Chapter 1: A Different World

I must have fallen asleep cause when I opened my eyes. Everything seemed different. My name is Sarius Trusdale, and I'm a human-dragon hybrid and in human years I'm 22 but in dragon years I might be 13 or 14. Anyway, I was laying in the middle of a clearing in a forest with a lake in the middle. If I didn’t know better I would think I had a daydream. I got up and started heading to the lake and noticed I was walking differently.

Its crystal clear blue color made the perfect mirror to look through and I was able to see myself very clearly. I saw a red dragon, with flowing short brown hair and hazel green eyes staring back at me and a silver underside. I unfolded my wings and saw the image did the same. The wings were nearly 3 to 4 feet long certainly a big wingspan for a small teenage dragon but it symbolizes my connection to Durlex, The God of the Sky and Air as well as a Father to all dragon kind and my, not blood related in a sense, father. I possessed his DNA in me so he was my DNA related father. The wings had a blueish taint to them showing my connection to Energtris while the bone part was also red like the body. Then I turned to extend my tail to see it in the mirror lake, it too was red and very flexible and where the tip of the tail should be was a claw with flexible talons to help for grabbing. Once i relaxed my tail muscle the claw morphed into a regular dragon tail. It was a special function in my DNA that was useful in surprising my enemies. I definitely wasn’t imaging this nor dreaming but I wanted to make sure. I touched my lower abdomen and felt a slight pain indicting it was a bruise. This was real.

I took a minute to look around at the landscape. It didn’t look much different from home. Part of me thought I was just in a memory, which I have instead of dreams, the other told me I was sent here by my uncle who was a dimensional being. I assumed it was the latter; this was too real to be a memory. My uncle would often do this to me, drag me out of one dimension and shove me in another, but only because he needs me to do my job in that certain dimension. I was meant to keep the Balance between Good and Evil. There was only one scale and it extended to all known dimensions, timelines, and universes. It may sound hard to keep the Balance but it really isn’t, mostly I just had to stay in a couple dimensions to maintain it because evil was tipping it a little too much. The rest were able to stay in sync.

So I had to figure out what the problem was here. I looked at the sun; it was in the same place I last saw it. Though something was off about it, I could sense some sort of aura around it almost as if someone or something was controlling it. Then suddenly one word popped into my head “Magic”. It just came out of nowhere which I could only assume was the Dimensional Mind kicking in. To help me out, my uncle would pesto upon me this power which allows me to recall memories and knowledge of a dimension I was sent to. But it would flow in my mind a little bit at a time to ensure I’m not crushed by the immense weight of knowledge and memory.

Now I had a sense of what to expect from this dimension, or so I thought. So I decided to stop wasting time and find out where I was supposed to be. I extended my wings and took off the ground. I flew up a few feet above the trees, which seem like were 30 to 40 feet tall. I was able to see a bit more of the landscape, there lay mountains to my north, the rest of the forest with a mountain containing it to the east, the west showed a bit more of the forest which led to a hilly plain and finally to my south was the last little bit of the forest which now seems like woods to me since it was so small and a road that led to a village of some sort. I thought for a few seconds to start heading towards the village but an idea suddenly hit me. I decided to use my unique ability “Aura Sense” to search for any high aura levels or large amounts of negative energy. I could only assume I had to find an individual who was well immersed to this dimension to help me fit in as well as help me fill in the blanks. This time it was a memory of sorts, not knowledge.

It didn’t take me long to locate where my designation lies, the North. I felt an above average amount of negative energy there. So without thinking more into it I took off in that direction. I was able to fly faster in this form due to me having four legs, which I would most likely not get used to, that hampered my speed on the ground. I think I was flying at 100 mph because the landscape was moving out of sight in seconds and before I knew it I was flying over what seemed like the North Pole. Suddenly the dark energy I was sensing was rising rapidly and I was able to see the source of it. It was a fog of darkness that seems to stretch for miles, nothing that I haven’t seen before. I slowed down to see where it was heading and noticed some strange figures heading toward a dome of light. The fog was heading towards them at full speed it then suddenly started to rise and form a head.

“What kind of head is shaped like that?” I thought to myself.

The head looked like a horse, with a horn growing out the center of its head. Its eyes were red but the weird thing was it had a green shadow flowing out its eyes.

“Now I’ve seen everything,” I said to myself.

The Black fog head was confronting a small group of 7 ponies and a small dragon. Ponies and a dragon? Okay, this is getting really weird now. But it didn’t seem to bother me much for some reason. Then 6 of the ponies and the dragon started running towards the dome. The one left behind shot a laser out its horn so that pony is like the shadow creature and aimed at the giant head but the giant head just split apart and the laser passed through hitting nothing and reformed into a head. It’s an entity made of shadow, you can’t expect to hit something like that. It then started closing in on the pony that was cowering but still holding its ground against the shadowy creature.

“Now that’s my kind of pony,” I said to myself knowing I would do the exact same thing.

Something told me this is where I come in. I dashed to interpret the shadowy being and created my Energtris Shield, one of my favorite defense powers, and stopped the creature in its tracks. I noticed a small piece of it managed to reach its target, the pony’s horn and covered it in obsidian. I came face to face with the shadow and noticed it had teeth sharper than a regular horse’s teeth. When it hit my shield I staggered it, which didn’t surprise me since it happens when someone rams into my shield. The Shield itself is powerful enough to withstand almost anything that hits it. The only thing that was able to break it was a blast of focused Energtris energy. And my power can be shut down with Cobalt and Lapis which is cobalt grounded up. So I had no worry this thing will get through.

I turned to the pony that I saved and saw it was white with hair and a tail colored jet blue with cyan streaks, blue hoofs and a tattoo of sorts shaped like a magic shield on its thigh. It opened its eyes probably closed them in the response of a flinch and they were cyan colored. It stared at me with wide eyes.

“What, Who are you?” Said the mysterious pony who sounded like a male.

“No time. Get to safety now. I can’t keep my shield up for much longer.” I wasn’t lying either. I barely had time to recover my energy from my battle and the shield takes quite a bit of energy from me and when it gets hit it takes more energy. I had just enough energy to make a weak shield which luckily was enough to hold back the shadow.

The male pony seemed to understand since he nodded and ran towards the dome. I turned my attention back towards the shadow that just recovered from the shock. It stared right at me. It didn’t seem surprised like the other pony. Instead, it showed a sign of confusion.

“A Dragon? Here?” Said the shadow who also sounded male.

“Sorry, we can’t get aquatinted properly. But I gotta go now.” I dropped my shield and turned towards the dome and headed straight for it.

“ARRGHHH!!!”

The shadow seemed angry now and tried grabbing me but was too slow to catch me as I entered the dome. The shadow couldn’t enter the dome it seems. A protection spell. It seemed like it was the only way to explain it. Things were starting to be pieced together which was good.

The stallion I saved was a little dazed but perfectly fine expect for the obsidian-covered horn of course. I noticed the 6 ponies and dragon from earlier were standing in front of a crystal made gateway. Then one turned around and saw the stallion dazed and ran towards him. This one was Lavender colored and had purple hair as well as a horn of its own. I concluded that these two were Unicorns which explained the laser the stallion shot. It also had a tattoo but it was a star instead.

“Are you okay?” The Lavender pony said. A female it seems.

“I’m fine. But I’m afraid my magic is useless now” Said the Stallion and put a hoof to his horn.

“At least you’re not hurt.” She looked up at me and went wide-eyed. “AHHHHHH!!!”

The others then turned to see what she was screaming about and noticed me. Some were scared, one was looking at me with excitement, another was looking like it was ready for a fight, another was acting tough, and the dragon stared in amazement.

“A DRAGON!!” Yelled the Lavender pony. “What’s a dragon doing here?”

“Calm down Twily. He saved me.”

The mare looked at him in shock.

“He saved you?”

“Yeah. If it wasn’t for him I would be in worse shape.” He looked at me and smiled. I got a friend now.

I suddenly felt drained and dropped from the air. I hit the ground with a loud thud.

Everybody was shocked by my sudden action .The Stallion ran towards me. “Hey. You okay buddy?”

“Ugh. I’m drained… I haven’t recovered yet.”

“Recovered? From what? Sombra?”

“So that thing is called Sombra huh? No. Let’s just say I was in a massive battle not too long ago. And I’ve yet to recover from it.”

“Battle? Who are you and where did you come from?” Asked the Lavender mare

“I’m from a different dimension.”

“A different dimension?” Asked the Stallion and Mare

I managed to get on my feet. “Yeah. I’m Sarius Trusdale.”

Apparently, the stallion was important to her cause she was calm now. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. And this is my BBBFF, Shining Armor.”

“BBBFF? Big Brother Best Friend Forever?” I guessed.

“Yeah. How did you know what it meant?” Twilight seemed surprised.

“A pretty good guess.” Which it was and wasn’t hard to figure out for me since I knew what BFF meant. “Now, I assure you I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? Why?” Twilight asked.

“I guess with that.” I pointed at the Shadow. “That seems like a big deal to me.”

“Hold on ya’ll!” An Orange Mare stepped forward. She’s certainly like a Farm/Country like pony not because of her accent but the way her mane was tied up with a band and her surprising muscular appearance that showed she’s done a whole lot of work. Her tattoo was an apple. “How do we know we can trust him?”

“I’m with Applejack on this Twilight. He’s a dragon and you remember what happened last time we had a dealing with one.” This mare was sky blue with a Rainbow colored mane. This one’s tattoo was a rainbow colored lightning bolt shooting from a cloud. I’m starting to wonder what the deal is with the Tattoos. One thing was different about her she had wings. A Pegasus. So there’s Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi.

“Yup Now I’ve seen everything.” I thought to myself.

“He saved me and seemed to be able to handle Sombra with no problem. I’m sure if he wasn’t friendly he wouldn’t bother protecting me. Is that enough proof for you guys?” Said Shining Armor. He was actually standing up for me. I know I saved his life but he barely knows me. Saving someone from certain doom really does have an effect on people or ponies in this case.

“He’s got a point AJ. If that doesn’t say ‘I’m a good guy’ then nothing does I guess.” Another mare but she was pink. Straight pink, mane and all, though her mane was a different shade of pink, if I didn’t know better I would think she was a walking pile of bubblegum that can talk. Her mane stood out the most for me; it looked like an old 80’s disco hairstyle with a single long bang hanging out which looked like she can carry something on it. Her Tattoo was balloons. She also seems to have a personality that says she consumes too much sugar and caffeine.

“Thank you, Pinkie. I’m glad some pony can see a good dragon when she sees one.” Twilight shot a look at the Rainbow mare. Pinkie huh. Says a lot.

“Fine. Y'all made your point. He doesn’t look bad to me anyway.” Applejack loosened up I could tell.

“Okay, that’s fair.” The Rainbow one got up to my face “But I got my eye on you buster! Got it?” I Nodded.

“Rainbow don’t be so rude.” Applejack pulled Rainbow back.

“It’s okay. I heard worse.” I complied.

“Well, since we got all this straighten out. I’d like to introduce myself.” This time it was a Pure white Mare with a purplish mane and very well groomed hair that told me she prefers taking good care of her mane and appearance. This one might be stuck up. She was a Unicorn as well. And her Cutie Mark was three diamonds. Another piece to this puzzle, this time both memories and knowledge.

“I’m Rarity. And I must say you are really quite handsome for a dragon.” That comment actually caught me off guard and I blushed a little, which wasn’t easy to notice trust me. The small dragon started looking slightly annoyed

“My word. You have a mane as well. I thought dragons would have spikes and not hair.” Rarity was the only one to notice my hair.

“Well, it’s not a mane. It’s my hair. You see I’m not a full dragon. Believe it or not, I’m only part dragon.”

“Really?” Twilight asked

“Yeah. It’s… hard to explain. But I’ll tell you more when we have time. So I know your Twilight?” I pointed at her and she nodded in confirmation.

“Your Applejack?” I pointed at the orange mare.

“That’s right Sugar cube’” She confirmed.

“You’re Rarity?” I pointed to the White Mare.

“Correct.” She said as she flipped her mane.

“You’re Pinkie?” I pointed at Pinkie.

“I’m actually Pinkie Pie. But that was close enough.”

“Right. You’re Rainbow?” I pointed at the lone Pegasus

“It’s Rainbow ‘Dash’."She seemed to put more meaning into Dash as if to make sure I got it right.

“Got it. Shining Armor?” He nodded to confirm. “What about you little drake?”

The small dragon then realized I was talking to him. He rushed towards me “Oh. I’m Spike. Nice to meet you, sir.” Hearing that word made me cringe a bit.

“Sir?” Twilight was confused by that.

“Yeah he’s an older dragon so I have to call him sir,” Spike responded.

I shook my head. “Uh, Spike there’s really no need to refer to me as sir. I don’t really like feeling I need to be in charge.”

“OH! Sorry… uh?” He paused waiting for an answer.

“Just Sarius is fine” I replied.

“Sarius. Sorry.” He apologized again.

“It’s okay pal. Now I remembered there were 8 of you. I only counted 7. Where’s the last one?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, you mean Fluttershy? She’s right there.” Rainbow pointed at a Yellow mare that was cowering behind the crystal structure. “Get out here will you? He’s a lot smaller than that other dragon.”

Fluttershy made a noise that sounded like a whimper. Rarity walked to her.

“What’s the matter, darling?” She asked genially.

“I….I….I’m…….Scared.” Fluttershy Whispered.

“There’s nothing to worry about Fluttershy. He won’t hurt you nor does he want to I believe.” Twilight tried to comfort Fluttershy.

She looked at me directly in the eyes. I felt a familiar spark that I haven’t felt in a long time. It meant one thing, She and I were connected. She must have felt the same thing cause her expression changed from scared to curious. She most likely got a boost of courage cause she left the safety of the pillar and started walking towards me.

We were inches away from each other. Her eyes were sky blue which reminded me of the clear, blue and limitless sky. Her mane was pink like Pinkie’s but it was better combed and natural and she seems to radiate an aura of calm, love and kindness. She seemed to be excited cause her wings spread out and I’m sure she didn’t notice. She was a Pegasus as well; though her wings were small, she looked cute when she spread them out.

“Hi, I’m Fluttershy.” She said with passion.

“Hey, I’m Sarius.” I smiled. She seems really nice.

“Okay, now that we’re introduced we need to find a way to save the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said in a way that made it sound like something important.

“Right. Follow me I’ll take you to Cadence.” Shining Armor got serious now and started heading to the crystal tower in the middle of the city.

The Others began to follow him and I was too. I couldn’t fly cause I was exhausted and low on energy if I risked flying again I might end up hurting myself so I just walked with them. Much to my surprise, Fluttershy was walking with me on my left. Although I was slightly taller than her, I didn't realize I was smaller in this Dimension til I compared myself to her. It certainly made me feel more comfortable knowing I wasn’t a 12-foot tall dragon, which is how big I really was. Entering this dimension might have changed my appearance as a Dragon God which made me happy. Even though I’m pretty tall I didn’t like feeling that I’m above everybody else which is how I felt in my Dragon God form. I was so happy in fact I cracked a smile which Fluttershy noticed.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked slightly confused by my sudden happiness and smiling herself a little.

“Oh, I’m just glad we’re almost the same height. I dislike thinking everybody needs to respect me cause I’m bigger and a son of a god.” I was proud to be myself for once.

“You’re a god?” Fluttershy said in shock.

“Part god. My dragon side happens to be the part god . But yeah I can be one if I choose to be.” I said to ensure she had nothing to worry about. “Being immortal isn’t fun. So I can choose to live forever or a normal life. Though I think I might live a little longer than most due to being part dragon.” My smile melted a little having recalled an unpleasant fact about myself.

“Oh. That’s amazing, you certainly sound like a special dragon. Being able to choose your life I mean.” She sounded happy for me which I kinda understood but it didn't help my mood. “I uh… have to ask you…. Do you…. Umm.”

I then looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You sound nervous. Just ask me. I’ll listen to anything anybody has to say.” I tried my famous ‘I’m here to listen’ line to help her feel she can say anything to me.

“Okay… Do you…. Find me….. pretty?” she started to blush a little.

I was honestly not expecting that question. It was literally coming from left field for me. I thought it best, to be honest. “Well of course I do. I know pretty when I see it. And you certainly live up to it.” I sensed she had feelings for me. Her eyes seem to be relaying that message. “And if you’re wondering about how I feel about ponies in general, I’ll need a little time to get used to this. It’s all pretty new to me.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She smiled and blushed a brighter red. Yup, she seems to have a crush on me. But I had to make sure she understood my view of this.

“Mind if I say something?”

“Of course. If you really want to.” She started breathing a little faster. I could tell she was getting really nervous to hear what I had to say.

“Let’s take this real slow Fluttershy. We all just met after all. Don’t you think?” She relaxed knowing it wasn’t what she was nervous about.

“Oh. Of course, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come out like that. I just wanted to know what some pony thought of me. If you're okay with that?”

“Your fine. No need to apologize. It’s always a good thing to let someone know how your feeling. I can tell you it’s not a good idea to keep it in.” I gave her a friendly wink with a smile. She has some affection for me, it was obvious to me. The only issue with this is, I just arrived in this dimension not too long ago and already a pony likes me. I couldn't tell her I didn't find her attractive, cause I would be lying. Plus I'll admit that I do feel a small amount of affection for her. But I couldn't dwell on it, not right now anyway. They had a mission to fulfill and I had to figure out what I'm meant to do here as Keeper of the Balance.

“Thanks, Sarius. I’ll be sure to let you know if I need some pony to talk to.” She smiled and felt at ease. I assumed when it came to speaking her mind she had a really hard time. She certainly seems timid and shy, hence her name being Fluttershy I guess. I know I find it hard to be assertive to individuals who are nice but annoying.

I had my full attention drawn to Fluttershy that I didn’t even notice we were right below the Crystal tower. Neither did Fluttershy it seems cause when Shining armor shouted “She’s up this way!” we both woke for what seem like a daydream. As we trotted up the stairs I started to wonder what this ‘Cadence’ girl looked like. I was about to find out soon cause we exited the stairs into a large chamber that seems as large as the pit below the tower. Shining Armor brought us to a long hall that seems like a Chamber that a king and queen sit when their ruling a kingdom and at the end just off the crystal chair was a mare that seemed tired.

She was a littler lavender color with a multi-colored mane and fancy hooves which told me she was royalty of something. The only detail that really caught my eye was she had a horn and a set of wings. This seems really weird to me since there was only unicorns and pegasus but nothing with both. Then a single word popped into my head. Alicorn. Alicorn? What is that? A bit more info popped in. A pony that has the magic of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus. Yup, that makes more sense.

“Cadence!”

Cadence looked our way and looked happy suddenly and walked towards to us and Twilight met her half-way.

“Sunshine. Sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your Hooves and do a little shake.” They both chanted while dancing it seems and chuckled afterward. Cadence suddenly winced and the shield flickered. She’s controlling the shield. She has to be powerful to maintain it.

“One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn’t hanging in the balance.”

“Are you Okay?”

“Cadence has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn’t slept. Barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra.”

“It’s all right, Shining Armor. I’m fine” She didn’t look fine at all.

“She’s not fine. She can’t go on like this forever. And if her magic were to fade… Well, you saw what’s out there waiting for that to happen.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

“Why we’re all here.” Everybody nodded in response.

“With Cadence putting all her strength into keeping her spell going and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the Arctic, we haven’t been able to gather much information from the Crystal Ponies.”

“Crystal Ponies! There are Crystal Ponies?” She looked embarrassed acting like that. “Um, ahem, please continue.”

“But we have to believe one of them knows how we can protect the empire without having to use Cadence’s Magic.”

Twilight looked like she got an idea “A Research Paper.”

“Huh?”

“That must be part of my test. To gather information from the Crystal Ponies and deliver it to you. This is gonna be great. I love research papers.”

“Yeah. Who doesn’t?”

“Oh, oh, oh, let me guess.” She dashes and picks up Spike.”Is it Spike? No, no, no. Fluttershy? Rarity?”

“Don’t worry Big Brother. I am really good at this sort of thing.”

She had everybody head out to gather information. I was still in the back thinking I was the oddball here.

I was about to head out when Shining Armor called me.

“Wait Sarius.” I stopped and turned. “I want you to meet my wife, Cadence.”

Cadence looked at me and was intrigued at the sight of me. “Hello, Sarius. I guess you’re the one I was expecting?”

I was a little surprised. “I was expected?”

“Cadence. He’s the one they mentioned?” He seemed confused. My curiosity peaked at the mention of 'they' but I got the feeling I would find who they were personally.

“I assume so. A dragon with hair and a red color and eyes of Nature. I think he’s the one.” She searched me with her eyes as if to make sure she didn't miss a detail.

“Eyes of Nature? That's a new one. I guess he sent a heads up to some of the inhabitants." I thought. I did know I had my aunt's eyes but I never thought they would remind people of her.

"Well, I’m here to help in any way I can.” My stomach then growled at me really loudly. I blushed a little and chuckled. “After I get something to eat of course.”

“Sorry to say, but we don’t have any knowledge of what food is here.” Shining Armor looked bad for saying it to me.

“It’s okay. I’m sure the others will find something. I’ll just wait, I been in this position many times before.”

“Okay. Though it might be a while.”

So I waited for what seemed like 20 minutes for Twilight to bring some good news. She ran to Cadence and Shining Armor and informed them of what she found. I was resting in the large chamber in the corner, trying to restore a little bit of my energy. I can naturally recover my energy, though it takes a long time for it to recover on its own. I felt a little bit of energy return but it was barely enough to do anything with eccept fly. Luckily, flying didn’t take up energy but it does take up stamina, so my energy helps keep my stamina high. It’s really confusing how my Energtris power works but it’s my life energy so I had to learn how to master it.

Twilight came walking out and noticed me and trotted towards me. “Sarius, I heard about your condition. If it helps I found some recipes the Crystal Ponies use for food in the Crystal Faire. If you’re willing to try them.”

This peaked my interest. Mostly due to what I was used to back in my dimension. So to see what these ponies had to offer me as far as food would help me know what my options are.

“Okay, Twilight. It’s good I’m not picky. I never turn down food especially when I’m low on energy.”

“Great. Meet us down at the center.” And with that she took her leave.

I decided to try and fly down. I had just enough energy to do it. I walked out to the balcony, breathed in and relaxed my body, spread my wings and jumped off. I floated down to the road just below and landed with grace, unlike the last time I dropped from the sky. I exhaled thinking that could have went pretty bad but didn’t. So I sat there for another few minutes till Applejack came to get me.

“Howdy Sarius, Ah heard ya might be hungry and thought ah should tell ya that the food is ready.”

“Great. Lead the way.” My stomach was still growling but it quieted down thankfully.

She walked me to a stand with a lot of Crystal corn on the cobs. I started drooling thinking they looked really good.

“Here ya go Sugar cube. Help yourself.” She then walked off and I lost track of her.

“Thanks.” I quickly said it before she was out of earshot. I picked up one and started biting a little bit off. I chewed it and it tasted like corn luckily but with more flavor to it. It defiantly had a kick to it cause my energy just started up. It was like this was grown with Energtris energy cause it helped fill up a lot of energy with one bite.

Fluttershy was walking by and saw me and instantly got excited. She ran to me. I was enjoying the corn so I didn’t notice her till I heard her sweet voice.

“Hello, again Sarius. Are you trying the corn?” She asked with curiosity. She didn't have one yet it seemed.

“Hmm. Oh, yeah I am. It’s really good. You should try one.” I handed one to her. She smiled and took it and started eating it. I already scarfed down the one I had.

“Oh wow. It is good. I never thought corn could taste like this.”

“I know right. And I’m new to this whole thing.” I ate two more cobs of corn and felt satisfied. “Mmm. That was good.” I then suddenly felt a familiar sensation in my gut. It was like a bunch of fireworks being lit and was mere seconds away from going off. “Fluttershy. You better back up.” My tone went from happy to serious in a matter of seconds. I knew what was coming.

“Why? What’s wrong?” She started moving towards me.

“No back away. Don’t come closer.” I added a bit of an authority tone to my voice.

“Are you okay Sarius?” She started sounding concerned now.

My feeling was getting more intense. “Just back up.”

She backed up worried something bad might happen. Then that feeling I had exploded literally. My body released a burst of Energtris energy that covered 3 feet of space in a sphere that could massively burn anyone or anything in close proximity to me. When it died down I felt revived. I had my power back and it took only 3 of these Crystal corn to do it. I was really thrilled to know this dimension had food that could help rejuvenate me. The ground was surprisingly unscathed.

Fluttershy was shocked at what she saw. “What was that?”

“That’s, what happens when I eat too fast.” I started stretching. “When I’m low on energy and I scarf down food too quickly, my energy literally explodes. If you were closer to me you would have been severely burned. My energy is pure raw power, so it will hurt you if I’m not careful. Luckily I know how my power works most of the time. So your fine.” I gave her a wink to reassure her she’s safe around me and has nothing to worry about.

She blushed a deep red. “Okay. Thanks.” She was getting really nervous that I was hitting on her.

I noticed her getting red and nervous so i thought it best to help her shimmer down. “Don’t take it literally Fluttershy, you remind me of someone close to me. And I have an instinct to protect those close to me. And if helps you, we’ll talk about our feelings for each other later.”

Fluttershy was surprised “Wait, You kn…. I mean you…. What?” She couldn’t get her words straight.

I looked her in the eyes and smiled. “Yeah I know and I may have similar feelings, but I'll need time to sort them out. You remind me a lot like a girl I love back in my dimension. And before you ask, she’s fine with me dating another female. It’s kinda hard not to being part dragon and all which she understands completely.”

Her blush went from crimson red to a shade of pink. “Oh. Okay. I feel better knowing I don’t have to hide it. And thank you for being honest.”

I walked up to her left side. “It’s like I said I’m always willing to lend an ear to those who need to talk to someone. Let’s just take it slow okay Fluttershy.”

She was getting a bit more comfortable now. “Oh of course, I wouldn’t want to make you feel like I rushed you into a relationship. I’ll feel terrible if that happened.” I chuckled and started flying. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“I saw Cadence and noticed how bad her condition is, so I’m going to help her out by buying her time to recover.”

“How?” She asked with confusion.

I cracked a smug smirk. “I think a certain ‘King’ is wanting some time to pay me back. I plan on keeping him busy for as long as I can to buy everybody time. Don’t worry Fluttershy I dealt with worst than him. See ya later.”

I then took off towards the castle, and straight to Cadence and Shining Armor.

“Sarius! You recovered?” She was surprised to see me in top condition.

“Yup. And I’m here to offer my help. Cadence I’m gonna buy you some time to recover your strength. If you keep going like this he’ll get his prize soon. Rest Cadence and I’ll distract him. Shining you keep an eye out there, if he turns around and ignores me tell Cadence to lift the shield again.” They both nodded. “Alright Here goes nothing.”

I took off and headed towards the arctic. When I left the safety of the shield, King Sombra was waiting patiently for his time to strike. He didn’t notice me yet but I was gonna change that real quick. I gathered a small focused energy ball in my claw and Yelled “HEY OVER HERE!!!”

He quickly turned and saw me and charged. I tossed the ball at his face and made a direct hit.

He laughed. “What was that supposed to do?” He looked confident.

I smirked and gave him a good kick to the snout. He winced and was sent flying but he was a fog of darkness so he got right back up. “That. Was to solidify your form. Now I can hit you as much as I want.”

And with that I Uppercuted him with my Right claw and then swiped him with my tail. He was getting furious now. “Come and get me!” I started flying backwards. As I suspected he followed suit. I made sure his back was to the Empire so he wouldn’t notice the shield was down which it was for a while. After putting some distance between us and the Empire I then quickly stopped and charged at him and made a quick but powerful jab at his forehead. He flinched and started charging his horn. He shot a black laser at me which I effortlessly dodged. That must have been the magic he used to render Shining’s magic useless. Well even if it hit me it wouldn’t affect me so well. I kept hitting him to keep him focused on me, while restraining myself from fighting seriously. This was not my battle. He was for the Mane Six and Cadence. Great another piece of knowledge I’ll get and during a battle none the less.

Fortunately I was used to this sort of thing. I had a natural ability that helped me in battles and normal situations. I was able to keep track of everything going on, my enemy’s movements, certain parts of scenery I could use, others locations and attacking points and angles as well as keeping track of where my allies were. This was my only Natural ability that I didn’t obtain from my power it was just something I’m good at. Call it Multi-tasking.

The fight kept going with every blow I land he got more angry and eager to beat me. My punches and kicks had no power nor force behind them. Irritating my enemies til they mess something up was something I did really well. However, this distraction wasn’t lasting much longer since he started noticing I was holding back. He must have realized I could easily finish him whenever I wanted too. He then stopped all together and stared me down.

“You’re playing for time, aren’t you?” He looked more annoyed now.

I didn’t say anything mostly cause he might have already figured it out, but partly hoping he was trying to throw me off and get the truth out of me. So I tried punching him but he quickly disappeared and appeared behind me. I managed to turn around quickly enough to dodge another laser.

“I knew it. I noticed you weren’t being serious.” He then looked towards the Empire and noticed the shield was down. He smiled but quickly dissolved it.

He must been thinking it was a trap but it wasn’t. It was the real deal. So he played it safe and went low to the ground. I knew what he was up to so I chased him. He was trying to sneak under the radar. I had to pull him out somehow. I then noticed his horn was the only object sticking out like a sharks fin stalking it's prey. It was a long shot but I used my Energtris power to grip his horn and pulled up. His head was pulled out but I wasn’t sure if Shining could see him until the shield started going back up. It worked, which meant Sombra was really dashing to get inside and pulled me with more force. The shield was raised in time to chip his horn off, cutting off my grip on it and throw me into the circle. I recovered quickly before hitting the ground. I was relieved to know Shining was watching. I just hoped I bought enough time for everybody.

As far as I saw the faire was still going. Unfortunately I didn’t know what the goal was. So I decided to head towards the center. Applejack was standing next to a concealed stand. She seemed to be keeping an eye out like she was watching for trouble even though it was outside.

“What’s going on AJ? I never got a chance to find out what the goal is here.” I said hovering in place behind her.

Applejack jumped a little. “Sarius! Don’t sneak up on me like that. Ya scared me witless.”

“Sorry.” I chuckled.

She just eyed me. “Anyway, I’m here keeping the Crystal Ponies away as long as I can. Turns out the Crystal Heart we have isn’t the right one. Twilight is looking for the real one and she took Spike with her.”

“Okay. And what about the others?” I looked around trying to find them.

“Their doing their separate jobs to keep the Crystal Ponies spirits high. We need their love and light to power the heart.” I motioned her front leg to the other buildings.

“I see. I hope I bought enough time for all of you.”

“Ah’m not sure. But if that heart isn’t found soon, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Alright it seems like things have to play out now. I’ll be on standby and keep myself from saving the day.” And with that, I took off. Applejack looked like she wanted to say something to me but I already made my decision. I won’t interfere unless I really need to. So I took my position in the sky and made myself a platform out of my energy to sit on.

From there I watched the event play out before my eyes but I didn't focus on it. I had some things to sort through while i had some time. The first thing that came up was my affection for Fluttershy. She was cute and kind. But I have fallen for that in the past and that didn't turn out well for a while. I was thankful that it all worked out in the end but it created some compilations between me and another female.

"Could i really love a pony?" I asked myself in my head. "Then again it's better than falling in love with someone who has a bit Phoenix DNA in them, i guess. I know phoenixes and dragons don't get along." I reassured myself.

I saw things were getting intense down below, but I let it flow to the back of my mind. I had a feeling this will turn out fine. "I could at least give it a try. Sure it might seem weird at first but I'm sure it'll get better with time. I mean what's the worst that can happen?" Though the worst isn't at all what I imagine it would be.

So i sorted that out, next one was certainly puzzling. From what I can gather about this dimension, it seemed Love and Tolerance thrived here. So what could I do in this kind of dimension and how? More importantly, why am I needed? I realized right away, that I wasn't going to be able to answer that. It would take time and careful observations. Before I could get to my next subject I heard a loud boom and my focus was instantly directed to the scene below.

A massive explosion erupted from the center of the empire. Though this was a different kind of explosion. I could sense a large amount of positive energy expanding. Sombra was shredded into small shadowy pieces of himself and were scattered throughout the tundra. I got the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. I then noticed a bright light was being emitted from the empire and it was steadily growing larger and brighter by the second. The explosion reached me and I felt myself get doused with positive energy and power. Love and light flowed through me and I noticed my appearance was more crystalline. It was as if my body was replaced with a diamond counterpart.

The light that radiated from the castle was a sight to behold. It spread the power of love and light to all corners of this world. I noticed a handful of ponies were running around looking for something. I instantly realized it was me they were looking for. Applejack was the last one to see me. Fluttershy found me somehow. It wasn't until later that i found out how she did. She breathed a sigh of relief upon finding me.

“Sarius! Thank goodness. I was worried and we thought you left.”

I shook my head. “I can't just leave like that. I know I'm needed here for some reason. Besides I figured I would give love in this dimension a shot.'”

Fluttershy blushed a bright pink and smiled. "You mean, you..." She didn't finish and instead let out a cute squeak.

I chuckled and smiled. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves Fluttershy. I haven't fully sorted out my affection yet. But I am willing to try."

She giggled and sat down on a cloud in front of me. "Yay." I couldn't tell if she was excited or not. I didn't usually hear people say yay like that.

I smiled “Just remember Fluttershy we’re taking it slow. We don’t wanna rush this. It’s gotta develop on its own.”

She smiled back. "I know Sarius. Anyway we are getting ready to leave and head home and we were wondering if you'll like to join us." She looked at me with hope.

I let the platform melt away and started hovering “Sure I don't have anyplace to stay right now. Where are we heading?”

“Ponyville.” She hovered off of the cloud.

I smiled. "Lead the way, Flutters." She blushed at that name.

She led the way back to the group. Everybody was happy to see me again. And with that we all headed to the Train Station that I never realized was there and took the next train to Canterlot. They still had things to take care of there. I stayed at the Station and waited for them. When they came back we took the next train to Ponyville, The next place I’m sure I’ll call ‘Home’.

End of Chapter 1

Theme of Sarius Trusdale: Into Free - Dangan. Aka Main Theme of Dragon's Dogma Original not the Dark Arisen.