The Ties That Bind

Chapters

Heavy Are The Horns Part 1
Heavy Are The Horns Part 2
Heavy Are The Horns Part 3
Heavy Are The Horns Part 4
Heavy Are The Horns Part 5
Heavy Are The Horns Part 6

Heavy Are The Horns Part 1

You know, I think I get it now. I'm beginning to understand why my Dad didn't want me to compete. That day at the volcano seemed like forever ago, but I can still hear my dad being his loud, mouthy self. I remember him telling me I wasn't allowed to try for the scepter. Sure, I stormed off, but it wasn't without a plan. I always had one. I grew up watching him rule our kind. He was the biggest dragon I'd, or anyone else had ever seen. He was always quick to remind me of that. And now, to see him like this... it's almost too much. I know we've only exchanged a few letters, and this one probably seems pretty out of the blue, but I didn't know who else to turn to. I figured, as a princess yourself, you might find the time to come by the Dragon Lord's fortress. With this letter, you'll find two special badges. Wear them on your journey, and no dragon will dare hurt you. Please, I hope you'll accept my invitation.

Dragon Lord Ember the Wise

Twilight set the letter down on the crystal table in front of her throne. Spike was still out running errands, and she knew he'd be eager to know what the letter from his friend Ember said. She gently bit her bottom lip as she considered the Dragon Lord's invitation. She had every intention of honoring it. After all, what kind of friend would she be if she declined? Leaving a newly minted ruler out in the cold was certainly not something befitting the Princess of Friendship.

She levitated her day planner over from a bookshelf and opened it. Twilight hummed to herself as she glanced over the coming week's tasks. It looked like there was nothing she couldn't reschedule, and nothing she'd been putting off that absolutely needed to get done.

Her front door slammed open, nearly startling her out of her throne. Spike had returned with arms full of groceries, stacked so high she doubted he could see where he was going. "I'm back from the market!" he called proudly as she lightened his load with her magic, setting the tower of foodstuffs in the kitchen.

"I see you deviated from the list a little bit." Twilight chuckled.

"Just a little," he replied, handing her the remaining bits from his trip.

As he did, he noticed the letter on the table.

"Is that from Ember?" he gasped, recognizing the broken seal on the outside.

Twilight nodded. "It is. She's invited us to the dragon lands for a few days."

Spike was nearly overflowing with excitement. "Can we go? We're going, right?" he said breathlessly.

"That depends. I seem to remember a certain dragon's room being pretty messy the last time I checked," she reminded him.

He disappeared in a flash down the hallway. "I'll have it cleaned in no time!" he called over his shoulder as his stubby legs carried him as fast as they could to his bedroom.

She smiled, glancing back down at the letter. She removed the two badges and examined them. Fairly simple, two jeweled talismans with Ember's likeness on the front and back. Its simplistic design made Twilight wonder how easy they would be to forge. Not that she had any intentions of trespassing in the dragon lands, but a fledgeling nation-state should at least have a standardized foreign affairs office!

But perhaps she was reading too much into it. She trotted over to her writing desk and set about composing a reply.

Dear Dragon Lord Ember the Wise...

Ember sat back in her throne, letting the letter fall to the ground. The gold coins beneath her clinked as she shifted atop her modest hoard, the sound filling the high ceilings of the room. The Dragon Lord's fortress had been her home since as far as she could remember. It seemed natural to her that she had kept the ruling title in her family. It certainly didn't sit well with some dragons, but being the solitary creatures that they were, most bitter feelings left with them as they dispersed back to their homes in the far flung reaches of the world.

A groan from the far end of the massive treasure room drew her attention. Her father lay curled on his hoard. A massive hoard for a massive dragon, it made sense to her. He had been growing weaker since the Gauntlet.

"Dad, are you okay?" she asked, walking towards her father. He was just as big as he had been, but now, without a purpose, he seemed to grow weaker with each passing day. His eyes cracked open, vertical pupils widening and then focusing on his daughter. Now it was she who bore the ring of the Dragon Lord on her horn.

"Ember..." he whispered, though even his indoor voice nearly shook the room.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said, gently touching her father's cheek.

"Have I ever told you... about your mother?"

Her mother. She had only known him. He was all she had. She smiled, and sat next to her father.

"No, I don't think you have."

Spike and Twilight traveled across the rocky ground, dodging the lava pits of the dragon homeland, their badges dangling from their necks.

"So do you think Ember's enjoying being the new Dragon Lord?" Spike asked, bouncing from rock to rock. The miles they'd put between themselves and Ponyville didn't seem to wear down the young dragon's enthusiasm.

"Well, it did seem like she was a bit unsure of herself, but I'm sure she's doing alright," Twilight replied, more than grateful to be able to experience the dragon lands in something other than a rock costume. She'd packed plenty of note taking material for any impromptu learning that might occur during their trip.

The arid, tough landscape was beginning to take a toll on her hooves.

"Spike, do you think I could just fly us there? These rocks are killing my hooves."

He looked toward the lone mountain on the horizon. The Dragon Lord's fortress loomed large, but within reach. "I guess it would get us there faster..." He seemed reluctant as he climbed on her back. She could guess why. Shortly after the Gauntlet of Fire, he had become fairly self-conscious about his lack of something it seemed most, if not all dragons had. Unfortunately, very little was known in the way of how a dragon matures, so most of his questions were fairly difficult for Twilight to answer.

"What're you doing here, nerd?"

Spike gulped. Even after all this time, he still knew that voice. He and Twilight turned to face the red dragon as Spike slid off her back.

"Just checking to see if you've hugged every dragon on the planet yet," Spike replied. He had to admit, he was getting better at comebacks.

"Why, you little runt!" Garble growled, clenching his fists and stepping towards them.

"Not so fast," Twilight piped up, levitating their badges into view. "You'll leave us alone if you know what's good for you."

He scoffed. "You think some homemade badges are gonna stop me from pummeling you into powder for humiliating me? And now you bring their kind here?" He kept pressing forward, and threw a punch towards Spike. Twilight charged a defensive spell, but before she could cast it, the badges themselves lit up. A powerful blast of magic repelled Garble though a boulder and into another one. Garble unburied himself, shaking with fury. "You think just because you helped Ember you can bring ponies in our lands?!" He spat. "Have fun being her pet while it lasts. She won't be the Dragon Lord for long."

He took off without another word. Spike watched him go before turning to Twilight.

"Spike, these talismans are enchanted with dragon magic! We've got to ask if we can keep them when we see Ember! I've always dreamed of being able to study dragon magic, and this is the perfect opportunity!"

He glanced at the badge, Ember's likeness staring back at him. "Twilight," he interrupted her rambling. "Did you hear what Garble said before he left?"

She paused and scratched her head. "Uh... was it something stupid? I tend to tune him out."

"He said Ember won't be Dragon Lord much longer."

Twilight scoffed. "Spike, Ember did just fine against him during the Gauntlet of Fire, and now that she's got the Bloodstone Scepter, he'd be crazy to try anything! Not to mention her dad is gigantic!"

Spike looked back to the horizon. "You're probably right; let's just get to the fort."

He climbed on her back and with a flap of her wings, they were in the sky. As they flew, Spike couldn't help but worry. Garble was a jerk, but surely even he wasn't crazy enough to usurp a dragon tradition nearly as old as time itself. The jagged, inhospitable landscape passed by below him. This was his home, or, it would have been, if not for Celestia. It was little wonder to him that dragons acted the way they did. After all, they lived in nearly deserted lands, with little to no contact with any other creature until the migration. All most dragons care about is their hoards, and how to make them larger, or protect them. He was truly the outlier of his kind.

Within the hour, they arrived at the mouth of a massive volcano. The mountain itself seemed to be shaped like a roaring dragon, smoke billowing from it's mouth and into the sky, staining the vibrant hues of the setting sun with an ashen coat.

Against her better judgement, Twilight held her breath and flew into the ash cloud and down into the volcano. After punching through the obscuration, she spotted what appeared to be an entrance into the side of the mountain. She touched down, letting Spike slide off her back.

"Spike... is it... a little... warm in here?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.

"Feels fine to me," he replied, heading into the cave with Twilight in tow. The magma chamber lit the way as they trekked deeper into the cave, Twilight secretly hoping they'd picked the right volcano to fly into.

To Twilight's relief, the cave opened up to a main room carved out of the mountain itself, Twilight forgot all about the oppressive heat as she tried to take in all the ancient history stored in this one room.

"So... much... history!" she squealed as Ember entered from a far hallway, scepter in claw.

"Ember!" Spike said excitedly, zipping across the room. She raised her claws in defense as Spike wrapped his arms around her waist. "Still getting the hang of hugs, huh?" Spike asked with a smile.

She smiled, returning the embrace. "I guess I am. Not much hugging goes on around here since you guys left."

Spike separated as Twilight hugged her as well, a little quicker on the draw this time.

"I set a room aside for you guys. Ponies sleep on hay, right?" Ember asked.

"Uh..." Twilight paused as Spike gave her a knowing look. "I'm sure it'll be fine." She recalled that there probably weren't many books on pony culture in an active volcano.

"I'm sure you're both tired from the trip; There'll be time for talking tomorrow," Ember said. "Your rooms are down this hall," she said.

As they walked, Ember stopped Twilight. "Princess, do you think I could talk to you now for a second?"

She stopped, looking back at Spike, who had turned to wait on her. "Go ahead and get settled in, Spike, I'll be there in a moment."

He glanced at the two of them suspiciously, but shrugged. "Sure thing, Twilight."

After he'd disappeared Ember sighed.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Twilight asked.

Ember looked at the scepter, and back to Twilight. She hesitated. Dragons didn't talk about their feelings. It was still a daunting task for her to admit anything to anyone, even her father. And now, she was going to just open up to someone she'd only met once before? A weight fell into her stomach. Everything she'd been taught told her that dragons were rocks, islands of power that needed nothing and no one but their treasure. But with that, came a competing sense. As though she had this burden inside her she had to share with someone. She ruled an entire species now, she and she alone was responsible for the survival of her race! How could she entrust herself to a pony?

She steeled herself, but Twilight broke the silence.

"I know you may not be comfortable sharing your feelings. My kind doesn't know much about dragons that grew up in the traditional way, but I don't want to push you to do something you aren't ready for."

Ember met Twilight's eyes. There was something in them that she'd never sensed from any of the dragons she'd ever come across. She couldn't place it, but if she had to guess, it seemed like... compassion.

"Take your time. You invited us here. We can talk whenever you feel ready." Twilight turned to head down the hallway. Ember watched her go. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Writing letters was far easier than speaking in person about something so foreign. Plucking up all her courage, she forced her words to come.

"I don't think I can do this."

Twilight paused, turning back to her hostess with a raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Do what?"

"I... I don't think I can be the Dragon Lord."

Heavy Are The Horns Part 2

Twilight found herself speechless. Nevertheless, she managed a few words.

"Wha, what do you mean?" They certainly weren't helpful words, but they were words all the same.

Ember growled, Twilight taking a reflexive step backwards. "I mean being a ruler! I hate it!" She gripped the scepter, glaring down at it, as though her will alone could destroy it. "I'm in charge of every dragon alive! Me! Do you know what I was doing before the Gauntlet of Fire?"

Twilight shrank back a bit. A shouting, angry dragon—even one Ember's size— was something she was not at all familiar with. She shook her head gingerly in reply.

"Nothing! I was just the Dragon Lord's daughter until this, and now I'm the Dragon Lord! Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Twilight found her voice, recognizing a kindred spirit when she saw one. "Actually, yes, I do. I know everything seems overwhelming now, but you will get better at it, I promise."

Her words failed to extinguish the fire in the young dragoness' eyes. "I wish I could just get rid of this thing!" She cried, slamming it against the stone floor before Twilight could implore her to stop. But it didn't break. A sharp noise echoed through the main hall, but the Bloodstone remained unscathed.

Seeing it still intact, Ember finally deflated. She sank to her knees, limply clutching the scepter. Twilight sat down beside her, examining every inch of the defeat etched across Ember's face.

"Listen, I can't say that I know much about dragons that grew up here in their homeland, but if I learned one thing, it's that your kind doesn't like to share how you feel," Twilight said softly, swearing that for a second, she saw a line of tears welling in Ember's eyes before they were promptly blinked away. "But I read your letter. I know you wouldn't have invited us here unless you wanted us to come. I'm not going to force you to tell me anything, but I can promise you this: sharing your feelings, your fears, your uncertainties, anything and everything you've wanted to get off your chest, but couldn't... it will make you feel better."

Ember got to her feet, rubbing her eyes with her forelegs. "Yeah, right, right," she replied, purposely emptying her voice of any emotion, as though she was just greeting a passerby on the street. "I'm, uhm, I'm gonna get to bed."

For all her walls, Twilight could see what was going on inside her. A battle, between her instincts and upbringing, and the revolutionarily un-dragon ideas of honest emotion and friendship. It would be quite the war indeed. "Goodnight, Ember," Twilight called after her as she retreated slowly down the hallway she'd first appeared.

"Night," the young dragoness choked over her shoulder. Looked like her walls didn't remain standing for too long. Twilight turned down her hallway, only now realizing that she was beginning to sweat. During her brief chat with Ember, she'd nearly forgotten that she was standing inside an active volcano.

She finally found Spike after checking nearly every cave-like offshoot of the hallway she had been searching. For creatures that seemed to prefer solitary existences, she couldn't fathom why the Dragon Lord's palace would need so many guest rooms. Her room was rather spacious, with two lava flows running down opposite walls providing light. This, of course, made the room even hotter than the rest of the volcano.

"Sweet Celestia, Spike, you're lucky you're a dragon!" Twilight panted as he looked up from his comic book. He had sprawled out on what appeared to be a couch carved out of the stone wall outcropping. "How is the ink in that comic not melting?"

He sat up and smiled. "Scales of Justice comics are heat resistant up to 451 degrees!" He held up the cover and pointed to a seal. "Dragon tested and dragon approved!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Well, you may be okay with living in a sauna, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make some adjustments." She charged her horn and sent two blasts of magic towards the slowly flowing lava columns at either side of the room. They encased them from floor to ceiling, stifling the oppressive heat they generated, while still allowing the light to come through. Almost at once, the room began to cool down, but not quite fast enough for Twilight's liking. With another flash of her horn, a small, blue ball of energy appeared at the tip of her horn. She touched her horn to the ground, and the ball remained, expanding slowly until it matched the shape of the room, removing the hot air and replacing it with a comfortable, pony-friendly temperature.

"Ah, that's much better," Twilight said happily, trotting over to her bed and unloading her saddle bags. Only then did she notice that her bed was also made of stone, with a rather thin layering of dried hay on top. In fact, all the furniture in the room was carved from the walls themselves, or just plain old rocks. "Rarity would have a fit if she were here..." She muttered to herself, throwing her blanket over the hay to use as a makeshift mattress.

"So, what did Ember want to talk to you about?" Spike asked. "Princess Stuff?

Twilight didn't look up from sorting her papers and notebooks. "Well... kind of."

The uncertainty in her voice worried him as he set his comic beside him. "Is she okay?" He asked a bit more urgently.

This time she did look up. "Yes, she's alright," just in the middle of an emotional crisis she thought to herself. "She's going through the same thing I went through when I was first made a princess," she continued reassuringly.

It seemed to work as he smiled gently. "Nerves, huh?" he asked. He was well aware how Twilight had acted when she was concerned about her newly appointed responsibilities. Better than anyone, in fact.

"Yeah," Twilight replied, crawling into bed and shifting on the uncomfortable bed in vain to find a pleasant position. "Goodnight, Spike," she yawned, pulling a sleeping mask she'd borrowed from Rarity across her eyes. Unfortunately, the lava flow had no on/off switch. Thank Celestia she came prepared for such a scenario.

Ember found her way back to her bedroom, her modest hoard being the only thing any dragon slept on. She stuck the scepter into it, her father already long since asleep in the next room. He stayed in the throne room, where his—one of the most vast hoards any dragon had ever seen— resided. She curled up on the mound of gems and gold, trying to settle in. She thought back about what Twilight had said.

How could sharing feelings do anything to help anyone? Dragons had survived for millennia without the need or want to even interact with another living creature. What made this pony think she could upend thousands of years of proven tradition?

The arrogance! she thought.

As soon as her anger had flared up, it began to recede. After all, what harm could it do? She supposed that she truly had nothing to lose by at least giving Twilight's ideas a try. She tossed to her other side, the coins and jewels clinking and rattling below her in the dim light of her room. Why was it so difficult for her to express herself to Twilight? Was it because she was a pony? Honestly, Twilight and Rarity were the first two she had actually ever seen in the flesh before. Sure, her father had told her stories about their kind. Not particularly kind stories, but not hateful ones either. Mainly focusing on their lack of strength.

Her dad sure did love that word. She thought she had it, just not in the way he knew it. To him, strength was size, might, and raw power.
She thought differently, and apparently so did her mother. He said that's where she got her wits.

Ember rolled over again, this time to face the ceiling. She wondered what happened to her mother. Torch didn't say, but she also didn't have the courage to ask. In fact, he had never spoken of her mother before, as far as she could remember. Who was she, really? Was she still alive? Why was he telling her about her now? Maybe she resided too far away to hear the Bloodstone Scepter's call? Was such a thing even possible? All her told her was her name. He said she was the most beautiful dragoness he had ever seen. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to relive the story her father had told. Not right now, anyway. It brought up so many raw emotions, feelings that she was still unsure whether to bottle up or try to express. That struggle was still raging on inside her as she tried to silence both sides of the civil war in her head.

Tomorrow would be a day for baby steps. Twilight mentioned in her letter that she wanted to learn all she could about dragon culture and history. Ember knew exactly where to take her and whom to talk to. Perhaps after she got a bit more comfortable around her, she might be able to try this 'opening up' with emotion she had mentioned earlier.

Unknown to Ember, Spike was laying wide awake as well. He, however, was experiencing a different sort of crisis. One of the heart. He still carried his torch for Rarity, but ever since the Gauntlet, his mind would wander back to Ember every now and again. He didn't get it. It wasn't as though he was reliving their adventure, though he sometimes did. He would just... think about her. If asked, he wouldn't have even been able to explain it! It wasn't anything about her in particular, it was just... her.

He rolled over to look across the room. Twilight lay, gently snoring after finally falling asleep. Another series of thoughts began to drift into his head. He was a dragon, without wings, raised by ponies. Why would Ember ever want to spend time with him? The only time he'd ever been a respectable size for a dragon was when his runaway greed turned him into a monster. Was that what all dragons were destined to be? Monsters? He wasn't, of that he was sure. But, how long could he suppress his natural instinct? Would such a suppression keep him as a 'baby' dragon forever? How was he to find a mate then?

Spike felt his cheeks flush. Why was he thinking about mates? He stirred again, shifting to another side of the rocky couch. He was a dragon. Dragons eventually found mates. Dragons raised hatchlings after that. Would he be content to give that up for a life of servitude? He banished the thought. He loved Twilight, and Ponyville, and all his friends. Why would he want to give up something he loved just to be a 'proper' dragon?

Once again, his thoughts drifted back to a predictable place. Or, rather, a predictable face. The memory of her hug washed over him as he envisioned her smile.

What is happening to me? he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Twilight awoke with a crick in her back, but otherwise slept fine. She quickly brushed her mane and tail, then going on to inspect her spells she'd cast the night before. Everything seemed to be holding up. Satisfied, she continued with her morning routine. Once done, she left Spike to sleep in as she trotted down the hallway. She was hoping there would be some sort of breakfast arrangement, but after seeing her bed the night before, she began to doubt it. Once back inside the main hall, Ember sat at a small table, munching on a few gems she'd probably hewn from the walls themselves. Next to her was a smaller bowl, presumably for Spike, and a moderately sized bowl full of grass.

Yes, grass. Like what the cattle on Applejack's farm ate.

"Morning Ember," Twilight said with a somewhat fake smile.

"Ponies eat grass, right?" she asked, a few gems already between her teeth.

She's not trying to offend you, she just doesn't know. This is an opportunity to help her kind learn! she told herself as she took a seat across from her. "Actually, we're more accustomed to grain, but... I mean... technically..." Twilight said, taking a hoofful of grass blades and trying some so as not to be rude.

Horrid wouldn't even begin to describe the taste. She muscled the raw fiber down and smiled once again.

"No worries, theres a whole field of that grain stuff a few minutes flight south of here," Ember said, failing to notice Twilight's obvious distaste for her breakfast. "It's on the way."

Her curiosity piqued, she asked "On the way? To where?"

Ember swallowed her mouthful of gems and replied "You wanted to learn about dragon history and culture and junk right?"

Twilight nodded silently.

"Well, there's only one other dragon in the world almost as old as my dad. Plus she's like, the historian of our race or something."

Twilight felt as though her brain was about to jump for joy out of her head. "You mean... I can talk to a dragon about all of recorded dragon history?!" Her ear to ear grin was genuine this time around.

Ember simply stared at her, eyebrow raised. "Uh, yeah."

With a soft squeak, Twilight fainted, falling in a heap to the floor just as Spike entered from the hallway.

Ember peered over the table at the unconscious princess.

"Does she do this often?" she asked.

Spike couldn't help but smile. "Not as often as you'd think."

Heavy Are The Horns Part 3

“She'll come to eventually," Spike said, propping Twilight’s head up off the ground with a book.

He turned to Ember. “So, how have you been liking the whole ‘Dragon Lord’ thing?” he asked, grabbing his bowl of gems.

She honestly wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. The whole reason she’d asked them down here was because of her reservations. But on the other claw, she was the Dragon Lord now. Dragon Lords were supposed to be strong, and their wills unwavering. “It’s going fine. I just had some questions to ask about this whole ‘ruler’ thing.”

Spike nodded, indulging in another gem. “So, don't take this the wrong way, but if you had questions about ruling, why didn't you just ask your dad?”

Ember paused. She knew why, but it pained her to think about it.

As she searched for words, Spike worried that he had upset her.

“I mean, I'm glad you invited us, really! I didn't mean to—”

Ember silenced him with a single claw. “It's okay. It's just that me and my dad … well, we’re just … we’re just different, okay?” That was a half truth. Granted, she was very different from her father. But their differences had never stopped her from asking him anything before.

After examining the ground for a bit, Spike focused on Ember. Empathy was something many dragons were raised without, but thanks to his upbringing, Spike was more than experienced in reading the emotions of others. Seeing the tinge of pain in Ember’s eyes filled his heart with a strange feeling. He couldn’t quite put his claw on it, but it was something akin to anger. He hated seeing her this way, and it seemed to gnaw at his very soul. Plucking up his courage, he reached out.

“Ember, I only saw your dad once. Do you think you could … uhm … tell me more about him?”

She lowered her eyes at him. What the heck was he getting at?

“He was big and yelled all the time, and I wasn’t. Why do you care?" she replied coldly.

Spike visibly recoiled at her tone. “Well … I mean, I never really had one, and I was just wondering what it was like…” he replied weakly.

His response crashed through Ember's emotional walls like a wrecking ball. Her sharp glare softened. “I…I didn't know. You never had a father?”

Spike shrugged, staring down at his uneaten gems. “Twilight's the one who hatched me, and from then on, she took care of me.” He looked up at her. “She's all I’ve ever known.”

Ember couldn't believe it. To think that a dragon would grow up, not only without a father, but without any draconic parent at all? What kind of travesty was this?

She managed to stow her outrage. Along with a familiar anger, came an unfamiliar emotion. Sadness, not for herself, but for another. This young dragon before her had never known the joys of a first mighty roar, or a truly respectable column of fire rushing between his teeth as his parents cheered him on. A sad smile tugged at the corner of Ember's lips as she began. “Well, my dad is big, but he’s always been that way since as far back as I can remember.” She rested a cheek on her palm as she continued. “When I was little, he would always tell me what a strong dragon I was going to be.” She chuckled to herself. “You know, I think he secretly always wanted a male, but instead, he got me.”

“Wow,” Spike replied. “Like, did your dad teach you how to fly? When did you get your wings? Did he teach you other dragon stuff? Like, did he—”

“Whoa, slow down, Spike,” Ember said, genuinely smiling at this point. There was a certain charm in the young dragon’s innocence. Or was it ignorance? “Yeah, pop taught me how to fly. He told me he was really good at it before he became the Dragon Lord. He still knew a few tricks, but it was mostly him trying to tell me how to fly, rather than show me.”

Spike hung on her every word. She was the embodiment of a world that had moved on without him, a world that, if not for Twilight being the first caring face he had seen after hatching, would have been no more alien to him than Ponyville was to Twilight. “So, where is he now?” Spike asked.

Ember hid a wince as she glanced down the hallway towards her bedroom. “He's … well, something’s wrong with him.”

Spike sat up. “Wrong?”

“Ever since the Gauntlet of Fire, he's been getting weaker. I mean, he hardly leaves his hoard! I try to get him to go outside, to hunt, to fly, but he won't. He just keeps going on about how proud of me he is!” The intensity of Ember's voice had grown with each word, until she was nearly shouting by the end of her sentence. Catching herself, she continued in a near-whisper: “I think it's because … because he passed the scepter.”

Spike glanced back at the still-unconscious Twilight. “You think passing the scepter is making him weak?” he asked plainly.

She set the staff on the table between them and glared at it, the Bloodstone still glowing with the dim light burning inside it. “He told me that he had been the Dragon Lord for as long as anyone could remember, and that he was the oldest dragon alive.” She looked back to him. “Normal dragons don’t live as long as he's been around, Spike. I think that’s why he didn’t want me to claim the scepter. He didn’t want me to be the reason he … he’s—”

A groan from the floor drew both their attentions away from the difficult conversation. Spike hopped off his chair and knelt beside Twilight.

“Twilight, are you okay?”

“Spike? Ember? What happened?” she asked, still a bit woozy.

“I told you about our dragon elder, and you kinda passed out,” Ember replied.

Twilight sat up, rubbing the back of her head, but otherwise seemed to come out unharmed. “I swear, that never happens.”

Ember and Spike shared a knowing glance as Spike started to giggle.

“What?’ she asked.

"Nothing! We're ready to head out when you are,” Ember said, helping her to her hooves.

Twilight smiled. “Great! Just let me grab a few notebooks!" She disappeared down the hallway. In the wake of her disappearance, the tension of the conversation she’d interrupted returned full force.

Spike glanced at Ember as she grabbed the scepter off the table. “So, when I first grabbed that thing, I felt something kinda … weird. Do you get that … feeling … when you hold it?”

“Actually, yeah, I think I do. It’s like I’m connected to every dragon on the planet, like I can feel their heartbeats or something.”

“That’s exactly what I felt, too! Weird, right?”

Before Ember could answer,Twilight returned with her saddlebags and a grin. “I’m ready to fly!”

Spike hopped on Twilight’s back, and the three ascended out of the volcano and into the open sky. The grand vistas that greeted them on their way in did not disappoint on their way out: the vast, jagged landscape stretched endlessly before them.

As they flew, Spike leaned down to speak over the rushing wind. “Twilight, I think something’s wrong with Ember’s dad.”

She turned over her shoulder to look at him. “What? What do you mean?”

“Well, while you were passed out, we had a chance to talk. I asked her how she liked being the Dragon Lord, which led to me asking about her dad.” He glanced forward, making sure Ember was far enough ahead to not hear them. “I think not being the Dragon Lord is killing him.”
Twilight held her tongue in shock. What on earth could possibly kill a dragon like Torch?

“Killing him?” she repeated.

“Yeah. Ember thinks that the power of the scepter kept him alive, and when he passed it on…”

Before they could finish their conversation, Twilight noticed Ember dropping in altitude. She followed her down into a field of grains. Though it wasn’t her first choice, it would certainly do in a pinch. Spike slid off of Twilight’s back and joined Ember on the hillside. They sat in silence as Twilight grazed, until Spike spoke up.

“I never knew the dragon lands could grow anything,” he remarked as he and Ember looked over their view of the landscape from the hillside.

“In some parts, they can,” Ember said, laying the scepter across her lap.

“Ember, have you ever left the dragon lands?” he asked.

She sighed, thin wisps of smoke curling out of her nose. “No; my dad always kept me in the fortress. I managed to sneak out a few times, but with the scepter squealing on me, he always caught me before I could make it very far.”

Spike's eyes lit up. “But you’ve got the scepter now, so you can go anywhere, right?”

Ember scratched her head. “Yeah, I guess I could.”

“Like, even to Ponyville? You could come visit us!”

“Pfft, why would I ever want to go to a place like that? All those ponies being all lovey-dovey with each other all over the place? No thanks.”
Spike’s hopeful joy melted off his face.

Before Spike and Twilight’s arrival, Ember had tried to coach herself on empathy, and even at her novice level, she knew she’d maybe said the wrong thing. “I-I mean, you guys live there, so that's like, the only reason I'd go, you know?”

Spike’s smile returned.

Phew! I really need to work on this ‘empathy’ thing if I ever decide to go there. I'd probably make every pony in town cry in two days if I wasn't careful! Ember thought to herself.

“There’s other places besides Ponyville that you could go to,” he suggested. “There's the beach, the forests, and lakes, all kinds of fun stuff that isn’t quite as rocky, hot, or, you know … lifeless?”

“Well, I've heard of forests and lakes, but what’s a beach?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “You've never heard of the beach? Like, where water meets land?”

Ember cocked her head. “Like on a lake? You mean shore?”

Spike shook his head. “No, at a beach, the water is much bigger! Like, you can't even see where it ends; it just goes on past the horizon!"

Ember’s eyes matched Spike’s. “No way… Is that… that’s a real thing?”

“Yeah! It’s called the ocean,” Spike replied, ecstatic that he was able to interest his newest friend in something from his world.

“Can we go there?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Heck yeah, we can! We can swim, build stuff out of sand… the beach is awesome!”

“You guys ready to go?” Twilight said, some bits of grain still clinging to her cheeks.

Ember smiled, standing up as Spike did the same. “Yeah, let’s get back in the sky.”

They took off toward another mountain along the range. Since gaining her wings, Twilight had become much more graceful in the skies. She matched Ember’s speed and mirrored her smooth slaloms through the air. In no time, she found herself following Ember’s descent into a mountainside cave. They flared their wings, kicking up a small cloud of dust as they touched down at the entrance. Spike slid down one of Twilight’s wings as Ember turned to them.

"I'm so excited! A lesson in dragon history from an actual dragon!" Twilight sang.

"Yeah, well, she hasn't actually seen a pony in a long time... or possibly ever before, so let me introduce you so that you don't get eaten."

Twilight and Spike gulped. "Eaten?" she repeated nervously.

Ember waved a claw. “Don't worry! As long as I vouch for you, you’ll be fine!” She turned and began heading into the cave, the glowing light from the scepter increasing as they ventured further into the darkness.

"So, uhm... what is this dragon historian's name?" Twilight asked, still not quite assured that she wouldn't become a dragon snack.

"Balgok Oth, Devourer of Souls," Ember replied flippantly. "But I just call her Gam-gam."

This did nothing to allay Twilight's fears as they continued deeper into the cave.

"Gam-gam!" Ember called into the darkness. "Gam-gam, are you home?" she yelled, her words echoing endlessly off the walls as the hallway ended in a much larger, open room. Ancient runes and inscriptions covered nearly every inch of the cave walls.

After her echoes subsided, the sound of falling coins and shifting gems grew louder, until a dragon's head nearly as big as Torch's rose out of the darkness. This dragoness bore horns rising up from her head, instead of down like Ember's. Her off-white scales reflected the scepter's dim light as she focused her razor-thin pupils on her visitors.

It took the massive dragon a moment as it drew closer, smelling the air around the visitors in great huffs that threatened to sweep Spike off his feet.

"Remember me, Gam-gam?" Ember asked, holding the scepter close to her face to allow a better look. The elder dragon examined her for a moment.

"Ah, yes! Ember, my youngling,...the last time I saw you, you were but a hatchling, just learning her first words," she said, the low rumble of her voice shaking pebbles and dust off the roof of the cave. "And what's this? You wield the Bloodstone Scepter? Has your generation already come of age?" She spoke slowly, choosing every word carefully. It seemed as if too many words in rapid succession would bring her home falling down around her.

"It has. My dad called for a Gauntlet of Fire a few months ago, and I came out on top!" she boasted proudly.

"Ahem," Spike interrupted, arms folded.

"Er, I mean I came out on top with some help from my friends."

The elder dragon seemed intrigued. "Friends? Who are these 'friends' that aided you in the Gauntlet of Fire?"

Ember motioned to those beside her. "The small dragon is named Spike, and the pony is named Twilight Sparkle. Without their help, I wouldn't be here."

The laughs of the elder dragon threatened to collapse the cave. "And here I thought you'd brought me a snack!" She turned to Spike. "And you, are you Ember's hatchling?"

Spike's cheeks flushed a furious red. "No! I'm the guy who helped Ember get the Bloodstone Scepter!"

Ember seemed just as embarrassed as Spike. "Gam-gam, Spike's of my generation. He just..." she paused. Dragons were creatures that lived for a long time. Most of the elders were rooted in the draconic traditions of their ancestors. Ember decided that to tell of Spike's true upbringing might not be the wisest course of action. "He hatched late. That's why he's so much smaller than me."

"Ah," Balgok replied. "Tell me then, youngling: to what line do you belong?"

"Uh... I'm, uh..." He looked to Ember, but found no answer. Before either of the two dragons could come up with one, Twilight answered for them.

"I hatched him when I was a filly! Princess Celestia gave me his egg to hatch as an entrance exam to her school for gifted unicorns. I did, and I've been raising him ever since!" she completed happily, totally oblivious to Ember behind her, who had had just applied her palm to her face.

"Hmm... so you were the price we paid..." Balgok murmured, staring at them intently, getting only inches away from Twilight. All it would take was one quick bite, and Twilight would be a snack before she could even think of protecting herself. The teeth bared before her were nearly the size and length of trees.

"Gam-gam, please don't eat my friends!" Ember pled.

The large dragon turned her head to her. "Fear not, my youngling; no harm will come to either of them." She raised her head and blew a stream of fire against the wall, the flames catching and racing across a ledge that circled the room. Soon, there was enough light to see the front half of a huge dragon, the other half buried under mountains of gold and jewels. She was easily Torch's size, if not possibly a bit smaller.

"Now, tell me, what brings you here?"

Author's Note

Grammatical editing by the illustrious son_of_heaven176.

Heavy Are The Horns Part 4

"They're here to ask you about our kind," Ember answered. "Twilight is a princess of her race, and I invited her here to learn about us so that our two races can ... be friends."

"Hm...very well." The elder set her eyes to Twilight. "Now, what is it you want to know?"

Twilight could hardly contain herself. She pulled a blank notebook out of her saddlebag with a quill, ready to write. "Why don't we start from the very beginning?"

"Actually," Ember interrupted. "I was thinking about showing Spike around while you two talked."

Spike looked to Twilight. "Please, Twilight, can I?"

She looked to Ember, then back to Spike. If was going to wander around a desolate landscape infested with dragons, might as well be in the company of their ruler. "Alright. Just be careful out there, okay?"

"Don't worry, Twilight. I'll keep an eye on him," Ember assured her.

She and Spike left the cave, leaving only Twilight and Balgok.

Twilight primed a quill. "Well, then, let's start from the beginning. How long have dragons existed in Equestria?"

Spike shielded his eyes from the sun as they stepped into the daylight. "No wonder dragons don't like to leave their caves," he commented. "So, what is there to see around here?"

Ember spread her wings and knelt down. Spike climbed on as he had during the Gauntlet. "There's a really chill spot a few minutes away from here where we can grab some lunch," she said, taking off.

Within moments, she arrived in a field, a few large boulders jutting up from the scraggly shrubs and small trees.

"These rocks are awesome for sunbathing," Ember said as she touched down on one. Spike hopped off her back and sat beside her as she laid on her back. Ember set the scepter beside her and set her claws behind her head.

Spike laid down beside her, adopting her pose, and they both stared up at the sky. It was a fine shade of blue once they'd gotten away from the volcano. After feeling sufficiently warm, Ember broke the silence. "So, this might be a question you don't know how to answer, but how did you end up being raised by ponies?"

Spike glanced at her as she turned her head towards his. "Well, I don't really know. It's never been something I've questioned, to be honest. Twilight's been the only parent I've ever needed."

Ember could imagine why Spike would feel that way: he didn't know any better! Although, as far as traditional upbringings go, she wasn't much better off. Sure, she had one huge, overprotective father, but no maternal influence to speak of.

"For a while, Twilight had to convince me that I actually was a dragon, and not just some different kind of pony." Spike chuckled to himself, remembering the heated and sometimes tearful arguments between his much younger self and Twilight.

Ember's prideful inner dragon nearly gagged at the idea of a dragon believing they were a pony.

"Twilight would probably know more about how Princess Celestia got my egg than I would." He rolled over onto his side to face Ember. "Okay, now I've got a question for you."

Ember turned her head towards him. Smiling, she said, “Okay, shoot.”

"You told me about your dad; now what's it like to have a mother that's a dragon?"

The smile faded from Ember's face and Spike immediately began a verbal back-pedal. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Spike," Ember interrupted.

He paused, frozen in apprehension. He was the assistant of the Princess of Friendship; he should be much better at being a friend than this!

"You know I'm still new to this whole 'talking about feelings' thing, right?" Ember asked.

Spike nodded wordlessly, silently thanking Celestia that he hadn't upset his only dragon friend.

"Well, the idea still kinda weirds me out, but if talking about stuff is what friends do, then... I'll try it."

Spike didn't utter a word. In fact, he had to remind himself to breathe as Ember readied herself to give this whole 'expressing earnest emotions' thing a shot.

"I never really knew my mother. From what my dad told me, her name was Cinder." Ember rolled onto her back and stared into the deep blue sky. "He told me that she was the most beautiful dragoness he'd ever seen." Her smile quickly returned as she recounted some parts of her father's story. "He also told me that at first, she didn't want anything to do with him. He tried and tried to impress her, but it was never enough." She let out a small laugh, imagining her father trying his best to impress a dragoness. “So, like all males trying to impress a dragoness, he decided to do something reckless and crazy..”

“Wait, so she wouldn’t even give him the time of day? Wasn’t he the Dragon Lord?” Spike asked.

Ember nodded. “Power isn’t everything, Spike. Even though my dad would have me believe differently."

“Anyway, there was another dragon competing for Mom's heart, too. Dad couldn’t remember what his name was, but he does remember challenging him to a race up Bloodstone Mountain. They were neck and neck, fighting each other the whole way, until the other guy reached the caldera first!”

“No way!” Spike replied, his eyes shining with excitement as though someone were reading one of his favorite comic books aloud to him. “Then how did Torch end up with your mother?”

“Well, right as the other guy was doing a victory dance on the ledge near the caldera, a lavapede came jumping out of the magma and ate him in one bite.”

“Wait a second. Isn’t Bloodstone Mountain the same place where your Dad put the scepter for the Gauntlet of Fire?” he asked.

“The very same,” Ember replied with a nod.

Spike’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you mean that while I was ordering Garble around near the edge of the lava, a lavapede could’ve shown up and eaten me?!”

“Well, yeah, but it didn’t, did it?” Ember replied with a calming smile.

"Yeah, I guess not," he replied, sitting up on the rock. "So what happened after that?"

“Well, Mom realized that even if he hadn’t won the race, there was something about my Dad that she never noticed before. Something that led to me, at least.”

“Oh, so do you go visit her now that you’re the Dragon Lord? I bet she must be as proud of you as your dad is.”

"Well... I would if I knew where she was."

"Oh," Spike said softly. "You mean—"

"I don't know what happened to her. When Dad was trying to tell me about her, I was... I was too..."

Ember paused. This was the perfect opportunity to try out what Spike and Twilight had tried to teach her. Yet something was stopping her. A deeply rooted sense of pride, instilled over the years by her father's well-meaning, if misguided, ideas about what a dragon should be. Everything inside her head told her, Be strong! Every dragon is an island! You need no one!

She took these bedrock sentiments and considered what they would mean. They meant a life of solitude, of nothing, and no one, of loneliness until the end of one's days. The small dragon beside her was living proof that there were alternatives to the old ways. Alternatives that seemed to work. Now all she had to do was summon the courage to say one simple word.

“Afraid?” Spike completed, breaking Ember out of her reverie.

Looks like she’d be getting by with some help from her friend.

"Yeah. I... I was afraid."

"Dude, I don't think that's smart, or even possible," a white dragon with pink spines and sails said as Garble paced around his cave.

"Who asked you anyway?" Garble mumbled, punching a boulder, reducing it to pebbles. "That stupid Ember, and her little purple pet!"

"Look, Garble, I get that you're bitter about the Gauntlet, but it's over! Ember's the Dragon Lord now, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Shut up, Fizzle!" he snapped, continuing his angry pacing. "I know exactly what she's gonna do. She'll make us all be friends and be all lovey-dovey with those ponies that runt of hers likes so much, and before you know it we'll all be wearing dresses and having tea parties!"

Fizzle rolled his eyes. "C'mon, do you really believe that?"

Garble stopped dead in his tracks. "Are you kidding me? How is it not obvious? Didn't you hear her in the cave? Those ponies are gonna ruin everything! And kiss your hoard goodbye, because you know the first thing they're gonna do after they're no longer afraid of us is take it and decorate their lame pony castles with them or something."

Fizzle cringed at the thought. Nothing was more precious to a dragon than their hoard. "N-no way..." he replied weakly.

"Yes way!" Garble shot back, now nose to nose with him. "But luckily for you, and the rest of the dragon race, I've got a plan."

"A plan to do what?" Fizzle asked, raising a skeptical eyeridge.

"To become the Dragon Lord and ban all ponies and pony-lovers from the dragon lands, forever!" Garble exclaimed, putting his claws on his hips for dramatic effect. He stood in front of Fizzle, waiting for a reaction.

"Uh... okay. And just how do you plan on becoming Dragon Lord, exactly? I mean, the rules are pretty clear: the bearer of the Bloodstone Scepter is the Dragon Lord until he either calls another Gauntlet or dies."

"Exactly," Garble said, flashing a toothy smile.

"Okay, how do you think you're gonna get Ember to call another Gauntlet so soon?"

"No, idiot, the second option!"

Fizzle gasped. "You can't!"

"And I won't!" Garble replied.

Fizzle opened his mouth to reply, but found no words. "Wait... what?"

"I'm not going to kill anyone, and neither are you."

Fizzle scratched his chin in confusion. "So... how is she going to die, then?

Garble folded his arms, his evil smile never leaving his face. "Easy..."

"Fascinating!" Twilight said, scribbling quick notes into her notebook as the elder dragon spoke. "Now, tell me about Torch."

"Lord Torch the Mighty, yes..." she rumbled. "He was Lord long before even I was born."

"Okay, and how long do dragons normally live? Have any dragons ever lived as long as Torch?" she asked.

"Our kind is ancient, we knew a time before the founding of your kingdom. The Dragon Lord feeds off the power of the Scepter, and the Scepter feeds off of the life of the Lord. A dragon can live for thousands of years, but Lord Torch... I doubt even he recalls how long he has been alive."

"So the Bloodstone Scepter shares a symbiotic relationship with the ruler? Incredible!" Twilight remarked, continuing to write in her notebook.

She paused, setting her quill down. "Actually, I had another question about the scepter. Once it gets passed on, what happens to the former Lord?"

The elder dragon drew a deep breath. "As the scepter becomes part of a new host, the life it once granted to the former will gradually fade away into nothing. Before that time, the dragon will make his journey to the Land of Shadows."

"Land of Shadows?" Twilight asked.

The dragon nodded. "It is a place where all dragons must go. Once their eggs have hatched and their hoards have reached their limit, they must pass through the gateway where all may enter, but none may leave. I imagine Lord Torch's time draws nearer with each passing day."

Poor Ember! Twilight thought As soon as I'm done here, I have to tell her what's happening to Torch!

"Okay, so can you tell me a little bit about how long it takes for dragon eggs to hatch?"

Balgok nodded. "Once laid, an egg will lay dormant until the two mates combine their spirits and cast them upon the egg. Only through the magic of two, can one be born."

Twilight jotted down a few more notes, before recalling something Balgok had said when they'd first met. "Actually, just one more question. When you looked at Spike, you called him 'the price we paid'. Can you please elaborate on that?"

Balgok narrowed her eyes, sending a chill down Twilight's spine. She hoped she wasn't touching on a tender subject. "You, a pony, dare to ask about the wounded pride of an ancient and noble race?"

Twilight gulped. "I, uh— if you'd rather not talk about it, that's fine too! I'll just gather my things and find Lord Ember and—"

"Silence!" Balgok roared.

Twilight was sure this roar would be the one to cause a cave in. "Lord Ember trusts that you have pure intentions, and it is by her word alone that I allow you to gain such knowledge." The elder dragon settled back down, shifting among her coins and jewels as they cascaded like a waterfall down the massive slopes of her hoard.

“Thousands of years ago, our kind were greater in number than they are today. Our lands stretched from snowy peaks to jagged rocks. Every few hundred years, the Year of Life would fall upon us, when all dragons and their mates descend upon the sacred peak to lay their eggs and form the great clutch.

"The most recent Year of Life was to proceed as many others before it, yet such simplicity was not to be. A disease spread among the eggs. Our most powerful mages could do nothing to stop the infection. Many brave dragons went in search of rare herbs and remedies. Few returned.” Balgok sighed. “One of those fearless souls was none other than Lord Torch’s own mate, Lady Cinder.”

"You mean... Ember's mother?" Twilight asked.

"Mind your tongue when speaking of the Lord of Dragons," Balgok reprimanded sharply.

Twilight nodded, unfazed by the tone of her tutor in dragon history. She was simply too fascinated by the tale being told. "Right, Lord Ember. So, her mother went looking for a cure?"

The elder dragon nodded. "She, and many others."

"So she's just lost out there, somewhere?"

Balgok closed her eyes and gently shook her head. "No, she has no doubt made her journey to the Land of Shadows by now."

Twilight thought back to her first encounter with Ember. Her father was pretty hard to miss, but Twilight recalled not seeing any females near Torch aside from Ember.

"Our kind had run out of options," Balgok continued "If nothing was done soon, the clutch would be lost, and our race would face extinction."

Twilight held her tongue, but couldn't help but take quick notes on the story.

"It was then that Lord Torch made a decision, one that did not sit well with many dragons. He asked for help." The elder blinked, before looking down at Twilight more closely. "The help would come from one like you, with wings and a horn. She was white, wearing gold ornaments. She told us that her mages could craft a spell to halt the spread of the disease, but only for a price."

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could Celestia ask for payment from a race pleading for her help to save their children? It was unconscionable! Celestia would never do anything so horrid! She didn’t have a single malicious bone in her body!

"And you're sure this pony was white with a horn and wings?" Twilight asked for clarification.

Balgok bared her teeth, a low growl shaking the cave. "You doubt my records?"

“Of course not!” Twilight replied quickly. “I was just wondering if you saw her yourself, is all.”

Good save, Twi! she thought to herself.

“Yes, I did. The magic in this cave has allowed me to outlast most in my clutch. Only the Bloodstone Scepter’s magic is more potent.”

Twilight took new notice of the runes carved into the cave walls, figuring them to be some sort of ancient spell cast to extend life. She quickly sketched a few in her notebook.

Balgok continued. "The white pony asked for one of the dragon eggs, one whose forebears had already made the great journey to the Land of Shadows."

“So, you mean the egg they gave Princess—er, the white one …” Twilight paused, trying to wrap her head around the story. “Was an orphan?”

Twilight gasped. "Oh, Spike. I'm so sorry," she mumbled to herself, wiping her eyes with a hoof, and continuing to write.

"Initially, Lord Torch refused. He would sooner see us all extinct than accept the terms of her offer. Odd as it may seem to you, many dragons shared that sentiment."

Twilight could hardly believe it. What kind of creatures would deny their own preservation over an unborn dragon?

“But it was then that the white one learned of the egg Cinder had laid before she vanished. Lord Torch knew that without his mate, his egg would never hatch, and his legacy would be lost to time. As did she. The white one came to him, promising to give his egg life, in exchange for the egg of another. He agreed, and she cast the spell, saving Torch’s line. And true to her word, the white one’s mages came one day and cast their spell, saving the clutch. Afterwards, she took the egg, as per the accord.

“For his decision, Torch was praised by few, but reviled by many. Pride can cloud a dragon’s judgment just as easily as it can cloud a pony’s."

Twilight looked up from her notebook as she closed it. She could hardly believe the story she'd just heard. "Do you think Torch made the right decision?"

The elder dragon stared at her.

"That's enough for today, Princess Twilight."

Author's Note

son_of_heaven176 and I stayed up till midnight last night trying to figure out how to make this storyline work. I'm happy and relieved to say we actually figured it out.

Editing thanks to the wonderful Morning Sun and son_of_heaven176!

Also yes, Ember's mom's name is Cinder. Not Cynder. Spyro people know what I'm on about.

Heavy Are The Horns Part 5

Ember sat up from her rock. "You getting hungry?" she asked.

Spike rubbed his belly. "Yeah, I could eat."

"Cool," she said, standing up and blocking the sun from her eyes with a claw. She scanned through the shrubs and bushes. "Ah, got ya!"

With a quick flap of her wings, she launched off the rocks, her claws landing with a squelch and a crunch. Spike cringed as an ear-splitting screech cut through the mid-afternoon air. Another swipe from Ember's claws silenced the terrible noise. She stood up as she surveyed her work with a smile. She grabbed it, and just as quickly as she'd left, she landed back on the rock with Spike.

Spike picked up the distinct scent of blood before he saw it on her claws. Spike had no time to form a question before Ember dropped the battered corpse of a rabbit between the two of them. It landed on the rock with a sickening splat.

"Gah!" Spike cried, scrambling backwards and falling off the rock.

Ember sighed. "You've got to be kidding. You've never had rabbit?"

"No!" he replied, still unable to take his eyes off the dead animal.

"Yeesh, what did those ponies do to you? Have you ever eaten meat?"

"No, I've been just fine eating gems and cupcakes!"

Ember rolled her eyes. "‘Cupcakes’? Sounds like pony food. Look, aren't you at least curious what it’ll taste like after I cook it?"

His stomach grumbled loudly, as if to answer for him.

"I've been doing OK this long without killing anything. I'd rather not start now," Spike replied, climbing back up on the rock next to her.

"Alright, think of it this way: You didn't kill this rabbit. I did. After I cook it, if you don't like it, then when I visit Ponyville..." Ember sighed. "I'll try some of that pony food you grew up on."

Spike looked at her. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place, but for some reason, he trusted her.

"Alright, but don't tell Twilight."

"Relax; I promise I won't tell your mom on you," she said with a laugh. Ember held up the rabbit by a leg and blew a stream of fire over it. After the fur burned away, Ember turned up the heat to roast the skin and meat remaining.

As Spike watched her work, the smell of the cooking meat wafted towards him. It was unlike anything he'd ever smelled before. It was rich, with a heavy smell that was just as intoxicating as it was alien. Ember cut off the fire stream , trails of smoke curling up from her mouth as she smiled.

By now, she'd noticed Spike's expression shift from horror to curiosity.

"Now, are you sure you don't want to try some?" she asked, knowing the the answer by his expression alone.

"Uhm... well, maybe just a bit."

Ember smiled, ripping off a chunk of meat and handing it to him. Spike cringed as she did, but took his piece nonetheless. She could tell he was still a bit nervous. "Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

Ember took a bite, and Spike took a cautious nibble.

"Well?" she asked, swallowing her food.

Spike stayed silent. It took everything he had just to comprehend the taste in his mouth. It was unlike anything he'd ever eaten before. He didn’t want to swallow it—but only because it would mean there’d be less of it left!

"It's... it's pretty good."

It's… it's pretty good. Even as he said it, Spike knew that was the understatement of the century. Nonetheless, Spike wanted to play it cool.

"Want seconds?" Ember asked.

Or not. "Yes!" he replied enthusiastically.

Twilight soared over the range, looking for any sign of Spike and Ember. As she flew, she couldn't help but think about what the elder dragon revealed to her. Sure, the history of the dragon race was fascinating, but she couldn't stop thinking about Spike and Celestia. How could her mentor demand a ransom to a species that came to her for help?

It didn't make any sense. There had to be a good reason… though she simply couldn't think of any. It was so unlike the Celestia she knew that she began to wonder if maybe Balgok was mistaken. But try as she might, Twilight couldn't convince herself otherwise. How many other white alicorns have existed?

She'd have to get to the bottom of this, but her investigation would have to wait. She spotted Ember and Spike and swooped down to join them.

"Hey, you two!" Twilight said, landing gracefully beside the rock the two dragons sat on. "Something smells good."

Ember and Spike gave each other a knowing look.

"How was your talk with Gam-gam?" Ember asked.

Twilight rubbed her neck with a hoof. "I, uhm... I learned a lot." she admitted. "So, where can we get something to eat around here?"

Ember stood up. "I think there's a town a couple minutes' flight east of here. You might be able to find something besides wheat," she replied, helping Spike to his feet.

"That would be amazing."

"You guys go ahead, I'll meet you back at the fortress," Ember said, “I’m gonna go check on my dad.” Taking to the sky with a flap of her wings, she left Twilight and Spike alone on the rock.

"Huh, she sure seemed to be in a hurry," Spike commented as he climbed onto Twilight's back.

As Ember quickly took her leave, she hoped the small village would distract Twilight and Spike long enough for her to check on her father. As she glided through the air, she held the scepter in front of her. The face of a young dragoness stared back at her from the Bloodstone. There weren’t many magical artifacts that the dragons possessed, but among those they did, the Bloodstone Scepter was by far the most powerful.

In all honesty, she thought it silly that a stick with a red rock in it had the power to command dragons across the globe. But silly or not, the Scepter clearly altered the life of its bearer immeasurably. She had seen her father rule for as long as she could remember … and witnessed the toll ruling would occasionally take on him.

Ember sailed on the breeze, spying the peak of the fortress in the distance. The smoke rose high into the sky, mixing with the clouds themselves. It would be a bit of a flight yet before she would get there.

Ember mentally steeled herself as she flew. She was actually grateful for some time to gather her courage. What she had told Twilight and Spike was a half-truth: she was going to check up on her father, but she was also going to get an answer to a question that had been eating at her ever since Torch first told her of her mother. A question Spike had helped her realize she needed an answer to.

Ember needed closure, and she would get it straight from the source.

Ember landed at the fortress. After she took a few steps toward her father's chambers, she stopped. Her stomach was tying itself in knots as she thought about what she was going to say. She gripped the scepter tightly as she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. She had to do this. She had to know what happened.

Ember felt a fire rise inside her. Why had her father never felt the need to mention her mom until now?

Anger. That was the fire, and she'd have to harness it if she wanted to make it through this. Courage alone wasn't enough. Ember knew it had to be fueled by anger.

Torch’s room was by far the largest in the fortress. Her father was sleeping, as he often did nowadays. In fact, Ember would even venture to say that sleep seemed to be all he did anymore.

Her stern expression softened as she took in the once fearsome and mighty Dragon Lord.

Ember sighed. She nearly turned back.

"Dad?" she asked, her voice echoing through his chamber.

Though Torch was a solid sleeper, one thing was certain to wake him up from his slumber.

"Ember..." he whispered, shifting his massive head. Torch opened his eyes, focusing in on his daughter.

"Have you eaten today?" she asked.

"The only thing I hunger for is seeing you succeed."

Ember rolled her eyes. That meant no. She would worry about ensuring he ate something later. Right now, she was on a mission.

"Dad, what happened to Mom?"

Torch looked away.

The pause was unbearable. It felt like it had dragged on for hours before she forced his attention back to her. "Dad!"

He turned back to her.

"Please. What happened?"

Torch sighed. "I… I let her go. I should have ordered her to stay, but she was just so stubborn!" Torch slammed a fist into the floor, leaving a small depression in the rock and seeming to shake the entire volcano.

"Mom left?" Ember asked. "But, where did she go?"

Torch looked at her pleadingly. Such a sight made Ember uncomfortable. A powerful, unflinchingly strong dragon like Torch being … vulnerable? This was her father — former Dragon Lord Torch for goodness’ sake! He was her rock, the source of her strength when she was feeling weak! Yet now, the roles had been reversed.

Torch forced himself to continue, though he wanted to look away. Ember looked so much like her mother. But if he was to tell Ember of her mother's fate, then he would look her in those eyes that Cinder had given her.

"When you were an egg, our kind looked forward to another generation of dragons emerging from the Sacred Peak. Your mother and I were no exception." Torch closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "But a plague spread among the eggs. I tried everything: every mage, every healer, any dragon who even thought that they might know how to reverse the pestilence. Your clutch seemed lost, and our race faced a devastating loss.

"A legend spoke of a rare plant, growing in the far north with healing properties beyond comparison. Our bravest dragons left in search of it.

"One of them... was your mother."

Torch reached a talon out of his hoard, gently wiping the tear from his daughter's eye. Something he hadn't done since she was just a hatchling.
"I told her that I would go. I told her that I should be the one to brave the frozen wastes to save our kind's eggs. I was the Dragon Lord, after all."

He smiled as that same gentle talon found its way underneath her chin. "She insisted I stay. ‘The Dragon Lord must stay here and rule,’ she told me."I should have ordered her to stay."

"You... she..." Ember stammered. "But... so does that mean she's still out there?"

"Ember, it is best to accept her fate. She has to have made her journey to the Shadow Lands."

The fire rekindled in her heart, coming back as an inferno. "Did you even look for her?" Ember shouted. "Or did you just write her off?"

"I had a daughter to raise! I had our kind to rule! I had already lost her, I wouldn't risk leaving you, too!" he roared back.

Ember hadn't seen this much energy in her father since she claimed the Scepter for herself.

"But then how could you have hatched me without her? How was that even possible?" Ember shot back.

Torch growled. He didn't appreciate the one black mark of his rule being thrown back in his face, by his own daughter, no less. He lowered his head, coming nose to nose with Ember.

"I saved our race! I saved you!"

"Why? So you could raise another version of yourself?" Ember asked coldly.

Torch bared his teeth, his anger finally bubbling to the surface. But instead of roaring back at her, he managed to speak calmly: "You're all I have, Ember. I lost Cinder, I didn't want to lose you, too."

Ember didn't know what to feel. Anger was there, but so was sadness and confusion. Ember closed her eyes, feeling a line of tears flush from her eyes. Damn those ponies and their infectious emotions.

"She's still out there. I'm going to find her."

With that, Ember quickly flew out of the chamber.

"Ember, no!" Torch called after her.

As Embler kept flying regardless, Torch burst from his hoard with a furious roar and exploded out of the side of the mountain, quickly spying his daughter heading north. He chased after her, but she already had a fairly large head start,and unfortunately for Torch, he was not as quick in the skies as he used to be.

"Uh, dude, are you sure we're supposed to be up here?" Fizzle asked, the winds of the high peak buffeting against both of them.

"Do you want to save the dragon race or not?" Garble shouted back over the wind. "It's just a little further!"

They both braced themselves against the hostile weather, trudging through the ashen landscape to the mouth of a cave. They made it through the gale, shaking themselves off in the shelter.

"Alright, we're here," Fizzle said after a series of sneezes. "I don't see anything. You know that was just a legend, right?"

Garble turned his head. "I told you, the legend is true! She's seen it! Follow me."

Reluctantly, Fizzle followed him down deeper into the cavern. The farther down they ventured, the hotter it became. Before long, they found themselves at a wall.

"Well. Here we are," Fizzle said dryly. "Where's this monster of unimaginable terror?"

Garble didn't dignify that with a response. He turned to the wall and traced a claw in the shape of a doorway, before speaking a series of words that Fizzle didn't recognize. The shape Garble traced began to glow a brilliant blue as ancient runes began to inscribe themselves on the cave wall. Eventually the stone disappeared, leaving a doorway leading deeper into the cave.

"How... how did you even..." Fizzle asked as he followed him through the doorway. There they found a seemingly bottomless pit.

"Duh, did you forget there's an old-as-dirt dragon whose job it is to keep track of ancient legends?" Garble replied. "All I had to do was pretend like I cared about any of that crap, and she spilled the beans about this ‘Spirit of Fire,’ no problem."

Fizzle gasped. "Dude! No! I was with you just because I thought you were upset and needed to vent, but I'm not helping you release something that could literally destroy the world!"

"I thought it was just a legend?" Garble turned around. "What are you gonna do? Rat me out to big, bad, Dragon Lord Ember?"

Fizzle stared blankly at him. "Uh, yeah!" He flew towards the entrance, but the stone wall that Garble opened slammed closed. Fizzle bashed his head into the barrier, falling to an unconscious heap against the wall.

"You aren't going anywhere," Garble growled. "We're in this together."

With that, he turned back to the pit and smiled. "Time to remind the world what the dragon race is all about."

Twilight and Spike sat in a hole-in-the-wall diner, Twilight devouring a hayburger, while Spike picked at a plate of gems.

The town they found themselves in contained a whole mix of different races, with a menu to match. Spike liked the gems well enough, but ever since his dietary adventure with Ember, he'd been craving something more... savory.

After Twilight had finished inhaling her burger, she wiped her mouth and looked to Spike. "So, did Ember mention anything about the Bloodstone Scepter while you two were taking in the sights?"

Spike scratched his chin. "Uh, not that I remember. Did that old dragon you talked to tell you anything about it?"

Twilight sighed. "Actually, she did. She mentioned that once the previous Dragon Lord gives up the Scepter, they... well... die."

He gasped. "Seriously? Then that really was why her dad's been feeling so weak!" He pushed his food aside. "She told me her dad wasn't himself since she took the Scepter, but she couldn't figure out why." A realization crashed over him like a tidal wave. "Sweet Celestia... her dad is dying because she took the Scepter."

Twilight nodded gravely. "She needs to know what's going on, but I just don't know how to tell someone something like that," she said, resting her cheek on her hoof in defeat.

"Well, if anypony can figure out a way, it's you," Spike answered, trying to lift her spirits.

She managed a grin. "Thanks, Spike. I'm going to visit the fillies' room, and then we can head back."

Twilight got up and trotted away in search of the bathroom, while Spike flagged down their waitress.

"How quickly can I get an order of rabbit, to go?"

Heavy Are The Horns Part 6

Spike enjoyed his time flying with Twilight. He hoped every day brought him closer to getting his own set of wings so that one day he could fly beside her instead of on her back.

As they flew, Spike idly observed the ground passing by below them. The shrubs and trees soon turned to rocks and boulders. The fortress appeared in the distance, the smell of magma wafting over the breeze. He looked toward the mountain, spying a blue speck leaving the mouth at a high speed.

As the mountain grew closer, he noticed something a bit different about it.

"Uh, has that hole in the side of the mountain always been there?" he asked.

Twilight cocked her head. "Well, volcanos have been known to erupt from the sides as well as from the top, but we would have at least felt the eruption."

Zooming in for a closer look, both noticed the glint of gold from their altitude. Twilight landed inside the room to discover a massive hoard, nearly the size of the treasure rooms of Canterlot.

"Wha... what is this?" Spike asked.

"I think it might be Ember's hoard," Twilight replied, pawing at a small mound of gold coins.

"Sweet Celestia!" she gasped. Twilight raised a coin to her eyes with her magic. "Spike, this coin is from ancient Sumareia! It's thousands of years old!" She put the coin back and sifted through the pile. "They're all from lost ancient civilizations!" Twilight began wading deeper into the hoard, her mind racing with all sorts of scholastic opportunities to gain untold knowledge from the millions of ancient relics stored within the volcano.

"Ember?" Spike called out, only his echo answering him. He walked further into the cave and found a hallway leading to another room. A smaller pile of gems and gold sat near a rather large stone chair. The room was opulent by dragon standards, with ornately carved rock furniture and pillars of lava flowing from the ceiling to provide light and heat.

Something in the air caught him as familiar... a scent he recognized, but from where?

As he walked into the room and took a seat on the throne to ponder it, it came to him.

Ember! This must be Ember's room! he thought. A wave of embarrassment swept over him with this realization. He was in a female's room without permission! A female that wasn't Twilight! He jumped off the throne as though nails had just shot up through the seat. He ran back into the hallway and called Ember's name one more time.

Still no reply.

He returned to the treasure room to find Twilight neck-deep in gold and silver artifacts.

"Sumareia crowns, Marecian jeweled scepters, a gold tablet depicting the fall of Trot!" Twilight squealed.

"Twilight!" Spike shouted, interrupting her chattering. "Ember's gone."

"Probably went to dig up more history! Oh, I have so many questions to ask her about where she found these!"

Spike climbed onto the pile and plucked Twilight from the gold. "I don't think this is Ember's room."

She paused. "But, if it isn't Ember's, who else could have possibly..." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Do you think this is her father's room?"

Spike nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

"But then, where did he go?" Twilight asked. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I thought she told me Torch wasn't feeling too hot lately," Spike replied, scratching his head. "What would make them both just leave?"

Twilight lowered her back to Spike. "Hop on. I can only think of one other place they might be."

Spike clambered onto her back. "Balgok's place?" he asked.

"Exactly."

A push of her wings and they were aloft, leaving through the fortress' new skylight.

Torch pushed himself harder than he had in years. He had closed the gap between himself and his daughter, but she was still effortlessly ahead of him. The angry wind and blowing snow weren't helping his chase.

"Ember! Please, for your own good, you must stop!"

She could hear him shouting, but she didn't care. His words meant nothing to her. How could he do that? How could he just give up hope?

Ember turned her head over her shoulder. Her father was falling behind. In no time, he crashed into the ground below, sending up a mighty plume of snow. Ember paused at a hover, taking in her father's battered form. Her anger came surging back, her fury directionless and consuming her. What could she do? At whom could she point the fire of her rage, her feelings of betrayal?

Ember gritted her teeth, a line of tears flushing from her eyes. She clutched the Scepter tightly in both talons and turned north towards the mountains that she thought would hold closure.

But in the back of her mind, she knew her father was right. No dragon could possibly survive for long in conditions like that.

Ember held the Scepter above her head, gripping it as though she could choke the pain out of the stone rod. A warmth washed over her from the tips of her talons down to the end of her tail. It filled her up, it beat in time with her heart. She opened her eyes, her vision tainted crimson. Ember stretched the Scepter out in front of her and released a guttural roar.

A blast of fiery bright red energy erupted from the Bloodstone. The beam streaked across the horizon before vaporizing a mountain in the distance.

Ember felt physically and emotionally drained as she slowly lost altitude, eventually landing at her father's side.

"Dad, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Torch coughed weakly. Ember breathed a sigh of relief. Only now, as she calmed down, did she realize that blindly flying off into the icy north with no preparation whatsoever would have been a death sentence. Now it was clear that she had not only nearly killed herself, but also her father.

The snow was still coming down as she looked around. They were on the edge of the dragon lands, and miles away from the fortress. She couldn't well carry her father back, but staying out in the snow was out of the question. Ember could already feel the cold biting through her scales.

She felt panic grip her heart until a thought came to her:

The Scepter! With its link to every dragon, she could use it to call for help.

A brief flash of guilt flashed by Ember’s mind as she also realized that she could have used the Scepter to tell if her mother was still alive, instead of blindly rushing off into the north and getting into this predicament in the first place.

Though, how do I call dragons with it? The Scepter didn't come with instructions, and she hadn't bothered to ask her father to help her learn to use it.

Well, maybe I just hold it and think really hard about my message and who I'm sending it to, she thought, holding the stone above her head and thinking as hard as she could about Spike.

After holding it for about a minute, she cracked one eye open, beginning to shiver in the cold.

I sure hope that worked.

"Why do you think they left in such a hurry? I mean, Torch could have just used the mouth of the volcano instead of making a huge hole in it, right?" Spike asked as they flew to the elder dragon's cave.

"I don't know, but it must have been something huge," Twilight called over the wind. "I'm hoping Balgok will be able to shed some light on the subject."

Twilight landed at the mouth of the cave as Spike slid off her back. "What if Torch... well... you know..." Spike began.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it," Twilight replied, following Spike into the cave. "But you heard Balgok, the Land of Shadows is a one-way trip. You don't think she..."

"No way!" Spike said. "But... I mean, she wouldn't do that, would she?"

"I hope not, but the pressures of power can do strange things to the mind."

They arrived at the main chamber to find Balgok, sleeping amongst her massive hoard. Spike swallowed his nerves. "Isn't it bad luck to wake a sleeping dragon?" he asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and collected her courage. "No, but it's probably not good for your health," she replied. "Balgok?"

The dragon remained still. "Balgok?" Twilight asked, a bit more forcefully. Still, the dragon didn't move.

"Is she still... alive?" Spike asked. "I haven't heard her breathe or anything since we got here." He said, stepping up to stand right in front of Balgok. A blast of hot air rushed out of her nostrils and bowled Spike over into a pile of gold.

"Huh. That's an incredibly slow aerobic rhythm," Twilight remarked as she drew closer. She thought for a moment. How could she wake Balgokshort of prying her eyes open?

Then it hit her.

"Uhm... Gam-Gam?"

A grunt echoed through the cavern as Balgok cracked an eyelid.

"Ah, Princess Twilight," she yawned, raising her head and shaking off the sleep. "And the youngling, Spike!" Spike crawled out from the pile and brushed himself off as he joined Twilight. "And where is my beautiful Ember?"

"Well, we were actually hoping you might be able to tell us where she and Torch might have gone," Twilight asked.

Balgok raised an eye ridge. "Ember is missing? And Torch?" Balgok hummed to herself. "I did not believe Torch would have the strength to leave the cave. He has been without the Scepter for quite some time."

"Do you think he went to the Land of Shadows?" Spike asked.

"It is possible, yet... Ember would not have accompanied him. It is forbidden to take the journey before your time," Balgok answered softly. "As the Dragon Lord, she knows this. To abdicate her crown, and forfeit her life would be—"

Balgok's eyes widened, Twilight's ears perked up, and Spike's spines stiffened.

"Did you feel that?" Spike asked.

Balgok nodded. "That was the Scepter."

"But... that was a huge amount of magic! I've only ever felt something that strong from one of the Princesses!" Twilight added, turning to face the entrance of the cave.

"It seemed to be north of here," Balgok said. "And it feels like an urgent summons. " Worry found its way across the aged dragon's features. "I fear Lord Ember may be be in danger."

"Then we have to hurry!" Spike shouted, hopping onto Twilight's back.

"Go quickly! There's no telling what sort of peril has found her!" Balgok called after them as Twilight galloped out of the cave.

Spike put a hand on his head as Twilight took a flying leap into the air. He thought he could hear something faint over the rush of wind. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to isolate the sound. The more he tried, the more it began to sound like a voice…
A female voice…

Ember's voice!

Spike gasped, opening his eyes. "Ember's that way! She's with Torch, and she needs help!" Spike pointed a claw to her approximate location and hunkered down on Twilight’s back. The princess pushed herself as hard as she could, flying as fast as her wings allowed.

Minutes ticked by at an agonizing pace. Spike could still feel the direction Ember had pointed out for him, but he could also feel the distance. It would be a bit of a flight to reach her.

Just like that, the feeling of helplessness he'd felt so many times before in his life came rushing back. Here he was yet again, dependent on another to help those he cared about. He had tasted independence during the Gauntlet of Fire, and being relegated to this position yet again was like a punch in the gut to his newfound pride.

Spike pushed those self-defeating thoughts out of his head. He had already proved to everyone around him that he had the courage of a proper dragon. Now he just had to convince himself.

But all that Spike had to go on right now was whatever sense the Scepter was giving him. Somehow, he felt like he could sense how far away she was—and it seemed to be miles. That was not helping his sense of dread. He wanted to signal her, to let her know she'd heard him, but what could he do?

Spike lifted his head from his aerodynamic position, the wind buffeting against his chest as he tightened his grip on Twilight's shoulders.

With a deep breath, he released a bright green ball of fire that streaked into the air and exploded brightly.

I hope she saw that, he thought as they flew. It would still be minutes before they reached Ember.

Ember could feel the cold creeping towards her heart. Her toes and tail tip were already numb, and her claws grew stiff around the Scepter. She huddled around her father, trying to share body heat, though it was a losing battle. She couldn't discern how long she'd been lying next to her father. Five minutes? Ten minutes? An hour? There was nothing around her but the blowing snow, and it wasn't letting up. A bank of snow was building around herself and her father.

She was shivering uncontrollably now. She couldn't even tell if her limbs were still attached, they were so numb. Soon, she found herself taking deeper breaths, her eyes growing heavy.

A deep sadness gripped Ember's heart. In one foolish motion, she had doomed herself, and her father, and possibly the entire dragon race, depending on who recovered the Bloodstone Scepter from her frozen corpse. She cursed herself for giving into her emotions so readily. What ruler would do that? Dragon Lords are supposed to govern firmly, yet fairly, keeping emotion from clouding their judgment.

Perhaps she wasn't fit to rule after all. Maybe this was the logical conclusion to her extremely short rule.

Her eyes closed.

"There they are!" Spike shouted, pointing to patches of scales now barely poking out of the snow.

Twilight raced down to them, using her wing power to blow away some of the loose snow that threatened to swallow them both. Spike leapt from her back and rushed to raise Ember's head out of the snow.

"She's freezing!" Spike cried, brushing the frost from her face. "We've got to get them out of here!"

"I can manage Ember, but what about Torch?" Twilight asked.

"Can’t you just teleport us all back to the fortress?" Spike asked, cradling Ember's head in his arms.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Well, yes, I mean... it’s possible, , but I've never tried this many people before, nor someone so…huge!"

"We have to try! They can't have long left!" Spike shouted, the blizzard picking up in intensity.

Twilight gritted her teeth and landed between Ember and her father. She put one hoof on Torch, and one on Ember.

"Just take us to the caldera! The lava’s heat should save them!" Spike shouted as Twilight charged all the magic she could muster. A glowing purple orb formed at the tip of her horn, discharging arcs of magic streaking from it.

"Close your eyes!" Twilight shouted as she cast the spell.

In a brilliant purple flash, the four of them vanished, leaving a crater of melted snow in their wake.

Fizzle's head was pounding. He managed to roll himself onto his back. He opened his eyes and tried to remember where he was, or what he was doing there. He put a claw to his snout and looked at it. Crimson smeared his off-white scales. His focus passed his claw and fell on Garble, standing on a ledge overlooking a magma chamber.

His memory came flooding back to him. He was trapped with a crazy dragon hell-bent on releasing upon an unsuspecting world a creature that he had recently thought was only a myth.

Garble was too busy carving runes into the floor to notice his hostage had awakened.

Fizzle let his head hit the floor as he stared up at the roof of the volcano. There was no way out. He would bare witness to the beginning of the end of everything but the dragons. The only way he could stop the impending doom was to fight Garble himself. While he may have been able to pull it off when they first arrived, with a concussion, there was no way he'd be able to beat him.

He needed a miracle.

And he would receive just that.

The roof of the volcano evaporated in a blinding red flash, sending a shower of dust and pebbles between himself and Garble. He wisely covered his nose and mouth before the plume swallowed them. Once his ears stopped ringing, he could hear Garble coughing and hacking. Fizzle looked toward the roof again. He could see the sky! He struggled to his feet and stretched his wings.

Nothing broken? Here goes! he thought, taking to the sky. He made it out of the volcano and stayed low and fast.

He had to reach Dragon Lord Ember. Fizzle knew only she could stem the tide of what was coming.