Author's Notes:

WARNING- Major spoilers for Dangerbrony's not yet published story called 'Father of a Thousand Sons.' You've been warned.

Now, I know what you're thinking 'Didn't he say that he wasn't going to do another Crossover for quite awhile?.' Yes, I did. This crossover is special for a few reasons. 1- It's the holidays. 2- Dangerbrony is my brother and we live together. 3- These are both our first stories and there's a good possibilty that they will be our only stories. Anyway, this is not just a fluff chapter. Read and find out what I mean. Mwahahahaha!

Draigo was relaxing in a pool of lava inside of an active volcano after his most recent bout with the ‘war’ he’d been recruited into. He was having a very nice time until he noticed a red daemon appear before him that just shouted ‘Hey, I’m a daemon. Shoot me!’ without saying a word.

“No interdimensional boundary can contain me!” Magnus shouted as he tore a hole in reality.

“What are you talking about, daemon!?” Draigo shouted at the red daemon with horns on his chest armor.

“None of your business, overgrown handbag.”

“I am not a handbag, but you are target practice,” Draigo said as he hurled lightning at the daemon before him.

“Are you sure? Because my brother had one that looked remarkably like you that he gave to a girl he favored. If not, I can always fix that.”

“Die, you daemon,” Draigo said as he encased the daemon in an earth prison.

The red giant casually walked out of the earth. “Former daemon, thank you.”

“So you are a daemon! Now die like the rest,” Draigo said as he emitted light in hopes that it would kill it.

“Former. And you can’t kill me. I’m not here.”

“Yes you are, you’re standing right in front of me. I will not fall prey to your tricks,” Draigo said.

“This is merely a projection I use to travel the void.”

“Well, that’s a first. Someone who actually travels the void beside those stupid Displacers. I’ve traveled the void of space, but I know that’s different.”

“I find it rather tame compared to the Warp but most things are, in truth.”

“Crap, you’re one of the Warhammer people like Ahriman or Kharn, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but those two are so far beneath me it’s laughable. I haven’t seen either one in over 11,000 years mind so they may be more powerful than I remember. If you see Ahriman again do me a favor and tell him his father is still disappointed in him and then hit him really hard.”

“Okaaay, um, you’re his dad?”

“In a manner.”

“Well, I can certainly do that. He won’t like me for doing it, but I can do it.”

“Great. It’s what he deserves for turning 90% of his brothers into what amounts to dust golems.”

“He did what!?”

“To be fair, he was trying to keep them from turning into horrible mutants. He did go behind my back, though.”

“Uh huh, this involves Chaos, doesn’t it?” Draigo deadpanned.

“Slightly. The spell was mostly non-chaotic but that bastard Tzeentch certainly helped.”

“Freaking Chaos! First they mess with corpses and now I find out that they turned perfectly good living people into golems. What next, sending babies across the universe?”

“My brothers and I, yes.”

“It’s already happened!? Holy crap. There’s no way I can look at Ahriman and his Chaos Warriors the same way ever again.”

“Did he tell you about killing countless Eldar in an attempt to find a library?”

“He doesn’t really talk about himself, at all.”

“That’s odd. He usually loves to brag about how much he’s ‘accomplished.’ It’s always been a failing of his.”

“Anyway, you are Magnus the Red, yes? I recognized you after I’d calmed down from my initial reaction,” Draigo admitted as he slumped further into the lava pool.

“Magnus the Red, former daemon prince of Tzeentch and son of the Emperor of Mankind. Who are you, dragon?”

“I am Draigo, a Primordial Dragon.”

“Primordial? Interesting, primordials tend to be very powerful and wise. However, I also tend not to trust them.”

“I am very powerful, yes. The wisdom is kinda hit and miss. It depends on the situation really.”

“And the whole trust thing?”

“Well, that’s mutual right now considering I know nothing of you, why you’re here, or anything beyond your name really.”

“I travel the void searching for signs of my family. Your soul just happened to somewhat resemble my father’s.”

“A skeleton on a golden toilet has a soul that is similar to mine? I’m not sure whether to feel honored or ticked off.”

“First, the Golden Throne is an exquisite piece of machinery. Second, all large souls tend to look the same from outside the universe. I’ve had quite a few false positives in the last millennium. Most of them turn out to be Celestia or Luna, though.”

“Huh, they should have attracted you to this world even if I wasn’t here considering they stand a chance of beating me as a team.”

“Oh, they’re souls are quite large as well. It’s one of the reasons I chose to come here. Three large souls increased the chance that one of them was the Emperor.”

“Makes sense. Now that you’re here and have found out that the Man-Emperor of Mankind isn’t here, would you like to stay a bit and celebrate the winter holidays with me?”

“Why would you call him that? As for the holidays, perhaps. As I said I don’t entirely trust primordial beings but the knowledge they can share is usually quite valuable. Can you provide some reason I should stay?”

“Oh, I saw this thing back on earth where the golden skeleton himself said he wasn’t a god and was then called ‘Man-Emperor of Mankind’ instead of ‘God-Emperor of Mankind.’ It’s still kinda fuzzy, but interacting with the other Displaced has really jogged my memories of Earth. As for a reason to stay. Wouldn’t studying me and my powers be worth it since I’m probably one of the few primordial beings that would let you do so?"

“That seems redundant and asinine. If you are willing to let me study you, though, I think I will stay.”

“Alright, youngling. Should we go to the castle to see what they have planned for the holidays or should we go to Ponyville instead? I assume you know about them both, right?”

“Just because you’re old doesn’t mean I’m young. Canterlot would be nice. I haven’t been there in a while.”

“Really? How old are you, Magnus?”

“21,000 years give or take. Not much compared to you, I know, but still older than most living beings.”

“True, you’re still ‘young’ in my book, though. Just like Deathwing and Ahriman.”

“Anyway, I can’t really use my powers without a great deal of effort without a local Warp. Do you mind giving me a ride?”

“How can I give you a ride if you can walk through solid earth like it’s nothing?” Draigo asked as he got out of the lava pool.

“I can make myself tangible with a bit more effort. Though, less than if I tried to fly or teleport.”

“Ah, okay. Well, climb up and don’t fall off.” Draigo said as he extended a wing for Magnus to climb up onto his back with. Magnus quickly climbed onto Draigo’s back and grabbed onto one of the many spines protruding from his back.

“Hang on tight. I didn't plan on having passengers when I picked this volcano to relax in,” Draigo called out as he quickly ascended into the air and into an almost vertical climb out of the volcano. Once out, Draigo leveled off and banked toward Canterlot. It would be a fairly long flight for a pegasus to make, but for Draigo, it would only be an hour or two since he could climb faster and then dive down when he was close enough to his home.

Soon enough they were flying over Canterlot as a good portion of the ponies below them ran into the nearby buildings to escape what they perceived as a threat.

“Welcome to Canterlot. We’ll be touching down in the Royal Gardens before we enter my home.”

“You live in Canterlot then? Not common for Displaced if what I’ve seen on my travels is any indication.”

“I live in the castle to be precise,” Draigo said as he landed in the gardens and once more extended a wing for Magnus to slide down.

Hopping off of Draigo’s back Magnus took the time to look around and compare the Gardens to his own version. “The garden here is quite nice even in winter. I’d love to talk to the gardener and swap stories.”

“Huh, now that I think about it, I’ve never noticed a gardener taking care of this place. I know there is one, though. I’ve never grown plants myself, but that’s mainly because I can eat anything for sustenance.” Draigo admitted as he shrunk down to Celestia’s size and slowly walked toward the castle.

“Technically speaking, so could I. I don’t find minerals appealing, though. I started an underground garden like we had on Prospero to put some variety into my diet. I do miss the wine Ahriman used to produce. It was one of the few alcohols I tolerated.”

“Can you even get drunk or be affected by alcohol? Cause I’m pretty sure I can’t anymore,” Draigo said as he led Magnus to his room.

“Not at all. It’s the reason I don’t drink any. Most alcoholic drinks taste horrible to me and without the benefit of getting drunk there really isn’t a point. I suppose if I drank enough it might have some effect like my brother Russ,” Magnus said as he trailed behind.

“He’s the wolf, right? I remember some info about Warhammer from back on Earth. Like my name’s origin and some other things, but as I said earlier it’s still pretty fuzzy,” Draigo said as they passed Celestia’s room.

“Yes, my brother the wolf fetishist. Also, your parents named you after Kaldor Draigo? Did they want you to be hated by everyone?” Magnus laughed as he shook his head at the absurdity of it all.

“Laugh it up, laugh it up. I was made fun of when I entered high school because of my name,” Draigo growled, “My parents told me that they wanted me to be as awesome as Kaldor Draigo when I grew up, but all it did was make me hate him and his Grey Knights.”

“Good. No one should ever like the Grey Knights. They were clearly Malcador’s attempt to recreate my legion and it’s insulting how highly they think of themselves.”

“Didn’t he die before the Grey Knights were formed?” Draigo asked as they passed Cadence’s room.

“Yes but he was the one to set everything up for their formation. He and his knight-errants hid the supplies to make them on Titan shortly before the Siege of Terra.” Magnus scowled at the thought of the purely psychic chapter. Why did they get such perfect gene seeds while his sons had to suffer such horrible mutations as a price for their gifts?

“Okay. Well, here’s my room. You’ll find Luna’s further on just like Celestia’s and Cadence’s were earlier on,” Draigo said as he entered his room and laid down on his reinforced bed, “Now, let me change. This form is very, very comfy and much more powerful, but I find I get better reactions in my humanoid form.” Draigo then began to shift into a bipedal form. Black armor with gold lines appeared before a black cape trimmed with gold and purple lining flowed off his shoulders. Horns appeared on his helmet as well as his pauldrons. Where his eyes would be was a single glowing orb. His gauntlets had one-inch claws on each finger and a golden sword hung on his hip.

“An interesting transformation. However, the two of us together may give some of the ponies a heart attack. Perhaps I should change to something a bit less intimidating.” As he spoke his armor seemed to pull into itself before flowing back out in a white Greek robe. “Not as elegant as my armor but significantly easier for the frail in heart.”

“Mannnn, toughening up the ponies around here is one of the reasons I go around like this. You’re right, though, we’d probably end up accidentally scaring one of them to death,” Draigo said as he stood next to Magnus, “You’re a lot taller than I had originally thought.”

“Hmm, 4 meters might be a bit much for some ponies.” Magnus started to shrink until he was the same height as Draigo. “There, that should help a bit.”

“Alright, let’s go check on Celestia. She should be in ‘court’ right now,” Draigo said as he left his room and started to navigate to the throne room.

“Is her court as much of a joke here as it is in my world? Most of her petitioners come for petty reasons better solved by law enforcement or minor politicians.”

“Yep, seems about right, unfortunately,” Draigo said as he quickened his pace as he remembered some of the idiots that had tried to get Celestia involved in their petty problems.

“It seems your Celestia, like mine, is far too kind for her own good.”

“Yep, that’s why I go in like this and also one of the reasons I like her,” Draigo said as he gestured to his current form.

“I would very much like to see a court for myself. Perhaps my presence can be an additional help," Magnus said. He gestured for Draigo to lead the way in case the palace was different in this world.

As they both entered the court, Celestia’s eternal calm was very nearly broken. It was not every day that two large humanoids entered her court. Her years of training, however, kept her focused on her current petitioner even with such a mundane problem.

“So you see Your Highness, I really do need a few more minutes of sunshine each day for my health. If you might deign to intervene I would be most gracious,” a skinny brown unicorn stallion said. The look on his face made it clear that he thought he had already guaranteed his victory.

“I do see. Did you talk to your local weather manager about this health concern?”

“Oh, well, no Your Majesty.”

“I see. I’m afraid I cannot intervene until you’ve first spoken to him or her and provide a doctor’s note about your condition.”

“Did you just bother your Princess with a matter that could’ve been handled by your doctor and a weather manager?” Draigo asked as he strode over to the diminutive pony as he drew his golden sword. His sword had a double-headed eagle as its crossguard and was set ablaze once it was completely drawn from its sheath.

“Is that a replica of Father’s sword?” Magnus asked once he saw the Aquila and blazing blade.

“Yes, it is. I always liked the Emperor’s weapons and decided to duplicate his sword for an extra bit of intimidation factor,” Draigo said as he continued to slowly walk towards the petitioner.

“A good choice then. Though you can’t truly appreciate its splendor until you see him wield it himself. I know many warriors were driven to distraction by his presence on the battlefield.”

“Makes sense. Now, answer the question, whelp,” Draigo said as he pointed his flaming sword at the pony’s throat.

“Y-y-yes, I thought it’d be given more weight if the Princess were to take care of the matter,” the brown unicorn said as he trembled before Draigo.

“If someone had dared to try the same in my original reality they would have likely been killed by the Emperor’s bodyguards. The Custodes didn’t like anyone approaching the Emperor and wasting his time would be even worse. Luckily no one was foolish enough to try, unlike you little pony. Consider your fortune to have such a benevolent ruler.” Magnus looked down on the trembling pony with little sympathy.

“I’m tempted to do the same, but I’m willing to let you go without a scratch on one condition. You never come before Celestia for something mundane or petty again. Understood?” Draigo told the pony as he brought the flaming blade ever closer to the pony’s coat.

“Y-yes, of course. I-I’m sorry to have taken up your valuable time, Your Majesty,” the pony said as he backed away while inclining his head before he turned tail and galloped out of the throne room.

“There. One less annoying pest to worry about. Does anyone else have something to petition Celestia about?” Draigo yelled to the gathered ponies that had scheduled an audience with their ruler.

A light blue unicorn mare trotted up to Draigo with a look of determination on her face.

“Yes, I’d like to talk to the Princess about the ridiculous amount of bits spent on fixing Ponyville,” she told him.

“Finally, an actual concern that can’t be handled by a local government official. Please proceed,” Draigo said as he walked with the pony before continuing along to stand beside Celestia on her throne’s platform.

Seeing that Draigo wasn’t leaving anytime soon, many petitioners left. After all the petty and mundane petitioners had left there were but a few left that had actual concerns for their Princess and everything proceeded smoothly.

After a couple hours of listening and discussing different topics of concern, all of the petitions were done and Celestia closed court for the rest of the day.

“Now that court is over, would you mind introducing your guest, Draigo?” Celestia asked.

“Of course. This is Magnus the Red. He’s a Displaced like myself and he’s kinda here and kinda not. Care to explain a bit more about that, Magnus?” Draigo asked.

“Of course. To begin, this is not my real body. This is merely a psychic projection around a fragment of my soul. I’ve been searching the multiverse for any signs of my family and this search is what brought me here. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a false positive,” Magnus said in his best lecturing voice. “Draigo was kind enough to invite me to stay for the holidays and I’ve decided to accept.”

“How unfortunate that you have lost your family. You have my sympathies and I welcome you to Canterlot and my castle. If there is anything that you should need just let one of the staff know and we will do our best to accommodate you. I assume that you already know who I am, but I will introduce myself, just in case. My name is Celestia and I’m one of the diarchs of Equestria.” Celestia said after absorbing the information Magnus had told her.

“I have had the honor of meeting many Celestias in my travels. I have always found them to be wise and just rulers. Thank you for your hospitality,” Magnus said as he gave a slight bow.

“You’ve yet to visit universes with Displaced in them, haven’t you,” Draigo said rather than asked.

“I’ve observed a few but never entered. It was always obvious my family wasn’t there.”

“Makes sense. I know you haven’t visited other Displaced universes because a lot of them have Celestia as a villain or not very benevolent of a ruler. It’s unfortunate, but my Celestia was the first one that another Displaced had even heard of being good instead of evil.” Draigo explained to Magnus.

“Another reason I don’t have much contact with other ‘Displaced.’ From what I’ve seen, most are self-entitled children desperately trying to be adults. They are not welcome in my world and so I don’t interfere with theirs.”

Draigo sighed, “If you get an invitation to join ‘The War of Shadows’, quickly decline and don’t summon the representative(s). I have the unfortunate fate of being stuck participating. It turns out that the ‘war’ is more a contest and was caused because two Displaced had an incident and their Displacer decided to blow it out of proportion. That’s what it seems like at least,” Draigo said in an annoyed voice.

“Noted. Now, let us speak of happier things. If I’m not mistaken Hearth’s Warming is soon and it wouldn’t do to be so negative.”

“You are quite right on both accounts, Magnus. Draigo has the tendency to let depressing thoughts clutter his mind and thus speaks of them often. It is something that I will be trying to remedy in the future,” Celestia said as she eyed Draigo, “Oh, do look out for my sister. If she sees you before you are introduced she will most likely try to ‘vanquish’ you.”

“Thank you for the warning. Perhaps a different form would allow for a different first reaction. How does she do with children? My Luna has a weak spot for them but I’d rather not assume.”

“She still acts as though it were a thousand years ago, but she dotes on the foals that don’t flee when they see her. It’s an unfortunate side effect of becoming Nightmare Moon,” Celestia explained.

Grinning, Magnus began to shrink down until he was barely up to Celestia’s knees. He lost his muscle definition, his face rounded out, his crimson hair poofed out into a wild mess behind him and one of his front teeth disappeared. “How do I look?” Magnus asked in a significantly higher voice.

“Well, kinda an obvious statement, but like a kid from ancient Greece that spent too much time in the sun and got into the dyes used for clothing,” Draigo said while trying not to laugh.

“Perfect, just like back on Prospero. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it right after so long. I wasn’t exactly a kid for long,” Magnus said as he shot Draigo a slight glare.

“Man, I should have tried that earlier. It might have saved me from getting my wings clipped,” Draigo said as he scratched his helmet’s cheek.

“I’m afraid not, Draigo. With the news you told us, we would have just ‘spanked’ you into submission. Even if in hindsight it was futile,” Celestia said with a giggle.

“True, you didn’t have to leave me outside of Canterlot with three heavily injured legs and the fourth useless while I couldn’t fly, though. I was afraid that your more extreme subjects would try something when they saw the state I was in while walking through the city,” Draigo told her.

“Moving on. What plans do we have for today? Or do we have any?”

“Well, the only event that comes to mind is the play being put on by Twilight and her friends that depicts the union of the three tribes,” Draigo admitted.

“That play’s always been inaccurate though entertaining to watch I suppose.”

“Yep. Wanna help think of other things we can do since that play is the same year after year?” Draigo asked.

“Socializing’s never been my forte,” Magnus admitted as he shook his head

“You think a being who spent ten plus billion years by himself is going to be any good at it? Yeah, no. Do you have any holidays that you celebrate during this time of year? I mean there’s always Christmas, but I’m curious about your culture,” Draigo said.

“Not really. I suppose we could celebrate Sanguinala, though. I never celebrated it in my world considering I was on the wrong side of that war. And the whole daemon prince thing. But, Sanguinius and I did get along quite well before the Heresy so I don’t see a reason not to now.”

“Oh man, it’s strange hearing this coming from a kid. Anyway, let’s go see Luna while we talk about what we can do. I’m sure Celestia has some government paperwork that she’d like to finish early so she can relax and enjoy whatever she has on her schedule,” Draigo told Magnus as if Celestia wasn’t right next to him.

“I do, but do remember that it’s rude to talk like somepony isn’t here when she’s right next to you, Draigo,” Celestia told him before standing and slapping Draigo in the face with her tail while walking off.

“You know that your tail just passes through when it’s like that, right?”

Celestia stutter-stepped for a second before continuing on her way with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Well, let’s go introduce you to the rest of the royalty,” Draigo said before changing into his draconic form and leading the way to Luna’s room.

“Oh? Is Cadence here as well?”

“Yeah and she’s still dating that incompetent guard captain as well,” Draigo said with a bit of disgust.

“It’s not his fault the guard is largely unnecessary. Without a conflict, I doubt they’ll ever get any better and with such powerful rulers and the Elements I don’t think they’ll ever get one.”

“That’s all too true. Add onto all of that the fact that I’m here as well and you get squishy guardsmen.”

“Let’s hope nothing happens where they’re necessary.”

“Truly. Anyway, you might get glomped, you are forewarned,” Draigo said as they neared Luna’s chambers.

“Again, noted.” Magnus steeled himself for whatever horror may lie in the room ahead.

As they rounded a corner, a door with Luna’s cutie mark on it and two Thestral guards outside of it could be seen down the hallway.

“Hail, we come seeking an audience with the beautiful, Princess Luna,” Draigo said to the guards as he and Magnus neared them, “Oh if you know older English then use it. She’ll like it and understand you better.” Draigo added as an afterthought.

“Still getting used to the new vernacular?”

“Yep, I’ve been trying to help, but it’s been hit and miss.”

The guards seeing that it was Draigo who requested the audience parted after knocking on the door three times without a word said.

Draigo barely touched the door before a midnight blue aura opened the door for them.

“I think she’s trying to be all mysterious again. It’s adorable,” Draigo said as he slowly walked into Luna’s room with a grin on his face.

“I can understand a need for mystery. I often find it lends a certain something to the situation,” Magnus said nodding his head.

“Who is this child thou hast brought with thee, Draigo?” a voice was heard to say from within the darkness.

Magnus nodded to Draigo, trusting him to deal with the eccentric royal.

“The child’s name is Magnus, my moonbeam. He hast traveled far to find his family that hast been scattered across the universe,” Draigo said without trying to find Luna in the gloom.

Suddenly Magnus was glomped from behind as a midnight mane engulfed his form.

“We art sorry to hear of thine afflictions. How canst We not try to comfort thee with hugs and nuzzles?” Luna said as she squeezed and nuzzled the ‘child.’

“They’ve been gone for a really long time. Sometimes it feels like millennia since I last saw them,” Magnus said with as much sorrow as he could muster. Difficult when he was trying not to smile.

“Oh, thou poor child. Allow Us to help sooth thy weary heart,” Luna cried out as she picked Magnus up and brought him over to a table laden with confectionery delights, “Thou canst have any of these confectionaries thou wouldst like.”

Magnus surveyed the table before settling on what appeared to be a chocolate ball. He was delighted to find it had been stuffed with peanut butter. After several moments of chewing, he hugged Luna as tightly as he could. “Thank you, Aunty Luna.”

As Draigo was watching these events unfold he had a hard time keeping his laughter under control so as to not blow Magnus’ cover before the Primarch wanted it uncovered.

“Is there anything Aunty Luna canst help thou with, Nephew?” Luna asked with a comforting smile.

“Draigo scared me when we went to Aunt Celly’s court. Can you protect me from him?” Magnus made his eyes as large as possible with tears forming in the corners.

“I did no such thing, Luna. I’ll admit that I got rid of a pest for Celestia, but that’s all.” Draigo said as he held up his claws in a submissive gesture.

Luna’s eyes widened before she leveled a deadly glare at Draigo. She stepped in front of Magnus and extended one of her wings as a pseudo-shield.

“He pulled out a really scary flaming sword and threatened to kill somepony for talking to Aunt Celly. I was really worried.” Magnus sniffled a bit and hugged Luna’s leg to sell the story.

“Well, he has me there. The idiot pony was trying to get Celestia to take care of a weather problem because he needed a few more minutes of sunshine every day. He didn't even have a doctor's note. I intimidated the unicorn and got any others like him to leave,” Draigo admitted as he backed into a wall.

Luna could believe what she was hearing, but couldn’t believe that Draigo would do so in front of a child as young as Magnus. She stomped a hoof in anger that left minor cracks in her floor before sending a blast of magic at Draigo that she knew wouldn’t do anything besides make him aware that she was very displeased with his behavior.

“Then he stood by the throne to make sure nopony could be comfy speaking to Aunt Celly.”

“They shouldn’t be comfy speaking to her anyway, in my opinion. That’s beside the point, though."

“The point where you’re really mean and scary?”

“Says the kid who I’m pretty sure will look like a big red daemon when he grows up. Now, Luna, stay away from your armory. I mean it,” Draigo said as he noticed Luna’s eyes flick toward the door of her armory.

“You have an armory? Can I see it?”

“Mine personal armory is not a place for children to visit. Perhaps when thou art older We can show thee, perhaps,” Luna said as she brought out a shield and sword in her magical grip.

“Cool!” Magnus backed off a bit and prepared to watch the coming spectacle. He grabbed a few more of the snacks to further enhance the atmosphere. Just as planned.

“I’d love to say ‘he’s lying’, but that would be lying. Luna, are you really going to fight me in front of the ‘child?’ Cause that makes you just as bad if not worse than me,” Draigo said. Luna returned her sword and shield to their rightful places but remained between Magnus and Draigo with a very cross expression on her muzzle.

Magnus’ smile quickly turned to a scowl as he returned several of the snacks to the table.

“Be that as it may, Draigo. Thou shouldst know better than to do such things in front of innocent minded children. Thou shouldst be ashamed of thyself. We shall think of a proper punishment once We have calmed down enough to properly think of one,” Luna said in a very pissed Royal Canterlot voice.

Draigo had reacted quickly enough that Luna’s decibel level was returned to normal for him after the first sentence. His ears were still ringing from the close proximity, though.

“Well, perhaps there’s a way I can make it up to you, Luna?” Draigo asked after the ringing in his ears had subsided enough that he didn’t have to shout to hear himself speak.

“Thou shouldst be making it up to Magnus, but We have been meaning to ask thou for a favor. Wouldst thou allow Us to enter thy dreams? Thou art the only being We’ve never been able to help while in the dream realm and We wouldst like to change that,” Luna told Draigo with a small amount of blush appearing on her cheeks.

“That’s super cute, Aunty. I didn’t know you two were a couple,” Magnus said with a small smirk on his face

“We’re not a couple,” Draigo quickly replied, “Wish we were, though,” Draigo muttered under his breath.

“I heard that.”

“You heard nothing, nothing!”

“He’s scaring me again!”

“Draigo, control thyself!” Luna said as she was both confused and worried.

“Ugh, it’s all Magnus’ fault,” Draigo said as he slumped to the floor.

“That’s what my brothers used to say. Then Dad put me on trial for having the same powers as he does,” Magnus said with no small amount of bitterness in his voice.

“Thine own parent put thee on trial?” Luna asked she was shocked at what Magnus’ father put the child through.

“He didn’t want to. But most people in the Imperium didn’t really trust me and kept bugging him about it so he didn’t have much choice. I blame Russ and Mortarion more than anyone.”

“Thou poor child. Come here so Aunty Luna can hug you and never let go,” Luna said as she levitated Magnus over and into her outstretched hooves.

“Yeah, then Russ broke my back during a fight.”

“How didst thou survive a broken back while fighting thine brother? Thou shouldst not fight with thine brethren,” Luna said as he voice took on a sterner tone.

“It was all Horus’ fault. He told Russ that Father wanted me dead. I had to make due without a body for ten thousand years after that.”

“Ten thousand years... but... thou hast been alive for that long?” Luna asked in confusion.

“Yep, he’s older than you and has been playing you like a fiddle, Luna,” Draigo told her.

Luna immediately dropped Magnus and walked over to Draigo’s side before glaring at the supposed ‘child.’

“I didn’t mean any harm. Celestia said you would try to vanquish me so I de-aged myself to seem less threatening.” As Magnus spoke he grew in size until he was back to his original size. This had the curious effect of changing his pitch significantly as he spoke. His armor flowed back out from his robe and a sword appeared attached to his side. “I’m sorry for the deception but the opportunity to play a joke on Draigo was too much. I’ve been trying to fool a primordial for a very long time and couldn’t help but give it a shot here. In my defense almost none of what I said was untrue,” Magnus said as he bent over to make sure his head didn’t go through the ceiling.

“Besides actually being scared, you mean,” Draigo said as Luna reclaimed her senses.

“I said ‘almost none.’”

“We admit that had thou shown up as thou art right now that We would hast fired a few magical bolts at thee. Nonetheless, We shall meet out a proper punishment for thine deception and almost making Us engage Draigo in combat. Thou art sentenced to remain as a child whilst thou art introduced to Our niece,” Luna said in an official sounding voice

“Very well then. I even promise not to stir up trouble. The two of you will have to keep a straight face if this is going to work, though.” Magnus promptly shrunk himself back to his previous form. “I haven’t been this small since I was one. A shame really, it can be quite fun.”

“We find thy lack of faith disturbing,” Luna said as she trotted out of her chambers with the two Displaced in tow.

“I did fairly well keeping my emotions in check while you were having your ‘fun’ with Luna,” Draigo added as they walked down the halls toward Cadence’s room.

“True. Any suggestions for what to do with Cadence? I hate repeat performances.”

“Well, I think you’re just going to have to wing it, my little daemon,” Draigo said teasingly.

“Call me that again and I’ll rip out your soul and feed it to an actual daemon.”

“Geez, can’t take a little teasing? Oh, you said that you were a fragment of your soul. What’s your main part doing right now?"

“Just not about the daemon thing. My body is currently reading a book while waiting for the Elements to do something about Nightmare Moon.”

“Thou art doing nothing to help? Thou art worse than We had previously thought,” Luna said over her withers.

“I am helping but I can’t do anything too big. A shield while they sleep or a secret passage into the castle are as much as I can do. If we were to come to blows I fear I would be forced to destroy you and that is something I cannot abide.”

“Why can’t you abide her destruction? You like her or something?” Draigo asked as he glanced down at him.

“I’ve watched Celestia and Luna since they were both born. They are the greatest champions of harmony Tethra has and I fear what would happen without either of them.”

“Okay, I can believe that. Alright, Cadence’s room is right around this corner. You should think of how you’re going to act.” Draigo rounded the corner and quickened his pace so he was side by side with Luna.

“Tis going to be very entertaining to see Princess Cadenza’s reaction after the ‘child’s’ true identity is revealed,” Luna said with a giggle.

Walking up to Cadence’s door, Draigo knocked and waited for a response. They immediately heard hushed voices, quick hoof steps, and the sound of a door closing. Draigo couldn’t help but grin as he thought about what those noises meant. This is going to be even better than I thought.

+Indeed, Draigo+

How the...who?...Right, psychic powers. Crap, not even my thoughts are safe now.

+Relax, I promise not to delve too deep.+

I wouldn’t suggest it anyway since I have more memories than time in this body. I have no idea what it would do to someone’s mind even if they are someone as powerful in psychic abilities as you. Anyway, back to Cadence.

“It’s taking her a bit, isn’t it?

“That it is. I think I’ll be a little rude with the justification that I heard some strange noises and became concerned for her safety,” Draigo said as he quickly opened Cadence’s door as he entered her room.

“Everything okay in here, Cadence?”

“Ah! Draigo, you scared me. Everything is alright. I was just, um, cleaning,” Cadence responded.

“Is that why you’re out of breath and look really red?” Magnus asked as innocently as he could.

“Who is this child? He’s not yours is he, Draigo?” Cadence asked, glad for the easy change of subject.

“Daddy finally decided to introduce me to everyone,” Magnus said with a glance in Draigo’s direction.

Draigo sighed but decided to play along with the farce. “This is Magnus. I found him while taking a bath. Magnus, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She is very nice and knows a lot about love.”

“Hi, Princess Cadenza. It’s really nice to meet you,” Magnus said as he beamed and closed his eyes.

“It’s so very nice to meet you as well, Magnus. Please, call me Cadence,” Cadence told the ‘child’ before her, “Now, why don’t we all take a seat and enjoy some nice tea and snacks?”

“Tea’s yucky. I do like snacks, though.”

“I’m with the boy. Are you sure you’re fine, though, Cadence? I heard some strange noises that didn’t sound like cleaning,” Draigo said as he walked over to a nearby closet.

“Yes, I’m fine. There’s no need to search my room, Draigo.”

“Who said I was searching?” Draigo said as he put his claw on the doorknob, “Magnus, would you like to see what Cadence has in her closet? There could be all sorts of fun things inside.”

“Yay! I like exploring.”

“Verily, keeping a child entertained with just snacks is nigh-impossible,” Luna said as she took a seat on a couch that gave her a view of the closet in question.

“Oh! If that’s what you’re looking for then those are in a different closet. That one has nothing but clothing inside,” Cadence said as she edged toward the closet.

“I bet there’s treasure. If I had treasure I would hide it in the boring closet too.”

“N-nope, no treasure there. I keep the treasure map in my desk in a false bottom,” Cadence said as she tried to direct Magnus’ attention elsewhere in hopes that Draigo would follow his ‘son.’

“Where?” Magnus asked with false enthusiasm.

“Over there in my desk. Why don’t you go see if you can find it while I talk to your Dad and Aunt Luna?” Cadence said as she pointed to her desk on the other side of the room.

“What would you like to talk about, Cadence?” Draigo asked as he sat down next to Luna on the couch. He decided that whoever or whatever was stewing in the closet could patiently wait to be revealed.

“Well, have either of you thought about spending time with your significant other during the holidays?” Cadence asked as she glanced between the two. Magnus snickered as he glanced between the two.

+Yes, Draigo. Any plans?+

None of you business, Magnus. “Cadence, you know my situation,” Draigo said with as straight a face as he could.

“Our significant other? Dear Niece, it would be wonderful to spend the holidays with somepony like that, but We’re unsure of how the stallion would react to an invitation given by Us.”

Crap, she said ‘stallion’ and that usually means a pony. “I’m sure that the lucky stallion would accept and spend more time with you, Luna. Isn’t that right, Cadence?” Draigo asked hoping to liven Luna’s spirits up a bit.

“Yeah, Aunty Luna. Anybody would love to spend time with you. I bet Draigo wishes he could.”

“Don’t you have treasure to find, Son?” Draigo asked giving Magnus a mild glare while he blushed a bit.

“I agree with Magnus. Anyone you ask would be delighted to spend the Holidays with you, Aunt Luna,” Cadence said with a sly wink to Draigo.

Draigo coughed into his claw a bit, “What about you, Cadence? Any plans with that wimp of a guardsman?”

“Why yes, I do. We’re going to spend as much time together as possible and have a romantic dinner the night before Hearth’s Warming.” Cadence told them as she beamed and bounced a bit on her couch while ignoring Draigo's barb at her coltfriend.

“Sounds lovely. Speaking of Dull Cloth, where is he?” Draigo asked as a sound was heard from the closet.

“There’s a monster in the closet. I’m gonna blow it up,” Magnus said as he summoned as much fire into his hands as he could. A considerably difficult task without a local Warp to call upon.

“Nonononono. This monster is a good monster. He hasn’t harmed a hair on my head since he started living in there and it’ll be such a pain to replace the door and all the clothing inside,” Cadence quickly said after she had recovered enough from the shock of seeing the young Magnus summon so much fire. She went over to the closet and placed herself between it and the flame wielding youth

“Now, Magnus. Cadence is right,” Draigo said before pausing for dramatic effect, “Wait until Daddy opens the door to blast it into oblivion. That way her door and clothes will be saved.”

“Fine. This isn’t really easy so could you hurry?”

“Of course, my son,” Draigo said before hurrying past Cadence and quickly opening the closet door. Upon the door’s opening, a disheveled looking pony in purple and gold armor tumbled onto his face and out of the closet, “Well, son. Here’s your monster. Don’t miss.”

“Kay.” Magnus wound back his hand. “Another one down.”

“Wait, he’s not a monster. He’s my coltfriend,” Cadence shouted as she dove on top of the prone pony.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, the looks on your faces! I may not get along with this pile of flesh, but he’s better than the other incompetent guardsmen we’ve got and I don’t want to see you crying over a grave for a good long time,” Draigo said as he slapped the floor with his tail in merriment.

“Captain Armor, why wouldst thou hide in a closet?” Luna said as she hid a giggle with a hoof, “The two of thee shouldst know better than to do something like this, though. Shame on the both of thee.” Luna had started jovially but had finished with a stern gaze passing between Draigo and Magnus.

“Sorry, Luna. I couldn’t help myself when I heard the scuffling from behind the door. I just had to embarrass Armor on this one. You know that neither of us likes the other,” Draigo told the upset Alicorn of the night.

Magnus decided to continue to play his role and looked down in shame. He dismissed his fireball and shot a glance towards where Shining was recovering his dignity. Or at least, what he could.

Shining Armor stood up and glared at Draigo. “Your kid nearly incinerated me because of you. You need to teach him when to use his powers and when not to use his powers.”

“This was the perfect situation to use his powers. He thought there was a monster in the closet and was ready to defeat it. I couldn’t be prouder,” Draigo said with a Cheshire cat grin.

“You sound just like Russ, Shining. Always going on about control while having no idea what they’re actually talking about. My power is under control. If it wasn’t I wouldn’t have been able to get rid of it,” Magnus said. His childish appearance not at all matching with his attitude.

“See? Everything was under control and the situation called for a little force since we didn’t know who or what was in the closet. Oh, congratulations on coming out of the closet, Shining,” Draigo said with a small chuckle.

“Very funny, Draigo. At least, I have somepony who cares about me and will be there when I need her. You? You’ve been single for your entire life. How’s that feel?” Shining said as he glared daggers at Draigo.

“Wanna take this outside, Armor? Let’s see how well you do without your guard to help,” Draigo said as loomed over Shining Armor and returned his glare.

Luna and Cadence shared a knowing look and nodded to each other. Cadence pushed Shining away while Luna did her best to keep Draigo from following. The end result was the two combatants were separated to opposite sides of the room. Shining into a corner while Draigo remained where he was standing, both still glaring at each other. Magnus merely looked on in amusement as the two hotheads got a dressing down from their significant others.

Once the two had calmed down sufficiently they were allowed to go sit on two separate couches with each of the mares sitting next to their respective hothead. Tea was served to the three ponies and grape juice was served to Draigo and Magnus. Magnus’ cup had a sippy lid on top so that the ‘child’ couldn’t spill his drink as easily.

“So, you’ve been making out with Armor while no one was around. Be careful you don’t catch anything. All kinds of diseases have been passed that way,” Draigo said matter-of-factly as he sipped his juice.

Both Cadence and Shining Armor choked on their tea when they heard Draigo’s statement.

“We would like to tell thee that there’s nothing to be ashamed of, but We would have done the same in thy place,” Luna admitted.

“How old is Magnus, Draigo?” Cadence asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“How old does he look?” Draigo answered her question with another question.

“Well, I can’t really tell to be honest,” Cadence admitted, “How long has he been here?”

“He just arrived today,” Draigo honestly answered.

“You mean he’s been by himself for who knows how long!?” Cadence exclaimed.

“Well, I’m not sure. The boy hasn’t really told me much since I found him,” Draigo admitted as he gestured to Magnus.

“Magnus, how long have you wandered the wilderness? Did you have a family or others with you before you met Draigo?” Cadence asked with concern permeating her entire being.

“I had a young mare with me before I met Draigo. We got along pretty well. I’m not sure how long, though.”

“Oh, you poor child. What happened to the young mare? Did you two get separated? I wish there were some way we could help you.” Cadence sipped her tea and offered some snacks to Magnus.

“She travels around doing shows. It feels like we never separated even if we’re not close anymore,” Magnus said with a winning smile and small tilt of his head. Hopefully, Cadence would eat that up.

Cadence soon had tears welling up in her eyes as she walked over and hugged Magnus. Magnus quickly made sure she would actually feel something when she touched him.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but we had best be going. I had only intended to introduce Magnus to you. He, Luna, and I are going to go make some plans to help celebrate the holidays,” Draigo said as he stood and slowly walked to the door.

“It was good to meet you, Cadence. You too, Shining, I guess,” Magnus said. He got off the chair and started walking to the door. While being a child could be fun he was eager to return to his normal self. Or as normal as a fragment of a soul could get.

“‘Twas good seeing both of thee. We bid thee a good day and happy holidays,” Luna said as she followed the two Displaced out the door.

“Let’s go back to your room, Luna. It’ll provide the most privacy.” Draigo started walking back to Luna’s chambers as he noticed her quickly catch up.

“What do you need privacy for, Draigo?” Celestia asked as she walked from the direction of Luna’s chambers. “Nothing inappropriate I hope,” Celestia teased.

“You are more than welcome to come along to find out, Celestia,” Draigo commented with a smirk on his face. “I’d actually prefer you to join us in our fun.” Draigo slid his tail along Celestia’s wing as he walked past her.

“I hope I’m invited as well,” Magnus said with the most innocent smile he could manage on his childish face.

“The more the merrier, my troll of a friend,” Draigo called to the diminutive Primarch.

“Now, I really hope it’s nothing inappropriate considering we have a child joining us. Wait, this is a child, right?” Celestia asked as she scrutinized Magnus’ form.

“Not quite but Luna forbade me from returning to my original form until we were done talking to Cadence. Now that we are further away I suppose I shall transform back.” His form once again grew as his robe flowed back into itself and his ornate golden armor once again adorned him.

“Twas a punishment for tricking Us and almost making Us join Draigo in combat,” Luna explained as they walked towards her room.

“I’m sure pranking Cadance had nothing to do with it,” Magnus said with laughter in his voice

“We would never even consider pranking Our dear niece,” Luna said with a grin.

“Yes, it's not like we get bored with our daily routines and take opportunities to change them up or anything,” Celestia said with a grin of her own.

“Then you didn't send your student and her friends to ‘relocate' me just so you could watch what happened, right?” Draigo said over his shoulder. Celestia and Luna blushed for a moment before chuckling as they remembered the events of that day.

Celestia cleared her throat, “Of course not. That was to help develop them for future encounters.”

“An important endeavor to be sure. If your future is anything like what I’ve foreseen for my own they will need all the experience they can get just to survive.”

“Speaking of survival. I know I said that we should let them choose whether to use armor or not, but after speaking with other Displaced I’ve decided to get them all armor whether they like it or not,” Draigo said as Luna’s chambers came into view.

“Armor is a good idea. However, it takes training to use efficiently. Without that training the armor could just as easily get them killed,” Magnus pointed out.

“True. That’s why I’ll have Shining Armor, the least incompetent guard, give them some training while I attend to some other matters. Recent events have made it necessary that I leave Equestria for a while,” Draigo explained as he brushed past Luna’s guards and into her room.

“Does this have to do with your latest ‘war’ experience or the dragon you dispatched? Both have been fairly recent,” Celestia asked with concern in her voice.

“The dragon. I must go to his roost to visit his mate to make sure things are going well and to replace him so that the dragons over there have their leadership back again. While Shen’s mate is just as powerful as he was, one dragon can’t lead an entire race of dragons without major losses due to the power struggle to become the next leader. This is something I’d rather not happen if it can be helped,” Draigo explained as he closed the doors behind them. “Anyway, time to discuss what we came here to discuss. The holidays and celebrating them.”

“A more pleasant subject to be sure.”

“We already have plans to watch the Hearth’s Warming play that Twilight and her friends are putting on. Is there really anything else needed?” Celestia asked.

“Well, that’s good for Hearth’s Warming, but what about for those that don’t celebrate it or want to celebrate another holiday. Back on Earth, we had Christmas during this time of year and Magnus said something about Sanguinala. I’d like to try to celebrate or, at least, incorporate aspects of both of these this year,” Draigo said as he gestured to Magnus.

“As a warning, Sanguinala is not nearly as jovial as the others. With it, we celebrate the sacrifice of my brother, Sanguinius, as his death allowed the Emperor’s victory over Horus.

“Why do you celebrate something like that then? Isn’t that something you usually mourn over?” Celestia asked.

“As I said it is somewhat less jovial than Hearth’s Warming. However, it is still a celebration. If he had not died there is a good chance Humanity would have died instead. One life for the lives of trillions.”

“That was a noble sacrifice indeed then,” Luna said.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you were on the wrong side of the battle to celebrate Sanguinala?” Celestia asked, remembering their conversation from the throne room.

“Yes, unfortunately, I was one of Horus’ generals. Though I had nothing to do with what happened on the Vengeful Spirit.”

“Weren’t all of the primarchs technically his generals since he was Warmaster of the Imperium?” Draigo asked quizzically.

“Up until the Heresy. At that point, we split in half. Nine for the Emperor, nine against him.”

“Ah, right, okay. Anyway, I know how to celebrate Christmas. How do you celebrate Sanguinala? Dress up as Sanguinius or something?” Draigo asked.

“On some planets, yes. Others have feasts or funeral processions. The only common factor is decorating with Blood Angel heraldry.”

“Blood Angel? Who or what is a ‘Blood Angel?’” Celestia asked with a slight cringe as her imagination got the best of her.

“The name of Sanguinius’ legion. Their emblem is a drop of blood with white wings spread on either side.”

“Well, since it’d most likely be just you and me celebrating it, what would you like to do? Celestia and Luna seem to already have plans for tonight so we’ll most likely have to celebrate without them,” Draigo said.

“If I could eat while in this state I would suggest a feast. As it is, perhaps I could tell you stories of Sanguinius’ greatest triumphs and perhaps get a tree for Christmas.”

“Sounds good. I can deliver some presents while we’re out as well,” Draigo said with a smile.

“Are we playing Santa as well? I’m going to draw the line at transforming into him. You can do that.”

“If I transform into him then we don’t have any transportation so I’ll stay as I am,” Draigo said

“So it’s agreed neither of us are turning into Father Christmas then?”

“Yep, no old Kris Kringle for Equestria. Just a dragon and the ghost of a primarch,” Draigo affirmed.

“Speaking of my noncorporeal status, I may need to leave without much notice so if that happens please don’t take offense.”

“Okay, good to know. Make sure to send your token to me when you get it created as well. You do know about tokens, right?” Draigo said as he brought out a copy of his own token.

“Yes, though I’ve never made one. I’ll be sure to get you one before I go. A Christmas present of sorts.”

“I’ll give you mine right now so that we don’t forget about it,” Draigo said as he put his token next to the incorporeal primarch.

“I’ll make sure to bring it with me when I’m recalled.” Magnus picked up the hourglass and tucked it into his collar.

“Anyway, let’s go find a tree and let these lovely ladies continue with their plans,” Draigo commented as he strode to Luna’s balcony while his tail brushed each of their chins as he passed by. Both of the alicorns couldn’t help but blush due to the meaning behind Draigo’s gesture. They didn’t know if Draigo knew the significance of it but assumed he did.

Magnus walked past the incoherent alicorns and lept off of the balcony. The nonchalant act brought Celestia and Luna out of their thoughts. “Could he fly?”

“He said he could with great effort, but he just jumped off the balcony and landed on the ground,” Draigo explained to the worried royalty behind him.

“You didn’t stop to flirt more did you?” Magnus called up to Draigo.

“Flirt? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Magnus,” Draigo said as he glided down to join Magnus.

“I never thought a primordial like you would be so romantically inclined.”

“No really, what in the great beyond are you on about?” Draigo asked

“You slid your tail beneath their chins. That is the height of flirting for ponies, at least in my world.”

“I what!? Oh crap, did I do that subconsciously?” Draigo asked as panic started to set in.

“You didn’t notice how badly they were blushing? I swear they were catatonic for a few seconds.”

“They were? I didn’t look back at them once I’d gotten to the balcony,” Draigo admitted.

“The observational prowess of a being as old as time, ladies and gentlemen,” Magnus said as he clapped sarcastically.

“Hey! I can keep track of everyone in battle. Apparently I need to remember to keep track of everyone all the time. That and to look before I leap,” Draigo said defensively.

“Apparently,” Magnus agreed with a small chuckle.

“Well, let’s go search for that tree since that’s the only thing we’re missing really,” Draigo said as he glanced up at the balcony and found both of the princesses watching them. He quickly looked away with a massive blush on his face due to the revelation Magnus had given him.

Magnus nodded his consent and together the two walked off into town. Magnus once again expanded to his original height now that there were no ceilings for his upper body to disappear into. While he was fine being any size this size was always the most comfortable to him.

“So, Sanguinius was the primarch with blonde hair and wings, right? I kinda remember him being a powerhouse and really respected,” Draigo asked to fill the silence as they searched for a Christmas tree.

“He was. Sanguinius was one of the greatest of us. In physical combat, only two other primarchs could hope to match him. I was not among them. Despite his strength, he was humble and courteous and often held himself back subconsciously. He was one of the few brothers I considered a friend.”

“So, tell me of one of his great triumphs as we continue our search. I’m not even sure that we’ll find a tree within the city actually,” Draigo said.

“I will start with the Siege of Terra. The palace had already been overrun. Only Eternity Gate stood between the forces of chaos and the Golden Throne and the Emperor. Ten thousand traitor marines massed to try to force the gate. Sanguinius alone stood in their way. For hours, Sanguinius held off the tide of traitors slaying them by the hundreds. Reinforcements finally arrived and relieved him but before he could rest a Greater Daemon rose from the horde to confront him atop the gate. The battle was fierce, blows being exchanged at a pace no mortal could follow. Sanguinius’ exhaustion eventually caught up to him and he was thrown to the ground by the Bloodthirster. Before the final blow was struck Sanguinius surged into the air seizing him by ankle and wrist. Upwards and upwards Sanguinius flew until at the peak of his flight he brought Ka’Bandha down across his knee breaking his back with a resounding crack.” Magnus gestured emphatically throughout his retelling hoping to paint the scene before him.

“Holy crap, that’s a lot of enemies to face by yourself and still claim victory. Are all his fights like that? Cause if they are, I really don’t think he’s human,” Draigo said in awe.

“We’re so far removed from mainstream humanity we might as well not be. Though, most of his fights weren’t like that, no.”

“Well, alright then. How about we get the biggest tree in town?” Draigo suggested with a mischievous grin.

“To be frank, if two beings our size got an average tree it would look more like Charlie Brown’s,” Magnus said as he gave a shake of his head.

“All too true. I think the biggest one is in Blueblood’s backyard,” Draigo said as he steered them toward Blueblood’s mansion.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending it to us. He’s always been able to see reason after all,” Magnus said with a completely straight face.

“We are talking about the same Blueblood, right?” Draigo asked.

“Technically, no. From your reaction, I’d guess this world’s Blueblood is more like the rest of the nobles then.”

“Yeah, he gets along with his ‘cousin’, but is fairly despised by most of the mares and scorned by the stallions. Unless they’re after something then they brown nose like none other. Personally, I’m unsure what the kid is actually like. I’m sure he puts up a facade for the public but whether he keeps that facade up for everyone or not is still to be seen,” Draigo explained.

“Well, we are about to find out. Before we continue, I think it only fair to extend an invitation to him if we are to commandeer his tree.”

“Of course, we must be civil if we are to figure out the truth about Blueblood,” Draigo agreed.

With that agreement, the two turned up the long drive towards Blueblood’s front door. Once they were at the front door Draigo knocked on the door to the rhythm of Mario’s theme song. A maid soon opened the front door and froze in place upon seeing the two beings before her.

“Hello, we’re here to see Prince Blueblood. Would you please inform him of our arrival?” Draigo asked the terrified mare.

The maid frantically nodded her head and rushed away from the door. After several minutes of waiting, they saw the same maid approaching with a nervous look on her face. “The master will see you. If you’ll please follow me?”

“Of course, thank you,” Draigo said as he followed the maid further into the mansion. They were soon entering a private library that had a fire going in its hearth. A white unicorn with a blonde mane and tail with a compass rose for a cutie mark was sitting in an easy chair while reading a book and sipping hot chocolate from a mug.

“Good evening, gentlestallions. How may I help you this evening? I, of course, recognize Draigo from his time at the palace though I’m afraid I don’t know you sir…?”

“Allow me to introduce you two then. Prince Blueblood, this is Magnus the Red. Magnus, this is Prince Blueblood, nephew to the Princesses,” Draigo said.

“A pleasure to meet you, Prince Blueblood. We are here to inquire after an evergreen we might use for the winter holidays. As you can see we are both rather large and so we would like an appropriately sized tree to properly celebrate. You are, of course, welcome to join us if you should so desire,” Magnus said with the respect due royalty.

“Hmm, a reasonable request considering how large Draigo can get. I don’t need a tree of that size so you may use in my backyard so long as you don’t destroy the rest of the garden getting it out. I would hate to have my gardener overworked due to a single tree being taken. As for joining you, I’m afraid I already have plans and must politely decline,” Blueblood told them politely.

“Thank you for your understanding and for allowing us to use your tree. Any damage that is caused from me taking your tree will be repaired before our departure. You have my word,” Draigo said as he inclined his head towards Blueblood.

“Excellent, my maid will show you to the backyard. Happy holidays and a merry new year to you both,” Blueblood said as he raised his mug in farewell.

“Happy holidays, Your Highness.” Magnus gave a small bow and turned to follow the now much calmer maid.

Upon arrival in the backyard, the maid left them with a curtsy. The desired tree was plain to see and stood at ten meters tall. Closer inspection of the tree revealed it was a noble fir and it had branches covering the entirety of its trunk. Draigo slowly and carefully began to work the tree from the ground. It took a few minutes of concentrated effort, but Draigo finally got the tree out of the ground with minimal damage to the surrounding area. He quickly fixed the damage as he’d told Blueblood and filled in the hole where the tree once stood.

The trip back to the palace was made in companionable silence, both enjoying their own thoughts of the coming festivities. As they entered the palace gardens they set about finding a good spot to plant their tree. Draigo settled for making some bouquets out of some flowers and planting their tree in the vacant flower bed after trimming its roots a bit.

“There, any suggestions for decorations? I was thinking a bit of frost covering the entire tree would help give it more shine and maybe some gems here and there for more colors,” Draigo said as he envisioned how their tree would look.

“It’s traditional to put an angel on top. Why don’t we commission a local seamstress to make a likeness of Sanguinius?”

“Well, I think that Celestia has a royal seamstress in the castle, but I think supporting one of the businesses in the city would be more in line with the holiday spirit. With that in mind, I can’t really think of a seamstress in Canterlot since I don’t need clothing,” Draigo said with a slight shrug of his wings.

“Perhaps Cadence would know one that could work on such short notice.”

“With the amount of clothes she has I’m pretty sure you’re right. Let’s go ask before we start actually decorating the tree,” Draigo said. The pair were soon in front of the pink alicorn’s door.

“Hopefully, we aren’t interrupting anything this time. They might start to hold it against you.”

“Hmm, couldn’t care if Armor held it against me, but I do like Cadence. Well, only one way to find out without resorting to some sort of power,” Draigo said as he knocked on the door with a heavy claw.

“What is it, this time, Draigo? I’m still upset about how you interrupted my time with Shiney and almost got into a fight with him,” Cadence shot at Draigo once she had opened her door and saw who it was.

“You know he and I don’t get along. I do apologize for interrupting your time with him, even if it was funny knowing that he was shoved into a closet. I brought you some flowers to help make up for that and there’s something I’d like to ask you about,” Draigo said as he brought a bouquet out from behind his back and presented it to Cadence.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Draigo, and they smell lovely. Wait, aren’t these from Aunt Celestia’s garden? Does she know about this?” Cadence asked as she put the flowers in a vase anyway.

“Yes and no. Don’t try to change the subject. We’ve got a question for you,” Draigo said as he shook his head to try to focus on what he was here for.

“We? Is Magnus with you? I don’t see the little guy,” Cadence asked as she turned back to look out the doorway.

“Hello again, Cadence.” Magnus had shrunk back down to fit in the hallway but still towered over Cadence.

“WAAAGH! You’re not Magnus! Magnus is a nice little boy, thing. Okay, I’m not actually sure what to call him, but he’s small and nice. You are big, wearing armor, and obviously much older,” Cadence scrutinized as she got into a fighting stance that her aunts had taught her and charged her magic.

“My apologies but it was Luna’s idea.”

“Dang it, Aunt Luna. Well, how much of what I was told was actually the truth?” Cadence asked as she face hoofed after being told Luna was part of the encounter.

“Well, I did find him while I was bathing and he is young enough to be my adopted son. I doubt he’d want to be adopted by me, though,” Draigo admitted.

“At 21,000, I don’t really think I need a father figure anymore. Of course, finding Father is one of my goals but there is more to it than a desire for parental acceptance.”

“I figured as much. Is there anything else we’re forgetting about while we are disclosing the truth to her?” Draigo asked as he watched Cadence’s expression turn from combative to understanding to shocked within moments.

“As far as I’m aware the only deception was pretending I’m a child. Besides your avoidance of your crush on Luna, anyway.”

“Ugh, I still can’t believe I did that with my tail while not knowing I did it. I really need to keep track of my tail more whether I’m around them or not,” Draigo said as he wrapped his tail around one of his hind legs.

“Okay, what did he do?” Cadence asked both nervously and curiously.

“Brushed his tail under Celestia’s and Luna’s chins as he walked past the two of them. You should have seen their faces.”

“YOU WHAT!? Shiney hasn’t even done that to me and we have been dating for months now. Do you realize what you’ve done?” Cadence said as she rounded on the now cowering dragon.

“Um, maybe? How bad did I mess up?” Draigo said as he backed away from the yelling pink pony.

“Well, that depends. What was their reaction to him doing that? If I guess right then Draigo didn’t even notice their reactions,” Cadence stated as she bore down on Draigo.

“Well their faces were red enough to be mistaken for my own and they were catatonic for at least five seconds before I jumped off the balcony.”

“Wow, now that’s a reaction. Draigo, you basically just admitted that you love them both without knowing how they feel about you. You’ve just passed the point of no return in your relationship with both of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cornered you the first chance they get and force you to make the decision you’ve, hopefully, been thinking about for months,” Cadence told him as she watched the color literally drain from not just his face, but his entire body.

“Once again the resilience of primordial beings shine through in your example, oh lord of drakes.”

“Shut it!”

+Fine, it’s shut.+ Magnus broadcast telepathically.

What shenanigans are you doing, this time, Magnus?

+You asked me to shut my mouth so I did.+

Draigo sighed, “I have experience in battle and with many other things. Romance is not on that list and I’m afraid of messing up our friendship.”

“Well, there is a bright side to this…” Cadence said.

“And that is?”

“If you really did mess up your friendship with them then you have until the sun blows up and takes the entire solar system with it to fix the damage,” Cadence said with a cheerful voice.

“Not helping with the situation at hand, Cadence,” Draigo mumbled out sadly.

“She has a point, you know. Beings such as we can afford to take the long perspective. What are a few decades, after all.”

“While that is true and I literally have all the time in the world, I’d prefer and will do anything to keep from being alone anymore. I’ve already spent billions of years alone and I’m tired of it,” Draigo said resolutely.

“I suppose I can understand that. I latched onto the first pony to talk to me in nearly ten thousand years and to this day, I keep an eye on her descendants. My Cadence being one of them, actually.”

“Okay, you and I are friends in your universe and I was the first one to talk to you? How did that work? Also, did you just allow us to communicate with each other using your mind?” Cadence asked.

“Just basic telepathy. In truth, I’ve only spoken to Cadence a few times right after her ascension to give some advice. Her ancestor was a maid over a thousand years ago. She was the first to speak to me in the tower I was trapped in.”

“You were trapped in a tower, but had maids attending to you? How didn’t you escape or did you escape? I’m sure you could’ve figured something out if there were ponies bringing you stuff,” Draigo said.

“Throughout my ten thousand years there I was physically unable to leave. It started as a cave and no matter how I tried I couldn’t walk out. Most of my powers were denied to me so all I could do was travel the Great Ocean.”

“Anyway, we actually came here for a reason beyond my mess up with Celestia and Luna. Cadence, do you happen to know of a seamstress who’d be willing to make something for us? We need a decoration made for our Christmas tree,” Draigo said.

“Well, there is Sassy Saddles. She’s more a manager for a boutique than a seamstress, but she’ll be able to help you out with your request,” Cadence quickly supplied, “Just remember to think about your other problem as well. You never know when they’ll show up or where.”

“Yes, well, right. Um, where is this ‘Sassy Saddles’ to be found?” Draigo awkwardly said.

“You’ll find her in a boutique called ‘Sassy Socks’. The store specializes in leggings, but will make anything if a customer requests them to,” Cadence said.

“Socks? Really? I haven’t seen a single pony wearing them, but if you recommend them then I’ll support their business with our request. Thank you, Cadence,” Draigo said as he walked out the door before his love life was brought up again.

“Giving them flowers like you did with me won’t hurt. Just don’t use their flowers for it,” Cadence called after him.

“Are you sure that wouldn’t exacerbate the situation? Flowers can be quite romantic after all.”

“Yes, but I know something that none of them do, Magnus,” Cadence said with a giggle.

“Oh?” Magnus raised an eyebrow in question.

“Yep, I know how they each feel about each other. Comes with being the Princess of Love. Honestly, all three of them just need to be pushed in the right direction,” Cadence said.

“Far be it for me to question that. I’ve never had any romantic involvements just knowledge from observation.”

“Oh? Well, you should let the other party know that. I can sense somepony’s love directed toward you,” Cadence told the primarch.

Must be my daughter Magnus reasoned to himself. “Thank you for your help, Cadence. Good luck with Shining, not that you’ll need it.” Magnus gave a wave as he left the room.

“Are you coming or do I have to try to describe Sanguinius from my fuzzy memories?” Draigo called from the hallway. Magnus passed by him with a small nod.

“Okay, the shopping district is close by so this shouldn’t take too long. With a name like ‘Sassy Socks’ getting directions shouldn’t be hard either if we happen to get lost somehow,” Draigo said as he caught up with Magnus.

“To be honest, I’m not sure the patronage of two large, intimidating, non-ponies is going to help their business much. Perhaps more gentle forms?”

“Gentle, gentle…..Any suggestions? The only forms I’ve used have been for either intimidation or hiding from everyone who knows me,” Draigo admitted.

“Perhaps just a noblepony. Less intimidating and more prestige for the shop.”

“Okay, that sounds reasonable,” Draigo said as he changed into a black unicorn with a dark green mane and tail while his cutie mark was a lightning bolt.

“I’ll just use one of the personas I’ve taken across the last thousand years.” Magnus shrank into a rather large red pegasus with ivory hair and a serpentine sun for a cutie mark.

“Well, you’ll stand out for sure, then again, I don’t exactly blend in either,” Draigo said with a significantly higher voice than his draconic form. The pair of ponies set off to find their destination while they chuckled about each other’s appearance.

In the end, they asked for directions to the store to save time. The store was fairly non-descript but had a mare wearing socks on each of her hooves for its logo. Upon entering the store, they noticed a distinct lack of customers or staff.

“Hello? Anyone here?” Draigo called out as he entered the store.

“Huh? Ooh, customers!” cried a feminine voice from the back of the store, “I do apologize for the wait. I was working on a new project.”

“No worries, my dear. My friend here has a special order that he’d like to place,” Draigo told the mare as she trotted over to them. She was a tall, slender, light blue unicorn with an orange and yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was hidden due to the black dress she wore.

“I was wondering if you would be able to make a decoration for the top of our tree. I know it isn’t your usual work but you were recommended by a friend and I trust her judgment.”

“Oh? I have two questions before beginning your order. Who recommended me and what decoration would you like me to make?” the mare asked as she brought out a pad of paper and a quill from under the counter.

“Her name is Cadence. As for the decoration, it is a bit unorthodox. I was hoping for a plush resembling my brother, Sanguinius.”

“So, Cadence thinks highly enough of my skills to recommend me for things like this. I must admit, I’m flattered. Now, what does your brother look like and do you have a material you’d like me to use for this?” she asked before her eyes widened a bit, “Ah, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sassy Saddles.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Saddles. My name is Magnus and this is my friend Draigo. Perhaps showing you would be a bit easier than trying to explain. I doubt you’ve seen someone quite like him.” Magnus proceeded to project his memory of Sanguinius into the shop. A tall, beautiful human stood there. His long blonde hair ran between his white wings. The red of his armor contrasting with the white pelt he wore as a cloak.

“Ah, he’s similar to that being that shows up to Princess Celestia’s day court. I go every now and then to see what the nobility thinks is fashionable. Quit a bit better looking than the other, though, Is that fur that he’s wearing around his shoulders?” Sassy said as a shudder went through her body.

“A carnodon pelt, yes. It made the mistake of attacking him during a campaign and his men made it into a cloak as a commemoration.”

“I’ve got no idea what that is, but that’s okay. I’m not sure I want to know. What materials would you like me to use for this decoration? Also, how big do you want it to be?” Sassy asked as she started to sketch the image on her pad of paper.

“You may use whatever material you think is best though I was thinking felt. Perhaps an appropriate size for a grown mare to hold at night.”

“Well, he’s pretty enough...I mean, any particular reason for it to be that big?” Sassy asked quickly after her Freudian slip.

“A gift for my daughter.”

“Ah, okay. I can have this finished in a couple hours since I’ve got nothing else on my plate, unfortunately,” Sassy told the big red pegasus.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You seem to be a good pony and well-composed to not freak out about my brother being a giant bipedal warrior.”

“Well, after having a giant dragon flying overhead and seeing that bipedal being in the Princess’ castle something like this seems fairly tame, even if he is wearing fur,” Sassy told them with another shudder.

“How much do we owe you for this special project?” Draigo asked.

“Hmm, factoring in the time it’ll take to complete plus estimated cost of materials...Well, I’ll have to see which materials will work best for each aspect of it. I’ll let you know the amount after I’ve completed it. Is that satisfactory, gentlestallions?” Sassy said.

“Yes, that is satisfactory. Once you’ve completed it send word to the castle for Draigo and I’ll be able to get it. Is there anything else you need to know?” Draigo asked with a winning smile.

“No, that is all I’ll need. If that is all, gentlestallions, allow me to start working on this project for you,” Sassy said and waited to make sure there was nothing else the two needed.

“If you were to get into a fight with a good stallion friend and he wanted to make up for it, what would you like him to do to make up for it?” Draigo asked cautiously.

“Okay, how bad did you mess up?” Sassy asked she figured that the unicorn was talking about himself instead of somepony else since most ponies did that when in this kind of situation.

“Accidental flirting with her and her sister at the same time in the same room,” Magnus provided like the incredibly helpful person he is.

“Ooooh, how did he manage to mess up that badly?”

“His tail gets away from him sometimes.”

“Wait, wait, wait. If you say his tail gets away from him and he’s this flustered about it--” Sassy said as she gestured to Draigo who was blushing up a storm while grumbling to himself about treacherous demons and runaway tails-- “then did he do this?” Sassy said as she brushed her tail across Magnus’ chin.

“Precisely.”

“You’re going to have to grovel and hope that they make you their slave for a while instead of any alternative punishments. In fact, I suggest offering to do anything they say for a day or two before they can say anything else,” Sassy told him as she grumbled about nonreactive stallions.

“Thank you. I think I’ll do just that. Let me know if you have any troubles with the order,” Draigo said as he slowly made his way to the door while making sure his tail was where it was supposed to be and doing as it should.

“It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Saddles. I look forward to seeing your work.” Magnus gave a polite nod before turning to leave the store

“Well, let’s get back to the tree and decorate it while we wait for you plushie to be finished,” Draigo said as they started to make their way back to the castle.

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

Several hours passed as the two decorated their tree. By the end, the branches were covered in a light layer of frost and hundreds of multicolored gems. They looked at the tree and gave a nod to each other in satisfaction.

“That plush of yours should be ready any time now. Once we have it then we can put it on the top of our tree to finish it off. I’m just glad we weren’t interrupted during our decorating. It’s really annoying to try to get back into the groove of something,” Draigo said as he admired their handy work.

“About the plush, could you do something to protect it from the weather? I really would like to give it to my daughter.”

“You actually have a daughter? I thought you made that up as a half truth,” Draigo said.

“Adopted, of course. I hadn’t really thought of it until it came up but I realized she would like something like that.”

“Well, directly manipulating the elements is what I do the most. I don’t have confidence when it comes to enchanting things like that. So, I can protect it directly while it’s here, but I think we can get either one of the Princesses or Shining Armor to give it a proper enchantment,” Draigo said.

“Thank you, Draigo.”

“What are friends for? Besides, if I can help make a lady happy then I’m glad to help,” Draigo said as a royal guard walked out of the castle.

“A message for you, Sir,” the stallion said before levitating a piece of paper over to Draigo and then quickly trotting away.

“It seems your plush is done. Let’s go pick it up,” Draigo said as he took a large bag of bits out from between his scales and changed into his previous unicorn form. Magnus followed suit and started towards downtown. It didn’t take them as long as before to get to Sassy Saddle’s store and they were soon inside and inspecting Magnus’ order.

“Splendid work, Ms. Saddles. It’s much better than I imagined. Cadence was right to recommend you.,” Magnus said with a smile on his face. “It’s good to see him again, even if only like this.”

“I’m glad you approve. I had initially wanted to try using silk or satin but found that felt worked the best. Now, the amount that is owed is 300 bits,” Sassy said as she moved behind the cash register. Draigo brought out his bag of bits and counted out 300 bits.

“I’ll keep you in mind should I need anything involving clothes or cloth in the future,” Draigo told her as she put the pile of bits into her register.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sassy. I hope fortune favors you.”

“Here’s a little something for being so professional,” Draigo said as he put his hoof on the counter and slowly brought it up while producing a diamond rose.

“Wha, but, that, uuuh,” Sassy spluttered as she watched the rose being created.

“Oh, and another little revelation for you. I am the dragon known as Draigo as well as the bipedal warrior you’ve seen in court every now and then,” Draigo admitted with a chuckle at Sassy’s wide open mouth.

“I thought you just shared a name! Admittedly I had some suspicions when you said to send the message to the palace but I never thought you would actually be him.”

“Hahaha, well. I didn’t think you’d handle it this well. Well, we should be going. Have a happy Hearth’s Warming, Sassy,” Draigo said as he levitated Magnus’ plush behind him and began the journey back to the royal gardens.

Back in the gardens, the two beings put the Sanguinius plush at the top of the tree and secured it there with a couple of branches. The two were proud of their tree and were basking in its radiance when two sets of hoof steps were heard behind them.

“Tis a wonderfully decorated tree,” Luna complimented as she gazed at the various gems on the tree.

“That it is,” Celestia agreed. Upon hearing their voices, Draigo twirled around and backed away slowly.

“Something the matter, Draigo?” Celestia asked.

“He’s scared the two of you will flay him alive for earlier.”

“They’ve already done something similar. So, yes actually. Though, in an emotional way this time,” Draigo said as he spread his wings for a quick takeoff, just in case.

+What happened to that begging thing Sassy told you to do?+ Magnus sent to Draigo

Instinct, that’s what. The last time something this big happened I had to hobble back to the castle on three heavily injured legs. Draigo replied to Magnus’ telepathic message.

+Well, I suggest you start while they’re still in a good mood.+

“Please, I’ll do anything to make up for what I’ve done. So please, don’t send me away and stop being my friends. Please... please, I don’t want to be alone anymore,” Draigo said as he touched his head to the ground and laid his wings out in subjugation and tears of both fright and sadness welled in his eyes.

“Lift thy head, Draigo,” Luna said softly. Draigo left his head where it was and shut his eyes tightly.

“Do you really think we would send you away when we asked you to stay with us in the first place? Having you here is something that we both want and will always want, Draigo. If you truly want to make up for what you’ve done then we won’t stop you, but know that neither of us thinks less of you for expressing yourself,” Celestia said as she walked over to the prostrated dragon and lifted his head so they were looking into each other’s eyes.

“Tia speaks the truth. We would rather Discord be set free than have thee leave our castle. We will take thy offered services, though. We would not look a gift dragon in the mouth. So, after Magnus has left We will take care of this matter,” Luna said as she joined her sister.

“There is something you can do for us right now, though…” Celestia said.

“What would that be?” Draigo asked with slight bit of dread.

“Dost thou not know the significance of the object above thy head?” Luna asked. Draigo looked up and saw a sprig of mistletoe hovering above their heads in Luna’s magical grip.

“Um, remind me. This is the first winter holidays I’ve spent with anyone in… basically forever,” Draigo admitted.

“I think it’s better to show than to tell. Don’t you, Luna?” Celestia said as she leaned in closer to Draigo.

“We do indeed, Tia,” Luna said as she too leaned closer to Draigo. The two sisters then kissed Draigo on his cheeks at the same time. Draigo’s jaw dropped to the ground as he felt them kiss his cheeks.

“Now, don’t you have some presents to distribute?” Celestia whispered into Draigo’s ear.

“Yes, I do,” Draigo whispered back then kissed each of the princesses on their cheek as he stood and strode to the edge of the garden, “I’ll be back in about half an hour. You can come with if you’d like Magnus, but I’m not sure how much strength you have left until you need to rest.”

“If it’s alright with everyone here, I would like to explore the library a bit. You never know what new knowledge can be found in a new reality.”

“You are more than welcome to peruse the royal library. Ask us if you want to read from an authorized only area, otherwise have fun,” Celestia said as she and Luna joined Draigo at the cliffside of the garden.

“Tis night now, Draigo, and we will not allow thee to travel alone while thou distributes your presents,” Luna told him as she took off into the night sky before he could object to them joining him.

“It will be a nice to fly with you two while I spread joy to all the good girls and boys,” Draigo said as he and Celestia joined Luna in the night sky. The three of them flew over Canterlot and Ponyville as Draigo sent gems floating to the ground as they passed overhead. Their journey didn’t take long due to Draigo growing to his full size thus increasing the area the gems were distributed to at one time and allowing them to take fewer passes over the two towns. Even though it hadn’t taken very long they had enjoyed their time together. As they touched back down in the gardens Luna and Celestia looked at each other and nodded. They trotted ahead of Draigo and caressed his chin with their tails before trotting away while giggling like school girls, leaving behind a dumbstruck dragon.

Feeling both confused and wonderful, Draigo headed to the library after he’d regained his senses. It didn’t take him long to find Magnus considering no one besides Twilight could compile that many books in such a short time and she was back in Ponyville.

“Find anything interesting?” Draigo asked as he walked around the makeshift book fort.

“...”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Draigo said as he finally got to an opening in the books and saw Magnus with his nose in a book. The title of the book that held Magnus’ attention was ‘Theoretical Thaumaturgy: a Guide in Four Parts: Volume 4.’

“So, which theory are you reading about?” Draigo asked curiously.

“Theoretical combining of pony and non-pony magics for societal advancement.”

“So, their magic plus mine or yours, if yours is considered ‘magic, basically. I know that’s dumbed down a lot, but that’s what it’s talking about,” Draigo said.

“In basic terms, yes. The series so far is decently written with plenty of sources to check for more arcane lore. I find the one of the best ways to find tidbits is to find a large research tome and see everything it cites.” Magnus glanced up from his book for the first time since Draigo entered. He had a small smile on his face and a fire in his eyes. There was little that he loved more than attaining new knowledge.

“Alright, bookworm. I’m glad we had something that piqued your interest. How goes the fight with Nightmare back in your world?” Draigo asked.

“The potential Elements of Harmony are currently sleep in a cave. I expect they will reach the castle sometime late tomorrow. At that time, we will recall our fragments so we can speak to them fully.”

“Makes sense to want to be all there for a first encounter. Any of them psykers like you?” Draigo asked as he laid down next Magnus’ chair.

“Unfortunately, no. Psykers are quite rare among the ponies. Since I saw their species first emerge there has been only a handful of psykers and most of them incredibly weak. I hypothesize it is the abundance of magic but don’t really have a way of testing it.”

“Hmm, you’d need a way to get them into an area with no magic while the warp was still accessible, at the bare minimum,” Draigo said as he tilted his head to the side.

“And there is no area without magic on Tethra,” Magnus said with a hint of frustration. “I’ll just have to wait and see if they become more common in the generations to come.”

“So, psykers aren’t common, but the warp is still present. Doesn’t that mean that if daemons were to somehow come through that they would have a veritable buffet of bodies to possess? They can possess people, right?” Draigo asked with a bit of concern.

“Yes, though you are remembering slightly wrong. Daemons find it infinitely easier to possess psykers. They can use their innate connection to the warp as a bridge of sorts. Fortunately, Tethra is well protected from the local daemons. It’s all the things crossing from my original world I’m worried about.”

“So, Earth?”

“Yes and no. We called it Terra though it was once Earth. So far nothing too dangerous has crossed over. A few ships have crashed into the planet, the occasional bit of technology. They’re coming more frequently now and I’m not sure how long it will be before something I can’t handle comes through. I’m strong but even I can’t defeat an entire Waaagh! by myself.”

“Ah, okay. You’re like me where you’ve lived longer in that body than your original except yours came with memories and abilities instead of just abilities,” Draigo said.

“Not quite. This is my original body. At least, one of them. Whatever dragged the two of us from our worlds merged us into one being. Magnus’ mind was so much stronger it quickly asserted control of their combined selves. The other memories are still there and pieces of his personality but I consider myself Magnus rather than Jared.”

“Gotcha. Now, if I remember correctly, a Waaagh! is a giant group of orks or greenskins or whatever you’re going to call them that is going from planet to planet fighting everything in their path and generally making life miserable for everyone else,” Draigo said.

“Correct. It seems more of your memories are returning.”

“Yeah, it seems the more I hang out with Displaced the more I remember about the culture they are displaced as. Such as you, I keep remembering more and more about Warhammer 40k while I’m around you. Anyway, if something happens where you need more firepower summon me. I know I haven’t shown you a lot of my power, but trust me when I say that, if I was lucky, I could kill Tzeentch, if,” Draigo explained.

“That would be a feat indeed considering he’s empowered by the ambition and desire for change of an entire galaxy.”

“Oh, I’m not saying it would be easy. I’m just saying I could. So something like an army of orks trying to get ‘stuck in’ would fall before me like wheat before a power sword,” Draigo said.

“I may do that. I would prefer to leave the defense of any given reality to the inhabitants, though. If things become dire enough I will consider calling you,”

“I’m with you on that one. I’m here if you need me, that’s all.”

“A small warning should that happen, don’t expect my full self to be as agreeable as I am. We specifically made this shard more light hearted and open than our normal self.”

“Ah, okay. Reminds me of myself when other Displaced are around. I act differently than I normally would. I mean, a grand majority of the Displaced can’t live more than a hundred years. Why should I care about someone who’s going to be gone in the blink of an eye? Why? Heck, even those that are considered immortal can, usually, die in combat. Those are the lucky ones in my opinion, though.”

“All is dust. Nothing is eternal and so we must learn to appreciate things while they last. It can be difficult for ones such as you and I but increasingly necessary as time goes on.”

“True, though I think the Displaced, at least, aren’t one of those things. If we take into account what you’ve seen plus what I’ve experienced then the Displaced are interesting, but are overall ignorable.”

“True. It is rather easy to ignore things in other realities. You just need to concern yourself with your own and be content with that. I wish I could do that.”

“You can be content once you find the rest of your family or, at least, your dad, right? If so then, there’s, at least, a foreseeable end. Anyway, let’s get off this depressing topic. What is your favorite thing to eat?”

“Currently, grilled chicken breast with marinated grilled vegetables. Might I assume you’ve come to favor gems?”

“Gems are wonderful, but I find meat is scarcer here and, therefore, more a delicacy. Adding gems to a good steak or to cragadile or manticore or any meat really makes it so much more that it’s ridiculous. My mouth is watering just thinking of that combo,” Draigo said as he licked his lips and teeth. “Do you have any hobbies besides gardening and researching things that pique your interest?”

“Travelling the Warp is always fascinating, though, that might count as research. I also like to assemble models and paint them if necessary. Something about it is relaxing. It’s why I helped invent them nearly a hundred years ago.”

“Ah, okay. I’m like that when fishing. I haven’t fished in a really long time, though,” Draigo said.

“Well, perhaps we can go together once we don’t have any guests over, Draigo,” Celestia said as she appeared from behind a bookshelf.

“How long have you been there?” Draigo asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Magnus, Draigo’s room is going to be vacant tonight if you wish to use it,” Celestia said as she approached them. Draigo gulped at his uncertain night but smiled when he remembered recent events.

“Thank you, Celestia. I believe I’ll retire for the night. Good night to the both of you,” Magnus said as he got up to start returning the books to their proper places.

“Come with me, Draigo,” Celestia said as she turned and started to walk out of the library.

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

The next day was filled with celebrating Sanguinala, Christmas, and Hearth’s Warming. Magnus told everyone of the tales of Sanguinius, presents were shared, and the union of the three tribes was remembered and retold. All were happy and content to celebrate. Things took a turn when the evening came around and the time for Magnus to leave got further and further into the forefront of everyone else’s minds.

“They have entered the castle. There’s only a matter of minutes before either Luna is returned or I must intervene. It has been a pleasure to be here. I will leave you a token in case you need me. As a warning I have no idea if the token will summon all of me or just another fragment.” Magnus handed over the token he had created the night before. A small pyramid of glass filled with a small piece of the warp pulled from, his reality. “Don’t let anyone look into it for too long. The Warp is dangerous even in such a small form.”

“Will do. Here’s mine, you dropped it when you changed into your pony form,” Draigo said as he took Magnus’ token and handed him the hourglass.

“Celestia and Luna, thank you for your hospitality. I can only hope I will get along as well with my world’s though I doubt it.,” Magnus said as he gave a small bow and then a shrug as he finished speaking.

“It has been a pleasure, Magnus. If you are ever back in our universe, you are welcome to come and research some more,” Celestia said with a smile.

“Twas entertaining to have thee here. We look forward to possible future encounters with thee. We hope that our counterparts can get along with thee as well,” Luna said.

“If your main body is as you’ve described then your relationship with your princesses might be a bit rocky. They will most likely be fairly tolerable for a while, though,” Draigo added.

“Perhaps. Remember: all is dust. Farewell.” With his final words, a hole in reality opened to the void and the fragment went screaming back to his physical body.

“All is dust!” Draigo called after Magnus in hopes that he might hear.

“Come, Draigo. You still have to do whatever we want since you are making up for your ‘mistake’, remember?” Celestia teased as she and Luna giggled on their way back to Celestia’s room.

“Coming, Celestia,” Draigo called as he picked up his pace to catch up to the two sisters. He couldn’t help but hum the tune of ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ as he walked behind Luna and Celestia.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!