"Long live the Dragon Lord"
"Long live the Dragon Lord. . ."
Garble looked up when he heard the satisfied and contempt sounding voice. He looked up and let out a low growl at the pint-sized dragon, who stood next to a purple Alicorn Princess.
"How's it feel, oh high and mighty Dragon Lord?" Spike said with his lip curled in contempt for the red dragon before him, "How do you like your new. . . palace?"
Garble got up from his lying down position and looked the young purple dragon directly in the eye, keeping his gaze hard and unwavering, trying his hardest not to blink.
Spike didn't even bother trying to win the staring contest Garble tried to start, blinking normally as he continued to stare up at the teenage dragon, still smiling that victorious smile. "So. . . how do you like the living arrangements? Is the food here to your liking, oh great and powerful Dragon Lord?"
A loud gurgling groan was emitted by Garble's stomach. It was a groan of shame, of disgust, of anguish, and of emptiness. Garble clenched his fists, forcing himself not to show any sign of weakness caused by his pride preventing him eating any of the rations he was given. However, Garble soon realized that before long, he would break down and end up eating. Part of him couldn't wait until his pride gave out.
Spike shrugged, chuckling a bit before continuing, "Yeah, I guess it's hard getting used to a new diet, especially in a strange place. I'm sure you've never had acco-. . . accoma-. . . uh, living arrangements like this as an ordinary teenage dragon. Now you're suddenly in the big time! Of course that can be quite a shock. Trust me, I know. Twilight when through the same thing when she became a Princess."
Garble was starting to breathe heavily, the angst was building up in his chest, and it would've threatened to make him throw up if his stomach wasn't empty. His fist were clenched so tightly that his claws were nearly breaking through his scales. His tensed footclaws would've dug into the ground if he hadn't been standing on one of the indestructible white crystal circles common in his current location.
Spike held up his claws in a placating manner and said, "Okay, okay, I get it. You're a busy dragon. You've got lots of Dragon Lord stuff to do. I get that." Spike put his claws down and took a few steps closer to Garble and said, "But there's just one thing I want to know. . ."
"Spike, be careful," Twilight said nervously, outstretching her right forehoof.
Spike paid Twilight not mind, and continued to speak to Garble, saying, "I want to know. . . how did it feel when you saw six ponies levitate into the air, surrounded by nearly blinding light, and transform into these colorful super ponies? How did it feel when your entire army of big and tough dragons breathed fire at them, and it just washed over them like hot air?" Spike chuckled giddily, and he leaned forward towards Garble, only about two feet between the dragons' heads, and asked with a grin, "How'd it feel to get taken down in one hit by a rainbow, oh Dragon Lord?"
Garble let out a terrible, ferocious roar and lunched at Spike, his claws outstretched and his eyes filled with killer intent. Twilight quickly pulled Spike back with her magic in the nick of time. The pony and dragon started at Garble as he swung his claws wildly, reaching his arms frantically through the bars of his cage.
"This was a bad idea, Spike," Twilight said sternly.
Spike had been slightly spooked by the fast brush with danger, but after a couple of deep breaths he calmed down, and confidence quickly returned to his face. He shrugged and said, "Aw, come on, Twilight, I'm fine. And I want this. I convinced Celestia and Luna to agree to it."
"But we didn't need to deliver the message in person or be here to see it happen in person!" Twilight complained.
Spike looked up at Twilight with big eyes and said, "Come on, Twilight. Let me have this. Don't make me fight all my Dragon instincts!"
Twilight sighed, "Fine."
During all this, Garble had been growling and snarling violently, trying with all his might to bend the bars. His attempts were in vain. And so, after quite a while, Garble gave up and sat down with a thud, still glaring hatred at the dragon and pony before him.
"Well," Spike began, "We've kinda gotta go now. We'll leave you to your Dragon Lord business. Oh, but there's just one thing. You see, all Great Leaders need assistants and allies around them. Kind of a support group, ya know."
Garble heard the sound of something clanking behind him. He turned around and saw five other teenage dragons entering the cage, which had sealed shut right behind them.
As Garble stared at his old gang with wide eyes, Spike continued to speak, "What was that you said not too long? Oh yeah, 'We'll take whatever we want from Equestria, and burn the rest.' You probably should've kept your mouth shut Garble, then you might've had the element of surprise. Not as strong as the Elements of Harmony, but. . .heh-heh. . . well yeah. . ."
Garble could feel Fume's death glare even though his eyes were still covered by his yellow hair, the ground shook as Clump thumped his mace-like tail several time, Fizzle had smoke and embers coming out of his nostrils, Baff wore a terrifying slasher smile, and Vex simply cracked his knuckles as he looked straight at Garble.
"Let's get serious for a moment, Garble," Spike said in a level tone, "A few of the victims of your reign actually knew you well enough to support you and trust you, so it makes sense that they would like the chance to have a talk with the dragon responsible for the imprisonment of nearly their entire race."
Spike nodded silently to Twilight, and the two turned to leave. Spike suddenly stopped after a few steps and said with a cheeky smile, and without turning around, "Long Live Dragon Lord Garble. . ."
And with that, Spike walked off with Twilight, the agonized screaming of Garble echoing throughout all of Tartarus, now filled with many, many dragons.
"At least the Tree of Harmony spared some of them," Spike remarked with a bittersweet smile.
"I know," Twilight replied with an excited smile, "Princess Ember will make a great ruler! Not to mention a great pen-pal!"
The End
Author's Note
Does anyone else think that nothing was really at stake in "Gauntlet of Fire", assuming Spike, Twilight, and Rarity survived and were still able to get back to Ponyville and the Tree of Harmony regardless of who won?
