she asked casually, stuffing the other five Elements deep into the roots of the tree in hopes of him having not seen them yet.

“Oh, you know. Concussion, ruptured eardrum, and being flung forty feet. I’ve had worse injuries, but I think I’m at least talking the right way now.” Kar'Voth told her as he walked towards her.

Twilight stepped out from behind the tree trunk and gave him the Magic Element. “You are, don’t worry. I have no idea how these work but I do know you want them, badly. So, I flung the other Elements into other parts of the castle.” Twilight said casually, hoping he wouldn’t see through her bluff if his concussion was really that bad.

“Well, that’s one plus, I guess. You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” Kar'Voth asked.

“Why would I? You’ll just suck my energy out and leave me for dead if I did otherwise.” Twilight answered, as she walked passed him. “Before you ask, I don’t know where I put the other Elements. I tried an unstable teleporting spell on them to see if they activated that way and they got teleported to different parts of the castle.”

“Dead? No, the others will be fine. They just need about eight hours of sleep. Why would I kill something or someone that I was about to claim for myself?” Kar'Voth said as he kept his attention on Twilight.

“No clue. You seemed like that kind of guy to me. Which way is it to the entrance? I want to check on the ponies I travelled with.” Twilight asked boredly, doing her best to keep emotion out of it.

“I may be evil, but I try not to kill things that I don’t have to.” Kar'Voth said as he pointed Twilight in the correct direction and started his search for the Elements in the courtyard. Twilight looked back after he finished speaking and got an extremely worried look on her face as she observed what he was doing. Now knowing that her friends would be fine, she took off in the other direction and noticed the dust on the floor. Lighting up her horn, Twilight swirled the dust behind her in an effort to mask her tracks as she explored the castle for a bit.

“Stupid, Twilight. Spreading the Elements all over the castle. Gonna take forever to find them.” Kar'Voth grumbled to himself as he gave the entire area a once over. He even checked in the tree’s roots, nothing. “Well, next room, I guess.”

“This is a big library.” Twilight commented, having found herself inside the Castle’s library and noticing the multitude of books in the shelves. “I could get lost for weeks here but I can’t. I got to make sure Kar'Voth doesn’t find those other five Elements. Wait. I’m in a library! I can search them up here!” Twilight said to herself and clapped her hooves in delight as she immediately began poring over the books to find any information at all on the Elements. She soon found out that there were six different elements, each with their own magical properties but the one thing that she seemed to come back to is what the Elements represented.

“Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty and Magic. I got five unconscious friends back at the entrance. Maybe it will work with them?” Twilight asked herself and figured it couldn’t hurt to try. With that in mind, she shut the book and took it with her in case she needed it, leaving various sized piles of teetering books in the library. She shot past Kar'Voth in one of the corridors and almost immediately stopped in her tracks when she realised. “Found the Elements yet, Kar'Voth?” Twilight asked, slightly out of breath.

“No, but you seem to have found something, Twilight. Why the rush?” Kar'Voth asked with a raised eye ridge.

“I realised I hadn’t checked on my acquaintances yet. Too busy exploring the castle.” Twilight said, not turning to look at him and staring straight ahead. “You haven’t found even one Element yet? I thought you’d have found at least two by now.”

“I still only have Magic. The one you gave me.” Kar'Voth admitted as he levitated the Element around him.

Twilight turned and watched the Element curiously before smiling up at him. “You’ll find them eventually. Now, I got to check on the others.” Twilight said before stepping backwards and running back towards the entrance. Kar'Voth decided to quietly follow Twilight in case she knew something he didn’t.

‘Okay, the Elements are still under the roots. That’s good to know. I’ll just quickly grab them and then head on back to my friends.’ Twilight thought, too busy running towards the courtyard to notice anything else. When she got there, she quickly checked behind herself to see if anything was amiss. Not noticing anything, she went to the roots and levitated the hidden Elements out from the ground. A bit of dirt was still on them but that shouldn’t be a problem. Pleased that Kar'Voth hadn’t found them, she turned and began to run back into the castle.

“So, you did lie. Lying isn’t very nice, Twilight.” Kar'Voth said as he strode through the doorway. Twilight gave a small eep when she saw Kar'Voth walk in and quickly hid the Elements behind her even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good.

“I thought you were still searching the castle, Kar'Voth.” Twilight whispered.

“You seemed to have found something so I decided to follow you, just in case.” Kar'Voth told her.

“I found out about the Elements but I still don’t know how they work.” Twilight replied, backing up into the tree, suddenly afraid of what he might do to her.

“I could tell you, but that wouldn’t help me at all.” Kar'Voth said as he turned to leave. “I think I’ll go check on your friends.”

“They’re not my friends.” Twilight huffed. “They’re just random ponies that helped me when I asked.”

“Really? Then how did you get past my traps?” Kar'Voth asked as he continued his way toward the castle’s entrance. Twilight realised that he wasn’t going after her and came up with another stupid idea.

“I responded with appropriate answers.” Twilight said as she rushed by him, heading to the entrance as quickly as she could.

“Appropriate answers wouldn’t get you past all of them. Only true friendship could get past all of my traps. That’s how I know how much of a threat you six are!” Kar'Voth said as he charged after her. Twilight heard the thud of his claws quicken against the stone tiles and multitasked her spells by keeping the Elements levitated and placing a sparkly shield between her and the dragon.

“I brought them along just for that reason. I barely know any of them, but somehow we managed to get passed them.” Twilight told him, quickening her own pace in an effort to get to the castle entrance first.

“Barely know them? Didn’t you learn anything during those traps?” Kar'Voth asked her as he took flight and sped to catch up to Twilight.

“Nope. That’s the one time I didn’t learn anything.” Twilight lied, glancing behind her and slowing and ducking when she realised what he was up to. She moved the shield she created around herself as she watched him fly over.

“That’s too bad. I guess you’ll never learn about Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and Magic.” Kar'Voth told her as he flew over her.

“Yeah, too bad.” Twilight echoed as she slowed to a trot.

“Given up already?” Kar'Voth said as he noticed Twilight slow down.

“No. I just thought you would go on ahead.” Twilight said casually, keeping the portable shield between her and Kar'Voth. She levitated the orbs in front of her face and thought about them and her friends. Getting a determined look in her eyes, she rushed by Kar'Voth and moved the shield back behind her as she resumed racing towards the entrance.

“That’s more like it!” Kar'Voth said excitedly as he chased after her. Twilight ignored him and soon came upon the entrance, where her friends talked with each other as they laid down, trying to get their strength back.

“Twilight? Where have you been?” Rarity asked, watching her race in with five of the orbs clutched in her magic.

“Learning about the Elements and being chased by Kar'Voth!” Twilight answered, giving each of them one of the orbs. “I don’t know which orb is which so I’m hoping I gave them to the correct pony.”

“You’re still missing the most important one, Twilight. Good luck getting it away from me.” Kar'Voth said as he rounded the corner and confronted the six mares.

“Ah. Right. Magic.” Twilight sighed despondently, her ears flicking in disappointment.

“Hang on a sec. What just are these Elements y’all speak of?” Applejack asked, looking at the orb Twilight gave her.

“Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter and Magic. Those are the six Elements of Harmony. From what I read, they’re what sent him to the moon a thousand years ago.” Twilight explained, nodding her head in Kar'Voth’s direction.

“Yes, Twilight, they are. And I’m not going to let you send me back there!” Kar'Voth told her as his eyes turned completely black and a wave of dark earth crashed towards the mares. Twilight realised she still had her shield up and now that she only had one thing to worry about, decided to put all her power into the shield. She extended it into a ring around the group and strengthened it until sparks flew off her horn, a signal of too much power being channeled into it.

“It seems that Celestia’s prized student still needs to work on her defenses. Unlike a certain guardsmen that you know.” Kar'Voth laughed as Twilight’s shield shattered and his earth hit the mares.

The wave pushed the mares into the far wall, their heads hitting, making them slump against the floor. Twilight was flung into the wall from the dual force of her shield shattering and the wave sending her flying. She hit the wall and heard something crack as she fell. Gently rubbing her head as she lied there, she cried out in pain when her hoof brushed against the base of her horn, feeling a bit of it missing. “Too much power fed into horn results in horn cracking when flung against wall.” Twilight muttered to herself as she analysed her pain.

“Don’t you see how futile your efforts are? I beat the Grim Reaper and Celestia before Luna sent me to the moon. What makes you think you can do better than them?” Kar'Voth taunted as he slowly walked towards Twilight.

“Because I have friends.” Twilight said, hearing a hum of power from the five orbs surrounding them. “Applejack is honest as Rainbow Dash is loyal. Fluttershy and Pinkie displayed kindness and laughter in equal measures and Rarity is generous by using her tail as a makeshift rope.” Twilight continued, shutting her eyes against a blinding light. When it disappeared, five gems were in place of the orbs.

“That’s five. What about the sixth?” Kar'Voth said as he took his Element in claw.

“No clue. No idea how to activate that one.” Twilight said truthfully, wincing when she moved her head. ‘I’m going to have a hard time casting spells with my horn being cracked,’ she thought to herself sadly.

“You’re Celestia’s student. You know about the other five, but don’t know about the last and most important Element: Friendship? What kind of dunce are you?” Kar'Voth asked, astounded that she knew so much yet so little.

“I’m a very good dunce. I never knew about friendship until today, even now, I still don’t know anything about it.” Twilight replied, closing an eye as she felt a bit of blood run down her face from her cracked horn.

“You’re even more dense than I am if you’ve learned nothing about friendship after going through everything you have today.” Kar'Voth told her in exasperation.

“Fine. You caught me. I’ve learned something about friendship but even that little bit isn’t enough to activate the sixth Element.” Twilight admitted. She thought back over the journey in the Everfree and realised that the only thing of note she really learned was that they all stuck together, even though they argued a lot.

“Well, your friends are obviously Element Bearers. You, are not. I will let you leave, but they will stay here. Trapped so that they can not use the Elements against me.” Kar'Voth told her as he advanced upon the other five mares. Twilight tried to put up another shield between them but the stress on her horn was too painful to do so. She contemplated what he said and didn’t bother moving an inch.

“But I don’t wanna move.” Twilight stated, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Then I will move you. Goodbye, Twilight. The next time I see you will be when I own all of Equestria.” Kar'Voth said as he wrapped Twilight in dark wind and moved her outside the castle’s entrance.

Twilight looked at the castle for a second before standing up and checking herself over, noting how the only real injury to her was her cracked horn. ‘I can’t let this continue. I need to come clean and save my friends.’ Twilight thought as she ran back over the bridge to charge back into the entrance room. ‘This will most likely make no sense at all but I got to try something!’ Twilight thought desperately as she confronted Kar'Voth.

“What kind of friend are you if you want everything in Equestria to belong to you?” Twilight called out to him as she ran into the entranceway.

“I never said I was friends with anyone. That doesn’t mean I don’t know about it, though. The Elements were used on me before and I did have friends before I woke up.” Kar’Voth said. Kar’Voth’s eyes changed to regular golden dragon eyes and his serrated features smoothed out.

“Twilight! It takes a spark to activate the last Element of Harmony!” Kar’Voth said in a very similar, but different voice than normal. The six mares looked at Kar’Voth weirdly before Twilight pondered what he had said.

“A spark activates the last Element? What spark? The books never said anything about a spark!” Twilight called out.

“I do not have long. Kar’Voth is...almost in control...again. The magic of friendship is what you need. True friendship.” the voice told her. The dragon’s body began to shake as he screwed his eyes shut as though in pain before they opened to reveal Kar’Voth’s eyes once more.

“I do not know what he told you, but you must pay him no heed.” Kar’Voth told the mares.

Twilight watched the orb that contained the Element of Magic as she thought over what this other voice said. ‘If friendship is what’s needed, then maybe I actually can activate the Element.’ Twilight wondered and thought over what she and her friends did on the tests and as she thought of them, the orb slowly lit up every time it orbited near her.

“Now, Twilight. Leave before you get more hurt than you already are. Your horn is damaged just like this Element is. I don’t want you to lose the ability to use magic. It would make your ancestor roll over in her grave knowing that her descendant made it so she couldn’t use magic anymore.” Kar’Voth told her as he started to slowly encase the other mares in black crystal.

Twilight looked at her friends in shock before turning her attention back to the dragon. “Wait. Let me see the Element again. Since I can’t activate it, it wouldn’t hurt, right?” she asked in a carefully neutral voice.

“I suppose that’s true. What do you hope to see that you haven’t already?” Kar’Voth said as he slowly levitated the orb towards Twilight. Twilight took a calming breath and lit up her horn, wincing as more sparks than usual cascaded out of it while she levitated the orb towards herself. As soon as it was close, Twilight then slowly walked over to her friends.

“Probably a … hidden button or something like that.” Twilight answered him with a wince.

“Twilight, it’s a solid orb of stone not a container that opens when touched in the right area.” Kar’Voth told her, getting kinda tired of how stupid she seemed to be.

“I beg to differ.” Twilight said softly, grinning in delight when the orb began to glow intensely as it came in proximity with the other Elements. “Hey, Kar’Voth, maybe I’m not so stupid after all.” Twilight called out smugly, watching a five-pointed purple star appear in place of the solid orb.

“No, not again! It’s all his fault. He’s been fighting me since we became like this. Fine, you will all perish!” Kar’Voth said as he took in a deep breath and sent a stream of black fire towards the six mares. The Elements counteracted the magic with a rainbow shield before going towards the six different bearers. When they made contact with each bearer, a white flash appeared before dimming to reveal six different items.

A gold, lightweight helmet studded with orange gems in the shape of apples appeared on Applejack’s head underneath of her Stetson. An axe with a long pink handle and a blue and yellow metallic blade appeared in front of Pinkie, the handle nearly hitting her on the head. A white flash appeared on Rarity’s hooves, barely indistinguishable from the rest of her coat. What she got were blue gem studded horseshoes that had hairline fractures crisscrossing over them.

Fluttershy got a bright yellow and pink shield with a giant fractured butterfly gem on the front of it. Rainbow’s wings got the white glow and when it disappeared, rainbow-coloured wing blades edged with electric blue appeared on the top of her wings, adding extra protection while still being razor sharp and incredibly lightweight. Twilight was the final one to receive an item: a thick, mystical tome with a lavender cover and a starry illustration appeared before her while the spine of the book looked slightly frayed.

“Weapons, armor, and a book? They didn’t look like that before...I guess I’ll have to kick it up a notch now that all six elements have been activated.” Kar’Voth told them as he plunged them into darkness and put a smooth coat of crystal on the floor beneath them.

Coming Home

View Online

~THIRD PERSON POV~

Twilight immediately tried to light her horn up but the pain of it being cast was still too much for her to bear.

“Rarity, can you light you horn up?” Twilight asked her only for an emphatic ‘no’ to sound out as an answer.

“I’ve tried lighting it up but the darkness just takes it away as soon as it’s cast.” Rarity informed her, tapping her hooves against the floor.

“The Elements are lighting up on their own …” Fluttershy whispered, seeing different coloured lights emanate from different points along their bodies where the Elements had settled, giving various degrees of sight within in the darkness.

“This is how I beat Princess Celestia and the Grim Reaper. Let’s see how you do.” Kar’Voth said as his voice echoed around them. Rainbow looked at her wings in awe before flapping them to get airborne. She stopped flapping before hitting the roof when something told her to spin and shoot electric blue blades in a wide radius around her friends.

“That has to get something!” Rainbow called out, watching white-hot electricity arc between the blades. Kar’Voth cried out in pain as the arcs bit into his hide and electrified him.

“So far, you’re doing better than they did, but how about this?” Kar’Voth said as he tried to trap those still on the ground with crystal like he had Skye. Rarity watched the crystals form in her limited vision. She felt her hooves move on their own accord as she watched herself hit one of the forming crystals with a hoof, causing it to shatter with a lot less force than intended and continued to do so with the other pieces of crystal.

“These Elements seem to have a mind of their own.” Rarity told the others once she was felt like she was finished.

“Impressive.” Kar’Voth admitted. He made a pit beneath them and shattered the layer of crystal beneath them. The five mares screamed when they suddenly found themselves falling, with Fluttershy unable to fly to even save herself, let alone the others. She felt herself being pulled faster than the others though as the shield attached to her foreleg made itself barely bigger than the hole they were falling in. When they reached the bottom, the five of them landed on metal rather than broken stones.

“The shield saved us.” Fluttershy said softly, whimpering as she felt a couple of her friends move on top of her as they tried to find better footing. Rocks falling caught their attention though when a pink blur rapidly dug a tunnel just next to the shield using her axe as the digger.

“HEY! USE THE TUNNEL!” Pinkie called down as she looked over the hole, somehow talking clearly through holding her axe in her mouth.

Four of them scrambled off the shield and carefully made their way up the tunnel, leaving Fluttershy to figure out how to shrink the shield to a more manageable size.

“Oh? You got out of the pit? How about the opposite then?” Kar’Voth said as he sent a pillar of dark earth at them horizontally. Applejack took her Stetson off when she felt her helmet pull her towards the earthen pillar. She went along with it and lowered her head before running headlong into the pillar, praying that the helmet would not shatter into bits. An explosion of rock and earth could be heard when Applejack barreled into it.

“These Elements may be a bit strange, but they sure do work.” Applejack reported, managing to stop herself from ramming into the wall.

“Well. Who knew you were so thick headed, Applejack.” Kar’Voth said with a chuckle. “Well, you can’t use all the Elements as Luna did. Perhaps I worried for nothing. Then again, maybe I should just do as I did before and suck your energy out!” Kar’Voth said as he began to try to suck all of their energy away.

Twilight’s tome flipped through its pages of its own accord before stopping on one. Twilight looked at the spell and after a few minutes of reading it, figured it wouldn’t do any harm to use it. When a black tendril snaked into the light illuminating from the book, she lit up her horn and tears forming as the amount of energy for the spell caused her horn to spark uncontrollably as well as cause her untold amounts of pain. She fought through it though and cast the spell at where she figured Kar’Voth was when she deemed it ready. The tendril vanished and she figured that the others near her friends vanished as well.

“Once again, you’ve demonstrated individual use of the Elements. It’s going to take a whole lot more than that to stop me, though.” Kar’Voth said as he sent a ball of nothingness at them.

Pinkie hummed to herself as she felt her axe light up with energy and pull her towards the middle of the room. She listened to the axe’s hum before moving over to the right and swinging her head from side to side rapidly, not really caring if she managed to hit whatever the Element wanted her to hit or not.

“Thith ith fun!” Pinkie mumbled through her swinging and humming.

“Hmm, these Elements are interesting, but I doubt that they can stop you from flying away!” Kar’Voth said as he generated a tornado of dark wind around the six mares. Each of which floated into the air and met up in the middle of the tornado.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked, keeping a tight grip on her tome of spells with her hooves, not really trusting her horn at the moment. Four of them said that they were while an eep travelled up to them from the floor at the bottom of the bit. Fluttershy was picked up by the force of the tornado along with her over-sized shield and was floated up to meet with them. “Fluttershy, have you managed to work out your shield?” Twilight asked her.

“No. I don’t even know how it got big in the first place.” Fluttershy replied, feeling her foreleg shake as the shield got bigger and managed to block out most of the wind surrounding the mares. “It doesn’t get any heavier even though it’s so big.” Fluttershy squeaked in surprise.

“That’s good to know. Now we just have to figure out how to combat this tornado with the rest of the Elements.” Twilight observed.

Rarity futilely punched the air and didn’t think anything happened until the air moved around the spot she had punched without going through it. Rainbow saw this and flew up to the hole to inspect it.

“You literally punched the air?” Rainbow asked with a raised brow.

“I didn’t think it would work!” Rarity protested, giving the air another punch and noticed the hole get bigger. “Why don’t you use your new wings to help me out, darling?” Rarity asked her, looking at the metallic shine on her wings. Rainbow shrugged and stretched her wing out towards the hole, flapping it harshly to let a single white metallic feather fly through the hole, knocking the rest of the air out of the way.

“That appears to have worked. I think ... Pinkie. Try slicing the air as well with your axe. Maybe it will widen the hole.” Twilight directed her as she carefully flipped through her magical tome for an appropriate spell to use

“Okey doke!” Pinkie cheered, floated over to the hole and shook her head, swinging the axe at the hole a couple of times to enlarge it. The three of them kept working at it, taking it in turns until the hole was big enough to let them through. Twilight and Fluttershy stayed behind so they could try and figure out how to shrink the shield.

“This is going to be a tough one to fix.” Twilight muttered, looking over the shield until cautiously touching the now giant, fractured butterfly gem. It glowed pink for a second before suddenly shrinking to its original size, causing Fluttershy to squeak and zoom out of the air hole in fright. Twilight breathed in relief before following her friends out the hole. She reached the edge of it and fell down, giving a short scream before being caught by Rainbow Dash.

“So, even something like wind can be destroyed by the Elements. I see no need for darkness either. Rainbow and Twilight did hit me earlier after all.” Kar’Voth said as he let the darkness subside. “What are you going to do now, my little ponies?”

“This?” Twilight asked uncertainly as the six items began to glow now that their bearers had a clear target to attack. Twilight’s horn lit up of its own accord, causing Twilight to flinch in preparation for the onslaught of pain. Her tome rapidly flipped through pages while Rainbow’s wings lit up like a disco ball. Fluttershy’s shield rotated rapidly while Rarity’s shoes began to send out waves of blue magic. Pinkie’s axe and Applejack’s helmet both lit up with varying degrees of power.

The book stopped on a page and charged the other five Elements with power, a rainbow of light flew towards Kar’Voth spearheaded by Rainbow’s colourful wing blades and Pinkie’s spinning axe. The rotating shield was not far behind them while Rarity’s blue waves extended outwards in ever-widening circles. Applejack’s helmet lit up with the biggest apple gem providing an orange beam to add to the fight.

Kar’Voth roared in pain and agony as the Elements hit him. He could feel whatever effect had swarmed his mind start to clear. By the end, his voice was Draigo’s deep, powerful voice once more. He fell to the ground, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply as he recovered from his ordeal.

Pinkie’s axe boomeranged after clashing into Kar’Voth and spun back to her, making her duck and watch it embed itself in the wall. “Hey! It’s a boomeraxe!” Pinkie cheered, walking up to it and trying to yank it out of the wall with her mouth.

“Kar’Voth?” Twilight asked him cautiously, her voice hoarse from screaming at the magical assault her horn gave her.

“No, I...am Draigo.” Draigo asked as he opened his eyes to reveal that his eye had kept the black sclera while his irises turned back to their golden color with normal slit pupils.

“Draigo? Rainbow asked, flying up to him and slowly went around him, inspecting him from every angle.

“It’s the goody dragon!” Pinkie announced, still trying to get her axe out of the wall.

“Yes, Pinkie. I’m a good dragon.” Draigo said with a knowing smile.

“You want any help, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, dropping her shield and walking over.

“Maybe a bit of help would be nice.” Pinkie said, moving to the side and watched her try to get the axe out.

“Fluttershy is trying to pull it out when Pinkie couldn’t? Please, allow me. If Pinkie, an Earth Pony, can’t budge it then maybe a dragon can.” Draigo commented on the bizarre event as he stood up and walked over to the embedded axe. Pinkie and Fluttershy stepped to the side to see if he really could pull it out. Rainbow was having none of it though and flew towards the axe, standing in front of it in an attempt to stop him.

“How can we trust you after what we went through?” Rainbow asked him, narrowing her eyes and flaring her wings in preparation.

“Rainbow, do I look like Kar’Voth?” Draigo asked in a serious tone. Rainbow stood her ground while she looked him over to see if he was telling the truth.

“What happened to Kar’Voth then?” Twilight asked, sitting down and watching him with a slight bit of paranoia.

“He is gone. Never to return. I assume the Elements of Harmony cleansed him from my mind instead of banishing me to the moon again.” Draigo told her. “Seriously though, do I look like him?”

“Yeah, ya kinda do.” Applejack said, pointing to his spines and eyes..

“Here’s another question, how do you know our names when we never even told you them?” Twilight asked.

“I met all of you in my own world. Ever heard of multiverse theory?” Draigo said as he looked to the parts Applejack had pointed to. He discovered that his claws were still serrated while his scales had changed back to being iridescent. He couldn’t tell what his eyes were like, of course.

“Only in science fiction novels.” Twilight answered.

“You have lovely scales, though.” Rarity complimented him, liking this new look instead of the dull purple and black from before.

“Thank you, Rarity. Multiverse theory is true, Twilight. There’s a multitude of different universes that are somehow connected.” Draigo said with a smile at Rarity’s compliment.

“You’re from one of these universes then?” Rainbow asked him, slowly stepping to the side as she realised that he meant no harm to them.

“Yes, I am, Rainbow. I was summoned here by the Grim Reaper herself.” Draigo told her as he strode over to Pinkie’s axe and pulled it free with a grunt of effort. “Here you go, Pinkie.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie said, taking the axe in her mouth and swinging it playfully.

“You were summoned … by the Grim Reaper?” Twilight asked in disbelief, not really believing that the Grim Reaper could be real either.

“You sound like you want some proof, Twilight. I wonder if Celestia and Luna...Oh crap, I forgot about them!” Draigo said as he closed his eyes and concentrated as he felt for their immense magic. After a few moments he found them and felt dark magic around their bodies. He reached out mentally and dispersed the dark magic, freeing the Princesses. “There, they are free. Now, about that proof...”

“Granny Smith talks about the Grim Reaper as if they were old friends.” Applejack commented, taking her helmet off and placing her Stetson back in place.

“That makes sense. Your granny has probably had a few scares in her life. I don’t think Twilight is quite convinced, though.” Draigo said as he noticed Twilight’s expression hadn’t changed.

“I still need to see actual proof.” Twilight said condescendingly, quirking a brow at Applejack’s comment.

“I don’t think there’s proof of the Grim Reaper being real, but I do have proof that other universes exist. Don’t freak out at what I’m going to show you, okay?” Draigo told them and waited for a response.

“Just show us already!” Rainbow called out, flicking her tail in impatience.

Draigo didn’t respond, he just changed into his human form. His armor was still black, but his eye was yellow and didn’t have a flame coming from it and he had yellow accents instead of purple going along it. He reached up and removed his helmet to reveal his human head. He had dark brown hair with ice blue eyes. His sclera stayed black, though.

“There. I’m proof that there are other universes since I’m human.” Draigo told them.

Five mouths fell open in shock while Twilight looked like her brain stopped working.

“I-is that wh-what you actually l-l-look like?” Fluttershy asked, cautiously stepping backwards until her back hit the wall.

“Well, this is what I originally looked like before becoming a dragon about fourteen billion years ago.” Draigo told them nonchalantly. “So, I think I’m more dragon than human at this point.”

“Four … four … four …” Twilight sounded out, sounding like a broken record and shaking as she tried to contemplate it.

“I think I broke Twilight, again.” Draigo said as he waved a hand in front of Twilight’s face.

“I think that was an information overload.” Rainbow said, laughing at Twilight’s reaction.

“Is this what Twilight is usually like when a lot of information is given to her?” Rarity asked, tilting her head in concern.

“That seems to be the trend so far.” Draigo told her as he conjured an orb of water about the size of Twilight’s head before dropping it on her.

“GAH!” Twilight screamed blinking at the sudden assault and drying her eyes. “What was that for?”

“You looked like you were stuck.” Pinkie answered, dropping her axe and joining in the conversation.

“Like Pinkie said. You needed something to get your mind out of the loop it was on. So, I dropped some water on you.” Draigo admitted.

“There’s a multiverse, you are from one of the universes inside the multiverse and you, yourself are fourteen billion years old?” Twilight asked, the water assault jolting her brain back into action.

“Yes, yes, and yes. One hundred percent correct, egghead.” Draigo said as he checked off each point with his fingers. Two shadows cast by the moonlight flew by the entranceway, causing Applejack and Fluttershy to look up and try to spot their sources.

“Are the Princesses arriving now?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.

“I think so.” Fluttershy answered quietly.

“About time the Princesses showed up.” Rainbow scoffed and crossed her forelegs over her chest as she flapped in place.

“They’re here? Oh man. I hope they aren’t too angry at me. I’ve never liked it when they get angry.” Draigo said as he changed back to his draconic form. Soon after, twin beams of magic hit Draigo, one of heat, and one of ice as the Princesses flew into the entrance room.

“GAAAH! Going back to your old policy, Celestia?” Draigo asked as he laid prone on the floor.

“You imprisoned us!” Luna answered, forming an icy shield around herself as she rammed him. Celestia noticed that he looked different from before but was too late to stop Luna in her stubbornness so instead, she flew down to Twilight and the others to try and protect them.

“Nooo, that was Kar’Voth. Look at my eyes and tell me I’m Kar’Voth.” Draigo said in an attempt to convince Luna as he tried to keep himself from being smashed against the wall. Luna grimaced and stopped her ramming, only to fly back to her original position and froze his legs with a simple freezing spell.

“Luna isn’t listening to reason. You have to convince her in a different way.” Celestia informed him, placing a shield between her subjects and Luna’s wrath.

“Easier said than done, Celestia.” Draigo said as he tried to think of how to convince a vengeful Luna that he wasn’t Kar’Voth. Luna snorted and flew around him, firing off varying degrees of coldness at him ranging from absolute zero to well below negative fifty.

“Fine. You want me to show you I’m not him then I’ll show you.” Draigo said as he freed his legs from the ice and breathed a stream of flames to counter each of Luna’s rays. He charged forward under the cover of the smoke created by their attacks colliding and grabbed Luna’s head with both his claws before she could get far enough away.

“There’s only one way I can think of that will truly convince you, Luna,” he said as she struggled to get free of his grasp. Draigo then kissed Luna full on the lips as he closed his eyes and spread his wings to hide what he’d done from the others. Luna struggled some more until she pulled back and looked at him properly. Before saying anything, she kissed him back and then wriggled out of his grasp.

“D-Draigo?” Luna asked, hovering in place with her cheeks darkened considerably.

“Tis I, Luna. Thou shouldst have known twas me when thou looked into mine eyes.” Draigo said with a smile, temporarily switching back to the old tongue.

“I haven’t heard that dialect in a long time.” Luna said softly, scarcely believing that Draigo was back with them.

“I figured you’d be more convinced if I talked like I did when you last saw me. Now, I do believe that your sister and the new Element bearers are worried about you still trying to kill me.” Draigo told her as he tilted his head toward the group of mares behind him.

“New Element bearers?” Luna asked flying around Draigo to look at the mares curiously. She looked between all six of them before realising that the varied items were the Elements. She lighted down and stayed a fair distance away, embarrassed by her actions. “I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.” Luna apologised to them.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Princess Luna quite that angry before.” Twilight commented, eyes widened in fear while the others sounded out their acceptance of her apology.

“You think that’s bad? My version of her and Celestia sliced me up after I told them some news that they didn’t like hearing. It took two full days for my legs to work properly.” Draigo said as he walked over to stand next to Luna.

“That’s some power these other princesses have.” Rainbow said with delight showing in her eyes, now flying at full speed around the room to work out some excess energy. Twilight tried to stop her by capturing her tail in her magic again but cried out when her horn sparked. She screwed her eyes shut and rubbed the sore spot vigorously.

“Ah, right. Twilight broke her horn while battling Kar’Voth. I’d heal her, but I’m unfamiliar with healing horns. I’d rather not mess it up and end up making things worse.” Draigo told the group.

“She broke her horn?” Celestia echoed, leaning in close to check the damage for herself.

“I’ve never heard of a Unicorn breaking their horn before.” Luna commented, watching Twilight with concern. Twilight’s friends all shared the same worried look when they glanced over to their pained friend.

“She broke it when she was flung against a wall after her barrier was shattered. Now there are four broken things in the room. Three Elements and Twilight’s horn.” Draigo said. “Well… five, I guess. My mind was broken by the Elements hitting Kar’Voth.”

“Which Elements are broken?” Applejack asked, looking at the weapons that they had fought with.

“Kindness, Magic and Generosity. That would be the shoes, the shield and the magic spellbook.” Luna said with regret, recognising the Elements she had broken so long ago.

“Those were my Elements when I wielded them. Why are they broken though?” Celestia asked, still looking at Twilight’s horn to see if she could try and fix Twilight’s horn, knowing it wouldn’t do any good if it was just a patched up job.

“Well, Kar’Voth kinda forced Luna to use all of the Elements on him before getting sent to the moon.” Draigo explained as he rubbed the spines on the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Speaking of which, weren’t you in that moon for the last thousand years? Aren’t the ponies back home missing you?” Rainbow asked him, having stopped her flying when Twilight cried out. She had lighted down and was now near her friends, looking worriedly at their new friend.

“Celestia and Luna are probably worried sick. I can’t get home on my own, though. I have to be sent back or summoned home by someone who has my token.” Draigo explained.

“What do you mean by ‘sent back’?” Fluttershy asked him.

“I have to be told that I can go home by the one who summoned me in the first place.” Draigo told the timid mare.

“Who was it that summoned you in the first place?” Rarity asked, rubbing one of her eyes in an effort to stay awake.

“The Displaced of this universe. I think she went to Tartarus, though.” Draigo said as he thought about where she might be at this moment.

“Is this that Grim Reaper ya mentioned earlier?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, she is. I’d go find her, but I’ve got no idea where she is right now.” Draigo said with a shrug of his wings.

“What … are you … going to do now?” Twilight asked through clenched teeth, her eyes still shut but her ears had been kept open.

“Well, I’ll probably try to make amends for everything Kar’Voth did while I wait for Death to come for me.” Draigo said as he thought of his options. Pinkie gave an audible slap to her face at his last words.

“That was just terrible.” Pinkie muttered.

“Princess, Kar’Voth said something strange to me while I was trying to figure out the Elements.” Twilight told her, opening her eyes as the pain subsided.

“What did he say, Twilight?” Celestia asked, looking back to Draigo before returning to Twilight.

“She has my magic throughout her entire body from when I claimed everything to protect it. It was somehow passed along by Clover to the next generation and so forth until we get to Twilight.” Draigo explained to the Princesses with a sigh.

“Is that what he said?” Celestia asked him without taking her eyes off Twilight, thinking over the implications of this. She saw Twilight nod and noticed a bit of fear in her eyes at this. “I’m sure everything will be fine, my student.” Celestia said reassuringly.

“Twilight, the only thing that means now that Kar’Voth is gone is that I’ll protect you to my dying breath while I’m here. That was the condition I agreed to when I first claimed this area. It may even have made you stronger since you were born with it. I’m not completely sure since this is the first time something like this has happened.” Draigo informed her with a kind smile. Twilight smiled back calmly, no longer feeling any fear towards him.

“That condition is a bit of an overkill.” Rainbow said, watching Celestia light her horn.

“I barely remember agreeing to it, Loyalty.” Luna said, lighting her horn as well to help Celestia move the sun and moon.

“Oh? Then you barely remember our flight through the night? Cause I remember it perfectly.” Draigo said teasingly.

“No, no, I remember it, even if a few details are missing. I also remember the night we slept together.” Luna said casually, shrugging as she felt blood rush to her face. Celestia stiffened at this revelation but didn’t inquire any further.

“While it’s nice to reminisce we should probably let the young mares go home to bed.” Draigo said, remembering that they had been up all night to defeat Kar’Voth.

“Oh! That reminds me. Twilight, which would you rather? Canterlot, or friends?” Luna asked cryptically, remembering what her sister had told her before they got imprisoned.

“Friends.” Twilight replied immediately, giving a small yawn as the adrenaline rush left her.

“Ponyville it is then. The Golden Oaks library has already been set up to be a temporary home at my sister’s bequest but you can make it into a permanent one if you wish.” Luna continued, smiling at Twilight’s answer.

“Oh … good.” Twilight said slowly, her eyes drifting closed and slowly slumping to the side. Applejack managed to catch her and laid her on the floor, looking at the Princesses and Draigo apologetically.

“Let’s get you girls home. I’m sure your families and friends are worried about you.” Draigo said with a soft chuckle. “Mind helping me carry them home, you two?” Celestia and Luna shook their heads, smiling at him before picking up a couple of mares each in their magic.

“What? They’d fall off if they rode on my back and I’d rather not find out how many I can carry without hurting them with these things.” Draigo explained as he looked at his ‘new’ claws.

“We can meet you back at Canterlot Castle then?” Celestia asked, picking up a third mare in her magic and departing.

“We’ll meet you there, Draigo.” Luna said, waving bye before picking up the last mare and flying back to Ponyville.

“Thanks for understanding!” Draigo called after them before walking outside and flying off towards Canterlot. One thought occurred to him as he flew. He would have to wait out of range of the guards so he wouldn’t end up looking like an archery target full of arrows and holes.

PRESENT DAY

“Is that what happened when Kar’Voth resurfaced?” Skye asked, getting up and stretching.

“Yes, Death. That is what happened. Twilight told us of what happened with her before we showed up but, yes.” Celestia informed her, reliving the memories that Skye had talked about and both Princesses were thoroughly convinced of Skye knowing them a thousand years ago.

“So where is Draigo now?” Skye asked, crossing her legs to float in the air.

“Right behind you. What took you so long!?” Draigo asked after he’d snuck up on Death.

“AAH!” Skye screamed, shooting down into the ground in fright. “I’m sorry I got caught up in work! I was convinced to go on a year-long vacation only yesterday!” Skye explained, covering her head with her arms.

“Uh huh, suuuure. Death couldn’t check up on a new life sign that showed back up after a thousand years. Riiiiight.” Draigo said jokingly.

“Nope. Barely recognised it. Besides, I only checked up on Equestria whenever I had time. I was too busy helping the other Underworlds to notice!” Skye protested and scrambled away from him, only to bump into a statue in the Royal Gardens.

“I’m just giving you a hard time, Skye. Relax.” Draigo said with a small chuckle. Skye managed to growl at him in anguish.

“How did you cope not being able to go back home for the past year and a half then?” Skye asked, simmering down from his jibes.

“I was in Ponyville watching over Twilight and her friends. I can’t exactly promise to protect everything I claimed and not be around when they need my help, now can I?” Draigo explained to the curious skeleton.

“No, but from what I remember, you claimed the castle in the Everfree and everything in it right? So you claimed Twilight since she was born because of Clover?” Skye asked confusedly, placing her head in a hand in an effort to relax.

“Yeah. How’d you figure that out?” Draigo wondered.

“I accidentally called Twilight, Clover when she brought Cerberus back to the gates of Tartarus. They just look so similar, and if it wasn’t for Twilight’s cracked horn, I’d swear that she was the spitting image of her.” Skye explained. “I just don’t see how your freaky dragon magic got passed down through the generations without losing potency or becoming a recessive gene.”

“My magic retains its potency so long as I’m alive. That includes while I’m in other worlds or banished to the moon.” Draigo explained to the confused Reaper.

“You were in the moon for a thousand years. I think I can see how that would work.” Skye mused, accepting the explanation for now. “I wonder what Celestia and Luna back on your world are doing? They’re probably worrying about you excessively from what I remember you telling me of them,” she added thoughtfully.

“Probably, but they haven’t tried to summon me so they’re at least safe and sound.” Draigo said as he looked into the sky.

“Either that or they tried to summon you when you were in the moon and it didn’t work because of the Elements’ power?” Celestia suggested kindly.

“Yeah, that could also explain it. Now that you’re here, though. You can send me home, Skye.” Draigo told her, starting sadly but ending cheerfully.

“You never told me how to otherwise I would have said it before Kar’Voth knocked me out.” Skye stated simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

“True. It’s a good thing you didn’t, though. Cause I’m pretty sure my Princesses would’ve nearly killed me then used the Elements to help me out.” Draigo told her as a shiver ran through him from picturing what his Celestia and Luna would’ve done to him. “Anyway, to send a Displaced back to their world just say ‘our contract is complete.’ Then they’ll be sent home whether they want to or not.”

“Your Princesses sound crazy.” Skye said, getting up and folding her hands behind her back. “All I say is, ‘our contract is complete’ and you’ll be sent home?” she asked.

“Yeah. Say, ‘Draigo, our contract is complete’ to send me home.” Draigo confirmed.

“Before I do, here.” Skye said, reaching into her cloak and pulling out a skull wrapped in cloth. “This, is the token my Displacer gave me. I found another laughing skull on my travels throughout Tartarus. The only reason why it’s covered by a cloth is because it laughs like a maniac,” she informed him, and tossed it to him.

“Thanks, Skye. Do you still have my token?” Draigo asked as he put the cloth wrapped skull under a wing.

“I think I gave it to Celestia and Luna to keep before setting off on my search for Tartarus, which happens to be passed the Whitetail Woods.” Skye answered, tapping the side of her skull in thought for a bit.

“So long as someone trustworthy and responsible has it in this world. I’d hate to be summoned by someone that would abuse the power.” Draigo said with a smile.

“Agreed. Now to send you home. Draigo, our contract is complete.” Skye said, mirroring Draigo’s smile in her mind. Before anything else could happen, Luna walked up to him and kissed him full on the lips for a few moments before stepping away.

“Stay … safe.” Luna told him feeling blood rush to her face.

“Of course, Luna. Thank you for everything.” Draigo said as his own blood rushed to his face.

“Um … did I miss something?” Skye asked, tilting her head to the side confusedly.

“Only the development of our relationship, Skye. You know, nothing too important.” Draigo said sarcastically as a portal opened up behind him.

“Right. Luna will have to catch me up on that.” Skye said sadly, giving him a wave as the portal opened. “I think it’s about time you got back, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do believe it’s time to see my own lovely day and night Princesses,” Draigo said with a reminiscent expression. “I’ll see you next time everyone.” He stepped through the portal and disappeared in a flash of iridescent light.

Draigo stepped through the portal and was greeted by the sight of Celestia and Luna looking forlornly at the distant mountains where he'd first met Twilight and he friends. He stood there and tried to figure out why his two Princesses were so melancholy. After a while of contemplation, Draigo decided to ask them rather than just stand around thinking about it.

"So, why the sad expressions while looking at the mountains? It's not even cloudy," Draigo said. The two princesses whipped their heads around at him before recoiling and entering fighting stances. "What!? It's just me! Don't you...Oh...right. I don't look like myself anymore." Draigo's head drooped to the floor as his legs collapsed beneath him. He tucked his head under his wing and didn't move from the position even when he heard hoof steps approaching him.

"D-Draigo? I-Is that y-you?" Celestia asked as she cautiously approached the prone dragon.

"P-Please, tell Us that i-is you, Draigo," Luna pleaded as she kept by Celestia's side.

"Yes, I'm Draigo. I-I'm sorry for scaring you two... I'll just l-leave now," Draigo said as he slowly stood up and slowly started to walk away from them.

"Draigo, wait," Celestia said as she trotted up and placed a hoof on Draigo's shoulder.

"Yes, Celestia?” Draigo asked before getting hit in the jaw by a metal shod hoof.

“If you were okay then you should have come back sooner! We tried summoning you and it didn't work! Do you know how long it's been since we've seen you!? It's been over half a year since you left to see those Asian dragons! You weren't even at the dragon migration like you said you'd be!” Celestia ranted, hitting Draigo with each syllable she uttered. Once the first strike landed, Luna joined in with her weaker, but not insignificant strength.

“We thought the worst had happened to you, Draigo! There were nights that neither of us could sleep no matter how hard we tried! Spike grew wings and needs your help to fly properly! Rainbow had tried teaching him, but without knowing how dragon muscles differ from Pegasi muscles it's been an uphill battle! You even missed Cadence's wedding and she really wanted you to be there!”

“Now you come back and you don't look like yourself! You have black sclera, serrated spines, claws and teeth, and a feeling of dark magic about you! How did that happen!? Huh!? Answer me, Draigo!” Celestia yelled, finally stopping her flurry of blows. Luna followed her lead and stopped before they both looked at the dragon they'd been hitting.

Draigo stood, unconscious and bleeding, before them.

“Sister, perhaps we went a tad too far? He did not even try to flee from our fury,” Luna said.

The Empire Returns, Part 1

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The smell of disinfectant, medicine, flowers, and a faint scent of iron wafted into Draigo’s nostrils. Soft cotton sheets, a soft but firm pillow, a mattress, and a slight breeze could be felt as he laid there with a stiff body while he tried to figure out his situation. He’d come home and frightened Luna and Celestia with his appearance. They’d then set upon him like they’d never done before while he stood there and took it. Celestia ranting at him about being gone so long and a couple of other things was the last thing he remembered before regaining consciousness in the infirmary. He had chosen to keep his eyes closed since he felt the presence of two beings to either side of him and for all he knew, he’d been summoned to somewhere else while he was unconscious.

“Sister, Draigo’s wounds have healed, but it does not seem as though he will wake up even after a day of rest,” Luna said in concern as she looked upon Draigo’s ‘sleeping’ form.

“Yes, it seems that way. Do you remember when we first met him?” Celestia replied with a nostalgic smile.

“Of course, We weren’t expecting to find a dragon in the cave we had decided was our place to get away from things and relax. We had gone there that day so as to get a break from learning magic, manners, politics, researching, and, worst of all, suitors,” Luna said as her expression grew to match Celestia’s.

“Yes, when we went further into the cave to investigate the obvious claw marks that weren’t there before we found him asleep as he is now. Well, he was bigger then, but that’s the only difference so far,” Celestia reminisced.

“Ah, we were both uncertain as to how to handle the situation when he opened his eyes and looked down at us. None of us spoke for a little while before he broke the silence with ‘you aren’t going to run away screaming and pleading for me to spare you?’,” Luna replied.

“The fact that he even spoke to us, who were still quite young at the time, shocked us into silence as he continued to stare at us. I believe it was a good ten minutes before we spoke to him after that. I ended up telling him that he wasn’t like what we were told dragons were supposed to be like and he just chuckled at that before replying. ‘No, I’m not like those young dragons. Just like you two aren’t like the other ponies I’ve seen before’,” Celestia said.

“We then explained that we were Alicorns and had the traits of all three tribes in us. We introduced ourselves as Luna and Celestia before he introduced himself to us and told us he was the father of the dragons,” Luna said with a smile.

“We spent quite awhile after that talking to him about the dragons and our society. We spent so long that Father sent a squad of guardsmen out in every direction to look for us,” Celestia replied with a grin.

“And we panicked a bit when we heard their armor approaching our location. We looked at you and then Draigo as we both tried to figure out what to do when the guards found us. We were thinking about that even when the guards finally showed up. When they did we looked back at Draigo and found he wasn’t there anymore,” Luna said.

“That was the first time he disappeared on us. He did so again and again whenever we happened to run across his path. I remember when we went looking for him after one encounter. We spent a week searching the area for him since we didn’t know about the Elements of Harmony and were searching for a way to defeat Discord,” Celestia said.

“It was a few days after that search that we found the Elements, defeated Discord, and ascended to the throne,” Luna said before resting her head on an open area of the mattress Draigo laid upon. “Sister, we should be the ones helping Cadence and Shining Armor. They don’t know what may be awaiting them.”

“That may be, Luna, but Twilight and her friends have proven that they are very resourceful when problems arise,” Celestia replied.

“This is true, but We would still feel better if We were there with them at the very least,” Luna said in concern.

“If they need help they will summon Draigo to their aid. That is the reason we gave Twilight his token, Luna,” Celestia replied calmly.

“He might not even be awake if they summon him,” Luna pointed out as she gestured to Draigo’s sleeping form.

“I’ll be awake and ready to fight if they summon me,” Draigo said as he opened his eyes and raised his head off the pillow to look at Celestia and Luna properly.

“Draigo, you’re awake!” Luna exclaimed as she and Celestia hugged Draigo fiercely.

“Y-Yeah, I’m awake. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to start flying towards the Empire,” Draigo said as he slowly broke their embrace and stepped off of the bed.

“No, stay with us until you are summoned by Twilight,” Luna insisted as she blocked Draigo’s path.

“If what is awaiting them is anything like how it was in the past then she might not be able to summon me before she needs me. So, I’m going to start flying there to meet them just in case they can’t summon me for whatever reason,” Draigo replied as he stood up on his hind legs and lifted Luna off the floor with his forelegs before turning around and setting Luna down.

“Do you truly not want to spend time with us so much that you go off the moment you find a convenient excuse to go away?” Celestia asked as Draigo walked towards the infirmary’s exit. Upon hearing this, Draigo froze mid-step and turned back to look at Celestia. The white Alicorn had the expression of a disappointed and sad mother on her muzzle. Draigo took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before turning back to face Celestia.

“It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you two, Celestia, but Twilight will need my help when she encounters Sombra. Since it’s not ‘if they run into him’, but ‘when they run into him.’ Besides, you two are shaking in your shoes just looking at me,” Draigo replied as he looked at the two Alicorns and saw them both tremble slightly. He then quickly walked out the doors before either of them could respond and headed towards the nearest exit and took flight towards the Empire once he was outside.

The Friendship Express pressed forward with a click clack as it came closer and closer to the Crystal Empire. Snow had begun to fall outside of the train and the temperature outside was steadily dropping. Inside of one of the train cars Twilight, Spike, and her friends sat and chatted about this and that as they waited for the train to arrive at their destination.

“So, why are we going to this ‘Crystal Empire’ again?” Rainbow asked as she and the other girls sat in the train car.

“Honestly, RD, Ah swear ya’d forget to breathe if Flutters didn’t remind ya. The Princesses want us to help with that Crystal Empire that cropped up faster than a Zap Apple harvest.”

“Hey, Fluttershy doesn’t remind me to breathe and I know we’re helping, but what are we helping with?”

“I don’t know, Rainbow. Princess Celestia just said they would need help and gave us Draigo’s token in case we need help too,” Twilight replied.

“Maybe they need some help turning some frowns upside down,” Pinkie suggested.

“Perhaps, darling. Still, we should be ready for anything. Oh, perhaps we can see what kind of clothing they have while we’re at it. If this empire is even half as fabulous as it sounds I should have enough inspiration to last me years!”

“Um, Rarity, it’s been over a thousand years since the empire was last here. So, wouldn’t their clothing be ‘out of fashion’?” Fluttershy wondered quietly.

“Retro is in style, darling.”

“Well, whatever we’re helping with we should find out pretty soon since the station’s just ahead,” Rainbow pointed out as the station came into view from their car’s window. Snow blew so hard and fast outside that the visibility was limited to just a few yards and they were soon stopping at the station and disembarking.

“Are we meeting somepony here or are we on our own?” Spike asked, balancing Rarity’s suitcase on his back as he and the others walked out of the train and into the station.

“I have no idea,” Twilight said with a slightly nervous smile. As she said this a dark figure appeared walking towards the station from out in the blizzard. The figure had a scarf whipping in the wind and when it got closer could be seen wearing iigaak, goggles made to prevent snow blindness.

“Twily! Spike! It’s good to see you two and your friends again,” the figure said before he entered the visibility area enough to reveal that he was Shining Armor.

“Hey, Shining. You here to lead us to your Empire?” Spike wondered after releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Shining!” Twilight called out as she quickly tackled her BBBFF with a hug.

“Ugh, Twily, could you get off? We don’t have long until he notices and comes after us and only Cadence’s barrier can stop him,” Shining Armor said as he tried to keep his hoofing.

“Right, sorry, but who’s he?” Twilight said as she helped Shining stabilize.

“King Sombra. He returned when the Empire did and now he’s trying to take it back. It’s been days since Cadence put up her barrier and we called for help after realizing that we couldn’t hold him off long enough to figure out how to defeat him,” Shining explained.

“Celestia never said anything about him being back! She just said to come and help you! This is not good, not good at all.” Twilight ranted as she went into a miniature meltdown.

“Twily, calm down. He can’t get into the barrier that Cadence has set up. We couldn’t get any details of the situation to Celestia for fear that Sombra would intercept the message and set up an ambush for our reinforcements,” Shining said as he placed a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Have you forgotten what’s in your saddle bag and who it’s connected to, Twilight?” Spike asked with a quirked eye ridge.

“Oh. That takes a lot of the drama out of this, doesn’t it? Draigo could take this guy in ten seconds flat.”

“Hooves off my catch phrase.”

“You have Draigo’s token!? I didn’t think the Princesses would part with that for anything,” Shining said in shock as he looked around for any sign of Sombra.

“Apparently they were worried, as it turns out, with good reason,” Rarity interjected.

“So, um, shouldn’t we be, um, running or something?” Fluttershy asked as she looked around nervously.

“Yeah, you’re right. Twilight, get Draigo’s token out and be ready to summon him at a moment’s notice. We’re not going to stop for anything. Follow me,” Shining said before beginning to trot off towards the city. Twilight did as told and their group followed Shining Armor. Once they were all together, Shining picked up the pace a bit as he guided them towards the safety of his wife’s barrier.

After several minutes of sustained trotting the blizzard in front of them suddenly turned from white to pitch black. Luminescent green eyes glared out at them from the darkness as a fanged grin greeted them to his territory. “Little ponies, I see you seek to enter my empire. It would be improper to allow guests in before the king himself, don’t you think? Allow me to guide you, so that we may enter together.”

“I don’t think so. You were a tyrant and did horrible things to your ponies. I already know the way into my empire,” Shining said loudly before talking out the side of his mouth to Twilight. “Now would be a great time to summon Draigo.”

“Come forth, Eternal Dragon, and vanquish this dark being!” A beam of light shot out of Draigo’s token and continued into the sky, illuminating the area like a spot light.

“Eternal Dragon? I’m not sure what you pathetic beings are playing at but whatever it is you’re trying will fail. I am unchallenged in all the land and you are peace-worshipping ants to be trod underhoof. I would ask if you have any last words but anything you’d say would be just as worthless as you are.”

After Sombra was done with his evil speech, wingbeats could be heard approaching their location. Soon, a dark figure in the sky could be seen coming towards them at high speed.

“Is everyone okay? I got here as quickly as I could,” Draigo said as he landed between Sombra and the group of ponies. His gaze roving over the ponies for any injuries before turning and staring Sombra down. The ponies behind him began to shrink away from him in fear once they saw his black sclera and menacing appearance.

“And now a lizard playing at darkness. Leave us be, this is no business of yours,” Sombra growled out as he looked to the ponies behind Draigo.

“A mere shadow dares to call me a ‘lizard?’ Know your place, tin god,” Draigo called to the umbra unicorn before him.

Sombra immediately shifted his focus back to Draigo. “I see you’re as intelligent as you look.” Sombra charged towards Draigo hoping to engulf him in his darkness. Seeing this, Draigo illuminated himself and the surrounding area. Sombra recoiled from the light, still too weak to withstand it.

“Run for the city while I cast this shadow into oblivion!” Draigo told the ponies behind him.

“Oblivion is my domain. Good luck, pathetic wyrm,” Sombra called out as he went to circle around Draigo, intent on stopping yet more ponies from entering his empire.

“I don’t need luck. You’re nothing but a mewling little foal compared to me,” Draigo shot back as he kept himself between Sombra and the ponies.

Deciding that words would be a waste of time, Sombra rushed Draigo. Dark crystals formed on the ground below the mad king and shot up towards Draigo as Sombra continued to barrel onwards, his shadowy body sliding around Draigo like water across a rock. The feeling of Sombra sliding across Draigo’s body was a chill the likes of which Draigo hadn’t felt since he had left space to live on this world.

Draigo intensified his light as he flew backwards to both stop Sombra from getting to his intended victims and dodge the crystals trying to impale him. As they fled, Twilight couldn’t help but turn around. The sight of Sombra’s shadow speeding after them, pushed her adrenaline to new heights and her legs churned faster and faster as she struggled to run in the ancient snow.

Before Sombra could reach his first victim, Shining Armor turned and put a barrier between the shadow and his friends. Unfortunately, the only shield he could erect fast enough to stop Sombra required that he stay in place for as long as it stood, dooming himself in the process. Before anypony could protest or even notice, Shining urged the others forward. “Go! I’ll be right behind you.”

“Dull Paper, you are the least incompetent guard Celestia has, but you’re all Cadence has,” Draigo called to Shining Armor before batting the Unicorn and his barrier towards the city with his tail. Shining’s shield cracked in midair and completely shattered when he hit the ground a few yards later. It did it’s job though and Shining was back up and running after a quick glance and nod towards Draigo.

Sombra, frustrated with yet more interference, let out a wordless howl. He started to shift his body, encircling Draigo in his shadow. With Sombra’s eyes hidden, Draigo had no way of knowing which way Sombra’s attacks would come from. Draigo tried to manipulate the darkness away, but found he couldn’t time and time again. When he felt the time was right, Sombra opened his eyes again and stared deep into the drake’s mind and soul. Less than a second after their eyes met, Draigo found himself alone among a lightless void.

Upon seeing this, Draigo whipped his head around in an effort to find something, anything in the landscape around him. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, and feeling the cold around him, he began to try to dissipate the darkness and fly out of it. His efforts were for naught as the darkness never left. The nothingness seemed to close around him caging him in the more he tried to leave. He began to shiver and shake, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and he began to mutter to himself. His mutterings went unheard, even by himself, as the void absorbed all sound and left Draigo deprived of even the smallest sensation. Draigo began to cry louder and louder to hear anything at all in the senseless void that surrounded and ensnared him.

As sensation returned to Draigo, Sombra’s darkness and leering, acidic eyes still confronted him. “Go back to your nest, little wyrm,” Sombra whispered into Draigo ear. Confident the catatonic dragon would no longer be a threat, Sombra turned back towards the empire to see the last of the ponies slip through the barrier and out of his grasp. “No matter, this barrier will break just like their friend did.”

Draigo began to frantically claw at the ground beneath him in an effort to escape the presence of Sombra. When he had finally regained his balance and footing, he charged headlong towards the city, desperate to be among friendly faces and hear anything besides quiet and Sombra’s voice echoing in his mind. He passed through the barrier without any resistance and skidded to a halt at the city’s edge.

“T-Twilight! S-Spike! A-Applejack! Rainbow! Cadence! Anypony! Please, don’t leave me alone!” Draigo called over the city’s buildings, his voice shaking the heavens with his plea.

“That was Draigo’s voice. So, he musta beat that varmint, but he don’t sound like he came outta the fight unscathed,” Applejack said, concerned for their draconic friend.

“I think that’s putting it lightly, darling. Have you ever heard somepony sound like that before? He sounded so desperate…” Rarity trailed off before biting her lip and glancing back to the source of the booming voice.

“‘Desperate?’ He was outright pleading for company,” Pinkie replied, her mane and tail somewhere between poofy and flat.

“Oh dear, what should we do? We’ve got to meet Princess Cadence, but Draigo really sounds like he needs us,” Fluttershy said as she pivoted her head between the castle and where Draigo’s voice had come from.

“You guys go find Draigo and make sure he’s okay. Shining and I can go check on Cadence,” Twilight said in her most authoritative voice. She hoped she sounded half as wise as her mentor.

“Come on, guys, we can’t just leave him like that,” Rainbow said as she turned and flew back in Draigo’s direction. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack quickly followed Rainbow to help their pleading friend.

“I’m coming with you, Twilight. You’ll probably need some help before the others come back from checking on Draigo,” Spike said as he ran along beside Twilight and Shining Armor.

“I’m not that bad,” Twilight said with a bit of a pout before she picked up the pace towards the castle.

“No, but this is a big problem and it’s more than a single pony can handle on her own since Shining is most likely going to be with Cadence helping to keep the barrier up,” Spike replied with a grin.

Twilight just shook her head and playfully smacked Spike in the shoulder. “Well, thanks, Spike. I’m glad I can count on you, even if you do sleep with that Rarity doll still.”

“He does what? Should we be worried?” Shining asked with a hint of confusion but a majority the teasing anypony could expect from an older brother.

“It’s a comfort and nothing else. There’s nothing between me and Rarity besides friendship and a bit of business,” Spike grumbled.

“Try telling Cadence that when she hears about this, ‘cause I’m definitely telling.”

“Oh, come on. Be a bro here, Shining.”

“Any guesses as to what happen to Draigo to make him sound so desperate?” Applejack asked as they ran towards the source of the shout.

“It had to be that smoky guy. There’s no way Draigo would lose in a fair fight but I bet that guy cheated somehow,” Rainbow said with no small amount of anger.

“I think you’re forgetting a famous saying, Dashie. All’s fair in love and war,” Pinkie replied as she bounced along.

“Yeah, well, I still don’t like it.”

“I just hope we can actually help him when we get there,” Fluttershy said worriedly.

“Don’t worry, darling, I’m sure that whatever’s wrong we can fix it together,” Rarity said with more confidence than she felt. The group then saw Draigo fidgeting in place as he was looking about with fear in his eyes.

“Well, he’s in one piece, but he looks like a mouse that survived an encounter with a rattler,” Applejack commented.

“What could have scared a dragon of Draigo’s size and power like that?” Pinkie wondered.

“I’m not sure, but he looks like he could use a hug,” Fluttershy answered.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked before charging over to Draigo. The other four quickly followed Rainbow’s example and galloped towards their draconic friend. When they drew closer, Draigo saw them and collapsed onto the ground as he released a held breath.

“Thank goodness you came,” Draigo smiled and encircled the five ponies with his wings, arms, and tail before continuing. “The darkness and silence...it’s closing in around me. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

The five looked to one another in confusion. It wasn’t like Draigo to be openly affectionate like this and they certainly didn’t have any idea what he was talking about.

“Hey, you uh, feeling better, big guy?” Rainbow asked with a slightly crooked smile.

“Now that there are familiar faces around me, yes, and what pretty visages to look upon,” Draigo responded and smiled at them.

“Ya sure? Yer not actin’ like yer usual self,” Applejack told Draigo in concern.

“Yes, dear, while I’m delighted by the compliments you’re usually a bit more, um, reserved with them,” Rarity said with what tact she could muster in the odd situation.

“I realized that I was taking my friendships for granted and want to make sure everyone who is already my friend stays that way,” Draigo explained.

“Yay! I’m going to invite you to every party I throw from now on then,” Pinkie smiled broadly.

“Um, are you sure you’re alright? We heard how you sounded and your eyes looked like one of my animal friends’ after an encounter with a predator,” Fluttershy said in concern. Draigo looked at Fluttershy before sighing and looking between the five of them.

“I relived my worst fear,” Draigo admitted.

“And what fear would that be, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Being alone with absolutely nothing around, no sounds to be heard, nothing to be seen. Just an empty void all around me,” Draigo explained with a shudder and tightened his encirclement a bit more.

“Dang, that sounds super depressing,” Rainbow said in what was likely the understatement of the millennium.

“And I have already experienced that for many millennia,” Draigo nodded.

“Well, how about we go see how Twi, Spike, and Shining Armor are doing with Princess Cadence?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Wonderful idea, Fluttershy. I’m sure you’ll feel even better after a nice chat with Princess Cadenza,” Rarity said as she patted Draigo’s oversized claws.

“I believe you’re right, Rarity. Hmm, both brains and beauty. A rare combination even if there are seven instances of it in this city,” Draigo commented and stood up as he shrunk down to Celestia’s size.

“Well, let's get goin’ then. Ah’m sure Twilight, Spike, and Shinin’ Armor are already talkin’ ta Princess Cadence,” Applejack said before leading the group back towards the castle. The trip there was silent except for the Crystal ponies gasping in fear of Draigo and running away. The dragon's reaction to all of this was to growl and intimidate the Crystal ponies all the more.

“Um, why are you scaring the Crystal ponies away, Draigo?” Fluttershy asked in concern and confusion.

“They're not my friends and they already have their own opinions about what I'm like based off of my appearance and species. So, why shouldn't I scare them away?” Draigo replied.

“That doesn't make sense, Dray. You were just complimenting us and being all mushy. Now you're doing the exact opposite,” I Rainbow said in confusion as the Crystal Palace looked ever closer.

“As I said, they're not my friends,” Draigo reiterated.

When they reached the Crystal Palace, the guards tried to stop them, but were pushed aside by Draigo. Walking through the palace’s gleaming and glittering hallways was uncomfortable and tense due to more and more guards trailing behind them.

“Darlings, surely there's something more important for you to be doing than following us around the palace,” Rarity said to the guards.

“They're might be, ma'am, but that dragon makes all of us edgy and concerned for the Prince and Princess’ well-being,” one of the lead guards told Rarity.

“Ah can see that with Shinin’ Armor, but Princess Cadence?” Applejack shook her head. “Those two get along better than biscuits an’ gravy.”

“Forgive us if we don't believe you,” a guard replied as the group reached the outer doors of the throne room. The two guards on duty outside the door eyed the group, especially Draigo, and hesitantly let them through once it was explained why they were here.

Inside the throne room, Cadence was slumped in her throne, looking like she'd fall asleep at any moment, and Twilight and Spike were discussing something with Shining Armor.

“Draigo, everyone, it's… good to see you,” Cadence said tiredly as she struggled to keep the barrier up.

While they discussed and caught up inside the castle, Sombra was surrounding the barrier. His pitch black shadow hiding any and all traces of snow or anything else outside of the barrier. All he had to do was wait, even with the ‘lizard’, and he knew it.

Empire Returns Part 2

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That night everything was dead silent. No crickets chirped, no owls hooted, nothing seemed to be around. The streets were empty, the only sign of life outside was the shimmering shield surrounding the city. Inside of the castle there was a room that wasn’t so peaceful and quiet, though.

Draigo had wanted to sleep with all of his friends, but knew they’d be uncomfortable with him around all the time. So, he’d asked Cadence if he could sleep in the treasury room like he’d done when he first moved to Canterlot Castle. Cadence had given her consent while she and Shining kept the barrier up with their combined powers.

Getting comfortable wasn’t hard, Draigo could sleep nearly anywhere. He’d fallen asleep rather easily, but cursed himself for that when his dreams turned to nightmares of pitch blackness and silence.

Draigo awoke with a start, breathing heavily. He looked around in fright before growling in frustration and pounding a clenched claw onto the piled treasures beneath him. Taking a deep breath, before deciding to hey some fresh air. He passed a few wary guards who tried to stop him, but the sheer presence emanating from him made them remain silent while giving him a wide berth.

Looking out over the city that gleamed in the moonlight, Draigo looked for any sign of Sombra. The shield, continous snow storm, a few wandering ponies, and the city's buildings were all he could see. Letting out a small growl, he took off and flew to the top of the castle before taking in as much air add he could.

“Dragons who are awake and ready, join me. This place is in need of defense and the enemy is a worthy opponent. Come show this nation and it's former leader your power,” he ordered before taking flight and circling the city while he waited.

The first dragon to arrive was large white and pale blue. It was followed by a blue and orange dragon, a red and yellow, black and red, and so on until there were thirty dragons flying with Draigo. They all looked eager as they flew along, clenching and unclenching their claws and jaws in anticipation.

“Once dawn comes, spread yourselves out along the inside edge of the shield,” Draigo told his dragons. They nodded in understanding and Draigo grinned toothily.

[DRAIGO]
In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning
And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be --
It scared me out of my hide --
Nothing around but my voice inside!
Then I opened my eyes
And the nightmare was real!!
I was once the most neutral of all the ‘leaders’.
When Sombra made my fears rekindle he made a mistake!
His curse made me suffer and sway
All alone day after day!
Little Sombra, beware,
Draigo's enraged!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night Draigo will find him
In the dark of the night just before dawn!
Aah...
[DRAIGO]
Revenge will be sweet
[DRAIGO AND DRAGONS]
When the search is complete!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night
[DRAIGO]
He'll be gone!
I can feel that my powers are slowly increasing!
Stick with Luna and Celestia as well!
As the pieces fall into place
I'll see him crawl into place!
Veyet'toon, Sombra, you wretch!
Farewell...
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night terror will strike him!
[DRAIGO]
Terror's the least I can do!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night Draigo pursues.
Ooh!
[DRAIGO]
Soon he will feel that his end is very near.
[ALL]
In the dark of the night
[DRAIGO]
He'll be through!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night
Draigo will find him
Find him!
Ooh!
In the dark of the night vengeance comes true.
Doom him!
[DRAIGO]
My foe, here's a sign --
[DRAIGO AND DRAGONS]
It's the end of the line!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
Come my dragons,
Rise for your master,
Let your power shine!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
Find him now,
Yes, fly ever faster
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
He'll be mine!

The group of dragons continued to fly around the city until the sun broke the horizon. When it did, the thirty dragons flew to the inside edge of the shield and did as they were told, spreading out to cover the shield’s entire perimeter.Draigo continued to circle above the city, waiting to aid his dragons. Below him, things weren't going to smoothly.

“No, no… no no no,” Twilight moaned with each book that wasn't any help figuring out how to save the Empire. She and her friends had been searching all day and they'd barely gotten anywhere in the massive library. “Any luck girls?”

“Nope.”

“Natta.”

“I found a wonderful book on clothing design a thousand years ago.”

“Uh huh.”

“Nopperooni.”

“Looks like this is going to take longer than I originally thought,” Twilight sighed and looked over amount of shelves they hadn't checked. “I hope Shining and Cadence can keep that barrier up long enough.”

“Are you kidding? Your brother's specialty is barrier and shield spells. With him and Cadence working together they'd probably be able to hold it for weeks,” Rainbow said as she hovered along a book shelf.

“Yeah, I'm sure you're right, Rainbow,” Twilight nodded before getting back to searching.

It's now been six days, beginning of the seventh, since Twilight and her friends began searching for a book to help them. They've gone through almost all of the library now and their spirits aren't as high as they were. Spike joined them on the second to make things go faster and to make sure they all ate properly.

While they were searching, Draigo and his dragons had been keeping Sombra at bay and bringing supplies into the city to keep the ponies fed. There had been a few skirmishes and the dragon's numbers are down to twelve. Some had been killed fighting Sombra, some were unable to continue and were licking their wounds, while others were scared into uselessness.

Cadence and Shining Armor had been able to hold out with a few falters here and there. Although, the shield could now be seen to flicker every once in a while with the intervals in between them shortening. The crystal ponies didn't seem to notice this, but the aid workers knew time was getting short.

“What kind of book are we looking for again?” Spike asked when he paused his search.

“Something that'll tell us about the culture and practices of the Crystal Empire before Sombra’s reign,” Twilight told him before plopping down and groaning in frustration. “I would've started in the proper section of the library, but King Sombra most likely hid anything that would aid ponies in defeating him. Turns out, though, I was right. We've searched the entire library and didn't find anything!”

“I did find that fashion book, Darling,” Rarity pointed out before continuing at a quicker pace when she see the look Twilight and the others have her. “But that doesn't help us defeat Sombra, sorry.”

“The locals can't remember anything either. It's like Sombra gave them all amnesia for the time before her ruled,” Rainbow said.

“101 Crystal Recipes, Twenty Ways to Use Crystal, Your Crystal and You,” Spike read off add get continued the search.

“And that just proves that Sombra hid the book. Those books aren't even in the right section!” Twilight groaned before they heard Spike cry out. They rushed over and find that Spike had stumbled upon a hidden staircase and fallen down them.

“Spike, are you alright!?” Twilight called down the stairs.

“I'm fine, Twi! There's a book down here called ‘History of Imperial Culture’!” Spike called back. Twilight and the others cheered at finally finding the book they'd been looking for.

“Great job, Spike! Bring it up!” Twilight told him. Spike grabbed the book and flew it back up to everyone. Twilight wasted no time reading through it.

“There's one problem I noticed about the book,” Spike said before Twilight finished reading it. She looked up and quirked a brow at her draconic assistant.

“What's that, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“The last page is missing,” Spike answered and placed a talon where Twilight was and turned the book to the last page. It was indeed torn out.

“Okay, okay. We’ll just have to do what we can with the information we have,” Twilight said nervously before giving out assignments to everyone.

They quickly got to work making the festival described in the book. Food, games, activities, and even a very convincing Crystal Heart they'd gotten Draigo to make and then, reluctantly, guard. Everything was in place and the Crystal ponies were slowly remembering things and regaining their color as they participated in the festival. This was both good and bad, it turns out. The more they remembered the more they wanted to see the Crystal Heart which was what the festival was for, to re-energize the Heart and spread the positive feelings stored within. That was until they saw Draigo guarding it. Every citizen froze upon seeing him and quickly went back to other festival activities.

It wasn't that Draigo wasn't told to be nice to the Crystal ponies. It's just that his appearance coupled him being big enough to encircle the fake heart with his body made everyone think twice about trying to see it. So, the girls were being hard pressed to keep the other activities going properly.

It was a little perplexing then when the ponies started running to Draigo instead of away from him. One look to the sky was took to see why, though. Sombra had encircled the city and its barrier.

“So, he wants to stop this before it's done,” Draigo muttered as he slowly stood. “I'll take the fight to him then.”

The Crystal ponies gasped at both Draigo’s words and the sight of the fake Heart, more the latter than the former. Murmurs of what was happening quickly spread throughout the crowd of ponies as Draigo walked towards the barrier. Twilight’s friends were doing their best to keep panic from ensuing.

“You insignificant pond scum, cease this worthless little festival of yours. Do you realize just how small you are to me? I could crush you all as easily as a dragon crushes an ant underfoot. Be glad I’m giving you this opportunity to serve me and live. And look! The little drake is back on his feet. What’re you gonna do this time? Run? Hide? Beg for mercy? I look forward to seeing it and refusing.”

“Run? Hide? Beg? No, none of those and I won’t let you do any of those either. No, this time… it’s to your death,” Draigo responded as he grew to his full size and took to the air to confront his enemy.

Sombra’s cloud form rushed to meet Draigo before he could build too much momentum, eager to finish this fight and get back to what actually mattered. Small shards of dark crystal erupted all throughout his body as he passed by Draigo hoping to shred his hide to pieces. To his annoyance, his crystals broke against Draigo’s hide and the drake passed by unharmed.

“Ha! Those pathetic crystals didn’t even tickle!” Draigo roared as he wheeled around to launch a fiery breath attack at Sombra.

The shadowy substance currently comprising Sombra’s body parted to allow the breath to pass through him harmlessly. True, his shadow form could be affected by very few things but it was better to be safe or it bred dangerous habits for when actual opponents arose. “My, what a pleasant breeze.” Deciding to get somewhat serious he readied to use his dark crystals yet again though making them far larger and tougher this time. Draigo smirked and let the crystals hit him, thinking they’d break like the last time. He gasped and growled in pain as the crystals cut through his scales and into his flesh. Sombra, pleased at the damage caused but still shocked at how little there was, turned back to his foe, his horn lit with a dark light. A massive beam of pure negative energy soared towards Draigo while Sombra anticipated his complete annihilation, but was supremely shocked when his beam was countered by one of positive energy and light.

“Well, that’s not something a normal dragon can do. Who are you exactly?”

“I should be the one asking you that, but I’ll answer your question. I am Draigo, father of all dragons.”

“Draigo...Very well then. I am Sombra, Sire of Negativity. This should be a worthy battle, Primordial.”

“I did not think there was another Primordial on this planet, Sombra, nor do I think there should be. At least when they’re like you,” Draigo said and enhanced his body with positive energy before once more breathing a beam towards Sombra. Deciding that running from a contest of power with another primordial would reflect poorly on himself the King of Shadow prepared his own beam at maximum power hoping to overwhelm Draigo’s breath. Seeing their beams collide and his getting pushed back, Draigo increased his own power to maximum. The two beams fluctuated back and forth, neither being seeming to have the advantage over the other.

Sombra quickly grew bored of merely standing still and blasting away and so he cut his beam and circled to his opponent’s left using Draigo’s breath as cover. He reached out to Draigo’s soul stoking the well of negativity he found within. The positive energy that had suffused Draigo winked out and he began fell to the ground, writhing and growling all the while.

“For all your strength and vitality your mind is as weak as any mortal’s. You have my pity for that,” Sombra snarled. Not content to leave Draigo alone, he prepared his strongest crystals. The crystals grew over Draigo engulfing him and pinning him in place. “Still, a being such as you will make for an excellent slave once I break you. Stay put while I finish this and we can finish your conversion.”

“Fool, you don’t know what you’ve done!” Draigo shouted as single eye glowed through the dark crystal. Sombra ignored Draigo’s shout reckoning it as the desperate plea of a defeated foe. He turned to fly to his palace and regain control of the empire but before he got more than a few feet away he heard the cracking of his crystals as Draigo broke free. In a burst of black dust and shards of crystal, Draigo broke free of his prison. Draigo’s eyes now had the same purple flame coming from them as Sombra’s and he glared at his opponent. “We’re not done yet, Sombra.” Draigo then lashed at Sombra with his tail the air whistling around it as it drew near. Sombra, sensing no positive energy in the strike, decided to merely shift to his mist form and allow the tail to pass through him.

“Honestly, such an uninspired being. A bit of a push and you're using Dark energy in a desperate move to...what? Kill the embodiment of Negativity with his own element? I take back what I said earlier, even most mortals would know better.”

“You try fighting off another personality who uses nothing but Dark elements and see how easy it is to fight without them,” Draigo said, the purple flames flickering in and out of existence.

“Split personalities? Is the other one as simple as you? Questions for another time perhaps.” As he concluded he fired a hair thin beam of magic straight into Draigo’s eye. The intent was not to harm the great beast but to plant a seed in his other self. Sombra was nothing if not pragmatic and a master strategist. He knew that against another primordial he may very well lose and so he would ensure his future victory by enslaving the corruption in Draigo’s heart and coaxing it to the surface over time.

For now, Sombra knew that if he had the Crystal Heart he would be able to achieve all his goals. He decided that stalling the monster in front of him would more than suffice for his purposes and began to gather all of his being not for an attack but for a spell of ultimate binding. His physical form flickered in and out of existence as the energy gathered, not in the same way as his cloud form but rather into something that most minds would refuse to comprehend driving any that looked upon him mad in the process. Draigo didn’t know what Sombra was up to, but he could feel the power welling up for whatever he intended. Thinking that Sombra might attack the barrier, Draigo rushed around and placed himself between the city and Sombra before gathering his own energy to counter Sombra.

“I won’t let you get through!” Draigo shouted as they gathered more and more power.

“You have little choice in the matter, insect,” Sombra said trying to provoke Draigo into a straight fight. An angry dragon was a predictable one and Sombra knew just how to deal with one. “Soon that barrier will be down and the vermin within rightfully back in my grasp. I will spread my negativity from here to the ends of world. After I am through feeding here there will be nothing more than a husk among the void as I journey to the next world.”

“Then I’ll just have to get rid of you in one final flash,” Draigo growled as he felt his power reach its peak. He opened his jaws and wings wide and sent a stream of pure energy as wide and tall as his extended body towards Sombra.

Sombra’s eyes widened as he saw the unadulterated force rushing towards him. He had planned to be attacked but he had never anticipated such a large and potent one. He hadn’t left himself enough room to get entirely out of the way. He desperately dove towards the ground allowing all of his power to drain back into the ether. The beam tore through his lower body, obliterating it from his ribs down. His consciousness barely had time to register the pain before it faded entirely. So this is death. It’s different than I thought it would be. I’ll be back though and when I am I’ll make sure that dragon pays dearly for this insult.

When Draigo’s attack was finished, he stood there breathing heavily before collapsing to the ground upon seeing no trace of Sombra before him. He looked up to the sky and smiled when he felt a wave of positive energy pass over him and an aurora borealis cover the sky. Feeling the presence of his evil self fade with the energy’s arrival, he let himself relax and sink into an exhausted slumber.

Sleepless Joe

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“Well, we’re jus’ about to our first campsite where we’ll meet Rainbow Dash,” Applejack told the others. They were walking along a woodland path with Rarity, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. The day was sunny out with only a few clouds in the sky. The smell of dust from the trail mingled with the smell of the damp forest around them.

“Good, because I don’t think Sweetie’s going to be able to pull all of Rarity’s things much further,” Scootaloo commented as she looked back sympathetically at her friend. Sweetie’s sister, Rarity, had packed just about everything and the kitchen sink for this campout whereas the others had packed just what they’d need.

“Ya want some help, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Nah, I’ve got it. It’s not as heavy as it looks,” Sweetie replied as she hauled the load with obvious sweat marks on her muzzle and body.

“If ya say so,” Apple Bloom said uncertainly.

“Are we there yet?” Rarity complained.

“Fer once when that question gets asked, yes,” Applejack grinned as they arrived at the clearing they were camping in. A river ran alongside the clearing with trees surrounding the area.

“Took you guys long enough!” Rainbow called from a cloud above them before diving down to get four logs for their seats and some stones from the river for their firepit.

“We woulda been faster, but Rarity packed her usual amount of items fer a trip,” Applejack said and hooked a hoof at Rarity’s luggage.

“She does know that we have to carry all of that stuff along to the next site, right?” Rainbow asked before a dark shape floated down the river. When it got closer, they saw that it was actually a black dragon who seemed familiar to them. The dragon was lying on his back with his eyes closed, basking in the sunlight as he floated along.

“AJ, if that’s who I think it is then the girls are going to freak out. I mean, we were unsettle by his appearance,” Rainbow said as she hovered over the river.

“Jus because he’s here don’t mean he’s gonna stop whatever it is he’s doin ta join us, Dash,” Applejack replied.

“Who are you two talking about?” Rarity asked after she’d set up her tent and sent Sweetie to find some flowers for her.

“Draigo, he’s in the river,” Rainbow said and pointed to the floating dragon.

“Oh dear, you don’t suppose he’s injured or something, do you? I can’t quite remember him doing something like this before,” Rarity said in concern.

“Ah’m sure he’s fine, but why don’t you two go check on ‘im an Ah’ll stay with the young'uns ta make sure they don’t run off inta the woods in fright,” Applejack suggested.

“On it,” Rainbow said before flying over and landing on Draigo’s belly. “Hey, Draigo. You okay?”

“Hmm?” Draigo hummed before raising his head up and smiling at Rainbow. “Oh, hello, Rainbow. I’m okay, thank you. Just relaxing and enjoying the day. Something I haven’t done in a while.”

“Well, we were just about to roast some marshmallows if you’d like to join us,” Rarity offered as she trotted over to the river.

“That sounds like a nice idea. Is there anything you need help with in return for letting me join?” Draigo smiled. The two fillies that were still in the clearing ‘eeped’ and hid behind Applejack’s legs, shivering in fright. “Then again, perhaps I should just continue floating down river.”

“If ya want ta join us then ya can. The girls jus need ta get used ta yer new look,” Applejack told the dragon.

“If you say so,” Draigo said hesitantly.

“A little scare is good for growing fillies, Draigo. Besides, they might like have something scary around to keep the other scary things at bay during the night,” Rainbow smiled and hopped off of Draigo’s belly and onto the bank of the river.

“Then allow me to provide the fire and pull around that massive pile of luggage so I’m not just mooching off of my friends,” Draigo said as he flipped over and slowly walked out of the river towards the camp site. With each step he created a muddy footprint as he drip dried from his trip downriver and with each step the fillies tried to hide that much more behind Applejack’s legs.

“Come on out, you two. Draigo’s still Draigo. He ain’t changed how he behaves with his new appearance. Well, except fer when Sombra made ‘im relive his worst fear, but that’s over and done with,” Applejack told the two cowering fillies.

“B-But-” Apple Bloom tried to get out, but was interrupted by her sister.

“No buts. He’s our friend and he’s already worried about how ponies are always afraid of him just fer lookin like he does,” Applejack told them.

“Well, except for the ponies who try to get Celestia to do everything for them or do things that could be handled by someone other than the highest authority in the land next to Luna,” Draigo said with a chuckle.

“I don’t think that helped the situation, Draigo,” Rainbow said and pointed to the still cowering fillies. Draigo sighed and closed his eyes in thought. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow shared a concerned look before looking back at Draigo. Silence reigned in the clearing before Draigo took a breath and released it slowly. He then raised a wing towards the river and made bubbles start coming from the water to fill the clearing.

“B-Bubbles?” Scootaloo said before tentatively reaching out a hoof and popping one.

“Let’s pop all of em,” Apple Bloom smiled before running around and popping as many bubbles as she could. Scootaloo hesitated a bit before joining in on the fun.

“Did my sister bring bubbles or something?” Sweetie asked when she came back with Rarity’s flowers and saw her friends running around popping bubbles.

“While bubbles are fun, I didn’t bring them. Draigo created them from the river,” Rarity told her younger sister.

“Draigo?” Sweetie said before noticing said dragon. “Oh, okay,” Sweetie shrugged before joining her friends popping bubbles.

“This should tire them out and let them know I haven’t changed from the dragon who made those necklaces for them… too much,” Draigo said softly as he watched the three fillies play in the bubbles.

“Yeah, they’re still going to have to get used to those eyes of yours, though,” Rainbow grinned as she hovered next to Draigo’s head.

“Mhm, Ah’m surprise Sweetie has the energy ta play like this,” Applejack commented.

“Is camp set up besides the firewood and fire?” Draigo asked.

“Yes sirree, we’ve got everythin’ else set up,” Applejack nodded.

“All that’s left is to get those two and get something to eat,” Rainbow replied. The four set about getting firewood and getting the fire started while the three fillies continued playing in the bubbles.

Once the fire was going they settled in and began roasting marshmallows and other camp food over the fire while watching the sun set and the sky turn into a beautiful night sky. They enjoyed some idle chit chat and a few stories of past adventures. This continued for quite some time before Sweetie Belle began to nod off.

“I think it’s time for us to get some beauty sleep,” Rarity giggled softly.

“Yeah, we need some rest so we can hike ta the next site,” Applejack nodded and began ushering Apple Bloom to their tent while Rarity and Rainbow lead their tent mates to their temporary abodes. When the adults were about to head into their tents, a black portal rimmed with white appeared on the ground.

“What in sam hill is that?” Applejack asked upon seeing the portal.

“I don’t know but it doesn’t look like a very friendly thing,” Rainbow said as she readied for action.

“It looks like… but he doesn’t make this color of those,” Draigo said as he examined the portal.

“What are you talking about, darling?” Rarity asked as they watched Draigo walk closer to the portal.

“I have a friend who makes something similar to this, but those are blue or orange not black,” Draigo answered.

“Then maybe it’s someone related to this friend of yours,” Rainbow suggested.

“Perhaps, but he’s the only one I know of so far who has anything close to this,” Draigo shrugged his wings before setting himself up in front of the portal with the three mares on the other side, just in case. The portal then rippled and an orange blur shot out of it in the middle of the group. The blur took a quick look at the peak of his height before screaming, flailed his arms, and fell onto Rarity. Rarity screamed before grunting daintily in pain when whatever had come from the portal fell on her.

“Get off of me you ruffian! This isn’t appropriate to do to a lady!” Rarity cried as she tried to get out from beneath the intruder. The orange thing grunted before rolling off of Rarity. His eyes blinked rapidly, with the still standing group seeing his left eye was green and his right one was yellow. Another notable feature was his hair being a mixture of brown, green, and grey.

“Ow,” the orange suit said casually.

“Yer the one who fell on top of Rarity, fella. Yet yer the one sayin’ ‘ow’?” Applejack said with a raised brow at the being.

“Comedic effect?” he guessed before standing up and brushing himself off.

“Not very funny from where we’re standing,” Rainbow replied with her forelegs crossed over her chest.

“Wait! Rainbow? Rarity? Applejack?” the being looked from Rainbow to the fallen Rarity, to Applejack and then his face fell at the sight of the dragon. “Da-Da-DAAAAAH!” the being screamed before zooming in the opposite direction, leaving a dust trail behind.

“Stop right there, Joseph!” Draigo called. Joseph ignored the dragon and placed orange gel in front of him, sliding and zooming along, unknowingly going faster and faster. Draigo sighed and gave chase to his frightened friend. “I know I look different, but I swear I’m Draigo!”

“No no no no! You’re a d-demon!” Joseph shouted behind him, narrowly dodging the trees as he slid off the beaten path.

“Would a demon save all of Ponyville from the pony version of Australia after they were taken there by robotic changelings!?” Draigo cried as he ran straight ahead, taking chunks out of the tree trunks in his path when he collided with them.

“That was Draigo, not-” Joseph was interrupted by suddenly colliding with a tree trunk.

“Like I said, I’m- whoa!” Draigo cried as he slipped on Joseph’s orange gel and went careening towards the poor man. Draigo slammed into Joseph, sending him straight through the tree trunk and sprawling on the grass on the other side.

“That’s a rush!” ‘Joseph’ said excitedly.

“How injured are you, Joseph?” Draigo grunted as he got up and slowly walked over to Joseph.

“Jo- oh! You want to take a message? He’s out back at the moment,” ‘Joseph’ grinned, standing up with nary a scratch.

“You’re not injured at all? And you’re Joseph,” Draigo said in confusion as he examined his friend for any possible injuries.

“Nope, and nope,” ‘Joseph’ replied, shaking his head and even doing a little dance.

“Well, the first one’s confusing as to how, but it’s also a good thing. The second one… That one… is a lot more confusing actually,” Draigo said with a raised brow. “Who are you if you’re not Joseph?”

“I’m Jack, Draigy!” Jack cackled.

“Jack?” Draigo asked in confusion. “Also, how do you recognise me as Draigo when Joseph didn’t?”

“Alternate personality. Should clear everything up,” Jack explained simply before rubbing his hands together.

“Been there, done that,” Draigo sighed.

“Oh? Do tell,” Jack said gleefully before sitting down cross-legged with his portal gun in his lap.

“Long story short, I became corrupted before becoming another world’s Nightmare Moon,” Draigo told Jack. “I don’t plan on telling anyone in this world about that. So, keep it to yourself.”

“No-” Jack was going to say before suddenly hitting himself. He shook his head and blinked rapidly. “We won’t tell,” Joseph told him.

“Joseph? Is that you?” Draigo asked cautiously as he eyed his friend.

“Yes, it is mate,” Joseph sighed. “I really need to keep the head trauma to a minimum. I got enough of it as is.”

“I know the feeling. Had Pinkie’s party cannon go off a couple times right near my head,” Draigo grinned. “What brings you to my world and why did you seem frightened of Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow? Me, I can understand. Everyone is initially with my new look, but them? Uh uh.”

“Jack managed to slice the CMC and the other foals in a local park with glass,” Joseph said.

“Ooo, that’s going to be hard to explain away,” Draigo said with a sympathetic hiss.

“Ya, tell me about it,” Joseph huffed. “Why are you out here anyway?”

“Well, I was just floating down the nearby river when Rainbow landed on me. Turns out she, Rarity, and Applejack are taking the Cutie Mark Crusaders on a campout and they invited me to join them. We were just about to head to bed when your strange black portal showed up,” Draigo explained as he idly twitched the end of his tail back and forth.

“I’ve been world hopping,” Joseph told him before walking back to the camp.

“World hopping? Why?” Draigo wondered as he walked after Joseph. The sound of their footfalls, some crickets, an owl hooting, and the rustle of leaves in the wind being the only sounds besides their voices as they walked through the woods.

“Um, trying to make my world forget about what I did by seeing how much time passes,” Joseph said nervously.

“Good luck with that. I was gone for over a thousand years in one world, but not even a year had passed here when I got back,” Draigo replied.

“Time works differently for each universe,” Joseph muttered.

“Mhm, and the only way you’re going to find out if your journey worked is to go back to your world and check,” Draigo pointed out.

“Yes, I know that,” Joseph sighed. “I … just can’t face her quite yet.”

“Her? Who is ‘her’?” Draigo inquired as the light from the campfire became visible in the distance through the trees.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Joseph said fearfully, clutching his portal gun tightly until his knuckles turned white.

“Whoa, easy there, Joseph. What happened that you’re this afraid of one of the friendliest and nerdiest ponies in any world?” Draigo asked.

“JackkilledSpikeandnowI’mrunningfromit,” Joseph said in a rush.

“Jack… killed Spike?” Draigo said in surprise and astonishment.

“With laughing gas,” Joseph gulped.

“Oh boy, so it’s not just Twilight then. It’s Ember as well once she finds out,” Draigo said with wide eyes in realisation.

“Sh-She isn’t here, is she!?” Joseph asked in horror.

“Ember? No, you’re the only visitor from another world as far as I know,” Draigo told the horrified Aussie as the crackling of the campfire and sounds of chatter came to their ears. Joseph stayed on the edge of the firelight as Draigo kept walking, uncertain of what the three mares would do to him. Draigo looked to the side to talk to Joseph before realising he was walking alone. He looked back and saw Joseph standing at the edge of the firelight and walked back. “They’re more forgiving than you think, Joseph.”

“Yeah, I’m fine staying here, mate,” Joseph told him.

“Have you talked to anyone about this in all of your travels? Tried apologising to other versions of your ponies so it’ll be easier once you’re back home?” Draigo questioned. Joseph gave Draigo a pointed look. Draigo sighed. “I’ll take that as a no to both questions.”

“No,” Joseph said pointedly before sitting opposite the three mares, still at the edge of the firelight.

“Well, I know one thing they’ll want from you at the very least,” Draigo said.

“What?” Joseph asked cautiously.

“An apology for landing on top of Rarity,” Draigo told his paranoid friend.

“Oh,” Joseph said in a small voice and glanced at Rarity. Rarity was chatting with the other two mares and didn’t have a speck of dirt or anything else on her white coat or hooves.

“Think of it as practice for when you go home,” Draigo said with a closed smile.

“Rarity?” Joseph asked suddenly.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, darling?” Rarity said as she blinked in surprise at being addressed out of the blue.

“I’m sorry for falling on you,” Joseph told her.

“Apology accepted, dear. It wasn’t anything a little dusting off couldn’t fix,” Rarity smiled.

“Uh huh,” Joseph said in disbelief.

“Okay, a lot of dusting off. A lady has to maintain a pristine coat, you know,” Rarity replied with an eye roll.

“No, I don’t,” Joseph shrugged.

“Well, now you do,” Rarity told the man.

“Ah got a question if ya don’t mind me askin’,” Applejack chimed in.

“Depends. What’s the question, Appleyack?” Joseph asked, his eyes flashing green at the mention of her name.

“That’s Applejack, mister. Ah was wonderin why ya seemed so afraid uh us,” Applejack told Joseph.

“An alternate personality of mine cut up the CMC and some other foals in my world with glass,” Joseph told them. The three mares shared a look before nodding.

“Don’t tell the girls about that. This is suppose to be a nice little get away for them,” Rainbow told Joseph.

“Alright, I’ll leave,” Joseph shrugged and aimed his portal gun a little ways from the camp site.

“We didn’t say ya had ta leave, mister. Jus don’t tell the younguns in the tents an ya can come along. You seem like ya could use some relaxation yerself,” Applejack said as she gestured to the tents.

“Oh. Good night,” Joseph saluted them and then fell backwards into a snore on the ground.

“I’m not sure if he’s faking that or not,” Rainbow said with a raised brow at Joseph.

“I don’t think he is. I think he hasn’t gotten a good night’s rest in some time. So, I’ll make a shelter for him and me while you three go to bed with the girls,” Draigo replied before laying down next to Joseph.

“Alright, see ya in the morning,” Rainbow smiled before walking to her tent. Applejack and Rarity bid Draigo goodnight before doing likewise and soon it was just Draigo and Joseph left outside.

When the morning sun rose, its rays fell upon the campsite of a makeshift shelter, three tents of varying fanciness, and a smoldering fire pit. Yawns and groans could be heard from the tents as the occupants woke up and got ready for the day.

“Morning, everypony,” Scootaloo said as she exited her tent and went to sit down on one of the logs.

“Good mornin, sugarcube,” Applejack smiled as she and Apple Bloom walked out of their tent.

“Did Draigo end up staying the night here?” Apple Bloom asked upon noticing the makeshift shelter.

“He did and a friend of his showed up last night. He’ll be tagging along for some needed rest and relaxation,” Applejack nodded before chuckling at who had risen with the sun and who hadn’t. “Seems like it’s just us three until the other sleepyheads wake up and join us.” Then, a loud snore came from the makeshift shelter.

“And I thought Rainbow snored loud,” Scootaloo chuckled.

“I don’t snore, Squirt,” Rainbow said sleepily as she trotted out of their tent.

“And Ah can actually act,” Applejack chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ve got no proof,” Rainbow replied. A tape recorder slid out from the shelter to rest in front of the group. They looked down at the recorder before looking up at the shelter.

“You can come out and talk with us if you’re awake. We don’t bite,” Scootaloo called to the shelter as Rainbow picked up the recorder.

“If you want proof, press the play button,” Joseph called from the shelter.

“You were asleep before I was. So, this is just you snoring,” Rainbow replied before pressing the play button. ‘This is a recording of how loud Rainbow can snore,’ Joseph’s voice sounded from the recorder before a series of whinnies and loud snoring played out. Rainbow blushed before hitting the stop button. “Th-That’s easily f-faked.”

“Oh really?” Joseph asked, coming out of the shelter. He walked up to the group, took the recorder, went back into the shelter, and played the tape. The same snoring from before sounded out.

“What the heck does that prove?” Rainbow asked.

“That you snore extremely loudly,” Joseph told Rainbow, emerging from the shelter again.

“What’s your name anyway? We never found out last night,” Rainbow said to change the subject.

“My name’s Joseph, sheila. Pleasure to meet ya,” Joseph grinned with a wave.

“It’s good ta meet ya as well, Joseph,” Applejack smiled and tipped her hat.

“What’s a ‘sheila’? Scootaloo wondered as she trotted up to the man in orange.

“And why’re you wearin a orange suit?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Female and it’s my uniform,” Joseph said nervously, looking down at the fillies.

“Oh, so it’s like mare or filly then,” Scootaloo replied.

“What’s like mare or filly?” Sweetie mumbled as she walked out of her tent.

“Sheila. That’s what Joseph called Rainbow Dash just now,” Scootaloo told Sweetie and gestured to the orange clad man.

“Hmm, he looks like a smaller Draigo when Draigo’s that bipedal thing,” Apple Bloom commented.

“Human,” Joseph told her.

“Is that what yer called? Hoomin?” Scootaloo asked.

“My species, yes. That’s what I’m called,” Joseph nodded. “I don’t think I derailed any plans you may have had.”

“Nope, we’re jus waitin fer Rarity ta wake up so we can help er pack er stuff up before we start hiking ta the next spot,” Applejack told Joseph before a bright eyed and pristine looking Rarity trotted out of her tent.

“Good morning, everypony,” Rarity smiled. “I see everyone’s awake and ready for the day.”

“Except for Draigo. He’s still in his shelter,” Rainbow grinned and pointed a hoof at Draigo’s shelter.

“Well, let’s get packed up so we can leave when he’s up an ready,” Applejack suggested. The others nodded and began packing up their tents and other gear. After a few minutes, all the packing was done except for Rarity’s extravagant abode.

“Let’s get breakfast going while Rarity finishes up packing. That’ll probably get Draigo up and going as well,” Rainbow said before bringing out a simple breakfast for herself of oats. Applejack brought out a skillet and got the fire going again before cracking some eggs onto the skillet to cook them. The smell wafted around the campsite and a low groan could then be heard from the shelter Draigo was in.

“That smells nice,” Draigo mumbled from within the shelter.

“I didn’t think Draigo had a loud voice,” Joseph commented.

“Sorry, still waking up. So, I talked louder than normal,” Draigo yawned as he exited the shelter and stretched his body.

“Oh, okay,” Joseph nodded. “You don’t seem to snore though,” he added with a head tilt.

“That’s confusing to you? You thought I would snore?” Draigo replied.

“You’re a big dragon. Don’t they usually snore?” Joseph asked confusedly.

“I’m only the size of Celestia at the moment, thank you. And it’d depend on the dragon, but even normal breathing may seem like snoring to beings that aren’t as big as dragons can get. Or so I would think,” Draigo answered.

“So what's with the giant floofy tent?” Joseph asked for a quick change in subject.

“It is not ‘floofy.’ It is luxurious and exactly what a lady strives to have on a campout,” Rarity asserted.

“So, why are you carrying around a circus tent?” Joseph asked with a raised brow, and rubbed the back of his neck.

“It is not a circus tent! It is a luxury tent of high class and is easier to set up than the two other tents Applejack and Rainbow brought,” Rarity told Joseph.

“Not that this ain’t entertainin’, but we’ve got breakfast ta eat an’ then we need ta get goin so we can set up camp again before nightfall,” Applejack said as she dished out appropriate portions of eggs for herself and the other ponies. When she saw the amounts she rethought it and redistributing so Joseph and Draigo had portions. She then handed out the food and sat down to eat with her sister.

“I think Jack is rubbing off on you a bit, Joseph,” Draigo commented before eating his eggs in one bite.

“Really?” Joseph deadpanned before practically inhaling his breakfast.

“Unless you annoy your Rarity just as much,” Draigo replied.

“I don’t,” Joseph shook his head. “But, Rarity, your tent only goes up a lot easier because of your magic.”

“Actually, magic is only involved in the take down process… for me. The tent sets up by pulling on a cord,” Rarity informed Joseph as she daintily ate her eggs. Joseph scrutinised the tent from where he was and tilted his head at it.

“You sure? It looks like it has plenty of poles in it,” Joseph commented.

“All she did was pull a cord. Never saw her horn light up once during the set up,” Rainbow shrugged.

“So … if that’s the case, then why isn’t the same thing done with your tents?” Joseph asked.

“Cause ours are lighter, take up less space, and a heck of a lot less expensive,” Applejack grinned. Joseph blinked and then sighed.

“Rarity, I get you’re prim and proper, but you couldn’t even consider a tent like what Applejack and Rainbow have?” Joseph asked her.

“Pshaw, darling. Their tents are nice, but I am a high class lady. Refined, dignified, and classy everywhere and anywhere possible. My tent is just that,” Rarity explained before thinking of something. “Of course, I could have gone with the next model up.”

“If bein’ high class means having ta lug around as much stuff as you do fer a campout then Ah’m glad Ah’m not like that,” Applejack grinned before putting out the fire with a few kicks of dirt.

“I hate to ask, but what was the next model?” Joseph asked cautiously.

“A two story tent like this one, but with a complete second floor instead of just a balcony and upper room. It could fit six ponies instead of the four this one can fit,” Rarity answered.

“Glad you didn’t go with that one then,” Joseph said as he stood and tried to help them pack up. Packing the rest of their stuff was simple, all except for Rarity’s. They had to wait a good twenty minutes after they were done packing for Rarity to finish packing and putting her stuff in the cart she’d brought to hold it all.

“Hey, what’s that thing you’re holding?” Scootaloo asked and pointed at Joseph’s portal gun. Joseph glanced at what Scootaloo was talking about and smiled.

“It’s my portal gun,” Joseph told her before demonstrating. He placed a blue portal on a tree trunk, and then an orange one underneath Rainbow. Rainbow yelped before landing on her side next to the blue portal.

“And this is why flying is better than being on the ground,” Rainbow said as she stood up and dusted herself off.

“So, it’s a prank cannon?” Scootaloo asked.

“No, it’s not. I can demonstrate it better if we were in an enclosed space,” Joseph shook his head.

“There is that crazy stunt you pulled when we first met,” Draigo chuckled.

“Like I said. Enclosed space,” Joseph said firmly before quickly heading up the path.

“You mean you don’t want to duplicate that stunt?” Draigo said in mock shock as he got into the harness of the cart and walked along with the group once they had started down the path.

“What stunt is he talking about?” Rainbow asked as she hovered along above the group.

“When we first met, I was on Draigo’s back. I then got the bright idea of falling from about a thousand feet up in the air,” Joseph sighed.

“And you survived that?” Sweetie said in astonishment.

“Mhm. I placed a portal beneath me and one beside it so I can shoot back up. What I didn’t realise was that I kept my velocity as I went down and I only got faster going up,” Joseph explained.

“Sounds fun,” Rainbow smiled.

“Says the pony who can perform a sonic rainboom,” Joseph muttered.

“Sounds fun to me too,” Scootaloo grinned.

“Oi,” Joseph groaned, holding a hand to his forehead.

Night had fallen for the second time for their trip. Crickets were making their nightly music with the occasional owl lending their voice. The three tents and makeshift shelter had been erected and everyone was sleeping soundly. Except for one little filly.

Scootaloo was tossing and turning in her sleeping bag as she muttered unintelligibly. Sweat had begun rolling down her body and her eyes were scrunched closed. Rainbow, meanwhile, was oblivious to her tent mate’s situation. She didn’t even stir when Scootaloo gasped awake and walked out of the tent, breathing heavily. Scootaloo sat down on one of the logs they’d used for seats earlier and sighed as she stared glumly at the firepit.

“That story of Rainbow’s really got to me,” she said softly to herself as she rubbed her forelegs with her hooves.

“Scootaloo? What are you doing up?” Joseph asked in surprise, walking back into the campsite from the forest. Scootaloo flinched at being addressed and fell off of the log onto her back.

“I’m… watching over the camp. Yeah, that’s it,” Scootaloo told Joseph. Joseph sat on the log opposite the fallen filly and only stared. Scootaloo chuckled nervously before dusting herself off as she got back up. “What’re you doing up?”

“I had to go to the bathroom. Going by your reaction, one of the scary stories frightened you,” Joseph guessed.

“I’m not scared,” Scootaloo said firmly.

“She’s in denial,” Draigo commented as he walked out of his shelter.

“Definitely,” Joseph agreed.

“But I’m not afraid,” Scootaloo replied as Draigo laid down nearby.

“Hmm, is that a rusty horseshoe over there, Joseph?” Draigo asked and pointed behind Scootaloo. Joseph stood up slightly to look over Scootaloo and tilted his head.

“I think so. You want to have a look behind you, Scootaloo?” Joseph wondered. Scootaloo stiffened before shaking her head emphatically, making it look like she had four eyes.

“Yep, it was that story,” Draigo nodded his head.

“So, what did you find scary about the story?” Joseph wondered as he stood and walked to where they had spotted the horseshoe. Scootaloo sighed.

“How the old mare was always there. Just calling for her shoe no matter where you ran or hid. Her voice echoing through the dark forest, too,” Scootaloo told them as she slumped in her seat.

“Well, telling you it was just a story probably won’t help,” Draigo said thoughtfully with a sympathetic expression.

“So, how can we get you to stop your fears? Sleeping with us?” Joseph wondered from behind her.

“But this was supposed to be some sisterly bonding and fun time. I’m already sleeping with Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo replied.

“I’ll wake Rainbow up then,” Joseph smiled before walking to Scootaloo’s tent.

“No, don’t! I don’t want her to know I’m scared,” Scootaloo said as she trotted in front of Joseph and placed herself between him and her tent.

“She won’t laugh,” Joseph told her with a raised brow, stopping in his tracks and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Maybe, but nopony else is scared or having nightmares. I don’t want her to see me like this. I want her to think I’m strong and unafraid. Something she could be proud of. This isn’t something she’d be proud of,” Scootaloo explained.

“Yes she would. Admitting you’re afraid shows that you’re strong,” Joseph replied.

“So’s facing your fears,” Draigo grinned.

“I’m too tired to deal with this,” Joseph sighed, rubbing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“How’s this, Scoots? I make a big shelter for us that can hold you, me, Joseph and Rainbow. We then move Rainbow into the shelter and we all sleep together. You get some time with Rainbow and get two ‘bodyguards’ to help with your nightmares,” Draigo smiled softly.

“How’ll we explain that to Rainbow in the morning?” Scootaloo asked with a hoof to her chin as she considered the plan.

“I abducted you two for nefarious purposes,” Joseph grinned.

“I was too lonely with only Joseph and brought you two into the shelter for company,” Draigo shrugged. “Either one works, really.”

“Mmm, Draigo’s version. I don’t want Rainbow and the others being mad at you, Mister Joseph, when you’re really helping me,” Scootaloo replied. Joseph sighed.

“Thought as much. Build the shelter so we can get back to sleep,” Joseph said before covering his mouth with a hand while yawning.

“One shelter for four,” Draigo smiled before making a simple shelter of two angle pieces of rock for the roof and a third rock to cover the back. It was big enough that Scootaloo’s tent fit inside it with room for Draigo and Joseph to sleep in comfortably. “There, that’ll do for tonight and we can just set the tent up inside a similar one if we spend another night out here.”

“Awesome, I really appreciate it, you two. Thanks,” Scootaloo smiled before hugging Draigo’s leg and then Joseph’s legs. Joseph wobbled a bit before suddenly falling backwards when Scootaloo let go.

“You’re welcome,” Joseph groaned.

“Happy to help. Let’s get Rainbow and your sleeping bag inside so we can all get some sleep,” Draigo said before levitating both Rainbow and Scootaloo’s bag out and into the shelter on a slab of earth. Once it was all done, Joseph headed into the shelter after Scootaloo and bade them good night. It would have been if not for one thing. Rainbow snoring. Joseph stared at Rainbow before covering her muzzle with his hands.

“Sorry, forgot to mention that,” Scootaloo apologised as she and Draigo walked into the shelter.

“We’ll figure something out, Scootaloo. You just get some sleep,” Draigo told the filly as he looked down at Rainbow.

“Alright, thanks again. Night,” Scootaloo said before getting into her sleeping bag and fell asleep almost immediately.

“Know any way of getting someone to stop snoring?” Draigo asked Joseph.

“I’m trying,” Joseph said tiredly, nodding his head to Rainbow’s covered muzzle.

“True, but you can’t exactly sleep like that,” Draigo pointed out. “We’re going to have to find another way.”

“Can you fashion earplugs?” Joseph asked suddenly.

“They wouldn’t be foam or that mushy stuff the molds to your ears, but I think I can,” Draigo said as he thought about it.

“We’ll need them,” Joseph told him. Draigo nodded and began fashioning earmuffs out of earth with a breezy inside for a bit of white noise in case Rainbow’s snoring got through the earmuffs.

“There, I think that does it. Try it out,” Draigo said and handed Joseph a finished set of ear muffs. Joseph placed the earmuffs over his head and took his hands away from Rainbow. After a few seconds, he gave Draigo a thumbs up. Draigo smiled and slipped on his own ear muffs before yawning as wide as his jaws could go and laying down for the night.

Now back in Ponyville, Draigo took Joseph over to Golden Oaks library. The orange clad man was hesitant to even be near the library.

“It’s for your own good,” Draigo told Joseph.

“No no no no! I am not going in there!” Joseph said in a panic, trying to run away from it. Draigo extended a wing and blocked Joseph’s path.

“You don’t have to go in,” Draigo replied as he kept his friend from running away.

“I don’t?” Joseph asked in surprise.

“You don’t,” Draigo smiled. “They can come out instead.”

“Nope, I’m gone!” Joseph said before running into the library without realising it. He skidded to a stop and looked back around. “Wait.”

“Hi, welcome to Golden Oaks library,” Spike greeted. His wings were folded against his body as he walked up to the new guest. He was about the size of Twilight with a length of almost twice his size. “Can I help you find anything?”

“S-Spike,” Joseph breathed, staring at the dragon in shock.

“That’s me,” Spike nodded before quirking a brow at Joseph. “I’m not that scary, am I?” Joseph shook his head before walking closely and hugging him, apologising over and over. Spike was really confused about why the newest human was apologising so much to him, but gently patted Joseph’s back as he wrapped his wings around the man. Joseph let go after a bit and smiled at Spike.

“I, um, sorry. I’m a friend of Draigo’s that happened to portal in and, um, I did something to the Spike in my world that I sincerely regret,” Joseph explained quietly.

“Well, first off. Apology accepted. Second, what’d you do?” Spike asked before realising what he’d asked. “Uh, you don’t have to answer that.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it, but good chat,” Joseph grinned and tried to walk away.

“Not quite done, Joseph,” Draigo said as he blocked the doorway.

“Hey, Spike. Who’s that you’re talking to?” Twilight asked as she walked down the stairs.

“Joseph, apparently. He’s a friend of Draigo’s,” Spike told Twilight and gestured with a wing to Joseph.

“Oh, another human. Welcome to Equestria and Golden Oaks. It’s nice to meet you, Joseph. I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight smiled and waved at the man. Joseph was frozen and was looking at Twilight in fear. “Um, are you alright?”

“He had a lesser, but similar reaction when he saw me,” Spike commented with a thoughtful expression.

“He messed up bad and is now terrified of his Twilight,” Draigo explained.

“Um … hi,” Joseph said in a small voice.

“Hi, is there anything I can do to help?” Twilight asked.

“Um, n-not hurting me would be a beaut,” Joseph replied.

“Hurt you? Why would I hurt you? I’ve got no reason to,” Twilight told Joseph with a confused expression.

“An alternate personality of mine killed the Spike on my world,” Joseph sighed, knowing he won’t get anything out of being fearful of this particular Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh dear, I can imagine how your Twilight feels. I’d be heartbroken if Spike died,” Twilight replied.

“But that’s not happening anytime soon for us,” Spike grinned.

“Now that that’s settled, I’m gonna go,” Joseph said slowly, and walked past Twilight and Spike.

“You can stay as long as you’d like, Joseph. You might think of something if you’re around me and Spike some more that could help with your situation,” Twilight said as she watched Joseph walk off.

“I’ve stayed away from my world long enough, thank you,” Joseph told them, stopping his walk and turning to face the trio.

“Well, it wasn’t as action packed as our other encounters, but it was nice seeing you again, Joseph. You got my token on you in case you need help?” Draigo said as he walked up to stand between Twilight and Spike. Joseph aimed at the wall and holding the trigger, his portal gun shuddered and a black portal rimmed with white appeared on the wall.

“Yeah, I think Fluttershy and Pinkie have it,” Joseph said before waving and jumping into the portal.

“This token, you like it. Another!” Draigo chuckled before tossing a copy of his token after Joseph, just in case he couldn’t get to Fluttershy or Pinkie. A solid thunk echoed from the portal before a yelp of pain as the portal vanished.

“I think you beaned him, Draigo,” Spike chuckled.

“I hope he can make amends with his Twilight,” Twilight said worriedly as she stared at where the portal used to be.

“I’m sure he will, but it’ll be a bumpy road with a lot of pitfalls. Especially with the alternate personality,” Draigo replied before walking out of the library. “Now if you’ll excuse, I’ve got to avoid explaining things to Celestia and Luna.” Draigo chuckled before taking off and flying away to enjoy the day and relaxing. Just as he was before the campout.

The Iridescent Element

by Danger A Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Meet and Greet

Hellfire

Court Conundrums

Welcome to Insanity

Dancing Cadenza Part 1

Dancing Cadenza Part 2: Crystal fight

Dancing Cadenza Part 3: Dinner and a Show

Holidays with Magnus

Coming of Age

Training to Death

Courting the Night's Emotions

Medicine Sucks

Corruption

Return of Kar'Voth

Coming Home

The Empire Returns, Part 1

Empire Returns Part 2

Sleepless Joe