Author's Notes:

Okay, I had originally planned to do this by myself. When a crossover opportunity with Piece Bot's 'The New Salamander' came up, it was a good opportunity for us both so I took it. Also, I've noticed that whenever I do a crossover in my story that the chapter(s) get ridiculously long. Anyway, there's shenanigans and funny moments throughout the chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it. Please tell me if there are any errors or something to be fixed.

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.

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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.