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.