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.

Author's Notes:

A thank you to Piece Bot for a wonderful crossover, it was great fun.

Now, I'm done accepting crossovers, for now. With this latest one done, I've got one other to finish up and then I'll give you guys some chapters that won't be crossovers. I thank you for your patience with me as an author.

Oh, inspiration for Draigo's stunt came from 'If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device'