It had been a few days since the whole revelation of 'Anon being equipped with a shapeshifting alien watch' and 'Twilight being infused with the powers of both Celestia and Luna'. For Discord, he wanted to say that this seemed like another Tuesday, but in all honesty, knowing what Anon was packing came from another universe, dare he imply, another Multiverse, was definitely an estimate of being one of the few factors that made him feel something.

For Twilight, it took some getting used to. Spike was also pretty intrigued by what this device could do, and seemed pretty interested in helping Anon figure it out. Spike even encouraged the idea of Anon using his powers to become a superhero, going all across Equestria to help those in need. As interesting as it was, Twilight knew that this kind of power, if it made Discord feel uncertain, she knew it was something she didn't want in Anon's hands. Then again, it was stuck to him, and according to the new human in the labcoat, he was supposed to find it, and soon began to assume that fate finally threw Anon a bone here.

To Anon, he felt the exact opposite. Once he began to get in the groove of seeing an impossible problem that he couldn't solve, he wanted to use the Omnitrix and use the aliens he had to solve said problem, but had to admit that it was just lazy, even for him. Needless to say, he wanted to get used to having this type of power if he was gonna be stuck with it, but he couldn't find a proper way to use his powers without risking the big bad freakazoid, known as Lord Tirek, finding out where they were. Anon soon began to regret ever finding the device, even if fate said he'd get ahold of it either way.

One night in specific, Spike, Twilight and Anon sat at the table, eating dinner like nothing was out of the ordinary... well, out of the ordinary was basically subjective by this point. A human now had the powers to transform into a bunch of crazy alien creatures, a newly-ascended Alicorn was blessed with the burden of channeling the powers of the two royal sisters, as much as they wanted to say something about their situation, they couldn't bring themselves to utter a word.

Soon thereafter, the three of them cleaned up the table, put the dishes in the sink, and Anon stayed behind in the kitchen. Twilight and Spike went upstairs to get ready to sleep, but Anon just couldn't bring himself to. Anon sighed and walked to the front door, opening it and venturing out into the night.

Anon walked through the quiet and still empty village that is Ponyville, and he didn't have any idea on what he was supposed to do. Ironically enough, now that he thought about it, it was just him, his pony friends, Discord, Spike, and the CMC still in town. It's possible Zecora might've still been in the Everfree, but he wasn't ready to go back in there, that wasn't gonna happen again anytime soon. "Everypony really up and vanished in a hurry, I wonder if it had anything to do with Tirek and his escape?" Anon wondered to himself, walking through the empty and abandoned streets, looking at all the abandoned homes.

The lights were still on, yet no one was home. Anon had even went towards the Rich's estate, the wealthiest and most confusing family Anon has ever had the displeasure of meeting, and noticed a lack of snooty rich-pony attitude in the air, mainly Spoiled Rich or her equally bratty filly, he was at least hoping to find Filthy Rich, he was a nice guy, unlike his wife and daughter, but he was unsettled by the silence in Ponyville, and the open doors to every building in town, with no one else inside, it was enough to actually make Anon feel a chill run up his spine.

It was strange, it was almost as if he was being watched. 'Someone, or something has eyes on me. I've faced my fair share of mental nutcases and vengeful petty gods to know that someone has it out for me, now I need to figure out where they are.' Anon thought, steadily hovering his hand over the Omnitrix.

It was quiet, somehow quieter than it was a moment ago. You couldn't even hear a pin drop onto a pillow, or the swaying of the calm evening breeze. Anon quickly pressed the button, popping the core up and selecting a random icon. He immediately pushed the core down as a green light enveloped him.

Anon was right, something was watching him. Unfortunately, it wasn't feelin' friendly. Behind him, amongst the shadows, was a Timberwolf, snarling as the flash of light died down. Anon was now transformed into a small gremlin-like creature with red skin and some kind of tail with a pointed end. He wore a gray vest and a white top with black pants, and the Omnitrix was now located on his back. "RAAaaahhh... haahh... huh?" The gremlin looked itself over, and went wide-eyed. "WHAT THE FUCK!? Who's side are you on, you stupid watch?!" The creature exclaimed, its high-pitched gravelly voice.

The gremlin looked up, noticing the Timberwolf growling and licking its wooden lips with anticipation. The gremlin smiled and chuckled nervously. "Don't suppose you'd settle for a dog treat, would ya? Heh.. heh eh..." The gremlin asked, a bead of sweat dripping down its forehead.

Twilight was sleeping peacefully in her bed, dreaming of various schemes to thwart Tirek's plans, but it's all for naught when the high-pitched shrill cries of some unknown creature awaken the alicorn from her slumber, along with her faithful dragon assistant. "What was that?!" Spike asked.

Twilight didn't have an immediate answer, but she did suspect that someone was attempting to burn the midnight oil without her. Twilight got up from her bed as she opened the door, and yelled out for the human that lived with her. "Anon, are you still awake?" Twilight called out. Another distressed shrill scream echoed out, but it sounded nothing like the human. "Anon?!" Twilight called out, a bit more frantic this time.

Spike climbed onto Twilight's back and kept himself wrapped in his blanket. "We might as well see what's going on, right?" Spike suggested. Twilight nodded, readying her wings as she quickly jumped down to the ground floor and threw the front door open.

To her surprise, when she stepped out of the library, she saw a small gremlin like creature running from a Timberwolf. "AAHHH!!!! SOMEONE PUT A LEASH ON THIS MANGEY MUTT, I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!! TWILIGHT, HELP!!" The gremlin shouted, immediately trying to scramble its way up the tree, but to no avail. Whether it was good luck, or the universe throwing Anon a bone for once, the Timberwolf tried to lunge for the gremlin, only to hit the library itself and collapse into pieces, giving the three a moment of peace.

Twilight was just surprised, yet more-so confused about who or what this creature was, let alone how it knew who she was. However, the moment she saw the badge on the creature's back, she could recognize that this creature was in-fact, Anon. Twilight sighed, using the magic to pull the gremlin-like creature into her view, with it dangling upside down with a nervous grin. Twilight looked exhausted, yet a bit of curiosity was still present. "Anonymous, could this not wait till morning? You could've woken up the entirety of Ponyville with how much you were screaming." Twilight stated, clearly unamused by the situation before them.

The gremlin chuckled nervously before the smile turned into a look of uncertainty. "W-Well... I don't think they'll be waking up, considering that aside from us, our friends, and that chaotic weirdo, it seems like we're the only ones still in Ponyville... it's been like that for a few days, nearly a week and a half. Did you not notice how much quieter things have been?" the gremlin explained.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, seeming confused by the alien's wording. The gremlin sighed, and soon enough, they heard the Timberwolf rebuilding itself. The three of them were in a panic, but tried to keep themselves calm. Twilight dropped the gremlin and fired a powerful blast, once again blowing the wooden wolf into various pieces, and made quick work to gather them in her magic. "We need to find a way to discard these pieces. If one timberwolf was able to leave the Everfree Forest, then it's possible that something must be wrong. Anon, can that alien do anything useful to fix this mess?" Twilight asked.

The gremlin looked around and upon first-glance, couldn't find anything. But, the moment he saw a few gears, as well as a metal chain, and an old axe handle, something did come to him. "Fix... fix.. fix, yes, of course! Fixing time!" the gremlin leapt forward and grabbed the few parts that had caught his eye and started to cobble them together, moving much faster than he had previously before. "FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX! HYAHAHAHAH!!" The gremlin seemed to be having a real hoot as he put the unorthodox components together.

Twilight and Spike looked back at each other, equally confused and worried. Soon enough, the small gremlin had somehow manufactured a type of hand-held chain-mace-type weapon, with the gears grinding away as the weapon suddenly lit up in a splendor display of silver light. "Kindly let me see the pieces, I'll make sure this overgrown splinter won't attack us ever again." the gremlin stated.

Twilight was skeptical, and didn't do that right away. Instead, she probed for answers. "How did you make that? What did this alien do just now?" Twilight asked.

The gremlin looked back at the device in his hand, then back at Twilight. "You told me to fix this mess, and I noticed the scrap we had lying around from our previous adventures. Something just came to me, and I let my delicate hands do the work. Now, unless you want to deal with another timberwolf attack, you need to essentially let the parts reform into the timberwolf, it's the only way this little gizmo I cobbled together will work like how it's supposed to. We only have one shot at this, ya feel me?" the gremlin explained.

Twilight was still hesitant, but she didn't want to risk having her friends see her like this, or see Anon like this, so she had to play along, for now. She let the parts be free, and they began to assemble. As each part clicked back into place, the full body was reformed, but before it could truly attack anyone, the gremlin used the device he crafted, getting the whole chain to whip around the timberwolf's neck, locking it into place. The gremlin pressed a button and a surge of blue electricity surged throughout the wooden canine. Before Twilight could act any further, the timberwolf soon became very lax, and less resistant.

The gremlin pressed the button again, and the chain unlocked, unraveling from the timberwolf's neck and returned to its normal length, before suddenly crumbling into a pile of useless pieces. The timberwolf's eyes were now a bright blue, instead of the usual vibrant yellow they usually were. "Now, are you done throwing your tantrum?" The gremlin asked. The timberwolf nodded, much to Twilight and Spike's surprise. "Good, now, you're gonna go back to the Everfree, and not hurt another innocent creature. Whether it be alien, human, pony, dragon, or anything else that's a sapient and coherent creature, you understand?" The gremlin commanded. The timberwolf nodded, whimpering as it curled up in a bed. The gremlin looked intrigued, yet curious. "Interesting perspective... I'll take this into consideration, but you're still going back to the Everfree. Now go!" The gremlin ordered.

The timberwolf quickly ran through town, covered by the darkness of night as it ran towards the Everfree Forest, all while Twilight and Spike simply looked on in shock and bewilderment. "What just happened?" Spike inquired.

The gremlin waltzed over and got both of their attention. "It's quite simple, I used that device to provide a temporary boost in a lesser creature's cognitive functions. Timberwolves are just mindless, savage golems in the shape of wolves, who are equally as ferocious and territorial as their organic non-wooden counterparts, so I knew it'd work, however with the limited resources around here, the device had a one-time use. By temporarily boosting the timberwolf's cognitive functions, I've given it the temporary gift of sapience and sentience. It could understand us, word for word, but through the use of body language, you can tell that something had the Timberwolf running scared, and clearly wasn't looking forward to going back to that accursed forest. Can't say I blame it, I wouldn't wanna go back there either." The gremlin explained.

Twilight's eye twitched, and seemed very much annoyed. "Try not to overthink it, princess. I know I'm not gonna, I'll probably forget everything I explained by the time I turn back. For some kind of alien gremlin, this guy's got a big brain, and a knack for making some special tools, even if they only have a one-time use. I think I'll call this one, Scraplin!" Scraplin proclaimed. Right on cue, the Omnitrix began to time out. In a flash of red light, Anon was turned back to normal, and seemed to feel some discomfort.

Twilight sighed, walking back inside as Anon followed. Spike was slumbering peacefully on Twilight's back, and Anon was hoping he and Twilight could have as much ease sleeping the rest of the night away.

The next day, it was uneventful... well, not really, something did happen. It was just another day in Ponyville, and it was until now, that the rest of the Elements of Harmony were informed about Ponyville's sudden lack of citizens. They had been wrapped up in their own work, as well as dealing with some stuff behind the scenes, but were clearly unsure of how to process it all. Apparently, they had some kind of update for Twilight herself, so that was something.

Anon, Spike and Twilight listened intently, all while Anon tried to ignore the Omnitrix, and hide it from the others. They noticed right off the bat that he seemed nervous, uncertain and standoff-ish, but they figured that if it were important, he'll tell them in due time. "--as it turns out, we've got some kind of connection to these items. Whatever it is, it's probably got somethin' to do with that crystal box near the tree of harmony. The five of us have found a connection through these items, mainly when the element we each embody, was tested. I was hopin' that you had an idea, or some inclination about this. What do you think, Twilight?" Applejack explained.

Twilight thought about her friend's words, as well as how the five of them found some connection that tied to their element, it sounded ludicrous at first, but the more the alicorn thought about it, it explained a fair bit on why she hadn't seen much of her friends in the past couple days. Though, it didn't explain to her, or Anon, as to why nearly all of Ponyville had gone missing, and are still nowhere to be seen.

Twilight cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "I'm sure the old castle of the two sisters has something there to explain this, but before we head out... have you girls truly not noticed that Ponyville has been a bit too quiet these past few days?" Twilight asked.

The five of them seemed unsure of how to answer that question, but their answer was entirely the same. Everything seemed fine until Discord stopped showing his face. Something about that answer rubbed Anon the wrong way, but before he could elaborate on that, a scream had echoed out of nowhere. Everyone was looking around, trying to figure out where this noise had come from, until Anon saw something familiar.

Overhead in the distance, a big red dragon was flying away from Ponyville, and in its grasp, was a stallion with a black coat and a luscious white mane.

"Oh hey, it's big red! Haven't seen him since Season 1!" Pinkie remarked.

"I guess Big Red's on a 'no-gem' diet. Doesn't excuse him to eat ponies, though!" Anon called out.

Fluttershy was scared by her friend's words. "What!? E-Eat p-p-ponies!?" Fluttershy heaved, looking like she's about to panic.

Dash got ready to move, until Twilight stopped her. "Hey! What the heck, Twilight!?" Dash called out, trying to get out of her magical grasp.

Twilight stood still, unwavered by her friend's attempt to escape. "Anon and I will go after them, the rest of you need to find Zecora, get some answers on the dragon's re-appearance." Twilight stated.

Applejack was about to object, until she noticed Anon, still trying to cover up the Omnitrix. 'Guess I wasn't dreamin' that after all... Twilight must know, she's got ways of findin' stuff out... partner, what in tarnation have you gotten yerself mixed up in this time?' Applejack thought to herself. Applejack sighed, "Let's go girls, time's a-wastin'. Spike, you're comin' with us, we could use some 'firepower', just in case the plants try attackin' us again." Applejack stated.

The others wanted to object, but they could tell Applejack was set on followin' this plan. They reluctantly agreed, but were still worried. Spike got on Rarity's back as they made their way. Applejack stopped and looked to Anon, and sighed. "Anon!" Applejack called out.

Anon looked her way, and she stood her ground. "Don't go lookin' fer trouble with that contraption stuck on yerself, ya hear?" Applejack advised, running after the others as they vanished into the Everfree Forest.

Anon wanted to ask something, but he didn't have enough time as Twilight used her magic to teleport them, leaving no trace of them behind. Despite Ponyville now being a little less full without the element bearers being in one place, or without the wielder of the Omnitrix, there was someone still around.

Paradox. He made himself visible as he came out of an alley, an impatient look on his face was prevalent, as well as a small splotch of red on his cheek. He wiped it away and looked back at an unconscious man who looked exactly like him, stained with red and leaking red from several wounds, clutching a busted Omnitrix in his hands. Unlike him though, he was alive, and this other unconscious man... was dead. "Let's see you try to help that green-skinned fool now. You shouldn't've interfered with this backwater timeline, and now, you'll forever stay in this alley-way, dying as you lived... Insane & Alone." 'Paradox' stated, disappearing once again.

In a flash of light, Twilight and Anon had suddenly re-appeared in a mountainous region. The rocks were dark red, some were brown, black, dark gray at best, and others had these glowing cracks, revealing a glowing warm light. "Twilight, did you just send us to the Dragonlands?" Anon asked.

Twilight looked around, but noticed a few dragons nearby. "Seems like it, unfortunately. I was trying to get us on top of Big Red, but all of this extra power must've dropped us right on the doorstep of the Dragonlands instead! I seriously need to get a better grasp on this stuff, otherwise, it'll come back to bite me in the flank later." Twilight bemoaned.

Anon sighed, patting Twilight's head. "Relax, since we're here, we can probably just go to the dragon leader, and see if we can't work this out civilly. I know you've been to the Dragonlands before, Rarity too, so you've got more experience to work with than I do." Anon reassured.

Twilight sighed. "I can certainly say, if there are any adult dragons here, they are rather lackluster, in terms of making sure the younger dragons don't do something reckless, or juvenile. We have to make sure that we don't agitate them, as well as find out who leads them, if someone even does." Twilight remarked.

Anon and Twilight looked around and walked a bit forward, looking at the pools of lava, as well as a few eggs. "Interesting. I never thought I'd see the day, that I could see another dragon egg up-close. I guess the dragons have been busy, since our last encounter." Twilight studied.

Anon looked around, and aside from the bubbling of lava, Anon had noticed the stunning silence. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Not a dragon was in sight, teenager, adult, or otherwise. Anon could feel something in his gut, and it didn't feel pleasant. "Twilight, maybe we should cut our losses and leave. I have a gut feeling that we aren't welcome here, and I think we need to bounce. Chances are, if we go back to Ponyville, maybe we can find another way to get to Big Red. I've come to recognize that if a big location suddenly goes silent and devoid of life... something'll come out of nowhere, and attack, just like the Timberwolf from last night." Anon remarked cautiously.

Twilight looked at Anon, then all around the area they were in. "It's possible that this is a singular location for hatching newborn dragons. The heat of these lava pools must give off enough natural heat to keep up the incubation progress, and dragons aren't necessarily known for their nurturing skills. Maybe we're not looking in the right place... come on," Twilight flew in one direction, specifically up a small craggy cliff. "We need to find answers." Twilight stated, seemingly not noticing Anon's caution.

Anon groaned, knowing his gut feeling would have to be ignored. If his gut was telling him that something was off, he'd usually listen. He didn't have magic, but this was the closest he ever had to something similar to Pinkie's weird triggers. It's like AJ always said, 'If Pinkie's twitchin', you better listen.' Only now, Anon knows he should just grab the alicorn and make off like a bat out of hell, but even he was curious to the sudden silence that now calls the Dragonlands home.

It unnerved him, knowing that the Dragonlands, a part of Equestria that was populated with dragons, has essentially become a ghastly and lackluster location. Anon took a deep breath and followed his alicorn friend, despite his gut practically tying itself in knots to force him not to step further, yet it was futile. Anon climbed up the cliff rather easily, and joined his equine companion, basking in the wider, yet still desolate and barren landscape. "Call me crazy, but I think the dragons may need more help than we do..." Anon remarked.

"I couldn't agree more, Human!!" A new voice announced, loud, gruff and bellowing with energy.

A yelp escaped Anon as he fell forward, quickly turning around to be met by a giant figure. The dragon was huge, wearing a huge armored chestplate and covered in teal-gray scales. A pair of huge wings flapped in the air, the interior of said wings were a faded orange color, reminiscent of fading amber. His horns curved down and forward, being equally parallel to his snout. His orange eyes leered down at Anon, but not till Twilight made herself known, flying up to meet the dragon, face-to-face.

The dragon stared Twilight down, only to let his intense look relax. "So, you must be a princess. That, or a Unicorn who wished to fly! Ahahahaha!!" The dragon remarked, landing on the ground as he let a smile form on his face and a cacophony of laughter escaping him.

Twilight seemed off-put by the dragon, but still tried to keep herself at ease. "I am a princess. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to speak to the leader of the dragonlands!" The dragon's laughter soon came to an end, and though he still had a smile on his face, he was listening to the little pony flying above him. "One of your dragons has fillynapped an innocent pony, and we presume that pony may end up devoured, or strictly maimed." Twilight explained.

The dragon sighed, keeping a smile on his face as he landed. Anon got on his feet and seemed pretty intimidated, knowing that such a large dragon was now in his presence, and did look pretty dangerous, and it rubbed him the wrong way that this colossal flying lizard was essentially unfazed by Twilight's testimony.

Anon reached for the Omnitrix, yet he didn't activate it. "Look, sulfur-breath! We're not here to cause trouble, we just wanna know why Big Red suddenly left Ponyville with a pony in his jaws! First time I've seen anypony other than my friends in that town for a good few days, and they get snatched up in the maw of a dragon! It's a ghost town, already, and judging by how abnormally quiet and desolate the Dragonlands are today, with a bunch of dragon eggs being unguarded, I get the strangest feeling you know something about this!" Anon pressed the button and popped the dial up, ready to transform. The dragon looked in Anon's direction, a bit insulted at not just the idea of being involved in something supposedly heinous, but also the fact that he was referred to as 'Sulfur-Breath'. "Would you kindly prove me wrong and explain yourself, or are we gonna have to attempt other methods of getting information?" Asked Anon.

Twilight looked uncertain of how this was most likely going to go down, but she was calm and collected, unflinching. "If you don't fess up, I can't guarantee that my friend here won't attempt to chew through you like a cluster of gemstones. Believe me, I don't like the idea of resorting to violence, but if smacking sense into someone is how it has to be, then so shall it be. Now, tell us what you know, and no one has to get hurt." Twilight stated, her horn glowed with a bright light.

The dragon looked at the alicorn above him, seeing a silent fury burning in her eyes. He looked back at the human, who was readying to use that strange gauntlet-like device strapped to him. Before the dragon could answer, someone yelled out in a rage, and the sound of a brawl began to fill the silence. "Anon, go check out the noise. I'll keep him under watch." Twilight instructed, not breaking eye-contact with the dragon.

Anon sighed in relief. "At least I won't have to fight a dragon, thank Celestia." Anon remarked, running ahead towards the sounds of combat.

As Anon ran towards the sounds of fighting, Twilight fixated her gaze on the dragon beneath her. She let the glowing light around her horn fade, and she landed on the ground, trotting slowly towards the dragon. "I deeply apologize for the aggression I've displayed, I know how dragons won't necessarily respect anyone or anything that may seem, how one would say, 'spineless'. My friend, however, is very capable of giving you quite the run-around with his new powers. I presume that with the attire you don, through process of elimination, you must be the leader of the Dragonlands, right?" Twilight inquired.

The dragon frowned and snorted, letting a few black clouds of fumes escape his nostrils. "Just when I thought you ponies had developed a backbone. Yes, I am Dragon Lord Torch, err... former Dragon Lord Torch, is more accurate," Twilight raised an eyebrow, seeming confused. "As much as it pains me to say, it's a bit of a fallacy to say I'm still the Dragon Lord, as that title was taken from me not too long ago." Torch stated.

Twilight was perplexed, but felt a slowly rising feeling of uncertainty and dread course through her veins, making her body feel cold as ice. The previous dragon lord, the strongest capable leader of every other dragon lesser than them, beaten and overthrown in combat?! The very thought of this didn't make sense to the alicorn, she couldn't handle the idea of what could possibly be worse, let alone stronger than their leader.

Twilight took a deep breath, trying to keep her wits about her. "So, if you're not the dragon lord anymore, then who is?" Twilight asked, a hint of worry in her tone of voice.

Anon rushed forward, following the ever-growing sounds of combat and violence to a crawlspace in one of the cracking walls of rock. Without a moment to lose, Anon got down on his stomach and crawled in, looking forward as he shuffled and squirmed through the hole. Anon was lucky the space he was moving through was an inch or three bigger than he was, otherwise he might not have fit. He stopped short of the hole on the other side and looked carefully to see what was going on. What he saw was quite easily the coolest, if not the most aggressive display of fighting he's ever seen.

Several bodies of dragons, whether they be teenage dragons or much larger dragons around Big Red's size littered a few corners of this makeshift arena, each one riddled with sharp gem-like shards in their bodies, lying on the ground, motionless. More dragons were flying in to try and fight, but it was the combatant that Anon saw put these dragons under that had him curious to the situation at hand.

The combatant had shiny bronze-colored armoring around the bottom half of his body, as well as these crazy futuristic black boots, and gray baggy pants covered in a dark soot. The combatant themselves, they looked a lot like Anon's crystal alien, only much more aggressive and topless. They looked to be riddled with scratches and scars, their crystals were more-so a blue-green color, compared to the gray quartz color Anon's version was mainly comprised of. "This would explain where all the dragons went, but why is that guy here, what did he do to piss off a bunch of dragons?" Anon wondered, getting his arms free as he pulls himself out of the wall.

As the fight raged on, the unknown Petrosapien was in the midst of a massacre. Left and right, dragon bodies would be riddled with smaller crystal shards, or straight up impaled by the petrosapien's crystal-blade arms, and slammed into other incoming dragons. Anon decided to get in on the action and tried to transform into his Petrosapien form, or Quartzcluster, as he calls it, he ended up mistransforming again, transforming into the least helpful alien in this situation, his necrofriggian form, or Frostmoth, as he calls it.

Anon looked himself over, and sighed, seeming incredibly bothered by the watch not giving him the right alien. "Omnitrix, I feel like you hate me. What did I do to you?" Frostmoth berated, gaining no response from the Omnitrix.

Not wanting his transformation to have gone to waste, Frostmoth joins the fight, but he's uncertain of which side he's supposed to be on. He decides to make it easy, and grabs ahold of the petrosapien, turning intangible as he pulls him through the floor, leaving behind a momentary spot of ice as the remaining dragons look on in confusion.

A few good feet away outside of the arena, Frostmoth and the unknown petrosapien phase through the ground, and turn tangible again, hiding behind a few giant rocks. "I wasn't expecting to see a Necrofriggian on this strange planet, but if I had to guess, you must be one of the natives of this rock that found the Omnitrix, correct?" The petrosapien inquired.

Frostmoth sighed, looking a bit bemused. "Is that how you thank someone from getting you out of trouble? Besides, you riling up the dragons and killing them isn't exactly making things easier." He remarked.

The petrosapien looked impatient, and eventually, Frostmoth played along, showing the Omnitrix that was now on full view on his chest. "Just so you know, I'm not a native, I'm just someone who ended up here because a higher power likes messing with me. So, care to explain your murder spree, or am I to assume you're a psychopath?" Frostmoth chastised.

The petrosapien frowned, but was intrigued to know the Omnitrix's wielder wasn't of this planet. The petrosapien smiled, taking a knee before the confused necrofriggian. "Then I suppose I was fated to meet you, after all. I'm Tetrax, the last of the petrosapiens, and the sole survivor of Petropia's destruction," Tetrax looked up at the necrofriggian. "May I know the name of the Omnitrix's user?" Tetrax asked.

Anon was severely confused. He wasn't aware of what exactly Tetrax was on about, but he did remember something Discord said when he saw him as Quartzcluster, something about how he thought he destroyed them all. The necrofriggian looked pissed, and very annoyed. 'I'm so gonna make Fluttershy scream at him for that...' Frostmoth thought to himself.

He cleared his throat and tapped Tetrax's shoulder, getting his attention. "Dude, please don't do the whole knee-bending thing, I'm not some god, nor do I want to be praised or worshipped as one. Gods already hate me, and I don't want to associate with them anyhow. My name's Anonymous, by the way, but my friends call me Anon. You are free to do the same, under one condition. I still want an explanation on why you were fighting and slaughtering dragons to begin with!" He hissed, letting a thick cloud of freezing mist escape his mouth.

Tetrax nodded, getting back on his two feet and dusting himself off. "I was initially here to collect the Omnitrix, but then I found myself stranded on this planet. A bunch of those airborne reptilians, or as you dub them 'dragons', made off with my ship, and crashed it into one of these pools of molten magma. All of my gear was on that ship, as well as my hoverboard, an alternative means of leaving the planet in case my ship can't make the distance, or is destroyed. With how peaceful this planet looked from above the stratosphere, I assumed that finding the Omnitrix would be easy, but these 'dragons' put up quite the fight, and have me second-guessing how 'peaceful' this planet truly is." Tetrax explained, pointing to his scars.

Frostmoth let a small smile form on his face as a chuckle escaped him. "Trust me, if you think the dragons are bad news, you should've been here when Nightmare Moon escaped, or when Discord broke free from stone, or when the Changelings tried to invade, and don't even get me started on Sombra, he'd probably be obsessed with you, crystal boy." The necrofriggian remarked.

Tetrax's confused expression was enough for Anon to realize that he wasn't aware of the serious problems that befell this world in recent times. In a strange yet poetic way, for Anon, it was like looking in an alien mirror. As Tetrax's confused expressions formed on his face, seeing him silently ruminate on the info relayed to him in such a casual fashion, it reminded Anon of how he first felt when he first showed up in Equestria, hearing of the craziness that occurred long ago before Nightmare Moon's reveal. It reminded him of simpler times.

Tetrax cleared his throat, a more grim and serious expression formed on his face. "To finally answer your question further, I was fighting the dragons to mainly get back at them for wrecking my ship, and incinerating my gear. They claimed that I couldn't take a joke, so I decided to show them how the consequences of their actions can immediately catch up to them." Tetrax explained.

Frostmoth shuddered. "I suppose that's one way of doing so, but it's definitely not a good way of doing so. Makes me glad Spike never turned out like these punks, no pony back in town, nor Canterlot would be able stand him." The necrofriggian said with uncertainty.

Before the two could continue talking, they heard wings flapping, and immediately ducked down for cover, with Frostmoth turning them both intangible so they weren't easily found, or at least, that was what Anon was hoping would happen.

Twilight and Torch stared at each other for what felt like hours, but in-truth, it was merely a few minutes, and Anon was gone for half that time. Torch cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

He sighed. "It happened narrowly a week ago. We had been getting updates from some of the elder dragons passing through, that ponies were losing their magic... well, less losing their magic, and more-so having it stole from them by some homogenous demon, rumors said that it had the top portion of some red-skinned monkey creature, the horns of a minotaur, and four legs, like a pony. At first, I shrugged off these updates, presumed them to be jokes, or poorly crafted attempts to instill fear into us dragons." Torch stated.

Twilight looked worried. "Seems like it worked on some of them, with how barren the Dragonlands seem to be recently." Twilight remarked.

Torch snorted. "I wasn't finished talking. Some have stated that another ridiculous sounding creature, one with numerous animal or monster parts with the ability to do whatever he wants was aiding him, then more reports came in about... something else helping him. Gain more magic, making it stronger, then they tried to go after a dragon or two," Twilight's interest was now piqued, as was her concern. "They were big dragons, nothing they couldn't handle. Oh, how shamefully wrong I was, those two dragons came back on foot to warn the rest of the dragons of the impending attack that would one day show up to our lands, yet it never came." Torch explained further.

Twilight stopped writing for a moment, sharing a glance with the former dragon lord. "What do you mean 'it never came'? If Tirek was able to find out he could drain magic from dragons, why not make sure we ponies couldn't ally ourselves with you and drain every single dragon of their magic, as Tirek is a threat to all of us?" Twilight inquired.

Torch didn't know the answer to that question, and simply shrugged. "Ask me not for an answer, fore it's not an answer I have at my disposal. But, this is the part where it begins to affect the Dragonlands as a whole, and tells the tale of how my position as dragon lord was overthrown by an outsider. So listen up, princess, I was felled in battle, and robbed of my title as Dragon Lord... by a False Dragon." Torch emphasized bitterly.

Twilight took out a notepad and quickly jotted down everything Torch was saying, as well as doodling her own theories based on said information, but the mention of a 'false dragon' piqued her interest so much, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of creature that was. "Fast forward to four days ago, and the Dragonlands are in a state of panic. Some of the younger dragons had begun to question my leadership, even some of the elder dragons looked upon me with shame or a sense of disgrace," Twilight felt a sense of familiarity with the dragon's story, and kept writing. "Naturally, I quickly silenced them with some good hits to their snouts, proving I was still capable of leading, as well as dishing out discipline and being capable of keeping my daughter safe, until this one dragon stood against me and challenged me," Twilight kept writing.

Twilight stopped for a moment, and saw the worry on the former lord's face. "If I may, what did this 'false dragon' look like?" Twilight asked.

Torch grimaced for a moment as he remembered the fight, as well as what the 'false dragon' looked like. "This one dragon, much bigger than the young-ins, but not as big as the elders. He was brown in color, much like dirt, soil, or the occasional rock you'll find in the Dragonlands. He wore a red tunic around his waist with a white belt, and a red sash on his chest with a fancy red badge on it, similar to the shape of that emblem on your human friend's device," Twilight's eyes widened for a moment, and was thankful her face was pressed into the parchment so the dragon couldn't see her shock. "He was far more capable, too, and all without wings. I was impressed that a flightless dragon would have the gall, let alone the mettle to challenge my might. He challenged me to a fight, and the first to yield would be declared the victor, and the new dragon lord. Naturally, he was smaller than me, so I knew I had the fight won, but judging by how that fight went, I think I lost the moment the fight began." Torch remarked sourly.

Twilight began to shudder in place. "H-How do you mean? Was this false dragon capable of doing something unheard of, or did it cheat in some manner?" Twilight asked cautiously.

Torch frowned and sighed. "You could say it was a bit of both. For a moment, I thought I had the fight won, but the moment I slammed my tail down on him for an easy win, I noticed he was still conscious. He caught my tail, and suddenly began to grow. He sprouted a bunch of thick scales all over his body, becoming nearly six times his size, and actually had me getting serious. Several dragons cheered for the challenger, and a few cheered for their true lord, me! I couldn't let them down, so I held nothing back. I spewed fire like I've never done it before, I roared and attacked like a beast protecting their young, I fought and fought, but he was still standing, with very minor scratches and bruises. He returned to his normal size like it was nothing, it was as if he could just casually change between being six times his size, and bein' of normal height out of sheer will!" Torch remarked.

Twilight was confused, but very impressed. "Sounds like this false dragon is a bit sturdier than you imagined. I take it that you yielded right then and there, when you realized that he had you out-matched?" Twilight inquired.

Torch stayed silent. Twilight expected an answer, but Torch seemed to have a new expression upon his face. Terror.

Torch took a deep and very shaky breath, and sighed, the fear in his eyes was obvious. "I taunted him, stating, 'If you think you're gonna become a dragon lord, just because you can make yourself bigger, then you've got no chance of beating me'. You know what he said to me, princess Twilight?" Twilight seemed scared of what that answer was about to be, but was curious herself. "He said, 'You honestly think I was trying, old man? This isn't even the pinnacle of my strength. But, if you're so confident, let's see how you fare against me... in my ultimate form'. I did not know what he was talking about at the time, but I know this, I wasn't prepared, nor could I have ever been prepared, for the monster that this false dragon became." Torch shuddered.

Twilight was silent, but by this point, Torch was giving the whole story right to her, from his own perspective. "He touched that badge on his sash. It all happened so fast, I almost couldn't believe what I saw. That brown dragon was gone, and in it's place, was some kind of horrid beast, a mockery of what that creature was before. It was only till that thing finally introduced itself, that I knew right then and there... this was no dragon, dare I say, I don't think this... thing, even originated from Equestria!" Twilight watched as Torch shifted from his spot and seemed astonished, and bewildered. "It dubbed itself 'Albedo', and that was no dragon name I recognized. He was some kind of infiltrator, said he was one of Tirek's allies, and he essentially embarrassed me in front of every single dragon in the land, even in front of my daughter. I was over-powered, overwhelmed by its strength, by it's unnatural capabilities... By the time I was ready to follow through and tell him that I yield, I had blacked out from the final blow." Torch explained, holding his head in shame.

Twilight put her notepad away and trotted over towards Torch, placing a hoof on his large cheek. "Seems to me, from my own estimation... He's essentially going to command every dragon to ally themselves with Tirek, just so Tirek can take their magic at a faster and more effective rate... He's sending your subjects to be drained of every ounce of magic they have." Twilight summarized.

Torch groaned, seeming incredibly upset. "I can only hope that my daughter won't fall for this ruse. She's tough, but that thing, is much tougher." Torch stated.

Twilight thought back to Big Red, and realized. "Wait, did this 'Albedo' individual do anything to the elder dragons?" Twilight asked.

Torch sighed and nodded. "I remember that after I awoke from my black out, the elder dragons didn't seem to act like themselves. They were vicious, even to their own kind. On occasion, since my exile was two days ago, I saw the occasional elder dragon carrying a few ponies in the direction of what you call 'Canterlot'. They screamed and screamed for help, but there was nothing I could do. To fight against my fellow dragons on affairs I no longer carry weight to change, it would mean treason. I failed the dragons as a whole, lost to an outsider, a false dragon no less, I have brought nothing but shame." Torch said quietly, laying his head on the rocky ground beneath him.

Twilight sighed, more concerned and worried than ever before, and she looked in the direction of where Anon had went. "Anon, looks like you were right... this place does need help." Twilight spoke, landing on the ground as she waited for her friend to return.

Unbeknownst to Twilight, however, several dragons were sneaking up right behind her, and the moment they lunged, Twilight's scream of terror echoed throughout the Dragonlands.

The remaining teenage dragons flew past them, with three of them staying still, perched on top of the rock they were hiding behind. One of them was covered in red scales with yellow frills and wings, and seemed to be pretty mad. "Auugh!! We lost that stupid crystal monster, but he couldn't have gotten far! No one gets away from Garble, and gets away with it!" Garble announced in a fit of anger.

A smaller feminine dragon, covered in orange scales with pink and light gold frills patted Garble's back, their blue eyes shined as they smirked. "Don't worry, Gar-Gar, we'll find him. Once we bring him to the new Dragon Lord, we might be put in his favor." The dragon stated.

The dragon standing next to them, a sleeker, feminine and thinner light blue dragon with dark blue frills and wings just stayed silent, almost melancholic about the situation. Anon almost wanted to say something, until he noticed something. The dragon girl was staring right at him, unmoving, unflinching, and was sniffing the air.

She shrugged and nudged the red dragon, getting his and the orange dragon's attention. "Let's split up and cover more ground. I'll stay here and see if they're just hiding, waiting for us to leave. Garble and Smolder, you two split up and search a couple miles forward. I'll call out for you both in case I find them." She stated.

Garble and Smolder looked at each other, then back at the third dragon among them. Garble shrugged and flew forward as instructed, but Smolder stayed behind for a moment. "I bet it's liberating, knowing your dad can't keep you from doing stuff like this anymore because he lost his title. Am I right, Ember?" Smolder asked.

Ember stayed silent, a look of unease was written clear on her face, and she shuddered, not uttering another word. Smolder soon backed off, realizing she might've tread onto some very personal ground. "Okay, well, I'm gonna fly a couple miles forward, try not to panic when you find them, 'kay?" Smolder remarked, flying away.

Ember took a deep breath, and landed on the ground, a few inches away from the rock, and several less inches away from Tetrax and Frostmoth. Soon enough, she turned in their direction and stared at the intangible necrofriggian. "I know you're there, you reek of pony. Reveal yourself, and I won't harm you." Ember declared.

Realizing that the jig was up, Frostmoth and Tetrax became tangible, revealing themselves as the Omnitrix began flashing red. "Ya know, better now than if you tried to turn me back with those other two on top of us. Way to pick your moments, ya stupid watch." Frostmoth stated, letting the watch envelop him in a flash of red light, transforming him back into Anonymous.

Ember was surprised, to say the least, but in a way, she recognized that emblem on Anon's watch. "Well, I assume that you must be familiar with the new Dragon Lord, right?" Ember inquired.

Anon looked very confused. "You're not shocked, let alone astonished, that a bipedal butterfly creature just transformed into a human? Also, I wasn't aware there was a new Dragon Lord, what's he like?" Anon asked.

Ember shuddered, looking veritably disgusted and angry. Anon held his hands up and backed up against the rock. "Okay, very touchy subject, gonna mark that down under 'Never say that again or I might get turned into rotisserie'. I'm very sorry, I wasn't aware that the new dragon lord was already unlikeable." Anon remarked, immediately trying to salvage the situation.

Ember sighed. "It's fine, it's clear to me that despite your similarities, you know nothing about what's happened in the Dragonlands these past few days, events that caused my father to be dethroned, and me being put under close watch by Albedo. Crafty monster, changing his shape like that just to get an advantage." Ember remarked, grumbling under her breath.

Anon put his hands down and noticed Tetrax readying himself to fight. "Tetrax, no, she's not fighting us, that's a sign that she may be a friend, or at least, an ally we can trust!" Anon stressed, trying to once again, salvage the situation.

Tetrax looked at Anon, then back at Ember, who didn't seem to notice the slow change in Tetrax's arms as they shifted into blades. Tetrax thought about it, and if the wielder of the Omnitrix trusted her, then maybe he could give this a shot, for now. Tetrax shifted his arms back to normal, gesturing to the dragon by pointing at her. "State your identity and your intent." Tetrax ordered.

Ember gave Tetrax a sour look, then looked at Anon for context. "He's still pretty untrusting of Dragons after having his sweet ride and gear destroyed by a bunch of dragon punks... blood was shed, there are dead dragon bodies in that makeshift arena, but he's at least willing to trust you, most likely because I do. What is your name, by the way, and why didn't you rat us out?" Anon asked.

Ember sighed, though she could've easily ratted them out, she didn't like the new dragon lord that much. Sure, her father lost the fight, but that didn't mean she loved him any less or cared less about him. "I'm Ember, I was the princess of the Dragonlands, but not anymore. Ever since my dad lost to that monster days ago, the new dragon lord has been causing some serious trouble all over the Dragonlands. Considering I saw a bunch of elder dragons carry a bunch of panicking and screaming ponies, I knew right then that there was something up. If you'd be willing to help me get back control so I can put an end to this, the rightful dragon lord will be in your debt." Ember explained.

As much as Anon liked the sound of that last part, he knew that whatever was going on here, it was messing dragons up just as much as it was messing ponies up. Anon nodded and was about to offer a handshake to make it official, until Twilight's scream of terror echoed out, sending a chill down his spine. He whipped his head towards the direction of the scream, and he was pretty pissed. "I shouldn't've left her alone, I gotta go back and help her!" Anon exclaimed.

Before Anon could run and try to help Twilight, something exploded, sending him flying against another rock, knocking him out cold. Before he truly lost consciousness, he saw a blurry humanoid figure walking towards him. He wore a red letterman jacket with a black stripe on the left side of it. It had the Omnitrix's badge on it, but it was more red than anything. The figure looked pale, had red eyes, and snow white hair. They looked like they were saying something, but he couldn't tell what.

Soon enough, Anon finally slipped into total unconsciousness.

Author's Note

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I actually put more effort into this one than I usually do, because it's a HiE fic.

I really put some emphasis on how this story is gonna turn out, especially with how I want this story to 'end'. It's nowhere close to the ending, so for those of you who genuinely enjoy this story, don't worry, it's not going anywhere. I'm just considering the ideas of what'll happen after it ends. But, that's something for me to think about when we get to that point.

Maybe when the story's over, I'll post the designs for Anon's aliens. Maybe. Depends on how I'm feeling.

The Scrap Gremlin, AKA, Jury Rigg:
https://ben10.fandom.com/wiki/Juryrigg

Also, what do you guys think of me making this more story-centered, good or no?